The Seeds of Fascism

Posted: October 4, 2026 | Author: | Filed under: Uncategorized | Tags: , , , , , , , , , , , | Leave a comment

During his recent “State of the Force” speech at the Marine Corps base in Quantico Virginia, Pete Hegseth, the Secretary of Defense, swore that there would be no “beardos,” “fatties,” or “weirdos” (among other derogatory names for groups of people) in the U.S. military. He then announced that the three men above would lead his “Project Meridian” which is framed as an in-depth study of the future of warfare. The three men are Palmer Luckey, Newt Gingrich, and Elon Musk, none of whom have served in the military. Any resemblance to those banned from Hegseth’s military is purely coincidental. (DOD photo)

As we enter the eighth month of our war of choice with Iran we find ourselves no closer to a negotiated settlement. Indeed, the rhetoric from Trump and his cabinet members continues to be bombastic, unhinged from reality, and full of lies. Situation normal. Meanwhile, Trump is now touring the country campaigning for MAGA Republicans — whether they want him to or not — and trying to make everything all about him. If you watch the evening news, professional football, or college football you undoubtedly saw one of his propaganda commercials. Claiming that they are Public Service Announcements (PSAs in the lingo), they are actually paeans to the dear leader Trump. They come across to me as something one would see in North Korea or Russia. One is set to the music “Love Me” by JMSN. Trump directed that 20 million dollars be set aside to pay for the ads. Oh yea. 20 million dollars in taxpayer money. Your money and mine. It is clearly illegal under U.S. law, but like most things Trumpian, they do it anyway and dare someone to stop them.

I continue to despair for our country. Trump and his Epstein class buddies are stealing from us in ever more blatant ways and no one seems to care. He demeans people, undermines our democracy, and borders on inciting violence. That is when he can express a coherent thought — which is clearly increasingly difficult for him to do. In the end, he only cares about punishing his enemies and making himself and his family and most loyal associates richer than they could have imagined possible. He is not interested in actually governing. I often hear people say that he does not represent who we are as a country. I disagree. Who is stopping him? The voters of the United States of America put him back in office knowing that he is a convicted felon, adjudicated sex offender, liar, dear friends with the biggest sex trafficker likely ever, tried to overturn a free and fair election and incited a riot where his supporters attacked law enforcement officers and tried to hang the Vice President and Speaker of the House. We are getting our just deserts. (From the Old French word deservir meaning to deserve. One ‘s’ — I just found out. But I digress.)

We are roughly a month from the mid-terms and Trump is feeling the heat. That makes him more dangerous. Based on his track record, I put nothing past him. He will do whatever it takes to keep his power from being diminished. Saturday night during a poorly attended rally in Vandalia Ohio he claimed that the Democrats (or Dumocrats as he likes to say — adding that most people do not know that “dumb” has a b in it, but if he used it then they would be dumbocrats which sounds funny) were trying to kill him. He then went on to say “We’ve defeated every hoax and overcome every threat. Now we are on the cusp of beating the communist, socialist, radicalized lunatics and villains once and for all. We’re going to put them down once and for all.” Put them down. Like an injured or dying animal?

Thinking about where all of this is taking us, I was pointed towards a June 1995 essay by Umberto Eco the Italian writer and philosopher who was in elementary school during the Mussolini regime. The essay is “Ur-Fascism” or “Eternal Fascism.” (Read it here.)

In it, he traces the historical origins of fascism and draws distinctions between its manifestations in Italy, Germany, Spain and elsewhere in the world during the twentieth century. The fascism that originated in Italy is not the same as the Nazis in Germany or Franco in Spain. He further explains that elements of fascism can actually be contradictory and that while different factions may not be exactly the same, they all have certain characteristics in common. Sadly, many of those elements are visible in the current administration. I still believe that Trump could not spell fascism, much less explain it, but he knows enough of what is going on and the personal benefits that he receives, which is sufficient for his purposes. He has no ideological compass, only concern for his own power and wealth. This makes him useful to the architects of Project 2025 and the others that want to fundamentally alter the nature of our government. Trump, especially as his physical and mental health clearly decline, is their useful idiot to be manipulated into taking actions that move them towards their goal — a country ruled by rich, white, Christian, men. Their Christianity is not the typical “Good Samaritan” form of Christ’s teachings, but more like the 19th century Southern plantation owners style of Christianity.

Eco lists fourteen characteristics of Ur-Fascism. You can read the essay to see all fourteen. Here it is sufficient to give a few examples of his analysis.

“Action for action’s sake.” As he explains, action is of itself enough. In other words, “it must be taken before, or without, any previous reflection. Thinking is a form of emasculation.” Arbitrary and reflexive. Sound like anyone we know in the Oval Office? Eco takes it further to say that this leads to distrust of anything deemed intellectual. This leads to attacks on modern culture and anything deemed liberal or associated with universities because they are seen as undermining traditional values. Disagreement is treason.

“Fear of difference.” Disagreement is seen as diversity. A large part of Ur-Fascism is stamping out diversity in favor of unity. Sound like anyone we know in the Pentagon? A primary tool of the movement is to rally against what Eco calls the “intruders” but some now call them the “other” such as those from “shithole countries.” This leads to an insistence that only those born in the country are truly deserving. Fascism is inherently racist.

“Appeal to a frustrated middle class.” This is an appeal to those that are suffering economically or that do not feel that their government is looking out for them, especially as they feel pressure from lower socio-economic classes. Their supporters must feel as if they are under siege, from internal forces and/or external enemies.

“Contempt for the weak.” The masses are inherently weak, therefore they need a strong ruler. To succeed, the hierarchical nature of fascism means that at each level, a leader despises those under him (not her) and each of them despises their inferiors.

“Machismo.” Eco defines it as “both disdain for women and intolerance and condemnation of nonstandard sexual habits, from chastity to homosexuality.” Sex tends to be “a difficult game to play” so the Ur-Fascist “tends to play with weapons—doing so becomes an ersatz phallic exercise.”

“Ur-Fascism speaks Newspeak.” This comes from George Orwell’s novel “1984” In other words, education is scaled down to the most basic of dictated vocabulary and syntax to limit the ability for critical thinking. Everyone must be in lockstep.

Please do not assume that I am calling our current leadership fascist. It is, however, alarming that they share so many common elements of fascist tendencies. Clearly this administration is using every power they can imagine — words like lawful, ethical or moral have no bearing on their actions — to establish an authoritarian regime. Their term of art is to create “a unitary executive.” The president is in charge of the government, end of discussion.

So far, my biggest disappointment and fear is that no one is trying to stop them. Certainly not the Republicans who have lost all sense of the right thing to do and have dishonored their oath to the Constitution. I also blame the Democrats who are always concerned but basically just send “stern warnings” in letters. Unfortunately, we the people, have also become accustomed to the endless parade of shenanigans, lies and power grabs. Trump has coarsened America. One can feel it in every corner of the land. What none of us would have imagined ten years ago is now “normal.”

I am not sure how we turn things around. New laws are in order to cover the things that before were “norms” or “the right thing to do” or any other limits to behavior that Trump has run a Mack truck right through.

I do know that if we don’t vote the MAGAs out, we will never get there.

Grift Or Graft? Take Your Choice

Posted: September 21, 2026 | Author: | Filed under: Uncategorized | Tags: , , , , , , , , , , | 2 Comments

An architect’s rendering of the proposed 250 foot high triumphal arch on a site between the Memorial Bridge and Arlington National Cemetery. The arch will significantly alter the symmetry and symbolism of the monument area of Washington D.C. This past weekend, Trump claimed that the arch will serve as a “military complex.” “At the strong request of the United States Military, and for National Security purposes, I have agreed to convert the magnificent Triumphal Arch… into a top grade Military Complex/Triumphal Arch” according to his social media account. (Harrison Design/US. Commission of Fine Arts.)

For this citizen, it is getting increasingly difficult to keep up with the craziness coming from the Trump administration. Every day there is a new outrage. I am embarrassed for our country, I am angry that we are slowly loosing our Democratic Republic that we love, and I fear for our future. The federal government is being run by scoundrels, grifters and white nationalists that have no regard for the average citizen of our United States. The decision to claim that the unwanted and unneeded arch is a military necessity to “house, store, and have the rapid ability to use large numbers of drones, plus Snipers, on both the roof and plaza areas, and additionally have and hold large quantities of sniper ammunition in storage” is a fever dream occupying the Commander-in-Chiefs rapidly declining acuity. In reality, he is trying to use the same scam he used to justify destroying the East Wing of the White House. It is a national security issue! His failing logic concludes that since the Supreme Court gave him nearly unlimited power to act on national security issues, he will not have to get anyone’s permission, least of all from a court, to build his precious arch. The massive opposition to it be damned.

Perhaps nothing epitomizes Trump’s second term more than his hissy fit over the Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts. If you missed this last week, this is the essence. Congress appropriated money for repairs to the center. Trump wants his name on it. A judge said no because it is named in a law duly passed by Congress that specifically says no other person or monuments can be attached or otherwise included with the Kennedy Center. To that, Trump declared that no Trump name on the building then no money for repairs. Period. Unless of course, I, Trump, decide to tear it down. It is now closed. I fear we may wake up one morning soon to find a wrecking ball smashing into it. In the name of national security, of course.

These are the same people trying to convince you that the war of choice in Iran is not the cause of the increased oil, gas and diesel prices. It is really Ukraine! According to Trump and his enablers, Ukraine attacking Russian oil refineries is the real cause of the global shortage. Not Russia’s unprovoked attack on Ukraine which is intensifying, not the nearly complete closure of the Strait of Hormuz because of our attack on Iran, not the limitations on shipping through the strait at Bab-al-Mandeb because of the war, nor is it the result of anything the Trump regime has done, it is all Ukraine’s fault.

