Category Archives: Constitution

Dear Media: Stop Saying That Everything Trump Does Is Unprecedented.

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To the contrary, we’ve seen it all before – in countries like Russia, China, North Korea, Hungary, Turkey, Fascist Italy, and Nazi Germany to name a few. That’s because Trump is quite literally following the dictator’s playbook. That playbook goes something like this:

  1. You get elected to office any way possible. In 2016, Trump was helped by lies, an extensive propaganda network and foreign interference. In 2024, he was also aided by the opponents’ missteps.
  2. You expand your executive power by threatening members of Congress into compliance, by firing those who question orders, and by threatening to withhold congressionally approved funding to federal institutions in defiance of the Constitution.
  3. You replace nonpartisan government employees with loyalists and threaten others. In just 8 months, Trump pushed nearly 200,000 workers out of government agencies. And his entire cabinet consists of loyalists who constantly praise him.
  4. You challenge institutions and ignore long-standing traditions and norms. Trump has politicized every aspect of government and society. He punished any entity that supported DEI (Diversity, Equity and Inclusion). He withheld funding for USAID, WHO, and NIH, as well as research grants from academic institutions he considers liberal and those who refused to crackdown on Palestinian supporters exercising their right of free speech.
  5. You create fear and declare emergencies in defiance of the constitutional right to free assembly. In the wake of massive arrests in LA by masked and armed ICE agents, Trump illegally federalized the National Guard and deployed Marines onto the streets of the city.
  6. You openly defy the Constitution and the courts. Trump has signed Executive Orders that defy Article 1 of the Constitution, as well as the Emoluments Clause and the First, Fourth, Fifth, Sixth, Eighth, Tenth, and Fourteenth Amendments. He has also entertained the idea of violating the Nineteenth and Twentieth Amendments. And he has openly defied court orders, calling the courts “out of control.”
  7. You take control of law enforcement and create your own loyal militia. Trump’s loyal Attorney General and FBI director have politicized their agencies and opened investigations into Trump’s rivals as retribution. And the Secretary of Homeland Security and acting director of ICE have created the nation’s largest police force willing to arrest and confine both documented and undocumented immigrants, even U.S. citizens.
  8. You attack the media, the freedom of press and freedom of speech. Since he first announced his intent to run for president, Trump has labeled independent news organizations as “fake news.” He has vilified them as “enemies of the people” and filed enormous frivolous lawsuits against them. Additionally, he and his FCC chair have threatened networks and media owners resulting in the cancelation of The Late Show with Stephen Colbert and the suspension of Jimmy Kimmel.
  9. You take control of the courts. Through the actions of Mitch McConnell and his appointments, Trump gained firm control of SCOTUS, which has given him immunity. His openly biased appointees now control at least two appellate courts and a large number of federal courts. And he has more than three years to further debase them.
  10. You vilify and threaten your opponents. Trump has long demeaned his rivals with childish nicknames. He blamed the murder of Charlie Kirk on “the left,” threatening to name liberal groups, including the Democratic Party, as terrorist organizations. And he demands that his DOJ investigate and convict all those who prosecuted him for his crimes and impeachments.
  11. You use your control of government to enrich yourself. In his previous term, Trump used his position to make millions from the very agency protecting him by constantly vacationing at his own resorts and charging the Secret Service inflated prices for its agents’ rooms. He’s continued that this term but expanded his greed by accepting a $400 million airplane from Qatar and a $2 billion UAE investment in his family’s cryptocurrency in exchange for access to our most advanced computer chips.
  12. You take over the education system by telling schools what they may and may not teach in order to control future generations. Trump has forced schools to rewrite history, to ban books with LGBTQ references, and to eliminate DEI programs in order to obtain federal funding. And his administration is now demanding that all schools include Charlie Kirk’s conservative Turning Point USA chapters.
  13. You take over the financial system. Not satisfied with control over Congress, SCOTUS and most government agencies. Trump is actively trying to take control of the independent Federal Reserve by attempting to fire one of its governors. If he succeeds, there will be nothing to prevent his manipulation of federal investments and currency.
  14. You rig or suspend elections. Now that Trump has control of the government, he is attempting to retain his power by rigging the midterm congressional elections through extreme redistricting of multiple red states. At the same time, he is trying to block or limit early voting, mail-in ballots, and the use of electronic voting machines. Failing that, he may try to suspend the elections or use ICE to block polling centers.
  15. Finally, you proclaim yourself “president for life” and suspend all freedoms. If you think that’s unlikely, consider the admiration Trump expressed after Xi was named China’s president for life.

