Conservatives are a fraud? We knew that

Max Boot, formerly of the Republican Party, comes down hard on the conservative movement. Here's the gist of what he had to say...

"The whole ideology has become a 'racket,' he argues in a new op-ed for the Washington Post, a development he dates to 1996 when Fox News was launched. The latest revelations about the NRA, from the vice president Wayne LaPierre’s profligate spending to the various self-dealing projects spearheaded by the organization’s top executives, only hammer the point home."

I like the part where he brings in the NRA and its head gun nut, Wayne LaPierre. It would have been even more interesting if Boot had expounded on the cowards in Congress who suck up to the NRA for regular handouts. The ex-conservative continues...

"Of course, the most obvious sign of the hollowness of conservatism is its figurehead, President Donald Trump. His supposed business success has been exposed as a sham, a sham on which he built a presidential campaign that had no other justification. His supposed religiosity is an obvious hoax. And his policies, supposedly designed to help the 'forgotten man,' have only helped the rich get richer. He has no problem letting countless supporters “fall victim to his trade wars,” as Boot puts it, for the sake of nationalist crusade."

There is no doubt in my mind that Mitch McConnell runs a close second as the lowlife of conservatives. And Boot feels...

"Trump couldn’t survive as the con artist that he is without the unshaken devotion of Fox News, which feeds his supporters a steady diet of propaganda necessary to keep presidential approval above a 36 percent floor." 

He adds that Fox is, of course, the "quintessential con." You have to love this kind of insight into the Oval Office lunatic, especially coming from an ex-conservative. Boot counts multiple irregularities at Fox with sexual harassment, right from the top, Sean Hannity's elitism compared to his $36 million annual salary, and Tucker Carlson's self-described "man of the people," in itself a con. All in all, the conservative movement and its cronies is a "total scam."

Finally, Boot concludes...

"How did this all happen? It’s a complicated story, but the simple version is this: American conservative leaders knew their policy preferences would never be popular on the merits, so they figured out that they needed to trick voters into supporting them. And they’ve been wildly successful."

Isn't it pathetic that the Grand Old Party, the GOP, has to rely on trickery in order to further its agenda?

The huge conspiracy in pharmaceutical co. drug sales

Pharma preparing to screw the American consumer

"Attorneys general of 44 states accused some of the nation’s largest generic drug manufacturers of conspiring to inflate prices, in some cases by over 1,000 percent." This is the conclusion of AalterNet, substantiated by the Connecticut AG, William Tong...

“We have hard evidence that shows the generic drug industry perpetrated a multi-billion dollar fraud on the American people.”

Tong continued, “Teva and its co-conspirators embarked on one of the most egregious and damaging price-fixing conspiracies in the history of the United States.” 20 major drug manufacturers are named: Pfizer, Teva, Novartis, and Mylan. More than a dozen senior executives are accused of deleting evidence. The whole thing is so horrific with an industrywide scheme affecting the prices of more than 100 generic drugs.

Here are some of the drugs that were included: "lamivudine-zidovudine, which treats H.I.V.; budesonide, an asthma medication; fenofibrate, which treats high cholesterol; amphetamine-dextroamphetamine for ADHD.; oral antibiotics; blood thinners; cancer drugs; contraceptives; and antidepressants.” Here's a startling fact...

"Americans pay far more for prescription drugs than the people of any other industrialized nation. "Way back in January of 2012, I warned my Blogger audience that, "Drug companies want to convince you that you are sick," emphasizing a new business model that focuses on profitability. They used disease mongering, a term that’s been around 20 years referring to how drug cos. promote their blockbuster drugs to those who are sick. And most alarming...

"some docs would recommend a drug just because the salesman is pushing it because the company wants to promote it at all costs."

Not just alarming but frightening. Then Donald Trump entered the arena in 2018, and does a bait and switch on reducing drug costs, with the American consumer as the loser. Instead of going direct to the source of ridiculously high U.S. drug prices, the greed of pharmaceutical companies, he appeals to foreign markets to adjust their prices, one of the stupidest moves Donald Trump had made since entering office. Of course his stupid moves now outnumber his days in office.

  

Trump followers are gullible and cynical

Gullible and cynical Trump supporters

AlterNet says, "Trump’s lies can be understood as expressing his view of the world — how he would like things to be, for whatever purposes he may have, some quite enduring (as seen in his “bottomless Pinocchios”), others perhaps spur-of-the-moment." My post of May 1, "Fact Checker: Trump continues lies at "unbelievable pace," pretty much tells the story of a maniac in the Oval Office who spouts off lies by the hour, which the whole world makes fun of.

Jennifer Mercieca, a historian of rhetoric, whose book, “Demagogue for President: The Rhetorical Genius of Donald Trump,” [table of contents here] will be published next year, in AlterNet says...

"the Mueller report can be read as further confirmation of Trump’s authoritarian orientation in word and deed, in sharp contrast to the “total exoneration” he falsely claims it to be. This is entirely typical. Demagogues and tyrants have always used lies this way. But they cannot and do not act in a vacuum."

