Empathy Lost

My heart aches for George Floyd and the minority community in this country. Empathy is not supposed to a political trait, but a human one. Yet here we stand in the year 2020 and it is clear that the greatest difference between progressives and conservative lay not in policy but in the ability to empathize with all humanity.

In brief progressives lead and respond to crisis and events with a “what if that was my child” approach while our conservative minded brethren respond to each crisis with a “that would never be my child” mindset. It has evolved to the point where such philosophy extends beyond the individual and is now institutionalized. Our police, judicial system, military, education and economic institutions have all been hardwired to discriminate first. They withhold trust from those most in need of a helping hand. They require the victims of society prove their worthiness first before they extend the compassion and freedoms that all members of humanity are inherently entitled to enjoy.

This is not the America our founders envisioned. The prejudices of their day were real and borne of ignorance and hate. It also fueled the experiment in self governance and social justice they set in motion 250 years ago. By now it was meant to evolve to erase the sins of our ancestors and create a land where all men and women were afforded equal opportunity regardless of skin color, gender or national origin.

Of course some progress has been made in this area but that one national party still exists that fans the fuel of hate is inexcusable. That they fan the flames of hate with false equivalents, stereotypes and outright lies a stain on our Republic. How can our Black men and women trust a society that so clearly does not trust them? That turns a blind eye to the institutionalized ignorance and prejudice that they are forced to endure? How do we move forward when our leaders refuse to face reality? As they knowingly fail to confront and drain the swamp of these small minded men and women who seek nothing more than an extension of the status quo in which the white Christian male reigns supreme?

As a nation we are only as strong as our weakest link. It is shameful but we truly have become a country of deplorables.

The Summer of Discontent

The summer of our discontent is upon us and Deplorable Donald is leading the charge. Our country is being ripped apart at the seams. Torn asunder by a so called President who finds security in the chaos and division he stokes.

To Trump’s credit he’s been quite transparent all along. Review his twitter feed from a different perspective and it almost reads as if it is both a self confession to treason and a whistleblower report (the good kind). In many conversations from “Russia, if you’re listening” right up to his present day cries of “Obamagate!” Trump openly flaunts his treasonous behavior for all to see. It’s what makes his threats to shoot unarmed protestors, shut down social media and cries of a coup, and accusations of deep state treason so dangerous.

When you see the completed puzzle you realize that these are not random pieces, projections or the rants and raves of a lunatic. Trump’s words are more than empty threats, but part of a greater design. They are the culmination of the best laid plans. Years of careful planning and coordinated efforts by those who do not hold America’s best interests at heart.

Enemies both foreign and domestic whose agendas and values do not thrive in a representative republic such as that envisioned by our founding fathers. The consolidation of God before country Raptureheads, Russia enabled military hawks and the racist status quo dependent deplorables all under the GOP big tent. Donald Trump nothing more than a golden calf to shepherd the message; a Trojan horse in which to deliver the troops and a Midas god to deliver the gold to his puppeteers.

Trump made his fortune as a CEO and reality show producer. Effective messaging and storytelling are two areas he actually does well. This attempt to divide America is no accident. Trump knows an indictment awaits his return to civilian life. His best hope to avoid prosecution is to hide behind the shield of executive immunity. To use the resources of the 1%, the blind faith of the Raptureheads and the insecurity driven hate filled strength of the deplorables to silence public dissent and suppress any efforts to otherwise remove him from office.

He seeks their approval and blindly advances their agenda with no questions asked. After all what’s a few dog whistles, conspiracy theory shout outs, executive orders and race baiting tweets in exchange for a loyalty oath from the majority of this nation’s gun owners, billionaires and private militias.

Even a domesticated dog’s behavior grows unpredictable when they sense the end is near. This isn’t a political fight, it’s a moral one. Brace yourself for the storms to come

Competent Incompetence

Trump’s response to the corona pandemic is not incompetent. Incompetence implies failed effort. It suggests an attempt by this administration to fulfill its constitutional responsibility to faithfully defend and protect the health and security of all our citizens against threats both foreign and domestic. The word does not apply to our current situation.

Trump and his caravan of corrupt criminal enablers made no effort, incompetent or otherwise, to faithfully protect all American people from this pandemic. Rather they quite competently treat the threat as an opportunity to tighten their grip on power and further their own agendas. Whether furtherance of the permanent oligarchy being erected under our noses, the elimination of voices of dissent or the assurance of the paper tiger king’s reelection all their efforts and sound bites speak to these goals.

Trump’s actions are premeditated. They are meant to suppress voter turnout through fear, disease or otherwise. Far from incompetent what you see is designed to eradicate political enemies and voter turnout through suppression and fear. Make no mistake. These acts may be described as unpresidential or as a dereliction of constitutional responsibility but they are not the result of inability.

