The Economy?

 

Remember James Carville’s Clinton era campaign slogan, “It’s the economy, stupid”?

Well, as Forrest Gump said, “Stupid is as stupid does”. None of us are immune from saying and doing stupid things. But many of us seem to enjoy the liberating feeling of being stupid and not knowing it. Enter the Dunning Kruger Effect, named after David Dunning and Justin Kruger. They described the cognitive bias in which people with limited competence in a given area of expertise overestimate their abilities.

This applies to our politics more than ever. What many voters think they know is far less than what they actually know. Everyone who took Trump at his word unwittingly embraced this effect. But Trump’s true believers aren’t the only ones suffering from this quirk of cognition. Enough swing voters also fell into the effect. They didn’t bother to educate themselves about Trump’s crime spree and propensity to be a pathological liar. They likely spent less time thinking about how to vote as I did while writing this little essay.

I’m going to argue that believing falsehoods and ignorance of vital information affected the election more than anything else. So naturally the economy has become the media punditry’s explanation for Trump’s win over Kamala Harris. After all, there was a serious rise of inflation. The fact that it was brought down didn’t get the same attention.

Pro-Trump and corpo-media did an excellent job of blaming Biden for post-pandemic supply chain issues that aggravated global inflation, while the Democrats did a poor job in messaging its causes. The economy is strong, manufacturing is up, and unemployment is low, but we are still stuck with the higher prices elevated by global inflation and corporate greed. 

Yes, inflation was a factor, but I reject that simple excuse as the most significant influence.

The reality is Republicans are better at propaganda. They have their own mendacious media empire to catapult the propaganda. Hell, they’ve even had Russia in their corner since Trump came along. The most powerful weapon to destabilize the US was dropped into Putin’s lap.

True to the authoritarian playbook, Republicans and the far-Right mastered scapegoating and the blame game. Democrats were weak in both their own defense and offense, as in framing their opposition as a threat to democracy, decency, the rule of law, and the truth.

Democrats should have run footage of J6 and Trump’s praise for his thugs 24/7 throughout all of October. They didn’t. They failed to exploit the far Right’s greatest flaw.

Merrick Garland’s painfully slow initiative in investigating Trump’s crimes took its toll. The final nail in justice’s coffin was hammered in by Trump’s authoritarian and corrupt partisan allies on the Supreme Court.  “Presidential immunity” was never a thing in the history of the republic, until the derelict Court decided to reject our ideal of equal justice under law and openly enable Trump’s criminal behavior. How the hell did these NOT have profound significance in the election?

I suggest there are several more factors that had far more influence than the economy. Apathy, ignorance, emotional manipulation, and the intellectually lazy and incurious low information voters all took a toll.

It’s the disinformation, stupid.

Trump’s endless stream of lies was amplified by both corporate media and his sycophantic propagandists. Mike Flynn’s Q-Anon domestic psy-ops fed his marks massive troves of lies and wacky conspiracy theories like “Pizza-gate”. Youtube pushed this disinformation exponentially. Gullible people fell for it all.

It’s the hate, stupid.

Trump’s rallies were nothing but extended Orwellian “Two Minute Hate” rallies, inciting constant anger, and fueling groundless scapegoating and blame in the minds of his gullible true believers. The free press was called the “enemy of the people” while Democrats and judges holding him accountable were labeled “the enemy within”.

It’s corporate media’s “horse race” normalization and “sanewashing” of a criminal, stupid.

Age was a critical issue with Biden, but magically not for Trump. Trump’s obvious criminal behavior and resulting indictments were basically ignored after his circus of lies and outrageous rhetoric became the next day’s headlines.

It’s social media, stupid.

Twitter, facebook gossip, and Trump’s so-called “Truth Social” became primary sources of disinformation for duped buffoons who “did their own research”.

Exhibit A: “They’re eating the dogs in Springfield!”, howled the man who sent an angry mob to storm and desecrate the Capitol, terrorize Congress, and beat cops bloody to overturn a fair election he lost.

Exhibit B: Many Trump voters didn't understand the consequences of their support for Trump until it was too late. Buyers' remorse is setting in. Many Arab third party and Trump voters are realizing Trump's ambassador to Israel said, "There's really no such thing as a Palestinian". Google searches for "How to change my vote" and "Will tariffs cause inflation" spiked after Trump won. Searches for "Did Joe Biden drop out" popped up on Election Day!

The reality is this: Everyone who voted for Trump is either misinformed, willfully ignorant, believes his lies, or just doesn't care.

In short, “It’s the stupidity, stupid”.

Bamboozled

 

Today is astronomer and astrophysicist Carl Sagan’s birthday (November 9, 1934, > December 20, 1996)

Most Americans do not learn from history. They will ignore, deny, or rewrite it to conform to their ideological bias.

We can’t expect the average American to be knowledgeable or even curious about science. It requires a basic foundation of math, biology, and chemistry with an understanding of the scientific method. An open mind and motivation to pursue a vast and enlightening, but also confusing, area of study isn’t in the nature of most people.

I’ve read some books by Carl Sagan and Neil DeGrasse Tyson, and even “A Brief History of Time” by Stephan Hawking. That was enough to make my head spin, but also gave me a glimpse of our universe and a primitive understanding of astrophysics.

History, on the other hand, is more suited to simpler folks like me. Its lessons can be of equal importance to humanity as what we learn from science.

"Never again" seems to never sink in.

Sagan wrote a book on the evolution of human intelligence titled “Dragons of Eden” that explored human psychology and behavior in our journey from the trees to the savannah and caves, up to our so-called “advanced civilization”.

In his later book from 1995 “Demon-Haunted World” he notes a disturbing trend in America that explains its inevitable fall into Christian Nationalism and Trumpism.