Mercieca thinks Trump doesn't act alone but has an "expert" propaganda team. His propaganda "seeks to shape understanding by subverting rational thinking." His objective is to make everyone accomplices in his lies making himself out as a truth-teller. She says, “Trump’s lies are popular with his base,” suggesting this passage from Hannah Arendt’s “Origins of Totalitarianism”...

"A mixture of gullibility and cynicism had been an outstanding characteristic of mob mentality before it became an everyday phenomenon of the masses. In an ever-changing, incomprehensible world the masses had reached the point where they would, at the same time, believe everything and nothing, think that everything was possible and that nothing was true … Mass propaganda discovered that its audience was ready at all times to believe the worst, no matter how absurd, and did not particularly object to being deceived because it held every statement to be a lie anyhow."

“I think gullibility and cynicism are a good explanation for Trump voters,” Mercieca said. “They think everything is a lie anyway, so why not cheer for their guy who lies better than the rest of them?” So pathetic especially since we are talking about the most powerful man in the world.

Charley Manson's "Helter Skelter" is back

Young Charles Manson

The Manson family got its start in 1967, just north of where we lived in Canoga Park, Calif. We rode up there one day looking for Spahn Ranch where the Manson cult collected and did their evil business. We were almost immediately turned around by signs saying"No Admittance" accompanied by a heavy wire fence. Appropriately called the Spahn Movie Ranch, it was owned by George Spahn who willingly allowed Manson and his followers to live there.

The ranch had been the home for TV episodes of "Bonanza," "The Lone Ranger," and "Zorro." Although George Spahn wasn't involved in any of Manson's crime, his ranch was where the 'family' lived while committing the 1969 Tate-LaBianca murders in Los Angeles. A wildfire destroyed all of the Spahn Movie Ranch film set and buildings on September 26, 1970. The owner, George Spahn died on September 22, 1974. My thanks to Wikipedia.

With this background, you might remember the book, "Helter Skelter," written by Charles Manson's prosecutor, Vincent Bugliosi. It was Charley's term for the race war he intended to start between blacks and whites, expecting near annihilation after which he would lead his followers to take over the country. The words, from a Beatles' song, were written on the LaBianca's refrigerator door to instigate the race war. And that's a long way around to get to this...

"The Russians who interfered in the 2016 US presidential election are still at it — and this time, they’re trying to ignite racial violence in America and a partial collapse of the United States."

Looks like Charley Manson got in Vladimir Putin's head, assuming there is room next to Donald Trump. Here's the scenario from Vox...

"According to secret documents obtained by a Russian opposition group, hackers have discussed plans to stir up racial resentment in the United States in hopes of tearing American society apart. The operatives are apparently associates of Yevgeny Prigozhin, the man who set up a troll farm and was indicted by special counsel Robert Mueller for his role in 2016 meddling."

Someone has been reading "Helter Skelter." There's more...

"Prigozhin and his team of Russian trolls tried to inflame racial tensions during the 2016 cycle by operating several social media accounts that tried to discourage African Americans from voting, mainly by repeating messages of police violence and voter fraud."

But the "apparent new plot" originating as early as 2018, in preparation for the 2020 election, digs much deeper. The following is unbelievable...

"The documents reportedly contain shocking proposals such as sending black Americans to Africa “'for combat prep and training in sabotage,' as well as targeting people who have previously been incarcerated and people 'who have experience in organized crime groups ... for participation in civil disobedience actions.'”

Manson could take lessons from this guy, Yevgeny Prigozhin. Vox says...

"there is no indication of how seriously the documents — titled “Development Strategy of a Pan-African State on US Territory” — and the plan overall have been received in Russia. It’s possible the set of proposals went absolutely nowhere and were viewed as too extreme (or ridiculous) even for Moscow."

We can only hope with Donald Trump in the White House. 

George Orwell wants Donald Trump impeached

The dope with the genius

Well, that's not exactly what the famous writer said, but as a serious Orwell fan, I agree with the author of 1984's quotes, “ignoring facts which are obvious and unalterable,” and  “To see what is in front of one’s nose needs a constant struggle.” The first quote applies specifically to T-rump, the second to his followers. AlterNet mentions Hitler's intentions of the 1930s as a wake-up call that went unanswered, somewhat comparable to the Trump administration today.

Germany invaded Poland in 1939, Trump is on the verge of invading Iran today. AlterNet's take on the Russian interference in the 2016 election that led to the Mueller Report...

"Everyone able and willing to distinguish facts from lies has witnessed Trump’s brazen cover-up of Russia’s attack. He has never named or denounced the aggressor, while depicting the investigators as traitors who used a hoax to attempt a coup."

 Here's another scenario in which the...

"author casts himself as defender of the nation against the 'globalist elite' and their 'deep state' henchmen. In Act I, he miraculously outwits their attempt to rig the 2016 election; in Act II he thwarts their attempted coup. Act III completes the plot, as the Democrats manage to fake a 2020 victory, only to face a resolute President who—having forewarned of a final deep state conspiracy to regain power—announces a state of emergency."

