Tag Archives: MAGA

What Next?

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After MAGA completes its mass deportations, what happens to the more than 200 immigrant detention centers in the U.S. that currently hold nearly 71 thousand people? What happens to all the new detention centers built at a cost of $45 billion? What happens to ICE, now the nation’s largest “law enforcement” agency that’s 80,000 strong with an annual budget of $27.7 billion? What happens to the roughly 8,500 new Customs and Border Patrol agents? What happens to the new nationwide surveillance system tracking immigrants and citizens alike? What happens to the hyperinflated budget for the DHS?

I think it’s naïve to believe that they’re going away. Or that they’ll even be downsized. After all, there’s a longstanding belief among those in government that if you don’t use it, you lose it.

I believe that MAGA may very well have long-range plans for them – to create concentration camps for political dissenters. For the so-called “communist” Democrats. For reporters who refuse to submit and refuse to perpetuate MAGA propaganda. For military officers who refuse to follow MAGA’s illegal orders. For academics who refuse to teach the false narrative of whitewashed history. For Muslims, Buddhists, Hindus and other non-Christian nationalists. For atheists. For women who exercise the right to control their own bodies. For people of color. For gays and lesbians. For transgenders. For anti-Israelis.

Possibly for you.

We’ve seen variations of this before. In Hungary, Türkiye, Saudi Arabia, Syria, Iraq, Afghanistan, Iran, Zionist Israel, China, Russia, fascist Italy, Nazi Germany and dictatorships throughout history and around the world.

Think it couldn’t happen here? Think our government institutions and the Constitution will prevent it?

Thanks to DOGE and the Felon-in-Chief’s MAGA loyalists, those institutions have already been dismantled or hollowed-out. Congress has become a rubber stamp for the Felon’s fascist policies. The fascist-friendly majority of SCROTUS has consistently ruled in support of the Felon – even granted him immunity. And the Felon and his regime have already violated or attempted to violate more than a dozen provisions of the Constitution, the document that makes America what it is. Or, at least what it was.

Most of the safeguards are gone and many Americans helped destroy them by voting for a felonious charlatan who promised them cheaper gas and groceries. By refusing to fight back when threatened with a lawsuit or the Felon’s cyberbullying. By hoping that that the Felon and his MAGA government will just go away or, at least, not come after them.

If our democracy fails, many of those people will have gotten what they deserve – likely a gang of warrantless, masked, armed men breaking down their doors and taking them to one of the detention camps. Or, like Renee Good, Alex Pretti and others, something even worse.

Why Does The Republican Party Even Exist?

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Once the proud party of Lincoln whose actions saved the Republic and emancipated the slaves, the Republican Party has been caught in a destructive downward spiral ever since. Of the seven presidents who served during the nation’s Gilden Age, six were Republicans. Together, they endorsed Horse and Sparrow economics – the predecessor of Trickle-Down economics – that allowed a few industrialists to create an enormous wealth gap between themselves and ordinary Americans.

Likewise, the scandal-plagued, pro-business administrations of Republicans Warren G. Harding and Calvin Coolidge created an overheated economy that led to the 1929 Wall Street crash and the Great Depression. They were followed by Republican Herbert Hoover who, although he was credited with organizing a massive food relief program during and after WWI, his timid response to the Great Depression resulted in a deepening of the depression that continued until the election of Democratic Franklin D. Roosevelt.

Republican Dwight D. Eisenhower, the hero of WWII, led us into the Vietnam War and signed off on the Dulles brothers’ ill-advised overthrow of democratically elected governments in Iran, Guatemala, Indonesia and Congo. He also embraced White Christian Nationalists who added “under God” to the Pledge of Allegiance and changed the national motto from “E Pluribus Unum” (from many, one) to “In God We Trust. Those same religious and racist zealots have been trying to turn the U.S. into an unconstitutional theocratic-driven Christian nation ever since.

Republican Richard M. Nixon was elected, in part, due to his violation of the Logan Act by intervening in the Vietnam peace talks. He and Henry Kissinger supported a military coup to overthrow the democratically elected government of Chile. Further, his re-election campaign was marked by a series of dirty tricks aimed at Democratic candidates leading to the Watergate break-in and cover-up and his eventual resignation to avoid impeachment. Not surprisingly, Nixon’s Republican successor, Gerald R. Ford, pardoned Nixon to save him from criminal prosecution.

Like Nixon, Republican Ronald Reagan was elected, in part, as a result of his violation of the Logan Act by encouraging Iran to delay the return of U.S. hostages until after the election in return for a better deal. His Trickle-Down economic plan led to a wave of corporate consolidations that continues today, as well as tax cuts for the wealthy. He opened the door for today’s propaganda network by ending the Fairness Doctrine. And he famously created a shadow government as part of Iran-Contra Affair.

