Restore Our Democracy

The loyalty to the nation to which they serve should not be an open question of a sitting President. This is not a political issue. This is a matter of national security. The constitutional crisis is here.

“We, the people” need to demand transparency. We need to look at our brethren in Hong Kong, London, Puerto Rico and across the globe who courageously rise up against the greedy oligarchs, religious fundamentalists and deplorable dinosaurs who seek to interrupt the progress of civilization. We need to take to the streets and rally behind an opposition leader who will unite the majority and restore our democracy

Category 5 Inferno

You can sense the impending explosion. Hear the kindling crackle and feel the intensity of the heat as the embers glow ever brighter. You know this is no ordinary fire. Cognizant that the smart thing to do is take cover. Yet past experience anchors you in place. “You’ve never been burned before so why panic now,” you think to yourself. Besides, you are prepared for an emergency. The fire extinguisher is nearby and other traditional safeguards are in place to prevent catastrophe.

So you ignore your spidey senses and do nothing. You shelter in place and wait, prepared to react to whatever may come next. Oblivious to the fact you may never get that chance.

We’ve had 44 other presidents in this country. Some of whom were not good men. Many were corrupt and power hungry, driven more by greed and blind ambition than a public service ethos. Others had authoritarian tendencies and used the bully pulpit to foster divisions amongst the American citizenry. A few could probably be best described as immoral or maybe even criminal in behavior.

No matter who served in office, however, Americans were able to take comfort in the design of our system of governance. A belief that regardless of character of the man in office the checks and balances were architected to prevent catastrophe. The majority of Americans took for granted our democratic institutions and individual freedoms. Acted immune to permanent harm, like teenagers in our aloofness to known danger. Societal norms may get temporarily burned, but surely the house and those residing inside it will remain unscathed. Of course, we will live to see another day; cast another vote.

Unfortunately past experience does not apply to Donald Trump. The safeguards designed by our founders are ill equipped to protect against such an unconventional threat. Our founders were wise but the American Dream was founded on certain assumptions. Chief among them was that facts exist and “we, the people” would no longer live in a world where equal time had to be given to authoritarians who espouse “alternative facts” that serve their own agenda.

Moreover that delicate system of checks and balances was built on the premise of trust and the belief that collectively those in office will serve the interests of their constituents or be held to account. Anchored on the premise that our government will consist of three separate, but EQUAL, branches of government to mitigate corruption in the other. Dependent upon a free press and an informed electorate that will insist leaders act logically and represent the majority interests.

Those assumptions no longer hold true. The constitutional safeguards no longer exist. It turns out our system of checks were not meant to be passive tools. Like a fire extinguisher there success is dependent on somebody being there to operate them.

We know Donald Trump is petrified of his finances being examined. We know he bankrupted casinos and real estate conglomerates at the height of the economy yet somehow struck gold once the economy tanked. Guilty people who launder billions in Russian money generally know what they’ve done before being charged.

We know Vladimir Putin, a former KGB agent who has never before acted with America’s best interest in mind, went to great lengths and invested precious Russian resources specifically to elect the man who promised to “make America great again!” We know of the public refusal to denounce Putin by name or hold Russia to account for its attempts at interference in our election.

We know the man who mocked his predecessor for doing so, telegraphed forthcoming military operations to our enemy in Syria apparently with ample time for them to prepare! Tweeted out classified surveillance photos and leaked other intelligence to traditional foes. That he is engaged in an unwinnable trade war with China, that he has legitimized the brutal North Korea regime on the world stage and done nothing to stem their nuclear program. That he has alienated and insulted traditional allies at every turn.

Yet, despite all evidence that an unprecedented threat looms, the vast majority of our elected officials continue to play traditional politics. Act content to rely on reactionary safeguards.

This is not about party politics. This has never been about red verse blue. This is about patriotism. This is about the evolution of the American dream. We can no longer stand by passively. Our representatives need to get off their asses and do their intended job. Grab the extinguisher before the flames erupt uncontrollably and the conflagration consumes us all.