Science is more than a body of knowledge; it is a way of thinking. I have a foreboding of an America in my children's or grandchildren's time – when the United States is a service and information economy; when nearly all the key manufacturing industries have slipped away to other countries; when awesome technological powers are in the hands of a very few, and no one representing the public interest can even grasp the issues; when the people have lost the ability to set their own agendas or knowledgeably question those in authority; when, clutching our crystals and nervously consulting our horoscopes, our critical faculties in decline, unable to distinguish between what feels good and what's true, we slide, almost without noticing, back into superstition and darkness... The dumbing down of America is most evident in the slow decay of substantive content in the enormously influential media, the 30 second sound bites (now down to 10 seconds or less), lowest common denominator programming, credulous presentations on pseudoscience and superstition, but especially a kind of celebration of ignorance.

This week’s election has revealed the disturbing reality that most American voters have succumbed to negligent, self-serving corporate media dereliction of purpose, and the primitive emotional manipulation by a con man, that resulted in this kind of bamboozled celebration of ignorance. 

American Dream 2024

Crime pays.

Hope

 

What does it tell us that Donald Trump can win a plurality of only white voters? Don't overthink it.

As Americans decide whether we are a nation of paranoid, duped, and authoritarian white people or a multiracial democracy, most of us in the latter group are justifiably anxious about this election. 

If a criminal autocracy prevails, Americans will not see America made great again. We'll see more of the demolition of representative democracy, social order, and the rule of law. 

That darkness of autocracy might be what is necessary to turn the public against the authoritarians. If Democrats have a majority in the House or Senate, the damage may not  be irreparable, I have to believe there will still be hope for a future election when the country can right its course.

As bleak as our next four years would be under a criminal autocrat, there are people who have even more to worry about.

If we think we are in a state of anxiety, just imagine what the Ukrainians are feeling. This is more than freedom or tyranny to them. It is life or death under the brutal tyrant who enjoys the admiration and envy from Donald Trump.

Poland and the Baltic states are no doubt enduring their own sense of dread and foreboding today. They can clearly see Putin's imperialist intentions. The people of Taiwan are in a similar state of dread under the threat of communist China.

The world's dictators are all in for Trump. Their information/cyber warfare is working for Trump. Putin's shill Tucker Carlson is earning his rubles. Georgia Secretary of State Brad Raffensperger said the non-credible threats that briefly disrupted voting at two Georgia polling places originated from Russia. “We identified the source; it was from Russia," he said.

This is all because America is still plagued by semi-literate duped voters and paranoid white racists, an industrial level flood of disinformation, and immoral political leadership that benefits from their engendered lies, fear, hate and racism.

It's up to us to reject the lies, fear, hate, racism and criminality of the Party of Trump. The consequences will be dire and lethal if Trump wins or steals this election.

With today's vote, we are the hope of the free world.

"Qualifications"

 

The Wall Street Journal editorial board understands how Mr. Trump is qualified for office. "Mr. Trump was too undisciplined and his attention span too short to stay on one message, much less to stage a coup".

So, no worries there.

In this final weekend before the election, let’s review Trump’s “qualifications” to hold the highest office in the land. Whether he is fairly elected, or successfully steals the election, he will be “qualified” for, and granted, immunity from criminal prosecution by his loyal Supreme Court consiglieres. 

Presenting the List of Trump's "Qualifications" for Reelection to the office of President of the United States of America:

=

Felony Convictions:

34 felony counts for Trump’s falsifying business records in the first degree.

Invoices for legal services - Guilty on 11 of 11 charges

Checks paid for legal services - Guilty on 11 of 11 charges

Ledger entries for legal expenses - Guilty on 12 of 12 charges

=

2020 Election Interference Charges

Count 1: 18 U.S.C. § 371 (Conspiracy to Defraud the United States)

Count 2: 18 U.S. C. § 1512(k) (Conspiracy to Obstruct an Official Proceeding)

Count 3: 18 U.S.C. §§ 1512(c)(2), 2 (Obstruction of and Attempt to Obstruct an Official Proceeding)

Count 4: 18 U.S.C. § 241 (Conspiracy Against Rights)

=

Mar-A-Lago Documents Charges (Dismissal Pending in Appeals Court)

Counts 1-31: 18 USC 793(e) Willful Retention of National Defense Information

Count 32: 18 U.S. Code § 1512(k) Conspiracy to Obstruct Justice

Count 33: 18 U.S. Code § 1512(b) Withholding a Document or Record

Count 34: 18 U.S. Code § 1512(c) Corruptly Concealing a Document or Record

=

State of Georgia Charges:

Violation of the Georgia Racketeer Influenced and Corrupt Organizations (RICO) Act

Conspiracy to commit forgery in the first degree (2 counts)

False statements and writings (2 counts)