To dismiss poor behavior or sloppy work product as mere incompetence is the easy way out. It prevents a deeper analysis of motive and ill intent and suggests that by simply replacing the person we will improve the result. No larger lessons learned or systemic change need result when the cause of failure is mere incompetence. The quicker we as a nation realize what ails our nation goes beyond mere incompetence the sooner we may be able to heal from this cancerous mass.

Divider in Chief

Each day the man remains in office brings us closer and closer to the collapse of the American experiment. So, climb aboard. At this point there’s no preventing a bumpy ride but if we all agree to cast politics aside and join together as Americans then at least we may still come out the other side of this tunnel…

If you are registered Republican and concerned about Trump the time to act is now. Please consider officially changing your party affiliation to independent. Republican officials need to understand that their seats are not safe if they continue to go along with our so called President.

Though several members of the GOP have expressed concern about the Divider in Chief’s actions and words. To date no more than a handful have stood up to him in any meaningful way.

Unfortunately too many of our representatives, on both sides of the aisle, are motivated solely by power and survival. To truly drain the swamp this must stop. There is no doubt what the majority of people in this country value. There is no doubt what we want. It is time to put people over party. Only the citizens have the power to force this change. Make your voices heard and take action.

Declare your independence from party loyalty. Break the chains of political bondage and support those who stand up to bullies. Who have the courage of their convictions. Who accept accountability and do the right thing. This isn’t a fight that can wait for an uncertain tomorrow. The time is now and all in the political establishment must be put on notice #HistoryHasItsEyesOnYou

The “Yes We Can” Mutiny

Can’t stop a Nazi with a law book” – Herman Wouk, The Caine Mutiny

Traditional checks and balances do not work when up against unprecedented threats. History and science teach this lesson repeatedly. Denial and time is no way to cure a cancer. To sit and wait on the outcome of an impeachment inquiry or a national election to remove this caravan of criminals and corrupt enablers as foolish a plan.

It’s not America’s immigrations laws that place our nation at risk. It’s this administrations callous and wanton ignorance of history that poses a clear and present danger to our national security. It’s the lack of empathy in our foreign policy the open betrayal of a loyal ally that breeds hostility, births sleeper cells and lone wolf fanatics desperate for revenge. It’s the fickleness and swiftness in which we ripped up the Iran deal, pull out of trade deals and abandon the military fields that erodes trust in our America exceptionalism and extinguishes Lady Liberty’s torch.

The damage this administration is doing to this country cannot be overstated. It’s more than Kurdish blood that will spill as the result of Demonic Donald’s latest betrayal. More than the reconstitution of ISIS that threatens national security. If American loyalties can be swayed so easily and years of diplomacy be overturned with each change of administration then why would any nation dare align with us in the future? Why would any tribe or ethnic group make a strategic partnership in our fight against the next terror group. Combine this with our eagerness to pull out of other hard negotiated treaties and truces and it will take decades for America to regain the trust of the international community.

There are 40,000 Kurds who live in America, 15,000 in Nashville alone. Many of whom were refugees of prior battles. Immigrants to our nation under kinder, wiser administrations who sought to flee the ravages of war and poverty for a better life. Imagine as they now stare at their screens and scroll their social media timelines in search of relatives and survivors. The anger they too must feel. The thirst for vengeance that leads to irrational behavior.

We as a nation may no longer afford to be passive. We cannot continue to ignore the damage being done to our reputation and pretend it does not define us all. We, the people, are responsible for the actions and behaviors we observe each day and fail to condone.

The impeachment inquiry and prospective 2020 Blue Wave are nice but ineffective in the larger constitutional battle upon us. They fail to neutralize the immediate damage and risk of catastrophe that awaits our republic. They may be palliative measures to soothe the masses, but they also bide time for the ruling Executive. Affords the opportunity to spread disease and harden defense. To produce a manufactured counter narrative and use his past television experience to craft a set of alternative facts that will marginalize, belittle, conflate, de-legitimize and, if necessary, squash any threat.

America must learn from the ongoing Hong Kong and Indonesia protests and the recent successes in South Korea, Ecuador and Puerto Rico. Understand that to force change you must commit to it. One off protests and elections are not enough. If we believe our will is not being followed and the government is no longer acting for the people then we must drive that narrative in ways that are impossible to ignore. We must take to the streets daily.

If we are to insist that we are a nation in which all men, regardless of race, gender, religion or national origin are free and equal. If we believe in the Bill of Rights that put the great American experiment in motion, that guaranteed certain freedoms for all Americans and bestowed inalienable rights on all mankind. Then we must act to defend it when we see it being trampled upon by a despot.

We must take to the harbor and throw the tea overboard. Refuse to take a backseat in our politics. Not just march on Washington, but sit and sleep there too.

