Celebrate Labor (Day)

 Another Labor Day arrives--burgers on the grill, ice-cold beverages in hand, kids enjoying their last summer freedom before school.

And it's to celebrate labor and the contributions of countless laborers that built this country. And unions helped many of them receive fair pay, hours, benefits. I'm a proud union member, as is my wife, sibling, father, etc. Unions aren't just a "Democrat" thing, it's a nationwide thing, something that has provided fairness to those countless workers whether or not they were officially represented by a union. Many of the things we take for granted in the workplace were/are in place because of unions. 

So, this Labor Day Weekend, I'll take a moment to reflect on my gratitude for those who work to keep this country strong, and I'll consider my gratitude, as well, for the unions that helped us all.

Time to pop a cold one. I think your burger's done.

Happy Labor Day!

Trump's NEW NFT's

 Check out Trump's new NFT's in this edition of the "None-yun"

Trump's Army: Standing Back and Standing By

Just as in the days before January 6, 2021, when Trump told a despicable white supremacist group to "stand back and stand by," his MAGA army of extremists are ready to thwart justice in his criminal trials--just as they (thankfully) unsuccessfully tried to thwart democracy on January 6.

Trump has issued an all-caps warning that "If you go after me, I'm coming after you." 

And Trump has reason to believe his troglodytic supporters will do his bidding. They harassed poll workers. They threatened Georgia GOP officials. They illegally accessed voting machines. They lied and schemed in devious plans to overturn an election. After he told them to "fight like hell," they overran the Capitol in a scary and shameful act of cowardice and fealty.

Now that Trump has been criminally charged (after numerous grand juries found probable cause of criminal actions), his extremist MAGA army is at it again.

Word comes today that death threats have been made to judges overseeing Trump trials. Purported names and addresses of the brave Grand Jury members in Fulton County have been shared by Trump's minions--likely to change their lives forever. Trump's---yes--deplorable extremist backers (about whom disgraced AZ gubernatorial loser Kari Lake remarked all owned guns, btw) will undoubtedly try to do Trump's disgusting, twisted bidding in physical manisfestation.

Already, messages are shared (even on Trump's home for idiots, his TRUTH platform) talking about fighting for our country, which undoubtedly includes doing whatever it takes to protect "The Boss."

Let's hope the jury--or all FOUR juries, actually--are courageous enough to decide their verdicts on the basis of guilt or innocence, not on the fear of violence, once again, committed by Trump's extremist MAGA army.

The Straw that Breaks Trump's Back

As I read through Trump's Fani Willis indictments, my skepticism grew. 

Charge after charge assumed Trump pushed his election lies despite knowing otherwise. Almost halfway through the document's "Acts of Racketeering Activity" section, I still didn't see anything that could definitively pin something onto Donald J. Trump. Just more straw on a camel's back.

You see, Trump is essentially the poster child for plausible deniability. He would implore a mob, for example, to "fight" virtually dozens of times, but then say "peacefully and patriotically" once to cover his butt. And, to be honest, a jury might have a hard time believing Trump was smart enough to oversee a vast conspiracy. Additionally, Trump's law team (Eastman, in particular), would undoubtedly peddle the smoke and mirrors of the plot as simply exploiting ambiguity in the U.S. Constitution.

So, um, yeah, it didn't look promising for those seeking, finally, some accountability for Trump and his actions.

And then came "Act 108." That beautiful, wonderful, magical "Act 108."

"On or about the 31st day of December 2020, DONALD JOHN TRUMP and JOHN CHARLES EASTMAN committed the felony offense of FILING FALSE DOCUMENTS..."

It seems that Donald John Trump signed a filed statement to Georgia containing some of his election lies--that poll personnel left their posts unattended, and that Georgia voters included felons, kids, those illegally/not registered, as well as thousands of the dead--after his attorney, Eastman, had emailed Trump's campaign that, um, he actually knew it contained falsehoods. 

Eastman knew. Trump's inner circle knew. Not a chance that Trump didn't. Not. A. Chance. And Trump signed the document anyway.

And, that, my friends, is a felony. 

And it also blows plausible deniably right out of the water.

Oh, it got better from there.

Trump's calls to pressure numerous Georgia officials to "find 11,780 votes," for example--repeating his lies that both his campaign and lawyer knew were false--added more charges. His actions to enlist Jeffrey Clark to draft a false letter to Georgia officials saying the DOJ found voting irregularities (EVEN if it wasn't sent), all constitute additional felonies in the Peach State. 

And they all can be pinned onto Donald John Trump. Not just one--but, like a zillion--straws on this particular camel.

It's still up to the Fulton County D.A.'s office to prove its case, of course, a case that looks as though it could bring some real accountability to Trump for his actions. A case  that, I believe, will finally break this camel's back.

And it's about time.

