Stephen Altschuler

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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.

 

 

 

Trump Needs to be Arrested and Charged with Treason, Sedition,and Inciting to Riot

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Trump, Guiliani, Flynn should be arrested immediately for inciting to riot. Rioters should be rounded up and jailed. Congresspeople who insist on questioning the outcome of the election should be censured and, if possible, kicked out of Congress. Hawley and Cruz should resign, now. Today was an insurrection, as Biden called it. Trump knew this would happen and did nothing to dissuade the rioters. He in fact encouraged them and incited them to violence, resulting in destroying part of our Congress building putting our legislators in fear and harm.

One protester was shot dead. And even more importantly, Capitol Police officer Brian Sicknick was murdered in the violent uprising.  In other authoritarian countries, perpetrators would be rounded up, jailed, and possibly executed. The difference here is the perpetrator is the President of the country. I’m convinced he knew this would happen and may have even been part of the planning. Trump should be arrested as he is a danger to the country. He is an insurrectionist, attempting to overthrow the election, our constitution, and our government.

What more does he have to do to warrant arresting this traitor? Our Congress has been invaded by thugs who were incited to riot by Trump. That is a crime, and no person, including the President, is above the law.

Whatever the outcome of his impeachment trial, Trump and others of his ilk who incited the riot should be charged with either accessory before the fact of murder or felony murder and tried, hopefully convicted, and sent to prison for a long, long time.

Donald Trump, here! Make your contributions directly to the Pres

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A Breakable correspondent, I.O. You, stumbled upon, guess who?, the Donald himself at the Ohio State Fair, at a booth entitled CONTRIBUTIONS WELCOME HERE.

“Hey Ja, make your contributions here, donations here, MAGA supporters, Proud Boys, QAnon, Anybody”, Trump was hollering at the top of his lungs.

IOY: President Donald, what up?

DJT: Our debt reduction fund is running low, You, so we figured a direct appeal was in order. Rallies just weren’t drawing like they used to. But this election is not over, not by a long shot. Excuse me.

Step right up, step right up, ladies and germs. THE President here to receieve your donations. We’ll take whatever you got: cash, check, bitcoins, or your first born. Whaddya got, ma’am?

Woman at booth: Oh, Mr President, this is such an honor. My husband’s got the Covid, my kid’s in jail for cocaine possession, and my daughter’s now making adult films, but here’s my life savings. Wish it could be more, but it’s all we got.

DJT: Excellent, excellent, loyal subject. BTW, what’s your daughter’s number? Just joking. You know, locker room stuff. Have a good day. Oh, what’s your bank account and password, by the way?

Now, You,any other questions. I’m a busy man, as you can see.

You: We’re nearly 280 thousand dead with Covid, Sir. What’s your current strategy in your final days in office?

DJT: Now wait just a goddamn moment, sheishead. What do you mean, final days in office. Don’t you listen to Guiliani, America’s Mayor? We’re turning this rigged election around. He tells me we found another ace witness who is a brother in law of an election official in Wisconsin who told a friend who then told Rudy’s cousin that several ballots were added to the final pile. We’re going to my Supreme Court with that obviously reliable evidence and should get a year 2000-type decision shortly. So don’t give me that final days in office bunk. I’m a winner by a lot.

You: Yes, sir. Sorry sir. I just heard…

DJT: You heard? You heard? You just heard the truth from me, period. Get it?

You: Got it.

DJT: Good.

And that, dear readers, is right from the horse’s mouth. A pooper scooper if we ever had one. The President of the United States at the Ohio State Fair pitching for contributions to his ongoing, and perhaps perpetual and chronic fund raising efforts to fuel his ever-demanding lavish lifestyle. Is there no end to his supporters never-ending love of this man? A story to be continued, we’re sure.

