Stephen Altschuler

thoughts on environment, politics, health, life issues

Joe Biden

The Truth

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I understand Trump’s new social media network will be called Truth. This guy’s operating manual is the novel 1984. If you haven’t read it, please do. This is our future if Trump takes over again. In the novel, the authoritarian government develops a new language called Newspeak where everything gets twisted and skewed according the government’s interpretation of what is true. And if you don’t speak it, you’re labeled a subsersive and taken in, without due process, for violation of the norm. People are routinely spied upon by their neighbors and cameras are everywhere to monitor people’s movements and intentions. Privacy is gone. Conformity is the rule and the ruler. You must be careful what you do or say every waking minute. And fealty to the leader is essential. Totally essential.

Sound familiar? It’s Trump’s modus operandi. “Fuck him!” Trump said to former Israeli Prime Minister Bibi Netanyahu for committing the cardinal sin of congratulating Joe Biden just a day after his victory. Disloyalty is the worst crime anyone can commit according to Trump. He acts like a cult leader. He acts like a mafia boss. He acts like a totalitarian dictator. And he could very well be reelected President of the United States again in 2024.

If this happens, contrary to making America great again, he will send this country down a rabbit hole of chaos, disharmony, despair, and violent white supremacists. He will send this planet down a final road to perdition, deriding climate change as fake news. Through his Supreme Court, he will elide our Constitution into a mockery, and throw our Bill of Rights into the rubbish with it. America, as we have known it, will go the way of the Holy Roman Empire, gutted from inside out even more than outside in.

How to stop him? Ironically, watch Liz Cheney, an arch-conservative, and daughter of once equally conservative de facto President Dick Cheney. She’s a U.S. Representative who votes against Biden and formerly for Trump policies every step of the way, who I submit should supplant Elon Musk as Time’s Person of the Year. Liz Cheney may be a Republican ultra-conservative but she knows how to speak truth to abusive power. She is the only Congressperson, Republican or Democrat, who has the courage to stand up to Donald Trump and say it like it is, as we used to put it.

“For multiple hours,” she said publicly, “President Trump chose not to take the specific and immediate action many urged – as the violent mob besieged & invaded the Capitol, attacked & injured scores of Capitol Police, & obstructed Congress’s count of electoral votes,” she reiterated. “This was a supreme dereliction of the President’s duty.” And later, under her co-leadership of the House Committee to Investigate the Jan.6 insurrection, she continued her powerful scrutiny of the ex-President, asking a question no other congressperson, to my knowledge, has dared to ask: “Did Donald Trump, through action or inaction, corruptly seek to obstruct or impede Congress’s proceedings?”

Such a charge, if proven, could land Trump in jail for many years and, importantly, prevent him from ever again holding public office of any kind in the United States.

Republican Liz Cheney leads the assault on Trump, but it will take the Department of Justice under the leadership of Attorney General Merrick Garland, to arrest, charge, try, and convict him. I immediately jumped to the conclusion that he must do this now, but my dear astute wife intervened, reminding me that, more than likely, AG Garland is waiting for the House Committee to finish amassing all its evidence so he can then use that evidence in an open-and-shut court case against Trump. I hope she’s right.

For if the case against Trump is swept under the rug, or unreasonably delayed, by the DOJ, our country is in dire trouble. We’re facing a political monster who will not cease his destructive ways if not stopped by definitive legal action.

And that’s… The Truth.

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DINO Joe Manchin announced on Fox News (that’s right, Fox–so called–News) that he will not be voting for Biden’s signature Build Back Better bill that will cover social and domestic programs. I’m beginning to see that when the Senate became a 50-50 deal, Manchin saw that as a golden opportunity to become a power broker–a very rich power broker. I expect fossil “fool” magnates, as well as Trump Repubs, saw him as a viable cog in Biden’s agenda to set this country on the right track. Money began to pour into Manchin’s coffers from Republican sources as they increasingly saw him as an ally in their obstructionist schemes.

So between the fascist Trump and the DINO Manchin, we are in quite a pickle for I would also surmise that the voting rights bills are also off the table. Without Manchin’s support for modification, the filibuster continues to give the Republicans a powerful arrow in their quiver of treasonous hypocrisy.

The only solution I can see is a colossal Democratic victory in the 2022 midterm election in both the House and the Senate that would politically vaporize Trump, Manchin, and Sinema. How about it, y’all? Let’s shock, and essentially save, the world and get out there and make such a surprise landslide happen. Otherwise, it’s curtains, my friends.

Working

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It’s curious that there are so many people choosing not to look for work these days. I see many signs for help wanted throughout the community, practically begging for applicants.  I can certainly empathize with the non workers. In my career as a worker, I found, generally, businesses were intent on screwing workers…

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All Countries Reap What They Sow

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A farm reaps what it sows. So does a country.  So does Afghanistan. And so does the United States. The direction a country takes comes from past roots, and, as with a plant, if those roots have not been nourished and tended properly, a country can grow sick, weak, and often die. We’ve seen it happen with many countries and cultures throughout history. Greece, Rome, Nazi Germany, Czarist and Communist Russia, Vietnam, China, Fascist Spain, Italy, Portugal, and, Trump America.

