Radical Information Can Destroy a Democracy...Here's how

 

Over thirty-five years in the junk mail industry, information was my crown jewel. Information about mailing lists, information about people (demographics); information about geography (demography). Without all this I could never have progressed as a data broker. It was plentiful and it was expensive but cost even more when collected and refined, then sold to a client for their mailings. I do not know the number of peoples' names I sold but it was in the multi-millions.

This was several years ago and the business has changed significantly since then. What hasn't changed is still the fact that nothing moves without information. In Salon recently, Chauncey Devega spoke with Stephanie Foggett, who is director of global communications at the Soufan Group, a global intelligence and security consulting firm. Foggett specializes in monitoring white supremacist, neo-Nazi and other right-wing extremist groups.

With the Covid pandemic in a slight decline, we now have monkeypox to deal with. And there is a constant reminder from Bernie Sanders and other Progressives that inequality is still raging in this country. Devega reminds us...

"Here in the U.S., Donald Trump's political cult and a Republican Party dominated by fascists are attempting to end multiracial democracy. This is a revolutionary struggle whose goal is to create a new American society, that in practical terms will be an apartheid Christian fascist plutocracy ruled without challenge or accountability by a small number of rich white men."

 The Pro-Putin Wing Of The GOP Echoes Kremlin Disinformation...

In Devega's exchange with Foggett, she...

"shares her views on how "malign actors" are using this moment of global disruption to expand their power by undermining liberalism and Western-style democracy, both internationally and in the United States."

Of special concern is the use of the Internet and conservative media by "the global far-right and their allies, along with the Republican Party and its agents." Including Fox News and conspiracy cults like QAnon. Foggett even predicts that military conflict between states is now a reality, in keeping with recent forecasts of another Civil War. But, it takes time she says, because more than ever today, we must know why we are doing what we are doing.

It is here where Foggett addresses "How the far right is winning the information war." With Republican disinformation of course, made popular during the Donald Trump administration...

"Every issue is being muddled with disinformation and half-truths and narratives that paralyze action by creating confusion and doubt. This makes it hard to chart a shared path forward."

In this "confusion," it is...

"very difficult to even have discussions about politics and current events when there is less of a shared understanding of reality, the truth and facts. Every issue is being muddled with disinformation and half-truths and narratives that paralyze action by just creating confusion and doubt."

And therein lies the problem. Republican disinformation creating a confusion because the GOP has no agenda other than to block anything the Democrats want to do. It sure isn't the Grand Old Party anymore.

THE AGONY OF BELTWAY POLITICS...Florida's Despot Gov. Ron DeSantis and a SCOTUS Insurrectionist Wife

 

From the words of the Washington Post's Dana Milbank: "Living in states run by a Republican governor is dangerous to your health." The Post article says...

"Using data from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, consultant Doug Haddix reported Sunday that since July 1 (when the lifesaving vaccine was widely available), the 14 states with the highest death rates were all run by Republican governors."

There is no worse GOP governor in this country than the master of tyranny, none other than Florida's demented Ron DeSantis. But there is more to the story, according to the CDC study...

"This [CDC data)] included Florida (at about 153 deaths per 100,000 residents), Ohio (142 deaths per 100,000), Arizona (138) and Georgia (134). Contrast that with the deep-blue District of Columbia (only 27 deaths per 100,000) and California (58 per 100,000)."

That's right, Florida leads the way in U.S. states for governors who have royally botched the handling of the Covid-19 pandemic in their state. To date Florida has 5,877,973 cases, 72,704 deaths, but the lunatic DeSantis thinks he is doing a great job. Moreover, there are double-digit Floridians who agree with him. And...this moron wants to run for president in 2024. On the other hand, Milbank reports...

"The states with the lowest death rates, by contrast, were all run by Democrats — or, in the case of Vermont, Maryland and Massachusetts, by moderate Republican governors who had heavily Democratic legislatures and embraced vaccines and masks. The best jurisdictions were D.C., Vermont, Hawaii and California. Looking at data from the period since May 1 (by which time all U.S. adults theoretically could have been vaccinated) produced similar results."

Texts Show Wife of Justice Thomas, Ginni, Urged Mark Meadows To Overturn Election Results...

The problem is that Republicans have decided they can do anything they want to, this logic ushered in by Donald Trump's former administration, and for the last five years have proceeded to do as they please with that edict. Case in point, Ginni Thomas...

"The House Select Committee investigating the January 6 riot has in its possession more than two dozen text messages, 29 in total, between former Trump White House chief of staff Mark Meadows and Virginia "Ginni" Thomas, a conservative activist and the wife of Supreme Court Justice Clarence Thomas [a radical conservative], according to multiple sources familiar with the messages. 

Thomas said "she "played no role" in planning the events of that day. However...

"The text messages, reviewed by CNN, show Thomas pleading with Meadows to continue the fight to overturn the election results."

Not only does Thomas think she can get away with this insurrection, she's convinced she can lie, like the infamous Trump, to get away with it. Here's more...

"Help This Great President stand firm, Mark!!! ... You are the leader, with him, who is standing for America's constitutional governance at the precipice. The majority knows Biden and the Left is attempting the greatest Heist of our History," Thomas wrote on November 10, 2020.

And then blatantly lying, saying she "played no role." Pathetic! 

President Biden has a wobbly Congress holding a close majority and two Democrats who should be on the other side of the aisle, namely, Joe Manchin and Krysten Sinema. This position, unfortunately, ties Biden's hands at a time when he needs the cooperation of the Senate and the House in addressing this dilemma, plus a lot of other major issues on the President's plate, all to improve this country. But if the people do want things the DeSantis/Thomas way, God help us.

