Tag: politics

The Trump-Musk DICTATORSHIP – U.S. Creates Gaza as “Tourist Area”!!! – Cruelty, Stupidity, Craziness – IV

~ tomdolen

THE UGLY AMERICAN HAS RETURNED!!! – This time more arrogant, cruel, stupid, corrupt, and crazy – and – totally uncaring about what the PEOPLE OF GAZA want.

Unable – so far – to conquer the Panama Canal, to buy Greenland, to make Canada the 51st state, to lower the costs of American’s food “on day 1”!!!!!!!!, to follow the Constitution and numerous American laws; the “winner” of the 2024 election with 49.9% of votes – NOW proposes America can “solve” the problem of 2 million Gazans – recently bombed back to the Stone Age, by, is it permanently?, or, “temporarily?, forcing theses innocent, traumatized people to leave their homeland for someplace else – with little or no money, no jobs, no housing, few if any possessions. – SO. – America can create a brand new Middle East “tourist area” in WHAT. USED. TO. BE. THEIR. HOMES ??????? Typical Donald Trump “thinking” – “temporary’ pain for somebody else.

Maybe somebody can think of it – but – has ANY American president EVER suggested such a CRUEL, STUPID. plan? Leaving aside other issues – de-stabilization of the entire Middle East; no surrounding countries accept this; WHERE are 2 million displaced, poverty-stricken people going to live; Where do they get FOOD & WATER; how do they find JOBS; WHO will establish SCHOOLS for their children; – what normal human being, in the face of immense tragedy and suffering already inflicted on Gazans, would even jokingly – suggest such CRUEL, STUPID, UNCARING ‘plan”?

According to “Trump suggests U.S. ‘ownership” of rebuilt Gaza [A.Madhani, T.Goldenberg, Z.Miller; Assoc. Press; 2/5/25]: Trump’s top aides said a 3-5 year reconstruction timeline as currently discussed “is not viable.”
SO – WHERE do 2 million Gazans live for over 5 years, if not in THEIR. OWN. HOMELAND ????????

“…asked in an interview with Fox News’ Bret Baier that aired Monday if Palestinians in Gaza would have a right to return to the territory under his [Trump’s] plan, h replied, “No they wouldn’t.” [“Trump is envisioning Gaza as a ‘tourist area”; Z.Miller, C.Megerian, W.Weissert; Assoc. press; 2/12/25]

UGLY THOUGHT: is the Trump-Musk dictatorship working with Israel’s Netanyahu and Israel’s Far Right to implement a secret nefarious plan to ethnically cleanse ALL Palestinians out of their ancient homelands – so Israel can occupy Gaza and the West Bank, merge them with current Israel? Remember – there are now about 500,000 Israelis illegally [under both international & Israeli law] living in the West Bank. Remember MANY suggestions, given documents, that THIS has been an unofficial policy goal of Israel.

The above is troubling for many reasons – number one being that honest, fair-minded, objective experts have LONG SAID that THERE. WILL. BE. NO. PEACE. IN THE MIDDLE. EAST. without a ‘TWO STATE’ solution – a secure Israel and a recognized Palestinian state.

Somehow – Gaza, without real Palestinians, as a “tourist area” – does NOT seem to be a serious, long-term solution to the current tragedy, nor events of many decades
Somehow – this sounds like evicting all real Venicians from Venice and declaring ti a “tourist area”; like evicting all the real people of Paris and declaring it a “tourist area’; evicting all the real people of………………………..

***”Peace implies reconciliation.” [ Edmund Burke]

*** “Peace is more the product of our day-to-day living than of a spectacular program..” [ Dwight D. Eisenhower ]

*** ‘True peace is not merely the absence of tension; it is the presence of justice.” [Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. ]

The Trump-Musk Dictatorship – “BROKEN GOVERNMENT – You Were Warned

~ tomdolen

The Trump-Musk dictatorship didn’t come out of nowhere. At this point, it is the LOGICAL CONCLUSION of decades of DELIBERATE Republican efforts to sabotage government, mostly from GREED for their corporate and wealthy supporters and donors, but also to satisfy FAR RIGHT ideological goals.

YOU. WERE. WARNED – below are some of those warnings…

1]. “Broken Government…How Republican Rule Destroyed the Legislative, Executive, and Judicial Branches” [John W. Dean – Nixon White House legal counsel; 2007]: As Dean was ending this book, “an old friend from the Nixon White House called..a life-long Republican who knew Bush and Cheney personally, who said: “Just tell your readers that you have a source who knows a lot about the Republican Party from long experience..and he has a bit of advice: People should not vote for ANY Republican because they’re dangerous, dishonest, and self-serving…I have come to realize the Democrats really do care about people who most need help from government; Republicans care most about those who will only get richer because of government help. The government is truly broken, particularly in dealing with national security, and another four years, and heaven forbid not eight years, under Republicans, and our grandchildren will have to build a new government, because the one we have will be unrecognizable and unworkable.”

[NOTE – now read this again, remembering WHO said it, and this, he insisted on anonymity “..because one of his sons is in an important [non-political] government post, and we both know that Republicans will seek revenge wherever they can find it.” !!!!!!!!! – NOW, think on this too! – As in who is infamous for seeking revenge on HIS “enemies.”!!!!!!!!!]

You MUST read pages 166-74, “Direct Impact of Judicial Fundamentalism on Individuals,” and his fears of what could [and DID] happen; Appendix A; “Separation of Powers; An Essential Process Envisioned by the Framers;” Appendix B: “Republican Appropriation Process Abuses: shutting Down the Government;” Appendix C: “Bush and Cheney’s Radical Lawyer: The Remarkable Source for UnConstitutional War Powers” [this person is still active!]; pages 102-110: trhe “unitary executive theory” – which the Trump-Musk dictatorship has resurrected to gut YOUR democracy.

2] “It’s Even Worse Than It Looks…How the American Constitutional Sysrem Collided with the New Politics of Extremism”. [Thomas Mann, Norman Ornstein; 2012 – 40 years as respected bi-partisan commentators]:: “In every chapter..we have documented the ways in which the Republican Party has become the insurgent outlier in American politics and as such contributes disproportionally to its dysfunction..the culture and ideological center of the Republican Party itself, at the congressional, presidential, and in many cases, state and local levels, must change if U.S. democracy is to regain its health. The contemporary GOP, to ther horror of many of its longtime stalwarts and leaders like former senators John Danforth of Missouri and Alan Simpson of Wyoming, has veered toward tolerance of extreme ideological beliefs and policies and embrace of cynical and destructive means to advance political ends over problem solving..disdain for negotiation and compromise unless force on them…Republicans in office have driven both the widening of the ideological gap between the parties and the strategic hyperpartisanship on such crucial issues as financial stabilization, economic recovery, deficits and debt, health-care reform and climate change.” [Note: read pages 31-43 on how Gingrich destroyed Congress – WHY}

[Again – read this again – and note – NOTHING has changed- virtually EVERY word van be said of 2025 Republicans]

3]. “It Was All A Lie..How the Republican Party Became Donald Trump”. [Stuart Stevens; 2020 – 25 years as lead strategist and media consultant for Republican presidential campaigns}: “Burn it to the ground and start over.” that’s the answer I find myself giving when asked what should be done with the Trump Republican party..Over the past few years, I’ve come to realize that Donald Trump didn’t hijack the GOP, as much as some of us would like to assert. Sadly, the party had already become Trump, and he or his like was inevitable.”….

All the supposed “core values” of Republicans “turned out to be mere marketing slogans.” “Family values” was useful as “an otherness tool” to attack Democrats…Christian Right wants the world to see them as the political arm of Jesus saving America – in practice its about power…Basic facts are “indisputable”: in the post-WW II era, Republican presidents have contributed far more to the deficit than Democrats.”
“..an entire industry of hate that has come to dominate the Republican Party…Today the intellectual leaders of the Republican party are paranoids, kooks, know-nothings, and bigots who once could be heard only on late-night talk shows.’

“The Republican Party is held aloft by a large, powerful, and ever-growing industry of deceit. The purpose of much of conservative media is to lie to their audience. It is fitting that the heart of the Trump presidency itself is a lie: almost every Republican elected official in Washington knows Donald Trump is unfit to be president.”