Another flash from Breakable’s wireless, and mostly useless, news service: Amazon is now officially and virtually the only viable remaining retail outlet available for purchases within the continental US of A. You can buy anything from a peppercorn–that’s one peppercorn–to a side of beef at the tap of a finger. And, as Jeff Bezos always says, if we don’t have it, you don’t need it. As we say here in the Breakable newsroom, Hail to Amazon! Long Live Amazon!

And finally, a Zoom tip o the day: No matter how messy or chaotic your place is during these pandemic doldrums, you can create an illusion of order and domestic bliss with a lovely backdrop from IKEA. Special this week: Buy a 9×12 scene of the Swiss Alps and get a street scene of the Champs d’elysee for free!

Carry on, dear readers. We know you’re burnt out and fatigued, but hang in there: Help and hope are on the way!

The Planned Donald J. Trump Presidential Lie-brary

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Planned exhibits for Trump’s Planned Presidential Lie-brary include:

  • The Fraud Room–includes photos, tapes, microfilm, old voting machines, emails, death certificates of voters, and videos of all frauds perpetrated during the Trump years, mostly proven by Trump’s own panel of raters. Featured Fraud is, of course, the 2020 election which he actually won “by a lot,” so said Trump himself.
  • The Lies Room–actually this comprises three huge rooms of some three million Trump lies, some never before revealed to the general public. Featured lie is coronavirus is like a little flu, will pass “like a miracle,” and can be treated by swallowing bleach. These are organic rooms in that archived lies are added as they come in which is daily, even minute by minute. So check these pages often. We scream worldwide at TrumpLieBrary.con.
  • The Golf Room–for the first time the Lie-brary reveals that Trump’s actual number of rounds were 3 times more than reported. Twelve actual scorecards are included in the featured display, seven of which show redacted numbers in Trump’s own blackout style. A secondary feature shows Trump’s actual handicap, also redacted.
  • The Executive Order Room–this room features 317 EOs with nothing written on them except Trump’s signature. These were apparently written for photo ops with Republican bobbleheads behind him nodding approval to show his base all the campaign promises he’s kept. The Lie-brary considered including these in the Con Room, but one of Trump’s sons objected.
  • The Con Room–this includes great and effective cons from Trump’s life before and during his reign–er, term of office. Top of the list is Trump’s Birther campaign against former President Obama, which after years of trumped up evidence trying to show Obama was not native born, he finally dropped the effort when he himself saw he was even conning himself while all the time convincing himself he was right all along. A Conning the Con Himself Room is tentatively planned by the Lie-brary. Other displays include The Pro-Life, Anti-Abortion Con, The Law and Order Con, and The I’m a Very Rich Man Con.
  • The Revisionist History Room–this is unlike any other presidential library room in history. Here, a wax figure of Trump is elegantly displayed next to a portrait of Lincoln, under the heading The Two Greatest Presidents in American History, with an appropriately revisionist note, “President Trump is actually THE greatest President as he did more for Blacks than even Lincoln.” There are also revisionist displays concerning Putin, Un, Netanyahu, and our troops. A Mount Rushmore Room is in the planning stages for when the National Park site can be modified.
  • Trump’s Health Room–fully 17 actual letters, dictated to Trump’s doctors by Trump himself and actually signed by said MDs. These have never before been revealed to the press or the public, and give the REAL picture of Trump’s health from his own mouth, mood, and mind. It’s also the inner Trump, for the letters include his mental health from his very own perspective. This room should be very popular, “probably more popular than any other room at any other Presidential Lie-brary,” Trump told Newsmax.
  • Fake News Room–there’s nothing in this room except blank walls at present. A proposal is afoot to rename it the He Who Smelt it Dealt It Room.
  • Rally Room–a huge, empty ballroom, with moveable walls, designed to crush, or put the fear of Trump, on friends and foe alike.
  • The Trump Family History Room–here are some of the littlest known con men and women in history. Actual DNA of some of these characters is displayed in attractive bell jars, as well as mug shots and prison numbers of many. Bring a lunch when visiting this room: You’ll be there awhile.
  • There are several basement rooms in the planning stages that will feature dimmed or no lighting, echoing acoustics, a hall of mirrors to distort any sense of reality a visitor may have had upon entering the Lie-brary, and a room completely wallpapered with Trump tweets “throughout the year,” also designed to disorient visitors (or mesmerize his cult followers) upon entry.
  • The Lawsuit Room–this will take you step by agonizing step through each of the 10,000 lawsuits Trump has filed against others over the years. Although few have gone his way, Trump shows, in his own words, those were fraudulent and politically motivated and designed to demean his greatness. Evidence is not provided as the room ran out of space.
  • Gift Shop–these rooms take up fifteen of the sixteen floors of the entire Lie-brary, filled with Trump memorabilia, tchotchke, bobbleheads of him and all of his surviving enablers, and assorted tourist bling-bling, all with Trump’s official stamped signature.

