Baby Jessica went missing in a well for 58 hours and the world sat with bated breath awaiting word of her safety.
Melania Trump went missing in a cesspool 25 days ago and crickets.
Oh the times they are a-changin
Baby Jessica went missing in a well for 58 hours and the world sat with bated breath awaiting word of her safety.
Melania Trump went missing in a cesspool 25 days ago and crickets.
Oh the times they are a-changin
Trump knows his audience. He always has. It’s the secret of his success. He understands what motivates his constituents so well that he is able to craft a message that speaks direct to whatever audience is in front of him in that moment. Offer up the deal of your dreams, designed to reward you with whatever it is you most desire, regardless of precedence or existing restraints. Quid pro quos with so many competing factions it takes a full time Consigliere to keep track of it all.
It is important to understand that at heart Trump is a casino man. He preys on the desperate. He knows that for the right price anything is negotiable and for the man who holds no core beliefs or morals there’s never been a price he isn’t willing to pay if it will advance his own self interests.
It’s actually fairly easy for a talented conman to rise to power. The difficult part is remaining there. To do that you need to make those various factions that promised support in exchange for influence that you will deliver. That they can trust you to continue to deliver on their behalf. So long as you do that, serve your purpose and advance all agendas, you can murder a man on Fifth Avenue in plain daylight and your so called base will continue to turn a blind eye. Once the naked emperor slips up though and loses the trust of any one bloc the entire pyramid quickly begins to crumble. Et tu Brute?
As a reality television star Trump is well aware of this. He knows the key to retain that trust is to continue to talk to every faction as individuals. Make them know he still cares about them. Is there to advance “their” agenda.
Pay attention. Each time he appears before the camera he plays a different character, a different instance of a GOP President. Each tweet or speech written by a schizophrenic clone of the same id. Let’s go through but a few of them.
There’s Evangelical Trump ready to shepherd the righteous to the Rapture they foolishly seek. He’s the anti-Muslim best friend of Netanyahu who fights for family values, Jerusalem and God in absolute ways. You’ll often find Preacher Pence staring doe eyed at this Trump.
There’s Military Hawk Trump who is interested to see what will happen with Rocket Man, stands for the National Anthem, and has a keen understanding that Cold Wars and calls for faux patriotism are great for recruitment and military budgets.
There’s Establishment Trump who awkwardly poses alongside McConnell and Ryan and promises to advance whatever legislation will secure the status quo of white Christian male dominance far beyond demographics would otherwise allow. Abolish regulations with the stroke of a pen as Executive Order after Executive Order is placed in front of him to be signed unread. Ambassadorships and plush Cabinet posts are often reserved for these folk.
There’s Comrade Trump who is more of a mute unless it concerns impending military operations. Unable to say anything negative about his PuppetMaster Putin. Alienating traditional allies at every turn and advancing Putin’s agenda in the Ukraine and throughout the European arena. A frequent tweeter, he screams WITCH HUNT and no collusion. He also places known foreign agents in charge of our national security.
There’s Tea Party Trump who you’ll frequently see at rallies. It seems to me like this character is often on coke as he sniffles a lot and tends to go off script more than the other characters. He’s Mr Anti-Establishment, but only to a degree. He often talks tough but backs down if a deal can be made – the no DACA, no treaties, no trade deals initial stance that he secretly negotiates against.
Finally there’s Deplorable Trump. The most dangerous and controversial of all the characters he plays a critical role. Though not as large as some of the other blocs they are disproportionately influential and necessary to hold the other groups together. A twisted mutation of Tea Party Trump, Deplorable Trump is the one who delivers the dog whistles and codes to what heretofore was an unrepresented fringe group. This is the Trump that promotes deep state conspiracy theory and casually dehumanizes entire minorities, religions, and countries. He builds walls not to stem illegal immigration but to protect us from Mexican rapists and drug dealers. He disparages shit hole countries and falsely equates klansmen, neo-Nazis, and white supremacists to protestors who seek peace and justice for all people. He wages war on a free and independent press, judiciary, or any attempt at checks and balances. He blatantly rewards loyalty and encourages corruption. God bless the Kakistocracy.