SUPPORT UKRAINE  

Where's the CIA When You Need an Assassination?

 

Lindsay Graham suggested it, "that Russians should assassinate President Vladimir Putin." Don't think I have ever agreed with Graham, well, maybe when he turned on Trump, but I am behind him all the way on this. Both sides of the aisle have chastised him, many, I suspect, because it wasn't their idea. The U. S. has been doing assassinations from the early 1940s; in 1943 Isoroku Yamamoto was assassinated  because he was mastermind of the Attack on Pearl Harbor.

Here's some history...

"The Central Intelligence Agency (CIA), formally created in 1947, is the principal foreign intelligence and counterintelligence agency of the U.S. government. The CIA is headed by a director and deputy director, only one of whom may be a military officer. The director of central intelligence (DCI) serves as the chief intelligence adviser to the president of the United States."

They took a shot at Fidel Castro, which failed, with creative moves from snipers to exploding cigars to a poison-lined scuba diving suit. However, the success since 1945 has been something for the history books with a long list of assassinations since 1945 documented in Wikipedia. The CIA became official through the National Security Act of 1947 under Harry Truman. The first Dir. of Central Intelligence was Rear Admiral Sidney W. Souers, USNR.

But you get the idea; in those days the CIA could be a killing machine. Why not today when a foreign power is threatening to decimate one of our allies? I am talking about Russia and Ukraine, of course, where Putin has killed 2,870 Ukrainian soldiers and "nationalists" and wounded 3,700. Estimates are that more than 2,000 civilians have died. If this isn't enough to put a target on Vladimir Putin's back I don't know what is.

Back to Lindsay Graham, he backtracked later on his call for assassination by stating that Putin should be put in jail. Yeah, that'll do a lot of good, just like the U. S. prosecuting and putting Donald Trump in jail. Boris Johnson wants the Russian leader to be put on trial for war crimes and also in the UK "Tory backbenchers suggested regime change is the only way out of the standoff." More from Graham...

"Is there a Brutus in Russia? Is there a more successful Colonel Stauffenberg in the Russian military?"

‘Is There a Brutus in Russia?’, US Senator Graham Calls for Putin’s Assassination Over Ukraine War

Sounds like he may be suggesting a coup but what would Russia's Politburo think about that? A coup would require strong military support with a leader that is either fed up with Vladimir Putin's antics or is concerned over how the Russian leader's actions will harm his country. U.S. and allies' sanctions have so far brought Russia to the breaking point and the Biden administration is now thinking of closing down oil and natural gas imports that could wreak havoc.

Apparently, as the Guardian reports, "the CIA has not abandoned its old ways." There was an alleged recent assassination attempt on No. Korea's leader, Kim Jong un, using "biochemical substances including radioactive substance and nano poisonous substance." Although the CIA refused to comment on the allegations, sources reported...

"The person directly responsible was allegedly a North Korean working for the foreign intelligence agencies."

The methods sound familiar and as usual from the past, the CIA keeps everything under their hat, sometimes even from Congress. The latter is OK since there are probably Republican lawmakers that sympathize with Kim, just like those who love Putin. Unfortunately, the CIA's actions were all stymied in the 1970s when the agency was forced to cut back on such killings after a US Senate investigation exposed the scale of its operations.

Well, it's time to do a reversal on that if we don't want to get involved in all-out war with Russia and whomever might decide to support them. And, there is help from inside...

"A Russian entrepreneur who offered a $1 million bounty for the arrest of Russian President Vladimir Putin says he posted the reward because he wants to solidify Putin’s public image as a war criminal."

Not sure how he gets away with that but all I can say is GOOD LUCK!

SUPPORT UKRAINE "

 

Don't Believe Joe Biden's Low Approval Ratings

 

For some reason the U.S. media has reacted to Joe Biden's presidency with the negativity of a pre-planned disposition that he can't possibly be a good president. Much of it is Trump supporters and some of it could be an incompetence within the Biden administration of getting the word out. Because, if you look at the facts, President Biden is doing a great job and here are prime examples...

• He passed a $1.2 trillion bipartisan infrastructure package -
• Then the administration passed The $1.9 trillion COVID relief deal -
• He supported transgender service members
• Reduced unemployment -

There's more and you can read it here. The background...

"In December, the national unemployment rate dropped to 3.9 percent while jobless claims sunk to their lowest levels since 1969. When Biden took office, the unemployment rate stood at 6.3 percent.

"Despite the growing inflation, wages paid by private businesses also saw an increase of 2.4 percent from January through October last year, while disposable income rose by 3 percent."

Biden on first year in office...

These are facts that cannot be disputed. Then, Nobel winner in economics, Paul Krugman, adds his expert opinion...

“'Real wages rose last year,' Krugman explains. “On a two-year basis, they’re probably down, but not by a lot. At the same time, we’ve had stellar job growth — and as I said, the combination of modestly declining real wages with a strong job market has actually been a winner for past presidents."

But not a winner for Joe Biden, and when you consider all the above, you have to wonder where all the negativity is coming from. Krugman asks the same question. Here's how he explains it...

"As many of us have noted, Americans are very down on the national economy, but relatively upbeat about their own personal financial situation…. That is, their personal experience is pretty good, but they’ve heard that things are terrible for other people.”