Hey, doofus, it wasn't a "Russia hoax"

For all those deniers (and idiots) out there who continue to call Trump's malfeasance during the 2016 campaign the "Russia hoax" (including the current GOP Presidential frontrunner Trump himself), here are ten tidbits that are proven facts, and facts that suggest it would have been negligent if the US DIDN'T investigate Trump's connections to Russia.

1)      Donald J. Trump and 18 of his associates had at least 140 contacts with Russian nationals and WikiLeaks, or their intermediaries, during the 2016 campaign and presidential transition--when there were US intelligence concerns that Russia had worked to influence the 2016 election in Trump's favor. One of which was Trump himself denying he had any ties to Russia while his company was still attempting to build the Trump Tower Moscow.  Mueller Report Shows Depth of Connections Between Trump Campaign and Russians - The New York Times (nytimes.com)

2) Trump’s campaign manager, Paul Manafort,  and Trump's son, Don, Jr., met with someone they thought was connected to Russian government for “dirt” on Trump’s political opponent to help Trump’s campaign—and then lied about the purpose of the meeting, at Trump’s direction. Mueller report: Donald Trump Jr.'s 2016 meeting on Russian dirt (palmbeachpost.com)

3)      Former Trump campaign chairman Paul Manafort passed internal Trump campaign information to a Russian intelligence officer during the 2016 election (despite strong suspicions of Russia attempting to sway the election to Trump) according to a bipartisan Senate report. Final Senate Intelligence Report On 2016 Election Russian Interference Released : NPR, 

4)      Trump publicly asked Russia to “find Hillary’s emails.” Within 24 hours, Russia had hacked into DNC accounts. Flashback: Trump asks Russia for Clinton emails - Bing video (Fox News) ; Russians tried to hack Clinton server on day Trump urged email search | Trump-Russia investigation | The Guardian

5)      Trump advisors (primarily Roger Stone, but George Papadopoulos, too) seemed to have advance knowledge of Russia’s hacking effort and subsequent wikileaks releases—with Stone predicting release dates and some content. New Unredacted Mueller Report's Most Explosive Revelations (businessinsider.com)

 6)      Trump praised wikileaks, an entity the US government previously had declared an “enemy of the state,” and anticipated and  amplified the hacked emails. President Trump in 2016: 'I love WikiLeaks,' Trump now: 'I know nothing about WikiLeaks' | CNN Politics

 7)      Kushner had created a back-door communication channel with Russia—which is not uncommon or illegal/unethical to be done by incoming administrations, but the timing and optics were suspect. Explainer: Was Jared Kushner’s attempted ‘back-channel’ with Russia treasonous — or typical? | PBS NewsHour

 8)      Trump believed Putin over US (and world) intel that had determined that the Russian government had worked to influence the 2016 Presidential election. Trump says he believes Putin over U.S. intel (yahoo.com)

9)      Numerous policies—including Syria withdrawal, non-renewal of INF treaty, disparagement of NATO—seemed to be pro-Russia, despite bi-partisan support for stands that weren’t Trump’s. 37 times Trump was soft on Russia | CNN Politics

10) Two subsequent Trump-DOJ investigations (Horowitz and Durham), concluded that, despite some egregious procedural errors, there was neither political bias nor malfeasance in beginning the Trump/Russia investigation. 

So, why in the world would anyone think there was something to investigate about Trump and Russia? Um, because there was, no matter what lies and misbeliefs Trump and his idiotic
minions spew.

GOP: Eyes Wide Shut

 A President that incited a violent insurrection is a couple days away from facing no consequence, whatsoever. A future demagogue will soon be studying Trump's playbook as to how to overturn the will of the people. Our Republic--and democracy, itself--will now forever be in jeopardy, even more fragile than such free governments have historically always been.

And the Senate GOP has willfully chosen to let it happen. Instead of regarding a meticulously presented blueprint of conviction for our inciter-in-chief, they have pretended not to notice.

Indeed, many of the GOP Senate "jurors" (quotation marks used for obvious reasons of their proven partiality) have ignored the evidence. Just as they have ignored Trump's corruption and self-serving evilness over the last four years. 

Instead, they cling to a Constitutional question about the trial that the Senate has already ruled is moot--such a dispute--according to the rules of the legislative body to which they've sworn an oath--no longer exists. Their majority vote says such an issue is not an issue at all. 

But they don't care. They don't want to inflame the rabid and psychotic base of Donald J. Trump or the sociopathic Trump himself, the only President to face the disgrace of being impeached two times. I'm not sure if they fear being primaried in their normal GOP strongholds by Trump's people who surely will get out and vote, or if they fear a hemorrhaging of their own support. Or maybe they fear unending and baseless disparagement from Trump's speeches and media platforms. Or maybe, in the face of violent insurrections whipped up by their party's leader, just maybe, they fear for their lives or those of their loved ones at the hands of those that chanted death wishes to the GOP Vice-President of the United States for doing his Constitutionally-mandated duty.