Conspiracy to commit impersonating a public officer

Conspiracy to commit false statements and writings (2 counts)

~~~

As anyone can plainly see, Donald Trump is the most “qualified” presidential candidate in the history of the universe.

Evil Returns

 

American fascism came full circle Sunday night in New York City.

Not since the pre-WWII American Nazi rallies has Madison Square Garden been filled to the rafters with racism, lies, and hate. Sunday’s rally was a spectacle of the once dormant fetid fruit of fascism returning to the venue.

I credit Aaron Ruper for sharing some of the highlights, or lowlights, of the American neo-Nazi hate speech at the rally.

Two hours before Donald Trump was set to take the stage at Madison Square Garden in New York City, right-wing “comedian” Tony Hinchcliffe warmed up the crowd with a shockingly racist performance.

“Where are my proud Latinos at tonight? You guys see what I mean? [The border’s] wide open. There’s so many of them.”

“These Latinos, they love making babies, too,” he added. “There’s no pulling out. They don’t do that. They come inside just like they did to our country. (Audience groans) Republicans are the party with a good sense of humor.”

“Why is our money involved in these wars when it comes to Israel and Palestine?” he said. “We’re all thinking the same thing — settle your stuff already. Best out of three: rock, paper, scissors. You know, the Palestinians are going to throw rock every time. You also know the Jews have a hard time throwing that paper, you know?”

Hinchcliffe turned to Puerto Rico, “There’s a lot going on. I don’t know if you know this but there’s literally a floating island of garbage in the middle of the ocean right now. I think it’s called Puerto Rico”.

The Trump campaign needed to resort to damage control. Campaign adviser Danielle Alvarez needed to lie, “This joke does not reflect the views of President Trump or the campaign”. Right. And pigs fly.

He also made a remark about Black people who “carved watermelons” instead of pumpkins for Halloween.

Later Hinchcliffe absurdly declared Democrats “have no sense of humor”. Could this be because MAGA “humor” is ALWAYS drenched in hate, bigotry, and racism?

Byron Donalds spouted, "I'll be damned if you're gonna have some school tell my boys that they can now be girls. Not on my watch. Not on the watch of Donald Trump."

And the hits kept coming.

Sid Rosenberg showed there's no hate like MAGA hate when he raged, "She is some sick bastard, that Hillary Clinton. What a sick son of a bitch. The whole fucking party. A bunch of degenerates. Lowlives, Jew-haters, and lowlives. Every one of 'em. Every one of 'em." 

Mike Johnson spewed the standard neo-Nazi lie that Democrats are "full on to Marxism".

"They thought they could kill him" -- Alina Habba on the registered Republican who shot at Trump.

Dr. Phil said "they" shot Trump.

"America is for Americans and Americans only" -- Sturmbannfuhrer Stephen Miller

"They even tried to take his life" -- Stephen Miller on the registered Republican who shot at Trump.

Brandishing a crucifix, David Rem hysterically shrieked, "She is the devil. She is the antichrist." No doubt this crackpot's idea of making America great again would take us back to the Salem witch trials.

"They're on the side of the terrorists!" -- Rudy Giuliani fear-mongered about Palestinians.

"Now they're trying to kill him" -- Rudy Giuliani on the registered Republican who shot at Trump.

Putin's paid American mouthpiece Tucker Carlson confessed, "The liberation he has brought to us is the liberation from the obligation to tell lies.” This was followed by his racist attack, “It’s going to be pretty hard to look at us and say, ‘You know what, Kamala Harris, she got 85 million votes because she’s just so impressive as the first Samoan, Malaysian, low IQ former California prosecutor ever to be elected president.’”

"They even tried to kill him" -- JD Vance on the registered Republican who shot at Trump.

Lara Trump claimed, "Donald Trump made New York City".

Donald Trump Jr. added, "The king of New York is back to reclaim the city that he built".

Trump took to the stage and spoke the words every American white supremacist and fascist loves to hear.

“On day one I will launch the largest deportation program in American history and get the criminals out. I will rescue every city in town that has been invaded and conquered, and we will put these vicious and bloodthirsty criminals in jail, kick them the hell out of our country as fast as possible. The United States is now an occupied country, but it will soon be an occupied country no longer. ... On Nov. 5, 2024, nine days from now, it will be Liberation Day in America.”

And for Americans waiting for Trump’s healthcare plan to replace Obamacare, he referred to RFK Jr: "I'm gonna let him go wild on health. I'm gonna let him go wild on the foods. I'm gonna let him go wild on the medicines."

Who needs doctors, virologists and medical science anyway?

And finally, let’s note Trump’s loudest and clearest racist dog whistle to his fellow white nationalists in just these few words: “My beautiful white skin.” 

When fascism comes to America it will be embraced by duped and frightened racist white men.

~~~~~~~~~

"The best lack all conviction while the worst are full of passionate intensity."

Remembering William Butler Yeats and "The Second Coming", I offer this update:

Slouching Towards Bethlehem

Dulled and lulled by lying leaders and platitudes

Numbing us all and clouding our thoughts with

Monotonous tired clichés and trivial drivel

When mendacity ascends, something worse is sure to follow

Decency and reason are soon cast aside

Deceit, blame, anger and hate are unleashed

And together they rage across the land

Distorted vision darkens souls with bitter resentment

And a stand for truth draws wrath from the believers of lies

A National Crisis

 

This election is truly a state of emergency for the republic. A criminal has taken over the Republican Party and wants to impose his dictatorial rule over America. If this isn’t a national crisis, I don’t know what would be. 

From the New York Times:

Former Marine general John Kelly and the Trump White House’s longest-serving chief of staff told the New York Times that he believed that Donald Trump met the definition of a fascist.

“Well, looking at the definition of fascism: It’s a far-right authoritarian, ultranationalist political ideology and movement characterized by a dictatorial leader, centralized autocracy, militarism, forcible suppression of opposition, belief in a natural social hierarchy. So certainly, in my experience, those are the kinds of things that he thinks would work better in terms of running America. Certainly the former president is in the far-right area, he’s certainly an authoritarian, admires people who are dictators — he has said that. So, he certainly falls into the general definition of fascist, for sure.”

“And I think this issue of using the military on — to go after — American citizens is one of those things I think is a very, very bad thing — even to say it for political purposes to get elected — I think it’s a very, very bad thing, let alone actually doing it,” Mr. Kelly said.

“He commented more than once that, ‘You know, Hitler did some good things, too,’” Mr. Kelly said Mr. Trump told him.

We recall former Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff General Mark Milley told Bob Woodward, "He is now the most dangerous person to this country," and a "fascist to the core".

What does it say about our country that these generals who worked with Trump are ignored and dismissed by the Republican Party? This is not just abnormal. It's an unfolding national nightmare.

Republican Governor of New Hampshire Chris Sununu was asked on CNN whether Trump praising Hitler causes him to reconsider his support for him.

SUNUNU:  "No ... It’s all about the results. Look, we've heard a lot of extreme things about Donald Trump, from Donald Trump. Unfortunately, it’s kind of par for the course. With a guy like that, it's kinda baked into the vote at this point."

BOLDUAN: Are you okay supporting someone who Marine Gen. John Kelly says fits the definition of a fascist?  

SUNUNU: I think most of America is gonna go this way.

Well, every FASCIST American will go this way, followed by the obedient herd of shameless, sniveling, sycophantic, submissive conservative Republican cowards like Sununu.

Q: What kind of people vote for a fascist?

A: Fascists.

