Trump

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Republicans want to destroy democracy and how Democrats can keep it

by Guest Blogger David Gerrold

On January 6th, in Donald Trump’s fevered imagination, he intended to lead an armed mob into the halls of Congress and declare himself the winner of the 2020 election. That armed mob would not have hesitated to use their guns on anyone they perceived as an enemy.

Fortunately, it didn’t happen that way, but there is plenty of evidence to demonstrate that there was significant planning for that coup attempt.

Had Trump made it to the Capitol, I suspect his reign would have been very short. The members of our military have taken an oath to defend the Constitution against all enemies, foreign and domestic. Thwarting the certification of an election is sedition.

Would the military have fallen in line behind Trump? I don’t think so. Well … I hope not.

Meanwhile … Donald Trump is now suggesting that he will run again in 2024. That’s not a hint, that’s a threat.

A shadow government has already been formed, ready to take possession of the national machinery on January 20th. Around the country, various state legislatures controlled by Republicans are taking steps to guarantee that their states will choose Republican electors in 2024 so that regardless of the popular vote in those states, they can return Donald Trump to our White House.

This nation is at a cusp.

If the Republicans regain control of the House and Senate, it stops all attempts to preserve the mechanics of our democracy.

If, however, enough Americans are alarmed by the actions of the Supreme Court, it is possible that there could be enough of a blue turnout in November to protect the Democratic majority in both houses.

We will know in November if we still have a democracy.

If not … well, I know several people who are justifiably predicting that this nation is headed toward violence. The unholy alliance of evangelicals, fascists, and corporate oligarchs, has created the greatest threat to the United States since the slaveholders’ rebellion.

The USA has been targeted by a carefully calculated long game designed by fascists. Their goal to suspend the Constitution and replace the federal government with their own home-grown Reich.

I suspect that they will fail. But this nightmare will not be defeated easily. If the Jan 6th Commission cannot stop the seditious movement in this country, violence will be inevitable. There are too many veterans in this country who took their oath seriously.

There are many ways to bring down a government. The women of Iceland demonstrated that a few years ago, when 90% of them went on strike, hitting the streets, and shutting down the government.

Can we shut down a fascist coup in the United States?

I don’t know.

But there are several things we must accomplish in the next few years to stop the possibility:

1) Campaign finance reform. End Citizens’ United.

2) End the electoral college. One person, one vote. Period. Everybody who reaches the age of 18 is eligible to vote. Automatically.

3) Oversight on the Supreme Court. I’m not sure how this can best be accomplished, but there are several possibilities. Term limits for one. And having one Justice for each of the thirteen districts. Both of those would be a good start. A third option — the Senate has 90 days to approve or disapprove an appointment. Failing to give the appointee a hearing, he/she automatically gains the seat. (There is nothing in law that says the Senate must approve an appointee.)

4) End the fucking filibuster. I can understand why some Democratic senators might not want to establish this precedent. So a Senator can only filibuster as long as he/she can stand and talk.

5) No one can hold office as either Senator or Representative or President without passing the same citizenship test that all immigrants must pass before nationalization.

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Ten-time Hugo and Nebula award nominee DAVID GERROLD is also a recipient of the Skylark Award for Excellence in Imaginative Fiction, the Bram Stoker Award for Superior Achievement in Horror, and the Forrest J. Ackerman lifetime achievement award. He was the Guest of Honor at the 2015 World Science Fiction Convention. Gerrold’s prolific output includes teleplays, film scripts, stage plays, comic books, more than 50 novels and anthologies, and hundreds of articles, columns, and short stories. He has worked on a dozen different TV series, including Star Trek, Land of the Lost, Twilight Zone, Star Trek: The Next Generation, Babylon 5, and Sliders. He is the author of Star Trek’s most popular episode “The Trouble With Tribbles.” His most famous novel is The Man Who Folded Himself. His semi-autobiographical tale of his son’s adoption, The Martian Child, won both the Hugo and the Nebula awards, and was the basis for the 2007 movie starring John Cusack and Amanda Peet. His latest story can be found in Three Time Travelers Walk Into… (edited by Michael A. Ventrella). His web page is www.gerrold.com

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A Question for the Trump People

by Guest Blogger Peter David

It would be easy to focus on Trump because, as always, not a week passes where he doesn’t say or do something stupid. This week he threatened two states because their Democratic leaders were endeavoring to make sure that people could vote by mail, threatening to try and withhold financial support because of their attempts to encourage election fraud. trumpmaskThis despite the fact that election fraud is not an issue and absentee voting doesn’t tend to favor either Democrats or Republicans. Basically he’s renewing his whole quid pro quo, threatening to keep help out of the hands of people who need it unless those people knuckle under to his demands. And why not? The GOP covered his ass in January, so he believes he can do whatever he wants with impunity.