Perception and Reality

One may perceive the world differently but facts, logic, science and statistics do exists. Good leaders understand this. They work to shape public perception to match and align with actual reality. Donald Trump on the other hand is not a good leader. He has made a career shaping perception to match a false reality. First as a talentless self-proclaimed tycoon who bankrupted both real estate conglomerates and casinos at the height of the economy, yet played a master negotiator on “reality” television. Then as a crusading populist whose greatest adversity faced in life was being born with a silver spoon in his mouth to a conspiracy obsessed bigot father who made millions as a slumlord.

Each day the primary focus of this caravan of criminal deplorables and corrupt enablers is to undermine transparency and prevent informed consent. Every tweetstorm, each prevarication, each appearance by Propaganda Hannity, Rudy Giuliani or Kelly Conway meant to further distract from truth of situation. The only way to mask the incompetence, to hide the ill intent, is to conceal it from the masses. To use misdirection, doublespeak, sleight of hand, technology and sound bites to distract and manipulate the way the brain processes information. Their very hold on power dependent on the public’s perception of their power.

Informed consent is the constitutional responsibility of the American citizenry. To push past the sound bites, propaganda and words of those entrusted to represent our interests and find out the truth of the situation. To expose the illusionist and ruin the trick.

Though he didn’t really make the Statue of Liberty disappear David Copperfield once captured the country’s attention when he made the world perceive that he had. Millions clambered for answers and tuned into his special to discover the truth of her whereabouts. Unlike a magician Deranged Donald does not deal in illusion. He has in reality erased Lady Liberty from our nation’s shores and designated her a meaningless relic. Extinguished her torch and muted her words of hope and opportunity. Yet rather than clamor for answers the country continues to chase squirrels.

To quote our Comrade in Chief, “Sad.”

The Gaslighting of America

Peer past the latest tweetstorms and staged drama orchestrated to distract you from reality. At heart Donald Trump is a reality show star. It’s the only thing he’s ever been good at. The ability to script fake storylines and pass it off as reality.

To manufacture drama and faux conflict through the introduction of alternative facts and other stressors designed to produce outlandish sound bites and bombastic over exaggerated reactions to everyday situations. To carefully edit select moments of a person’s most vulnerable moments to create archetypical characters. To cavalierly misrepresent a person’s character and intent in order to make a show entertaining to the masses; keep them coming back for more. There’s no denying he knows how to spin a good yarn, keep people talking.

Not only that but Trump has the perfect temperament for it. He holds no real convictions or loyalties and is convincingly able to take any position necessary to advance a storyline. Cross whatever line so long as it furthers his own agenda. A literal caricature of every villain of every film ever made. A billionaire product of affluent affirmative action who sells himself as a man of the people. A self proclaimed tycoon who was placed directly at the top of the business pyramid; never understanding what it means to actually lead. To advance on merit, not name. Able to skip the lessons of middle management the man has never learned the virtues of empathy, humility, accountability and communication.

My fellow Americans, we need to wake up and stop reacting to the newest scandal being scripted by this White House. Tune out the latest episode and ignore the narratives being pushed by this merry bannon of deplorables. Change the channel and end this shit show.

Tune back into the American story instead. The one piloted by our founding fathers nearly 250 years ago. Pitched on hope, equality, opportunity, freedom and in building a better tomorrow. Rooted in resistance to intolerance and hate. Understand that story is now in danger of cancellation. Only a coordinated campaign by “we, the people” will guarantee its renewal #Resist #TheResistance

Les Poisson

It doesn’t taken long for incompetence to expose itself in a workplace; particularly when the incompetent one sits at the very top of the organization. The inability to manage a budget, think strategically, effectively communicate a shared vision, establish clear roles and responsibility with aligned standards of accountability, and engage your workforce is typically readily apparent within a few months of transition.

The first test for any new leader is team building. The need to recruit a team to implement a sustainable and cohesive organizational structure that will support the Executive’s central mission. This requires extreme vetting of a pool of qualified candidates; extensive interviewing until you are confident in your selection. A poor choice at the senior levels may cripple a project and place it in a permanent state of reactiveness, and at heightened risk for catastrophe.

One would assume that those who elected our CEO President did so thinking he’d excel in this area. Trump even told would be supporters not to worry about his lack of experience because he was going to surround himself with great minds. Experienced leaders he would rely on to guide him in international affairs, and matters of economic and domestic politics.