This is not who most Americans are. 

But there are enough of them to elect Trump if decent Americans don't overwhelmingly vote to stop the criminal Tangerine Tyrant.

Fascists are authoritarian bullies. They are consumed by anger and resentment, seeking vengeance and retribution towards those they hate, or hold them accountable, or otherwise get in their way.

Trump has declared his intention to send the military after Democrats, calling them the “enemy within”. Hell, yes, that fits the definition of a fascist.

On October 22, 2024 NPR reported Trump has made more than 100 threats to prosecute or punish perceived enemies.

Vice President Kamala Harris “should be impeached and prosecuted,” Trump said at a rally last month.

“I will appoint a real special prosecutor to go after the most corrupt president in the history of the United States of America, Joe Biden, and the entire Biden crime family,” Trump said last year.

“ELIZABETH LYNNE CHENEY IS GUILTY OF TREASON,” reads one post Trump reposted on his social media site, Truth Social, regarding the former Republican congresswoman.

“START ARRESTING THE POLL WORKERS AND WATCH HOW FAST THEY TELL YOU WHO TOLD THEM TO CHEAT,” reads a message Trump reposted on social media in 2023.

Trump and his toady Rudy Giuliani falsely and viciously accused black poll workers Ruby Freeman and Shaye Moss of fraud and interfering in the 2020 election.

Rudy will be parting with some of his nice things.

NBC News announced the judgement against him.

A federal judge in New York has ordered former New York Mayor Rudy Giuliani to turn over his luxury Manhattan apartment and many of his valuables to the two Georgia election workers he defamed.

In a decision released Tuesday, U.S. District Judge Lewis Liman ordered Giuliani, a longtime ally of and former lawyer for former President Donald Trump, to transfer personal property "including cash accounts, jewelry and valuables, a legal claim for unpaid attorneys’ fees, and his interest in his Madison Avenue co-op apartment to a receivership" within seven days.

Trump and Giuliani were cheered by their fellow racists for this shameless and cowardly smearing of the two innocent women. Trump is their Great White Hope.

When fascism comes to America it will be welcomed by duped and frightened white men.

Sadly, they are just following the worst of American traditions.

America has a long history of racism and white supremacy.

Since before the Civil War they have been ripping our country apart by dividing Americans against one another.

And for 90 years since the rise of Hitler there have been American Nazis among us. They seriously conspired to remove FDR by force.

At the sedition trial of American Nazi agents during WWII, former Nazi Dr. Hermann Rauschning offered the following testimony.

“Adolf Hitler said the United States was threatened with a bloody revolution. He said he would be able to make this revolution come to pass. He explained the methods by which he would be able to paralyze the national unity of the United States and the power of resistance on this country…He said the cleavages in the population could be widened to disunite the country.”

“We have to paralyze the will and national unity of these and other countries,” Hitler said. “The great issue was to liberate the world from the poison of democracy, with its degenerating doctrine of liberty and equality”.

One of the worst dictators of the 21^st Century was paying attention. Putin has Trump as his weapon to accomplish what Hitler could not.

Prequel

 

Oct. 6, 1935 "German Day" celebration at Madison Square Garden

 

Now is a good time to discuss Rachel Maddow’s new book titled “Prequel: An American Fight Against Fascism”.

Doctor of political science Rachel Maddow has written an important book on the rise of pre-WWII Nazism in the United States.

While it is an excellent study of history, the parallels to our present time are striking and disturbing. Holocaust survivors have noted the similar rhetoric of Trump and his white nationalist movement to the rise of the Nazis in 1930’s Germany. It would be to our greatest peril if we don’t heed their observations. 

From "Prequel" we learn the racist ideology of the Nazi “Aryan master race” was influenced by America’s history of slavery, Jim Crow, and the subjugation of Native Americans. With time there has been progress, but American white nationalism has exponentially risen again. 

Extreme nationalism craves unity, meaning, and purpose. Preferably under a strongman. Donald Trump is their beloved and revered autocrat, to be served, obeyed, and believed without question. His control over his followers’ thinking and beliefs is no different than that of a cult leader. And like a cult, every far-right nationalist movement fears and loathes outsiders. The leader tells them who are to be blamed, who are to be hated, and worst of all, who are to be punished.

This October of 2024 every decent and informed American citizen wants to vote to end our national nightmare by shutting down for good the admitted aspiring dictator Donald Trump. 

The rise of Nazism wasn’t just in Germany.  American Nazis filled Madison Square Garden several times in the 1930s. We’ve seen the images and film of them holding those rallies, festooned with American flags and swastikas. They loved and revered Hitler and wanted America to be under a dictatorship, in allegiance to Hitler. They hated the British, but FDR’s Democrats especially were their despised enemies. Naturally all these Nazis considered FDR to be a “communist”.

It wouldn’t be a far stretch to suggest their offspring and grandchildren are now MAGA. It’s also not hard to imagine a certain Klan-friendly Fred Trump among those Nazis. Following the American Nazi tradition, Donald Trump and his corrupt party of appeasers today falsely and absurdly demonize and accuse Democrats of being “communists”. 

History is teaching us something here. This tactic of demonization can be regarded as a metric of fascism, a measure of their autocratic leanings. The early Nazis hated New Deal Democrats and Jews. Today’s neo-Nazis still do, while other white nationalist groups confirm their fascism when the show their own particular hate, bigotry and racism.

They are all white, and they all frame the groups they fear and hate as scapegoats.

Before the US entered the Second World War a patriotic American named Henry Hoke identified 20 representatives and senators who were inserting German propaganda into the Congressional Record. The politicians would forward the Nazi propaganda around the country in taxpayer funded congressional mail. Among these congressional purveyors of Nazi writings and speeches were Senators Earnest Lundeen of Minnesota, Robert Rice Reynolds of North Carolina, Burton Wheeler of Montana, and Representatives Hamilton Fish of New York and Jacob Thorkelson of Montana.

