Stephen Altschuler

thoughts on environment, politics, health, life issues

Republicans

Flim Flam Don and His Big Lies

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What strikes me most about Trump is what he doesn’t say. For example, and perhaps mostly glaringly, he hasn’t said a word encouraging people to take the Covid vaccine. If he cared about the welfare of the people of this country and the world, he would be out on the hustings, shouting from the rooftops, to take the jab. But no, not a word from him on this vital subject. Why? All I can figure is that he doesn’t want President Biden to benefit from the end of the pandemic, a pandemic that he, Trump, perpetuated and accelerated through his ineptitude and narcissism. Another reason is that he doesn’t want to antagonize his followers who are against vaccines–like QAnon wackos, Christian evangelicals, white supremacists, and slavery and Jim Crow apologists.

The sad truth is that Trump doesn’t care. About Americans, about democracy, about the economy (except his own business), about immigrant families, about crime on the streets and hyper-availability of guns, about equal justice for all, about Blacks or Browns or Yellows or Reds, about Jews, Catholics, Muslims, Atheists, about scientists, scholars, educators. Nor does he care about valid, democratically-run elections, like the one he lost so decisively in November 2020.

By hanging on to the Big Lie, like a monkey hangs on to the grub of food in the trap hunters have set for them, Trump reveals an addiction that is bringing him further down a rabbit hole of destruction, and dragging along with him all his Republican minions who are duped by his lies.

The answer for those of us who see through his lies, is not to keep harping on Trump. He, himself, is a lost cause, and unresponsive to any criticism, sanctions, censures, even lawsuits at this point. His cult followers will merely brush aside any of those attempts at vilification and label him a martyr. No, the answer lies in the election of 2022, perhaps one of the most critical elections in the history of our democratic republic.

2022. It’s just around the corner. And the outcome will test the influence, if any, that Trump has on our electorate. Will Trump-loyal Republicans regain control of the House and/or the Senate? Or will the Democrats further solidify their hold on these Houses of Congress and make Joe Manchin irrelevant? And what of voting? Will Republican efforts to suppress the vote prove successful? Or will voters find a way around these scurrilous laws to vote enmass? Or will Republican laws actually reverse the results of elections they deem not in their interests, namely those that put Democrats in power?

It will all be laid out before us quite graphically, in the results of the 2022 election. And it’s all up to you and I, the voters. For despite the new Republican voter suppression laws, where there’s a will to vote, there’s a way to vote. So no matter what the obstacles, I deeply hope you will vote. And if the GOP tries to reverse the outcome of the election, I hope the courts will respond as they did when Trump tried to reverse the vote of the 2020 election, and prevent Republican-controlled states from doing so.

Otherwise, if either fails, you can kiss our democracy and the country we love goodbye!

BEWARE!

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Based on a Breakable News galloping poll of wild horses in Arizona

BEWARE!

of couples where one or both call the other their best friend. Don’t be shocked if divorce soon follows. Those wild ponies:  always with the jokes!

of homes where cats hang out in the front window all day sleeping. There’s trouble inside. And the kitty is likely depressed and/or angry.

of neighbor dogs who run up to you jumping all over. They are not getting enough love in their home.

of neighbors, and their guests, who look like Proud Boys or Girls. They probably are.

of cars that come right up to your bumper at red lights. They probably have guns on board and are thinking of shooting you, especially if you also have bumper stickers such  say We support Organic Farmers or Bee Kind.

of cute little kids, often boys, whose father allows them to ride fast electric toy trucks in driveways or on pavements. The father is probably a Proud Boy.

of publishers who write offering to publish your book. They won’t say it right off, but it’ll cost you thousands and they are basically vanity presses. 

of people who, six months after the election, are still waving Trump flags. They are mostly likely clinically psychotic.

of big conventional chain food markets. Trumpsters often shop there, as do serial mass killers, and child kidnappers.

of clowns who walk about town in their costumes. Need I say more?

of used car salesmen. More than likely they are woefully behind in their rent, and, so, are likely to be mass serial killers.

of anyone who calls him or herself a Republican or a QAnon supporter, or, as is often the case, both. They likely have kidnapped children in their basement.

of about half the population of America (which half we don’t know). They think the pandemic is a hoax, refuse vaccination, think Trump won the election, and will not hesitate to cough on you as you pass them by, saying they were just joking. I would avoid such so-called people. They are likely serial mass murderers…and have kidnapped children in their basement.