The U.S. and its NATO allies have finally pulled out of Afghanistan. The Taliban have reconquered the country and are once again in charge. It is not the fault of any country except Afghanistan for that happening. President Obama poured 300,000 troops into that country in an attempt to bolster its military and its government in a monumental effort to strengthen and stabilize Afghanistan. Ultimately that effort failed, but Barack gets an A for trying. Even Trump gets a high mark for attempting to negotiate with the Taliban to bring some semblance of order to this chaotic country. And no one can blame Biden for wanting to exit this “forever war.” It was none of these presidents’ fault for the Taliban taking back control. The root causes lie in the history of this war-torn nation, which goes back to 1880 as a nation, but marks its origins to the Bronze Age some 5000 years ago. It was once known as central Asia’s roundabout, for its diverse trade routes leading in various directions. For that reason it was strategically important, and, so, fought over by many cultural groups for thousands of years. In the modern age, the Russians were the first foreign power to try and muscle its way into control of the many cultural groups that made up this country. They failed and were followed by the Brits who also failed, followed by the Americans in 2002, shortly after the 9/11 terrorist attacks in an attempt to root out Osama bin Laden and his al Queda terrorists who were responsible for 9/11. That invasion failed when bin Laden escaped, but for some reasons, the Americans stayed. But rather than concentrate on building a strong Afghanistan, President Bush took his eyes off the prize by shifting most of his efforts to his ill fated war on Iraq in 2003.

Are you still with me? It is complicated, isn’t it? But you can see how the radical-Islamic Taliban filled numerous vacuums over the years, and with financing from foreign interests like Iran were able to build a formidable military force and recruit thousands. And remember, the Taliban are Afghans, mostly from rural areas, and not some foreign power so they have much support within the country. Despite their brutal reputation for fundamentalist extremism, their consistent argument about driving foreigners out of their country is a powerful one.

Now, we and the rest of the “civilized” world look at that war weary country, lament its fate, and hold our collective heads in our collective hands, fearing the worst. The Taliban, with its harsh, medieval Sharia Law, has proven to be quite cruel after taking power in the past. But given its history, and the history of central Asia, that should be no surprise. What I can fault is the lack of planning for a calm transition/evacuation after allied troops were pulled out. Both Trump and Biden received poor advice and intelligence around the strength and intent of the Taliban once U.S. troops were removed. It took them all of nine days to conquer the entire country, throwing the populace into a panic. This showed a lack of competence and empathy on both presidents’ part–much expected of Trump but certainty not of Joe Biden. He should have known better and planned for a more orderly and timely evacuation.

Afghanistan now is sowing what it has reaped, and there isn’t much, other than weak words and ineffective economic sanctions the West can do about it. Its fate is in the hands of its people alone, as history has shown. And history has certainly shown how people can and do rise up and overthrow a government that is not acting in the country’s best interest.

Joe’s Got His Hands Full

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Between anti-vaxxers, Trump Republicans, white supremacist militias, his own Democrat Progressives, Russian election saboteurs, Iran, China, and a resurgent and very militant Taliban, President Biden’s got his hands full. I figured as much even well before the election. I mean, thank God it’s him and not Trump, but I’m starting to wonder if Joe is up to the task. I’m thinking a Truman-like Democratic President would be better; or even a Johnson clone. But that’s not to be. Joe’s a good guy. He’s smart. He’s capable. But can he effectively deal with evil, for it’s evil forces that are plotting his demise, and a possible return of a Trump or Trump facsimile to the fascist throne.  These are forces that will gladly sacrifice thousands of people to the coronavirus for the sake of regaining power. These are forces that will willingly impede the ability of huge numbers of people to vote…in a country most linked with democracy. These are forces that will use any means, any means, to accomplish their nefarious ends.

Biden wants bipartisanship, negotiation, and cooperation, expecting these forces to come around to his gentle beckon call. I suspect a harder-nosed approach is needed. Folksy speeches, soft, pleading tones, and veiled admonitions just won’t completely cut it in this cauldron pot atmosphere of take-no-prisoners.

On the other hand, he’s done a good job so far. He’s tread a left of center political path on a treacherous razor’s edge.  He is no Truman or Johnson, and that may be a good thing. He is Joe Biden, a guy who knows his way around Washington, and the world. So, yes, I’d suggest a bit more fire in his presentation, but just a little higher flame on the burner.

I am sad, sorry, and alarmed to say…

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I’m sad, sorry, and alarmed to say that we currently have a government based on mafiosa tactics and processes. Republicans in both Houses no longer vote their consciences, or even their common sense, but vote instead by intimidation and threats of violence against them. Any Republican legislator who even remotely appears to oppose Donald Trump, even after his presidency has ended, may well receive death threats via phone, email, social media, or even directly at their or their family’s home or place of business. “Godfather” Trump has never, nor does he presently, do anything to discourage such criminal threats.

The impeachment trial for Trump’s inciting the insurrection against the U.S. government is over before it starts. It seems most Senators have already decided on their vote, with the Republican count falling far short of the 17 needed to join all the Democrats to convict Trump.

Why is this so, given that we even have Trump’s offenses on video, making all who watched eyewitnesses to a crime? Certainly not because the Constitution forbids the impeachment of a Federal official after leaving office. There is a precedent for such an impeachment. No, it’s a political decision. Vote to impeach and a Republican risks the threat of a primary challenge; or worse, risks the [Read more…] about I am sad, sorry, and alarmed to say…

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 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

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?