Bingo! "They’ve heard that things are terrible for other people." And where have they heard it from? A Republican cartel of propagandists like Fox News, Breitbart, and undercover groups like Charles Koch's. But, then, there's inflation, which cannot be denied. It did happen on Biden's watch and as Harry Truman said, 'The Buck Stops Here.' But the corporate world isn't helping with escalating prices in oil plus food and more. 

And then there's the Russian invasion of Ukraine where the president had to juggle

that with the Covid pandemic and his new SCOTUS nomination. The New York Times reports the administration was in a quandary with his State of the Union speech coming up, which is today. Here's the scenario...

"All presidents are confronted by episodes that are out of their control, forced to react to the world around them more often than they are able to shape it. But the dizzying events of the past week have for now pushed to the sidelines the congressional squabbling over Mr. Biden’s domestic agenda, and are already redefining the arc of his presidency."

So how popular is President Joe Biden today? One of the most credible polling organizations, FiveThirtyEight. has Biden's approval at 40.7%, a disapproval of 53.6%. Compared to Trump's first year of just 38.8% approval, a disapproval of 54.3%. Something's not right and it smells like the radical right again.

 

The Epitome of Republican Wrongdoing...Using Children for political gain

 

In the movies or on television, if you want ratings you use animals. In today's political competition you can grab the heartstrings, and the attention of voters, by using children. Remember J.D. Vance, "Hillbilly Elegy?" This dufus is in the 2022 Ohio Senate race using this idiot argument, according to Alex Henderson of AlterNet...

"that 'childless Democrats' and 'the childless left' shouldn’t hold public office because they haven’t had the experience of being a parent."

This provokes a huge round of laughter until you realize this idiot is using children to conduct a political campaign that is certain to be fraught with more absurdity and the usual Republican ration of lies. But Wajahat Ali took him down with his liberal piece in The Daily Beast...

"He argues that it is Republicans, in fact, who pose a major threat to the safety and wellbeing of children.

"Far-right Republicans, Ali stresses, are seriously flawed in their thinking when they believe that 'critical race theory' and books they don’t like pose a greater danger in schools than COVID-19."

The GOP is in a race for votes in 2022, and 2024, and are capitalizing on white supremacy, while using the youth of America to make their point. Donald Trump opened the door with his racist comments and actions during the four-years of his administration. The bigots immediately came out of the woodwork with his blessings as well as others around him. The following illustrates this madness...

“Virginia Gov. Glenn Youngkin, who has already banned ‘divisive concepts’ from being taught in schools as part of the right’s disingenuous ‘critical race theory’ panic, is now just one vote away from the Virginia Senate adding an amendment to ban mask mandates in Virginia schools,” Ali observes. “North Carolina Republicans are set to file a bill in the House to ban schools from mask mandates…. Schools, and our children in particular, have become the unfortunate but effective political pawns for a right-wing movement seeking to convert parents’ pandemic frustrations, fears and anxiety into 2022 midterm votes.”

GOP Governors Endanger Children By Playing Politics With COVID-19

Getting to the parents who vote through their children. Republicans have no qualms about who or what they use to reach their goal of power. Ali chastises Republicans who "believe that 'critical race theory' and books they don’t like pose a greater danger in schools than COVID-19." Here's a tweet from his Twitter site...

"During Black History Month, Republican leaders are more comfortable with our kids getting COVID than reading a book written by a Black author talking about white supremacy and diversity."

It goes without saying that the GOP has done everything it possibly can to expose children to the coronavirus by opposing all the CDC protocols for protection. Over 12.3 million children have tested positive for COVID-19 since the onset of the pandemic out of a total 80,068,996 cases in the U.S. One can only wonder how many of these kids could have been saved the agony of the virus had Republican states like Florida and Texas observed the rules of science.

And, of course, these millions of childrens' cases had to lead to some deaths as reported by Newsweek...

"According to available data as of December 15, a breakdown of 677,393 coronavirus deaths showed 1,005 persons between the ages of 0 and 17. Among those, 319 children between the ages of 0 and 4 had died from the disease."

So, not only has the Republican Party been instrumental in the deaths of over 1,000

children from a virus where, with the correct precautions, no doubt, a large number could have been saved, they also want to use them now in the upcoming elections to sell an agenda of lies and corruption.

The old saying comes to mind...'Do you have no honor?' I guess not when it comes to Republicans.

Joe Biden is a Victim of Reckless Republican Propaganda...Here's the Real Story

 

OK, let's accept the fact that no matter what President Biden does, the GOP erects an immediate wall to oppose it. Whatever - you name it. Minority Senate leader and power grabbing Moscow Mitch McConnell is the head wall builder, followed by Kevin McCarthy, House minority leader mixed with a plethora of Republican misfits. It is clear that the above has replaced an agenda for the right as they roll on with their plans to eliminate American democracy.

Overshadowed within all this is the agenda of Joe Biden which he describes as the perfect storm, consisting of four crises that must be addressed. They are, "fighting the coronavirus, restoring the economy, combating climate change and making the country more equal." Here's the scenario from The Washington Post...

Those four issues remain central to Biden’s presidency. “I think if you take a look at what we’ve been able to do, you’d have to acknowledge we made enormous progress,” President Biden said Wednesday [Jan. 20] of his first year in office.

From WaPo's Post Pundit Power Rankers in the beginning of the Prez's administration he was given a B+ on his first 100 days in office. Fast-forward through the crises to today and...