[NOTE: – now – read all this again, word by word – remembering WHO said this. lies, ‘kooks,’ “unfit to be president”]

Read pages 171-182 on 15 years of Republican voter suppression. “..the current Republican Party is driven by conspiracy theories, a result of nutty radio mixed with nutty internet supercharged by a nutty president.” Read pages 192-202: “How Do Lies End?” ‘..Donald Trump, the most anti-American president in the country’s history…the Republican party has legitimized bigotry and hate as an organizing principle for a major party in a country with a unique role in the world.” { READ the book – remembering WHO wrote it & his 25-year leadership in Republican presidential campaigns}

4] PROJECT 2025. – ask YOURSELF – WHY. are numerous key authors now in the Trump administration???

And – TRHE TRILLION DOLLAR QUESTION – WHO. paid for the “research’ and writing of PROJECT 2025?????????

AS in another Republican GIANT political scandal – Watergate – “follow the money”

It is well-known Donald Trump cares little about history, facts, democracy; that he is uncaringly ignorant of most things not on Fox “news.” SO – WHO wrote PROJECT 2025? WHO WANTED it written???? WHO paid for it?????

If YOU care about America, American democracy, the future of your children and grandchildren – YOU just might want to know WH IS BEHIND PROJECT 2025????? WHO wanted PROJECT 2025 as a ready-to-use blueprint for the Trump-Musk dictatorship??? WHO WANTRS YOUR GOVERNMENT GUTTED????? WHO wantsYOUR government unable to protect YOU from from corporate criminality and deceit???? [see weekly, if not daily newspapers for stories of YTOUR government prosecuting corporate criminality] WHO benefits from YOUR government being able to collect the ANNUAL $1 trillion in taxes payable – but NOT collected [from mostly the rich]?????? WHICH party has demanded the IRS be underfunded – so it can’t audit the rich and corporations?????? Just asking, but is a possible answer people like a certain billionaire running DOGE?????????? Is your answer WHO had honored positions for Trump’s 2025 inaugural – sitting IN FRONT of his cabinet????????

*** “It is the first responsibility of every citizen t question authority.” [Benjamin Franklin]

*** “The darkest places in hell are reserved for those who maintain their neutrality in times of moral crisis.” {Dante Alighieri]

The Trump-Musk Dictatorship – Corruption and Cruelty – III

~ tomdolen

ONE DAY!!!!! – Headlines from jst ONE DAY – February 10, 2025 – BEGIN to reveal the depth and breadth of the FAR RIGHT PROJECT 2025 plan to destroy YOUR ‘democracy’ – or – rather – to further pervert the post-1980 OLIGARCHY.

***!!!***!!! – THE HEADLINES:
1] “DOGE paranoia is reasonable with so much on the line” {Michelle Singletary; Washington Post]
2] “Musk’s goals are coming into focus” [J.Stein, E.Dwoskin, H.Natanson, J.O’Connell; Washinton Post]
3]. “Vance, Musk question court’s say” [Jill Colvin; Associated Press]
4]. “Consumer agency is ordered to stop work” [Christopher Rugaber; Associated Press]

1] “DOGE paranoia reasonable..” {M.Singletary]: “Imagine a film where the bad guy is a foreign-born multi-billionaire plotting to take over the U.S. federal government. He uses his vast wealth to help elect the president of the United States, and together they create chaos, consolidating power and making themselves nearly untouchable. They try to gain access to the personal information of millions of Americans, all to amass even more money.”
“Wait, this isn’t fiction. We are extras in that movie right now.”………
“We should all be concerned that Musk’s minions have been angling to dive into government databases…Those very concerns were raised by several Democratic senators in a letter to the White House chief of staff..”…..
“With little transparency into what DOGE is doing with the data it has access, your paranoia is not unreasonable. Major data breaches have already exposed much of our personal information..”

2] “Musk’s goals are coming into focus” [Stein-Dwoskin-Natanson-O’Connell]: “Billionaire Elon Musk’s blitzkrieg on Washington has brought into focus his vision for a dramatically smaller and weaker federal government, as he and a coterie of aides move to control, automate, – and substantially diminish – hundreds if not thousands of public functions..
“In less than 3 weeks, Musk’s U.S. DOGE Service has followed the same playbook at one federal agency after another: install loyalists in leadership, Hoover up internal data, including the sensitive and the classified. Gain control of the flow of funds. And push hard – by means legal or otherwise – to eliminate jobs and programs not ideologically aligned with Trump administration goals.
“The DOGE campaign appears choreographed to gut the civilian workforce, assert power over the vast federal bureaucracy and shrink it to levels unseen in at least20 years. The aim is a diminished government that exerts less oversight over private business, delivers fewer services and comprises less of the economy – but is far more responsive to the president’s directives.”
[NOTE: read this again. Now, study how dictatorships were created – realizing what is NOT discussed here is PURGING THE FBI, firing INSPECTORS GENERAL, installing a CORRUPT ‘supreme court’ and other ideological federal judge hacks – meaning eliminating ANY force holding the Trump-Musk dictatorship ACCOUNTABLE]

3] “Vance, Musk question court’s say” [Jill Colvin]: “Top Trump administration officials are openly questioning the judiciary’s authority to serve as a check on executive power as the new president’s sweeping agenda faces growing pushback from the courts..”…
“Over the past 24 hours, officials…have also attacked the legitimacy of judicial oversight, a fundamental pillar of American democracy, which is based on the separation of powers.”
NOTE: read this again – the Trump-Musk dictatorship is ‘OPENLY’ attacking “..a fundamental pillar of American democracy…the separation of powers.”
Note: a leader – president, king, etc. who has NO checks on his/her power IS. A. DICTATOR]

4]. “Consumer agency is ordered to stop work” [Christopher Rugaber]: ‘..effectively shutting down an agency created to protect consumers after the 2008 financial crisis and subprime mortgage-lending scandal. Russell Vought, the newly installed director of the Office of Management and Budget…Conservatives have targeted the agency since President Barack Obama pushed it to include it in the 2010 financial reform legislation that followed the 2007-08 financial crisis.
“Congress directed the bureau to be funded by the Fed to insulate it from political pressures…The CFPB says that it has obtained nearly $20 billion in financial relief for U.S. consumers..”…
“The administration’s move against the CFPB also highlights the tension Trump’s more populist promises to lower costs for working class families and his pledge to reduce government regulation.”..
“Vought was an architect of Project 2025, a policy blueprint for the Trump White House that Trump tried to disavow during last year’s campaign.”
[NOTE: read this again – a government bureau designed to PROTECT YOU is shut down – in order to protect the billionaires & Wall Street con artists who caused the 2007-08 crash!!!!!!! Congress specifically set it up to be independent from “political pressures” [the Trump-Musk dictatorship]. and – why should YOU be surprised Trump lied about knowing nothing of PROJECT 2025???? If Donald J. trump’s lips are moving, he’s likely lying – 30,000 plus times]

SO – while YOU still have rights of speech, petition, assembly – YOU might want to think about whether American democracy means enough to YOUR family to protest against the Trump-Musk dictatorship – and – everything PROJECT 2025. intended to impose an OLIGARCHIC THEOCRACY on YOU. Day by day the evidence is piling up.

Trump – VS – Martin Niemoller

~ tomdolen

“First they came for the Socialists, and I did not speak out…..
because I was not a Socialist.
Then they came for the Trade Unionists, and I did not speak out…..
because I was not a Trade Unionist.
Then they came for the Jews, and I did not speak out…..
because I was not a Jew.
And then they came for me…..
and there was no one left to speak for me.”
{ Pator Martin Niemoller, Nazi prisoner }

“Then, they came for the Lutherans….recent attacks against Lutheran Americans portend a much larger threat toward wide swaths of the American populace – Christians or not. Before you know it, you may be saying: “Then they came for me.”…….
“..Trump disavowed the Christian nationalist aims in Project 2025…Trump and his administration have in fact been following the Project 2025 playbook to a T.”
“Project 2025 is rooted in a particular idea white, conservative American Christianity. For Trump’s moves against agencies that support immigration and refugees..the proponents of Project 2025 must attack and delegitimize any forms of American Christianity that work to carry out the biblical mandate of “care for the stranger” and the poor..”
{ The Rev. Angela Denker; “And now Elon Musk is coming after Lutheran refugee organizations”; Minnesota Star Tribune; 2/6/25 ]

*** “You shall love your neighbor as yourself…The stranger that dwells with you shall be to you as one born among you, and you shall love him as yourself.” [Leviticus 19: l8,34]

*** “There’s a name for a government based on xenophobia, demagoguery and greed: ‘kakistocracy’ – government by the worst people in society.” [Jim Hightower; “A Kakistocracy Takes Over Immigration Policy; “The Progressive Populist”; l/1/2025]

1] First – the Republican, Trump, Cynicism
“Senate GOP again blocks bill to tighten border” [S. Groves, M.C. Jablonick, R. Santana; Assoc. Press; 5/24/24]: “The legislation, negotiated by a bipartisan group of senators…The Senate legislation would provide money for Customs and Border Patrol Protection officials, asylum officers, immigration judges and scanning technology at the border – all things that officials have said the underfunded immigration and border protection system needs.”….
“Even before the bill was fully released earlier this year, Trump effectively killed the proposal by labelling it “meaningless” and a “gift” for Biden’s re-election chances.” [note: what else but CORRUPTION is this???]