Apparently, Russia is our friend and Ukraine is not. Trump is considering establishing business and trading deals with Russia despite their continued aggression. In his logic, this will calm things down. The fact that he and his Epstein Class buddies will make a ton of money has nothing to do with it. His top real estate agents diplomats Jared Kushner and Steve Witkoff are on top of it. Apparently, Trump still believes that if he had been president, his best pal Vladimir Putin would never have invaded Ukraine. (Actually, Trump puts the blame for the war on Ukraine because they won’t give up a third of their country to the Russians.) This is one of a long list of issues that would be solved on “day one” of the Trump presidency.

I am sure that it is only a coincidence that a Russian oligarch with close personal ties to Putin, and indicted for stealing Ukrainian kids and taking them to Russia, paid for Donald Trump Jr. and his bride’s wedding. Ooops. I’m sorry. They insist he did not pay for the wedding, only for the several day after party on a private island in the Bahamas rented out to the wedding party with customized fireworks and accommodations costing hundreds of thousands of dollars. Just a wedding present from a good friend. Obviously Don Jr has not seen the move The Godfather where Don Corleone helps someone out and as they thank him he always says “Someday, and that day may never come, I will call upon you to do a service for me.” But that day will surely come for the Trumps. Dad insists that Junior paid the Russians back, but of course, as always, offers no proof.

After years of “day one” promises, “very soon” promises, “probably next Tuesday” promises, “in two weeks” promises, and on and on, nothing that Trump promised has come to fruition. The economy is a mess, our food supply is in danger of making us sick, measles and other diseases thought eliminated are coming back in increasing amounts, the air and water pollution we thought was getting better is now increasing in order to ease regulations and help businesses. It just does not stop. Now surrogates for Trump are saying that the war with Iran is under control and that in another six months it should be over. This is the war that was going to be over in four to six weeks, tops. We are now in our seventh month of combat operations and the word is for us not to worry, it will only take another six months. There have been no public briefings on the war since 5 May. Probably because they still have no articulated strategic goals (they seem focused on the Strait of Hormuz now, which was an international waterway open to all shipping before the war) and no articulated end game or exit strategy. The war is expanding horizontally into other areas such as between the Houthis and Saudis. (Saudi Arabia is asking for U.S. help there, Trump said no, yes, no over the weekend. Our allies in the region are watching. They are learning we cannot or will not protect them.) The war in Ukraine is escalating and Russian operatives are testing the resilience and resistance of our NATO allies with increasingly brazen small scale attacks. China is eyeing Taiwan as all of this is happening and Trump considers Xi Jinping his other best friend. Xi has openly stated that his goal is to “reunite” Taiwan with the rest of China. Is that now on the horizon with our depleted Armed Forces bogged down in the Persian Gulf? It is a tense world waiting to explode with a misinterpreted word or action. Is Trump up to the challenge?

Has anyone seen the Secretary of State through all of this? Calling Marco Rubio! I wonder what he is up to while others travel around the world in the name of American diplomacy.

Meanwhile, J.D. Vance implored MAGA supporters on a recent podcast when asked about the state of affairs under the Trump administration to be patient. He begged, “Give us another chance, or give us another couple of years, to continue to work on the amazing things that we’ve been doing for the past two years.” Uh, okay J.D. Of course you deserve another chance to screw things up even more. Quite the campaign slogan — Give us another chance!

And then there is Greenland. Trump is bragging about his super agreement with Denmark and Greenland that is expected to be signed later this week (it still would have to be ratified by their respective parliaments to go into effect.) Despite Trump’s claims that Greenland should be the 51st state and that with this agreement he declares that the U.S. now has “permanent control over security, and all other needs” in Greenland and that it is, according to his social media post, an “Infinite Life” Agreement, there is no end!” Trump got fooled again. The Danes and Greenlanders are snickering behind his back. The agreement — admittedly all details are yet to be public — seems to solidify Denmark’s continued possession of the island and solidifies Greenland’s ability to declare its independence in the future. It also gives the U.S. provisions for a military presence — which we already have with a Space Force base in Pituffik Greenland, previously named Thule Air Force Base. Since 1951 the U.S. maintains a military presence in Greenland, the numbers of forces and where on the island grows and recedes depending on the geo-strategic requirements over the years. Basically, Trump solidified what we already had and the Danes and Greenlanders have Trump’s threats to take over the island removed.

This shows us what all of our friends and allies, as well as our adversaries, now know. Trump can be had. Sometimes all it takes is a little flattery and to let him strut around as in the Greenland treaty. He can be the Big Man on Campus (BMOC) while the other side gets what they really want. Other nations are well aware of his grifting, and willingness to be bribed (call it a business deal if you want but when a president makes policy decisions based on how much money he and/or his Epstein Class buddies can make, it is smells like a bribe by any other name.) This is a security threat from two directions. He can be blackmailed (I still think Putin has the goods on him — not necessarily sexual, although it would not surprise me if the Russian intelligence services know what is in the Epstein Files — but monetarily. Specifically, money laundering in the 1990’s and early 2000s. Supposedly he and Epstein fell out of their friendship over a real estate deal where allegedly, Trump took advantage of Epstein.) The other threat is that they know he can be bribed — they do not have to blackmail him, just pay him to do what they want.

Meanwhile, the attacks on the upcoming elections continue. We know from 2020 that he will try to overturn the election results he does not like. He now has a playbook. Perhaps the most upsetting and disappointing aspects of where we are as a country today is that a former respected political party — the Republican Party — has totally abdicated any shred of decency, standards, responsibility, or allegiance to their oath of office. They used to stand on solid principles and policies, now they do not just let Trump and his cronies get away with their un-American activities, they increasingly aid and abet those activities. The lies that come from all corners of the national Republican Party are endless. Shame is no longer relevant.

They will be working overtime to disrupt the vote. As one voting rights advocate explained, if your vote did not matter they would not be working so hard to take it away.

O Canada!

Posted: August 27, 2026 | Author: | Filed under: Uncategorized | Tags: , , , , , , , , , , | 1 Comment

Another ridiculous Truth Social post by our embittered president. He cannot control himself and acts like a spoiled two year old whenever he does not get what he wants. He is both embarrassing and dangerous.

On Thursday, Trump took his silly spat with Canada — silly, but costly — to another level by signing an Executive Order (EO) “officially” changing the name of Lake Ontario to Lake America. Really — this is all the President of the United States has on his “to do” list? One would think that he might be focused on ending the war of choice against Iran, or helping to improve the economy or focusing on the fact that people are dying from the measles or a hundred other actions to actually help everyday Americans.

So typically Trumpian. This what the party formerly known as the Republican Party has become. Today, it is merely a rubber stamp for every inane idea he has in the moment. Can’t beat the Iranians? Attack Canada with twenty billion dollars in tariffs. Tariffs that Americans will pay. Not interested in Ukraine? Attack South Korea by cancelling critical national security exercises and praising North Korea’s ruthless dictator — a dictator that is supplying artillery shells and ten thousand troops to fight with the Russians against Ukraine. Not interested in NATO? Then praise Vladimir Putin — the same guy that is supplying Iran with drones and intelligence and targeting information to attack U.S. military forces.

His mad method of running our country is to attack, bully, extort, and vilify our (increasingly fewer) friends while praising, aiding and abetting our enemies. He denigrates our allies and praises our enemies. Not one sentient world leader trusts him or the United States to do the right thing. They have figured out that there is a new world order, and to much of the world, that order does not include the United States of America. They must and will plan without us into the future. As Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney said last week in describing the negotiations with the U.S.,

“We have been pragmatic, patient, and persistent. We have pursued every opportunity to reach an agreement that protects Canadian workers and their families, that strengthens our economy, and that respects Canadian sovereignty. We have been under no illusions. We recognized from the start that America has changed. Early last year, I observed that the decades-long process of steadily increasing integration between our economies was over. Our government understood, before many, that America would transform all its commercial relationships. That it would put a series of tariffs on its closest allies and use economic integration as a weapon. That its signature was written in pencil.“

Our signature is written in pencil. In other words, as a partner, we are erratic, untrustworthy, unreliable, inconsistent and irresponsible. The U.S. has lost the very things that have served us so well in the post-World War II era.

It is no surprise to learn that Canada is reciprocating by placing twenty billion dollars of tariffs on U.S. goods. It will be painful for both countries economically, not to mention the impact on our longest and most trusted friendship and alliance. If the Canadians really want to make an impact, consider that Canada supplies 99% of our natural gas imports, 85% of our electricity imports, and 60% of crude oil imports. Those crude oil imports go to refineries in the American Midwest that were specifically built to refine Canadian crude and cannot be used as currently configured to refine oil from other sources. Several northern states get their electricity directly from Canada. Oh, by the way. Ever hear of the Welland Canal? That is the twenty-seven mile long canal that connects Lake Ontario and Lake Erie to bypass the Niagara River (Niagara Falls). It runs through Ontario, Canada. Close that to U.S. ships and trade on the Great Lakes comes to a crashing halt. They could really make us hurt. So far, they have not. But one cannot really blame them if Trump continues to antagonize them that they will up the ante.

There was already an agreement between Canada, the U.S. and Mexico (called the USMCA in the U.S. and CUSMA in Canada) that Trump in his first term called “the largest, most significant, modern, and balanced trade agreement in history.” It replaced the North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA). What happened to the USMCA? I would suggest the Epstein Files, the Iran fiasco, affordability, and the looming blue tsunami of the upcoming mid-term elections. He needed a distraction so why not pick on our best friend?