"Now, we’re back to assess a full year’s worth of White House decision-making. Like last time, our rankers have assigned Biden a grade A+ to F, taking into account such issues as the pandemic, the economy, foreign policy, voting and human rights, and presidential leadership. Also as last time, our readers — more than 4,400 of you! — got in on the grading. Your scores factor into the final average just like our pundits’."

 Biden highlights wins, struggles and top priorities after 1 year in office...

In the final score Biden had an average pundit grade of C+, average reader grade B, overall grade B-. There is a raft of scores on specific issues in this article like the economy, voting and human rights, foreign policy, etc. I urge you to read them all.

But, Matt Robison from AlterNet exclaims, "The reality is that Biden has done a great job — but the pundits can't admit it." He gives President Biden an A+ commenting, "Anything else is insane."

Robison points us back to a glut of Donald Trump stupidities...

water cannon of lies
a cabinet of grifters and thieves
disastrous and deadly Covid denial
child separation
the Helsinki Putin bootlicking affair

This is only five. There are fifteen more. This is how he visions another four

years under Trump...

"Faster global warming. Endless vendettas. Jailing dissidents. Clawing back LGBT rights. MAGA budgets and widespread hunger. Endless trade wars and rising nuclear standoffs. An impenetrable wall of judges. A chokehold on immigration. The end of democracy."

Then, Jennifer Rubin comes along with her opinion, "Biden is on a roll as commander in chief." A great read! That's good enough for me.

        

America is Destroying its Democracy -The Experts Agree

 

The first site I came upon was one that we would not see if not for the administration of Donald Trump. As you read this post you must do it with the understanding that, although former president Barack Obama left the country in reasonably good shape at the end of his presidency, there had been an undercurrent for his eight years to thwart everything he did. This included the Democratic agenda in general. The major culprit was and still is Moscow Mitch McConnell.

Additions to this unconscionable less than a human being is Kevin McCarthy, who has been actively working to replace Nancy Pelosi as Speaker in a wishful Republican takeover of the House. And then there are state governors like Florida's Ron DeSantis, Texas' Greg Abbott and So. Dakota's Kristi Noem who have given dictatorship a new meaning. They are running their states in such a Hitleresque manner it is a wonder the constituencies don't revolt.

And that, folks, is where our democracy has gone. And why the media is covering it like the following...

The Washington Post says, "Democracy is on the brink of disaster. For voters, it’s politics as usual." Sam Rosenfeld recognizes the fact that the American public has decided to let politicians run away with their country, and do absolutely nothing about it. Apathetics, I call them. And maybe Trump isn't all to blame as Rosenfeld reports...

"Worries about the state of American democracy didn’t begin when Trump rejected the election’s results — indeed, they predate his entrance into politics. For the last two decades, analysts have connected dysfunction in governance to deepening party polarization, marked by an asymmetrical Republican shift toward procedural hardball and extremism."

READ MORE... 

Canadian author Stephen Marche opens his new book, "The Next Civil War:

Dispatches from the American Future." with "The United States is coming to an end. The question is how." And with the natural reaction from Americans when an outsider criticizes us, he or she is just a U.S. hater. Not so says the author, Dean Obeidallah, who explains...

"In fact, as Marche explained on my SiriusXM radio show last week, it's the opposite: Marche wrote his book because he "loves" the US after working and living within its borders off and on for years. His hope, he says, is to warn Americans of where the nation is going before it's too late."

It seems that everyone but Republicans have discovered the fact that our country is on the verge of losing its democracy and wants to help...

Marche isn't the only Canadian worried about their southern neighbor's future. Just days before Marche's book released, political scientist Thomas Homer-Dixon -- the executive director of the Cascade Institute, which focuses on ways to address threats to society -- penned a powerful op-ed in Canada's "Globe and Mail" that begins with a similar warning. "By 2025, American democracy could collapse, causing extreme domestic political instability, including widespread civil violence," Homer-Dixon writes. "By 2030, if not sooner," he adds, "the country could be governed by a right-wing dictatorship."

READ MORE... 

In a New York Times opinion piece, David Brooks says, "America Is Falling Apart at the Seams," a statement highly appropriate in the sense that the wheels seem to be coming off from the states to the federal government. Brooks found that driving in the U.S was down during the coronavirus pandemic but the number of traffic deaths rose 7 percent. Two numbers that don't make sense until you take into consideration the pandemic has raised the stress level to the breaking point...

"While gloomy numbers like these were rattling around in my brain, a Substack article from Matthew Yglesias hit my inbox this week. It was titled, “All Kinds of Bad Behavior Is on the Rise.” Not only is reckless driving on the rise, Yglesias pointed out, but the number of altercations on airplanes has exploded, the murder rate is surging in cities, drug overdoses are increasing, Americans are drinking more, nurses say patients are getting more abusive, and so on and so on.

From airplanes to school rooms there are outbursts like we have never seen before. This article is so all-inclusive on America's fight for democracy that I strongly recommend reading it all. 

More on America's destruction of democracy later.

The Republican Party and its Antics Stink

 

That's right! The Republican Party has a distinctive stench that has been building for the last several years and threatens to develop into a full blown putrid, rancid, rotting cult of denial and incompetence. And they are determined to take democracy down with their ineptitude. CNN says that it is, "The biggest news story of 2021? Our imperiled democracy," with this comment...

"The headlines began in January with the first serious attempted coup in US history and have been running ever since, highlighted by the unceasing machinations by supporters of Donald Trump to either restore him to office or find some extra-legal way to eliminate the possibility he could ever lose if he ran again."