There is absolutely nothing unprecedented by these actions. Every known dictator has resorted to them in one way or another. The only thing unprecedented is that no one has previously tried, let alone succeeded, in executing them here.

The Dishonest Reframing Of Operation Arctic Frost.

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With Senator Chuck Grassley’s description of an FBI and DOJ investigation targeting rightwing groups code-named “Artic Frost,” it would appear that the Biden administration had politicized and weaponized the government against Republican organizations.

But that narrative doesn’t fit the reality of the time.

Keep in mind that the operation began following a violent attempted coup at the nation’s capital and a coordinated attempt to overturn a free and fair election – all orchestrated by Trump and a variety of rightwing groups, including Charlie Kirk’s Turning Point USA. Indeed, prior to the insurrection, Kirk posted that Turning Point Action would send more than 80 busloads of Trump supporters to Washington, DC to “fight for the president.”

Other conservative groups conspired to illegally replace legitimate electors as part of the Stop The Steal scheme. And Trump, himself, was recorded demanding the Georgia Secretary of State to illegally “find” the 11,780 votes necessary to hand him the 2020 election.

All of that goes well beyond ordinary politics – well beyond Watergate. It undermines the very foundation of our nation and crosses the line into conspiracy to commit multiple felonies, including sedition.

To further put Operation Arctic Frost into context, the FBI had long ago identified rightwing groups as the most prolific source of domestic terrorism. {Think Timothy McVeigh’s bombing in Oklahoma City aimed at the FBI, a rightwing militia’s attempt to kidnap the Democratic governor of Michigan, and the murder of Minnesota Democratic legislator Melissa Hortman.)

In fact, over the past 10 years, rightwing extremists, including those who oppose abortion, immigrants, minorities, government and non-Christian religions have been responsible for 378 murders. These were all acts of terrorism.

That’s not to say that leftwing extremists haven’t committed acts of violence. But despite what Vice-President Vance says, they are comparatively rare.

Nevertheless, you can expect the Trump regime to use the murder of Charlie Kirk and the revelation of Operation Arctic Frost to justify further attacks on their political opponents. The regime has already shown contempt for the Constitution by governing in direct violation of the 1st, 4th, 6th, 8th and 14th Amendments. And Trump seems determined to seek a third term in violation of the 20th Amendment.

It would not be surprising to see the regime try to arrest and silence opponents. And, given that there were no real consequences for January 6 due to court delays, the SCOTUS immunity ruling and presidential pardons, you can be certain that Trump will further attempt to rig the 2026 election in order to retain his grip on power.

The Divide Between The Left And The Right Is More Than Ideological.

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It’s cultural. With the left determined to maintain some degree of decorum along with traditional norms and institutions. And the right determined to exact retribution against its opponents – to own the Libs – and to tear our government apart.

Those differences have never been more apparent than following the recent political assassinations of Minnesota State Legislator, Melissa Hortman, and MAGA activist Charlie Kirk.

After the murder of Hortman and the violent attack on Minnesota State Senator John Hoffman by an apparent white Christian Nationalist, many on the right refused to acknowledge that the attacks were political despite abundant evidence to the contrary. Some falsely attributed the shootings to a “Leftist Marxist.” Others blamed the victims. A few used the attack to make sarcastic remarks aimed at Minnesota Governor Tim Walz. Further, Trump even refused to call Walz, saying it would be a waste of time.

Contrast that to the response following Kirk’s death: Almost every Democratic politician, political commentator and entertainer have decried the shooting and mourned the state of our political discourse. One glaring exception was MSNBC contributor, Matthew Dowd, a Republican, who was fired by the center-left network for stating the uncomfortable truth that Kirk’s hateful rhetoric likely led to his own death.

Meanwhile, those on the right are calling for vengeance by baselessly blaming the left for Kirk’s death though most political shootings have been committed by MAGA supporters. Trump quickly blamed the shooting on “the radical left.” Fox host, Jesse Waters, claims “we are at war.” MAGA ally Laura Loomer calls for “cracking down on the left with the full force of the government.” And, despite the fact that the vast majority of political violence has been committed by MAGA, Trump advisor Stephen Miller vowed to use the full force of the government to shut down leftist groups (aka MAGA’S political opposition).

