Thursday, August 20, 2020

What's At Stake


How inured we’ve become to Trump’s atrocities. The Republican-majority Senate Intelligence Committee just released its final report on Trump/Russia, and it’s been practically ignored, especially by Republicans. 
It’s damning. They concluded Trump and Roger Stone lied to Robert Mueller, and that Trump’s first campaign manager “represented a grave counterintelligence threat,” and did business with “a Russian intelligence officer.”
The Republican-led investigation also concluded the White House “significantly hampered” their efforts, and coordinated the testimony of witnesses before they appeared. It found that WikiLeaks, with which Roger Stone was conspiring on behalf of Trump, was “knowingly collaborating with Russian government officials.” It stated that Trump’s campaign encouraged and received Russian help in electing him, and are doing it again. Collusion.  
Knowing all this, Republican members of the committee still voted to deny Democratic requests for witnesses during impeachment, continuing a traitorous perjurer’s squatters-rights to the Oval Office. “Ho,” say Trumpists, “hum.” The friend of our enemy is our friend, too.  
We know what’s at stake. The surprisingly watchable “virtual” Democratic Convention made it clear: decency vs. indecency; common cause vs. deliberate division; compassion vs. cruelty; DACA vs. border cages; addressing climate change vs. making it worse; celebrating vs. demonizing diversity; inspiration vs. invective; science vs. conspiracy theories. Empathy vs. sociopathy. In short: America’s best vs. Trumpism.  
“I thought it was divisive,” said Trump of Michelle Obama’s heartfelt speech. Said the man who claims liberals want to destroy you; calls journalists enemies of the people; urged “liberation” of covid-fighting Democrat-run states; leads chants to imprison opponents, urges violence at rallies, calls neo-Nazis “very fine people;” who retweets a call to “… Let [Democratic cities] rot.” (Rule of thumb, fingers, and palm: when Trump accuses someone of something, it’s he who’s doing it.)  
After four years of so-called conservatives condoning Trump’s lies and incompetence, coddling dictators and insulting friends, making Americans unwelcome and pitied worldwide, suckered by China and North Korea – and much more -- no one imagines Joe Biden can completely heal us. Those still supporting Trump’s demagoguery will never heed President Biden’s calls for clarity and compassion. 
But whereas Trump would continue to stoke acrimony and alienation, Joe Biden will try to rid us of them. Only those who need someone to hate would miss it; only those unwilling to pull together as Americans to face our increasingly challenging future would turn away.  
Just from last week, here’s more proof of November's importance:  
  • Having pig-headedly reneged on the Iran nuclear agreement because Obama, Trump implored nations to renew the arms embargo against it. You no longer matter, they said. In an unprecedented, humiliating defeat for the US, they rejected Trump’s plea; whatever good might come from the UAE/Israel accord is on even shakier ground. 
  • Trump finalized plans to drill in ANWR, one of America’s most pristine and environmentally fragile places. Simultaneously, he reversed President Obama’s regulation of methane, the worst of greenhouse gases. It’s as if he wants to burn us down on his way out.    
  • When reminded there’s no evidence of mail-in ballot fraud, Trump’s Chief of Staff said lack of evidence is “the definition of fraud.” Seeing no dinosaurs on your lawn proves they’re there. It’s science.     
  • Trump and pillow-guy are pushing untested, poisonous oleandrin: yet another fake Covid-19 “cure.” 
  • Trump’s second campaign manager was arrested for defrauding investors with a phony border-wall-funding scheme. On its website, Trump is seen up-thumbing the plan.  
  • Enough damage done, Postmaster PFC DeJoy says he’ll suspend further dismantling the USPS till after the election.   
  • To keep Trump from descending into a rage of denial, intelligence agencies hide evidence of Russian interference in his briefings. 
  • The former DHS Chief of Staff revealed Trump’s temerarious attempts to make the department his personal instrument of power.   
  • Trump called for boycotting Goodyear (cancel culture!) because they banned MAGA hats in the workplace. In fact, they banned ALL political paraphernalia, which is good business.  
  •  Trump thinks the stock market is the economy. He golfed while his brother died. He repeated the debunkum that President Obama spied on his campaign. He praised people who believe the world is controlled by Satan-worshipping cannibalistic pedophiles who spread Covid-19 via 5G.  
Barack Obama laid down the stakes like railroad ties, his words a cri de coeur for country and constitution.  Joe Biden made it clear he understands the challenges of the future and the failings of the present and is ready to take them on for ALL Americans.

37 comments:

  1. Obama...lol...Both but Barack especially sais screw tradition and scorched his ass. I am sure he thought it absolutely appropriate w/o a second thought. Take the gloves of, rent space in Drumpfs head. I wonder how much more Obama will be involved from here on out.

