Stephen Altschuler

thoughts on environment, politics, health, life issues

democracy

Breakable News Flash! November 5, 2020

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Breakable News announces through its extensive election coverage contacts that Joe Biden is the winner of the U.S. Presidency with Donald Trump a whinning second. This, of course, is not true, at the moment, but because of declining newsstand sales, we needed to attract more attention. And…now that we have your attention, have you considered subscribing to our excellent news media service? We promise nothing, only that, in the words of defamed Woody Allen, we will show up. Our subscription rate is 3.5K/year, but because of the Covid “slight cold” situation we’ve lowered it to 3K/year, payable in gold coin. Now, onto the news of the day.

This just in from Sheboygan, Wisconsin. On this unusually hot day, Ms. Alice T. Murphy’s cat is high up on her metal roof again, and is insisting it will not come down until the election is decided. The cat, named Nine Lives, shows signs of depression, according to a Sheboygan rescue unit, and therapist, Dr. Cilia Syben, has been called to the scene. Our correspondent, Johnnie O.T. Spot, was able to record some of the interaction.

Dr. S: Now Nine, we’ve been through this before. Come on down now. I’ve got a nice treat for you.

NL: No, I don’t want your condescending treats, Dr. Silly. I’m safe up here. Can’t see any TV coverage of the election, and what I can’t see, means it hasn’t happened.

Dr. S: Now you know that isn’t true. That would imply that you control the world, doesn’t it, my little monkey face.

NL: Wrong species, Doc. Anyway, you’re wrong. Cats do control the world. Just look at us. Do we run around like you people looking for an open market at 11 pm so we can buy a chocolate chip cookie?

Dr. S: Now, now, kitty. Enough of that. Why, do you know of a store that’s open and sells such cookies?

NL: Bingo. I rest my case. Now, can you call off Trump’s Army and let me take a little snooze. I’m a cat, you know, and proud of it.

 

At that point Spot’s tape ran out, so we don’t know how things worked out for this cat on a hot tin roof, but as is our commitment to fake news, we’ll let you know within three days, if we get around to it.

This also just in, Trump has resorted to sueing individual Democrats for voting against him, claiming that he ran a “perfect” campaign of degradation, innuendo, falsivity (his word), and the best misinformation available. He sees no reason for a vote against him and is actually bypassing lower courts to go directly to the Supreme Court “where my judges sit” (his words). This is a continuing story and we’ll continue following it providing our ace reporter is not otherwise incapacitated.

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And finally, our pandemic top of the tip–or tip of the top–of the day: To hear absolutely no news, except today’s weather in Portland Oregon, tune into All Classical Portland for the best in classical music. It’s a favorite of Nine Lives and other cats of his ilk. It streams worldwide from their app, and–our tip within a top tip–Alexa knows how to find the station. And, for once, this is really true!

That’s it for today. Breakable-lings. Sleep tight and don’t let democracy go the fate of the Holy Roman Empire.

Election Day Thoughts, 2020

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Finally, it is here. The day of decision. A day of voting, that gift of democracy. And therein lies the crux of how to vote and who to vote for. Ultimately, the decision should revolve around protecting our democracy and which candidates will do more to insure that goal.

My choice is Joe Biden. He knows something about how a democracy works within a representative system. He knows something about compromise with the opposing parties and colleagues. He knows something about the people of this country–what they feel, what they need, and what they want. He knows they want peace of mind to carry on their lives. He knows they want a president who can empathize with them in times of grief, who can cheer with them in times of triumph, who can soothe them in times of confusion and doubt and conflict, who has the courage to act with strength mixed with wisdom in times of challenge. He knows they/we want a president they/we can trust, we can admire, we can look up to. We want a president who our children and grandchildren will see as a role model of decency and morality and sensitivity. He knows we want a president who will represent all of the people of this great country.

So, yes, I urge you to vote, but more so to vote for Joe Biden, Kamala Harris, and all their supporters. Thank you.

Breakable News for Monday, October something or other: Voter Suppression, the latest

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Monday’s edition of Breakable News, your news source for all the news you thought you could forget about but which we thought you couldn’t. 

Today we’re focusing on voter suppression, a key platform objective of the RNC.  Our ace reporter, Christiane Notsopoor ·was able to go undercover and actually sneak a tape recorder into RNC’s last meeting in a secret room, the entrance of which was hidden by a rug in a  German bakery shop in Sheboygan, Wisconsin. She posed as a Proud Girl of her Proud Boyfriend to gain entry past RNC operatives who failed to vet Notsopoor.  We present the unabridged tape to you, our esteemed and increasingly decreasing readership, today.

RNC leader, nicknamed Godfather by Trump himself, hereafter GF: Reports, por favor.

Michigan Generalisimo Herman: All systems on full stop. Mail in ballots blocked by a Trump court.  Ballots in one suburb intercepted by pandemic masked operatives and dumped. Knees of reporter for a liberal commie weekly broken.