Whenever the noose tightens around Trump’s neck this is the character we see respond. It’s no coincidence Trump’s Charlottesville remarks happened days after the Manafort raid. This is the very constituency he counts on to keep him in office. The ones who troll our posts and claim to “own” us. Who challenge the liberal elites to just try to impeach their leader, silence their voice. They carry the tiki torches, display their Confederate flags, and no longer even try to cloak their appearance behind the white hoods of their ancestors. They threaten to “crush” anyone who disrespects THEIR President and are armed with military grade artillery.
Deplorable Trump knows this. He depends on them keeping their word. Relies on them to keep the other Republican blocs in line through threats and intimidation. He uses them to dig up compromising information on friends and foe alike to use to his advantage. He invites and encourages them by referring to his opposition as “animals,” “enemy of the people,” and “unAmerican.” Terms meant to dehumanize and promote the cognitive dissonance that will allow a fanatical following to justify future acts of horrific violence.
Even the most domesticated of animals grow dangerously unpredictable when they sense the end is near. Desperate Donald is one character we should all fear. Let’s not sit back and wait for his appearance
I find myself once again plunged into the sunken place. The echo of the gunshots as they ring through the halls of our schools must mimic the sound of a spoon clinking gently against a delicate teacup. Transports my psyche to that powerless place from which we can observe, but not act.
By now I should know better than to fight it. To scream out the answers that will go unheard. That will be met with thoughts and prayers. To demand sensible gun control and comprehensive reform. To highlight the fallacy of the 2nd Amendment, the analogies to traffic laws, the hypocrisy of pro-lifers.
By now I should know to temper my expectations. Realize that it is naive to think the slaughter of our children will awaken our elected leaders from their slumber. Foolish to hope it will remind them that their responsibility is to serve and protect “we, the people,” not the monied interests of corporations and NRA lobbyists. Understand that it will always be “too soon.” That thoughts and prayers is all they will ever offer.
By now you’d think I’d have grow immune to the pain. Indifferent to the sorrow the friends and families of the victims must feel. Hardened to the feelings of empathy that awash me as parents reunite with their kids; devastated for the ones who never will.
By now you would think I’d cease correcting the reporters each time they referred to the disturbed gunman. Each report in which they refused to brand the latest act of domestic terrorism as such. Failed to identify the undeniable trend among the perpetrators. To ask the obvious, “where were they radicalized?”
Perhaps that’s the plan. To normalize these school shootings to such a degree that we accept them as inevitable. Abandon efforts at prevention in favor of those that mitigate damage instead. Redesign our schoolyards to more closely resemble a prison yard. Arm our teachers and security officers to better control threats. Relax our rights of privacy to allow for profiling and stop and frisk of suspicious groups. Enhance communications to allow for quicker response times.
Let me be clear. They may expect that but it will never happen. To settle for that is a disservice to our children and future generations. It is to spit on the graves of our founding fathers. To admit that fear trumps freedom.
Do not give into those impulses. This fight is too important. They may want you to perceive that this fight is in unwinnable, that it requires compromise, but reality tells us otherwise. We’ve seen what happened in Australia when they resolved to solve the core issue. We know the success Japan, Europe and most of the civilized world has had in implementing common sense reform.
The feeling of helplessness you may experience today is real, but so long as you continue to have breath there is hope. So long as you continue to observe, you have a voice. A way to “Get Out” of the sunken place. So long as a even a small part of you exists you have a choice.
Choose to keep reaching for those tissues.
Choose to keep screaming from the abyss and asking the relevant questions.
Choose to keep demanding action of our leaders and common sense gun control.
Choose to protect our future and to act a patriot.
Choose to #MarchForOurLives #SantaFeHighSchool
All Americans need to carefully consider their next move. Reflect on your history. Get informed. Ask yourself; when has the leader who ruled through fear, intimidation, propaganda, alternative fact and slogan been on the right side of history?
I’ll spare you the research. The answer is never.
Those who continue to support Trump and this cesspool of corruption understand this. All you are doing is publicly identifying yourself as a dinosaur. Painting a scarlet letter on your sleeve that your way of thinking and very belief system will soon be relegated to the history books. Think carefully about your next move.
Whatever your choice, know this. We are the majority and will act as such! We will not be divided or tore down. We will continue to protest and resist hate. We will not be silenced or ignored. We will continue to engage and speak out against false equivalents. We will not be intimidated or bullied. We will remain active but peaceful. We will not be stilled or marginalized. We will demand transparency, justice and accountability.
