Stephen Altschuler

thoughts on environment, politics, health, life issues

democracy

At this time of extreme national emergency, what to do?

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We now have a madman as president. He has nine more days to serve out his term. But a madman with control of the nuclear codes can do a lot of damage. He could conceivably end human habitation on this planet. Oh, it’ll never happen, you might say and go on sipping your morning coffee. But only 85 or so years ago, many didn’t think Hitler would amount to much. He would certainly fade away and life would continue as usual. Millions of those people were soon  exterminated in Nazi concentration camps. Today, the stakes are even higher. The fascist Trump is in charge for nine more days after a bloody coop attempt on our Congress, a coup he instigated. No sense sugar-coating it as he and his supporters are trying to do. He incited his rabid followers to violence and they responded with mayhem including the murder of two Capitol police officers.

So what now to do with this deranged meglomaniac, this fascist ogre?  Impeachment? 25th amendment? Resignation? None look particularly promising in the short view. None look like they will solve the immediate national emergency of an extremely unstable man controlling the nuclear codes and the ability to easily launch nuclear missiles at the touch of a button.  A coup has been attempted and it looked like it may well have been a conspiracy involving those in the present government. Trump may well have had knowledge of this planned coup and made sure his Pentagon chief delayed in sending any auxiliary troops to quell it. After all, he reveled in the sight of the violent mob tearing the Capitol apart and made no attempt to call the appropriate heads of the national guard to send troops immediately. That tells me he was complicit via omission. Trump has a knack for sequestering himself against responsibility, chronically casting the blame onto others. Well, this time, his circled wagons have run out of cover.

That makes me think of another option that has always been anathema to the American ways of solving political problems: the use of the military. With other options too weak, impractical, or untimely, military intervention may be the only way to resolve this national emergency and pave the way for a smooth transition to Joe Biden’s ascendancy to the presidency. The military could immediately enter the White House and do one of two things: arrest Donald Trump for suspicion of treason or simply take away the nuclear box and codes under his control. Whichever the generals felt most comfortable with would be fine with me.

Once Trump and/or the nuke codes were secured, I would guess Pence would then invoke the 25th amendment and take power until Biden was inaugurated. The military has never been inclined to get involved in politics so would not, as they did in Brazil in 1964, be tempted to remain in power. Biden would transition to his duly elected position as President.

Do I want this to happen? No. I don’t think the Constitution provides for this, although I am not an expert on what this complicated document says. But I think it very well must happen to solve this current urgent national emergency.

The only other solution is prayer, but the angels are already quite overwhelmed with other matters.

May peace and healing arise from the ashes of 6 January.

 

 

 

The Last Gasp of Trump and his Republican Enablers

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I think of how it must have been for the dinosaurs dying and breathing their last gasps on the land masses of our planet 60 million years ago. I think of this as I read the news of a Capitol police officer murdered while defending our representative congresspeople from a pro-Trump and Trump incited mob who invaded our Capitol building, a building steeped in the history of our democracy. That murder should be as catastrophic as the asteroid which struck Earth leading the death of all those predatory dinosaurs.

The murder came as the result of the rioters breeching the halls of our Congress, which came as the result of incendiary Trump rhetoric over the past five years and most recently at a rally just before the attack and breech, which came as the result of Republican congresspeople naysayers questioning the legitimacy of an election proven fully legitimate by the courts and election officials from every state in the union, which came as the result of right wing sources such as Fox News, Newsmax, AON, which came as a result of false and scurrilous conspiracy theories such as QAnon, which came as a result of extreme right wing white supremacist groups such as Proud Boys and Patriot Prayer which rose to prominence as a result of Trump giving tacit, and often open, approval of these grotesque and dangerous people. Trump’s base of voters who acted with cult mentality believing, lockstep, in all of Trump’s lies and misinformation and [Read more…] about The Last Gasp of Trump and his Republican Enablers

Beware the Ides of January 6th

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In what should be a ceremony that the press always ignores, the certification of the Electoral College vote on January 6th is morphing into another Trumpian spectacle of Sturm und Drang. It seems some Republican senators, with the support of Trump, will mount a challenge to the Electoral College vote, trying to reverse its outcome in several battleground states that went for Biden, giving him the victory. Trump has exhausted all legal paths to change the outcome. All failures. He still denies Biden won. He is, indeed, in denial, as we mental health counselors say. Big time. Why won’t Trump concede his loss?