GF: Excellent. You get an hour off at Trump National New Jersey and a covid-shake of the hand with The Boss. He says “Wear a mask and you’re fired!” Next.

Pennsylvania Generalisimo Gustav: Roger that, Godfather. We got a militia ready to roll for voter intimidation in Philadelphia, and another positioned across the street from a synagogue polling place in Pittsburgh. 

GF: What! Across the street, you say? I want those Proud Boys within arm’s length of voters at that synagogue. What do think this is, a fashion show? And make sure they look like armed militia and not girl scouts selling cookies like last time. Next. Florida

Florida Generalisimo Adolph: Trouble, Godfather.  There’s been a delay in the bill to require an original birth certificate plus a copy of their last four years tax returns from all voters.

GF: Delay. What do you mean delay? The Governor assured us this was no problem. He got everything arranged and lined up. Alright, forget it. I’ll call the SOB. He don’t play ball with us, he gets a tweet from you know who. Any other reports? How about you? Haven’t seen you before.

Christiane Notsopoor: Who me? Nah, no sweat. Latest Breakable News poll has The Boss leading by 12, as long as he stays alive.  If he dies, his supporters say they’ll still vote for him.

GF: Breakable News, eh? That’s a good source, right? On our side? 

CN: Oh sure. Like they always say over there, “Nevertheless, She Persisted.” 

GF: Right, right. I’ve seen that on cars but never quite knew what it meant. Good work. Good work. You get the next Presidential Medal of Freedom from The Boss.

                                                ***

Sorry, we’re unable to provide additional taped transcript details since our undercover reporter was given the medal of freedom but apparently disappeared shortly thereafter. She was able to smuggle the tape out though in the beak of an undercover New Caladonia crow, also on our payroll.

And that concludes our coverage of the campaign for today. And remember, A Penny Saved is a Penny Earned, and if you believe that, given this economy, you’ll believe just about anything. 

Good bye for now, Earthlings. And remember, despite today’s discouraging coverage, mostly fake though it may be, please, please vote…any way possible.

Trump’s Gambit

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Donald Trump gives every indication that he is plotting the overthrow of this government. He has manipulated the political infrastructure by appointing his own puppets as Attorney General, Secretary of Defense, CIA and FBI Directors, and is now even giving stealth marching orders to well-armed white supremacy groups to “stand by”, and await further instructions after the election. It is not unlike how other dictators grabbed power throughout modern history. Make no mistake, Trump is not a hapless buffoon who makes decisions on the fly and doesn’t know what’s happening around him. “What are the Proud Boys? I’ve never heard of them,” he answered a reporter. According to his former fixer, Michael Cohen, Trump knows everything, for him or against him, at all times. It’s the way he rolls, according to Cohen, his long-time lawyer and confidant. He continually undermines our time-tested electoral procedures, having installed one his major donors as head of the Postal Service. Service has already slowed to the degree that it will affect mail-in ballots, which will not be counted if late. Trump knows quite well that Democrats use mail-in ballots far more than Republicans, and so has strategically attacked the validity of such ballots, planting doubt and suspicion in the minds of voters. He is trying every trick in the book to accomplish his goal: to remain in power for as long as possible. 

He is doing this not for the sake of helping our country in any way, but for dodging court actions, and possible heavy fines and even imprisonment if he is not elected. Cohen reports he is terribly afraid of such eventualities. We’ve seen Trump’s constant tendency to deflect onto others his own failings and offenses over the past few years. He’s obsessively compulsive around this behavior of his. His recently revealed tax returns show he is not the wealthy man he portrays himself to be. That portrayal was a scam to convince voters that he was more [Read more…] about Trump’s Gambit

The Divide

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We have a serious Divide in our country right now, and it concerns me deeply. It seems that regardless of the outcome of this coming election, the Divide will continue, perhaps culminating in violence. This, of course, will deepen the Divide. We have painted ourselves into a proverbial corner, and I see no clear way out. Trump doesn’t help matters much. In fact, he seems to stir the pot of discontent, encouraging the very violence he purports to be against. Lately, six weeks before the election, he rants about not accepting the results, sounding and acting far more like Benedict Arnold than Abraham Lincoln. Biden is better, and I definitely recommend a vote for him and most Democratic candidates, but I don’t think his election will necessarily solve the problem. And he may not have the intestinal strength to do what needs to be done to calm the potentially violent, confrontational atmosphere after his election. White supremacist groups, which include the KKK, neo-Nazis, QAnon, an assortment of white militias, along with ultra-conservative media outlets may seize the opportunity to foment their brand of hatred upon the general public. And extreme leftist groups may resort to violence as well. Police and military forces may overreact as they already have during the George Floyd protests. Countries like Russia, China, Iran, North Korea may use cyber-attacks to widen the Divide, as they have already done to our electoral processes.