Scheduled opening of the Trump Lie-brary: TBA, pending the outcome of the election.

Hours: TBA. Appointments necessary.

No masks or social distancing allowed.

Groups of any size permitted.

Phone number by special arrangement. Delays up to five hours.

The RNC and Donald Trump approve this message, which is the underlying lie that underlies this lie-filled post.

 

New Hot Flashes from Breakable News (that could be taken the wrong way, I suppose…)

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Latest News Flashes from Breakable News, the media group Trump considered retreating to after Fox betrayed him, but didn’t when he scratched the surface of Breakable’s true intent.

  • In a new EO, Trump erased the provision in the Constitution that authorizes a Federal Court System. “I appoint ’em, I figure I can fire ’em,” he told his wife, one of the last people on the planet who still support the president.
  • A new monolith was discovered in the middle of the Sahara Desert that strangely resembled Donald Trump. It was a man in a golf cart all made of stainless steel, except for an actual smart phone in the man’s hand set on Twitter. Alien visitors are suspected of planting the monument.
  • Attorney General William Barr, after announcing that his department was unable to find any fraud anywhere in the 2020 election, was spotted in a D.C. unemployment line waiting to apply for compensation that his former buddy Donald was loathe to sign off on. When asked for a comment, Barr muttered, “I don’t know how I’ll make it. All I got is 20 million in savings.”
  • And still a second monolith was found right in Senate chambers. The emotionless steel structure was that  of Sen. “Moscow” Mitch McConnell who, it turned out, was curiously playing himself, standing perfectly still with only his lips moving. The monolith is and will remain a mystery.
  • But these mysteries may well now be solved. Disavowed Trump advocate and lawyer Sidney Powell, fast fading from the daily news cycle, has been unmasked as an alien visitor from another planet outside our solar system. Her abandoned space ship was discovered in a landfill near Addis Ababa, and after DNA analysis by the Justice Department, it was determined that Powell is indeed the perpetrator of the various monoliths popping up around the globe. Her confiscated diary also points to alien Powell as the originator of QAnon. She was last seen dematerializing, without, we might add, proper humanoid makeup.
  • Even curiouser-er is the case of Sen. David Perdue of Georgia who is running for reelection in a runoff against Jon Ossoff in early January. Perdue bought the entire state of Georgia recently after what he called “a routine” stock trade. As the owner of the state, he has ordered Ossoff to cease and desist from any further campaigning.
  • To demonstrate his ability to run the country, Joe Biden got his pet German Shepard in a playful headlock, and in the ensuing ruckus, broke his foot. Consequently, Joe named the dog the next Secretary of Defense.
  • Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez–better known as O Say Can’t U C–took advantage of insider trading and bought up every Green New Deal on the market. As a result, she expects lots of leverage when the next Congress opens for business. She also looks maaavalous.
  • And finally, a new megastore is in the offing: Vaccine Depot. This is THE boutique one shop stop for all your vaccine needs, as President Trump put it. “It was my idea right from the start, even before the China virus attacked us with nuclear neglect. And no one thanked me for it, even though I alone, President Warped Speed, as a lot of people call me–including my wife–thought of it all by my swelf.”
  • Trump still claims he won the election and “is looking forward to the next four years” of his sanctified reign, all of which Breakable heard via a planted microphone in the Psych Ward at Walter Reed.