Fish Filet

As the “Mooch” says, “the fish stinks from the head.” So let’s wrap this impeachment inquiry up and start there. The time for impeachment is long past.

Donald Trump is inherently unfit to lead a democratic republic. This isn’t a hot take. It’s no secret he serves only himself and the almighty dollar. That his morality bends to justify whatever decision, in that moment, will advance his own self interest. Yet those are just symptoms of what makes him uniquely unfit to hold public office.

The fact is Donald Trump has never worked for anyone other than himself. He has no concept of what it means to work for the common good. His whole life spent negotiating solely for himself. Motivated only by unbridled greed and the need to appease a small group of loyal investors with a healthy return on investments.

The very office of the Presidency. That it serves, “we, the people.” That its closest advisors, the Cabinet, swear an oath to the Constitution, not a person. These are foreign concepts to our Comrade in Chief. He is hardwired to think of his role as a leader in binary terms. His whole worldview rooted In a transactional us verse them paradigm. Every deal unique but each having a winner and loser.

The concept of transparency is anathema to the art of the deal where information is power. Intimidation and braggadocio assets. Lies, deceit and misrepresentation the keys to victory; transparency a weakness. Truth has no business in real estate or casinos, only the appearance of truth matters.

This is the ethos our dear leader lives by. There is no such thing as public service in his world. Rules, traditions, and precedent matters not as the man himself cannot be changed. It’s time to drain this cesspool of criminals and corrupt enablers and filet the entirety of the Raptureheads, Russia enabled military hawks and racist status dependent deplorables that comprise the entirety of today’s GOP.

“We, the people” know Trump plays Russian roulette with our republic and poses a clear and present danger to the American dream. Let’s once and for all decapitate this piranha and remove him from office so we can once and for all make America great again. Sanitize this country of the stench that emanates from this golden calf and all he touches. Render his legacy “moot” and reclaim the words of Lady Liberty

Kurdish Surprise

Who cares if he is the Commander in Chief. We should not be willing to play Russian roulette with the lives of the men and women of our armed forces, let alone our collective national security. The decision to cede Syria to Turkey and abandon our Kurdish allies is just the latest in a string of foreign policy decisions designed to create a new world order of international superpowers. Each policy decision places our nation at heightened risk for a terrorist attack or hostile foreign action. Since assuming the office of Presidency we have witnessed Trump deliberately and recklessly systematically destabilize old alliances through brazen threats, irrational retractions, troop withdrawals, nonsensical diplomacy and goading insults.

The man now in charge of our very precious national security, entrusted to safeguard the collective us, is actively stripping away our freedoms and alienating us from allies and foes alike. His foreign policy demeans the office he holds and is at odds with the freedoms he swore to protect. It consists of no central doctrine or policy and is conveyed by slogan, threats, propaganda and alternative fact. The effect has been to weaken America’s standing in the world and dim our light as a beacon of hope and freedom for the world’s oppressed.

To openly alienate proven allies and appease known hostile nations and dictators is not normal. Rather, when you view decisions collectively they seem to be the ante in the art of the deal. Trump holds no real values or morals and is motivated solely by money, power and adoration. So long as it advances his own self interests it appears Trump is willing to make any fake promise, cut any deal or betray any ally.

The chickens will come home to roost and history will not reflect kindly on anyone who takes part in advancing his agenda. The more serious question isn’t whether Trump and/or his surrogates colluded with Russia but why Putin actively sought his election in the first place. What was in it for him?

It doesn’t take extreme vetting to realize that the man who lost the popular mandate by nearly 3,000,000 votes but claims to be the one and true voice of the people is the greatest and most immediate threat to our national security and the American dream.

That the man who was supported in the race for President by Russia and Vladimir Putin, a former KGB agent who never previously had America’s best interests at heart…

Who in 2008, desperate and bankrupt, sold a dilapidated Palm Beach estate, one that had sat unoccupied for two years, for a $100 million windfall to a Russian oligarch and one of Putin’s most trusted advisors…

Whose closest advisors have openly advocated for the wholesale destruction of America as we know it…

Who believes facts and science have alternatives….

Who let the Head of the NSA serve unfettered for 19 days knowing he may have been compromised by Russia, had lied to the VP and was an imminent potential national security threat.

Who to this day treats the independent journalist and the leaker as the criminal and “enemy of the American people” and General Flynn, Manafort, Stone and his crooked family members as the victims.

To allow such a man to go on implementing his agenda unchecked is insanity. Tack on that the man’s ties to Russia are undeniable. That so many willfully close their eyes to the truth does not make it any less a reality. Until we know that our so called President was elected by and is working for the American people how in good conscience can we allow him sole authority to make decisions that may literally lead to mass genocide and place us closet to the brink of a nuclear war? To allow him to make major foreign policy decisions is beyond appeasement, it is assisted suicide.