We all know how this has turned out but who are we to judge? Forget the fact that the man elected to protect our shores from enemies abroad and domestic chose to hire a Ukrainian lobbyist and international money launderer to run his election campaign and a bumbling two-bit crook to serve as his Personal Fixer. Let’s instead review Twitler’s own timeline to get a true sense of how spectacularly awful Trump is at team building and routine vetting. Let’s for a change assume Trump is being truthful in the way he describes the character of those HE placed in control of the national security of this country and trusted with our most sensitive secrets.

There’s “the 33 year war hero who…served with distinction” he hired to head the country’s National Security Agency. That Michael Flynn was also a registered foreign agent and the subject of an FBI counter intelligence investigation at the time of his hire was an unfortunate oversight. That the outgoing President warned him of the risk an obvious ploy in the deep state conspiracy to undermine the public’s confidence in the newly elected President.

So apparently there’s one hire Trump still defends as a quality choice and character guy. The same isn’t so true of some of his other selections and his descriptions of their performance.

Remember Secretary of State Rex Tillerson. Trump now describes him as a man who is “dumb as a rock and totally ill prepared and ill equipped to be Secretary of State.” Even worse he lacked “the mental capacity needed” for the job and was “lazy as hell.” Makes you wonder what type of interview process took place.

“We are substantially subsidizing the Militaries of many VERY rich countries all over the world, while at the same time these countries take total advantage of the U.S., and our TAXPAYERS, on Trade,” Trump wrote in a series of tweets. General Mattis did not see this as a problem. I DO…” It’s true you and your leadership team won’t see eye to eye on every vision, but a shared sense of vision is one of those things that should be confirmed with your incoming Secretary of Defense.

The man he selected to defend and enforce our nation’s laws as Attorney General is “mentally retarded. He’s this dumb Southerner…(who) couldn’t even be a one-person country lawyer down in Alabama.” Turns out Sessions had a nasty way about him and lacked transparent communications as evidence by his subsequent refusal “to recuse himself, he should have told me before he took the job and I would have picked somebody else,” Trump said. You’d have thought he’d have learned the art of the interview in business school but alas.

Then there’s The Mooch and “Wacky Omarosa,” also known as the “highly unstable nut job” he hired as his Communications Director and the “not smart, lowlife” who served as Advisor.

Which is better than the man he nominated to serve as Chair of the Federal Reserve, Jay Powell who as recently as today Trump questioned by tweet, “who is our bigger enemy, Jay Powell or Chairman Xi?” Yikes, talk about a bad hire.

The list goes on and on. By his own admissions it is clear that Donald Trump is incapable of performing the most basic job requirements of a Chief Executive. That our country is now headed down a path of insolvency and low morale is the inevitable result of what happens when you leave an ineffective or immoral leader in place.

This isn’t going to get better with time. Incompetency breeds incompetence. In fact the Mooch himself said it best in describing another former Chief of Staff Reince Preibus, “the fish stinks from the head!”

Indeed it does! Now comes the hard part. For the quicker you lop it off the faster you can spray some Lysol, begin the clean up and bring the grown ups back into the room

Kumbaya

Herein lies the problem. This shouldn’t be a political fight! It’s a moral one.

When you make someone choose between evil or a Democrat you dilute the stakes of the fight. You allow would be allies to sit on the sideline uncounted. The same won’t be true of the other side; every deplorable, every evangelical and every aristocratic greedy SOB military hawk will vote.

We live in a day of whataboutism, so let’s play that. Imagine a world in which Bernie wins the 2020 election but instead of the vision of democratic socialism voters elected him in on he goes undeniable full blown socialist. Bernie somehow stacks the courts, consolidates power and the only thing that stands in the way of a socialist America is the 2024 election (which Cuba will probably hack anyway) where the GOP is likely to nominate Mike Pence.

What about it? Do you save our capitalist society or bite the bullet and vote Preacher Pence? Is there any disruption in which you would put your trust in him or any current member of the GOP to guide us in the fight for the “soul of our nation and the survival of Democracy?”