Biden who is a good and decent man, far beyond Trump in humanity, consciousness, and empathy will have an overflowing plate of the Trump-worsened pandemic and economy, along with this civil unrest. And I’m not sure how well he can handle this. But it must be him and not Trump who is in charge during this critical time in our country’s history. For Trump is not fit for this job, as concluded by his closest associates, family members, former government officials, and even an increasing number of Republicans.

Our country has been in this predicament before. During the Salem witch trials, there were people [Read more…] about The Divide

We Should be Thanking Antifa

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Armaggedon, the prophetic war between the forces of good against the forces of evil has already started in America. It’s been coming to this for a number of years now, the start of which was the assassination of President John F. Kennedy on November 22, 1963. This triggered the internal conflicts of the 60s which spawned radical groups on the right and the left. The groups on the left kind of fizzled out over the next few decades, but the groups on the right organized, weaponized, and bided their time recruiting and training until they rejoiced and expanded as a result of something quite unexpected: the internet and the World Wide Web. As a result of the social media phenomenon which took root in the 90s and greatly metastasized up to 2016 when the mainstream population gifted them with the election of Donald J. Trump as President of the United States, perhaps the most powerful position in the world. This was the green light extreme right wing groups including white supremacists, nationalists, and militias were waiting for in order to fatten their coffers with funds, troops, and more sophisticated weaponry. It also allowed them to infiltrate key elements of society including the military, local police departments, and political institutions.

The extreme left was caught off guard as it watched fascism spill into the viscera of our country like a flash flood. Small groups of dedicated soldiers like Antifa formed and opposed the boisterous rallies of the radical right, but with Trump’s tweets casting aspersions on the group, he’s had some success branding them as villains and white supremacists the victims. But then the battlefield got much more intense and complicated when a police officer in Minneapolis put his knee to George Floyd’s neck, murdering a man they had just handcuffed and arrested. This touched off a firestorm of protest not only in this country but, amazingly, around the world. And the movement Black Lives Matter (BLM) was birthed and trained to walk/protest as quickly as a newborn foal.

This and the coronavirus pandemic caught Trump and the right wing extremists off guard, particularly seeing many white people supporting BLM and joining in their peaceful protests against police brutality targeting Black folk. So, Trump, panicking and seeing his popularity drop in the polls upped the ante and [Read more…] about We Should be Thanking Antifa

Understanding White Privilege

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I finally understand what white privilege is, after not understanding for a long time. I always justified it by saying, to my wife, mostly, that I had no control of my skin color at birth and so how could I be privileged when compared to a black person. On the other hand, do I have to think about my skin color and how society will respond to it when I leave the house? Other than have to put sunblock on my very light white skin, I did not have to think about my skin color when in society or how people will respond to it. That, in a few words, is white privilege. It doesn’t make me a racist but it does make me much more aware of how a black person feels when he or she leaves his or her house in America. Whether it be the police, the grocery store, the bank, the gym, a school, or even a sporting event blacks know they will often be judged by the color of their skin and not their character or personality or achievements. Whites  may not have an easy life financially, emotionally, or physically, but, other than sunblock, they do not have to worry about their skin color and how people will react to them because of it. That is white privilege.

And that is not acceptable in a multi-racial, multi-lingual, multi-cultural, democratic, supposedly free, society. The plaque on the Statue of Liberty invites all to our shores. We have and do represent a hope for the [Read more…] about Understanding White Privilege

An Appeal

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Our country is under attack, not as much from external enemies, but from within. Donald Trump, with the help of Republican conspirators in Congress, is consciously and willfully undermining and shredding our democracy. Unbelieveable as this may seem, he might just succeed. By declaring “the system is rigged,” he is creating an atmosphere of distrust where many people do not believe anything that his supposed opponents profess. This means that if Robert Mueller finds compelling evidence that Trump has colluded with the Russians or has obstructed justice, Trump’s minions will ignore the evidence and go on supporting their “Supreme Leader” as they would in North Korea or Iran or Russia.

Call this what you will. I call it autocracy, or worse, a Fascist dictatorship. Our Founding Fathers worried about such a development, building into the Constitution a system of checks and balances to protect us against it. But those wise men didn’t figure on a megalomaniac like Donald Trump to assume the Presidency of our country.

Of course our first and foremost worry is a nuclear war–a very real possibility given two impulsive and power hungry men are involved. Recent tensions are rising. Wild threats are increasing. The political air is bristling with electric intensity. Neither of these men has a moral compass to lead them. Neither of them is completely rational. Both are armed to the teeth and unhinged. Both are under tremendous pressure to appear strong and powerful to their base as well their military establishments. We are as close to nuclear war as we were when Kennedy faced down Khrushchev during the 1962 Cuban missile crisis. And we have no Madam Secretary [Read more…] about An Appeal