In this piece, Bill Carter, a media analyst for CNN, points out that, even with a raging coronavirus pandemic, "our imperiled democracy is the biggest story of the year." Considering the impact of Covid-19 with 64,789,362 U.S. cases and 868,128 deaths, this statement should scare the hell out of any American that cares about the future of their country. Carter comments further...

"I certainly don't believe I have seen any other news story in my own lifetime, which goes back to the 1950s, that has shaken the nation to its foundations as this one has."

Former President Barack Obama says, "Democracy is at a greater risk today," adding...

“while the broken windows have been repaired and many of the rioters have been brought to justice, the truth is that our democracy is at a greater risk today than it was back then.”

Former Pres. Obama warned about democracy's loss a year ago...

In other words, we, as a nation, learned absolutely nothing from a gang of Trump Republican double-digit hoodlums attacking the U.S. Capitol, doing damage to the premises and making the first real charge on our democracy in years. There are those who support this kind of insurgency, those who don't, and then there are the apathetics. It seems the latter is a growing majority, the ones who stay at home for elections, then bitch and moan when they don't like the results.

Obama puts it all in perspective by chastising the GOP, going all the way down to state legislatures...

“Historically, Americans have been defenders of democracy and freedom around the world — especially when it’s under attack,” he continued. “But we can’t serve the role when leading figures in one of our two major political parties are actively undermining democracy at home. We can’t set an example when our leaders are willing to fabricate lies and cast doubt on the results of free and fair elections.”

CNN's Jake Tapper says, "Americans aren't hearing the 'democracy in danger' alarm," and I believe he would agree that those who have are not doing enough. But the warnings are there...

There is "a dagger at the throat of democracy," President Joe Biden said

 

Thursday.

The country "teeters on the brink of a widening abyss," former President Jimmy Carter.

In her remarks Thursday, Vice President Kamala Harris put the January 6 insurrection alongside Pearl Harbor and 9/11 as a wake-up call for Americans.

And here's another important point of view, "Majority of business leaders believe democracy is threatened," a faction that the GOP should be listening to. Karl Evers-Hillstrom of The Hill says...

"Seventy-two percent of business leaders say they are concerned that U.S. democracy is under threat, according to a Morning Consult poll of 400 company executives released on the one-year anniversary of the Capitol riot."

That is significant and a group that President Biden should tap into to support his voting rights legislation. Here's the scenario...

“This research clearly shows that the leaders in America’s business community view democracy and voting rights as an economic issue,” said Rhett Buttle, founder of Public Private Strategies. “Now, it is important that advocates, policymakers, and leaders in Congress and the administration engage the business community to advance solutions that will stabilize our democracy and protect access to the ballot for every voter.”

Joe Biden's voting rights legislation hangs with barely a thread and it would appear he does not have the votes to save it. When you think of it, the right to vote is so basic under our Constitution...the way in which individuals express their political preferences. Then ask yourself, why do Republicans want to deny the right to vote for a selected few? The answer, of course, is that they lose elections when these select individuals are allowed to vote. Keep this in mind when voting in November.

 

 

Axelrod: It is Way too Early to Count Joe Biden Out

 

President Biden is taking hits from every direction, mostly the right, but some from his own people because he is not aggressive enough. Well, that all changed yesterday at the U.S. Capitol when he figuratively decapitated Donald Trump. His castigation of the ex-president was very thorough without even mentioning the former White House maniac's name. The Daily Beast says Biden "struck the perfect balance" in assailing Trump on "the day that Biden became president."

Here's the scenario...

"It was serious, but not whiney. And he didn’t just mock Trump for losing. "You can’t love your country only when you win. You can’t obey the law only when it’s convenient. You can’t be patriotic when you embrace and enable lies,” Biden said. "Those who stormed this Capitol, and those who instigated and incited, and those who called on them to do so held a dagger at the throat of America.”

 Biden addresses nation year after Jan. 6 Capitol attack...

If ever there was a condemnation of the attacks on U.S. democracy by Republicans, led by Donald Trump, this is it. Alex Henderson of AlterNet likens Joe Biden's current status--before the Jan. 6 speech, that is--in this manner...

"As 2021 draws to a close, President Joe Biden finds himself in a position that recalls President Barack Obama around late 2009 and 2010, President Bill Clinton around 1993 and President Ronald Reagan around 1982. Biden’s poll numbers are disappointing, and he is facing the possibility of the opposition party enjoying a midterms wave election — not unlike Obama, Clinton and Reagan before him."

And the idiot replies to Biden's speech...

 However, DB calls the defense of democracy, preachy, alarmist, and even weak, adding...

(this was the same problem liberals faced in the 1930s, when they looked weak and impotent in the face of more dynamic and energetic fascist leaders).

Going back to that era, The Washington Post reports three reasons fascism spread...

• The first was a major economic depression and social dislocation that undermined people’s confidence in democracy and led them to look for alternatives.
• The second factor was fear of communism, which led many leading intellectuals to embrace fascism as a bulwark against Bolshevism and as the lesser of two evils.
• The third factor was the rise of Nazi Germany as an economic and military powerhouse.

Addressing each, we currently have a great economy, the threat of communism is

nil, but there is concern over communist China's latest moves as an economic power, but not a threat. So, one must face the fact fascism's recent rise is due almost entirely to Donald Trump and his administration. WaPo mentions other factors, inequality, unemployment in certain areas and a massive drug epidemic. Most encouraging, though, is former Obama adviser, David Axelrod's comment...