If we recognize the fight is that critical where is the third choice? Who advocates for America or the Constitution that sits in the cross hairs of our so called President? Where is the third choice that stands independent of politics.

The President is not an inherently political position and should not at this time be politically affiliated. We need a moral guide to restore our democracy. Who communicates and holds to account all sides, regardless of label or party brand

The American Story

Donald Trump has a gift. His natural talent is playing a character conceived of by men smarter then he. His ability to play a part; to shape perception to match a false reality, is extraordinary.

Take a look at The Apprentice where he played a successful businessman with little tolerance for incompetence. Compare that with the reality of the time. By the end of 2008 Don the Con had filed his 6th bankruptcy and was best described as a failed businessman. Mocked in tabloid media as a man so poor at business that he literally bankrupted multiple casinos and real estate conglomerates at the height of the economy and subsequently ordered to turnover his majority share of multiple conglomerates. They say the house never loses, unless its name is Trump. Yet there he sat in his makeshift boardroom the epitome of success.

Nothing that comes out of our so called President’s mouth or twitter feed should be trusted. Each tweet, each sound bite is nothing more than a means to an end. Even his more awful positions; the overt dog whistles and Nazi sympathizing sound bites are manufactured. The quid pro quo of the art of the deal.

As a native New Yorker myself let me tell you that Donald Trump could give two fucks about the “beauty” of Confederate statues. Look at his statements from the campaign trail if you don’t believe me. Check out the decor of his country clubs. I have no doubt the man is biased and ignorant in his views but a devout Christian white supremacist he is not.

The fact of the matter is Donald Trump holds no concrete views or beliefs. That he now plays a populist conservative on tv (and has since 2008) is no coincidence and suggests something far more sinister afoot than a simple racist President. It indicates that Trump himself is all part of someone else’s long game. A necessity to advance the next storyline and build suspense to the finale. Keep the water cooler talk going as the producers carefully select and edit the storylines to follow.

It’s past time American lose our obsession with scripted reality and get back to actual reality. That we wake up and stop reacting to the newest scandal being scripted by this White House. Let’s tune back into the American story instead. The one piloted by our founding fathers nearly 250 years ago.

It’s a story inspired by the dreams of our founding fathers and is pitched on hope, equality, opportunity, freedom. A story that provides a blueprint on how to build a better and more just future. A story rooted in resistance to intolerance and hate. As a nation we must understand that story is now in danger of cancellation. Only a coordinated campaign by “we, the people” will guarantee its renewal

First They Came

First they came for the illegal immigrants but I came here legally so did not speak up.

Then they came for the Muslims but I have a family to protect so did not speak up.

Then they came for the gangs but I’m worried about crime so did not speak up.

Then they came for the gays and transgender but we all know how strange they are and that Jesus hates the gay.

Then they came for the Jews. Because they always come for the Jews.

The GOP has a demographic problem. They may seem like they have a foothold on power today but make no mistake. What you see going on is a battle for their very survival. Their days are numbered unless they act now and McConnell, Pence and the rest of this caravan of criminals and corrupt enablers know it.

This is not opinion. This is statistically factual. Within 30 years the vast majority of the GOP base, white Christian males and their subservient spouses, will make up a minority of our electorate. Surpassed by members of the very groups targeted above. Not coincidentally, groups outside of that very demographic.

This is a threat to the very privilege they’ve enjoyed for 250 years. They fear that change and will do anything to prevent it. Apartheid by gerrymandering and voter suppression will prolong the status quo but can’t secure it. To do that requires more permanent measures or means of elimination.

Don’t say I didn’t warn you

The Constitutional Candidate

“We, the people,” need an opposition party and the Democrats continue to function as a political party. They respond to situations through traditional political means, rely on procedural checks and balances to carry the day. Rather than push through nominations and legislative agenda party leaders respect the process. Trust in free and transparent future elections, legislative rules, and the motives that those who engage in public service do so to act on the public’s best interests and in accordance with opinion polls and the desires of local constituents.