2] Consider this BEGINNING of evidence on immigration:
A] “How can developed countries make immigration work? Ask Canada”. [Tyler Cowan; Bloomberg Opinion; 4/7/24]
B]. “Migrants are not taking ‘Black” jobs, U.S. data shows” [Fatima Hassein; Assoc. Press; 10/14/24]
C]. “Plans canceled for refugees cleared to move to the U.S.” {F. Amiri, R. Santana; Assoc.Press; 1/23/25]
D] “Who Are the Millions of Immigrants Trump Wants to Deport?” [A. McCann, A. Sun, E. Sullivan; New York Times; 1/26/2025]
E] “Think tank videos fuel falsehoods” [about noncitizens] [K. Bensinger, R. Fausett; New York Times; 9/8/24]
F]. “How a Broken Border Keeps Our Shopping Carts Full” [S. Eder, D. Ivory, M. Valdes; New York Times; 11/17/24]
G]. “Trump’s Assertions on Immigration” – Fact Check [Angelo Fichera; New York. Times; 12/24/23]
H]. “What if Trump Actually Deports 11 Million People?” [ Mother Jones – Special Investigation; Sept.-October, 2024]
I]. “You’re Fired! Trump’s Deportation Plan Would Gut Half Ag Labor Force” [ Alan Goebert; The Progressive Populist; 9/1/24] [***NOTE! – YOUR food costs WILL increase!!!]

3] Consider Other Cynical, Corrupt Factors:
“Scapegoating Immigrants Hurts All of Us – Except Elites”. [Sonali Kohlhatkar; The Progressive Populist; 11/15/24]: “The right’s unhinged anti-immigrant rhetoric is putting people in danger – and letting the real villains off the hook…The United Nations identifies hate speech as a “precursor to atrocity crimes, including genocide”…Most importantly, the purveyors of anti-immigrant hate let corporate power and wealthy elites – like Musk – off the hook for the problems facing Americans…
“If right-wing politicians really want to help Americans struggling with economic stressors, they could ban hedge fund managers from buying up homes, support single-payer health care, increase the federal minimum wage, tax billionaires, divert money from war to climate, hold fossil fuel companies accountable for climate crimes, and back a renewable energy transition.”

***** Trump and his enablers are a CANCER on EVERYTHING American. He’s an evil P.R. “genius” who has perfected the old “divide & conquer” maxim. Again – ho do Trump actions, rhetoric, policies “..benefit the general Welfare” ?????????
AND – WHO is coming for YOU ????????????????

Trump Stupidity, Corruption, Cruelty, Craziness – I

~ tomdolen

February 5, 2025 – Well, that didn’t take long!!! Some of Trump’s damage to America is obvious – other damage will take more time.
*** Again – remember – YOU are using as principles of evaluation – THE reasons why the Founding Fathers [no “Founding Mothers! – another story!] created the USA – most especially those magic words; “..promote the general Welfare..” – as in: did ANYTHING Trump decreed in his first weeks benefit ALL Americans? – in REALITY, not rhetoric?

We start with “The Six Principles of Stupidity” [David Brooks; 2/2/25; New York Times]: “Lat week the Chinese made incredible gains in artificial intelligence and the Americans made incredible gains in human stupidity. I’m sorry, but I look at the Trump administration’s behavior over the last week and the only word that accurately describes it is: stupid.”…….

“I define stupidity as behaving in a way that ignores this question: What would happen next?….The administration produced volleys of stupidity last week.”…….

“This Trump policy was like trying to cure acne with decapitation.”……..

“And this is my big prediction for this administration: It will churn out a steady stream of stupid policies, and when the consequences of those policies begin to hit Trump’s approval rating, he will flip-flop, diminish, or abandon those policies.”….

The Six Stupidity Principles:
#1. “Ideology produces disagreement, but stupidity produces befuddlement…That is what happens when a government freezes roughly $3 trillion in spending with a two-page memo that reads like it was written by an intern.”……
#2 “Stupidity often inheres in organizations, not individuals..an organization in which one man has all the power and everybody else has to flatter his preconceptions.”……
#3 “People who behave stupidly are more dangerous than people who behave maliciously. Evil people at least have some accurate sense of their own self-interest, which might restrain them. Stupidity dares greatly!”…
#4 “People who behave stupidly are unaware of the stupidity of their actions…incompetent people don’t have the skills to recognize their own incompetence.”…
#5 “Stupidity is nearly impossible to oppose..Because stupid actions do not make sense, they invariably come as a surprise…Counter evidence is brushed aside. Facts are deemed irrelevant.”….
#6. “THe opposite of stupidity is not intelligence, it’s rationality..the capacity to make decisions that help people achieve their objectives. People in the grip of the populist mind-set trend to be contemptuous of experience, prudence, and expertise…this can make some populists willing to believe anything – conspiracy theories, folk tales, and internet legends..”

***Read, then re-read his article in full. Then THINK. Ask QUESTIONS. Research WHY Brooks said these things. Return to the Founders – students of history, sons of The Age of Enlightenment,” critics of corruption, students of WHY past democracies failed.
The Founders built America on the ASSUMPTION people would act rationally, that citizens would seek out fats and act on them. The Bill of Rights has protections for speech, press, assembly, petition BECAUSE they wanted a “virtuous” government and a “virtuous” public.
Jefferson and Washington were “scientific” farmers. Franklin was honored as a man of science. Washington inoculated his Revolutionary War soldiers against small pox. America’s first subscription library was begun by Franklin and friends in 1731 – its success led to other colonial libraries.

*** “Only the wise, and never the fools, can distinguish between faults and good qualities; between the right and wrong time to do something; between what is skillful and what is not.” [“The Just King”; Jamgon Mipham]

Trump – How To Evaluate?

~ tomdolen

Stepping outside rhetoric – how can Americans fairly evaluate Donald Trump – or ANY president?

‘ :Begin with the Constitution’s Preamble: “WE the People of the United States, in Order to form a more perfect Union, establish Justice, insure domestic Tranquility, provide for the common defence, promote the general Welfare, and secure the Blessings of Liberty to ourselves and our Posterity, do ordain and establish this Constitution for the United States of America.”
SO – ANY actions that do NOT do these goals are un_Constitutional. EVERY act MUST perfect the American union, or, establish Justice, domestic Tranquility, PROMOTE THE GENERAL WELFARE – i.e, benefit ALL Americans, not just a favored few.

***EXAMPLES: Eisenhower’s 1950s interstate freeway system obviously passes the tests because it benefited our economy and society. Trump’s immoral 2017 tax cuts which primarily benefited the rich and is currently responsible for 25% of our national debt, obviously FAILS the tests.

2] Some say America is a “christian nation.” IF this is true – then we’re told THE #1 principle is found in John 13:34: “A new commandment I give to you, that you love one another as i have loved you.” This does NOT just apply to His disciples of 2,000 years ago – IF America is, in fact, a “Christian nation,” then it is our DUTY to love each other, NOT find ways to hate others. We’d be passing laws that achieved this love.

We’re told that the Christian Bible has some 2-3,000 references to the poor and duty to the poor. If America is to carry out ensuring ALL Americans have equal opportunities to achieve success – then America would have policies to achieve this. Proverbs 28:27: “The righteous considers considers the cause of the poor, but the wicked closes his eyers to them.”