Republican George H. Bush continued Reagan’s pro-corporate economic policies and led the U.S. into a war with Iraq called Desert Storm. Republican George W. Bush reprised his father’s war with Iraq costing the U.S. 4,431 military deaths and an estimated $4 trillion. His economic policies also led to the Great Recession following the 2007 banking and real estate crash.

Finally, we get to the worst of them all: the twice-impeached Donald J. Trump.

Elected with the obvious help of Russia, the Felon-in-Chief mishandled the Covid pandemic leading to the deaths of roughly 1 million Americans. Among other illegal acts while in office, he ordered the payment of hush money to coverup an affair and sex with a porn star. He led a conspiracy to overturn his election loss through insurrection. He stole boxes of the nation’s top secrets and engaged in a coverup. Then, when he returned to office, he pardoned the insurrectionists and seditionists and sold pardons to convicted supporters.

He has engaged in self-dealing and insider trading helping his family raise between $2 and $4 billion to date. He and his cabinet have committed numerous constitutional violations. He illegally destroyed the East Wing of the White House. He has engaged the U.S. in an ill-advised and illegal war against Iran leading to out-of-control inflation. He has attacked news media and advanced the MAGA propaganda network. He imposed illegal tariffs against most of our trading partners. He has compromised relationships with our most trusted allies and NATO.

He has threatened free and fair elections. He has used the FBI and DOJ to exact vengeance against his perceived political enemies. He has ignored the climate crisis. He has tried to rewrite history to diminish our nation’s involvement in genocide and slavery. He created a large masked and heavily armed militarized force to arrest hundreds of thousands of hard-working immigrants. In the process, that force has repeatedly violated the Constitution and murdered dozens of people, including two U.S. citizens. Further, the 34-time convicted felon and litigated sexual assaulter has overseen the destruction of virtually every institution and norm that made our country great.

Seriously, why does that party continue to exist?

How Much Worse Can It Get?

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In just 10 months, the Trump regime has already implemented 48 percent of the actions outlined in Project 2025. Those changes have almost irreparably dimmed the shining city on the hill, previously known as United States of America. But if MAGA and the Trump regime are successful in implementing the entire plan, the nation will become unrecognizable, and our democracy may cease to exist.

Following are just some of the lowlights of the remaining 52 percent:

DHS & IMMIGRATION

  • End the Flores Settlement Agreement, which sets basic standards of care for immigrant children in custody.
  • Enforce income requirements for immigrants obtaining green cards and certain visas blocking entry for most refugees.
  • Repeal Section 235 of the Trafficking Victims Protection Reauthorization Act, which protects unaccompanied minors who are seeking asylum.
  • Eliminate or significantly reduce the number of visas issued to foreign students.
  • End “chain” migration like that of Melania Trump’s parents who followed her to the U.S. as immigrants.
  • Break up the Dept. of Homeland Security or, at least, combine ICE and CBP to form a “Border Security and Immigration Agency”.
  • Block federal grants to sanctuary cities to ensure their cooperation with ICE.
  • Eliminate the DHS Office of Intelligence and Analysis making us more vulnerable to external threats.
  • Ban mixed-status families (citizens and noncitizens) from living in all federally assisted housing.

ECONOMY AND TREASURY.

  • Enact a two-income tax bracket system that will raise annual taxes by $3,000 for the median family of four.
  • Permanently reduce the corporate income tax rate to 21 percent making it lower than most advanced economies.
  • Abolish the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau.
  • Eliminate the Federal Reserve mission of full employment.
  • Abolish the Federal Reserve and move to a “free banking” system.
  • Repeal the Corporate Transparency Act which aims to combat money laundering.
  • Repeal key sections of Dodd-Frank Act that was passed following the Great Recession to make the financial system safer for consumers and taxpayers.
  • Withdraw from OECD, the intergovernmental organization that promotes policies to improve the economic and social well-being of people worldwide.
  • Privatize Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac.
  • Limit FHA mortgages to first-time buyers.
  • End cash grants to small businesses (including disaster aid).
  • Allow religious entities to receive Small Business Administration loans.
  • Abolish the Financial Industry Regulatory Authority and Public Company Accounting Oversight Board.
  • Consider whether the Federal Trade Commission should enforce antitrust laws or even continue to exist.