"that it is way too early to start writing an obituary on Biden’s presidency."

This is good news that Biden and all of us lefties have been waiting to hear, and from a political pro at that. Now, all you Biden naysayers can bite the bullet and get ready for 2022, then 2024.

POLITICAL FRAGMENTATION: Here's What It's all about

 

The United States is already suffering the attempted destruction of our democracy by the Republicans, and now we learn it is already in pieces and needs to be reassembled. Richard Pildes, of the New York Times calls it Political Fragmentation...

"the dispersion of political power into so many different hands and centers of power that it becomes difficult for democratic governments to function effectively."

That is certainly a switch from the autocratic style of government we were experiencing under Donald Trump, but is it something that can be fixed in this country? Or, does it need to be fixed? Pildes says Joe Biden has identified the "challenge" a “battle between the utility of democracies in the 21st century and autocracies.” But at the same time with Democrats controlling Congress and the White House, Biden couldn't pass the Build Back Better Bill.

The author believes this sets up authoritarianism because the public thinks this

form of governing can bypass all the political furor. This is, in itself, enlightening with the realization that this kind of attitude could, in part, account for the support for the Republican Party. in spite of its discord the likes of Donald Trump, and congressional lunatics like Marjorie Taylor Greene. There's more from the Times...

"The struggle of the Biden administration to deliver on its policy agenda offers a good example of the political fragmentation of politics taking place throughout Western democracies. It takes different forms in the multiparty systems of Europe and the two-party system of the United States."

The question is, just how long will the U.S. have a two-party system, or have any party system at all? We are dangerously close to losing our democracy, and it is the Republican Party we can thank for its demise. Now, what does the American public plan to do?

I urge uou to read Richard Pildes' article in the NYT.

The Agony of Stupidity...2 States...2 Governors...1 Idiot

 

And the winner is the dufus, Doug Ducey, not only one of the worst governors in the U.S., but one of the largest covid-19 killing machines. As an example, here's a comparison done by Phoenix newspaper columnist, E. J. Montini. Here's his headline...

"Washington is a state like Arizona – only with 13,000 fewer COVID-19 deaths"

And here is the scenario as the columnist pulls no punches on Arizona's head of state...

"For much of the pandemic that number has not seemed to matter much, if at all, to Arizona Gov. Doug Ducey. Spouting platitudes about the economy has mattered. Acquiescing to the conspiracy theorists and the anti-vaccine kooks in the Republican party has mattered. 

"But talking about COVID-19 and the terrible toll it has taken on Arizona, and actually doing something to stop it … those things have not mattered."

Donald Trump was still in office as the pandemic began its drive across the U.S. Trump initially called it a hoax, perpetuated by Democrats to do harm to his administration. Ducey echoed the then, White House maniac, leading Arizonans to believe there was nothing to worry about. I did a post on April 3, 2020, " Some COVID-19 deaths Republican governors' responsibility," on how Republican governors were reacting to covid-19 as if it were "just a virus," featuring Ducey...

"On March 23, Ducey issued an executive order prohibiting any county, city or town from issuing any order or regulation “restricting persons from leaving their home due to the COVID-19 public health emergency.” Ducey’s order prevented local municipalities from issuing shelter-in-place regulations."

Dufus Ducey does it again...banning lifesaving vaccine mandates...

 Now that you have the background, let's do the numbers. Montini concludes the states of Washington and Arizona are similar in many ways relating to the coronavirus pandemic. Population is an example...

"Recent counts show Washington at about 7.8 million people and Arizona at about 7.5 million." 

A huge difference is the fact that Washington's Gov. Jay Inslee, was considerably

more aggressive in protecting the citizens of his state than Ducey was with the Arizona population. Inslee is a Democrat. Ducey is a Republican. Inslee took heat from his constituents while the dufus did his thing...

"Arizona, which long ago abandoned its citizens to their own devices, Washington still has a number of restrictions aimed at mitigating the spread of COVID-19. Mask requirements. Proof of vaccination or negative COVID-19 test requirements. It’s a fairly long list and not everyone is happy about it."

And finally, the numbers that count...

Washington state has had a little over 800,000 cases of COVID-19 and fewer than 10,000 deaths.

Arizona has had 1.3 million cases and 23,000 deaths.

Montini asks his readers, citizens of Arizona, to think about that. I ask my readers the same because it is an excellent representation of how Republicans could care less about this country and its people with their only purpose to wreck our democracy. 

 

UPDATE: The Agony of Stupidity...Did Donald Trump Reintroduce Fascism to America?

 

UPDATE: Fascism expert says Trump’s cult of personality is growing

This country thought it had left fascism behind when it defeated Germany and Italy in the 2nd World War. It took a raving maniac to open the door to its re-entry into to the United States. Donald Trump is the benefactor to a dictatorial form of government his pathetic supporters are willing to tolerate. Trump lost to Joe Biden but has never admitted his loss. Since then, the President has had to muster forces to combat Trump's continuing attacks on democracy.

Biden has also had to deal with the Covid-19 pandemic, which, again, Donald Trump holds the responsibility for letting the virus get out of control, resulting in a major problem for the Biden administration. But one thing continues to mystify me in all that is transpiring: why the hell would Trump followers want to succumb to a dictator, especially one that is a lowlife like the ex-president. And why would the apathetics from the left who don't vote seem to endure this lunacy?

One of this country's major allies, Germany, seems to be headed to the radical right, according to AlterNet...