Well, I think that’s all the Hot Flashes we have for you today, and certainly all that you need to hear, dear readers (assuming there are any of you left).

And here’s your Surviving the Pandemic tip o the day: With all the shutdowns, quarantines, and shelterings in place, we know it can get lonely out there. We recommend volunteering where CDC guidelines allow. There are, for example, cats and dogs in shelters who need your love and attention. L’Chiam.

Do you realize that…

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  • A recent poll shows 77% of those who voted for Trump, believe the election was stolen via fraudulent means. Something similar happened in Germany after WWI. Conservatives were spreading lies that Germany did not lose the war which many believed. Hitler seized upon these lies, enflaming Nationalist fervor, threatening scapegoats like Social Democrats and Jews, and eventually taking power in 1933. Trump’s lies are currently undermining democracy in similar ways.
  • If Trump goes to Georgia to campaign for Republicans in the Senate runoff elections, and he continues to rant about fraudulent and rigged elections in that state, Republicans will be less likely to come out to vote or mail in a ballot thus swinging the election to two underdog Democrats and thereby flipping the Senate Blue. Once again, Trump’s rhetoric and actions may backfire.
  • Many of the people who voted against Trump either then voted for Republicans down ballot or didn’t vote for anyone except Joe Biden. These were probably Republicans who truly opposed Donald Trump and split their votes to stay loyal to Republicans down ballot. Given his clinical narcissism, I don’t think Trump wants to acknowledge that.
  • It is unlikely Donald Trump will run again in 2024, although he has given indication that he might just do that. This self described “winner” will not wish to risk losing again. Also, he will be 78 years old, and will not have the advantage of running against someone as hated as he was. The RNC and most Republicans beyond his cult followers will want nothing to do with Trump, given his impulsive, Twitter approach to governance. And too, he may be in jail by then, or deceased. They finally jailed Al Capone on tax evasion. Trump may suffer the same fate.
  • Contrary to Trump’s false allegations, Joe Biden won this election by a larger margin than most presidential candidates in history.
  • Donald Trump is currently trying to sabotage Joe Biden’s transition to power and make it difficult for him to set the country on a course to recovery and health. Consequently thousands more could die or be thrown into despair and poverty. That sounds like treason in my book.
  • It is likely that Trump knew about and allowed this assassination in Iran to happen to put Biden in a tough position to negotiate with the Iranians after he takes office. In this light, this assassination is criminal, reckless, irresponsible, immoral, and typical of Trump’s style of revenge at the expense of others.
  • As a result of the recount in Wisconsin, President-elect Biden’s lead over President Trump grew by 87 votes. Under state law, Trump was required to foot the bill for the partial recount — meaning his campaign paid $3 million only to see Biden’s lead expand.
  • Trump is a compulsive lier as the courts have recently verified. Here’s a piece from HuffPost, reporting from Fox News (right, that Fox News!) a report that exposes Trump’s desperate moves to delegitimize Biden’s election victory. “FOX HOST PULLS APART PRESIDENT’S LIES Fox News host Eric Shawn on Sunday debunked election disinformation that President Donald Trump disgorged hours earlier on the same network in his first live interview since the election. Shawn pointed out that Trump’s campaign has failed to prove any of his accusations in court, and invited Axios political reporter Hans Nichols to help dismantle many of Trump’s bogus claims, including that ballots counted after the initial tallies on election night were somehow fraudulent.”
  • Trump’s campaign is in debt, and to pay that debt down, he has deceived his supporters into thinking their current donations are being used to reverse the election results. They are not. Donations to the RNC are being used to pay down RNC and possibly Trump’s personal debt. During a time of pandemic hardship when every dollar of one’s family is critical to that family’s budget, Trump, the loser of the election, is scamming his supporters for more money to pay his debts.
  • As we approach 280,000 Covid-19 deaths, Trump was out playing a full round of golf on Thanksgiving Day. Fore right!