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  2. OMG...(pun intended)

    Pillow guy wears a cross as a preemptive strike against anyone he so chooses to play that card. When asked "How do you differ from a snake oil salesmen?"

    Pillow guy says "I've done my due diligence...God has given me a platform..."
    He said "Easter Sunday" twice or thrice. That was the day Drumpf was to reopen the nation fun fact.

    This dude is a fast talking huckster using his charity tax write offs and that cross as some sort of "Stands on its own" solution to all who question him about anything.

    Oh...and pillow guy is now on the board of the snake oil company.

    https://www.cnn.com/videos/politics/2020/08/21/mike-pence-qanon-conspiracy-theory-trump-berman-intv-newday-vpx.cnn/video/playlists/top-news-videos/

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  3. For those paying attention, in the list of recent atrocities, I just added a statement and link referring to the 70 Republican national security experts' letter. It'll be in The Herald version, but I screwed up when doing the blog thing, originally.

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  4. Pillowvangelism at it's finest! Yuk!!
    After years and years of the decline of hotel pillows to be nothing more than a piece of paper under your head, what I did was roll up the bath towels and use that as a pillow. Of course, the beds in some "fine" hotels were so bad I slept on the floor, too.
    I wait anxiously for certain industries to return to the U.S., though I won't be around long enough for most.
    We used to know how to make things here, stuff better than the garbage we get from overseas where a "warranty" is a replacement of the same piece of junk.
    But then, I think I'm talking about the Presidency here, no? (too obscure?)

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  5. @Smooth — Pillow money talks! Got enough dough? You, too, can be a board member! Just imagine the other board members' reactions after sitting for hours in a room with the guy! The joke's on them. They made their bed and now they have to sleep with a stinky pillow!

    @Sid — Hadn't seen the actual letter, but that's quite an impressive list of signatories — giant leaps of competence, integrity, and intelligence compared to Trump's usual gutter gang.

    @ks — No obscurity. The Presididiocy.

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  6. @Dr. S,
    I considered majoring in "predentistry" but realized I was "predestined" to presiding prenuptially in a predictable profession.
    It was a good decision.

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  7. @Jack — Despite your preprofessional preferment I presuppose predisposition for your preponderate prescription.

    But, how did you like the play?

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  8. @Dr. S,
    I thought the acting was superb, but I prefer musicals to heavy character roles and fantasy. How about you?

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  9. @Jack — are you a seeker of wisdom and truth? Or?

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  10. @Dr.S,
    Yes, that is my quest. Thanks to great commenting here from people like you Dr. Schwab, ks, Sky river, smoothie, and others, I think I am on the right path.

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  11. Wow, evidence sounds damning, has anyone considered impeachment?

    Frank "seen this movie before"

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  12. What a novel idea, Frankie. Were you taking a six-month nap when it was not only considered, but done, and then torpedoed by 52 Grossly Obsequious Pusillanimous Senators?

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  13. Sid, I've been pondering the significance of the stooping warrior figure in your graphic (US democracy badly wounded but not yet defeated?). I've seen this image before but just can't quite place it, and my Google skills are inadequate to identifying it.

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  14. I think it's Captain America, with the shield, and all, looking in trouble. The frayed flag, too. And, since the title is "what's at stake," I thought the stake-like thing in his hand was serendipitous.

    I can't recall what words I used to find it in a google image search. Usually I look through several. Kind of a thing, since way back in my Surgeonsblog days: finding some sort of semi-relevant, topical image for the title.

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  15. Well Sid now you've got me obsessing about it so I dug in some more and actually found it here:

    https://usa.greekreporter.com/2020/07/07/post-american-schadenfreude-the-end-of-the-usa-as-we-know-it/ (BTW this is a very sobering editorial)

    I couldn't find a definitive source for the original human figure, but it is supposed to be Ephialtes of Trachis, the Greek traitor that led the Persian army through the secret pass around and behind the Greek armies at Thermopylae. As such it seems appropo of our current traitor in chief.

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  16. Good find. Come to think of it, I may have searched images for "End of America." In retrospect, other than the shield and the flag, the guy doesn't really look like Captain America.