ENERGY AND THE ENVIRONMENT

  • Expand energy exploration in Alaska, including in the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge.
  • Repeal the Inflation Reduction Act and rescind unobligated funds.
  • Repeal the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act and rescind unobligated funds.
  • Eliminate carbon capture utilization and storage programs.
  • Restart the coal leasing program.
  • Eliminate the Office of Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy.
  • Eliminate all considerations of greenhouse gas emissions.
  • Ensure liquified natural gas export applications are approved quickly without consideration of climate change.
  • Reverse Biden-era decisions to retire parts of the nuclear arsenal.
  • Reject the Comprehensive Test Ban Treaty for nuclear weapons.
  • Repeal the Antiquities Act of 1906 which gives presidents the power to create national monuments.
  • Repeal the Global Change Research Act of 1990 requiring research of climate change.
  • Eliminate the Office of Public Engagement and Environmental Education.
  • Eliminate the Office of Children’s Health Protection.
  • Eliminate the EPA’s Office of Enforcement and Compliance Assistance.
  • Undermine the California waiver which allows the state to enact more stringent pollution reduction from vehicles.
  • Eliminate the Greenhouse Gas Reporting Program (GHGRP)

FEDERAL ELECTIONS COMMISSION

  • Limit campaign finance enforcement.
  • Raise contribution limits for election campaigns.

FEMA

  • Limit FEMA-issued grants to states that “comply with all aspects of federal immigration laws.
  • Shift the majority of FEMA’s preparedness and response costs to states and localities.
  • Privatize the FEMA National Flood Insurance Program.

INTELLIGENCE AGENCIES

  • Re-negotiate intelligence sharing protocols with the EU.
  • Prohibit the intelligence community from monitoring domestic disinformation.

LABOR

  • Close the Office of Equity, Diversity, and Inclusion; treat the participation in any DEI initiative as grounds for termination.
  • Reclassify thousands of federal employees making it easier to fire career civil servants.
  • Reduce federal employees’ pay and benefits.
  • Weaken or ban federal employee unions.
  • Privatize TSA screening.

REPRODUCTIVE HEALTH

  • Fund studies on the risks and complications of abortion.
  • Correct “misinformation” about the comparative health and psychological benefits of childbirth vs abortion.
  • Cut federal funding to states that do not provide detailed abortion reports.
  • Prohibit the use of “aborted fetal cells” in developing vaccines.
  • End taxpayer funding for Planned Parenthood.
  • Withdraw Biden-era guidance that retail pharmacies must dispense abortion medication and contraception.
  • Eliminate the ACA’s requirement to cover the morning after pill.
  • Withdraw HHS funding, including 10% of Medicaid funds, from states that require private health insurance plans to cover abortion.
  • Restore religious and moral exemptions to the ACA’s contraception requirement.
  • Enforce the Comstock Act to prevent the distribution of abortion pills.
  • Reverse FDA approval of the mifepristone abortion pill or ban telehealth prescriptions and mailing of mifepristone.
  • Prevent the VA from covering abortion services even in cases of rape and incest.
  • End or limit fetal stem cell research and use.

USDA

  • Weaken regulations on baby formula.
  • Repeal or, at minimum, reform Dietary Guidelines.
  • Repeal the federal mandate to label genetically engineered food.
  • Prohibit schools from grouping together to utilize the Community Eligibility Provision that enables those in low-income areas to serve breakfast and lunch at no cost to all enrolled students.
  • End broad-based eligibility for SNAP (Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program).

VETERANS ADMINISTRATION

  • Reduce disability ratings for future claims, partially reduce for existing claims.
  • Sunset the Office of Accountability and Whistleblower Protection.

How Project 2025 Is Destroying America.

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Remember Project 2025? You know, the plan that Trump denied any knowledge of during the campaign despite previously praising its authors by saying, “This is a great group, and they’re going to lay the groundwork and detail plans for exactly what our movement will do…”

Not surprisingly, many of its authors have been awarded key roles within the White House and government agencies. Indeed, Russell Vaught the key architect of the plan is now Washington’s most powerful man as director of the Office of Management and Budget. And, under his guidance, the Trump regime is radically changing (aka destroying) the federal government.

Far from making America great, it’s destroying the very fabric of our nation as surely as Trump demolished the East Wing of the White House. For example, here are some of the things the Trump regime has done by implementing Project 2025:

  • To ferret out alleged “widespread” waste and abuse, the Trump regime created DOGE, an unelected and unvetted group of twenty somethings who broke laws and violated the Constitution by firing government employees, shutting down numerous agencies, and blocking congressionally approved funding. Even more concerning, they allegedly downloaded the personal information of millions of Americans.
  • Church membership has been falling, so it is imposing Christianity into public schools and workplaces.
  • The rate of births among white Americans has dropped, so it calls for banning all abortions and using the Comstock Act to prevent the delivery of abortion drugs to individuals. It also calls for ending ACA funding of contraceptives.
  • Women and minorities have been gaining rights and positions of authority, so it is attacking DEI (Diversity, Equity and Inclusion) programs to keep them in their place. And to keep women in the home, it calls for ending subsidized day care and, instead, funding at-home daycare payments.
  • To push MAGA’s pro-birth ideology, it prohibited USAID from funding “sexual reproductive health and reproductive rights” and “gender equality” programs. As a result, the regime intends to incinerate nearly $10 million worth of taxpayer-purchased contraceptives.
  • Most highly educated voters support Democrats, so it’s attacking public K-12 education and universities. It is also eliminating the Department of Education.
  • Scientists support many Democratic goals like addressing the climate crisis, so it’s attacking science by defunding agencies like the National Weather Service and the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration. It has also withdrawn from the Paris Accords on Climate Change and canceled at least 130 climate and clean energy contracts.
  • The academic freedom of public and private universities permits professors to teach subject matter that is counter to the MAGA ideology, so it is using government contracts as leverage to eliminate DEI and other “woke” policies.
  • MAGA was furious over vaccine and mask mandates during the pandemic. So, Trump withdrew from the World Health Organization and, following Project 2025, he blocked much of the funding for National Institutes for Health and the Centers for Disease Control. The CDC has been decimated leaving us largely unprepared for the next health crisis.
  • Publicly supported independent media pose a threat to autocracy by presenting the unbiased truth, so it rescinded all federal funding for NPR and PBS.
  • The authors of Project 2025 believe we spend too much on foreign aid. So, it all but eliminated USAID and programs such as international disaster aid, food aid and family planning.
  • The Trump crime family has created its own highly speculative cryptocurrencies, so it has reduced regulations by the Commodities Futures Trading Commission.
  • Corporations have been restricted and held accountable for environmental abuses, so it calls for repealing many of the regulations and lessening protections for vulnerable species.
  • There has been recent growth in worker wages which has reduced corporate profits, so it is attacking labor unions and increases in minimum wages. It’s also increasing unemployment levels through tariffs and other means.
  • Renewables have been quickly replacing fossil fuels, so it calls for replacing incentives for renewables with even more incentives for oil, gas and (choke) coal.
  • The percentages of black and brown minorities have been increasing, so it has expanded ICE and CBP to detain and deport millions of Latinos and blacks. It has also deployed military to help guard our borders.
  • To ensure future MAGA control, it has encouraged MAGA-controlled states to implement extreme gerrymandering and to rig elections by changing voting laws.
  • Schools, museums and other institutions have increased our citizens’ understanding of the nation’s past excesses, such as ethnic cleansing, slavery, and Jim Crow, so it is banning books and rewriting history.
  • It recognizes that nonpartisan federal employees restrain authoritarian power, so it is firing thousands of government workers and replacing them with MAGA loyalists.
  • Government watchdogs, such as Inspectors General, impose ethical standards that restrain corruption, so they have been fired and replaced with loyalists.
  • Trump was furious at attempts to hold him accountable for crimes. So, longtime employees of the Department of Justice and FBI were fired to better weaponize the system against his investigators, prosecutors and political opponents.
  • An independent Congress and judiciary act as restraints to the executive branch, so the regime has taken control of Congress and SCOTUS to cede power to the executive branch.
  • The Constitution is the last barrier to autocracy, so it is simply ignoring it.

What Is Patriotism?

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Today’s conservatives are fond of calling themselves patriots. But is there really a patriot among them? Their support for the Felon-in-Chief and their acceptance of his dismantling of our government would indicate otherwise.

Patriotism is defined as “devotion and vigorous support for one’s country.” How does that square with those who watched, or even applauded, as the Trump regime encouraged and then pardoned insurrectionists who violently tried to overturn an election? How does it fit with those who support a twice-impeached president that has repeatedly violated numerous sections and amendments to the US Constitution? How does it describe those who have chosen Party over country? Who have approvingly watched as Dear Leader uses the justice department to attack his political opponents? Who have silently stood by as the regime builds a 32,000-member version of Hitler’s gestapo that arrests people who are legally in this country, denying both immigrants and citizens due process?

None of that. I repeat, none of that is patriotic. Indeed, it’s very much the opposite!

Far from being patriots, the MAGA cult consists almost entirely of racial and socio-economic bullies. Bullies who believe they are superior by birthright. Bullies who demand that others do as they say. Some strut around with weapons and tactical gear to intimidate political opponents. Others hide their true feelings from the public. But when they are exposed, as were the texts between leaders of Young Republicans, it’s clear that they are antisocial, antidemocratic, anti-Semitic racists and fascists.