After the war the DOJ found records in Germany that showed over a million Americans on their mailing lists. Most were teachers, clergymen, doctors, and lawyers. Millionaires, major investors and judges amounted in tens of thousands more, not to mention many state legislators.

Young reporter Eric Sevareid wrote of a group in Minnesota while Charles Slocombe tracked them in California and reported them to Naval Intelligence.

Other patriotic, determined, and courageous anti-Nazi activists who exposed or prosecuted them included Leon Lewis, Dillard Stokes, William Maloney, and O. John Rogge. 

The latter two were federal prosecutors removed from their roles in trying the Nazi collaborators. Senator Burton Wheeler convinced the DOJ to "promote" Maloney out of his role as prosecutor. Rogge acquired records in post-war Germany that named 24 sitting congressmen on the take from Hitler's Nazis. Soon after Senator Wheeler visited with President Truman, Rogge was fired 

After the war and before his suicide, Hermann Göring told Rogge he would have gladly spent not just $5 million but $150 million to defeat FDR. 

Pro-Nazi groups had proliferated in the US in the 1930’s, often under the cover of isolationist or anti-war organizations.

The antisemitic American Nazi movement included the German American Bund, the Silver Shirts, the Crusader White Shirts, the Protestant Gentile League, the Christian Front, Christian Mobilizers, the American Nationalist Federation, and yes, Lindbergh's America First Committee.

Lindbergh's fellow aviator Laura Ingalls declared at her trial, a "witch hunt" according to her lawyer, that the US "needs someone like Hitler building a country while America is in chaos".

And of course, American Nazis would be compelled to form militias. They even recruited General George Van Horn Moseley to lead the armed insurrection. Some things never change. 

The Christian Front leaders were eventually charged with theft of National Guard weapons and ammunition. At a rally and true to form, their “good Christian Nazi” lawyer howled, “This is a fight for Christ! I don’t have to apologize to anyone for being a Christian!”  They got off due to the Guardsmen helping them cover up the weapons heist, and a defense attorney having a cousin as foreman in the sympathetic jury. The organization also had hundreds of New York City police officers as fellow members.

Today we unsurprisingly note the parallel of police unions supporting Trump. Historically most police actually had no problem with the idea of a police state. Imagine that. Corporate plutocrats also have fondness for having an army of police at their behest. They came in handy for keeping unions under their boot. 

Dick and Betsy DeVos are family of the far-Right Eric Prince, founder of the Blackwater mercenaries. They are funding a controversial, pro-Trump sheriffs program. The Sheriffs Fellowship is run by an ultraconservative think tank devoted to Donald Trump’s candidacy. Four conservative Michigan sheriffs have participated. Trump made a campaign speech in Michigan with a line of sheriff department officers behind him. Sheriffs also generally have no problem with the idea of a police state.

In the ‘30s the notorious antisemite Father Coughlin was a popular pioneer in radical Right radio broadcasting. Other celebrities with Nazi sympathies were Henry Ford and Charles Lindbergh. Ford and Coughlin went so far as to distribute the antisemitic novel, “Protocols of the Elders of Zion”. Hitler was such an inspired fan of Ford that he had his portrait hanging in his office. Lindbergh would speak at rallies, urging the US to align with Germany.

The bag man and supplier of propaganda was a German born American Nazi agent named Sylvester Viereck. He would receive his instructions directly from the German Foreign Office, along with large amounts of cash to assure the services of the Nazi sympathizers in Congress. Viereck and some of the Nazi agents were arrested and convicted, but sympathetic power players in Congress would pressure the DOJ to back off from their members. By December 7, 1941, they would slink back into the shadows.

Hitler knew he had a lot of supporters in America he could use in his effort to keep the US out of his war in Europe. He saw the potential for division in America.

Later Putin learned from the Fuhrer’s efforts. The Soviets had practiced "dezinformatsiya" for years. Putin would find it easy to weaponize social media on the internet. Putin’s Great Information War would be his resounding victory over America. Trump would neutralize Ukraine and NATO for him.

How could Putin NOT have been inspired by Hitler’s words?

“America is permanently on the brink of revolution. It will be a simple matter for me to produce unrest and revolts in the United States, so that these gentry will have their hands full with their own affairs.”

His strategy was to find what he called “kernels of disturbance” to exploit “racial controversies, economic inequalities, petty jealousies in public life, and differences of opinion which divide political parties and minority groups”.

The OG Fuhrer would be proud indeed of Trump’s and Putin’s favorite general and possibly our next Secretary of Defense. Dishonored pardoned criminal and retired General Mike Flynn met with fellow neo-Nazis at their paramilitary training camp called “88 Tactical”. “H” is the eighth letter. In neo-Nazi code 88 = Heil Hitler. The number 1488 on their topographical map refers to the 14 words of white nationalism, "We must secure the existence of our people and a future for white children,” and Heil Hitler.

Now Trump is echoing Hitler’s rhetoric at a fevered pace in this month running up to the election.

"I think the bigger problem is the enemy from within, not even the people that have come in and destroyed our country," Trump told Fox News show "Sunday Morning Futures," referring to American citizens as opposed to migrants.

"We have some very bad people, we have some sick people, radical left lunatics. And I think they're the -- and it should be very easily handled by, if necessary, by National Guard or, if really necessary, by the military," Trump said. "Because they can't let that happen."

Can’t let what happen? Oppose Trump? Disobey his will? Insult him? Mock him? Speak the truth about him?

Well, we can certainly see why this book was titled “Prequel” by Maddow. It is a red flag warning from history. 

"I'm a Republican, not a Nazi", shouted one of them at his 1944 trial for sedition.

Both Putin and Trump are now taking pages from Hitler’s propaganda campaign against America. Divide and conquer is the classic authoritarian power play.

Maddow concludes with, "The story of what it took, inside and outside the government, to stop the violent American ultra-right in the run up to World War II-- that's a gift from the smart, brave, determined, resourceful, self-sacrificing Americans who went before us. If we learn it, and we choose it, we can inherit their work."

Will enough Americans sense this and stand for democracy in the upcoming election? Or will the fascists finally empower a megalomaniacal criminal sociopath to finally end our experiment as a democratic republic?