Meanwhile, the Supreme Court is facilitating Trump’s worst instincts. Chief Justice John Roberts lifted a stay on the construction of the East Wing at the White House. He ruled that construction can continue while the case to stop construction works its way through the system (lower courts had stopped it). While only a “technical” ruling, no time frame was given for the case to be heard by the entire Court. It could be days, it could be months, meaning Trump will get his ballroom. Remember that he claims it is a national security requirement. This week the Washington Post revealed, thanks to former White House officials, that a secret (well, it was until the article was published) complex already exists under the White House. Started after the terrorist attacks on 11 September, it was completed during the Obama administration. It is built for continuity of government purposes, has months of food and water and can withstand a nuclear blast. But Trump will get his ballroom.

On another “technicality” the Supreme Court issued an “emergency” 6-3 decision in Donald J. Trump, President of the United States, ET AL v California, ET AL involving the United States Postal Service (USPS) and mail-in voting. Trump signed an E.O. that designated the USPS as the administrative body for determining who could vote by mail and who could not. In essence, the states must submit lists of eligible voters, which will be compared to a list put together by the federal government (Trump’s agents) and the USPS will only mail ballots to approved voters. If states fail to submit their voter lists (which the law suit claims is protected under the Constitution) then no mail-in ballots at all will be delivered by the Post Office in that state. There are other provisions such as prosecuting election officials if even one ineligible person votes and other elements designed to suppress the vote and give Trump officials the opportunity to decide who votes and who does not. It is blatantly un-Constitutional even to this non-attorney. We are supposed to be calm because experts point out that this is merely a procedural technicality and of course the Supreme Court will rule against it. In sum, the Court claims that the states’ sued too early. Supposedly they cannot claim damage until actually damaged — which seems like a huge Catch-22 and makes no sense at all to me. Forgotten in the discussions is that some states, such as North Carolina, begin distributing ballots in early September. Time is of the essence if we are to avoid chaos and uncertainty — but of course that is the point of all of this. Trump will use every tool in the box to disrupt the elections. Recall that the Supreme Court found his use of tariffs un-Constitutional and yet that did not stop him from imposing them anyway, just under a different statute. Back to court again and so on and so forth.

I do not think that the courts can move fast enough to react to (much less prevent) the tremendous mischief he will pursue that is intended to disrupt the election. The bigger the chaos and disruption, the greater voters will become confused and perhaps not vote and the bigger the confusion the more likely Trump and his minions are to declare the election invalid. For example, Fulton County (Atlanta) in Georgia returns Senator Jon Ossof to his seat, but the federal government declares that fraud or some other crime was committed, confiscates the ballots and voting machines, and without those votes, Ossof’s opponent wins. We are only limited by our imaginations, but I would focus on “blue” cities in “red” states to watch for the shenanigans.

It seems that most of Trump’s energy — the little that he seems to have — is focused on his vanity projects and turning against his perceived enemies. If Trump cannot have it, he will destroy it. Be it tariffs or monuments. He is still trying to put his name on the Kennedy Center and now, in court in front of a magistrate, the Department of Justice (DOJ) argued that if Trump’s name is not on the building, then it will be torn down and there will be a new use of the space. The aircraft carrier USS Doris Miller (CVN-81) currently under construction may not come to be. Credible sources report that the first aircraft carrier named for a black Sailor and the first Enlisted Sailor so honored should be renamed after Trump — according to Trump. “Dorie” Miller was a hero during the attack on Pearl Harbor, winning the Navy Cross — the first black man to achieve it — who was later killed in action in 1943. Trump got five deferments during the Viet Nam War for bone spurs. The same guy that, according to the New York Times analysis of the Epstein Files so far, has his name or Mar-a-Lago or other associations mentioned over 38,000 times. No wonder the DOJ is working overtime to cover it up.

We are in big trouble. The America we knew and the world respected is gone. When this nightmare is over, and one way or another it will be at some point, we cannot go back to the way it was. The way it was is what got us to someone like Trump. We and the world can never be sure that there will not be another Trump if we do not put in place the actual checks and balances and laws that we thought would protect us. They did not.

While all of this was going on we lost a truly kind person. Dolly Parton died after a short bout with cancer. Whatever you thought of her as a performer, she knew who she was, stayed true to herself, was a prolific philanthropist and by all accounts a truly kind person. Kindness is in short supply these days, and we just lost a little more of it with her passing.

“It’s Good To Be The King!”

Posted: August 16, 2026 | Author: | Filed under: Uncategorized | Tags: , , , , , , , , | Leave a comment

Despite a court order, a tarp still covers the name above the entrance to The John F. Kennedy Center For The Performing Arts that once sported Donald Trump’s name. This week the Center’s Board, consisting mostly of members appointed by Trump, voted to put Trump’s name back on the center. Under the main sign, a new sign will be added that reads “Restored and Renovated by President Donald J. Trump.” In addition, and contrary to the court order, the Board voted to close the Center for two years for renovations. Probably to allow Trump to cover everything in more gold plating from Home Depot. This is part of a pattern where Trump and his administration work hard to circumvent the law.  (AP Photo/Mark Schiefelbein)

In his increasingly bizarre behavior, Trump proves daily that he has no moral center, lies about everything, and acts like a spoiled toddler. He wants what he wants when he wants it and throws a hissy fit if he doesn’t get it. The problem is, that he is the most powerful man in the country, if not the world, and he can bring the weight of the entire U.S. government down on the head of anyone that defies him. He is cunning. Not too smart, but cunning. Like an animal stalking its prey, he is relentless and inventive in finding new ways to get what he wants. It is clearly evident that our laws are inadequate to stop a president from doing whatever pops into his head. We know now what can happen when a president has no moral compass or ethical core, but does have an over riding interest in increasing his own power and wealth. Those around Trump are using him to implement their vision of the “American Way” which is founded in the driving belief that only white wealthy Christian men are the rightful heirs to the country. Everyone else is there to serve their purposes.

Some recent events are almost comical in their banality and pettiness. Yet, they are also a direct threat to our foundational beliefs. It is just not that he is laser focused on his various vanity projects. These escapades also indicate a full-on assault bypassing the courts and the Congress. There are multiple examples that lead me to believe that Trump and his cohorts are working hard to establish his right, not just desire, to do whatever he wants.

Only a few weeks after the Supreme Court ruled 6-3 in Trump v Barbara, Trump issued an Executive Order (E.O.) attempting to restrict the rights of those born in the U.S. Even though the court was clear that the original intent of the amendment included everyone born here, with some very specific exceptions that primarily include foreign nationals in the U.S. with diplomatic immunity. Trump’s E.O. tries to squeeze as much out of the terms of the original amendment that states it applies to everyone “subject to the jurisdiction” of the federal government by expanding the number of groups he claims are not under federal control. More troubling, Trump and his main hit man Stephen Miller espoused — again!– their belief that the amendment only applies to children born to formerly enslaved people. The Supreme Court specifically debunked that belief, and yet here we are. Back to the courts, I suppose.

In March of this year, Trump signed another of his ubiquitous E.O.s, this time impacting voting rights. He had a previous attempt in 2025 that was stopped by the courts. His latest effort would essentially take from the states and Congress the Constitution’s provision that only they can set the rules for voting. Among other things, he is trying to attack mail-in voting by directing the United States Postal Service (USPS) to not deliver mail-in ballots to anyone not on an approved list provided by the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) and mandates that the states must use the approved lists to determine which citizens are eligible to vote. The DHS list of “citizens” is notoriously inaccurate (it has been for years) and it ignores the fact that such a list could be easily manipulated by agents of the Trump regime. It is clearly an end-run around previous rulings blocking Trump from dictating election rules in his previous E.O. and to circumvent the provisions of the Constitution. So far district and appeals courts have blocked this E.O. but Trump is now appealing directly to the Supreme Court on an “emergency” basis through the Shadow Docket. (The Shadow Docket is supposed to be reserved for real national emergencies, stays of imminent executions and the like, not manufactured emergencies as Trump so often tries to declare. Under the Shadow Docket there are no oral arguments, often no written arguments or signed opinions, and it can be difficult to understand the legal arguments for their decisions. Another end-run.)

Trump is also going to the Supreme Court based on a declared “national security emergency” to overturn lower court and appeals court stays to stop the construction of Trump’s nearly one billion dollar ball room. Such an attempt is yet another insult to our laws and the role of Congress. The opinion from the bench about the the case clearly delineates that Congress has the right and responsibility to approve and oversee construction projects at the White House beyond routine maintenance. (This is the same ball room that would cost no taxpayer money. Ha Ha.) Trump asserts that the National Historic Trust, the organization bringing the suit, is “TREASONOUS” (sic) and that he is entitled to do what he wants with The People’s House because, well, because he’s the president and as such, he can do whatever he wants.

One more example of his ignoring the law is the ongoing saga of the Lincoln Reflecting Pool. Charges of vandalism and other felonies were dropped after the government charged four innocent bystanders of destroying the Reflecting Pool. The prosecutor in the case said that there was no evidence of their involvement and that, indeed, it was shoddy workmanship that led to the problems. Trump went ballistic. We have now learned that the Attorney General for the District of Colombia is convening a Special Grand Jury to investigate a case. Special Grand Juries are rarely used. However, they can investigate a potential crime and issue a report, even if they find there is insufficient evidence to prove that a crime was committed. It is a perfect tool to go after anyone Trump wants to see suffer at the hands of the government. While it is currently unknown as to the reason for it, it could well be to assuage Trump’s ire over no one being taken to trial for damaging his special vanity project. Time will tell, but it is yet another example that Trump and those that feed his every desire, will look for any loop hole or quirk in the law to make someone’s or some group’s lives miserable and costly. Trump looks at E.O.s and other declarations as is if they are imperial declarations from the throne that shall not be challenged. Thankfully for our democracy, there are still people and organizations that are willing to defend our rights. Most of the time, those that challenge Trump win their cases. Unfortunately, sometimes that does not seem to matter as we have seen over the last year and a half that he will gladly ignore Congress or any court ruling that goes against him. His track record of noncompliance spans key executive actions involving immigration, federal spending, mass layoffs, agency rollbacks and more.