To be clear, these Young Republicans aren’t exceptions. They are representative of the entire MAGA cult. They were encouraged and promoted by the likes of Charlie Kirk, vice-president J.D. Vance, speaker MAGA Mike Johnson and the Putinesque fascist who has taken up residence in the Oval Office.

Of course, in public many of the cult members recite passages from the Bible to justify their actions and claim to be Christians while ignoring every aspect of Christ’s teachings. They claim to support “family values” even as they cheer on the ICEstapo as it rips families apart. They take perverse joy in threatening and abusing innocents, especially immigrants. They talk and act tough. But at their core, they are soulless, mindless cowards.

Others of the cult use their wealth and positions within large corporations to manipulate the government and the economy to serve their personal interests, not caring about the effects of their actions on those who cling to lower rungs of the economic ladder.

No amount of flag waving and Bible thumping can excuse the actions of these people or make them what they claim to be. All of that is mere theater. In fact, the more they wave the flag and the more they proselytize, the more clear it becomes that they are imposters. And that their “patriotism” fails to extend beyond themselves and their self-interests.

Our nation’s Founders went to great lengths to create a constitution that would prevent tyranny. And history provides many examples and warnings of how tyrants rise to power. Yet these so-called patriots have not only ignored those warnings. They have voted a tyrant into office, and many continue to cheer him on as he accumulates power and diminishes our freedoms.

Such people are not patriots. They’re losers and traitors. And they’re as phony as the gilded yard sale trash that’s now tacked all over the walls of the White House.

The Death Of Journalism.

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Beginning with Benjamin Franklin in the U.S., journalism was once considered a noble profession – the fourth estate – practiced by giants such as Edward R. Murrow, Walter Cronkite, Eric Sevareid, Judy Woodruff, David Brinkley, Chet Huntley, Peter Jennings, Jim Leher, Gwen Ifill, and many, many more. These people not only reported the news, they helped us understand the news. For example, when Cronkite tired of reporting the body counts of the Vietnam War, he almost single-handedly ended the war by vividly showing us the futility of continuing it.

Journalists have routinely risked their lives to inform us. Indeed, over the past 20 years 1,668 have been killed – most the result of murders, ambushes, contract killings and war. Just recently, it appears that the Israeli military specifically targeted seven Al-Jazeera journalists reporting from Gaza. To put the number of journalists killed in perspective, over the same 20-year time period, fewer law enforcement officers have been killed in the U.S. (roughly 1,300).

And journalists in the U.S. are now under attack as never before.

Reliable news outlets are labeled fake news while Fox News, NewsMax, OAN, and many radio and online “news” outlets report a wide-ranging litany of misinformation and disinformation in support of MAGA and the Republican Party. These outlets are little more than Joseph Goebbels-style propaganda megaphones, a fact made obvious by the large number of Fox News commentators who were nominated for key government positions by Trump.

Meanwhile, the MAGA regime defunded public broadcasting because its independent reporting made it appear too “liberal.” ABC bowed to Trump by “donating” $15 million to settle a frivolous lawsuit. Even more troubling, Paramount’s CBS settled another lawsuit for $16 million and agreed to accept a “bias monitor” that reports to the Liar-in-Chief.

Such deals should immediately raise questions about the networks’ objectivity!

Will they, too, become mere megaphones for MAGA? It seems they have already softened their criticism of the regime. How can any of their reports about politics be trusted? How can the Washington Post be trusted after its refusal to publish a cartoon by Ann Telnaes that accurately showed the newspaper’s owner bowing at the feet of Trump? Their willingness to submit to threats from the Felon-in-Chief stands in stark contrast to the legacy of Murrow, Cronkite, Woodward and Bernstein who often spoke truth to power at great personal risk.

Too often, the Trump regime’s lies go unchallenged or unreported.

This situation is partially due to the monetization of news beginning in the 1980s. Prior to that, networks did not seek to profit from news. It was considered a public service in much the same way as PBS and NPR treat news reporting. But traditional news media is now governed by readership studies and ratings. Unlike Cronkite who believed his job was to give you the news you need to know not the news you want to know; today’s reporting seems the reverse.

News reporting has become a popularity contest with Americans seeking news outlets that fit their ideologies. Truth, substance and context seem to matter less than speed and ideological affiliation. Where once the vast majority of the public got their news from three reliable networks, today news reporting and, not coincidentally, the public are divided and fragmented as never before.

Traditional newspapers are struggling for survival. Local TV news is overly sensationalized with crime reports. News from social media is, at best, suspect. And most online news sites are either single-issue focused or hopelessly biased. As a result, many Americans have spurned the news altogether. With dwindling audiences, more and more news gathering organizations are seeking funding and hiding their reporting behind paywalls.