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Lame Duck?

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I am loathe to use the term Lame Duck when referring to Donald Trump. The lame ducks I’ve come across in my experience as an animal lover and protector have been gracious beings, humble, and thankful for my attention and care. I once helped raise a passel of orphan ducklings, allowing them full sun and ample space on our front lawn in Berkeley in the early 80s. They were happy “lame ducks” who eventually were placed back into wild nature which they took like veterans. We had trained them to dive for food in our bathtub so they were well prepared for the pond we freed them in.

Trump is lame, all right, but has nowhere near the resilience or the look of gratitude of the disabled ducks I’ve encountered. He is conniving, boorish, self-absorbed, and unwilling to accept the reality of his present circumstance, something our little lame ducklings were quite adept at.

Not only is Trump unaccepting of his present status, he is arrogantly behaving like a vindictive tyrant who is unwilling to accept the will of the people. He seems to have little to no regard for the welfare of the country that elected him, and absolutely no compassion for the thousands who have Covid or who have already died from the pandemic. Instead he spends most of his time at one of his resorts playing golf.

Incidentally, as a golfer, I can tell you, golf is no consolation for a wounded ego, as Trump seems to suffer from. It is a game filled with far more misery than celebration, especially for an amateur like him. Of course, as has been noted, he is a chronic cheat, which ultimately wears at the soul of a golfer playing a sport which prides itself on the player being totally and unequivocally honest with himself.

So the Lame Duck designation? No, I wouldn’t want to insult the lame ducks out there. Jane Goodall recently said as much when asked if Trump was acting like the chimpanzees she so skillfully studied in the wild. “I wouldn’t want to insult the chimps,” she replied with, I suspect, a wry smile.

So without denigrating Trump too viciously, I’ll just call him the outgoing Trump, and hope, perhaps hope beyond hope, that he will refrain from his continual denial of the reality of his defeat and his efforts to sabotage President Biden’s initial forays into cleaning up the inordinate messes Trump has created in his thankfully brief reign.

The Tyranny of Mitch McConnell…and how to stop him

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Mitch McConnell, Senate Majority Leader and senator from the great state of Kentucky is no different than many of the traitors America has had to contend with over the years. From Benedict Arnold to John Walker Jr., traitors wish to impede America from making progress in healing the world and its own wounds. McConnell showed his own traitorous teeth by opposing Barack Obama every inch of the way during his presidency, forcing Obama into issuing many Executive Orders to get anything done (with the exception of the Affordable Care Act, perhaps Obama’s greatest accomplishment, when the Senate was under Democratic control in the first two years of his term.) McConnell was quite transparent in admitting that his singular goal was to make Obama a one term president.

In an interview on the eve of the 2010 midterm elections, with the country still reeling from the Great Recession, here’s what he said about his priorities:

McConnell: We need to be honest with the public. This election is about them, not us. And we need to treat this election as the first step in retaking the government. We need to say to everyone on Election Day, “Those of you who helped make this a good day, you need to go out and help us finish the job.”
N.J.: What’s the job?
McConnell: The single most important thing we want to achieve is for President Obama to be a one-term president.
He failed in that goal, but he did prevent Obama from achieving many of the important goals in the Democrats’ platform, essentially paving the way for Trump’s stolen election in 2016. He and other Republicans criticized Obama for his Executive Orders but made not a peep when Trump did the same to push through his extreme and reactionary orders. He joined in lock step with Trump, essentially being a Senate Majority enabler, a bobblehead standing behind Trump at every signing of an Executive Order, like any underling behind his commanding officer.

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