Beyond his toddler grievances and belief that he should get whatever he wants, there is a bigger reason for such actions. It would be easy to focus merely on the pettiness and petulance and silliness of it all. Unfortunately, whether it is Trump or his closest advisors, there is a reason for all of it. They are laying the groundwork for their authoritarian plans. There are so many of these instances that we can become inured to their significance. They go further each time in an attempt to make it seem routine, even as they work to undermine and neutralize the other branches of government. Their vision of the Unitary Executive is really about authoritarianism. Personally, I think that they are on the path to interfering with the elections in order to solidify their grip on the reins of power. I do not predict how, but it will happen. They already tried in 2020. Whether it will be voter suppression, seizing ballot boxes, declaring elections delayed due to a national emergency, or simply declaring the election void if they do not win, I think we are only limited by our imagination. ICE is fast becoming a large private para-military force on the streets ready to do his bidding. Trump in 2028 anyone? Trump “jokes” about it more and more often. Unfortunately, he may be one of those people that has no funny bone. I have never heard him be, well, actually funny. I would speculate that all of his jokes are really trial balloons. Categorize the reaction, say it over and over until people stop paying attention, declare that no one objects, and then do it.

Two more things to watch. The Treasury Department will no longer enforce the law. Specifically, the Corporate Transparency Act which passed on a large bi-partisan basis in 2021 (thanks to then Senator Marco Rubio) designed to rein in the use of shell companies to hide drug money, money laundering, and other corrupt or illegal financial transactions. Corruption can now conduct business as usual. I am sure that Trump, Inc. was sad to hear about it. But they were probably happy to hear that World Liberty Trust — a company integral to the Trump family windfall profits from cryptocurrency — was granted bank status by the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency (OCC) this week. With approval of bank status, World Liberty can issue stablecoins, a cryptocurrency backed by secure investments such as U.S. Treasury bonds and can be traded for U.S. dollars. Let’s see — no more monitoring of shell companies, their own bank, unaccounted for donations from private investors, unaccounted for Venezuelan oil money and on and on and on. “It’s good to be the king!” as Mel Brooks memorably said in the movie The History of the World, Part I. How brazen can they get?

By nature, I am an optimist. I do not want to dwell in the depths of the implications of Trump’s actions. However, I am also not naive. Something is going to happen, I just do not know what. I hope I am wrong. I am also surprised (disappointed?) at how many people do not realize or believe that he is systematically trying to take away our rights and traditions.

The next six months will reveal a lot about our future as a country.

The Plan To Steal The Election

Posted: July 15, 2026 | Author: | Filed under: Uncategorized | Tags: , , , , , , , , , , | Leave a comment

This “Iran War Participation Trophy” appeared on the National Mall near the Martin Luther King Jr. Memorial. The ten foot statue dedicated to Donald J. Trump was created by the satirical art group “Secret Handshake.” (Picture by Christine Kao for The Washington Post)

As usual, there is a lot going on in the world and in the United States. It is hard to keep up with it all as Trump tries to keep us all off balance with a long list of crazy shenanigans. He is ill. Unfortunately, people’s lives are at stake and real people are getting killed and injured. The Iran War is back with a frenzy as both sides carry out massive attacks and the Strait of Hormuz is closed for all practical purposes. It turns out that, as expected, a poorly worded Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) does not end wars. The U.S. has two choices. Invade Iran (a terribly foolish thing to do) or sit down for serious discussions with serious people involved (not two real estate investors that are more interested in their own gain).

Last week two innocent people were killed by Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) agents. One was in Texas, one was in Maine, and they were both hard-working fathers and husbands. It turns out that ICE had the wrong migrants, they were not the men that ICE thought they were. OOPS. That is about as much care as the administration has for killing two innocent men and then lying about it. We still do not have anyone held accountable for the killing of two American citizens in Minnesota earlier this year.

For Trump and his tech bros and other members of the Epstein Class, things go on as before. They continue to enrich themselves at our expense without giving it a second thought. The next project for them to make money from by using public land for private purposes is the Freedom 250 Grand Prix of Washington DC on 22 and 23 August. It will be a motor car race on the streets of DC around the mall. The race is free for peons, but once again, there will be VIP areas for those willing to pay up. The Champions Club seats cost five thousand dollars and “sponsorships” can reach into the millions.

But wait! There’s more! And I think it will be the beginning of the end of our democratic republic.

On Thursday night 16 July, probably on every major television network, Trump will give an address to the nation. It is expected to be wide-ranging and reminiscent of his typical campaign style speeches. Trump’s greatest hits coming to you live from the White House. It would be easy to ignore or to laugh off. Very easy. We have heard it all countless times before. However, I worry that there will be a message hidden, or maybe in our face, that threatens our upcoming elections. News reports indicate that he will “declassify” information about the 2020 election that allegedly proves that the election was “rigged” or at least interfered with by outside entities. Nearly six years later it is suddenly found. Amazing. Here is the background.

As we know, the individual states, rather than the federal government, are responsible for elections. That alone makes it very difficult to rig or hijack an election. History shows that, especially in recent decades, the states take that responsibility very seriously and work hard to ensure that all eligible voters get to vote, that their ballot is secret, and that every valid ballot is counted. They keep the process transparent while ensuring the safety and security of the voters and the ballots. It works. Trump does not like it. Or at least he does not like it when he loses. (I find it ironic that the 2016 and 2024 elections were run under Democrat administrations and Trump won so they were free and fair. But the 2020 election, run under the Trump administration, was rigged so that Trump lost. How does that work?) Again, as ridiculous as all of this sounds, it is a serious threat. Some opine that Trump cannot tolerate losing and so he continues to whine about an election from six years ago. I think he is laying the ground work for something bigger.

Looking at the sequence of events, I find it disturbing that a plan is being executed step by step to interfere with elections, if indeed they take place as expected. Trump has long been pushing for passage of the Safeguard American Voter Eligibility (SAVE) Act which would keep an estimated 20 million eligible voters from voting by among other things, requiring proof of citizenship to register to vote using birth certificates or passports and such registration would have to be done in person. (There are already laws prohibiting non-citizens from voting. The instances of illegal voting are infinitesimally small.) Expect Trump to push it hard in his speech. For info, thirty-six states require some form of identification at the polling place. Usually, a REAL ID suffices. Those cards would not be sufficient under Trump’s proposal.

Earlier in his administration, Trump gutted the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency. The agency was specifically chartered to ensure that there was no foreign or domestic election interference. It is now essentially unable to do its job.

Trump recently fired, or forced the resignation, of all four of the commissioners that run the Election Assistance Commission (EAC), This is a bipartisan agency created by Congress specifically to help states run free and fair elections. It aids in training poll workers, certifying voting machines, and other functions to ensure that state and local officials maintain the safety and security of our elections. They are now effectively neutered.

At the same time, Trump appointed William “Bill” Pulte as the Acting Director of National Intelligence. Pulte has no intelligence experience whatsoever, despite the fact that the law requires it. You may recognize the name. He is the thirty-eight year old heir to Pulte Homes, the construction company founded by his grandfather — you may have seen their adds on television. He was doing such a great job, he was fired by the company’s Board of Directors. He is currently the Director of the Federal Housing Finance Agency, a job he still holds while also the acting Director of Intelligence. As head of the FHFA, he is the guy who is trying to dig up dirt on people on Trump’s enemies list and pushing for their convictions on fraud — where most experienced attorneys see no case. A good guy. But he does whatever dirty job Trump gives him. He is the one that “discovered” new evidence of election fraud that Trump will expose Thursday night.

Do you see a pattern here? The actions above are only a partial list of election developments.

Trump is especially attacking mail-in voting (although he always votes that way) and voting machines. According to the Encyclopedia of American Politics, all states allow for some form of absentee or mail-in voting. Thirteen states require voters to provide a valid excuse to vote absentee or by mail. Twenty-nine states allow any eligible voter to cast an absentee or mail-in ballot. Eight states have automatic mail-in ballot systems, also known as all-mail voting systems. Eliminating mail-in voting would create hardships for many voters and create long lines at polling stations (especially if they also eliminate early voting). The intent is to suppress the vote. Although both parties would be impacted by such measures, statistics show that Democrats tend to use these methods more than Republicans. Voting machines also vary in type and use, although every state uses them in some capacity. Trump wants only paper ballots to be used. The logistics and time delays by going to only paper ballots would be complicated. Especially so, since Trump tries to prevent ballots from being counted on any day except Election Day.

Never forget that Trump sent a mob to try and overthrow the 2020 election. He pardoned about 1500 people that defaced the capitol, threatened lawmakers and attacked law enforcement officers. He pardoned them all and is trying to set up a fund to pay them off. Last week the Department of Justice (DOJ) sent a letter to the top election official in each state threatening to criminally prosecute them if any non-citizen casts a vote, among other things. He pardons those that do his bidding and threatens those that try to uphold the law.

So, what is Trump up to on Thursday? Hard to know. The best guess is that he will reveal that a foreign government — China and/or Venezuela (!) — interfered with voting machines or some other hairbrained scheme to throw the election to President Biden. It is part of his “shock and awe” campaign to confuse and discourage voters in order to suppress the vote. However, I doubt it stops there. It is possible that in order to defend the nation from foreign intervention, he will declare some sort of national emergency, nationalize the conduct of the election (under his rules) and otherwise prevent a free and fair election.