"Germany’s gift to the far right is the Desiderius Erasmus Foundation, the public-policy arm of the country’s most prominent extremist party, the Alternative für Deutschland (AfD). Erasmus, a Dutch humanist of the Renaissance best known for his ironic essay “In Praise of Folly,” would have been appalled at such a grotesque misappropriation of his name. The AfD, after all, has built its political base on a series of follies diametrically opposed to humanism, from its initial anti-immigration screeds to its current overtures to the anti-vaccination crowd."

 One must wonder, with a new chancellor, Olaf Scholz, just taking office, who is a

member of the Social Democratic Party, plus working closely with Angela Merkel in the past, is he on board with all this? I mean the AfD will be funded to establish outposts of hate throughout the world. The authors' comment...

The far right hasn’t had this kind of opportunity for global expansion since fascism’s heyday in the 1930s."

And it is clear that the Republican Party is regularly doing its part to kill democracy, raising autocracy to new heights. But although Donald Trump persecuted Hispanics and totally shut down Muslims from entering the United States, five fascism experts said the ex-president did not qualify as a fascist...

"Every one of them stated that to be a fascist, one must support the revolutionary, usually violent overthrow of the entire government/Constitution, and reject democracy entirely."

Trump was...

"too individualist for the inherently collectivist philosophy of fascism, and not sufficiently committed to the belief that violence is good for its own sake, as a vital cleansing force."

In other words, he was more into himself that he would embrace a movement like fascism. Steve Bannon, though, is another thing. The Daily Beast reports...

"Bannon may be the poster child for far-right “populism” and “economic nationalism”—euphemistic slogans for neo-fascism and neo-Nazism—but The Brink (in theaters March 29) is no puff piece on the founder of Breitbart News, whose role in the Trump campaign, and subsequent stint as White House Chief Strategist, helped make him an extremist celebrity power broker."

Steve Bannon is definitely an authoritarian who many thought was Donald Trump's brain. It is interesting to note that, as late as October of this year, Bannon was quoted as saying, "You need to kill this [Biden] administration in its crib." But there is still hope and it comes from the state of Georgia, and the far-left of the Democratic Party, a faction I recently criticized. The fact is I have been a Progressive for years but recently tired of the "Squad's" antics.

If You’re Not Scared About American Fascism, You’re Not Paying Attention...

AlterNet starts with quoting the recent low black turnout in Virginia then turns to South Fulton, Georgia, the state’s eighth most populous city, where Khalid Kamau, a “prominent Democratic Socialist… got 59 percent of the vote.” Here's the scenario...

On December 2, the paper noted that two city council members with a combined “four-and-a-half decades of experience” on the panel “were ousted Tuesday by younger, more progressive challengers.” (One victor, 34-year-old Antonio Lewis, is among the activists featured in “The Georgia Way.”)

This may very well point the way to more Progressive candidates from the left, but it does not open the door to stone-walling tactics. And turning back to the original question, "Did Donald Trump Reintroduce Fascism to America?', probably not, but not because he didn't want to. This maniac would have done anything to stay in office, denies losing, and continues to run for president in 2024. Trump has held several rallies since the Jan. 6 Capitol insurrection but Iowa was the worst.

Iowa Sen. Chuck Grassley and Gov. Kim Reynolds, along with other state politicians joined Trump in October at a rally that CNN's Dean Obeidallah described as "the most alarming by far." Here is Obeidallah's take...

"Some of these very same people, who just nine months ago were slamming Trump for his role in the Capitol riots, were now only too happy to be seen supporting him. This is politics at its worst -- and at its most dangerous for our democracy."

The most hypocritical of the bunch is Sen. Grassley...

who on January 6 was escorted by his security detail to a secure location to protect him from the pro-Trump mob that had laid siege on the Capitol. Grassley, who voted to certify the 2020 election, made a veiled reference to Trump in his statement, noting that the lawsuits filed after the election had failed and that "politicians in Washington should not second guess the courts once they have ruled."

Iowa can do without Chuck Grassley. The U.S. Senate can do without Chuck Grassley. This country can do without Chuck Grassley, just like an abundance of other Republicans in Congress. If we don't stop the GOP's attack on democracy, the U.S. doors will swing open, eventually welcoming a government promulgated by nutcases like the freaked out five, Matt Gaetz, M.T. Greene, Lauren Boebert, Madison Cawthorne and Paul Gosar. Any one of these could lead us to fascism.

 

MUST READ QUOTES...from...Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis...the killing machine

 

The science is clear from experts that tell us, yes, having the Covid-19 virus can establish a certain level of immunity, but one that needs the follow-up of vaccination to insure more solid protection. Here's the reasoning from the scientific community...

"how much immunity COVID-19 survivors have depends on how long ago they were infected, how sick they were, and if the virus variant they had is different from mutants circulating now. For example, a person who had a minor case one year ago is much different than a person who had a severe case over the summer when the delta variant was raging through the country. It’s also difficult to reliably test whether someone is protected from future infections."

Enter the demented DeSantis, Florida's governor who has to-date killed 61,081 of

his constituents by opposing coronavirus masks, vaccines and any other Covid protocol that the Biden administration calls for. Here's the quote...

“We recognize, unlike what you see going on with the federal proposed mandates and other states, we’re actually doing a science-based approach. For example, we recognize people that have natural immunity,”

His "science-based approach" apparently evolves from the twisted mind of DeSantis along with the moron he appointed State Surgeon General, Dr. Joseph A. Ladapo, who entirely supports the governor's policies. You would think Floridians would have the brains to simply look at the numbers: 3,726,720 coronavirus cases that represent 173,515 per 1000 population. The U.S. average is 146,761. What is even worse is the new Florida law this lunatic passed...