Let's be clear about Trump's projection. American Nazis left their legacy. HE is the enemy within. 

 

MAGA Racism

 This is the face of evil, promoting American white nationalism.

Remember when Trump and Giuliani spewed their racist lies about the black women election workers committing fraud in Georgia? They were harassed at their homes and their lives were threatened by Trumpists. This is what life under fascism is like, and this happened in our country. 

Trump is a fascist.

Cowardly punching down on innocent and vulnerable black women reveals the core of this man's sociopathy. It's long past time for this evil racist to face justice. We the voters are the jury this time, but the outcome is  absurdly uncertain. Tragically millions of Americans are too racist, ignorant, gullible or duped into voting for the fascist.

Lest anyone think I'm being irrational or extreme in calling Trump a fascist, I refer to the experienced perspective of Trump's own chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, General Mark Milley. He told Bob Woodward: “I had suspicions when I talked to you about his mental decline and so forth, but now I realize he’s a total fascist. He is now the most dangerous person to this country. A fascist to the core.” 

(Update: later on October 12.)

Trump:

From the very beginning of this journey, I have been on a mission to rescue our nation from a failed and corrupt political establishment.

I will NEVER QUIT, I will NEVER BEND, I will NEVER BREAK, and I will NEVER YIELD, not even in the face of death itself!

=

Historian Ruth Ben-Ghiat:

Spoken like a fascist. Did you know that Trump borrowed his "drain the swamp" slogan from...Mussolini? Read “Strongmen” for details.

Il Duce said he would free his people from Marxist "vermin" and end corruption. How did that work out?

Trump is certainly fuming, and raving his egomaniacal version of "Mein Kampf" these days. 

As I was saying.

Like all fascists Trump and Rudy are bullies.  

Sometimes their victims will defend themselves by seeking justice.

In December of 2023, a jury awarded Georgia election workers Ruby Freeman and Shaye Moss just over $148M in compensatory and punitive damages from Rudy Giuliani.

They’ll be lucky to collect a dime from that nasty racist weasel.

CNN reports: “Freeman and Moss are simultaneously still fighting Giuliani in court to collect on the roughly $150 million he owes them, after they won their defamation case against him before a jury.

Giuliani has paid none of the debt, and lawyers for Freeman and Moss are before a separate judge now trying to seize his two multimillion-dollar apartments, multiple New York Yankees World Series rings, and his large collection of luxury watches, which include two given to him after Sept. 11, 2001, by European heads of state.

Freeman, Moss and Giuliani have a major hearing on the debt-collection efforts scheduled for next week in federal court in New York.”

The ladies also took the radical Right propaganda outlet Gateway Pundit to court. It played a significant role in spreading false information about the 2020 election. The defamatory articles have been pulled down.

The Guardian reports: “After the 2020 election, the Gateway Pundit published a series of stories amplifying a misleading video that showed Freeman and Moss counting ballots. The site pushed the false claim that the two women were committing fraud and counting illegal ballots after counting had ended for the night. The Gateway Pundit was the first news outlet to identify Freeman and later identified Moss, who have been cleared of all wrongdoing. Even after Georgia election officials debunked the video, the site continued to publish numerous articles falsely accusing Moss and Freeman of fraud.”

Today the Gateway Pundit posted this statement on its website:

~~~

Note from the Editor: Legal Update

Oct. 12, 2024

Georgia officials concluded that there was no widespread voter fraud by election workers who counted ballots at the State Farm Arena in November 2020. The results of this investigation indicate that Ruby Freeman and Wandrea ‘Shaye’ Moss did not engage in ballot fraud or criminal misconduct while working at State Farm Arena on election night. A legal matter with this news organization and the two election workers has been resolved to the mutual satisfaction of the parties through a fair and reasonable settlement. 

~~~

It is to our nation's most profound dishonor that the racist perpetrators of this "high tech lynching of uppity Black women" are close to gaining power again in the White House. They have no shame, no honor, no decency and no conscience, but every decent American feels ashamed for our country.

VOTE to keep these domestic enemies of our republic from destroying truth, justice, and our democracy. 

WE HAVE TO STOP THESE RACIST MONSTERS! 

Another Cry for Help?

 

...If you're listening. HELP ME! 

Just ONE more time!

The law is closing in on me!

My judges on the Supreme Court FAILED to protect my Private Criminal Conduct! 

They GOT ME dead to rights!

I NEED your HELP more than EVER!

I'll give you Ukraine! I'll destroy NATO! 

ANYTHING you want, Komrad Vlad!

Just HELP ME STEAL, I mean win, THIS ELECTION!

The Deficit

 

In the previous comment thread our friend Dave Miller raised an important topic.

“I don't know what we can do to right our financial ship and get us on a stronger financial path…I'd love to see any suggestions from folks who say they are serious about our budget and deficit.”

I don't have all the answers, not even close, only a bit of common sense.

To say the least, fiscal policy is complicated, but we can begin by looking at some history.

One party is noted for cutting taxes and increasing spending. The same party enjoys the false impression, or outright delusion, by the public that THEY are best at managing the economy. It is yet another useful big lie for the authoritarian and greedy Right.

This is the PROVEN recipe for making it worse. Trump’s promise for vastly increased tariffs has been near universally condemned by economists. But most of the deceived and benighted public is blind to this reality.

The last surplus for the federal government was in 2001. The hated Bill Clinton left that surplus, albeit by compromising and working with Republicans.

Now authoritarian Republicans have completely rejected compromise. Just look at the border funding bill killed by Trump and his servants in Congress.

More history:

Obama lowered the deficit after the Bush Recession from $1.42 Trillion to $0.59 Trillion by 2016.

Under Trump in 2020 it was $3.13 Trillion.

Under Biden in 2023 it was $1.70 Trillion.

So, the simple answer on where to start is suggested by Occom's razor.

Keep the damn Republicans out of power.