Otherwise, no problem. Enjoy the day. Be happy. And on occasion, get in your car and SCREAM.

Oh, one more…

of authors who always seem to be promoting their last book. Like Into the Woods…and Beyond with a foreword by Thomas Moore.

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…

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

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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

As a Democrat…

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As a Democrat, I get a lot of emails asking for donations from a variety of organizations. These solicitations usually identify Donald Trump as the main focus of their intended attacks for the midterm elections in November, which is fine. I agree that Trump must be challenged and ultimately deposed and disempowered. But present Democrats seem to identify themselves in one of three philosophical camps: liberals, centrists, and progressives, with the latter so rabid in their beliefs that they often don’t even consider themselves Dems. In fact, I believe this helped elect Trump, as many of those progressives chose to either not vote for a Presidential candidate, vote for a third party, or write in Bernie Sanders. With Dems out-registering Republicans nationwide, and with Trump taking 30 states, there had to be some such dynamic contributing to the outcome. Most progressives were angry that Sanders was not nominated over Hillary Clinton, and so, in effect, sat out the election. This was a golden opportunity for Trump and the Russians to steal the 2016 election, and install a Republican congress as well.

Progressives don’t talk about this much. Instead, some boast how they’re not really Democrats any more, that they have, in effect, another party, a third party. In effect, that attitude will insure a Republican victories in many elections to come.

Exactly what defines a progressive is difficult to tell. But here are a few antecedents, as far as I can tell.

  • Single payer health insurance. This is health insurance run and financed solely by the federal government. Everyone is covered, and is modeled after European countries that have income tax rates of at least 60 percent. Progressives don’t talk much about how they would finance such a system, which, they know, would be the kiss of death after Republicans, and particularly Trump, would vilify it with accusations of socialism. The ACA is working but it does need revision and refining to keep costs down and stable. That will only happen if the Dems retake one or both of the Houses of Congress in November, 2018.
  • Sanctuary cities. Undocumented immigrants would be protected from arrest and prosecution. Legal marijuana laws on a state-by-state basis would be protected from federal Justice Department prosecution. Trump and Sessions have threatened to cut off federal funding to sanctuary cities.
  • Support for politicians like Bernie Sanders, Elizabeth Warren, and Kamala Harris for President, and Gavin Newsom for Governor of California.
  • Free college education, financed by…who knows what.
  • To protect Dreamers, Dems need to compromise. With most progressives it’s either their way or no way. They’re not much into bipartisanship. It’s a lost art in Congress, and certainly The Bully in Chief Trump wants nothing to do with it. Only unified Dems working with reasonable Repubs (are there any left?), getting 60 votes in the Senate can put enough pressure on Trump to make it happen. Longshot: I know.
  • Huffington Post blogger David Sirota defines the difference in terms of “core economic issues, “ he wrote in 2011. “It seems to me that traditional ‘liberals’ in our current parlance are those who focus on using taxpayer money to help better society. A ‘progressive’ are those who focus on using government power to make large institutions play by a set of rules.”
  • Sirota goes on to explain, “Most progressives are also liberals, and liberal goals in better funding America’s social safety net are noble and critical. It’s the other direction that’s the problem. Many of today’s liberals are not fully comfortable with progressivism as defined in these terms. Many of today’s Democratic politicians, for instance, are simply not comfortable taking a more confrontational posture towards large economic institutions (many of whom fund their campaigns) – institutions that regularly take a confrontational posture towards America’s middle-class.”

[Read more…] about As a Democrat…