The “Enemies Of The People” Versus The Enemies Of Democracy.

Since he began his campaign for the White House, Trump has lied to the media. Then, when they have fact-checked and reported on his lies, he has attacked them. Among other things, he has called them horrible, disgusting people. He has labeled the media “fake news” and, most recently, “enemies of the people.”

These so-called enemies are the people who risk their lives in war zones so that we might know the truth. They are the people who dig through stacks of financial documents in order to ferret out the cheaters and criminals. They are the people who sit through hours of mind-numbing meetings to report the actions of local governments to their citizens. They are the people who endure constant abuse to report on the actions of this corrupt and abusive administration.

The only media that seem exempt from Trump’s wrath are Fox News (Shepard Smith and Chris Wallace excepted), Breitbart, the Daily Caller, InfoWars and both Sputnik News and Russian TV. All of which report Trump’s legion of lies without question.

For the most part, the so-called patriots who identify themselves as Republicans have gone along with Trump’s attacks in order to accomplish their Koch brothers funded goals of reshaping the judiciary, further cutting taxes for the wealthy and corporations, eliminating environmental and financial regulations, rewriting the Constitution, privatizing schools, and privatizing or eliminating Social Security, Medicare, Medicaid and the VA. If institutions such as news organizations stand in the way, so be it. Apparently, in the minds of Republicans, the sacrifice will be worth it.

In a recent poll, fully 43 percent of Republicans would give Trump the power to shut down media that he dislikes. Never mind that such action would be unconstitutional. Never mind that it would eliminate one of the very few institutions in a position to hold a corrupt administration accountable.

To far too many Republicans, it seems the ends justify the means. Even if those ends are achieved by destroying our government and, indeed, our democracy.

Thankfully, the vast majority of our news organizations and reporters are exercising their First Amendment rights. In defiance of Trump and his GOP enablers, more than three hundred newspapers across the nation have joined forces on this day to publish editorials in support of a free press and against anyone who would seek to diminish their responsibility to report the truth no matter how ugly.

And, given the actions of this administration, in the history of our nation, it has never been uglier.

So, today, in honor of real journalism, take some time to read the newspaper editorials and to explore reports from news media you don’t often read, watch or hear. Open your minds to the truth whatever it may be. It certainly isn’t coming from the White House.

Four Potential Outcomes Of The Mueller Investigation.

We don’t yet know the extent of what the Special Counsel and his team have found. We know that Russia, at the direction of Vladimir Putin, interfered with our election by hacking into voter databases. And we know that Russia hacked into Democratic websites and databases, and stole emails.

We know that Don Jr. and other members of the campaign met with Russians in hopes of obtaining dirt on Hillary Clinton. We know that Don Jr. and his father lied about the meeting. We know that Russia provided the stolen emails to Wikileaks, apparently at Trump’s request. And we have seen numerous stories by investigative reporters that have raised questions about a potential conspiracy involving Russia, the Republican National Committee (RNC), several congressional representatives, the National Rifle Associations (NRA), members of the Trump campaign, and members of the current administration.

We know that there were dozens of contacts between Team Trump and Team Putin. We know that members of the Trump campaign lied about those contacts under oath. And, most damning, we know that the Mueller investigation has obtained at least 5 guilty pleas and 17 indictments.

Yet, to date, we have seen little evidence that directly ties Trump to a conspiracy. The ultimate results of the investigation are still a mystery. And it’s worth considering what will happen when Mueller releases his findings. After all, those findings will likely impact the very future of our nation for generations to come.

In my opinion, here are the most likely outcomes:

1 – Mueller finds no conspiracy directly involving Trump. A few more of his campaign people (and maybe even his family) are indicted, Republicans maintain control of Congress and the administration continues unchecked.

2 – Mueller finds no evidence of Trump’s direct involvement in a conspiracy. More members of his campaign are indicted and convicted, Democrats take control of Congress after the midterms and serve as a check on Trump’s power.

3 – Mueller reveals evidence of a wide-ranging conspiracy involving Trump and numerous members of his campaign. Mueller indicts the Trump family, members of the campaign, members of the RNC and GOP members of Congress. He finds evidence that the Trump family is guilty of money-laundering and turns that information over to the NY Attorney General who, in turn, files charges. News of Trump’s treachery and the complicity of the GOP leads to a turning point which causes the majority of Americans to rethink political loyalties, to bolster election systems, to rebuild respect for government institutions, to renew respect for facts and science, and to review how we cooperate with the world in the interest of peace and the maintenance of our shared ecosystem.

4 – Revelations of Trump’s involvement in a political conspiracy to steal the election lead to numerous charges and convictions. Yet Trump’s supporters believe the evidence is fraudulent. They refuse to accept the findings and the process. That leads to even more division, more anger and a virtual (if not a literal) American civil war.

For the future of our nation; for the future of democracy, let’s all hope it’s not the latter.