Those Americans who crave truth and accuracy are forced to search for trustworthy journalists on platforms like Substack, Zeteo, DropSiteNews, or the ICIJ (International Consortium of Investigative Journalists). Ironically, some of the best alternatives for accurate reporting of national and international news are foreign news organizations like BBCAmerica, The Guardian, and Al-Jazeera. Even CNN International seems to have higher standards than its American version.

Of all our nation’s problems, I believe this is the most pressing. Without widespread acceptance of shared truths, our nation is doomed to collapse as we fail to address real issues while focusing, instead, on culture wars.

The Trump Regime’s Toxic Racism.

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The MAGA movement began with racist attacks on Mexican immigrants and attacks on political correctness (aka courtesy and civility). It incorporated the slogan “America First” previously used by the Ku Klux Klan. And it gained momentum with the claim that Critical Race Theory was being taught in K-12 classes. (It was only taught in law schools to help attorneys understand the disadvantages faced by minorities.)

And now that Trump is, once again, in the Oval Office, his blatant racism has permeated the entire federal government as well as both private and public institutions with his assault on DEI (Diversity, Equity and Inclusion), a long overdue initiative to create fairness for all Americans. The regime is even using its distaste for DEI to bludgeon corporations and universities by withholding federal contracts and research grants from those that refuse to accept the regime’s racist policies.

The Trump family’s well-known history of prejudice has led his loyal cabinet members to decapitate our military leadership by firing black and female military leaders and ordering the military to ban transexuals. It has led to the firings of minorities throughout the federal government. It has led to his takeover of the Kennedy Center for the Arts, the Smithsonian, and the Library of Congress. He and his MAGA minions have banned books featuring histories of slavery and any reference to the LGBTQ community.

None of this should come as a surprise. Since the late 1960s, the Republican Party has been built on racism and vicious attacks on minorities following the SCOTUS ruling in Brown v. Board of Education, which ended segregation of public schools. It counted on Jim Crow, attacks on gay marriage and voter suppression to win elections.

The Party continued to create new scapegoats and culture wars including the myth of black “Welfare Queens” and the racist belief that poor black women relied on abortion as a method of contraception. It gained power by claiming that all Mexican immigrants were murderers and rapists. And that boys and men were emasculating themselves as transexuals just so they can enter girls’ bathrooms and succeed in sports against girls and women.

Now the Trump regime is rewriting the history of the George Floyd murder suggesting that Floyd was a violent criminal who deserved to be choked to death or that he actually died of drug abuse. The regime’s “Justice” Department is seeking to dismiss police reforms enacted following racist murders in Minneapolis and Louisville. And, in a clear sign of racist immigration policies, the regime has welcomed white Afrikaaners as refugees while pushing to end the Temporary Protected Status of black and brown refugees from Venezuela, Haiti, Cuba, and elsewhere.

Not long ago, the House of Representatives banned the nation’s first transexual congressional representative from using the Capitol’s women’s bathrooms. What’s next? Labeling federal buildings as white only?

The Growing List Of Trump Victims.

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Members of Trump’s MAGA cult have long wanted to reshape our government and punish the “Libs”. But they have gotten much more than they bargained for. Under the guise of making America great again and improving government efficiency, the actions of Donald J. Trump and his billionaire friends have already victimized millions of Americans and untold numbers of others around the globe. And there appears to be no end in sight. Indeed, it seems that Trump won’t stop until the US mirrors Putin’s Russia.

Following is a partial list of the victims so far:

  1. The Constitution – In a blatant attempt to consolidate power in the executive branch under his direction, Trump has ignored or violated many of the Constitution’s provisions. He has usurped Congress’s power of the purse by blocking funding. He has illegally fired federal employees without cause. In his first term, he violently dispersed peaceful demonstrations. He has tried to violate free speech. And he has signed an executive order abolishing the 14th Amendment.
  2. Truth – Trump told more than 30,000 documented lies during his first term in office and the number has only accelerated since.
  3. Justice – By pardoning roughly 1,500 of the January 6 insurrectionists while investigating and firing all those within the FBI and DOJ who had anything to do with bringing charges against him, Trump has shown that he is willing to weaponize the justice system on his behalf.
  4. People of color, members of the LGBTQ community, and the disabled – By abolishing DEI (Diversity, Equity and Inclusion), Trump has eliminated programs intended to prevent discrimination in the federal workplace, in corporations and in universities.
  5. Federal employees and their families – Elon Musk and his DOGE bros have illegally and unconstitutionally fired hundreds of thousands of civil servants, disproportionately military veterans, without severance.
  6. US federal government – Trump and Musk have created chaos throughout the government. They have illegally usurped the powers of Congress by gutting agencies and firing hundreds of thousands of employees without justification or cause. In doing so, they have compromised essential government services, including
  7. Refugees –With the stroke of a Sharpie, Trump has revoked temporary protective status for Haitians, Venezuelans, Ukrainians and others who escaped political violence and war in their countries.
  8. Undocumented workers and their families – Trump has ordered ICE to detain and deport all undocumented immigrants who have committed crimes. Unfortunately, many innocent hardworking people, including US military veterans, have been swept up in raids that appear based on racial profiling. And though it’s a civil, not a criminal offense to be in this country illegally, it appears that many will be sent to prisons, including Guantanamo.
  9. Farmers, food processing companies, & small businesses – As ICE continues sweeps at workplaces and schools, most undocumented workers and their children are now afraid to leave their homes. This has been so disruptive to the employers that many now claim they are vulnerable to bankruptcy. Additionally, the block on USAID foreign aid contracts represents the potential loss of billions in income for US farmers. And Trump’s tariffs will result in further losses as China raises tariffs on the import of most US agricultural products.
  10. US military – Trump and his lapdog, Pete Hegseth, decapitated the leadership of the military with the intent of replacing members of the Joint Chiefs of Staff with loyalists regardless of inexperience.
  11. US intelligence services – It could be argued that in the Trump administration there is no intelligence. Yet Director of National Intelligence, conspiracy theorist and Russian apologist Tulsi Gabbard has fired more than 100 senior staffers and numerous CIA officers for violating Trump’s ban on DEI.
  12. Veterans – Not only has DOGE illegally fired thousands of military veterans throughout the federal government. It has gutted the Veteran’s Administration through a hiring freeze and mass layoffs.
  13. Americans’ health – Trump has illegally blocked funding for the National Institutes of Health, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, and the World Health Organization. This comes at a time when those organizations are needed to deal with an Ebola outbreak, Avian Flu and the very real threat of another pandemic. It even compromises the ability to select the appropriate vaccine for the next flu season.
  14. Women – Trump’s previous term resulted in compromising women’s freedom to control their own bodies with the overturning of Roe v. Wade. This term is likely to result in further loss of women’s rights – not only the right to abortion, the right to contraception, even the right to vote. Indeed, there is a bill before Congress that would block millions of women from voting because they took the last name of those they married.
  15. Wildlife and the environment – Trump has already unleashed an all-out attack on the environment. Not only did he again withdraw from the Paris Climate Accords and end programs that attempt to mitigate the worst impact of climate change. He has ordered the expansion of production of fossil fuels, including in environmentally sensitive areas such as the Arctic National Wildlife Reserve. He also wants to eliminate most regulations on the fossil fuel industry. And there are plans to weaken the protection of endangered species.
  16. National Park visitors – DOGE has fired more than 1,000 rangers who clean and maintain parks in addition to educating visitors and providing for their safety. This will result in long lines, reduced hours and even the closing of some parks.
  17. Disaster victims – We have already seen cuts to FEMA staff and Trump has made it clear that disaster relief from floods, tornados, hurricanes and wildfires should be the responsibility of the states. And given his past actions and statements, it is likely that he will politicize federal aid, prioritizing red states over blue.
  18. Consumers – Despite promising to eliminate inflation and cut prices on day one, Trump has made it clear that he no longer cares about those issues. Instead, he has exacerbated the problems by starting a trade war with Canada, China, Mexico and others. And, contrary to Trump’s rhetoric, the cost of the tariffs will be paid by importers and passed along to consumers.
  19. Shareholders – Trump’s announced tariffs have already led to a large downturn in the stock markets which affects everyone with a 401(k). And, as the tariffs take full effect, the downturn is likely to turn into a market crash which will only benefit the billionaires and hedge fund managers.
  20. Emerging nations – With the gutting USAID, many of those living in emerging nations will suffer from food deprivation and epidemics.
  21. Ukraine – Following the Oval Office ambush of Zelenskyy for refusing to sign an agreement that would have given away half of Ukraine’s nation’s resources, Trump has illegally “paused” military aid for the defense of Ukraine. The only person that benefits is Putin.
  22. Palestinians – By stating that the US will take over Gaza, Trump has encouraged Israel’s ethnic cleansing of Palestinians and potentially further destabilized the Middle East.
  23. Tibetans – Trump has illegally blocked congressionally approved funding for the Tibetan government in exile – another case of revictimizing victims.
  24. NATO and longtime allies – Trump’s long running distaste for NATO and his unwarranted attack on Zelenskyy and Ukraine has understandably shaken the bond between the US, the UK and Europe. Our allies are now discussing ways they can stave off potential attacks by Russia without US help.
  25. You – Without proper oversight, Musk and his DOGEbags have been illegally filing through the data files of Medicaid, Medicare, Social Security and the IRS. That means they now have personal data for virtually every American citizen – where you live, where you work, how much you make, what is the status of your health, even your investment and bank accounts. What will they do with that information? For all we know, they could provide it to Putin or some other foe to drain our resources.