In truth, the response from the right seems as extreme as its cruel policies.

Let me be clear: All murders, especially political murders, are disgusting and cowardly acts. But these targeted assassinations reveal a new low in the freefall of political discourse in our nation. That said, one must also acknowledge that Kirk was a prominent contributor to that freefall. Kirk not only tested the limits of his right to free speech. He abused that right in his pursuit of power, fortune and fame by promoting falsehoods and conspiracy theories.

Moreover, Kirk used his freedom of speech to undermine the very government to which he owed that freedom.

As a white Christian Nationalist, he advocated for an end to separation of church and state. He opposed a woman’s freedom of choice to control her own body. He created a Professor Watchlist to threaten the academic freedom and careers of college professors with whom he disagreed. He promoted the Great Replacement Theory and claimed that the white majority are the actual victims of racism. He was integral to the January 6 insurrection in which many of his followers stormed the Capitol with the intent of hanging the Vice-President and others. And ironically, he thought that the thousands of deaths from gun violence are justified by the need for the Second Amendment.

Yet despite his contributions to help elect a dictatorial and autocratic regime, and despite the pain he inflicted on so many others, Kirk is being feted as a martyr and honored with the Medal of Freedom.

These unwarranted honors are further evidence of the asymmetry with which the two political sides are treated.

Now, as a blogger and a journalist, I’ll admit to resorting to hyperbole in some of my writings that contribute to the coarse tone of our political debate. And I will strive to constrain myself in the future. But I challenge you to compare the rhetoric from the right to that of the left. I think you will find that there is no comparison. The cruel and hateful tone from the right begins in the White House.

Only in the MAGA universe is it acceptable for a President of the United States to refer to immigrants as vermin, to Democrats as Demoncrats and traitors, to the legitimate press as enemies of the people, to women as nasty, filthy, crazy, or ugly, and to every problem as a Democrat hoax. He even suggested that the Second Amendment folks could deal with a rival. That rhetoric is repeated and even exaggerated by the MAGA base.

It’s long past time for reasonable Americans to reject such purveyors of hate and fear no matter which side they’re on. It’s one thing to oppose policies and to voice a differing opinion. It’s quite another to incite violence through words or actions. Indeed, no one should be targeted for expressing their thoughts and opinions.

A sharp criticism or a biting commentary may temporarily hurt. But under no circumstances is a bullet an acceptable retort.

The Don.

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That’s a title that has long been used to refer to the head of a mafia family – someone who is ruthless, obsessed with power and willing to use any means to obtain it, including violence.

And it can, quite rightly, be used to describe the felon in the White House.

Not only has he been found guilty of 34 felony counts, as well as sexual assault and defamation. His family organization was found guilty of running a fraudulent charity and a fraudulent university. Further, he was almost certainly saved from conviction of mishandling the nation’s secrets and of inciting an insurrection only through delay and his reelection.

This is a man whose parents were members of the KKK and who was mentored by Roy Cohn, chief counsel for the disgraced Sen. Joseph McCarthy and mob lawyer for mafia figures like Tony Salerno, Carmine Galante, John Gotti and Mario Gigante. He long palled around with crime figures, not the least of which were Jeffrey Epstein and Ghislaine Maxwell. He also worked with the mafia to build many of his projects in New York and New Jersey.

So, he clearly knows how mob bosses work, and he has embraced those habits in both his business and political lives. And now that he has again taken up residence in the White House, he is operating the government as his own personal crime syndicate.

Think the tariffs are intended to balance trade deficits? Think again. They are merely part of a mafioso-style shakedown of foreign countries in exchange for personal profits and gifts. Almost before the Capitol staff cleaned the grounds following his inauguration, he and his ethically challenged sons were in Saudi Arabia, Qatar and the UAE to close trade deals initiated by the Biden administration. But the real reason for their visit was personal – to cash in on multimillion deals for Trump hotels, Trump golf resorts and Trump bitcoin. As a side deal, he even accepted the gift of a $40 million jet from Qatar.

And that was only the start.