Dinosaurs will fight hardest the nearer to extinction they are. It’s a hard thing to admit to oneself that your way of thinking is obsolete. Trump knows this. He holds no real positions. In waging war on the deep state. In peddling conspiracy theory, pushing false equivalents and in remaining neutral in his condemnation of the torch carrying hate mongers who gather in support of his agenda Deranged Donald has effectively deputized this merry bannon of deplorables to continue to intimidate our cities and towns with their words of hate and presence. The tighter the noose around his neck the more he relies on them.
Still, make no mistake. The war is won. Most of us, regardless of political party, stand on the right side of the battles that lay ahead. Most believe in the ideals this country stands for and understand its great history. We unequivocally condemn those who seek to divide our nation by race, religion, national origin or class. We recognize how we came to be the most powerful nation in the world. The majority of us take pride in the knowledge that America IS the great melting pot. That diversity IS the American identity. We can’t change that anymore than a tiger can change its stripes. A list of all the great contributions immigrants, refugees, and minorities have made to this country would dwarf a list of their misdeeds a million times over. Americans are waking. We know who we are. And we like it that way.
Progress only knows one direction and by definition doesn’t look back. Barack Obama has over 100 million twitter followers. Hillary Clinton received 65,844,610 votes in the presidential election. Sometimes size does matter.
Choosing to believe perception and alternative facts, doesn’t change the reality. The Electoral College does not change popular opinion.
We are the majority. We will not be silenced. We will not be intimidated.
It’s either appeasement or resistance.
Choose wisely. History has its eyes on you.
At what point did the “right to bear arms” trump “thou shalt not kill?”
This Memorial Day we remember our fallen heroes. Those men and women who paid the ultimate sacrifice to defend the American dream. To advance the great experiment in individual freedoms set in motion by our founding fathers nearly 250 years ago.
We honor those who died in defense of America. Make no mistake. There are not “many sides” to America. You either believe we are a nation in which all men, regardless of race, gender, religion or national origin are free and equal, or you don’t. You either believe in the Bill of Rights that put the great American experiment in motion, or you don’t.
There only side to America our veterans died for begins and ends with the word “we,” as in “the people.” You either believe that “we” word and all the freedoms that follow are guaranteed to all Americans and bestowed on ALL mankind, or you don’t. You either honor our nation’s fallen as a proper patriot or you deny their legacy and act the deplorable.
That’s right. Those who chastised HRC for placing the label “deplorable” on Trump supporters pay attention. Consider the words of David Duke when he notes that those who rally for white supremacy do so to help “fulfill the promises of Donald Trump.” These dregs of society who play the victim and whine at the tough break life handed them because now America has progressed enough to where you actually have to compete with overqualified minorities and women in life. These wife beaters, alcoholics, small dicked pistol packing mouth breathers who think the color of their skin grant them special privilege in life. To hell with the words of our founding fathers and the sacrifice of those who served fighting for us all!
Our so called President may talk of record approval ratings but know this. Most of us, regardless of political party, stand on the right side of the battles that lay ahead. Most believe in the ideals this country stands for and understand its great history. We unequivocally condemn those who seek to divide our nation by race, religion, national origin or class. We recognize how we came to be the most powerful nation in the world. The majority of us take pride in the knowledge that America IS the great melting pot. That diversity IS the American identity. We can’t change that anymore than a tiger can change its stripes. A list of all the great contributions immigrants, refugees, and minorities have made to this country would dwarf a list of their misdeeds a million times over. Americans are waking. We know who we are. And we like it that way.
Those who continue to support Trump and this cesspool of corruption understand this. All you are doing is publicly identifying yourself as a dinosaur. Painting a scarlet letter on your sleeve that your way of thinking and very belief system will soon be relegated to the history books. Think carefully about your next move.
Whatever your choice, know this. We are the majority and will act as such! We will not be divided or tore down. We will continue to protest and resist hate. We will not be silenced or ignored. We will continue to engage and speak out against false equivalents. We will not be intimidated or bullied. We will remain active but peaceful. We will not be stilled or marginalized. We will demand transparency, justice and accountability.