Is it that he is afraid that once he is out of power, his wrongdoings will catch up to him and he will wind up in prison? Perhaps. You and I would assume that, but Trump has evaded so many attempts to cripple him through the courts that I think he thinks he is invincible. Just hire enough lawyers who issue enough legal roadblocks and his accusers get tired of the time and money it costs to continue accusing. Even tax evasion, that misstep that finally caught Al Capone, won’t catch him, he surmises. Never has and never will.

So now, he has one more ploy. Actually a series of ploys. First, he has his traitor Representatives and Senators vote to deny certifying the Electoral College tally in certain states. When that fails he has Pence fail to certify the final tally (Pence has no constitutional authority whatsoever to do so). When that fails he instigates his radical, armed supporters, such as various white supremacist groups who he has dogwhistled to “Stand by,” to take to the streets and perform enough acts of violence and chaos to allow him to declare martial law (He has already called for such violent rallies on the 6th!). Police, many of whom are either members or sympathizers of these White Supremacist groups do nothing to restrain the violence, effectively being complicit in a violent takeover of the government. His cult followers also take to the streets screaming and creating havoc. The final ploy in this string of ploys? Trump remains in power, declaring himself President for at least another four years.

Impossible? Improbable, perhaps, but not impossible. Trump is desperate enough to try this. He has nothing really to lose since he’s already lost the prize he thought he had all along: remaining in power. His ego cannot and will not tolerate a loss. You must not be a loser, his father drummed into his skull. Of course all of the above must succeed for the final Trumpian outcome to come true. If it doesn’t work, Trump will leave office but declare himself the victim of a fraudulent election, making himself a martyr, still beloved by his cult followers. This might encourage him to run again in 2024 to continue his onslaught against our government and way of life.

Is there anything you and I can do to stop this insanity? I’m doing what I can do by writing this post. We are past the point of “calling our representatives.” We are past the point of voting or sending in our donations. Our democracy has voted Trump down hard, but our democracy still teeters on the brink of [Read more…] about Beware the Ides of January 6th

2020 canceled! Breakable News Breaks it First…

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We tracked down President Trump in a bathroom at his Mar a Lago resort in Florida, after he returned from yet another critical golf outing where some 17 Secret Service golf carts dutifully followed him. Trump started our interview, with our Mar a Lago correspondent Izzy “Goodtimes” Smyth, by first lamenting that the fake news fashion mags declined to put his wife, a former model, on the cover of any of their “Democrat-run rags.” Our reporter, who has never won any awards, took it from there.

IS: So, Mr. President, how’s it going? (Ed. note: How about that start? Izzy is one our best!)

DJT: Great. Great. Never better. Sydney Powell, one of my most trusted advisors, gave me the best advice ever. She told me I have the power to cancel 2020, which is what I intend to do after I get another round in tomorrow, which is Saturday. I never miss golf on Saturdays.

IS: Whoa. You’re telling me you’re going to cancel the entire year as if it never happened. How in the world will you do that?

DJT: No problem. Rudy, Sydney, Pompeo, and my new AJ tell me to just keep saying it’s true over and over and, like magic, people will eventually believe it. It’s like herd immunity, except I call it herd lunacy. See, it’s genius. It’s really not much different than what I’ve done my whole life. And look where it’s gotten me!

IS: I see. So, like, none of 2020 ever happened, kind of, I mean, like…

DJT: Exactly, Izzy. You got it. Put it down in your paper just like that. My enemies will say, conspiracy theory. Well I’ll give them a conspiracy all right: one that says Covid, the election, the blown economy, unemployment, 325K dead, my lousy rounds of golf, masks, the fly on Pence’s head, social distancing, empty sports stadiums, even the slights to my hot wife never happened. I already got 74 million voters who will swallow that hook, line, and stinker.

IS: That’s sinker, Sir.

DJT: Listen, Izzard. Never correct me. Understand? Never correct the President of the United State.

IS: That’s States, Sir.

DJT: OK, that’s it. Outta here. I got lunch to get to, and I never miss lunch. I think it’s lobster and steak today, same as yesterday.

IS: But if the year is canceled, has our meeting ever really happened, Sir?

DJT: Ah… well. Check that with Rudy and Sydney and Sydney’s ace consultant Tore. They’re handling all the details. Don’t confuse me, Izzy. I like to stay focused, you know. They’ve prepared a revised calendar for me to sign as an Executive Order, and I’ve arranged for the Ball at Times Square to say 2020 when it drops. Like I said, genius. Don’t you agree?

IS: Well…I was just thinking…there might some problems…around… that approach… to the problems… the country…is feeling right now.