Consider the following evaluation of a leader: “Do you decree righteousness, you rulers? Do you judge the people rightly? No, in your hearts you devise wickedness; your hands deal out violence on the land.” Psalm 58: 1-2.

3]. Presidential Rankings. A recent survey [likely July, 2024] of 154 political scientists ranked Lincoln, FDR, Washington 1-2-3, followed by Theodore Roosevelt, Jefferson, Truman at 4-5-6. Dead last at #45, 6 points behind James Buchanan, himself 5 points behind Andrew Johnson; Donald J. Trump – THE worst president EVER.
SO – WHY did this evaluation occur? Were all 154 voters biased against Trump-BuchananA.Johnson? OR – did they use standards such as above? OR – perhaps they knew the following, and MUCH MORE?

Things to consider evaluating Trump as president:
1] “Trump’s budget ideas don’t add up” [Jeff Stein; 9/8/24;Wash.Post]: “Trump insisted..a new round of tax cuts would lower the debt – a claim disputed by most mainstream economists, and undermined by the actual budgetary effects of the tax cut he signed into law during his administration.”
A] “111 former GOP officials call Trump ‘unfit to serve'” [Peter Baker;9/19/24;New York Times]: “They endorser Harris, despite disagreements, call him “Dangerous”.”
2] “Trump’s plans likely won’t lower grocery bills” [Dee-Ann Durbin;11/17/24;Assoc.Press]: “..many economists think Trump’s plans, including putting tariffs on imported goods and deporting undocumented workers, could actually make food prices rise.” [farmers all over America have ALREADY said this; on ll/23/24, Trump sais it would be “hard’ to do!]
B] “The Tempest,” New York times Book Review [Nicholas Niarchos;9/29/24]: “At War With Ourselves” [H.R. McMaster]; “A memoir by a one-time presidential advisor shows how Donald Trump’s insecurities and weaknesses harmed U.S.foreign policy.” [note; which others have ALREADY said]
3] “Trump’s Vow To halve Energy Costs Questioned” [Lisa Friedman;11/24/24;New York Times]: “President-elect Donald J. Trump repeatedly promised voters..he would cut energy and electricity prices in half within 18 months of taking office..But energy industry experts noted..a president has limited tools to influence how much Americans pay at the pump and even less leverage..[on].. electricity prices.”
C] “Trump Praised Hitler, Kelly Says” [Dan Merica; 10/24/24; Assoc.Press]: “He commented more than once that, ‘You know, Hitler did some good things too!” “Ex-Trump aides back Kelly’s warning” [Tim Balk; 10/26/24; New York Times]:”Thirteen former Trump Administration officials released an open letter Friday amplifying warnings from John Kelly…”
4] “Tariffs instead of an income tax?” [Paul Krugman; 6/24/24; New York Times]: “..to the extent..we did replace income taxes with tariffs, we’d in effect sharply raise taxes on working-class Americans while giving the rich a big tax cut..” [note: NUMEROUS people have said THIS is THE purpose of tariffs – to replace. progressive tax system with taxes that really don’t bother the rich at all – shift the tax burden almost entirely on non-rich Americans]
D]. “Book details Trump’s affinity with Putin” [Isaac Stanley-Becker; 10/13/24; Wash. Post]: “As the coronavirus tore through the world in 2020, and the United States and other countries confronted a shortage of tests designed to detect the illness..Trump secretly sent coveted testing supplies to..Putin for his personal use…may have spoken to Putin as many as seven times since Trump left the White House…Woodward’s conclusion that Trump is worse than Richard Nixon…”Trump was the most reckless and impulsive president inAmerican history..” [Bob Woodward in “War”]
5] “Trump’s Corporate Tax Cuts Paved the Way for Inflation” [Lindsay Owens; 6/15/24; Progressive Populist]: “The former president made it more profitable for companies to gouge us…corporate profits drove over 50% of inflation in the second and third quarters o last year.” [note; we have MANY CEO confessions they raised their own prices under ‘cover’ of COVID, because they could get away with it]
E] “Trump is ‘fascist to the core,” Milley says” [Ruby Cramer; 10/13/24; Wash. Post]: “No one has ever been as dangerous to this country as Donald Trump,” the general told Woodward.”
6] “Trump’s crypto venture raises ethics issues – and billions” [Tony Romm; 1/23/25; Wash. Post]: “..fresh ethical questions about his attempts to monetize the incoming administration’s deepening political ties to the industry.”
F]. “The Dangerous Case of Donald Trump..37 Psychiatrists and Mental Health Experts Assess A President” [Bandy Lee, Ed.; 2017, 2019]: “Once there were many who held out hope..Trump could be prevailed upon to listen to reason and curb his erratic behavior..we must continue collectively to warn that anyone as mentally unstable as this man simply should not be entrusted with the life-and-death powers of the presidency.”
7] “Pardon for Silk Road illicit drug purveyor” [D.Yaffe-Bellany, Ryan Mac; 1/23/25; New York Times]: “..Silk Road..became an international drug marketplace, facilitating more than 1.5 million transactions, including sales of heroin, cocaine and other illicit substances.” [Bitcoin pioneer Ross Ullbricht’s site]
G]. “With Biden out, the fear factor is hurting Trump again” [Aaron Blake; 9/8/24; Wash. Post]: “..the real and long-standing concerns Americans have had about Donald Trump’s character, chaotic style and authoritarian tendencies…Republicans were significantly more likely to regard their own party’s candidate as both too extreme and a threat to the country.”
8] “Report: Trump would drain Social Security” [Julie Weil; 10;27;24; Wash. Post]: “A new report projects..the Social Security Trust Fund might run out of money within six years under a Trump presidency.”

H] “Trump blames predecessors, DEI for fatal air crash” [Isaac Arnsdorf; 1/31/25; Wash. Post]: “At these moments you’re supposed to take a solemn note of respect. That’s what we do in America when tragedy occurs,” presidential historian Douglas Brinkley said. ‘But Trump tried to use it as an opportunity to push the MAGA 2025 agenda in a nonsensical way.” [ in contrast to Reagan, Clinton., Bush, Obama in similar tragedies]

9]”Trump’s Big Promises to Big Business” [S.Goldmacher, M.Haberman, J.Swan; 10/27/24; New York Times]: “Former President Trump has a “For Sale” sign around his neck..In 2016, Trump vowed to “drain the swamp.” As president, he did no such thing. He hired executives from Wall Street firms..fossil fuel and pharmaceutical industries.”
10] “Trump pardoned them; Now They’re Helping Him” [B.Reinhard. M.Roig-Franzia, C.Morse; 12/3/23; Wash.Post]: “Never before had a president..freed or forgiven so many people who could be useful to his future political efforts…Trump’s abuse of the pardon power..was unprecedented in modern times…Many of his campaign donors, Republican operatives and media pundits wh made his clemency list were well-positioned to return the favor.”
11]. “How a Troubling Trump Pardon Hurt a Major Criminal Inquiry” [M.Schmidt, M.Haberman, J.Swan, A.Feuer; ll/26/23; New York Times]: “The commutation dealt a substantial blow to an ambitious criminal investigation…Mr. Trump’s commutation was another setback in a decade and a half of failures by the Justice Department to monitor Mr. Braun’s behavior…In working to secure his release, Mr. Braun’s family used a connection to Charles Kushner, the father of Jared Kushner, Mr. Trump’s son-in-law..”
I] “A Warning’ [Anonymous – A Senior Trump Administration Official; 2019]: “In these pages, you will not just hear from me. You will hear a great deal from Donald Trump directly, for there is no better witness to his character than his own words and no better evidence of the danger he poses than his own conduct.”
12] “It’s Even Worse Than You Think..What the Trump Administration Is Doing to America” [David Cay Johnston; 2018]. This Pulitzer Prize winner describes in DETAIL the Trump kleptocracy damage to America, 2017-2021.

***** WARNING; for 2025-2029; a few courageous patriots tried and did restrain Trump in 2017-2021 – BUT – these kind of Americans are being deliberately PURGED, replaced by ‘loyalists.’ What can possibly go wrong in a second term by America’s all-time WORST president – unrestrained, and, abetted by loyal MAGA cult members????????

MONSTERS – and WHY Trump IS included!!!