Some say Trump's learned his lesson (such as he did from his first impeachment?). Some say we don't want to divide the country (further than has been done by a President inciting an insurrection to overthrow democracy?). Some say Trump's star power has been so damaged that his political career is finished (are these the same "jurors" that  evidently continue to worship at the altar of Trump?). 

Shame on them. Shame on every one of these cowards that don't have the guts or the integrity to stand against a despotic President, or to stand with the Republic and its people.

The GOP could change that. But they have chosen a different and infinitely darker path.

On the plus side, there will be people of integrity who will now be motivated to enter public service to uphold the Republic. There will hopefully be a greater number of principled people who will run as a response to the current GOP cowardice and complicity in abetting an evil President.

But there will also be those with no principles who study how Trump inflamed his supporters, got them to believe baseless and incredible lies about rigged elections, and then was within a stone's throw--or a fire extinguisher's throw--of overturning a free and fair election. And someone smarter than Trump will use that blueprint as their own plan for tyranny. 

Based on these two likely possibilities, let's hope that, next time, the good guys win.

The Case For Impeachment (Round 2)

Trump faces a second impeachment. Although the first one should have been enough to out this horrifically corrupt man masquerading as our President (I wrote about it here), this time there should be no doubt from either side of the aisle.

The sole article of impeachment regards inciting an insurrection. Think about that for a moment--the President of the United States is charged with exhorting his followers to overthrow our government.

The key here is proving intent. Fortunately for the impeachment case, Trump's words and actions have been unwaveringly clear in his attempt to bring our country to this horrid state.

For months, he has claimed voter fraud (long before the election), when he realized his beloved economy was tanking because of his bungling the coronavirus response. He even claimed voter fraud in 2016 when he lost the popular vote to Clinton (his voter fraud commission found nothing, by the way). He always said that if he didn't win, an election was rigged.

Fast-forward, and Trump's lies and rhetoric have increased to dangerous levels. He threatened Georgia GOP officials that their actions regarding the election were criminal. He wanted them to "find 11,780 votes" and "recalculate" the recounted/audited/certified vote totals to declare him the winner. He met with legislators of other states to try to convince them to decline their state's duly-chosen slates of electors. He excoriated those that did not bend to his twisted will.

The hatred from his followers grew with every lie Trump and his minions told: DEAD VOTERS! DOMINION! SIGNATURE MATCH! BALLOT DUMPS! COUNTING BALLOTS TWICE! NO POLL WATCHERS! SHREDDED TRUMP BALLOTS! BURNED TRUMP BALLOTS! SUITCASES OF BIDEN VOTES!

And, despite copious rebuttals and debunking (even from Trump-appointed judges and agencies within the Trump administration), these baseless Trumpian lies settled into the minds of those that, for some reason unfathomable to me, pretty much worship Trump. And, it must be said, Trump knew exactly that which was being planned in the dark corners of the Internet--he is continually briefed on potential matters of national security (into which civil war falls), has a staff dedicated to social media, and has an echo chamber of aides and television personalities that are well-versed in these platforms and their treasonous conversations, as well.

And these Trump supporters acted on it. After Trump's exhortations to "be strong" and "fight" and "march to the capitol," they did. They stormed the US Capitol, trying to halt our duly-elected representatives from performing their Constitutionally-mandated duty. The mob broke, stole, chanted death threats, and ultimately, killed. Trump and his pals screamed ANTIFA!, but it was obvious that this was but another lie.

Here's where Trump's intent comes in: 1) Senator Sasse says Trump was delighted with the uprising in his name; 2) Trump, it appears, delayed calling additional law enforcement (which he certainly would have done if it had been a BLM insurrection); 3) Trump didn't call his own Vice-President-after the mob was chanting "Hang Mike Pence"--or any one of our country's sheltering legislators, except those he continued trying to persuade to overturn the election; 4) Trump was silent about the riot until he finally addressed the rioters--the ones trying to overthrow the government and hang his Vice-President--in a video saying that he loved them and they were very special, while repeating he agreed with them; 5) Now, Trump's supporters are similarly planning armed terroristic stormings of state buildings throughout our nation, plotting anarchy and violence at the inauguration of the duly-elected President and VP, and throwing credible death threats toward anyone that does not bow to Trump, their evil overlord. And Trump has neither discouraged nor denounced them.

Trump constantly lied--despite all credible evidence to the contrary--that our free and fair election was a fraud. He tried to convince state officials to overturn the will of the people, including using threats and fraud himself. He incited his followers to "be strong" and march to the Capitol. He supported the storming of the Capitol by his words and inaction, and later saluted those that broke, stole, chanted death threats, and killed a police officer. Now, he refuses to denounce or discourage planned violence from his perverted supporters paying homage to their king.

This is why he needs to be impeached. It will not cause further division. Those that back Donald Trump will back him, but history needs this so that his demagoguery and anti-democratic values will be forever recognized as the disgusting and dangerous behavior it is, and so it will not be replicated.

There should be no doubt this time.

Trump not only needs to be impeached, he needs to be convicted and prohibited from ever holding office again.