DJT: Don’t think, IM. Just do as I say. This’ll work. Just listen to those people outside cheering for me. Stop the Steal. Love it. Gotta run. Don’t worry. It’ll be like a miracle. Just like Groundhog Day. A do-over. Ha Ha. Genius.

Oh, Izzy, flush that toilet for me, would you. I’m very cautious about germs, you know.

 

So we’ll see you tomorrow, gentle readers. Or today, or yesterday, or whenever. When we figure it out, we’ll be sure to let you know. In the meantime, keep those donations pouring in, but just please leave off the date until we get this rather shocking new paradigm sorted out.

A Trump Coup Attempt?

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Donald Trump seems to have a form of coup on his mind. A coup, though, often involves a military takeover. In the post Cold War world, such coups have occurred in Asia, Africa, and South and Central America. According to Wikipedia, about half have been successful and half unsuccessful. None have occurred in Europe or North America. The U.S. has never experienced a coup.

Yet a coup is mostly plotted by a group that is out of power against at the group that is in power. Trump’s coup would be a first: a coup of a person currently in power against a person duly elected but not yet in power. Trump has tried every legal means even, up to the Supreme Court, to reverse the outcome of the election, without success. His next scheme is to convince Mike Pence to vote against confirmation of the Electoral College tally in Congress and reverse the outcome of the election. But Pence and his advisers have advised Trump that this is [Read more…] about A Trump Coup Attempt?

I awake this morning with a deep anger…

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…toward Donald Trump and these inhumane and immoral pardons he feels justified to impart like a fake monarch surveying his realm. His pardon of four thugs from Blackwater who murdered 14 completely innocent Iraqis, including men, women and children, during the invasion was particularly deplorable. One was in jail for first degree murder and life, the other three were serving 30 year sentences. Trump released them with one swirl of his sloppy signature, slapping the face of an entire nation who still mourns.

Beyond anger, I feel a deep embarrassment at the actions of this immoral so-called human being, Donald Trump. I am embarrassed to be connected with him as an American, embarrassed that I’ve lived here under his rule during these last four years, embarrassed to be connected, even remotely, with those that voted for him and those in Congress who enabled his reign of his attempt to dismantle our democracy. I am embarrassed that some 74 million people voted for this charlatan. I am embarrassed that a significant number of those voters still think he was not legally elected. I am embarrassed that though Trump lost, Republicans gained seats in the House, and held their majority, so far, in the Senate.

A better word still, is distraught. I am distraught that over 315,000 people have died due to the Covid-19 pandemic, and there are still a significant number of Republicans who [Read more…] about I awake this morning with a deep anger…

Trump is Deranged

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Trump is deranged. I first thought he exhibits many of the characteristics of Neanderthals, human beings who existed in Europe before homo sapiens arrived. The two groups interbred but eventually Neanderthals went extinct giving way to the superior brained homo sapiens, our present species. We homo sapiens today have more or less Neanderthal DNA in our genetic code. 

But Neanderthals were not deranged. They may have lacked the intelligence to survive the wild animals and harsh climate of Europe, but they knew and accepted their reality and actually adapted well for centuries. They were just unable for whatever reasons to handle the inclusion of homo sapiens to their population. Trump and many of his enablers and followers are also unable to accept and adapt to the realities of the times. They approach life in simplistic, survivalist terms. They look out mainly for themselves mostly ignoring the needs of others outside of their immediate families. Life is primarily survival of the fittest, of winners and losers, of supporters and detractors. It’s the most basic form of thought, lacking empathy, lacking consciousness, lacking nuance, lacking concern for others, lacking the ability to feel compassion. It’s literally their way or the highway. 

A survival of the fittest mentality evolves as a mechanism of survival only. All wild animals have that survival instinct. In fact that is their prime reason for living, although the word reason may be misleading, for reasoned cognition is more common in homo sapiens. Most homo sapiens have evolved beyond this survival instinct.

Trump’s present campaign of intimidating and cajoling battleground state election officials and state representatives to reverse the outcome of a free and fair election is an example of a desperate and degenerative tactic for survival. He is fighting for survival for he knows that if he loses the election and must leave office, he is extremely vulnerable to current civil and possibly criminal legal actions against him. His long-time lawyer and fixer Michael Cohen, now imprisoned because of that loyalty to Trump, warned us of this pattern of Trump when referring to him as a con man who will take any action to save himself at the expense of others surrounding him. His present actions are tearing the Republican Party down. His actions are tearing his own family apart. His actions are even besmirching his brand which he is so enamored of. His actions are entirely self serving and self absorbed. His actions reveal a [Read more…] about Trump is Deranged