Dinosaurs will fight hardest the nearer to extinction they are. It’s a hard thing to admit to oneself that your way of thinking is obsolete. In waging war on the deep state. In peddling conspiracy theory and in spreading the blame and remaining neutral in his condemnation of the torch carrying hate mongers who gather in support of his agenda. Our Comrade in Chief has effectively deputized this merry bannon of deplorables to continue to intimidate our cities and towns with their words of hate and presence. The tighter the noose around his neck the more he relies on them.
Still, make no mistake. The war is won. Like those we honor today knew, progress is perpetual and by definition doesn’t include the word “again!” It knows but one direction #Forward
When I was a kid 3-D computer generated pictures were quite the fad. The ones you would stare cross eyed at for hours on end. Bits and pieces of the big picture coming in and out of focus. Your frustration builds with the knowledge that something epic awaits if you could only get your eyes to focus the right away. Then when you’re about to give up and your eyes start tearing up from exhaustion; voila! It all comes into focus. It was almost always some type of exhilarating scene. A dinosaur chase that featured a T-Rex reaching out to grab you in the foreground. A school of dolphins seemingly leaping out of the pixelated water and into your living room. The payoff always worth the effort.
As I to process the actions of Donald Trump and this den of corruption I feel like I’m back in high school staring at one of those pictures. I concentrate on all that’s been done these past 18 months and bits of the real picture, the hidden agenda, slowly comes into focus.
Look to the right. A bunch of middle aged smirking white men seem to be looking away from the rest of the picture. They shake hands and pat each other’s backs in a sense of accomplishment. A few appear to have their heads buried in the sand and others have their arms raised upright in a rapturous pose.
Behind them you make out the dreams of the GOP establishment coming into focus. Billboards line a pot holed highway. One marks the end of entitlements and social programs. “Say goodbye to your healthcare, food stamps, social security, and public benefits but hello to your temporary $200 tax cut,” it reads. Through a thick smog you make out the words of the next, “Regulations! We don’t need no stinkin regulations!” it says. “Toll Brother’s Toll booth ahead – $40” reads the last.
Is that Jesus moving into the forefront? A tear falling from his eye as he stands triumphantly in his Jerusalem throne. His foot resting on the throats of Muslims, Hindus, and a host of other non-believers as he takes in his kingdom.
Now close your right eye. Off to the left! Is that a shirtless Russian man riding on a horse? Standing in his shadow a seemingly endless line of workers doing hard labor. Rolling oil barrels directly into the Kremlin. Working with heavy machinery a pile of weapons of mass destruction amassed in the forefront. Ordinary looking people laying steel pipeline and rail. A massive red army on the march westward.
Open both eyes again and all you see is buckets of money falling from the sky like rain. Gold, silver and jewels piling up on the ground. International currencies from around the globe floating into focus. Shekls, rubles, dollars, euros, pounds, yens, even whatever they use in China all accounted for.
The middle part of the picture is the hardest to make out. Your eyes consistently distracted by the cheetoh orange swirls at the center of it all. The details that do emerge so horrible one must look away in horror from time to time. Military choppers fly through the sky. Major US cities lined with national guard as skyscrapers burn. Armed sentries sit in surveillance towers standing watch over the whole of America. Our borders encased in a wall of barb wire and chain linked fence give off the appearance of a giant prison yard.
Other random visions appear so quickly you are barely able to make sense of them. Is that a throng of young protestors with their hands cuffed behind their backs? Many appear bloodied, their placards and signs of dissent scattered and trampled in the streets. Others look defeated. A single marijuana joint hangs from their lips as they are loaded into a paddy wagon. A line of police cars queues up outside the overflowing prison. Large ships packed stern to stern with disheveled and scared looking minorities and immigrants. Men in hoodies. Women in hijabs. The Statue of Liberty a small dot in the distant horizon as the boats move further away from America’s shores.
You look away blinking back tears. Your concentration broken. What the hell does it all mean? All these disjointed images that flood your brain. You realize you have a choice. Start anew and try to make sense of it all. Recross those eyes and keep staring until the entirety of the big picture reveals itself, or walk away. Grow apathetic with the hope that someone else comes along who is able to see it for themselves. An independent arbiter so to speak who may or may not tell you what it is that’s really there.
