Stephen Altschuler

thoughts on environment, politics, health, life issues

Donald Trump

Breakable News Flash!!

by Leave a Comment

Breakable News flash! (All the News that’s Truly Fake)

Trumpet voter toot/tweets, “if Our Dear Leader dies I’m still gunna vote for Him. His Ghost could still run the country, as long as twitter doesn’t ban His account, which I don’t think they will cause they haven’t banned a ghosts account yet. Ghosts lives matter, ya know, especially Trump’s ghost. Actually, now that I think of it, only His ghost matters. I know you left wing, commie liberals’ll make fun of me for this, but, wait, you’ll see.”
***
Ms. Coney “Island” Barrett reports at her next public appearance she hopes to infect the rest of the Republican establishment. Upon incessant questioning by the media, she admitted that Angels coerced her into close contact with the President and his cronies, thus stealthfully spreading the virus via in-person zoombombing, sabotaging his reelection chances.
***
Trump reports he “feels better, pretty good, actually really good. I could walk outta here right now.”

His doctor, who is a D.O., recommends that the president should change his lifestyle and take more walks in the woods, but reports “He’s not out of the woods yet.”
***
Who to beiieve? Stay tuned for the next Breakable News report. And remember, this is your (sort of, maybe) only news source of fake news ALL THE TIME.

And, as seems to be a FCC requirement (punishable by nasty, career-ending tweet from the president, health permitting), We at Breakable News wish the president and his wife a speedy recovery.

Trump and Covid-19

by 2 Comments

The fact that Trump and his wife, along with other White House staff, have tested positive for the virus is a repudiation of everything Trump and said and claimed about the virus. This highlights Trump’s politicization of the pandemic to suit his needs to feed gruel to his base. He wanted to come across as a strongman ruler, accountable to none, and loyal to only himself and his gullible base. The virus, though, has proven a greater adversary than most, and represents the October Surprise that Trump was hoping would be in his favor. It’s a virus that knows no boundaries nor makes little distinction among victims. It just lies in wait like a thief in the night, waiting for those who disdain its very existence, infecting those who take no precautions in defending against it. To hell with masks and social distancing and testing, they say. Damn the torpedoes, full speed ahead.

Covid is not at all a stealth adversary. It makes no pretense of hiding itself for it comes on surfaces and through the air alike. It wears no camouflage. It hides behind no masks. It does not disguise its voice, nor does it act like a double agent skulking about in the shadows of noir settings. It simply is what it is, a virus that acts like any virus humans have encountered. It makes no apologies for having stumped scientists as to its actual cause. It does not consciously deceive so as to prevent those scientists from devising a cure or vaccine. It kills many people but so have other viruses that have appeared in history. It’s part of the territory of this planet, a risky place, to say the least.

So how will Trump’s contracting this virus affect his re-election campaign? I suspect the right wing media and his cult base will minimize it as they have every other Trump transgression and indignity. It’s the swing voters and undecided voters that may be most affected by a president showing medical vulnerability. He likes to portray himself as strong, aggressive and invulnerable–a tough guy–but this microscopic virus, like David slaying Goliath, has revealed the true nature of the “Wizard of Oz” behind the curtain.

This obscure virus, supposedly caused by human careless interaction with wildlife, has brought a pandemic that has virtually shutdown the world’s economy, driven millions into unemployment, killed over a million worldwide and over 200,000 in the United States, and has now infected its autocratic, authoritarian president. It may well be the nail in the coffin of Trump’s desperate run for another term. I surely hope so.

 

 

Trump’s Gambit

by Leave a Comment

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

by 2 Comments

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

Why Jews, and really everyone, should not vote for Donald Trump or any of his Republican enablers

by 2 Comments

As an older secular Jewish man, I believe I’m in a good position to judge a politician’s attitude towards Jews. And one’s attitude and behavior towards Jews does not necessarily coincide with one’s opinion towards Israel and their governmental policies. That’s a very complicated snake pit that involves religious, territorial, nationalistic, historical, and cultural considerations. But one’s attitude and opinion of Jews is more visceral. Put the word Jew before any Western person and ask for their first impression and you will discover their basic attitudes and inclinations, especially if the responses are confidential and discreet.  Because of historic racism and prejudice towards Jews in the Middle East and Western worlds, I suspect those responses will be mostly negative and derogatory, depending on geographical, educational, economic, and religious factors.

I’m not a professional historian, but it is commonly accepted that the first Crusaders, around the year 1096, on their way to liberate the Holy Land from Islamic rule, invaded Jewish villages along the way, and massacred most of their inhabitants. The Crusades, after all, were church-sanctioned genocidal escapades to combat paganism and heresy. Jews were lumped in with Moslems in that regard. And to solidify the hatred, a conspiracy theory started in the Middle Ages, called blood libel, was spread by word of mouth, accusing Jews of murdering Christian children in order to use their blood as part of religious rituals. These claims—alongside those of well-poisoning and host desecration—have been major themes of the persecution of Jews in Europe. And Europeans brought such vicious falsehoods to America when they colonized this territory.