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  17. The figure is Ephialtes, from the picture's file name, which is:
    Ephialtes_USA_flag_montage.webp
    I don't want to pretend I knew who Ephialtes was, but I do know about the Areopagus, the relationship to that explained here: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ephialtes#Attack_on_the_Areopagus
    The Areopagus appears in Scripture, which is why I know about it and its relation to the Athenians.
    Highly interesting to me that in the description of what happened to Ephialtes, someone named Aristodikos of Tanagra is mentioned. "Tanagra", was a focus word in a Star Trek Next Generation Episode, where Picard and a strange alien race overcame their differences in communication, which before had always led to war. Through the sacrifice of Darmok (to wit): Dathon utters the phrase "Darmok and Jalad at Tanagra" and tosses Picard a dagger; Picard learns enough of their language to prevent interstellar war. Here's the write-up: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Darmok
    I know I took this way too far, but, further proof to what I always say, that everything is plagiarism from the Bible, one way or another, though there is plenty of creativity by those who copy (do they even realize they're doing this?).
    btw, it's in Acts 17, found here: https://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=Acts+17%3A16-32&version=NIV
    Here's the chart where you find the significance of the Areopagus in Athenian government: https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/7/7f/Constitution-of-the-Athenians-in-the-4th-century-BC.png
    Their function was to judge the homicides of Athenian citizens, which, when you know this, provides learning in the Bible account.
    Believe it or not, I can tie all of this together, though it may take Dr. Strangelove to stick up for my form of insanity in seeing these connections; and, it would require Mythigator's fine understanding of Scripture as well. Either that, or, I truly am insane as far as you guys might be concerned.
    Hopefully, you'll be delighted in this strange connection.

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  18. "We’ll all end up as shadows and dust." (guess where that comes from?)
    What a fabulous find of an article! Thanks for your perseverance Skyriver!
    Love the writer's use of the word Schadenfreude". That was one of Mythigator's words, if I remember correctly when he was Highlander_Yank.

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  19. I do trust your connectivity, ks. Sometimes the ends of the branches seem a little fragile, but I'd be the last one to challenge you.

    I'll just add a recommendation for an outstanding novel of historically accurate fiction regarding Sparta, the Spartan way of life, and the battle at Thermopylae: Gates of Fire by Steven Pressfield. It's such a good read!

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  20. seeker of wisdom and truthAugust 23, 2020 at 7:23 PM

    Thanks to the amazing researchers in this blog, my search is bearing much fruit.

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  21. Dr S, on your recommendation I've purchased Gates of Fire. It sounds like a great story. BTW I got the Audible version. A well written novel read by a professional voice actor adds a whole new dimension of enjoyment, and you can even go for a walk while "reading". Thanks for the tip!

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  22. You're welcome, skyriver. Don't wear your sword while you walk and listen. :D

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  23. So, basically, my blog has become a chatroom. I don't really mind: people gotta relate, especially in these times. Still, this one began with what's at stake.

    One notes the R party has formulated no platform this year other than to pledge complete subjugation to Trump. "Corruption R Us" or "Submission and self-abnegation" ought to be their mottoes, flags flying behind Trump as he speaks.

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  24. While they would never admit it, they've actually become the “No Values” party. There is only one thing of value in Trumpland.

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  25. I really appreciate you allowing us to post here, Sid. Sorry to get off the main point, but sometimes we just need a break from the 24/7 national fustercluck, if only to refresh and re-engage. Right now I have a Spartan's focus on defeating an existential threat to US, so maybe I'm not so far afield here after all.

    Dr S - No sword, but I do use trekking poles, which also come in handy for whacking blackberry vines along the trail.

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  26. Sid, I thought you chose Ephialtes in front of our flag as he was challenging the Areopagus because of their failure to judge the homicides among the people, such as what even happened in Wisconsin just yesterday. The Athenians, you know, went down in flames.
    We have some serious messes going on this country, ones instigated by the great instigator himself. Who will be our Ephialtes?
    Perhaps, if we had one, he's been assassinated already?
    And, the R's keep on R-ing along, like Old Man River.
    This is an article picked somewhat at random among many like-titled articles comparing its collapse to our own in process: https://phys.org/news/2009-10-athenians-history.html
    I speak too much in metaphors and similes, am still working on Dr.S's fragile branches, beyond the obvious that is...

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  27. I wrote and didn't get posted so, I tried...Failed...But I tried.

    The game is this...

    Alt right breaks it, and the left fixes it. Both claim blame and credit and run on that to reelection.

    I've said it before 100 times and sometimes gets deleted. The alt right is uncomfortably focussed on elderly, uneducated, white voters. Why? They are the easiest cons. Steve Bannon "build a wall" grift is the latest of a laundry list of old time alt right faves. The NRA has finally come home to roost...and so on...

    Educated people don't fall for the stupid crap. Only the eternally ignorant can be fooled again and again. You have to be ignorant and refuse to be any other way as they rant at FOX 'news' watching Judge Jeanine 'religiously'.

    Speaking of religious...Taking your white hood away is not an infringement on your religious beliefs. Neither is taking away your MAGA hat. Taking away an hijab is however. They don't see the difference. The mark of a true mark!

    We got Alex Jones selling supplements. Along with his alt right conspiracy theories.

    It's to the point where the alt right is mailing it in. There's no platform for the first time in Republican history. It's ""The Drumpf Agenda" this election for the alt right. Why? Well, lot's of reasons...

    The idea is to keep power. That "power" comes in many forms. The power to cheat people will never go away. It's simply won't. These people, like Roger Stone, enjoy cheating people. They get off on it. It makes them feel powerful. They like the control.