PBS reported on an existing draft Executive Order (E.O.) that would allow Trump to dictate how the election would be run. It matches fairly closely with proposals in the Project 2025 playbook which is the roadmap for this administration’s actions over the last eighteen months. The E.O. matches with the requirement for proof of citizenship, paper ballots, in person voting and hand counting of ballots. The justification would be a national emergency because of foreign interference.

Be ready. Although such an E.O. would be immediately challenged in court, its real purpose may be to create an actual national emergency. Certainly it would confuse and confound many voters and probably lead to a lower turnout than what is currently expected. A low turnout favors Trump.

Trump may be using the same old worn out script he uses year after year. It may be laughable, but it is dangerous. Whining is one thing. Action is another. Expect some kind of interference in the mid-terms. Trump is a crook, a liar, a grifter and cares only about himself. He knows that if the Democrats take control of Congress in the next election he and his grifting family will be held accountable. He cannot allow that to happen. A cornered animal fights back. Anything is possible with this administration.

I hope that I am wrong.

All Men Are Created Equal — Aren’t They?

Posted: July 4, 2026 | Author: | Filed under: Uncategorized | Tags: , , , , , , , , , | Leave a comment

Mount Rushmore National Memorial in South Dakota depicting Presidents Washington, Jefferson, Roosevelt, and Lincoln. Trump gave a speech there on 3 July 2026 that laid out a playbook for his autocratic regime to remain in place for “one hundred years.” More on that below. Despite Trump’s desire to be added to the memorial, park officials explain that geologically, it is not possible. (Picture courtesy of the National Park Service)

This weekend we celebrated the 250th anniversary of the signing of our Declaration of Independence and we mark it as the founding of the United States of America. I hope that you were able to celebrate in your own way given that much of the eastern part of the country was suffering from temperatures in triple digits. I went to an early morning neighborhood parade of mostly young kids on their decorated bicycles. It was fun. I also enjoyed watching the Sail4th 250 parade of tall ships and the military aircraft flyover of the New York City harbor. Despite the heat it looked like participants and spectators alike thoroughly enjoyed the proceedings. It was a celebration in the fullest meaning of the word. I sensed joy, unity, pride and fun.

Sail4th 250 was a distinct contrast to the Trump arranged Freedom 250 that hijacked the national mall and celebrated Trump. Using Park Service money — money dearly needed to maintain and run our national parks — and money from the Congressionally approved non-partisan America250 celebration, Trump turned the event into an unpleasant, disagreeable, poorly attended disappointment. Congressional Democrats are investigating the entire operation, but as they put the story together, it appears that Trump entities and cronies may have received a lot of taxpayer money for a poorly executed public embarrassment.

The United States of America is founded on an idea. We should take seriously the words of the Preamble that read, “We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable rights, that among these are Life, Liberty and the Pursuit of happiness.” Our nation is not based on a common religion, or ethnicity or allegiance to one person. We know that the Founding Fathers meant that “all men” were white men that owned property. However, those words have driven our country forward, sometimes with agonizing events and grinding slow speed, but forward to an ever inclusive society. As Princeton Professor Eddie Glaude, Jr explains in his most recent book America, USA: How Race Shadows the Nation’s Anniversaries, our “storybook” history of our search for “a more perfect Union” has a major contradiction. We cannot be both a beacon of freedom to all the world and a white nationalist country run by rich white males.

Trump cannot or will not accept the fundamental ideals upon which our nation rests. In his Mount Rushmore speech he laid out a totally different vision of America. Our Founding Fathers, whatever their flaws, and there were many, were patriots. The people Trump reveres are nationalists. Patriotism and nationalism are not the same thing.

This is not a new position for Trump. In a wide ranging interview on Wolf Blitzer’s CNN show Late Edition in March 2004 Trump said, “But the phrase that ‘all men are created equal’ is a wonderful phrase, but unfortunately it doesn’t work that way. All men are not created equal. Some are born with a genius and some are born without. Now, you need that. If you don’t have that, you can forget it.” (In the same interview he also claimed “And it just seems that the economy does better under the Democrats than the Republicans. Now, it shouldn’t be that way. But if you go back, I mean it just seems that the economy does better under the Democrats.”)

Before the speech, White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt promised that Trump would describe what it means to be an American. Instead, Trump announced that he was going to “exile” Americans that did not agree with his vision of America. He used the playbook of Authoritarianism 101. Roughly the first third of the speech was the usual politician’s speech on a national occasion, although he can never leave out his grievances and personal victimhood, Then he starts to build the case. He defines who belongs in America. He reflects on the divine power of God and the blessings bestowed on our country by God above all others. He emphasizes western European heritage without mentioning the contributions to our country from citizens from Africa or Latin America. He uses the words “breed,” “character” and “culture” countless times and always in the context of those that belong in America and have the right qualities as opposed to all of those that are in our country that do not.

Then he really got down to business. Using the same fear tactic that every fascist leader from around the globe has used since the beginning of the twentieth century, he went after “the communists.” Let him tell you in his own words:

“Yet, as we approach this magnificent anniversary, we see our American identity under a renewed attack. A generation after we fought and won the Cold War against the menace of communism, there is now a resurgence of the communist menace in our land, including from newcomers to our country who embrace ideas totally opposed to our way of life and our great success. These are not mere political disagreements like differences over taxes or regulations. Communism is a mortal threat to American liberty. It is the greatest threat to our country, including World War I, World War II, Pearl Harbor, or even 9-11. We’re not going to let this happen to us. Believe me, we’re not letting it happen. Because communism is the enemy of free people everywhere, everywhere in the world. Never works. It’s the enemy of the Constitution. Above all, it’s the enemy of July 4th, 1776. It is the enemy indeed.“

Who are these godless communists you may ask? Over the last few weeks, Trump has been building the case that the Democrat Party is really the Communist Party. Accordingly, Trump must think that roughly half of America’s citizens are communists and are a threat to our nation. Or more specifically according to Trump, “The Communist Party is made up of illegal immigrants, criminals, and everybody that doesn’t want to work. Communism is a loser. It always was, and it is right now. It’s a big loser. Look at the people that are promoting it.“

The solution? “We’re not going to let them take too long or too much of our time as they play their games and send them into exile. We will send them quickly away…” His vision of America on the eve of our 250th birthday — round up those that do not go along with the MAGA philosophy of a white male Christian nationalist country.

But just to make sure, Trump is going to arrange for his supporters to win every election for the next one hundred years. He declared, “We can only lose the midterms if we allow ourselves to lose the midterms if we are foolish, stupid, and unwise. But if we terminate the filibuster as we should do and immediately vote for the Save America Act, then we will not lose an election for 100 years. We do that. We’re not going to lose an election for 100 years.” If you can’t win it, rig it.

I fear for our country. This man, a convicted felon and adjudicated sexual abuser (the Supreme Court would not hear his appeal) who already tried to steal an election is not going to let a little thing like the will of the people get in his way. He will do whatever it takes. I am not putting my hope in the judicial system either. While district and appellate courts have been firm in stopping the wildest notions of the Trump regime, the Supreme Court seems ready to continue to give him as much power as he wants. Their decisions over the last two weeks confirms that in my mind. I take no solace in the fact that they voted 6-3 (!!! and if you look closely it was really 5-4) that the Constitution is constitutional. The idea that a president, through an Executive Order no less, can undo a key component of the Fourteenth Amendment and four of the Justices essentially agree with that is not very calming. (The case was Trump v Barbara and involved birthright citizenship, one of the key foundational ideals of our country. “All persons born or naturalized in the United States, and subject to the jurisdiction thereof, are citizens of the United States and of the State wherein they reside.“)

Trump made over two billion dollars in profit in his first year in office. His cronies are also getting unbelievably rich. Elon Musk cut aid to dying people around the world through DOGE and he is now a trillionaire. Trump does not plan to go anywhere and those around him as advisers and friends don’t want him to go anywhere either. We are in for some tough times over the coming year.

At the same time our country has been through tough times before. I still have the belief that more and more people are going to catch on to what is happening to our country and they will not settle for it. Not everyone, but enough.

Happy birthday America!

“There’s A Bad Moon On The Rise”

Posted: May 22, 2026 | Author: | Filed under: Uncategorized | Tags: , , , , , , , , , | Leave a comment

Rioters clash with law enforcement officers as the insurrectionists try to force their way into the Capitol to assault elected officials and to overturn a free and fair election on January 6, 2020. They were acting with the encouragement of Donald J. Trump who now wants to pay them for their actions. (Getty)

I am beyond outraged. Beyond disgusted. I am at the point where if everyday Americans do not realize that there is a direct and sustained assault on our democracy then maybe they do not want to preserve the nation that we have spent nearly 250 years building “in order to create a more perfect union.” Apparently, the United States Constitution is about as valuable to some people as the “terms of service” are for those that want to get on a website. Check the box but do not bother to read or understand the words.

As I warned in my last post on 17 May, we are, without a doubt, experiencing the biggest assault on our values and cherished way of life. Trump and his henchman Acting Attorney General and General Trump Lackey Todd Blanche officially announced that they created a 1.776 billion dollar slush fund to pay off those that do his bidding — whatever it is, including violence like the assault on the Capitol on January 6, 2020. According to Trump, these “patriots” have “suffered” enough from their “persecution” during the Biden administration. The very same ones convicted at trial by a jury of their peers.