From the very first hanging chad Republican leaders employed a different strategy. Far more proactive Republicans push nominations, agenda, political investigations, Justices and even Presidents through and then seek permission after they seize power. They get ahead of all narratives prior to results so that they control public perception. This tactic became even more brazen following Romney’s loss in 2012. The realization that the public had fully rejected the Republican ideology of trickle down economics built on a military industrial complex. Desperate times call for desperate measures and the rich, white, Christian aristocracy that had been in control of America for generations wasn’t about to step aside because demographics and social progress demanded it so.

Americans don’t need to nominate a candidate for President through a Democratic convention. Donald Trump knows a criminal indictment awaits his return to civilian life. The office of Presidency his only shield from prison. He is never going to be defeated through the political process. A “Democrat” will never coalesce enough support to overwhelmingly drive our Mad King from his throne.

Americans need to discover an opposition leader from a Constitutional Convention of sorts. We need to find a leader from within. Somebody who will stand up and unite the great majority of Americans under one umbrella. Common sense gun control, mental health awareness, affordable health care for all, the right to a safe and available abortion, LBGTQ+ equality, affordable education, controlled borders, fiscal restraint, a strong military and modern defense capabilities…there may be political differences as to the degree and controls afforded these rights but the overwhelming majority of us agree that these rights reflect the values of America.

The majority also take pride in our immigrant heritage and standing in the world as the land of hope and opportunity to all. We do not believe it to be a zero-sum equation that you either have open borders or walls and closed borders. That you either merit entrance or have no value to our society.

There is no two party system in America. Republicans no longer represent political positions. They are a fringe party that has coalesced fringe issues into a single party. The only way to counter that is to do the same. To find a leader that will advocate for America, our common beliefs, our values, the rights enumerated under the Constitution. The job of President is not political, it is moral. We need someone who understands this and has the courage to defend America’s morals and values regardless of what party, or candidate it may offend.

That is that the only path forward at this point. Cast politics aside and coalesce around the moral majority. There are more of us than there are them. We can still stop this thing and restore our democracy. Perhaps Mark Cuban can lead the search and preliminary interviews. Narrow down the field and produce a reality show called “The Constitutional Candidate.” #HistoryHasItsEyesOnYou

Conspiracy Theory

Conspiracy theory is a favorite weapon of the rising authoritarian. The most skilled and ultimately successful strongmen are able to wield conspiracy both as an offensive and defensive instrument. They use it both to legitimize those who sit on the extremes of society and then ostracize those who reside in the moderate center, the moral majority. It’s classic gaslighting and, no surprise, but it is a favorite tool of this caravan of criminals and corrupt enablers that now sit at the controls of our nation.

Take Donald Trump as an example. Trump’s political rise was birthed by his embrace of conspiracy. Legitimizing the deplorables of society by giving a mainstream voice to a baseless race baiting accusation that the first Black President of the United States was born outside of the country. More so Trump proclaimed, it’s your worst dreams come true because he has proof that proof exists that Barack Hussein Obama is actually a secret Muslim born in and therefore loyal to the barbaric cause of a shithole African country!

Gurrrl please, Trump’s twitter avatar may as well wear a tin foil hat. His feed and timeline a virtual opus of dog whistles and baseless accusation against the deep state. That he now uses conspiracy to divide and assault our perception of Antifa, the Clinton’s or Epstein’s death, is par for the course.

What is unique about the coordinated response to Epstein’s death is how Trump and the GOP mouthpieces are able to fan both sides of the conspiracy with this one trigger. On the one hand you see Twitler using his favorite medium to sling some serious red meat fodder; his very contribution to the #ClintonBodyCount. On the other side we see clickbait headlines strewn across social media and the echo chamber of right wing talking points making the Sunday rounds bemoaning the “mainstreaming of conspiracy theory.” A carefully orchestrated symphony of disinformation.

Ridiculous. Epstein’s death is not what brought about the birth of mainstream conspiracy theories. Donald Trump is the one and only birther of all such things conspiracy theory.

Like all bullies this administration’s plan is to use false equivalents and misdirection to marginalize, delegitimize and, if necessary, squash dissent and opposition. Doing so allows them to present alternative facts and declare phony national emergencies, only now without the alternatives or independent oversight. Lies then become truth, and conspiracy and perception reality.