By threatening and imposing draconian tariffs on every other nation in the world, Trump began what amounts to a protection racket. (“That’s a nice little economy you have going there. It would be a shame to see something happen to it.”) The idea is to force other nations into submitting to a contract for Trump hotels or Trump golf resorts. A prime example is the Don’s deal with Vietnam. After imposing a 46 percent tariff on Vietnamese goods, he lowered the tariff to 20 percent in exchange for a $1.5 billion Trump golf resort.

Sure, the deal is in violation of the Constitution’s Emoluments Clause. Sure, it means that you will pay 20 percent more for Vietnamese made goods. But you are only collateral damage. America…er…Trump first.

The Don is eagerly awaiting similar deals with other countries, which will almost certainly result in rising inflation and higher costs for you. But the Don is not working for you. As always, he only cares about himself. The New Yorker estimates that Trump and his family will collect more than $3.4 billion in such ill-gotten gains by the end of his second term. (I believe that to be a highly conservative estimate.)

Meanwhile, it’s you who will pay for the Don’s largess. The Bureau of Labor Statistics shows that the economy is already dramatically slowing – a fact the Don doesn’t want you to know – and recent reports show that the producer price index, which measures the cost for wholesalers, rose nearly one percent last month. And, compared to a year ago, wholesale prices are up 3.3 percent!

Most of those price increases have yet to be passed on to consumers like you and me.

There’s more. Like every other crime boss, the Don is all about gaining and exerting power. He has already made Congress subservient to his whims. He already controls the majority of seats on the Supreme Court and a number of Appeals Courts. He controls a vast propaganda network. His cult also controls governorships and legislatures throughout the South and other portions of the no-longer-United-States. And he’s trying to exert that power to redistrict congressional seats and change voting laws to ensure that MAGA will control future elections.

The Don is also using his consiglieres and their soldiers in a blatant attempt to take over the streets of our cities to intimidate ordinary citizens and suppress dissent. He even has the world’s most powerful military at his disposal. A fact that must make all of the world’s other Dons envious.

Killing Truth.

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It was documented that the Felon-in-Chief told more than 30,000 lies during his first term in office. And during his current term, it seems he lies as often as he breathes. What’s worse is the fact that he has extended his assault on the truth to include the entire government, along with educational institutions, law firms, and media.

Since taking office, he has blocked research funding for universities he considers too liberal under the guise that they have failed to control antisemitism. (For the record, it’s not antisemitic to demonstrate against Israel’s genocide in Gaza.) He and his thuggish White Christian Nationalist followers continue to ban books from public schools and libraries. They have tried to erase any reference to the LBTQ community. And they continue to rewrite African American history and the long-lasting impact of slavery and Jim Crow.

They have criminalized brown and black immigrants, leading to what can only be described as kidnapping by anonymous masked men. The immigrants are then confined to concentration camps with deplorable conditions before being deported – often to countries thousands of miles from their homes.

The regime has denied law firms access to government property and information for representing clients the Dear Leader doesn’t like. It has also denied access to reporters and news organizations for reporting stories he dislikes, no matter how truthful they are. And, increasingly, the Felon-in-Chief has filed multibillion dollar lawsuits against media he feels have wronged him.

For example, he sued the Des Moines Register because he was angry that it published a poll that was unfavorable to Trump before the election. And he sued CNN after it repeatedly used “the big lie” to describe Trump’s repeated false statements that the 2020 election was stolen.

Trump sued ABC after George Stephanopoulos stated that Trump was convicted of rape. (He wasn’t. He was actually convicted of sexual assault and defamation. But the federal judge in the case stated that E. J. Carroll’s claim of rape was “substantially true.”) Although the case against ABC was frivolous, the network eventually capitulated and agreed to a $15 million settlement before trial.

Trump also sued CBS and 60 Minutes over what he believed was an edited response by Kamala Harris during an interview. Never mind that media routinely edit statements for clarity and brevity. But Paramount Global, the owner of CBS, also capitulated to the sum of $16 million over fear that its sale to Skydance Media would be blocked by the Republican-dominated FCC. The network even cancelled Late Night with Stephen Colbert, one of Trump’s most effective and humorous critics.