 

Cutting taxes and regulations for corporations and the rich help only corporations and the rich. The people and the environment suffer from cuts in reduced services and regulations.

Republicans' often stated goal of privatizing Social Security will not work out for the public, but for Wall Street.

No wonder the Party of Trump and Mammon needs to lie, distort and scheme to dupe the public. They know if they scare enough white voters, they can hold power and keep cutting taxes for the rich and deregulating corporate malfeasance.  

So, their lack of conscience allowed them to make their Faustian bargain with the devil. White nationalism has become their de facto ideology.

American Fascism

 

Today the United States is facing its most serious threat of fascism since the years leading up to and including World War II. In one way the emergency is more dire. Now we have a white nationalist, aspiring fascist dictator on the presidential ballot.

How can this happen in America? 

Let’s have look at a snapshot of American history from 1936. FDR’s New Deal was kicking in and the Radical Right Republicans were calling him a communist.

A socialist author and speaker named Lawrence Dennis caught the attention of Hitler’s Nazis after giving a speech titled “Is Socialism Inevitable in the US?” Soon after, he published his book called, “The Coming American Socialism”. These political prognostications earned him an invitation from the Nazis to attend the infamous1936 Nuremberg “Rally of Honor”.

"Aha!” our Trumpists would declare. “This PROVES Hitler and his Nazis were SOCIALISTS!”

Except for one little detail. I was kidding. Lawrence Dennis was a fascist and a fan of Hitler. He was not a socialist. His speech and book were titled, “Is Fascism Inevitable in the US?” and “The Coming American Fascism”.

Sorry, Trump supporters. Hitler was a fascist, not a socialist. He had socialists sent to concentration camps. Nazis were no more socialists than Trump and his insurrectionist Republicans are heroic defenders of the Republic.

While in Germany for the big rally Dennis offered a suggestion to his hosts, “Why don’t you treat the Jews more or less like we treat the Negroes in America?”

The Nazis liked what they heard. The Klan were their Aryan kinsmen. They took notice on how Southern states clamped down on voting and civil rights for Blacks. Hitler admired the way the US government slaughtered and confined Native Americans to reservations. They loved seeing American Nazi rallies in Madison Square Garden. In fact, Hitler cited the viciously antisemitic Henry Ford as a role model. His portrait was hung in the Fuhrer’s office.

Let’s return to 21^st Century America, when Radical Right Republicans are embracing neo-Nazi lies and propaganda, and STILL calling their opposition communists.

We’re constantly hearing Trumpists, fascists, neo-Nazis, and other authoritarian white nationalists accusing and smearing those who challenge their mindless lies and their Leader.  No fabricated label or false accusation is too foul to attach to the objects of their loathing. They need to BELIEVE their vile BS to justify their hate.

Trump is blaming Democrats for the two deranged sickos who brought their rifles to his rally and golf course. During the 2016 campaign, Trump fantasized about assassinating Hillary Clinton: "If she gets to pick her judges, nothing you can do, folks. Although the Second Amendment people — maybe there is, I don’t know.” 

The projection is astounding. Just as astounding is their need to bend the knee to their authoritarian leader.

Take the case of Mitch McConnell 

“January sixth was a disgrace. American citizens attacked their own government. They used terrorism to stop a specific piece of domestic (democratic) business…There is no question, none, that President Trump is practically and morally responsible for provoking the events of the day."

Later he voted “not guilty” in Trump’s impeachment trial in the Senate. So much for “morally responsible” accountability. This authoritarian flip was nearly unanimous among Republicans.

I’d like to offer another case study of this neo-Nazi fascist cult mentality that infects so many authoritarian white conservative Americans. There is a reason why they FEAR being “replaced” by the “others”.

By nurture (raised by authoritarian parents) or nature (the reactionary enlargement of the overactive fear/fight/flight center in their amygdalas), they conform to conservative ideology. Suspicion of others is their default reaction, while curiosity is generally ours. Conservatives have feared and resisted all progressive change throughout history. This is because conservatives fear the unknown more than most of us do.

A while back a fellow blogger named Darrell became extremely radicalized by Trump. This is what he wrote at my blog on Jan 8, 2021:

“Dave, Trump was wrong to give encouragement and a wink and a nod to the protestors and delaying any attempt to rein them back. He was complicit. Sadly this ego maniacal narcissist tarnished the myriad of good things he has done for our country with this latest escapade.”

This is what Darrell wrote on May 15, 2021:

“Trump instigates a riot according to the left and the media, but then I repeat myself. (He didn’t.)”

Presto! With the flick of a switch in his brain, he saw the light of true BELIEF in Trump and was reborn into the MAGA cult.

He got tired of the facts about J6 and Trump that made him FEEL uncomfortable, and he became ANGRY when I revealed his “leap of faith” into Trumpism. He felt he needed to put me in my place.

“When I called you a communist, it wasn’t necessarily meant as a pejorative but rather more as a descriptive term. You support many of the very tenets of the communist creed according to what you have written in the past that are antithetical to America, its values, and its Constitution. So while you see that is retaliatory name-calling, I meant it only as classifier of your stated beliefs in big-government, anti-capitalism, anti-faith, and anti-family rhetoric.”

He later wrote a post challenging me personally to, “Please, Tell Me What I am Thinking, Mr. Leftist”

Of course, he refused to allow me to respond and banned me. I could have said, “You think I’m a communist without any evidence or words of mine that would indicate I am.” (He hates it when I’m right.)

I couldn’t help myself after he more recently wrote about why he would vote for Donald Trump.

I was surprised he published my anonymous sarcastic comment: 

"They're EATING THE DOGS!"

"They EXECUTE BABIES after they're born!!"

KAMALA the Marxist HATES DOGS, hates babies, and HATES AMERICA!!!

Keep standing up for the TRUTH, Darrell!

(Note to Trump. “I lost by a whisker” fails to register on the sarcasm scale.)