~ tomdolen

If YOU are a caring, decent human being; especially if YOU are a decent, caring American – then you MUST read “Now Is the Time of Monsters,” by Ezra Klein; January 19, 2025; New York Times.
The four monsters: “Donald Trump is returning; artificial intelligence is maturing; the planet is warming; and the global fertility rate is collapsing.”
“To look at any of these stories in isolation is to miss what they collectively represent: the unsteady, unpredictable emergence of a different world.”

First, Trump: “Democracy does not die in darkness. It degrades through deal-making…We have seen this termitic corruption consume democracies elsewhere…Orban’s Hungary..” For perspective read “How Democracies Die” [Levitsky & Ziblatt], “On Corruption In America” [Chayes], “How Fascism Works” [Stanley]

Then, seriously examine Trump’s first week in power. Pardoning 1,500 CONVICTED people who trashed the U.S. Capitol; injured, disabled, murdered police; hunted and intended to execute a Vice President and various Congress members – all in an unprecedented coup effort – which many said they were doing because Trump called them to do it.

Next, examine Trump’s efforts to suppress criticism of him and make him accountable. He’s conducted a 10-year war against ANY & ALL media that dare to point out his 30,XXX lies, his stupidity and incompetence, his cruelties, his illegalities and un-Constitutional attempts.

Next – examine Trump’s efforts to ensure “loyalty.” He and his allies intend to purge ANYBODY in government they can – legally or illegally – who aren’t “loyal” to whatever weirdness exists in Trump’s teenage mind. Witness his firing of government inspectors general. Look up WHY Congress created their positions.

Next – examine Trump’s unprecedented effort to purge government civil servants. For perspective, examine WHY government civil service employees were given protection from political hacks: “By the mid-1820s, government jobs were commonly used as political rewards. An incoming President would dismiss a large number of government workers..and replace them with members of his own party..to enhance the President’s control of the bureaucracy.” Laws passed in 1853 and 1855 to get competent people. In 1881, a frustrated office seeker murdered President Garfield – leading to the Civil Service Act of 1881. [World Book Encyclopedia]

Next – examine Trump’s relationships with billionaires, especially in light of his infamous 2017 tax cut law that primarily benefitted the wealthy – which he wants to renew! In spite of the fact it WILL increase the U.S. national debt by trillions [his 2017 billionaire’s tax cut is 25% of the current federal debt].

Next – examine Trump’s control of the “Republican” Party – now essentially a personality cult. Review the demands he’s made, starting with NOT approving CONSERVATIVE-created bipartisan immigration reform bill that would’ve substantially improved U.S. border enforcement. Trump ORDERED “Republicans’ to vote against it – so HE COULD CAMPAIGN ON IMMIGRATION in the 2024 election!!! [is this THE definition of corruption? ]

Next – review material, just in ordinary media, on hw Trump intends to operate on the basis of fear and intimidation – whatever it takes to BULLY people, including foreign governments, into doing whatever stupid, cruel, destructive, illegal or un-Constitutional thing he’s thinking of doing. For perspective, read up on dictatorships, fascism, authoritarianism, criminal mob bosses

And then – there’s “PROJECT 2025” – the FAR RIGHT’s wish list, some 900 pages, so extreme that 2024 voters didn’t like it – so in typical Trump fashion, he lied – saying that like Col. Klink – “I know nothing” about it. Major authors of “Project 2025” NOW are in key positions of his administration – so they can implement “Project 2025” over YOU.

Second – A.I. As with all technology, THE big issue: HOW will A.I. be used – for the betterment of ordinary people like YOU – or – for criminal things, for un-democratic things? Will it develop into a threat to humans because it can outthink us? Among its numerous flaws – it has shown great propensity to lie and make stuff up. America and China are in a race to be #1 – what if China wins? What happens if A.I. is owned and controlled by the same oligarchs now largely running much of American society? Only a strong, democratic government, can police this – BUT – it’s highly unlikely a Trump government, based upon lies, fear, deal-making, pro-oligarchy – is going to be that government. What can happen between January 20, 2025 – and – January 20, 2029. that is irreversible???

Third – Climate CRISIS. OUR world is breaking heat records virtually every month. We KNOW oceans are too hot by centuries of records – creating storms, etc. We are NOW getting all kinds of extreme weather that scientists have warned us about. If we continue to burn fossil fuels at current rates – the earth, as we know it, is DOOMED Here is perhaps the ultimate example of GREED – some rich people determined to continue getting richer – when their actions will place their own children and grandchildren in peril.

Fourth – Population Collapse. All over the “advanced” world, countries are NOW not producing enough people to simply. replace themselves. Some are on a path to cease to exist as currently structured. Falling birth rates can produce instability – as currently seen in world news. And – for many countries, immigration is THE ONLY chance to survive successfully. BUT – now we have Trump’s war on the people doing the dirty, dangerous, work of American society. Work Americans have refused to do for decades – see comments by farmers, business people, economists.

In various fiction forms – fairy takes, comic books, movies – heroes ride in to save the day. WE SHOULD. BE. SO. LUCKY. Greed has already made climate CRISIS worse beyond scientific models and fears. Our “heroes’ will have to change to more creative power sources, or, we will either return to a new “ice age”, or, the earth will become uninhabitable.

Norms, policies, laws. COULD be written to control A.I. for ordinary people’s benefit – but GREED and weak/non-existent government action [paid for by the rich] WILL allow A.I. to be used to make some wealthy even more rich and powerful, and to create a nightmare society surpassing “1984.”

The BIG, largely unanswered question on population collapse: WHY are people all over the world CHOOSING to have fewer children? What has happened since 1960 that has led people to WANT fewer children? Is this, again GREED – is in the rich of America deliberately destroying the 1947-73 mass middle class mixed blue-white collar prosperity??? What kind of support will encourage people to have children?

And then. there’s an election in which the world’s leading “democracy” chooses to give power to an ACKNOWLEDGED, an PROVEN, cruel, selfish, greedy, liar, and un-democratic “man.” At a time demanding a Washington, a Lincoln, an FDR, an Eisenhower – America, and the world, must now deal with THE anti-Washington. A “man’ whose ego demands he be surrounded by sycophants and incompetents; a 78-year old teenage cult leader

Naughty thought: wouldn’t YOU love to be the “fly-on-the-wall” when all those billionaires, politicians, businessmen, oligarchs, etc. fly to Florida to kiss Trump’s ass – so you could see if he actually makes them do it!!!
Naughty thought #2: would you like to see if he makes them do any other acts while down on their knees?

Sobering thought: †here are 1,453 more days until January 20, 2029. What could possibly go wrong?

Literary thought: Don’t you wish Mark Twain and H.L. Mencken were still alive to write about all this? What could they do with Trump’s l/23/25 statement about the U.S. Federal Reserve bankers and economists: “I know interest rates much better than they do.” ?????????

Be kind to each other. And – hang on to people you love, and. your wallet.

Chief “justice” Roberts Complains About Disrespect For Judges…..

~ tomdolen


On December 31st, Roberts “issued a defense of judicial independence, which he said is under threat from intimidation, disinformation and the prospect of public officials defying court orders.” [“Judicial independence is under threat, Roberts says”; Lindsay Whitehurst; 1/2/25; Asoctd Press]

BUT – is THIS “supreme court” REALLY “independent”? We here begin to give YOU information to answer that question. Over the last 50 years, certain people and groups have worked to MAKE SURE this “supreme court” is NOT independent.
On PAPER, the Roberts “court” is “independent.” Americans are taught we have three independent branches. BUT – what if certain people and groups wanted to impose certain beliefs on YOU – which branch can act like dictators because they have the last word? Start thinking !!!!!!!!!!

*** Perhaps we should evaluate Roberts’ complaint in light of something Abraham Lincoln once said: “He reminds me of the man who murdered both his parents, and then, when sentence was about to be pronounced, pleaded for mercy on the grounds that he was an orphan.”

In his general remarks, Roberts had omissions and some giant holes in exactly WHO the guilty parties are. Reader of of daily news pretty much KNOW exactly WHO guilty groups and individuals are – by actions and rhetoric.
– THE leading individual is “our” recently elected president – one D.J. Trump, who blasts ANYBODY who doesn’t agree with him, support him, excuse him. How many of Trump’s 2016-2025 attacks on judges can YOU find???????
– THE leading groups attacking judges are almost all on the RIGHT, many on the FAR RIGHT. What does a search of 2016-2025 news media – the REAL media [NOT Fox “news,” hate radio, hate internet] show exactly WHO is threatening, killing judges?
– What are the REASONS, excuses, given for these attacks? How many line up with Trump and other FAR RIGHT ideology, rhetoric, actions?
– What rulings had judges just issued when they were threatened, attacked, killed?