Trump even blocked the Associated Press from the White House Press Room because it ran a story referring to the Gulf of Mexico, instead of Trump’s preferred moniker: the Gulf of America. His cronies have also taken press credentials away from traditional news gathering organizations and handed them, instead, to more compliant bloggers and new (not news) media.

In the most glaring attack on independent news media, Trump and his MAGA congressional minions defunded PBS and NPR. And most recently, Trump has even sued the conservative-leaning Wall Street Journal over its reporting of Trump’s friendship with a rival sexual predator – Jeffrey Epstein.

All of this seems a calculated attempt to intimidate and blind the media and, in turn, voters.

Not only is Trump completely divorced from the truth. So, too, are most of his appointees and cabinet members. Loyalty is prized above truthfulness and competency. And those who do not follow his lying lead are often quickly dispatched. The latest example is his firing of the Commissioner of the Bureau of Labor Statistics because he didn’t like the jobs numbers the agency reported.

The Felon-in-Chief and his underlings have removed Inspectors General, Whistleblowers and truth tellers from throughout the government. Even the Smithsonian Institution has succumbed to darkness after it was apparently forced to remove all references to Trump’s two impeachments. (The exhibit now lists only Andrew Johnson and Bill Clinton.)

If, as the Washington Post says, democracy dies in darkness, Lady Liberty’s torch is becoming very, very dim.

And Trump is as divorced from his oath to uphold and defend the Constitution as he is from the truth. Thus far, he has governed in direct violation of the 1st, 4th, 6th, 8th and 14th Amendments. In addition, he has talked about violating the 20th. He and his MAGA party have also violated the clause governing the separation of church and state. And he is clearly and continually operating in violation of the emoluments clause, which prohibits any federal officeholder from receiving gifts from foreign states or individuals and specifically bars the president from receiving gifts from the government or states.

In addition to gifts, Trump and his family have received the benefits of billions in investments from foreign governments. This year, he accepted a $40 million aircraft from Qatar and is spending an estimated $1 billion more of taxpayer money to convert it into Air Force One before he leaves office (if he leaves) and donates it to his presidential library.

He has also received tens of millions in personal donations from his MAGA supporters and billionaires. He spent $151.5 million of taxpayer money on golf trips to his own resorts during his first term. And, in his first six months of this term, he has already spent $50 million more. And that doesn’t include the estimated $10 million for his recent trip to Scotland to promote his new golf resort! If he continues to squander our money at this rate, he’ll approach nearly half a billion dollars by the end of the term. This from the man who complained that Obama golfed too much.

Of course, Trump justifies his golf habit by saying he needs time away from the stress of the office. (Apparently, destroying democracy is particularly stressful business.)

Consequences Of The Trump Regime.

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Most people are concerned about the impact on separation of powers, the Constitution, and our democracy. But there is much more to be worried about. Following is a partial list of consequences to the planet, the nation and its citizens as a result of the regime’s policies:

  1. Increased debt and interest payments thereby mortgaging the future of the next generations as a result of tax cuts for the wealthy.
  2. Increased inflation due to tariffs.
  3. Increased political division and political violence.
  4. Further weakening of institutions and norms.
  5. Increased hunger and homelessness along with a widening of the wealth gap.
  6. Massive decline in necessary workers for the food industry, construction and hospitality from deportations.
  7. More bankruptcies of family farms resulting in further corporate consolidation of our food chain.
  8. Increased vulnerability to terrorists and rogue nations as a result of the brain drain at the CIA and National Security Agency.
  9. More political control of our nation by billionaires (deepening of the oligarchy).
  10. Massive brain drain from cutting funds to universities and research.
  11. Further consolidation of media and erosion of first amendment rights.
  12. Weakening of public education furthering the wealth gap and brain drain.
  13. Further erosion of separation of church and state.
  14. Weakening or elimination of FEMA, NOAA and NWS resulting in lack of preparedness for extreme weather events.
  15. Further accelerating the global climate crisis by increased use of fossil fuels, increased lumbering, oil drilling in national parks and erasing incentives for electric cars and other mitigation efforts.
  16. Weakening of CDC and NIH resulting in lack of preparedness for another pandemic.
  17. Increased bankruptcies of hospitals and other healthcare facilities as a result of cuts to Medicaid and the ACA.
  18. Increased health insurance rates as a result of forcing the uninsured into ERs because they can’t afford routine medical visits.
  19. Undercutting citizen faith in vaccines making children more vulnerable to deadly disease.
  20. Weakening of our nation’s stature around the globe making us a global bully and pariah as a result of tariffs along with ICE and its concentration camps.
  21. Weakening of the arts by elimination of funding for the National Endowment for the Arts.
  22. Increased racism and misogyny as a result of the attacks on DEI.
  23. Overloading of the foster system by unwanted births due to denial of abortions.
  24. Mass extinctions of species as a result of ending mitigation policies for global warming.
  25. Increased state and local taxes as a result of cuts to federal grants.
  26. Massive loss of revenue from foreign tourists and foreign students.
  27. Loss of revenue from exports to foreign nations due to tariffs and offensive statements.