God forbid another four years of this maniac, as Democrats, even now work feverishly in deciding whether to impeach Trump. However, what we will get is a mealy-mouthed goody-two-shoes who, in my opinion, would be worse than the Oval Office lunatic. And with John Bolton behind the escalation of war with Iran, anything could happen. All of this results from...

"Tehran's decision to stop fully complying with the 2015 nuclear pact after several weeks of intensifying US sanctions and restrictions against Iran, as well as warnings from Washington about an increased Iranian threat to US personnel in the region."

It's the same tit for tat crap that Trump is using against xi jinpin in the China Tariff war and none of this bodes well for the American people.

Donald Trump's misguided administration

How often can this man be wrong? Millions?

One of Donald Trump's biggest opponents is focusing on states to make sure there is no funny business going on in voting. Their plan is...

"to dig up the actual motivations, communications, and moneyed interests behind restrictive voter laws—and to potentially tie them back to national figures like former Kansas Secretary of State Kris Kobach, the Heritage Foundation's Hans von Spakovsky, or Trump administration officials themselves."

You remember Kansas' Kris Kobach? He's the guy who teamed up with Arizona's Russell Pearce to pass the state's immigration law SB-1070 that was eventually repealed. He roams around the country making trouble for people he doesn't like, often teaming up with ALEC. This was also Sheriff Joe Arpaio's state, who ardently enforced SB-1070, and was fully supported by Donald Trump. Arpaio was finally voted out of office.

“Voter suppression is the corruption of democracy itself, and most of that corruption isn't happening in Washington, DC, but in the state and local governments that set the rules for voting,” said Austin Evers, executive director of American Oversight in the Daily Beast. After two years working on the federal government, the organization is now turning its attention to the states using the same model to fight corruption there.

And the American farmer is "running out of patience with President Donald Trump's trade war with China," according to CNN. Already facing a 25% tariff imposed by China last year, the farm folk were willing to tag along for talks between xi jinping and T-rump, but the patience is now thinning as commodity prices are plummeting. At the same time, Arkansas' favorite idiot, Sen. Tom Cotton, just schluffed off the farmers' dilemma. 

And finally, Trump has "gleefully" compared himself to an authoritarian strongman, as reported by AlterNet. Here's the scenario...

"Hungary’s democratic institutions are under attack from its own Prime Minister Viktor Orban, but you wouldn’t know it from President Donald Trump treatment of the authoritarian leader on Monday in the Oval Office."

It seems that Trump refused to meet with Orban after the authoritarian president "shut down Hungary’s opposition media, eliminated independent courts, drove a prestigious U.S. university out of Budapest and spewed hateful rhetoric toward Muslims and, in more subtle terms, Jews." Even with disdain from Europe, Trump saw fit to praise Orban from the White House. It's just something between two authoritarians.

NRA head gun nut Wayne LaPierre on way out?

Oh hell I screwed up, now I'm out

Here's the Daily Beast headline: "NRA Board Member Allen West Calls for Wayne LaPierre’s Ouster." Former Florida Rep. Allen West, an NRA board member, called for the ouster of head gun nut, NRA CEO Wayne LaPierre. He tweeted it on Tuesday morning. At the same, time he accused NRA President CAdam Westarolyn Meadows of lying to news outlets when she claimed the board didn't know that LaPierre used NRA money to buy designer clothes.

He also said, "a statement defending LaPierre from Charles Cotton, the head of the NRA’s audit committee, was also a lie." Do you get the feeling that the whole organization is corrupt? West continued...

“These statements have maliciously, recklessly and purposefully put me, and uninformed Board members, in legal jeopardy. I do not support Wayne LaPierre continuing as the EVP/CEO of the NRA."

Okay, how soon can we get rid of him? This comes at a time when we are experiencing increased mass shootings violence. I blogged on this: "World asking why so many U.S. mass shootings?" The facts are...

"Worldwide, a country’s rate of gun ownership correlated with the odds it would experience a mass shooting. This relationship held even when he excluded the United States, indicating that it could not be explained by some other factor particular to his home country."

"countries with high suicide rates tended to have low rates of mass shootings — the opposite of what you would expect if mental health problems correlated with mass shootings."

Another sure reason for LaPierre's ouster is the following...

"Senior U.S. District Judge Thomas McAvoy in Albany dismissed the NRA’s claim that the Department of Financial Services selectively enforced state law when it issued millions of dollars in fines against two companies that helped the group sell products to its members that critics dubbed 'murder insurance.'”

When you consider that in connection with the fact that banks are now refusing to work with the NRA, you can understand the financial tension, and who else should be responsible but the head gun nut of the NRA. But dumping LaPierre from the NRA should quell gun violence in that his continuing crusade has been to put more guns on the street. As a result, The NRA and gun violence are inseparable, my feelings, of course.