Unconventional threats call for unconventional responses. We must be proactive in the battles ahead. We don’t have the luxury of being wrong about this. We must take temporary measures to proactively safeguard this nation from the real possibility that a sitting President is working at the behest of a foreign enemy.

Impeach Now

The constitutional crisis is here. The state of our union is in disarray. The majority of her citizens shell shocked and befuddled. Our democracy is under seige while politicians across both sides of the aisle engage in a dangerous game of political chicken. An ever escalating game of Russian roulette from which democracy will be the unwitting victim.

Traditional checks and balances as likely to neutralize the growing risk as thoughts and prayers the remedy to prevent school massacres. Time is not on democracy’s side. How is this not obvious by now? The longer you wait to confront the rising authoritarian the more power it consolidates. Procrastination and denial is not a cure for cancer. To survive requires an aggressive team that will go in and remove the growth and then burn everything it touched to ensure it never returns.

The time to impeach a clear and present danger was yesterday. In the real world, not only can citizens be arrested based on heresay and circumstantial evidence, but they may be held without bail. There is no reason for House to delay an impeachment vote any longer. There is beyond probable cause to believe this so called President unfit to hold office and guilty of high crimes and misdemeanors. Move this on to the Senate and the kangaroo court trial phase of this process. Force this corrupt caravan of criminal enablers to publicly declare their loyalty and paint a scarlet letter on their sleeves for history to judge. Let karma cast its judgment on this cesspool of Raptureheads, Russia enabled military hawks, and racist status quo dependent dinosaurs.

Turn to the next act in this saga where we, the people, take center stage. Serve as the final bastion in the fight for individual freedom and quest to preserve the American dream. Allow the disjointed resistance to consolidate in defense of life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness. A common goal, a common enemy to unite us in resistance.

Crawl out of your ratholes and peek out of your turtle shells. We are the majority, and we’re ready for you

The Big Picture

Trump continues to act with the knowledge that he is not only Commander in Chief of the most powerful military in world history, but he may also have half the military might of the world behind him as a fail safe. He knowingly uses whatever means necessary and proactively uses all the powers of his office, regardless of optics, to squash any attempt to legally remove him from office. He ignores subpoenas, responds to document requests with sharpied graphs and selective memory transcribed non-transcripts of taped phone calls, and otherwise obstructs and avoids any actual attempt to hold him to account for his heinous acts.

It’s clear from his tweets, words and behavior that the Don truly believes himself above the law. He does not behave as one bound by tradition, precedent or rule of law. In fact from the time he took the public stage he has acted and behaved as one who knows the fix is in. Remember despite being double digits down in the polls he made clear that he would contest the results of the election if he was not the winner.

To Trump’s credit he’s been quite transparent all along. Review his twitter feed from a different perspective and it almost reads as if it is both a self confession to treason and a whistle blower report (the good kind). In many conversations from “Russia, if you’re listening” right up to his present day public echo of “China if you’re listening,” Trump openly flaunts his treasonous behavior for all to see. It’s what makes his threats of Civil War and cries of a coup, and accusations of treason so dangerous.

When you see the completed puzzle you realize that these are not random pieces, projections or the rants and raves of a lunatic. Trump’s words are more than empty threats and part of a greater design. They are the culmination of the best laid plans. Years of careful planning and coordinated efforts by those who do not hold America’s best interests at heart. Enemies both foreign and domestic whose agendas and values do not thrive in a representative republic such as that envisioned by our founding fathers. The consolidation of God before country Raptureheads, Russia enabled military hawks and the racist status quo dependent deplorables all under the GOP big tent. Donald Trump nothing more than a golden calf to shepherd the message; a Trojan horse in which to deliver the troops and a Midas god to deliver the gold to his puppeteers.

Continue to play the scenarios out and they only grow more horrifying. It’s not hard to see how a new world order emerges. A global oligarchy controlled by a fascist few. An international caste system of haves and have nots in which the world’s most valuable natural resources are controlled by the world’s most powerful nations led by white supremacists, missionaries and colonists. The many working for the few. A permanent military state in which any remaining illusion of individual freedoms would be just that.

When viewed through this prism almost all of Trump’s forreign policy decisions suddenly make sense. The wag the dog drama, escalated rhetoric, and ensuing peace agreements with traditional hostile nations a fait accompli. Russia (Iran) and China (N Korea) in control of their rogue pawns as they formalize their growing international influence through negotiations. Traditional allies pushed aside to make room at the table.

All roads lead to Jerusalem.

In Jesus’ name.

Amen

The Stochastic President

Trump is clearly scared Schiffless at the moment. His rants and raves at today’s presser were unsettling for sure. Even a domesticated dog’s behavior grows unpredictable when they sense the end is near. This isn’t a political fight, it’s a moral one. Brace yourself for the storms to come