Given the regime’s policies, these consequences are inevitable. Are they what you voted for?

What Did You Vote For?

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Did you vote for increased inflation and higher prices due to tariffs? Did you vote to pay higher taxes so that billionaires and multinational corporations could receive large tax cuts? Did you vote to increase the deficit and add trillions to the national debt? Did you vote to consolidate more power in the executive branch by taking power away from the courts and your elected representatives?

Did you vote to have unvetted 20-something-year-old geeks sort through all of your private information and cut thousands of federal jobs? Did you vote to make America more racist again by eliminating DEI programs and firing government and military leaders just because they are women or people of color? Did you vote to have inexperienced and unqualified people take control of government agencies?

Perhaps you voted to arrest and deport immigrants who are violent criminals, but did you vote for mass deportations of essential farm workers and those who work in meat processing plants? Did you want to see families torn apart? Did you vote to have your immigrant neighbors and community members arrested and deported without due process? Did you want to see innocent immigrants and US citizens imprisoned in El Salvador and beaten and tortured or thrown in concentration camps?

Did you vote for cruelty?

Did you vote to have masked men with military weapons kidnap working Americans without warrants? Did you vote to have armed military in our streets? Did you vote to have judges and congressional representatives arrested?

Did you vote to dispense with the rule of law?

Did you vote to deport Afghan interpreters who saved the lives of US troops? Did you vote for massive cuts to the Veterans Administration? Did you vote to see millions thrown off Medicaid, including elderly in senior care? Did you vote to make healthcare unaffordable for millions of your fellow Americans? Did you vote to close hundreds of rural hospitals? Did you vote to cut funding for the National Institutes of Health and Centers for Disease Control? Did you vote to cut medical research on cancer, Alzheimer’s and other diseases?

Did you vote to eliminate foreign aid programs that save millions of lives? Did you vote to alienate are most loyal allies, including Canada? Did you vote to make foreigners afraid to visit our country and to stop buying our products? Did you vote to end Voice of America? Did you vote to help Israel’s ethnic cleansing of Palestinians?

Did you vote to ignore climate change while cutting funds for NOAA and the National Weather Service and eliminating FEMA? Did you vote to increase the use of fossil fuels and lease public lands to oil companies?

Did you vote to lower taxes on gun silencers? To watch our leaders engage in massive bribery schemes and corruption? Did you vote to pardon the criminals who violently beat police and planned to hang the Vice-President and many in Congress on January 6? Did you vote to have the president pardon felons in exchange for presidential bribes? To sell green cards for millions of dollars?

Did you vote for increased attacks on freedom of the press and freedom of speech? Did you vote to undermine the US Constitution?

Maybe you didn’t intend to vote for many of those things. But if you voted Republican in 2024, that’s what you got. Indeed, that’s who you are. Because your vote is a reflection of you.

Imagine The Worst Thing That Can Happen To Our Country.

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Whatever scenario you come up with, the Felon-in-Chief will do worse. Since taking office, his actions have exceeded every worst-case scenario Democrats and even his own voters could have imagined.

For example, he didn’t just nominate a cabinet of staunch conservatives; he nominated unqualified and wholly incompetent extremists. He didn’t just pardon the January 6 insurrectionists that invaded the Capitol, he pardoned those who brutally beat cops.

He’s not just deporting immigrants who are violent criminals as he promised, he’s trying to deport law-abiding immigrants and lawful residents including essential workers, parents, children with cancer, educators, students, refugees, even US citizens.

He’s not just lining his pockets by peddling influence to international leaders, he’s lining the pockets of his entire crime family and his billionaire friends.