Which, so far, he can. Inspectors General threaten to ride herd on him? Fire them. People testified before Congress over his actions or reported their concerns to their superiors? They’re gone. Walk around in public without wearing the face mask that his own people are saying should be a part of one’s apparel in pubic? Screw that: the press would take delight in depicting him wearing one, so why not risk being exposed or infecting others?

Because with Trump, it’s all about weakness. He doesn’t want to appear weak in any way, shape or form, because to be weak is to be a loser, and he absolutely cannot ever lose. Ever. This is so much a part of his persona that he literally could not say that the tests he’s taken for the Coronavirus were negative, because to him, a negative test was a failure, and failure is a loss. So he actually said, “I tested positively towards negative.” This yutz actually has the nerve to claim that Biden can’t speak properly when his own twisted psychology prevents him from saying, “I tested negative.” Meanwhile he continues to attack journalists, especially female ones, who have the nerve to ask him actual questions about his contradictions and vagueness. Indeed, for some reason he’s started talking like Yoda: “A rude question that is.” I know he’s been accused of being a Russian puppet, but it was never intended to be a literal charge.

But you know what? Screw Trump. I feel like talking briefly about his followers.

They are the ones whom experts have been describing as being members of a death cult. Although they claim that the left wing is viewing the pandemic through the haze of partisanship, this is actually a classic example of something Trump does all the time: Accuse the opposition of something that you yourself are doing. Because the fact of the matter is that it’s the Trumpies whose perceptions are being governed entirely through the haze of cult membership and tribal partisanship. They condemn Democratic governors for the unspeakable crime of worrying about citizens’ health and obeying the advisories of medical experts and epidemiologists while lauding GOP governors who place the economy above health concerns. Meanwhile evangelical intellectuals are loudly proclaiming that it’s silly to elevate fear of death over spiritual concerns and that people should be ready to die if it will serve the greater good, i.e., the economy and attending services so they can donate to the churches.

And the reason I say their opinions are tribal is because we all know that if Hillary Clinton were President and she were saying the exact same things that Trump was—that the country should reopen, that doctors’ advice should be ignored—the Democrats would be appalled and the right wing’s heads would be exploding. They’d be demanding she be impeached and loudly declaring, “That’s what happens when you put a Democrat in charge!” But no, instead they line up behind Trump, endorse his talking points no matter how stupid they are, and oh, do they hate Democrats. Indeed, that’s really why they love Trump: Because they believe he irritates the left, and it’s all about aggravating the left. Nothing else matters.

So allow me to address their perceptions, their lies, their distortions:

We wanted to be proven wrong about Trump. We really did.

We wanted our concerns to be groundless, our worries to be misplaced. We wanted to believe he would grow into the job, that the whole racist, brainless thing was an act to get elected. That he would rise to the challenges of the position. That he would protect us, and would protect the United States’ position as leader of the free world. That he could grow to be the man we needed.

We wanted our fears that, if confronted with a genuine threat to American health and safety, he would rise to the challenge.

Why?

Because WE LIVE HERE, you dumbasses. Our fates are tied in with yours, and we do not benefit from friends and family members dying, jobs disappearing, and businesses go bankrupt.

We are not so obsessed with Trump losing that we’re happy that over 100,000 people are going to be dead by June 1, that the economy has crashed, that the entire country is spiraling down the drain. Hell, my daughter was supposed to attend a BTS concert tomorrow; that’s not happening. Who knows if it ever is. No one knows anything. We’re living on suppositions, guesses and speculation, and we’re no more comfortable than you are. The difference between us is, our opinions are not shaped by cult like devotion, and yours are. You can and do hate us with all your souls, and by and large, we don’t return that hate. We just feel sorry for you and shake our heads, wondering if there is anything that can shake your faith. Apparently the only thing that can is if you die from the Coronavirus.

Which you’re very likely to do as you hold your idiotic protests and ignore basic safety measures, strutting around with your guns to prove how tough you are. You’ll infect each other because the virus doesn’t give a damn what your political affiliations are. It’ll just make you sick and possibly kill you.

To quote your leader: Sad.

Peter David is a writer whose novels include many of his own stories as well as novels in the world of Star Trek and Babylon 5 (and others).  Besides novels, Peter has written comic books (Incredible Hulk, Aquaman, Supergirl), television shows (Babylon 5, Space Cases, Ben 10), short stories, blogs, and more. Check out his web page and his wikipedia page and prepare to be overwhelmed.