For me the choice is clear. There is no option but to refocus and keep looking until it all makes sense. The entire picture emerges. I’ve invested too much to choose otherwise and walk away now. No, much like I did in high school I’ll keep searching for that final payoff.
There’s another funny thing about those pictures that motivates me to keep me looking. Sure you initially spend hours staring and talking about them, but once you figure them out and you “see it,” you quickly lose interest in them. Pretty soon after that they get taken off the walls. Relegated to the far reaches of the garage or attic, frame cracked, forgotten.
Republicans lead with a “that would never be my child” attitude.
Progressives think “what if that was my child.”
It’s that simple #WhereAreTheChildren
I’ll run into a schoolyard as the bullets fly by
I’ll march right into Moscow to stare Putin in the eye
I’m braver and tougher than Obama you see
If not for my bone spurs I’d serve in the military
So don’t question my courage or think me afraid
My taxes are under audit, but trust me I’m self made
And it’s not that I’m guilty it’s just a personal affront
To sit down with Bob Mueller and legitimize this witch hunt
Cause one thing is for certain I could never conspire
For no one dare work with such a notorious liar
So those saying I’m hiding give me a bad rap
It’s just being sworn to the truth is an impeachment trap
http://amp.dailycaller.com/2018/05/27/rudy-giuliani-robert-mueller-interview-a-trap/
The pathway to perdition is paved in ignorance. They say there are only seven original stories in the world. If you read enough, and pay attention to life, you can actually begin to see them unfold in realtime. You grow able to predict what the author of that real life story is going to do next. Which story they seek to recreate in their own life.
Donald Trump is far from an original. In fact we’re all familiar with this story he’s writing. For many of us it’s our favorite movie, book or television show. We’ve seen it unfold countless times, albeit in differing variations.
The agents of fear and oppression rise up, usually in the form of a privileged older male pseudo populist whose good fortune depends on preserving the status quo. He uses fear and oppression as his primary tools. His speech comprised of thinly veiled dog whistles that call upon the deplorables of society to rise up. His policies implicitly condone the dirty work and agenda of those who once sat on the fringe of society.
His nationalistic rhetoric encourages them to sow discord; to intimidate others to get on board. to bully, peer pressure, threaten and blackmail similar patriots and relatives who may agree with the message but be resistant to the harsh methods. Over time they too will join the cause or face excommunication from the party. Those branded race or party traitors to be forever blacklisted and cast out.
As he consolidates power the narcissist grows. He begins to divide traditional alliances through rumor, false promises and chaos. He discredits opponents with lies, misinformation and alternative facts.
As the story progresses the emerging authoritarian begins to act more erratic. The threat of a “deep state”, and traditional checks and balances begin to weigh heavy on he who chases the crown.
As the opposition grows and coalesces, the motive of the dictatorial villain grows more transparent. The desire for ultimate power drive increasingly brutal and more brazen tactics. Dissent must be suppressed! Foreign enemies abound! A caravan of rapists and criminals approach unchecked! Now is not the time for #resistance!
Midway through the story a cataclysmic event occurs. The stuff of nightmares. A society’s worst fears realized. Freedoms must be restrained as a new threat rises. At this point resistance is futile. The takeover complete.
That’s the story Trump and his caravan of the corrupt are trying to write. The appointment of Whitaker. The war on the press and needless taunts of our closest allies. It’s clear that we’re already very close to that midway point.
There’s another version of this story though. The one written about the protagonist. A story of hope, freedom and perseverance. How love saves the day. A last minute miracle. A heroic act that thwarts catastrophy and exposes the naked emperor, unmasks the fraud.
In that story truth, justice and the “American” way win out. “We, the people,” can still write that story. Look around, look around. The resistance is real. We are the majority. We simply need that hero to step forward to lead us
Either way; the good news is the story always ends the same way. Love, empathy, sacrifice and acceptance win the day. A new hope emerges in the blooms of renewed unity and tolerance. The villain is denounced and rejected. Grows to be nothing more than a cautionary tale in history’s annals.
I’ve read this book a thousand times. Societies advance, grow more civil and tolerant.
The question is not if freedom wins. It’s how long and at what cost it will take for her to do so. Progress knows but one direction #Forward