He’s not just reshaping the government; he randomly fired tens of thousands of nonpartisan federal workers so he could replace them with MAGA loyalists. He’s not only discriminating against minorities by banning DEI programs in the federal government, but he’s also punishing universities and corporations that fail to follow his lead. He not only purged black and female leadership from our military, he’s all but erased the civil rights movement and LGBTQ rights movement from history.

He’s not just calling news reporters and the media “enemies of the people,” he’s suing networks for reporting the truth and threatening to take away their broadcast licenses.

He didn’t just alienate our closest allies. He’s sucked up to some of our worst adversaries and dictators. He didn’t just invoke tariffs to protect American industries; he invoked tariffs on all goods entering the U.S. resulting in higher prices and increased inflation. And he’s not only pushing a bill to cut taxes on billionaires and multinational corporations, but he’s also raising taxes on workers and taking healthcare access away from millions of ordinary Americans.

His DOJ isn’t just investigating those who worked on his own criminal investigations, it’s now arresting political opponents and charging them with crimes. His DHS isn’t just sending the heavily armed ICEstapo into communities to arrest innocent workers, the Felon has unnecessarily sent National Guard troops and Marines into Los Angeles to incite protesters in hopes he can invoke the Insurrection Act. And according to his executive order, it’s obvious that he plans to send the military into any city he considers worthy of his ire.

He ordered a $40 million Soviet-style military parade to celebrate his birthday. That’s bad enough, but don’t be surprised if he orders the troops and tanks to stay in Washington to take over the city and threaten Congress. (He did, after all, direct his supporters to overturn the 2020 election and hang his disobedient VP.) He didn’t just have the DOGE bros collect personal data on every living American, he’ll likely use them to electronically rig upcoming elections.

And these are but a few examples. What’s the worst you can imagine? Almost certainly, it won’t be as bad as the eventual reality.

The Oppressed Have Become The Oppressors.

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In an attempt to put the Israeli-Palestinian conflict into perspective, it should be noted that it all began with the Balfour Declaration of 1917 when the UK agreed to create a home for Jews who were being persecuted in Europe. Of course, Jews had historical links to the land in British-controlled Palestine, but it had been occupied by Palestinians for centuries.

The British intended for the land and the city of Jerusalem to be shared, and the rights of Palestinians protected. But Israel declared independence in 1948 and was recognized by the UN. That led to war with the five surrounding Arab nations and the displacement of roughly 750,000 Palestinians. Then in 1967, Israel captured more territory following a pre-emptive war with Egypt, Syria and Jordan leading to Israeli control of more than a million Palestinians in Gaza and the West Bank. As years passed, violence from both sides continued with Israel tightening its control of Palestinians in Gaza and clearing Palestinians from large tracts of the West Bank.

The growing Palestinian frustration and anger eventually led to the horrific events of October 7, 2023. As a result, Israel was certainly justified in attacking Hamas militants in Gaza. But the response has been vastly disproportionate and indiscriminate. Instead of an initial ground campaign to root out and kill or capture the militants, Israel chose to execute a massive bombing campaign followed by a large-scale invasion that has led to the deaths of tens of thousands of Gazans.

Indeed, given the brutality of Israel’s attacks on Gaza, the conflict can no longer be called a war. It now meets the very definition of ethnic cleansing.

Here are the numbers:

  • More than 52,000 Palestinians – mostly civilians – have been killed
  • More than 50,000 children have been killed or wounded
  • More than 1.9 million of the 2.1 million Gazans are displaced
  • At least 45 percent of the housing in Gaza has been destroyed
  • 75 percent of Gaza farmland has been destroyed
  • By January of this year, almost 7,000 Palestinians were being held on administrative detention (a practice that began long before October 7) without charges and without trials
  • Since 2023, conditions for Palestinians held in Israeli prisons have so declined that at least 70 prisoners have died
  • US trauma teams have reported seeing dozens of Palestinian children as young as 2 who were shot in the head or torso by Israeli snipers
  • 408 aid workers have been killed, including 280 from UNRWA
  • 176 journalists have been killed by Israeli forces
  • 374 medical personnel have been killed as a result of Israeli strikes
  • Hospitals and clinics have been damaged or destroyed by 1,644 Israeli strikes
  • The entire population of Gaza is facing food insecurity due to Israeli blockades
  • 250,000 Palestinians are currently facing starvation, and that number is expected to double
  • 71,000 children under the age of five suffer from acute malnutrition
  • 14,100 children under the age of five suffer severe malnutrition and death
  • Approximately 18,400 pregnant and breastfeeding women are expected to need malnutrition treatment to prevent irreversible and life-threatening health problems for both mothers and babies
  • At least 31 Palestinians were reportedly shot and killed by IDF soldiers at a recently opened food distribution site and hundreds more were wounded