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You’re supposed to stand up to the bad guys

Now that more information has come out about the confrontation with those Catholic boys and the Native American, it seems clearer to me that it went somewhat like this:

“We’re a bunch of spoiled boys marching to fight against women’s rights! We’re wearing our MAGA hats to show everyone that we’re bigots!”

“I am a Native American veteran and I will stand up to you peacefully.”

“We will defuse the situation by mocking native people and screaming ‘build the wall’ while doing a Maori dance! There, we’re the good guys here!”

Nah, not buying it. The fact that the veteran walked up to people who should be confronted doesn’t make him the bad guy here. He did the right thing. We should all be confronting the haters.

cjones01252019

cartoon by Clay Jones

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Norwegian Would (This Trump has Flown)

I once had a job raking the leaves
Out in the woods
A socialist job keeping them safe
The best I could

A Scandinavian task that was needed it seems
I moved the leaves from the forest and into the streams

So day after day I raked away
Down through the snow
“An important task” they’d say when I’d ask
I didn’t know

It was demeaning and tiring and I couldn’t see
How this was a process done in any other country

So one day I stopped and took a break
There’s my mistake
The forest caught fire
I didn’t do good
But a Norwegian would

fire-2-2

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Discriminating against assholes

There is a massive nazi/right-wing march this weekend in Washington for some reason. Like these people have something to complain about with the Trump administration?  Who knows with these idiots?

Anyway, many restaurants, taxi services, and businesses are refusing to serve these people.

“But wait,” the stupids reply. “You left-wingers object when we want to refuse service to gay people because we don’t approve of their choices, yet here you are refusing service to us for the exact same reason!”

Their inability to understand the difference is the root of the problem.a2668b92-7c26-4736-b568-feb08d471e03-ax098_4a00_9

You should not be discriminated against for two major things: (1) Things you have no control over (such as your sex, race, country of origin, and sexual orientation); and (2) Your religion or lack thereof (because that is specifically in the Constitution).

But choices you make?  That’s not protected, especially when those choices could have an affect on the business itself.

Just like a business can say “No shoes, no shirt, no service” it can refuse to accept someone who will hurt their business or cause a scene. Remember that Trump supporter that went into a gay bar just after the election mostly to rub the election results in the face of everyone else there? Kicking him out may have prevented a fight and certainly he wasn’t there just to enjoy the food.

People who run these businesses in Washington DC have many minority employees. They have people who seriously could be threatened by these yahoos who, last time they had a rally, killed innocent people.

While I support the right of nazis to march, because I don’t want the government deciding who gets free speech and who doesn’t, I also support the right of citizens to make these nazis’ lives as difficult as possible.

 

 

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The celebrity double standard

Many conservatives are in mock outrage over Robert DeNiro saying “Fuck Trump” at the Tony Awards the other night (which, of course, is what you’re supposed to say to people who want to be dictators). Many of these are the same people who happily welcomed people to their convention wearing “Hillary is a cunt” T-shirts.

“Celebrities shouldn’t talk about politics!” they say unironically as they support a reality TV star who invites Kid Rock and Kim Kardashian into the Oval office where a picture of movie star Ronald Reagan hangs, as Ted Nugent and Charlton Heston host Republican rallies attended by Meat Loaf, Mel Gibson, and Rosanne Barr. “They should just keep quiet!”

DeNiro, of course, is a native New Yorker and New Yorkers know Trump best, which is why he won a grand total of 18% of the vote there.  When asked about his profane comments about Trump, DeNiro responded:  “You talkin’ to me?” 636642680125721262-USP-ENTERTAINMENT-72ND-TONY-AWARDS-100536623

 

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Search warrants on lawyers

There is indeed a lawyer/client privilege, but it doesn’t really apply when the lawyer is the one breaking the law.

Trump’s attorney was the subject of a search warrant last night, and Trump immediately called it a “Democratic witch hunt.”  Just to put things in perspective:

Republican Mueller, who was appointed by a Republican and approved by a Republican Congress, got a Republican FBI lawyer appointed by Trump to approve a warrant that was signed by a Republican judge.

Clearly a Democratic witch hunt.1ymb8t

But let’s discuss that warrant. Searching a lawyer’s office is much harder than searching anywhere else because of the risks of breaking into that lawyer/client privilege. Therefore, in order to get that warrant, you have these requirements (according to the Washington Post):

  1. Before obtaining a search warrant, investigators had to try to obtain the evidence in another way, such as by subpoena.
  2. The authorization for the warrant had to come from either the U.S. attorney or an assistant attorney general. (Rosenstein is deputy attorney general, a higher position than assistant attorney general.)
  3. The prosecutor had to confer with the criminal division of the department before seeking the warrant.
  4. The team conducting the search had to “employ adequate precautions” to ensure that they weren’t improperly viewing privileged communications between Cohen and his clients.
  5. The search team would have included a “privilege team,” including lawyers and agents not working the case, which would work to ensure that investigators conducting the search didn’t see privileged communications.
  6. The investigators had to develop a review process for the seized material

So here we go. Pass the popcorn.

stewart popcorn

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White House just can’t stop lying

The latest lie blames the Democrats for the government shutdown. This is despite the fact that the Republicans couldn’t even get enough votes from their own party to reach 50%.

