AMERICAN GROUND ZERO

Trump Keeps Wasting My Time

According to legend, Moses ascended and descended Mount Sinai seven times attempting to mediate, communicate and understand God’s will. During one of his mount sojourns, his temporarily leaderless followers fomented fear and melted all their gold jewelry and trinkets into a golden calf. Afraid that God had forsaken them, they wanted something they could see and touch to worship. They sent their prayers to this graven image rather than the real God.

When Moses finally returned, he was carrying two large stones with the Ten Commandments etched into them, the believers’ fundamental “truth.” The first two commandments clearly state, “You shall have no other gods before Me“ and “You shall not make idols.” Now, you might be wondering what this has to do with Donald John Trump.

Before we wander around for forty years, we need to understand who Trump is, and why his continued power over people is dangerous, damaging and demonic. Donald is the golden calf, a fake god, a craven image, a false idol whom millions of people, beyond all logic and reason, worship as their savior. His “success” flows from the fearful people who were made angry and afraid by feckless politicians seeking only power and money without regard for the common men and women.

I have two thoughts for you. First, the United States of America is never as bad as those seeking office would like us to believe. I have faith in our country, in fact, I love America and believe that as flawed as the Constitution might seem in the eyes of critics, crapshooters and con artists, it’s the best in the world. Next, Donald Trump is not the end all and be all. Remember, even the UK Queen passed away and they just slid another person into the chair.

Joe Biden is a lifelong politician and understands how the system works better than just about anyone else. Is he the best president? We’ll have to wait for the historians to write that up, but for now Biden’s keeping us from going back to Egypt to be enslaved. Remember that in 2024.

Like many of my fellow citizens, I am totally sick and tired of this Trump guy. After the smoke clears and the Department of Justice has laid all the evidence at his multiple doorsteps, it will be evident that Donald Trump is a corrupt liar with no redeemable intellect or ability to make things better.

What happened to the golden calf? Well, it wasn’t good. Moses burnt the idol in a fire, ground it to powder and then scattered the remnants over water which he forced the Israelites to drink. Surely, drinking water laced with gold was not healthy, but that was his just punishment for ignoring the truth.

In today’s world, we have Republican politicians in Congress playing the role of High Priests in the Temple telling us what to believe and who to follow. It’s as if they’re taking money for themselves and demanding we bring them animals to sacrifice. The true Judas of Democracy is Jim Jordan. His Judiciary Committee is being encouraged and manipulated by rich donors, the moneychangers outside the temple, with tentacles reaching even into the chamber of the Supreme Court.

It’s true that this is all political; everything is political. By their words and actions, fifty people in Washington, after swearing to protect and defend the Constitution, have revealed they are loyal to only one man, the obese, orange calf who will be brought before the judges.

I’d like to ask members of the 700 Club and the other evangelicals who defend Trump from their so-called holy pulpits, “What would Jesus do?” Would he keep the gold so his offspring would have some bounty after he is gone? No, that is not what God’s son would do. The reality is we have preachers, priests and pontificators defending lawlessness to create a Christian Nationalist State rather than a free and honest Republic. Be careful, folks. Their church will probably not look like the one you love.

I don’t feel sorry for Donald J. Trump. He claims to be a genius but constantly does stupid things. He can’t keep saying he is an innocent man, while lying, cheating, paying hush money to porn stars and completing all sorts of other illicit acts to keep his power and position intact.

America’s new, self-inflicted ground zero is filled with “Orange Trash.” If you want to follow the man down a black hole of mendacity and hate, go for it, but remember that will not help you on judgement day. TRUTH will judge you, not the lies of a fat and false prophet.

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THE COUP THAT COLLAPSED

Trump Stoked an Insurrection Based on Lies

Everything that Donald Trump has said and done shows he is one pure-ass fake. Some might call what I am about to state here treason, but I will speak my mind without fear of intimidation or party affiliation, unlike those spinless Republican Senators who will not convict the former President of crimes against America.

In a different time and age, Mr. Trump would have been brought into magistrate court, charged with treason and shot on the public green the next morning. I’m not saying we should do this today, but he should know that had he lived in France during the two decades after that country’s revolution, he would have been beheaded. Sedition, treason and insurrection were not crimes one could argue away in court.

Most of America has now seen the freshly released images of the Capitol Hill riot on January 6. If Donald Trump is not to blame, then who is responsible for those crazy people who stormed the Capitol? Is it Facebook, Twitter, Reddit, 4Chan, 8Chan or maybe Charlie Chan? Could it have started with Carlos Danger and Anthony Weiner’s dick pics, or has it simply “been brewing for some time now” as I hear endlessly from the puckered pieholes of pundits and prognosticators reading the grievance tea leaves in Russian restaurants? They are all full of shit, just like Trump and his ludicrous lawyers.