This is the biggest, most corrupt attempt to date to destroy our democracy and to ensure that one man stays in power unconstrained by rules, regulations or laws. Not only is it unprecedented in our history, it sets a new precedent for the future that completely overrules the Constitution. The most obvious result of this assault is that it completely castrates Congress and the one power that they used to jealously guard — the power of the purse. Appropriations and authorizations for government spending come from the Congress and only the Congress. It is the one sure way that they have to check the power of the Executive Branch. With this move, Trump completely obliterates that process. If Trump gets away with this blatant disregard of the Constitution then there is nothing to stop him and other Cabinet members from declaring that they need money from the Treasury for whatever purpose they see fit. Congress be damned. It is open season on using taxpayer money for anything that the president wants.

I am not sure which is worse. Is it Trump’s constant lying about the “stolen” 2020 election; the claim that those who attacked law enforcement officers were “peaceful protesters” who were framed by the Biden administration and became “political prisoners;” or the lie that the attack was orchestrated by “leftist ANTIFA” organizers in coordination with the FBI; or that the “Russia, Russia, Russia hoax” was designed to injure Trump? All are bogus claims that have been debunked over, and over, and over, and over again. Besides the fact that these events occurred during the Trump administration under people that he appointed and that many of the investigations included Republicans, as for example the report of the Chairman of the Senate Intelligence Committee Senator Marco Rubio, now Trump’s Secretary of State.

In other words, the going in premise of Trump’s “Anti-Weaponization Fund” is built entirely on lies. That may be the biggest insult of all. On top of that, the five commissioners will be appointed by his General Lackey Todd Blanche but can be fired for any reason or no reason by Trump. The payments and who receives them are kept from the public. Anyone can apply. The process for applying is unclear as of this writing.

I think the real reason that Trump keeps harping on these issues is not about the past — although there is an element of retribution against those who resisted him — it is actually about the future. In essence, he is declaring that going forward you can do anything, anything at all, if it is done in the name of Trump and advancing his agenda. Exhibit A will be the J-6 insurrectionists. They were pardoned, and now they are looking to get paid. It is totally transparent and transactional. One mission and one mission only, do Trump’s bidding and be rewarded. To go full circle, the implication is also that if you do act on Trump’s behalf and he loses power, you will be left hanging in the wind. Do not take the chance on somebody that will not treat you as well as Trump.

I am not an attorney. However, even the most casual observer can spot things in this agreement that are patently evil, immoral, and unlawful. First, it is being called a “settlement.” There was nothing to settle as Trump’s law suit never went to court. The judge involved expressed serious doubts that there was even a case and empowered a panel of esteemed lawyers to provide an opinion back to her as to their view. Nearly every knowledgeable law expert declared that the federal government (the president) cannot sue the federal government (the IRS) when both are in the Executive Branch. There may be an “agreement” between the parties but there is no settlement.

Hidden in the paperwork is an interesting twist. The day after the original agreement was announced, an addendum was released that says in part (with the all CAPS in the original), “the United States RELEASES, WAIVES, ACQUITS and FOREVER DISCHARGES each of the Plaintiffs from, and is hereby FOREVER BARRED and PRECLUDED from prosecuting or pursuing” just about everything for Trump, his extended family and every entity organization or subsidiary or really, anything he has ever touched. It is widely believed that Trump is already on the hook for 100 million dollars from past income tax filings. This agreement makes it clear that the IRS will not pursue that money and that “FOREVER” he is immune to any other investigations. In plain language, he, his family and a host of others associated with him will never have to pay a dime in income taxes. Even if he owes taxes, no one can prove it because he cannot be investigated. A ticket to fraud.

These provisions may violate the law. After the investigations into the Nixon White House, several provisions were enacted governing the IRS. The U.S. Code states explicitly that it is unlawful for the President, the Vice President, or any Executive Office employee to directly or indirectly request the IRS to conduct or terminate an audit of any specific taxpayer. Additionally, IRS regulations require an automatic audit of a sitting president’s tax returns. How these requirements will play out under the new agreement is beyond me. However, Trump regularly disregards any law, rule or regulation that he finds inconvenient.

There are already multiple lawsuits filed to stop this brazen looting of taxpayer dollars. Unfortunately, given the lack of anticipation that such a thing was possible, some legal experts speculate that it may be difficult to bring cases to court because of a lack of standing to do so. It may be wrong, it may be evil, but under current law it may not be illegal.

Yesterday several members of the House and Senate, Republican and Democrat, had their hair on fire over this agreement. They were outraged. Additionally, both houses of Congress were moving to invoke the War Powers Act to rein in Trump in Iran. Maybe, finally, some pushback against Trump’s excesses? We may never know because as things started to unwind yesterday, the Speaker of the House and the Majority Leader in the Senate abruptly adjourned their respective bodies and sent everyone home not to return until 2 June. Who knows what shenanigans will occur in the interim?

I am ever more convinced that we are in big trouble as a democratic republic. Many of our fellow citizens want to return to the “before times.” Let’s get back to where our country was before Trump, they argue. I increasingly disagree. We did that once with the Biden administration. Look what it got us. Trump 2.0 — an even worse situation. If we have learned nothing over the last few years, our Founding Fathers belief that given a chance, people of good will and the interests of the people in mind would do the right thing, was fundamentally wrong. They built in checks and balances but could not anticipate that Congress would abrogate their responsibilities and that an evil man would be aided and abetted by other evil men and women to take advantage of every conceivable loophole to enhance their own wealth and power. When given the chance — I still believe we will get the chance — we have to strengthen our laws to protect against a future Trump. We did not do it before, thinking that 2016 was a one off. We now know better.

With apologies to Creedence Clear Water Revival

I see the bad moon a-risin’
I see trouble on the way
I see earthquakes and lightnin’
I see bad times today

Don’t go around tonight
Well it’s bound to take your life
There’s a bad moon on the rise

WILL JIM CROW RIDE AGAIN?

Posted: May 11, 2026 | Author: | Filed under: Uncategorized | Tags: , , , , , , , , , , , , | Leave a comment

A receipt for $2.50 paid by a black man in Alabama for the poll tax during the Jim Crow era. When the average worker was making only about three hundred dollars a year, this was a significant amount. Additionally, black voters were often required to take a literacy test with questions such as reciting specific phrases in the Constitution or answering “how many windows are in the White House?” Other “tests” involved guessing specifically how many jelly beans were in a jar.

Last month the Supreme Court of the United States (SCOTUS) handed down a 6-3 decision in the case of Louisiana v Callais. The decision eviscerates Section 2 of the 1965 Voting Rights Act created by Congress to protect minority voters from poll taxes, literacy tests or any other effort to undermine their ability to vote. The law was aimed at the parts of the country where racism was rampant and where there were concerted efforts to suppress or eliminate the vote of non-white citizens. The Voting Rights Act was renewed numerous times over the years with solid bi-partisan support. The last vote in Congress in 2006 renewed it for twenty five years with both the Senate (98-0) and the House (390-33) overwhelming voting for it. What happened since then to cause its effective demise? President Obama was twice elected president. The court severely weakened the Act in 2013 by eliminating a key provision of the law in the case of Shelby County v Holder which required states in certain areas to get permission from the Department of Justice before making changes to voting requirements. The most recent case finished off the effectiveness of the law by deciding that race could not be taken into account when drawing districts and that in fact, gerrymandering — altering the districts so that the political parties are choosing elected officials rather than the people choosing their representatives — was perfectly permissible. The provision protecting against gerrymandering designed to divide minority (non-white) voters in order to limit their ability to elect minority officials was deemed unconstitutional.

[Note: The word gerrymander comes from 1812 Massachusetts where Governor Elbridge Gerry approved a voting map with a salamander shaped district. The name stuck. It means purposely drawing voting district lines in anyway possible, even if the result on paper looks ridiculous, to give an incumbent or a particular group of people a significantly unfair advantage in determining the results of an election.]

An 1812 political cartoon demonstrating the appearance of the gerrymandered election district of South Essex in Massachusetts. Editors satirized the shape of the new district as that of a monster.

Republicans were jubilant over the new interpretation of the law. Take a look at the video of state legislators in Tennessee as they eliminated the only remaining minority-majority district in the state by dividing it into parts and reassigning them to strong Republican districts. They were giddy. To me, their reaction and subsequent actions demonstrates exactly why the Voting Rights Act is still needed. SCOTUS cherry-picked the Obama election results — and only those results — to declare that it proved that there were no longer impediments to minority voting. According to Justice Alito writing for the majority, racism in U.S. elections is gone.

Despite the claim that the provisions are no longer needed, the actions of several southern state legislatures show exactly why it is needed. Louisiana’s governor immediately canceled an election (the mid-term primaries) that was already underway. He declared a state of emergency and then canceled the election so that the map could be redrawn in an attempt to eliminate two districts that were represented by minorities. Absentee ballots and mail-in ballots had already been distributed and roughly 40,000 votes were already returned. Now the process is going to start again with new districts and new candidates in some areas. Surely no one will be confused by that. After the SCOTUS ruling, Tennessee acted immediately to redraw their map. Florida, North Carolina and Georgia are also gerrymandering the map to eliminate minority districts. Alabama, South Carolina and Missouri have plans to do the same. Texas gerrymandered their districts last summer at the direction of Trump.

Two other states decided to do the same after the Texas effort. California redrew their map last fall and this spring, Virginia did the same. Both states did so after the voters approved the measures. After the votes were counted and the issue settled, the Virginia Supreme Court rendered the vote void on a technicality. It is unclear as I write whether the voice of the citizens of the Commonwealth of Virginia will have their voices heard or have to live by the result of the 4-3 decision.

States with “blue” governors held elections to see if their citizens wanted to fight back against the attempts to rig the elections. “Red” states changed theirs by fiat from their MAGA dominated legislatures — no ordinary voters allowed. Normally voting maps — even gerrymandered ones — are drawn up after the census every ten years. To change them now is highly unusual if not downright outrageous.