*** “If we desire respect for the law, we must first make the law respectable.” [Justice Louis Brandeis]
*** “I am of opinion that a good Judiciary lends much to the dignity of a state and the happiness of the people…On the contrary a bad Judiciary involved in party business is the greatest Curse that can befall a Country.” [Andrew Jackson]
***. “As a member of this Court, I am not justified in writing my private notions of policy into the Constitution, no matter how deeply I may cherish them or how mischievous I may deem their disregard.” [Justice Felix Frankfurter]
*** “An unjust law is no law at all.” [St. Augustine]
***. “When we [Americans] talk about the rule of law, we assume that we’re talking about a law that promotes freedom, that promotes justice, that promotes equality.” [Justice Anthony Kennedy]

***!!!***!!!*** – NOW!!! – reread those 5 statements…..THEN!!! – apply them to what the Roberts “supreme court” has done to American law, 2005-2025. Does the Roberts “court” meet. ANY of these tests????????
***!!!***!!!*** – “justice” Clarence Thomas is famous for his “history and tradition” test and defense of Roberts “court’ decisions which HE wrote or agrees with – BIG PROBLEM! Reviewing the Roberts “court” record – how many, if. ANY, pass the “history and tradition” test? – NOT their gun rulings; NOT their LUDICROUS presidential immunity ruling; NOT most, if not all their religious “freedom” rulings; NOT their civil rights rulings; NOT their corporate “rights’ rulings

WHY has American confidence in “our” judicial system and courts dropped to a record low of 35%. Perhaps, as reported by CommonCause: “Supreme Court justices just got the green light to continue being wined and dined by billionaires, special interests, and big corporations – and now they don’t even have to disclose most of it to the public! Recently weakened disclosure rules now make it even easier for wealthy donors to secretly buy influence over the Supreme Court.” YOU think just maybe Americans are just a little offended by this? Do “we” have an “independent” “court” if billionaires can freely and easily influence it??????????

Roberts mentioned “Brown vs. Board of Education” – QUESTION – is there ANY Roberts “court” decision that is remotely of the caliber of “Brown” for doing what Justice Kennedy said above: “promote freedom, promote justice, promote equality” – for ALL Americans?????????

Roberts mentioned the problem. He ignored the CAUSES, principle among them Roberts “court” rulings and damage to America caused and often LUDICROUS/false “justifications” or MAKING UP stuff; the presence, rhetoric, actions of one D.J. Trump; the oligarchic billionaires influence; the Christian Nationalists influence; the Federalist Society influence

All this and much more is well recognized in MAINSTREAM legal circles and analysis. Read: “The Agenda..How A Republican Supreme Court is Reshaping America,” Ian Millhiser; “Worse Than Nothing..The Dangerous Fallacy Of Originalism,” Erwin Chemerinsky; “The Originalism Trap,” Madiba Dennie; “The Scheme,” Senator Sheldon Whitehouse; “Stench..The Making of the Thomas Court and The Unmaking of America,” David Brock; “Uncertain Justice,” Laurence Tribe & Joshua Matz; “The Fall of Roe,” Elizabeth Dias & Lisa Lerer

“…in understanding just how unmoored – and how dangerous – the United States Supreme Court has become…growing awareness of the decisive role that a clandestine network led by Leonard Leo and the Federalist Society has played not only in handpicking President Trump’s selections to the Supreme Court, in return for securing the Religious Right voting bloc for Trump…but also installing five extremist justices over 30 years. Each of these 5 has been indelibly tainted…and unprecedented and unconstitutional moves by a GOP Senate leader, Mitch McConnell, determined to pack the courts to keep campaign cash flowing from GOP megadonors with interests before them.”
“Leonard Leo’s theocratic project – which seized on an existing Federalist Society scheme to remake the judiciary in its own extremist image…was developed and undertaken as a natural outgrowth of Leo’s friendship with Clarence Thomas…Leo had other influential close friends..but the increasingly aggressiveness of the anonymously funded hive he built was encouraged and assisted by Thomas..the evidence was overwhelming that all 5 of the extreme justices this right-wing conspiracy has installed blatantly lacked legitimacy..and the deeper underlying truth that their presence on the court amounted to one of the more blatant and dangerous power grabs in U.S. history.”

Among forces seeking to influence, control, intimidate “our’ “supreme court”:
1]. The FEDERALIST SOCIETY
A} “justices” Alito, Thomas, Scalia, Roberts have “well-documented and long-lasting ties” to the Society
B] Federalist Society co-founder Steven Calabresi: the Federalist Society has “absolutely” helped keep Justices such as Scalia, Thomas, Roberts, and Alito “in check..” – as in / influence, intimidation, control?????
C]. “[T]he Federalist Society has a defacto monopoly on the credentialing of rising stars..on the left there are a million ways of getting credentialed; on the political right, there’s only one way in these legal circles.” [Fed. Soc. member Michael Greve; 2/12/08]. [Amanda Hollis-Brusky; “Ideas
With Consequences”]

2] The Federalist Society
A] “A measure of the success of the Federalist Society is that the current Supreme Court can generally be relied upon to protect business interests against legislation designed to protect workers, consumers, and the environment; to halt the judicial expansion of personal liberty interests while expanding judicial protection of property interests; to interpret a “colorblind” Constitution by rolling back affirmative action and school desegregation doctrines; and to weaken the boundaries between church and state.” [you MUST research Leonard Leo – master builder & facilitator]
B] “The available data demonstrates that the Federalist Society strategy of changing the law by changing the judges is working….a study of decisions reached by judges who are members of the Federalist Society demonstrated convincingly that such judges are significantly more conservative than nonmembers appointed by Republican presidents.” [Michael Avery & Danielle McLaughlin: “The Federalist Society”]

3] ‘DARK MONEY’
If YOU are at all aware of the MASSIVE flood of “dark money” into American government – greatly aided by the Roberts ‘court” infamous ‘Citizens United” ruling!!! – thenYOU should be aware of billionaire/centi-millionaire “dark money” being ‘INVESTED’ [!!!!!!!!!] in American law schools [“law & economics curricula]; in “training’ seminars for sitting judges [which influence their rulings!!!]; in campaigns to get the “RIGHT” judges/justices appointed/elected. The money and gifts DOCUMENTED to have been showered on Clarence Thomas alone by billionaires should be sufficient to prove this FACT [ for example, se. $260,000 luxury R.V. !!!!!!!!! – discussed by Brock]

4] Christian Nationalists
A] Read “One Nation Under God..How Corporate America Invented Christian America” [Kevin Kruse] or James Marone’s book review “Holier Than Thou” [Foreign Affairs; July/August, 2015]: business began to USE religion in the 1930s, “..corporate titans enlisted conservative clergymen in an effort to promote new political arguments embodied in the phrase “freedom under God.”…this new ideology was designed to defeat the state power its architects feared most..Franklin D. Roosevelt’s New Deal…With ample funding from major corporarions, prominent industrialists, and business lobbies…”

January 6, 2021 – Read “Preparing For War..The Extremist History of White Christian Nationalism – And what Comes Next” [Bradley Onishi]; doing research, “..two things become evident: First, religious symbols were everywhere – rioters carrying crosses and icons of Mary, tough guys wearing Bible verses stitched onto chest patches declaring war on god’s enemies, people breaking out into impromptu worship songs, the Proud Boys, kneeling and praying together in a circle before violently overtaking law enforcement to enter the Capitol. Second, White Christian nationalism was a major unifying phenomenon among the insurrectionists.”

Read “American Theocracy,’ Kevin Phillips. “Thy Kingdom Come..HOw the Religious Right Distorts the Faith and Threatens America,” Randall Balmer; “The Theocons..Secular America Under Siege,’ Damon linker; “The Power Worshippers,” Katherine Stewart. Plus, one organization exists almost solely to expose how some religions are trying to impose their beliefs on YOU: Americans United for Separation of Church and State. they publish a monthly magazine, “Church & State,’ increasingly with articles on how Christian Nationalists are threatening to successfully turn America into a plutocratic theocracy run by THEM; also stories about how people like YOU have theirs lives turned upside down by a variety of religious right-wing fanatics.