Mind you, this isn’t just a talking point. In a completely unprecedented and childish move that is 100% away from “Presidential,” the White House has stopped answering the phone, and people who call get a message blaming the Democrats. I am not making this up.
angry trump

Let’s recap. The GOP said “If you don’t either kill the Dreamer program or CHIP which provides health care to poor children, and if you don’t let us build the wall, we’re going to shut the government down.”

Or, to put it another way, “We have hostages. Do what we say and we will only kill one of them.”

The Dreamer Program (DACA, which stands for “Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals”) is supported by 87% of all Americans, who clearly think it’s a pretty good idea. This allows innocent children who were brought here illegally by their parents to stay in this country if they do certain things (don’t get arrested, stay in school, join our military, etc.). It has been wildly successful. People like helping children. But, of course, the GOP hates it for some reason. (Hint: it helps brown people.)

CHIP (Children’s Health Insurance Program) similarly provides support for kids who, through no fault of their own, are poor.  It is supported by 75% of Americans because, come on, we’re nice people who think children deserve not to die. Once more, the GOP says “screw you” to what the vast majority of Americans want.

And then there’s the Wall that Trump promised Mexico would pay for. Now he wants us to pay for it. This is opposed by 63% of Americans as it has been since Trump first started spouting it on the campaign trail. Do you think the Republicans care what Americans want? (And why only a border wall with Mexico and not Canada?  Hint: brown people again.)

The Democrats are standing up for what the vast majority of Americans want. Yet the GOP still claims it’s the Democrats’ fault.

The House came up with a compromise (because that’s what government is all about — compromising) and Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer met with the president and worked out a deal. Trump, of course, then broke his promise to Schumer almost immediately and then blamed Schumer. “Negotiating with this White House is like negotiating with jello,” Schumer said.

Yet they still say it’s the Democrats’ fault.

You’d think a man who ran on the platform of being “the world’s greatest negotiator” would have been able to come to some sort of compromise, wouldn’t you? But of course, for that to happen, it would have meant that Trump would have told the truth.

And that’s just clearly not in his character.

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Talk about a shit-hole country

The reason I don’t want to limit emigration from shit-hole countries is because we are rapidly becoming one.

I’m shocked that anyone is shocked that Donald Trump called Haiti and other countries “shitholes.” The man has used language like this before, he’s said racist things before, he’s bragged about his sexual assaults, he’s called nazis good people — really, where have you all been?45BAA924-63E8-4338-B0CC-E49C5F70B52C

But seriously, the cursing isn’t the issue. Fox News is trying once again to distract us from what is really being said by claiming that we’re all upset that the president cursed.

No, that’s not it.

“Shit-hole country” really means “I don’t want those black people coming here” and you know it.

It’s like when he talked about grabbing pussies and Fox news said “Oh, you’re all upset that he used the word ‘pussy.'” No, the bad word in that sentence is “grab.” 

Let’s not get distracted by the words, and instead look at what the shithead really is saying.

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This cliched Presidency

If you saw this in a movie, you’d think “This is so unbelievable and so cliched.”

President wins by a loophole after being supported by our cliched Russian enemy using underhanded and illegal means. The President is a reality show host who has a history of being a terrible landlord who has been married many times, mistreats and abuses woman while bragging about it, lies constantly, and has the maturity of a kindergarten child.trump evil

He then appoints the man most responsible for the foreclosure crisis to be in charge of the economy; appoints a woman who wants to destroy public education as Secretary of Education; appoints people who don’t believe in science in charge of science, appoints lawyers who have no experience in law to be judges; and gives the rest of his appointments to his family despite laws against nepotism.

He then channels government funds in a way to profit his personal businesses, which he refuses to place into a blind trust, and refuses to release his taxes despite promising to do so.

He tries to cut a popular health care program for no reason, wants to raise taxes on the poor and reduce them on the rich while letting his billionaire friends write off expenses like personal jets and yachts.

He has a propaganda machine concentrated in one network in particular and supported by many smaller stations and newspapers which repeat lies enough that eventually people believe them.

And to top this all off, he is supported by KKK members and literal nazis.

In a movie, this would be rejected as being too blatantly obvious. “These bad guys are just too evil — no one would believe it!”

All we’re missing is a maniacal laugh.