Stephen Altschuler

thoughts on environment, politics, health, life issues

Human nature

Left wing anarchists?

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The protesters who took to the streets of Portland last night once again, have been termed left wing by the press. Yet they broke windows at the Democratic headquarters there, and expressed opposition to both the deposed Trump and our current President Biden. One man had a sign saying “We are not governable!”

I would suggest that these are not left wing, they are no-wing: neither left nor right. They are anarchists or people who ironically are closest to fascists. Historical fascists have smashed all institutions of government upon taking power, replacing them with totalitarian structures where it’s their way or the guillotine. They change the system of laws to suit their own chaotic ideals. They have no plan on how to manage a society, and are invested in no management at all. Democracy? That’s just another scheme of the elite ruling classes, these anarchists maintain. Tear down ICE. Tear down the police. Tear down the Presidency itself.

Last night, the police countered with tear gas to disperse the mob. That is a short term answer, but doesn’t solve the root problem. Surprisingly the answer is similar to that for white supremacist groups. Since these are not going away on their own, the FBI must infiltrate these groups and build files of names, numbers, contacts, and plans. Inside information is critical for understanding and ultimately deterring these men from committing violent acts. Peaceful protests are always fine in our country. But the kind of violence and lawlessness these groups can engage in must be quashed before they act.

We are a nation of laws. Throwing frozen water bottles, setting fires to buildings, breaking windows, harming or intimidating others [Read more…] about Left wing anarchists?

How we got into the bind we are in; and how to get out of it

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In order to determine how we got to where we are with our democratic republic, we need to acknowledge where we are and work our way back from there. Currently, we are in a tenuous and fragile spot, having just experienced, on 1/6/21, a barbarous insurrection against our Capitol and its elected representatives by pro-Trump thugs. It was, arguably, the most serious attack on our way of government in our history, and it has our foreign enemies licking their chops as to how they can take advantage of our cancer from within.

In a few days we will inaugurate our next president, Joe Biden, along with our next vice president, Kamala Harris. A large number of people who voted for Trump still believe the election was fraudulent and that he actually won. However, Biden’s win has been definitively proven in the courts and by election officials, many of whom were Republicans, and elsewhere by reputable media sources. Further violence against our government and the election results has been threatened.

So how did we get to such a dangerous crossroads in our nation’s history? My contention is that Donald Trump [Read more…] about How we got into the bind we are in; and how to get out of it

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

The First American coup d’etat Attempt

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I’m afraid, yes, it’s coming. America has never had a coup attempt. We’ve always had peaceful transfers of power after an election. The people’s vote was sacrosanct. Some who were voted out of power didn’t like it, but they accepted it. Now there is Trump, a kind of caustic rust who is continually wearing away our Democracy in the torrent of his lies. But Trump is a madman. That is obvious to many of us. To him, it’s all about himself. He cares little for anyone else. He would throw his wife under the bus if she uttered one word he deemed oppositional to him.

But the real impetus of a coup lies with the senators and representatives who want to reverse a legal, true, fair, and accurate election–one of the most observed and accurate in American history. They and possibly Pence think they can defy the Constitution and reverse the vote in battleground states that went for Trump. They think they have the power to do that despite the fact that just about all the courts, including the Supreme Court, ruled against Republican challenges to election results. So they are bypassing the judicial branch of our government to get their way. And they are opposing our Constitution that is the glue that holds the three branches of our government together. That is [Read more…] about The First American coup d’etat Attempt

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?