Believe it or not, this conspiracy theory still survives [Read more…] about Why Jews, and really everyone, should not vote for Donald Trump or any of his Republican enablers

We Should be Thanking Antifa

by Leave a Comment

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

Why the Crazy Conspiracy Theories?

by 2 Comments

How do they originate and why do they stick? Is it boredom? Is it fear? Is it vengeance? Is it retribution? Is it the need for a scapegoat? Is it protection from those we think we need protection from? For most of my adult life, I worked as a mental health counselor with people with severe mental disorders–people who often had paranoid hallucinations and delusions. They would sometimes think they were being followed by the CIA or FBI or local police, or they thought they were Jesus returned or that they had bugs crawling all over them. I felt bad for these people. They were afflicted with these thoughts, without themselves being bad or evil. But people who believe in conspiracy theories are not necessarily mentally ill. They are fully conscious and aware of their delusions, and the harm and fear they cause. And let me add here that some conspiracy theories, like those around President Kennedy’s assassination, are valid and warrant continued investigation.

The latest delusional one is this QAnon conspiracy theory which has gained much traction since 2017, particularly among supporters of Donald Trump. Even Trump himself [Read more…] about Why the Crazy Conspiracy Theories?

Comparing Trump to the Nazis

by 1 Comment

Ideally, every generation would become a bit more wise and compassionate as time progresses. And this is true in certain instances.   There are wonderful people in this country: bright, compassionate, involved, concerned, caring, and loving.  But in many instances, this is not the case. And so we have people who still follow Nazi ideals, dictates, and actions.  Unfortunately one of those people is the current president of the United States: Donald J. Trump.  Let’s examine this more closely.

  • • Trump is a white supremacist. He has used his bully pulpit to open the door to white supremacist groups in this country and worldwide, paving the way for them to spread their hatred for Jews, Blacks, Moslems, Hispanics, and others. 
  • • Trump, as a dysfunctional adolescent might, made fun of disabled people in public. On Twitter, he assigns immature nicknames and insults onto those who don’t fall into lockstep behind him.
  • • Americans who are physically or mentally disabled often depend on government health care such as Obamacare and Medicaid to survive. Trump wants to end both programs, denying such health care to the disabled and financially disadvantaged.
  • • Trump is obsessed with reversing every accomplishment that Barack Obama made during his time in office.  From his false Birther allegations to his unfounded Obamagate accusations, Trump reveals his racist nature.
  • • Trump chronically blames others for the same transgressions that he is guilty of, obsessively denying any responsibility for his own behavior and their consequences. I needn’t delineate these since they occur daily in his puerile tweets and hyperbolic speeches. He is Scapegoater in Chief.
  • • Trump coddles pseudo-strongmen like Putin, Kim Jong Un, Erdegan, Bolsonaro, as he weakens NATO and the protections it offers to its members. He withdraws from vital treaties, particularly ones that Obama negotiated. 
  • • Trump holds his political rallies in a time of a catastrophic pandemic, putting people in great danger and harm to satisfy his own needs and purposes. 
  • • The Nazis depended on fear and fake news, as does Donald Trump. Just about everything out of Trump’s mouth is a lie, and most of the news coming out of his White House and his state media enabler, Fox News, is fake and false, meant to deceive and influence a gullible public. In Nazi Germany and their occupied nations, there was no free press, thus easily manipulating the public as a leader might his cult followers. All news was propaganda designed to keep the Nazis in power and the people in a state of fear and ignorance.
  • • Trump is well aware that Covid-19 is killing a greater percentage of Blacks than any other group, and is content with letting them die by denying them proper health coverage. Trump’s support of White Power and his Law and Order threats against peaceful Black Lives Matter protesters grossly portray his intensions against people who don’t think like him or who he perceives as blocking his reelection.
  • • Trump’s proposed wall on our Southern border with Mexico has become an albatross around his neck, a racist symbol he continues to feed to his minions of cult supporters. 
  • • Countries like Russia and England attempted to appease Hitler in an attempt at a peaceful solution.  Trump tries to appease villains like Putin and Kim Jong Un, giving them validity via flattery. In an act of possible treason, Trump knew of, and failed to act upon, Putin’s scheme of giving a bounty to the Taliban for every American soldier killed. What does Putin have on this man?
  • • By saying little to restrict and prosecute fascist white supremacist and nationalist groups, Trump (and his puppet William Barr) essentially give permission to these thugs, similar to Hitler’s sadistic Brown Shirts, to intimidate and do harm to minorities, particularly Blacks and Jews.  Instead he attacks antifa, a small, decentralized left wing group which acts to oppose fascist groups when they march and demonstrate. Antifa may sometimes go too far, but they at least perform the important service of opposing these ultra right fascists, a responsibility Trump and Barr have abandoned.
  • Trump, impulsive and paranoid, has control of the codes that can trigger a nuclear war.

There’s more, of course (another Supreme Court choice, a lack of sane gun control). I could write a book. As the Nazis were stopped in WWII, Trump needs to be stopped. Our democracy is at stake. Our freedoms are at stake. Our Constitution and Bill of Rights are at stake. With Trump we are headed to an authoritarian government similar to the one described in George Orwell’s prophetic novel, 1984. And if you don’t know what I’m talking about, please read it. It’s still very much in print, and even more relevant today than the day it was published.