Chief Justice John Roberts has been working to overturn the Voting Rights Act since he was a young lawyer in the Department of Justice during the Reagan Administration in the early 1980s. The intent of the 1965 law was to put in the mechanisms necessary to actually enforce the 15th Amendment to the Constitution which opened up voting beyond the white land owning men that controlled elections until the Civil War. Ratified in 1870, it prohibited the federal government or any state from denying or abridging a citizen’s right to vote “on account of race, color, or previous condition of servitude.”  The now Chief Justice has been arguing for decades that some states are treated to far greater scrutiny than others under the law which he considered unfair under the concept of equal sovereignty. He also holds a strict interpretation of the Constitution and believes that the Voting Rights Act is not impartial. He has argued that “the way to stop discrimination on the basis of race is to stop discriminating on the basis of race.” Unfortunately, that is not the reality of life for minorities in this country.

Now states can defend against virtually any claim of racially discriminatory map-drawing by claiming they instead discriminated based on political parties — even though race and partisanship are often intermingled.  

I am against gerrymandering and voted against gerrymandered districts in my home state. There should be bi-partisan or non-partisan commissions to draw equitable voting districts. But unfortunately there are also no unicorns. Therefore “blue” states have an obligation to counter “red” states with gerrymandered districts to try and recoup the increased number of Republican districts.

This effort is only a part of a larger effort to restrict voter protections and the push to limit turnout in the 2026 and 2028 elections. The effort is already underway to protect MAGA Republicans in Congress and in state legislatures following the deeply unpopular policies and actions of the Trump regime. The SCOTUS decision provides a roadmap for states to return to pre-1965 race discrimination in redistricting, despite Congress’s repeated and overwhelming reauthorization of the Voting Rights Act for decades.

This is the same plan that gave us the Safeguard American Voters Eligibility (SAVE) Act which I have written about in this space before. Among other provisions, it comes dangerously close to mandating that U.S. citizens must show their papers in order to prove that they are citizens. To register to vote, one must produce a valid passport or birth certificate. If passed, as it already has in the House but is facing a fierce uphill battle in the Senate, millions of people will be disenfranchised. Allegedly, it is supposed to prevent voter fraud — a phantom menace that does not exist in any meaningful way. In practice, it is voter suppression. Yesterday Trump promised to deploy an “Election Integrity Army in every single State.” There have already been discussions about placing ICE and Border Patrol forces near polling places. These are the first steps in a larger plan to interfere with the upcoming elections.

Some of these efforts are reminiscent of post-Reconstruction days from the late 1890s to 1965 where Jim Crow efforts terrorized mainly black citizens. In particular the effort was aimed at preventing Black citizens from voting through systemic, state-level legal efforts in spite of the 15th Amendment. Literacy tests, poll taxes, grandfather clauses, and violence drastically reduced Black voter registration. For example, in Louisiana Black voter registration plummeted from 44% in 1896 to 4% by 1904. By 1940, only 3% of eligible African Americans in the South were registered to vote. There are legitimate fears in our minority communities that our country is headed back to the bad old days. Since the last campaign many voices have been raising the alarm about the blueprint for significant changes outlined and explained in detail in the Trump Administration’s Project 2025 designed to limit or intimidate voters. Additionally, earlier this spring, Trump signed an Executive Order that if allowed, (it is currently being litigated in court) would significantly alter elections. It is an attempt to federalize key elements of the process with an eye towards the federal government determining who is qualified to vote. The Constitution puts the mechanics of voting in the hands of the states.

In the short term there will be real battles over election results and who was or was not allowed to vote. Longer term Congress can pass laws that provide national protections against discrimination of any kind in determining voting districts. It is possible to craft those laws in ways that the current objections from certain SCOTUS justices — who will control the court for years to come — can be overcome. Additionally, states can pass laws that provide their own voting protections as a back up to ensure free and fair elections.

To date Trump has made no secret of his intent to interfere in multiple ways with the upcoming election. We should believe him. Do not ever forget that he already tried to overturn a free and fair election, including inciting violence. There is every reason to believe that he will do it again.

A War Without Leaders, Only Zealots

Posted: April 5, 2026 | Author: | Filed under: Uncategorized | Tags: , , , , , , , , , , , , | Leave a comment

One of the pictures released by the government of Iran showing the remains of U.S. aircraft destroyed on the ground during rescue operations to recover a second crewmember from a USAF F-15E shot down by Iranian forces on Friday. A massive operation successfully recovered the missing crew member but the recovery force had to destroy two specialized C-130 aircraft and at least two Black Hawk helicopters on the ground. Thankfully, all participants reportedly were recovered without casualties.

This morning we received the following Easter greeting from the President of the United States who believes, as do others in our country, that he was chosen by God to lead our country and who some Evangelical pastors compare to Jesus Christ. (I apologize for the language, but I see no reason to clean up Trump’s preferred presidential language.)

“Tuesday will be Power Plant Day, and Bridge Day, all wrapped up in one, in Iran. There will be nothing like it!!! Open the Fuckin’ Strait, you crazy bastards, or you’ll be living in Hell – JUST WATCH! Praise be to Allah. President DONALD J TRUMP.”

This is not a joke or a hoax. These are the deranged postings of a sick man on his way to play golf at one of his courses in Northern Virginia. You know, the traditional way many Christians celebrate the holiest day of the liturgical year. It came on the heels of the previous day’s post.

“Remember when I gave Iran ten days to MAKE A DEAL or OPEN UP THE HORMUZ STRAIT. Time is running out — 48 hours before all Hell will reign (sic) down on them. Glory be to GOD! President DONALD J TRUMP”

If you ever thought that Iran might cave, those social media posts nearly guarantee that Iran will never give in and will work as hard as possible to make life hell for us, Israel and the Gulf states. Trump thinks he can bully anyone. To me, he sounds desperate. He is in over his head and does not know how to get out. Please note that the Iranians have yet to deploy one of their most deadly weapons — terrorist sleeper cells.

Oh, by the way, what he is threatening to do is, by the standards of international law, a war crime. But then he has been threatening Iran with promises to commit war crimes for quite some time now. His Secretary of Defense has also been promising that our troops will commit war crimes when he pledged at one of his “tough guy” press speeches on 15 March that there will be “no quarter, no mercy for our enemies.” Since our Civil War, our military has been taught that “no quarter” which means there will be no prisoners, everyone is to be massacred, is a war crime. It is also enshrined in the Hague and Geneva conventions. The U.S. Pentagon’s own war manual clearly states that it is a war crime. But then this is the same guy that vowed on 2 March that there would be “no stupid rules of engagement” and “no politically correct wars.” I do not know who is copying who with their blasphemous invocations of God and Jesus Christ, but at a recent prayer service in the Pentagon, Hegseth invoked both in his lust for killing. He is on record as saying that our troops need to continue dispensing death and violence in God’s name. It is a religious duty, according to his sick reasoning, in order to “save” western civilization, a belief he shares with many in Trump’s orbit. (Project 2025 anyone?) He actually pronounced a prayer that said in part, “let every round find its mark against the enemies of righteousness and our nation” and produce “overwhelming violence of action against those who deserve no mercy.” In their own words, both Trump and Hegseth think that they are on some kind of Crusade against Islam. Shoot, Hegseth even has tattoos all over his body referencing the Crusades. To name a few, his arm has a tattoo reading “Deus Vult” which is Latin for “God will it” and is linked to the First Crusade as a battle cry. On his chest he has a large Jerusalem Cross, also a link to the Crusades and a popular symbol for today’s white Christian nationalists. Another tattoo on his arm is a cross with a sword referencing the New Testament verse Mathew 10:34 which reads “Do not think that I have come to bring peace to the earth; I have not come to bring peace, but a sword!” I have no problem with anyone’s private beliefs. I have a huge problem when our Secretary of Defense is trying to turn our military into an arm of his and Trump’s efforts to create a white Christian nationalist country of which they are in charge. An exaggeration? I think not when you look at the record. Hegseth has fired over twenty senior Admirals and Generals in order to put in place officers more “loyal” to Trump and Hegseth. Not to the Constitution. To them. Most recently it was the Chief of Staff of the Army. In the middle of a war. Rumor has it that he was fired because he argued against putting U.S. troops into Iran. Hegseth has tampered with the promotion process destroying an apolitical system based on merit and instead is promoting people ideologically and politically aligned with his beliefs. Most recently he pulled four officers off of the Army’s promotion list to Brigadier General (a one star rank) — something previously unheard of by a Secretary of Defense. Two of the officers were black and two were women.

Just as an aside, if one ever wanted to make sure that no one in the Middle East will give you the time of day, start talking about Crusades against Islam. It is the one thing that will unite Arabs and Persians.

I was out of the country for most of March which gave me a chance to reflect on events in our country and to look at things through the eyes of our (former) allies and friends. It scares me deeply. I have been of the opinion that we could recover from the rampaging MAGA crowd that are out to destroy everything that traditionally makes us Americans. Now I am not so sure. When I think about the fact that this guy is the person that the plurality of Americans wanted as their president despite all that he has done, I know that there are no limits to his depravity and willingness to do anything to stay in power. Trump is a convicted felon and an adjudicated sexual predator that is on tape saying that he can abuse women because “when you’re a star, they let you do it. You can do anything…” This is the same guy that worked for months to overturn a free and fair election and when he failed, he unleashed a mob that attacked our seat of government and that was hell bent on killing the Vice President and the Speaker of the House. Why would anyone think that he would stop at anything, repeat, anything to get what he wants? Obviously I am not a physician, but anyone with half a brain can watch him speak and realize that he is ill — both physically and mentally. How desperate will he be to cement his legacy as the first autocrat to rule America and change our way of life? He is already busy slapping his name on anything around the District of Columbia that he can find and is planning to build monuments to himself all around the city. I am sure he knows more about the details of his proposed ballroom than he knows about the details of the war that he started. Meanwhile, his Cabinet, advisers and Republican (?) members of Congress let him do whatever pops into his sick mind.