"The new Florida law forces private businesses to let workers opt out of COVID-19 mandates if they can prove immunity through a prior infection, as well as exemptions based on medical reasons, religious beliefs, regular testing or an agreement to wear protective gear."

By the way, it is Ladapo that "will have authority to define exemption standards." So far, Joe Biden has chosen not to interfere in Florida politics, although with the constant flow of DeSantis' deranged criticisms, he has certainly had the openings. The sunshine state twit back in July fundraised off t-shirts, "Don't Fauci my Florida." Now, 2 golf balls with the inscription, "Florida's Governor has a Pair." Now this is the kind of thing one would expect from a high school sophomore.

Just as it was with another maniac, Donald Trump, it is the supporters that are just as much at fault as the clown on parade. If you can look at those numbers, above, and not agree that he should be removed from office, well, you deserve what you get. After a number of protests from individuals and lawmakers over vaccine mandates, no one has come up with credible scientific facts that refute the fact there is anything better than a jab in the arm as the surest Covid-19 prevention.

Pres. Biden should be applauded, but...

It's all good news, according to Robert Reich, economist, professor and lawyer. So, why are Joe Biden's latest poll numbers so abysmal? Reich shows why the President should be commended...

"America is overflowing with good news. Unemployment is down, wages are up, consumer confidence is rebounding, and consumers are spending more (retail sales jumped 1.7% in October, the third monthly increase). Covid seems to be in retreat, at least among those who have been vaccinated. And two big parts of Biden’s legislative agenda – last spring’s $1.9tn American Rescue Plan, and his recent $1.2tn infrastructure plan – have been enacted."

These are accomplishments, folks, something we have become unused to in the prior administration of Donald Trump. The White House maniac spent his four years spreading hate and promoting white supremacy, lying, ignoring the Covid-19 pandemic, basically undermining anything to threaten America's democracy. This left Biden with a multitude of fires to put out. And it isn't easy to govern when the other party is determined to continue Trump's anti-democracy.

Biden's $1.2 Trillion Plan to Rebuild America...

Reich cites the President's low and recently plunging approval ratings, the latest at 41%, with most registered voters exclaiming, "if the midterm elections were today, they’d support the Republican candidate." On Friday the House passed the President's Build Back Better Bill, with the Senate not guaranteed but highly hoped for. All that said, at least some blame here: "Biden’s and the Democrat’s poor messaging." The economist calls it "awful," and I agree.

We never hear the end of Republican accomplishments on the Fox network, Newsmax and Breitbart, and there may lie one of the biggest problems with the left...they don't have similar media. At least that which is listened to regularly crowing over liberal achievements. CNN and MSNBC do a good job of reporting but not collectively the crowd pleasers the competition have. The famous liar, Tucker Carlson, is a good example of conservative followings.

I recognize, as most on the left do, that Carlson's audience, as are the other hosts on Fox, are populated with double-digit IQs, have to be to believe this drivel. Others think it is the media. Reich surmises...

"Even now most Americans have no idea what the “Build Back Better” package is. It sounds like infrastructure, but that bill has been enacted. “Human infrastructure” makes no sense to most people."

 It is hard to say if the latter is the fault of the Biden administration or the combined media. Regardless, it is a fact and, if Biden doesn't change this soon, his approval rating can only get worse. Finally, because of the higher education level of Democrats, they don't "really want major social change anyway." I call this group the apathetics, somewhat out of touch with reality. But Reich says most of the country was ready for the quiet mind of Biden to repair it all.

And, Pres. Biden has made a great start, but most don't know that...yet.

Waiting for an Assassination

 

Connecticut Rep. Jim Himes, a Democrat, says...

"it is a matter of time before a less responsible follower of Donald Trump, or a less responsible Republican is going to pick up a weapon and kill someone."

What Rep. Hines is presuming is that someone, likely a politician, and one on the left, could be assassinated. It is surprising to me it hasn't happened already, and not just a Democrat but Republicans as well. Donald Trump threw open the door to violence repeatedly during his administration, but when he lost, and the Jan. 6, U.S. Capitol insurrection was forming, he had this to say...

“Republicans are constantly fighting like a boxer with his hands tied behind his back. It’s like a boxer. And we want to be so nice. We want to be so respectful of everybody, including bad people. And we’re going to have to fight much harder. …

“We’re going to walk down to the Capitol, and we’re going to cheer on our brave senators and congressmen and women, and we’re probably not going to be cheering so much for some of them, because you’ll never take back our country with weakness. You have to show strength, and you have to be strong.”

 Top 10 Political Assassinations of the 20th Century...

As far as controlling his crowd of thugs he said...

“I know that everyone here will soon be marching over to the Capitol building to peacefully and patriotically make your voices heard.”

Himes, in his interview with MSNBC host, Nicolle Wallace, cited the pushback on the Infrastructure Bill as an example of the language, and death threats by Republicans toward their own party members for voting for the bill, calling them traitors. Himes closes with a warning based on his earlier comments...

"And I never imagined that I would be concerned about that. But here we are. I think that's a very real threat. And if the Republicans can't tamper back their, dial back their rhetoric, that's where this is going to end."

And this is the precipice to which Donald Trump has led his followers and this country with no concern for the violence he has caused and what all this might lead to. In this article, Himes gives us an idea where that might be.