    So being a right wing anything is simply to agree that "The Drumpf Agenda" is good enough to go on vacation on. That and nothing else that got done before recess and the attack on the USPS being overseen by the alt right minions of Drumpf.

    Yeah, let's reelect Drumpf...He's a genius. He's good for 'merica. They think.

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  28. If you mean you wrote here, Smoove, and it didn't get posted, I never saw it. Not in the trash, either.

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  29. By default, the GOP (COTP) platform has become "There is no God but Donald and GOP is his prophet."

    Next up ... the golden statue?

    https://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=Daniel+3%3A1-7&version=ESV

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  30. Yeah...I thought I nuked it. No worries. I have no idea how I screwed it up...

    Speaking of seeking answers...I dunno if y'all have seen this, but it's a really good 2 hours spent. (The latest Frontline I watched was about Lumpy and it was enough to piss off anyone) If a SCOTUS judge dies...Drumpf will replace them. None of this "Let the people decide" crap...Just another con.

    The alt right is nothing more than organised crime at this point. Not just American, but Russian as well. Saudis' are in on it too...and so on.

    If we did this...Followed the principles laid out in this video, the wealthy and powerful would lose wealth and power and these are the people least equipped to deal with the loss of wealth and power. I mean...people kill themselves over losing everything. Someone has taken everything from me my whole life. I'm numb to it at this point. You move on and deal with it as best you can. One day at a time. Yet people jump from buildings if without money suddenly and without warning. We fixed that. T.A.R.P. and too big to fail. No need to do a thing except support the Ways and Means chairs lavish lifestyle. You'll always get rich even if you lose.

    https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hZnuc-Fv_Tc

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  31. @Mythi

    Oh no doubt man...The alt right is now a full blown cult of personality. "We support Drumpfs 'Nation First Agenda'"

    We all know by now that "Nation First" means the preservation of white power in America and thus the world...Right?

    People on the left try to say the vote isn't rigged. In fact, 500,000 ballots were purged during the primaries. More than enough to swing an election. The fact is...The vote is rigged and the alt right are openly doing it. They went from closing voting places to closing USPS offices. If your ballot is almost late, it will not be counted. They will argue every crossed I and dotted T as invalid. People waiting in line and the doors get shut EARLY because it's clear all these black folk ain't here to vote for Drumpfs minions. Gotta nip it in the bud or they'd possibly lose. Florida won't even turn in their election counts until everyone has done there's. No sense in cheating if Drumpf lost anyway.

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  32. All you need to understand night #1 of the end of the republic...This is amazing...lol

    https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TCBNvEgUwFQ

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  33. Today's news of a Russian armored vehicle colliding, evidently deliberately, with a U.S. armored vehicle strikes me as extremely suspicious. highly unlikely. Why today? On the day before Trump accepts the Republican nomination??

    I think that the accident was intentional. I think that this is Trump's pal Putin giving him a legitimate excuse to look tough on Russia. Trump will now respond in some way to counteract claims that he and Putin are much too cozy.

    We're about to be played. That's my prediction.

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  34. Everyone needs to see this...Cops hand a water bottle to a murdering 17 year old. Vigilantism is encouraged by FOX 'news'. Tucker Carlson "Should we be surprised?" He basically says this is the new normal if people are going to protest. Roaming bands of vigilantes will arrive and slaughter people at will...and nobody should be surprised.

    Tired of the cops and their support of this vigilante crap.

    https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Oaz5uOEX4cs

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  35. Generalissimo Donaldo has an orange uniform hanging in his closet that he is anxious to wear at the inauguration ceremony. The crowd will be "huge". A military parade will fill the Capital Mall with legions of militia, tanks, and space force flyovers.

    Or, President Joe Biden humbly accepts the dutiful responsibility to reverse the insanity of the past four years in a ceremony worthy of a leader of a democracy.

    The choice is ours, VOTE.

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  36. And finally...This is what the American Oligarchy looks like.

    https://www.msnbc.com/msnbc/watch/joy-reid-that-was-not-an-americana-president-giving-an-acceptance-speech-that-was-a-monarch-90768453558?cid=referral_taboolafeed

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  37. A worthwhile read: https://getpocket.com/explore/item/the-case-for-making-low-tech-dumb-cities-instead-of-smart-ones?utm_source=pocket-newtab
    We focus on the wrong things, like forcing people to be what they're not.
    He'll either win again or he won't win again, I've already mentioned my prediction, that it will be a drubbing, so tired are people of the current state of affairs.
    But, no matter what happens, we should be looking at things to help the gargantuan messes the cities have become. We need to reimagineer the cities, and the referenced article is a good start. Am glad when I read some who know this as well.
    People are hurting, and things like this could help.

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