Trump is only interested in his personal aggrandizement and wealth. Not in actually governing. Here are two examples of what he is doing with your tax dollars. The Department of State recently cut multiple programs to raise 1.2 billion dollars for Trump’s Board of Peace. All current members ante up one billion dollars each to join. Allegedly, the Board is formed to oversee the restoration of the Gaza Strip but let’s cut to the chase. The Chairman is Trump. For Life. Yes. The Chairman can override any vote of the rest of the Board. The Chairman controls the funds, exclusively. The Chairman decides who can or cannot be on the Board. Can you say slush fund?

Or how about this gambit? Trump is suing his Department of Justice for ten billion dollars. Ten billion of your tax dollars. He claims irreparable harm from the release of his tax returns by a contractor and from the lawful investigation into his theft of classified documents stored at Mar-a-Lago. Gee. Let’s think about who controls the Department. As Trump said, “But isn’t that a strange position to be in? I’ve gotta make a deal. I negotiate with myself.” He might as well. Our paper money is now going to be signed by him rather than the Treasurer of the United States. Another “historic” moment (it’s never happened in our history) and a sure sign of an entrenched autocrat.

Everything that is happening in the war with Iran was predictable. Indeed, even I predicted it in this space on 25 February before the war began. Trump and Hegseth either ignored the warnings from their experts or were bound and determined to attack regardless. Now the world is in a mess and no one trusts us at all. Not our friends, not our Allies, not our enemies. No one is likely to trust us for a generation, if then. One “Trump” can be explained away. Two “Trumps” and the rest of the world has to understand that another “Trump” could come along at any time. Our country asked for this and from the rest of the world’s view point, there is nothing to stop it from happening again. I will also point out, that we still have not heard Trump or anyone in his cabinet articulate the strategic objectives for our assault on Iran. Mostly they talk in tactical terms (all Hegseth knows how to do) and even then, they change everything based on which way the wind is blowing. There is a huge leadership void at the top of the government. Very dangerous.

Life is hard but it is harder when you’re stupid. Unfortunately, their stupidity is leading to the needless deaths of thousands of civilians. And now they are advocating for war crimes against civilians by attacking infrastructure that has no real military value. Our military men and women deserve better.

The Autocrat’s Excuse

Posted: March 5, 2026 | Author: | Filed under: Uncategorized | Tags: , , , , , , , , , , , | 1 Comment

“Some of you may die, but it’s a sacrifice I am willing to make!” Lord Farquaad in the animated movie Shrek (2001).

“The lives of courageous American heroes may be lost, and we may have casualties. That often happens in war.” Trump on 28 February announcing the attack on Iran. He later that day held a million dollar a plate dinner at Mar-a-Lago.

As I write, we are in day six of Operation Epstein Files Epic Fury, the U.S. and Israeli attack on Iran. At this point, we still do not know why the war had to start right now and we still do not know the desired end state. As I explained in my post prior to the attack, without a stated end state, no one knows when we have “won”. So far, the Trump administration has posited multiple and often conflicting reasons for the attack and cannot seem to get their story straight. Key leaders such as the Secretary of Defense still talk in tactical terms rather than strategic. They cannot articulate what winning looks like and what the overall goal is for governing in Iran.

Before I go further let me say that Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, the Supreme Leader of Iran, and those that supported his regime while suppressing the aspirations of everyday Iranians was an evil man. I do not defend him or his regime in anyway. They have been bad actors for decades. I also commend our women and men in uniform whose professionalism and expertise has again demonstrated that the U.S. military is the best of the best. Our service members have preformed admirably and courageously.

Neither of those facts, however, justify this attack on Iran.

Why not Russia, China and/or North Korea? Let’s look at the rationale behind the war — and I will return to that momentarily but the Trump administration is calling it a “war.” Comparing the reasons given for attacking Iran and comparing them to our relations with the Bush era defined “Axis of Evil” does not explain why Iran or why now. Stalled negotiations. Check. Might be pursuing a nuclear weapon. Check. Promotes terrorism. Check. Has ballistic missiles that threaten the U.S. and our allies. Check. Everything that Trump and his cabinet say are our reasons for launching the war is the same, or poses an even greater threat from Russia, China, and North Korea. No one is arguing that we attack them. Indeed, Russia’s assault on Ukraine is ongoing after four years and this administration barely acknowledges the atrocities committed by Russians. Russia invaded a democratic Ukraine and all that Trump does is berate the Ukrainian leadership and pester them into giving in to Russian demands. Nothing is asked of Russia.

Maybe we struck Iran because we could and Trump likes to act the part of the tough guy Commander-in-Chief. Or maybe it is because Trump is beholden to Benjamin Netanyahu of Israel and to Mohammed bin Salman al Saud of Saudi Arabia. Netanyahu has been warning for thirty years that Iran was on the brink of obtaining a nuclear weapon “any day”. Maybe Trump believed him, because he certainly did not believe his own intelligence agencies that were telling Trump that there was no imminent threat of Iran developing a nuclear weapon and that they had no means of weaponizing one. It is known that Mohammed (aka MBS) was calling Trump repeatedly over the last month telling him that Iran needed to be taken care of. Let’s speculate a bit. Netanyahu knows how to play Trump like a fiddle and Trump dances. But that may not be enough. It may be just a coincidence but when Trump left office after his first term, Jared Kushner his son-in-law got a two billion dollar investment from the Saudis. The United Arab Emirates (UAE) in the past year bought a 500 million dollar stake in the Trump family crypto venture called World Liberty Financial. Qatar gave Trump — personally, not as president — a luxury Boeing 747 with an estimated worth of 400 million dollars. Oman is working with the Trump family to develop properties in their country. Saudi Arabia is also working with the Trump family on developing real estate such as Trump Tower Jedda and Trump Plaza Riyadh and a 63 billion dollar project in Diriyah. All of these Arab countries have competing interests opposed to Persian Iran. Could that be why we took out Iran? Just asking.

I am not even sure that Trump knows why he ordered the operation. In a press gaggle at the White House he stated that he had a feeling that Iran would attack first so he got the jump on them. He decided instinctively that he should go to war rather than listen to advisers (he doesn’t) or believe the intelligence presented to him (he ignores it). In a way this fits with Secretary of State Marco Rubio’s explanation of why now. It was convoluted as many of his statements are in trying to explain yet another poor decision. He claimed that the the Israelis were going to attack Iran anyway, and since the Iranians were going to respond across the region, then the U.S. had to strike first to stop Iran’s response to an Israeli attack. In other words, Israel can decide when the U.S. goes to war. Speaker of the House “Lil Mikey” Johnson gave the same explanation as did Rubio. Rubio later walked it back but it makes about as much sense as any other explanation the administration has offered.

One would hope that they have some strategic objective in mind as the war is beginning to spread out of the Middle East. A U.S. submarine sank an Iranian warship off the coast of Sri Lanka. Iran sent drones against a British base on Cyprus. The economic consequences are already being felt around the world. Where are we headed?

I am out of the prediction business, but here is what would not surprise me. One day, when it is clear that it is not going to be easy to clean up the mess he made in the Middle East, Trump will wake up and decide it’s over. Stop the fighting, go home and figure out the next country he wants to attack. (Cuba anyone? Earlier this week he raised the prospect of “a friendly take over” of Cuba.) Of course that will leave a huge vacuum in a volatile area of the world. It could leave behind the same conditions that led to the growth of ISIS and al-Qaeda in other areas of the region. It will also not rid us of Iranian meddling. They have a long history, a long memory and a willingness to retaliate on their own time and at a place of their choosing. Terrorism will not go away with a leaderless, devastated Iran. The threat may even increase if we just pack up and leave. So far, it doesn’t appear that he thinks much past day one of anything. Our assault on Venezuela was supposedly to eliminate the Maduro regime. The Maduro regime is still in power, still terrorizing their population and still making themselves rich. Nothing changed except that now Trump has access to Venezuelan oil. I surmise that he cares as much about the Iranian people as he does the Venezuelans or the populations of the other six countries he’s bombed in his second term.

Yesterday in the Senate, and soon in the House, Congress will again abdicate its power and responsibility under the Constitution and give in to the president by failing to pass a resolution under the War Powers Act. The two biggest responsibilities of the Congress are the power to declare war and to control the funding of the government. This Congress has shirked both obligations thus allowing a president that already acts like he can do whatever he wants, to, in fact, do whatever he wants, even starting a needless war. Many people point to the wars in Afghanistan and Iraq as precedents to Trump’s actions. That overlooks the fact that President George W. Bush built a case for war in both areas, went to Congress, explained the need, and acted in concert with the will of the American people at the time. Congress passed Authorization for Use of Military Force (AUMF) acts for Afghanistan and Iraq. One can question whether that was wise and question whether it gave the president too much latitude. The point is, however, that he did consult with and get approval from, the Congress. Trump just ignores them. There is not any “wiggle room” either that this is just a “combat operation” or a “police action” or some other euphemism for “war.” Trump, his cabinet and others have specifically used the word war. I think they like the sound of it. However, contrary to his assertions, there was no imminent threat. He had time to build the case with the American people and to work with our representatives in Congress to justify his actions. He does not think that he has to do that or anything else that he perceives as limiting his power.

When things are going poorly, the aspiring autocrat looks outside of their national borders to create a new enemy and to turn the people’s attention away from what is happening at home.

Long live the king!

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