Like Trump taking the bait from Kamala in their debate, he couldn’t resist setting me straight:

Darrell wrote:

And Anonymous Dave, there ARE leftist barbarians that kill viable babies, even after they are born. Kermit Gosnell comes to mind for starters, let alone the millions of viable babies in the womb that Planned Parenthood has slaughtered on the altar of choice.

As for the eating of dogs, I have no idea, but I do know that Venezuelan gangs and MS13 have come across the Biden/Harris open borders to wreak havoc on our communities and people. When you don't vet who is coming in, this is what happens. But hey! Maybe the Dems will get more votes from them in their attempt to save democracy, right?!

(He probably won’t publish my response, so I’ll include it here. Taking my cue from Trump’s playbook, it turns out that I also can claim, “I do the weave”. See how I go back to my theme later.)

~~~~

Dave Dubya wrote:

Kermit Gosnell is serving a life term in prison for murder. He is guilty of illegal late-term abortions. He is a criminal. Killing babies is a crime. Only the vile, hate-filled, fascist Right would say Democrats support this. Roe v Wade specifically protected viable fetuses. Now women are DYING for lack of treatment for pregnancy related emergencies.

Using Darrell’s same twisted, hateful, irrational, and delusional thinking, school shootings with AR-15s are ALL Republicans’ and DARRELL'S FAULT. They love their weapons more than they care for our kids.

Of course, the “executing babies” lie is absurd and irrational, but it is how they FEEL, not think. Although HE donates to the Russia-backed NRA that assures those weapons are available to any deranged person who wants one to slaughter kids.

Darrell admitted, “As for the eating of dogs, I have no idea.”

He’s not going to like the facts.

The Neo-Nazi group Blood Tribe has been active in Springfield, Ohio for weeks before Vance and Trump catapulted the propaganda. On August 27, Drake R. Berentz of the Neo-Nazi group Blood Pride spoke before the Springfield City Commission. It didn’t go over well.

On September 6, the neo-Nazi group Blood Tribe posted on Gab: "Sorry Springfield, you’re just going to have to get used to the idea that your neighbors might eat your pets.”

Now they are celebrating Trump talking about Springfield and bragging: "BT pushed Springfield into the public consciousness."

Yes, Trump and Vance are parroting and promoting neo-Nazi LIES.

And Trump has declared his intention to deport these legal Haitian immigrants to Venezuela! 

Meanwhile Darrell thoughtfully suggested, “We need to discuss policies and ideas and cut out the name calling and Hitler comparisons.”

Right. But it’s OK for Darrell to call me a communist. Aren’t they SPECIAL?

To further establish his anti-democracy, white nationalism, Darrell needed to accuse me of being an "anti-family communist". (I’m neither, of course.)

In typical authoritarian fashion, he wasn't capable of citing ANY of my words to support his wildly false accusation, hate and lies.

Only poorly educated dupes, sleazy lying Republicans and neo-Nazis call Democrats commies. This begs a comparison to Hitler accusing opponents of the SAME thing. Honest historians understand this.

Darrell seems ignorant of the fact that MS 13 originated in Los Angeles in the 1980s. Falsely labeled as "Border Czar", Kamala was sent to El Salvador to convince them to do something about the gangs. In response El Salvador jailed more than 66,000 people in a crackdown on gangs, giving it the world's highest incarceration rate. 

But why admit this when he can blame Biden and Harris? It's no surprise Darrell also supports Trump’s order to KILL the border bill that would have provided 1,500 new officers, new immigration courts, and more fentanyl detectors. He thinks doing NOTHING about the border is better, just to support his malevolent mendacious messiah’s campaign.

But every white nationalist will endlessly whine that Dems want Venezuelan gangs and MS13 to come vote for them. Double demonization. Remember they need to BELIEVE their vile BS to justify their racist hate.

Speaking of criminal gangs.

“I must err on the side of the Republic,” declares Darrell.

Of course, Darrell's radicalized way of “siding with the Republic” is to vote for Trump and see him as blameless for his election lies and his thugs storming the Capitol, terrorizing Congress, and beating cops bloody to OVERTURN our election. The fact that Trump REFUSED to order them to leave for HOURS doesn’t disqualify him in the eyes of his true believers.

And Hitler's Beer Hall Putsch was just a friendly block party, amirite?

"One wonders what that reason is for ('Cackler') Kamala as she seems genetically incapable of putting together a coherent thought."

And there it is. The Master Race is goose-stepping in the dark recesses of Darrell’s fevered amygdala. 

Frightened and angry people aren’t amenable to introspection or examination of their beliefs. If anything, they are guided by beliefs they can’t question.

It’s heartening to know a few Trump supporters HAVE learned to gather verifiable information and to examine their trust and belief in Trump. I friend of mine voted for him twice, but finally concluded who Trump truly is and the threat he poses.

I think Darrell is similarly likeable and dependable, and even well-intentioned at some level. I hope he will detach himself from believing in Trump's lies, including the Radical Right playbook of mindless red-baiting. 

Sadly, most of them will never open their minds to anything their leaders and peers don’t want them to know.

In the deranged minds of the fanatics, NOTHING Trump can do would disqualify him from being president. Not his hate, not his criminal sexual conduct, not his lies, not his racism, not his admiration for dictators, not his giving secrets to Russians in the Oval Office, not his criminal attempts to overturn our election, not his theft, obstruction, and careless abuse of national security secrets. And not even spewing neo-Nazi lies that resulted dozens of bomb threats in Springfield Ohio… Nothing.

Character, honesty, decency, and following the rule of law no longer matter for Trump voters. When presented with verifiable information, they dismiss or deny it, showing us facts don’t matter to them either. Thus, the term “alternative facts” was fabricated just for their cult. Clearly to them, judging someone by the "content of their character" is reserved only for Blacks, not Republican politicians.

Trump and his racist thugs and liars can do whatever the hell they want. He will be given the power to order the DOJ to launch sham prosecutions of opponents, and to commit any crime he says is an “official act”. And with the immunity outrageously granted to a convicted felon by the most corrupt Supreme Court in history, he will. It will be Trump’s own “Triumph of the Will”.

Trumpism is fascism.