More than once – the current 6 Republican “justices” on our “supreme court” have been labeled Christian Nationalists themselves. Examining their rulings on “religious rights” cases forcing YOU to support churches you DON’T attend; imposing their own documented “conservative’ religious beliefs on YOU; etc. -should indicate this charge is true.

*** SO – THE question for YOU – when chief “justice’ Roberts complained about threats to judicial independence – he wanted YOU to accept the ASSUMPTION. American courts now, over the last 50 years of RIGHT-WING manipulation – REALLY are “independent. From the BEGINNING evidence above, can YOU accept what has happened to the American judicial system since 1970 has REALLY created an “independent” judiciary???
Yes, threats to judges are real – but by whom? There’s no question the perps of these threats intend to make YOUR court system even less democratic.

*** “Only governments and..courts remained sources of authority, if enacted, Charle’s [Koch] ‘libertarian policies would eliminate these.’ …”He was driven..to smash the one thing left in the world that could discipline him: the government.” [
[ Clayton Coppin]
*** “Our goal is a Christian nation. We have a biblical duty..are called by God to conquer this country. We don’t want equal time..don’t want pluralism.” [Randall Terry]

Trump. and. America’s. Oligarchy

~ tomdolen

*** “Aristocracy”; “is a high social class..Its members claim to be, or are considered by others to be, superior to other people..because of family ties, social rank, wealth, or ability. Historically the word..referred to a form of government controlled by a few wealthy or socially prominent citizens.” [ World Book encyclopedia ]

*** “Oligarchy”: “is any type of government in which power is held by a relatively few people. An oligarchy may take many different forms..In most oligarchies, the ruling group has power because of its wealth or military authority.”
{ World Book encyclopedia ]

1] “The Oligarch Election” [Tim Murphy; January-February; Mother Jones ]: “…It was Musk who lobbied Trump to put JD Vance on the ticket. Musk was the one funding the get-out-the-vote effort. Musk was the guy who turned one of the world’s biggest social media platforms into a black hole….Musk was the guy who was going to be given the keys to the federal budget….Musk was the name people kept bringing up on their own….Musk did offer something different..in the relationship between money and power he represented. This was the oligarch election. And Musk was the richest and most powerful oligarch of them all.”
“In Musk’s case, the work was made possible by landmark Supreme Court decisions..which opened the floodgates to an ever-growing and frankly horrifying gusher of often-untraceable cash….Musk’s power has been enabled by the monopolistic growth of the internet economy, and..collapse of the hard-news media industry..”
“The oligarch election was not just about Musk…Dean Phillips’ primary challenge to Joe Biden was partly funded by billionaire investor Bill Ackman….Robert F. Kennedy Jr, whose campaign was an almost wholly owned subsidiary of Timmothy Mellon….Vance got to the Senate because Thiel personally introduced him to Trump..and spent $15 million to get him elected.”
“These donors often set the terms of the debate. Trump said so explicitly at a fundraiser..promising fossil fuel executives a host of goodies…[was for restricting Tik Tok]..then changed his mind after a meeting with the Pennsylvania billionaire and Tik Tok investor..”
“A peek at the disclosures of the Senate Leadership Fund, a leading Republican outside group..Leading the way was billionaire Ken Griffin, a hedge funder who once said that ultrawealthy elites have “insufficient influence” in American politics…followed by $25 million from another investor, Paul Singer..[who flew]..Supreme Court Justice Samuel Aito to Alaska on his private jet, and $15 million from Miriam Adelson…Stephen Schwarzman..who once compared President Barack Obama’s efforts to close the carried interest loophole to Hitler’s invasion of Poland…Silicon Valley mogul Marc Andresson…a couple of Waltons…Rupert Murdoch…”

***!!!***!!! “A study done by Princeton professor Martin Gillens shows that between the 1980s and the 2010s, policies supported by the rich ended up being passed into law between 60% and 70%…Similarly, policies supported by business and special-interest lobbies..being passed into law between 60% and 70%… In contrast, policies supported by a majority of voters ended up being passed into law only about 30%..and every single time..it also had the support of either business lobbies, the rich, or both…not a single policy supported by a majority of voters but opposed by the rich and the business community ended up being passed into law.” [“Tax The Rich”; Morris Pearl, Erica Payne & the Patriotic Millionaires]
***!!!***!!! Read this again – it is a practical, real world DEFINITION OF OLIGARCHY ***!!!***!!!

***!!!***!!! “…eighty cases that were decided by a 5-4 opinion of the Roberts Five [Justices Roberts, Alito, Kennedy, Thomas, Scalia or Gorsuch], each of which served one of the following conservative interests: [1] controlling the political process to benefit conservative candidates and policies; [2]2 protecting corporations from liability and letting polluters pollute; [3]. restricting civil rights and condoning discrimination; [4]. advancing a far-right social agenda….the appendix also identifies..judicial principles these conservative justices generally espouse, but which they arguably disregarded in these cases to achieve a desired outcome, including: [1] stare decisis; [2]2 judicial restraint; [3] originalism; [4]4. textualism; [5]5 aversion to fact finding.” [Senator Sheldon Whitehouse; “The Scheme’; Appendix A – a list of a 73-0 voting record!!! – for 2005-2019 ONLY, other anti-democratic decisions followed}
***!!!***!!! Read again – this describes a Far Right process for achieving a PLUTOCRATIC THEOCRACY ***!!!***!!!

2]. “The Transitional Oligarchy: Democracy’s Lat Stand?” [Thom Hartmann; 12/15/24; The Progressive Populist]: “We’ll soon again have a billionaire president – helped to power by the richest billionaire..with his election campaign funded in large part by at least $2 billion in direct, reported donations from roughly 150 billionaire families. It appears the other roughly 350 billionaires who openly funded Trump in 2020 chose to instead donate to “dark money” SuperPacs….And none of that covers the additional billions in “free media’ Trump got from FOX “news”, right-wing hate radio, and Elon Musk..”

***. In 1955, the top federal tax bracket was 91%. Now it is 37%. In 1956, at the height of American economic power – “we’ had 1 billionaire. Now, “we” have about 750. 1947-73, WE had a thriving mixed blue-white collar middle class, the envy of the world. That was before. THE. EMPIRE. struck back: attacking unions; packing courts; deciding “shareholder value” was THE ONLY thing that mattered; Republicans cut rich people’s taxes [income and inheritance]

3] “As Anthony Scaramucci, onetime communication director for the former president, told Politico in a critique of Trump’s billionaire supporters: “You need a democracy to have effective capitalism. If you don’t, you get cronyism. You get oligarchy. You get crony capitalism. You get arbitrary and capricious administration to the law, which reduces people’s tendency to invest in your country.” [Jamelle Bouie; “There’s a Reason Trump Has Friends in High Places”; 6/16/24; New York Times] ***!!!***!!! “You get OLIGARCHY.” ***!!!***!!!

*** “Fascism is government by the few and for the few.” [ United States Army; 1945; Orientation Fact Sheet ]

4] “What we should fear most is Mr. Trump transforming our government into a modern-day Tammany Hall, instilling a kleptocratic leadership that will be difficult, if not impossible, to dislodge….Government, like fish, rots from the head down. Mr. Trump’s [first term] example freed up cabinet members to award huge contracts to their friends, business associates and political allies, while others ran their departments like personal fiefs….He sees politics, like business, as a zero-sum game in which he wins only if someone else loses. These are the instincts that drive corruption, kleptocracy and grift…”
“In a kleptocracy..corruption is a feature..By controlling government assets..kleptocrats cement their control of government…recall Vladimir Putin and his oligarchs…Now we face that danger…The consequences will echo for generations..” [Caroline Fredrickson; “What Worries Me Most About Trump”; 4/14/24; New York Times]

*** “To usurp supreme and absolute authority..in a free state and subject it to tyranny, the people must have already become corrupt by gradual steps from generation to generation.” [ Machiavelli ]

5] “..Trump’s drain-the-swamp administration proceeded to crystalize and put into practice – in barefaced way unseen in the United States in a century – ..systematic corruption…Meanwhile, the big business strand of America’s emerging kleptocratic network was awarded control of the agencies whose job is to protect the public..”…………..
“..Dark Money..by Jane Mayer, and Democracy in Chains, by historian Nancy MacLean, are must reads..chart the development of a U.S. integrated kleptocratic network…It is the most sophisticated, powerful, and threatening such organism to anchor itself in the United States since the Gilded Age..captains of the most lucrative industries…At its center..the multi-billionaire energy, mining, and chemical mogul Charles Koch…what the hydra wants is ..is frightening. They want private, not democratic, control of the country’s resources.” [Sarah Chayes: “On Corruption in America”} ***!!!***!! READ THIS AGAIN – read Mayer and MacLean – footnotes & documentation ***!!!***!!!