And this is just the start. Keeping in mind that it only took Hitler and his Nazis 53 days to completely dismantle a constitutional democracy, imagine how much damage this administration can do in four years.

The Real Teflon Don.

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In the 1980s, John Gotti, the boss of the Gambino family became known as the “Teflon Don.” Though he was indicted for numerous crimes committed as head of America’s most powerful crime syndicate, he repeatedly escaped conviction through jury tampering, juror misconduct and witness intimidation. Until finally, in 1992, he was convicted of murder, conspiracy to commit murder, racketeering and a host of other crimes.

But today, we have a crime boss who has more successfully earned the title of “Teflon Don” – a criminal who has proven to be much more slippery. I’m referring, of course, to Donald J. Trump.

Gotti would be envious of Trump’s ability to escape any real accountability for his crimes. Sure, Trump was convicted of defamation following a sexual assault and sentenced to pay his victim $5 million. In addition, his crime family’s business was found guilty on 17 felony counts including tax fraud and fined $1.6 million. And more than a thousand members of his crime syndicate, aka MAGA, have been convicted or pleaded guilty for participating in an insurrection that cost lives.

But, thus far, he has dodged indictments for inciting the insurrection, for trying to coerce state officials into rigging the outcome of the 2020 election, and for stealing and mishandling highly sensitive classified documents. Moreover, despite being convicted of 34 felony counts for hush money payments to women with whom he had extramarital affairs, unlike his former fixer, he apparently will avoid any prison time or other penalties. And, after receiving a sentence far less severe than a slap on the wrist, he almost certainly will appeal his conviction to the Supreme Court, where it likely will be overturned by the corrupt conservative majority that already has judged him immune for crimes committed while in the White House.

He didn’t have to resort to witness intimidation. His MAGA followers did that for him. And he didn’t’ have to tamper with jurors. One of the federal judges he previously appointed did all the work for him.

More impressively, he was elected to a second term in the Oval Office, even though voters had been informed of his indictments and convictions, his marital infidelity, his alleged rapes and sexual assaults, his close ties to famed pedophile Jeffrey Epstein, his defrauding of the government, his bullying and more.

Soon he will have the power to pardon members of his crime syndicate and preside over a government of nominees, appointees and a congressional majority that mirrors his own self-serving, hateful image.

It has long been said that justice is blind. In the case of Donald J. Trump, it certainly is.

Kakistocracy Returns.

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And this time, it’s a real sh*storm!

Kakistocracy, of course, is defined as a government run by the least acceptable and least competent officials. How else could you describe a government led by a thuggish narcissistic sociopath and administered by his unhinged and unqualified sycophants?

Think that assessment too harsh?

Not when an unqualified Fox News host is nominated to lead the world’s most powerful military. Not when a brain worm-infected anti-vaxxer is put in charge of the nation’s health services. Not when a Putin-loving conspiracy theorist is nominated as the nation’s top intelligence officer. And especially not when a former congressman who is the subject of a House investigation and credibly accused of illegal drug use and trafficking underage women for sex is nominated to lead the justice department.

In the words of Trump’s former attorney, Ty Cobb, that is “a f**k you to America.”
Indeed, the election of Trump is clearly a f**k you to our constitution, democracy and decency.

Trump has used a combination of lies, hateful rhetoric, and threats of violence to so enrage his followers against his political opponents, recent immigrants, transsexuals, and other minorities that they’re willing to destroy everything good that our nation has stood for.

For these insurrectionists, nothing is sacred.

After previously attacking police and defacing the halls of democracy on January 6th, they now seem ready to abandon our most hallowed principles and institutions, including the rule of law that our nation was founded upon.

In addition, they seem intent on ending all efforts to mitigate the climate crisis and abandoning relationships with our long-standing allies. They talk of rewriting our constitution; of consolidating power in the executive branch; of mass deportations; of eliminating protections for the LGBTQ community and other minorities; of deregulating large corporations and lowering their taxes; of imposing tariffs that will put our economy at risk; of privatizing our schools; of banning abortion and contraception; of banning books and history; of diminishing the power of labor unions; of eliminating the Federal Reserve; and of replacing the U.S. dollar with crypto currency.

Given their control of the Oval Office, the Senate, the House and SCOTUS, they now have the power to burn it all down. And they won’t stop there. I believe the goal is to bring the entire world to its knees with orders to kiss the ring of Trump and his fellow autocrats.

Instead, they can kiss my ass!