Despite its nearly complete devastation of Gaza, no end of the conflict is in sight. Israel has announced plans to seize Gaza and stay for an unspecified time. And until very recently, Israel has blocked all humanitarian aid to Gaza, with some Israeli officials laughingly saying, “it will end Palestinian obesity.”

At the same time, Israeli settlers have increased attacks on Palestinians on the West Bank and the Israeli government approved 22 new settlements with the explanation that it will permanently end any possibility of a Palestinian state.

Yet the Trump administration continues to supply weapons to Israel despite its obvious war crimes. It has even shown a willingness to violate our constitutional right of free speech for even speaking out about the plight of Palestinians claiming that any expression of such sentiments constitutes antisemitism. But there is a vast difference between telling the truth about a violent and repressive government and engaging in hate speech against those who follow one of the world’s largest and oldest religions.

The Kakistocracy Is In Full Bloom.

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And the foul odor coming from Washington makes a corpse flower smell like roses.

At the heart of that stench is the Trump crime family’s extortion and bribery campaign. Not only is The Donald unconstitutionally imposing or threatening tariffs to extort foreign governments. The 34-count felon has sold access to more than 200 of the largest investors in his meme coin cryptocurrency scam. He has also sold pardons to convicted criminals for bribes, and he has pardoned more than 1,500 insurrectionists, including those who violently attacked law enforcement and invaded the Capitol on January 6, 2021, with intent to hang VP Mike Pence, Speaker Nancy Pelosi and numerous other congressional representatives on his behalf.

In addition, Trump has used the power of the Oval Office to take aim at every individual and institution that, in his twisted mind, has wronged him. That includes former FBI agents and federal prosecutors who dutifully investigated the crimes stemming from his first term in office. Of course, he has illegally used executive orders to attack those he perceives to be liberal institutions, such as Harvard and other universities, as well as law firms.

And Trump isn’t the only one using the powers of office to pursue personal, vile and often illegal agendas.

Pam Bondi, Kash Patel, Ed Martin and others are restructuring the justice system in such an extreme manner that it more rightly should be called the injustice system. They have opened investigations into former officials – not based on evidence of wrongdoing or unlawful behavior but based entirely on politics and cruelty. Bondi has even announced that judicial nominees will no longer be vetted by the American Bar Association in order that their selection be based on MAGA loyalty rather than legal worthiness.

Kristi Noem and Stephen Miller are pursuing their racist agenda of removing millions of brown and black migrants while welcoming white Afrikaners into the country. Indeed, they have announced their intent to arrest more than 3,000 per week, including citizens. (Of course, the ICEstapo already has a history of deporting residents without due process and illegally detaining citizens and legal residents who have exercised their freedom of speech.) And now the Supreme Rightwing Court of the United States has cleared the way for removing more than 500,000 refugees with Temporary Protected Status.

Trump has even announced his intent to create an Office of Remigration, a fascist term for ethnic cleansing, based on removing all those who do not integrate into local culture regardless of their legal status – meaning they are brown, black or speak any language other than English. (Trump previously issued an executive order to overturn the 14th Amendment so that he might deport the descendants of certain immigrants despite their citizenship.)

RFK, Jr. has pursued his anti-vax, anti-science agenda to destroy the National Institutes of Health and the Centers for Disease Control making the US and world population vulnerable to more pandemics. And he recently released his MAHA report. Though it offered some medically accepted studies on the cause of chronic diseases, it incorporates Kennedy’s skepticism of vaccines based on flawed and, in some cases, nonexistent studies.

And those are just the lowlights.

There are many more odiferous individuals within this criminal enterprise, aka the Trump administration. But, honestly, their cruel, illegal and unconstitutional actions are far too numerous to mention.