*** Other similar sources: “American Kleptocracy,” Casey Michel; “Corruption in America,” Zephyr Teachout: “Kleptopia,” Tom Burgis; “How Democracies Die,” Steven Levitsky & Daniel Ziblatt; “On Tyranny,” Timothy Snyder; “American Nightmare,” Henry Giroux; “Twilight of Democracy,” Anne Applebaum; “Fascism A Warning, Madeleine Albright; “How Fascism Works,” Jason Stanley

*** “The best way to take control over people and control them utterly is to take a little of their freedom at a time, to erode rights by a thousand tiny and almost imperceptible reductions. In this way, the people will not see those rights and freedoms being removed until past the point at which these changes cannot be reversed.” [Adolf Hitler]

6] YOUR rights and freedoms HAVE BEEN TAKEN AWAY, 1980-2025, one after another by the rich and their corporations, by Far Right zealots ; and increasingly since 2005 – by most likely THE MOST CORRUPT “supreme court” in American history. Some is related above. The Far Right has: attacked & neutered unions; moved American jobs overseas; taken away “defined benefit’ pensions; PERVERTED American law; privatized government functions; deregulated industries; rigged the tax codes; defunded the IRS; hamstrung government agencies protecting YOU; captured government; corrupted government with “dark money”; not enforced anti-trust laws – enabling price-gouging monopolies; destroyed traditional “Mom & Pop” businesses & farms; allowed online corporations to destroy brick-&-mortar businesses; corrupted professional news media; corrupted health care; corrupted education; corrupted sports; weakened, if not destroyed, what WAS the prosperous middle class; and MUCh more…………..

For those wondering WHY “America is heading in the wrong direction” – THIS is most of YOUR answer, but YOU can read: “Who Stole the American Dream,’ Pulitzer Prize winner Hedrick Smith; “The Betrayal of the American Dream,” double Pulitzer winners Barlett & Steele; “Evil Geniuses,” Kurt Andersen; “Free Lunch,” Pulitzer winner D.C. Johnston; “Economic Apartheid,” Collins & Yeskel; “The Price of Inequality,” Nobel Prize winner Joe Stiglitz.
OR. – YOU can do your own research: compare 1947-1979 and 1980-2025 income, wealth, tax rates. They’ll prove to YOU how the lower 90-95% got SCREWED over by the rich and corporations

Wonder WHY lifeis harder for you – see the oligarchy. Wonder why YOUR costs are higher – see the oligarchy. Wonder why YOURA job may be in jeopardy – se the oligarchy. Wonder why YOUR taxes are too high – see the oligarchy [ because YOU are paying their taxes] Wonder why government doesn’t work – see the oligarchy [because they don’t want government to work against them]. Wonder why we have a CORRUPT “supreme court” – see the oligarchy [these are the Republican “justices’ they want]. Wonder why. America APPEARS to be so “divided’ – see t he oligarchy [divide and conquer works]. Wonder why YOUR retirement might not be as good as your parents – see the oligarchy [YOUR retirement $$$ is in THEIR pockets!!!]. Wonder why health care is so expensive – see the oligarchy.

Do YOU really think D.J. Trump and his OLIGARCH friends are gonna make life better for YOU??????? Well, see, I’ve got this bridge out in ………………..

Trump and Putin – Invading Innocent Countries

~ tomdolen

When Vladimir Putin invaded Ukraine in February, 2022, he was condemned as a threat to Europe, European democracy, democracy itself, law and order, respect for another country’s territorial integrity. He was, IS, a pariah.

1] “Trump hints at expanding U.S. by force” {Michael Shear; 1/8/25; New York Times]: “..Trump said Tuesday that he would not rule out the use of military or economic coercion to force Panama to give up control of the canal America built..and to force Denmark to sell Greenland to the United States…suggested that his administration will rename the Gulf of Mexico as the Gulf of America…also criticized Canada, saying that the country should be a state in the United States..” ***!!!***. If one is a pariah for invading one country, what do we call somebody who threatens three???

2] At least Putin had limited goals, he didn’t threaten to name the Gulf of Finland, or, the Black Sea, or, the Sea of Okhotsk..or….. Just saying….

3] Does this mean his Excellency, Donald I, intends to be more than “a dictator for one day”??? Just asking….


4] One recent Republican president, G.W. Bush, invaded an innocent country, claiming to be looking for and destroying. “weapons of mass destruction.” None were found.
Donald I has claimed hostility to Mexico and Canada is partially because they are allowing drugs and illegal immigrants to invade America. Official U.S. border statistics show most drugs illegally brought into America are brought in by American citizens. Should Donald I order these disloyal Americans to be executed? Just asking…
Fact-based analysis of illegal immigrants in America show cutting them off, or, deporting “millions” WILL raise YOUR grocery bills, increase the cost of new housing, WILL affect future growth because native-born Americans aren’t reproducing enough children. Is this a dumb thing to do? Just asking…….
If a “leader” bases policies on KNOWN falsehoods, do we call him/her a moron, a fool, incompetent, a dictator, an ideologue, a person believing his/her own lies, all of the above? Just asking…..

*** “This and no other is the root from which tyranny springs: Whenhe first appears, he is a protector.” [Plato}

5]. The Founding Fathers, having gotten rid of one king, didn’t want another. They divided government powers between three branches , with Congress being THE most important – having the ability of tax and declare war. If one person, Donald I, can unilaterally order attacks on multiple countries – is American “democracy’ over? Just asking….because Donald I has already ordered the House who its next Speaker should be; has requested the Senate “fast track”his nominees without messy debates; has already placed 3 dubious “justices” on an ethically challenged Roberts “supreme court,” plus numerous lower court ‘judges’ who have routinely given HIM favorable rulings – often classified as “unprecedented” or “unique” – meaning “out of left field”!!! Just asking….. because history shows similar “justice” in the old Soviet Union, Nazi Germany, Communist China, Putin’s Russia, other autocracies. Just asking………..

***”The technique of acquiring dictatorship over what has been a democracy…always involves the same mixture of bribery, propaganda, and violence.” [Bertrand Russell]

6] Donald I has freely talked of using various American military units to carry out his dubious policies INSIDE America. He has previously criticized American law enforcement, is NOW preparing to place “loyalists” in key American legal and law enforcement positions. Should American citizens be concerned? Just asking………. Because previous autocracies have put “loyalists” in charge of “Interior Departments,” the Gestapo, the NKVD, Secret Police, “People’s Courts”, etc. Just asking………….

*** “The aggressiveness of governments grows in proportion to the increase of their internal despotism.”
[ Leo Tolstoy ]

7] During the reign of terror and fear in Soviet Russia under absolute dictator Joseph Stalin, there was a saying that NO One wanted to be seen as the FIRST person to stop clapping for Stalin at a public appearance. Donald I has generally led the clapping at HIS public appearances – is somebody examining video to see who in America was the FIRST person to stop clapping for Trump? Just asking…………….

*** “They that can give up essential liberty to purchase a little temporary safety, deserve neither liberty nor safety.”
[ Benjamin Franklin ]

8]. UKRAINE. The Russian 2022 invasion of Ukraine is. THE most important 2020s international issue. If Russia “wins” in ANY sense, history shows NOTHING good will come of this. See: 1930s “Sudetenland crisis, and, the INFAMOUS 1938 Munich Agreement. If Trump signs a quickie “peace agreement” giving Russia Ukrainian territory – peace and justice will NOT result. Just saying: Vladimir Putin is a lot closer to Adolf Hitler. than. one Donald J. Trump is to Franklin d. Roosevelt. Just saying…………………..