I say they are stupid. Why? Trump lawyer Bruce Castor actually offered these words in the halls of Congress during the impeachment trial, “We are so understanding of the concept that people’s minds can be overpowered with emotion, where logic does not immediately kick in, that we have recognized examples that otherwise would be hearsay and said that, no, when you’re driving down the street, and you look over at your wife, and you say, ‘Hey, you know what, that guy is about to drive through the red light and kill that person,’ your wife can testify to what you said, because, even though it’s technically hearsay, it’s an exception, because it’s the event living through the person.”

Okay, let me wipe some of this horse shit off my shoes before I launch into my own personal rant. What the fuck does any of that mean? I can only assume that he’s trying to plant a seed that the bad things you will hear about are being were told by people who don’t know what they are talking about, so just ignore them. YES, that must be it! Trump’s personal lawyers are saying that there is nothing to see here and we should ignore hearsay even when it comes out of the ex-president’s mouth.

If a person lies to their attorney, and their lawyer then presents that lie as a defense in a court of law, that doesn’t make it any less of a lie. His attorneys are going try to sell the Senators and the American public a premise that Trump was merely using his First Amendment rights while talking to a group of really good people and he bears no responsibility for what they later did on Capitol Hill. Okay, let’s examine that. There are only two conclusions one could draw from that scenario. One, Donald John Trump is such a bad communicator that no one understood what he was saying or, two, the group assembled that day was so stupid they misinterpreted him.

Trump’s more than 11,000-word speech, complete with audience reaction, is right here, Donald Trump JAN 6 2021 Speech should you wish to read it. Without a shadow of doubt, his words were an incitement to insurrection. His detailed, final pitch to sell the big lie about election fraud also featured a compendium of grievances of those who have so mistreated him. Poor baby. In his final act, the martyr stood before his adoring crowd saying it’s time to take back your country, be strong and fight like hell. And let’s not forget that there is nothing good about hell.

Trump used the words “fight” or “fighting” 27 times, but only used the word “peaceful” once. It came near the end of his 75-minute speech, “We have come to demand that Congress do the right thing and only count the electors who have been lawfully slated. I know that everyone here will soon be marching over to the Capitol building to peacefully and patriotically make your voices heard.” So, there is the “out” that his lawyers will argue for 16 hours at trial. Really? That’s it? The other 11,000 words don’t matter?

To delegitimize the rightfully elected 46^th President of the United States, Donald pulled this one out of his index box of hate and lies, “I just spoke to Mike [Pence]. I said, Mike, that doesn’t take courage. What takes courage is to do nothing. That takes courage, and then we’re stuck with a president who lost the election by a lot, and we have to live with that for four more years.” Yes, Mr. Trump, that is how elections work. You should remember; you won one.

Mike and Karen Pence Rushed Away from Danger

Trump’s berating of his Vice President and confrontation with his inability or desire to break the law could have cost Mike Pence his life, along with those of his daughter and wife. Not only did Trump stir up the mob’s viciousness, he also directed their ire to Mr. Pence. But it didn’t end with his spoken word, Trump made it worse by tweeting to the insurrectionists at 2:24 PM, “Mike Pence didn’t have the courage to do what should have been done to protect our Country and our Constitution.” So, the Donald turned up the heat on Pence as the mob was in the Capitol building screaming, “Hang Mike Pence.” Loyalty?

What if the pack had captured and murdered Mike Pence? Would the Republican Senators then be more likely to convict this loser of a president and disqualify him from ever holding Federal office again? That’s a tough question, but it gives me no certainty they would convict. Their vote is always for sale and Donald Trump bought it with lies, fear and intimidation. No man or woman should have that much power.

Donald Trump’s attempted coup failed, just like most of what he tried to do as president. Hundreds of thousands of people died from COVID because of his lack of comprehension, terrible messaging and misguided policies. And five people died because of the insurrection. He should be tried in criminal court, with testimonies of those who were in the room with him as he watched the riot on TV. How did he act then? What did he say? Donald John Trump intended to upturn the results of a valid election, and we must do everything we can to make sure such a thing never happens again. Ten years in jail for the perpetrator just might be a good deterrent for future presidents.

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MOVING FORWARD IS TOUGH

The Era of American Grievance and Lies

Imagine an 11^th grade high school class comprised of devout Evangelists, Islamists and Hasidic Jewish kids. Now, think of their teacher arranging a debate in which the students have to defend the firm religious beliefs of their debate opponents. Boy, I’d love to be a fly on the wall for that one! It would be quite a challenge for the kids.

We know that Congress is full of contrarians. One camp is filled with those who oppose or reject popular opinion while folks in the other have an unusually strong sense of self and are vocal about their differing opinions. Florida Representative Matt Gaetz fits into that category. Ohio’s Jim Jordan can be labeled as a defender by some, but to others he’s a vindictive source of torment. When the tactics of blocking, arguing and criticizing get in the way of discussion and compromise, nothing productive follows.

I have a theory about Donald Trump and those people who want to be like him. Every shove raises an opposite force of equal proportion. All too frequently, I find myself screaming at the TV “That’s not true!” when hearing something like “All democrats hate America!” The true meaning of one who says that is “I hate anyone who disagrees with me.” When COVID-19 hit, most Republicans simply blamed China and offered precious little in the way of solutions. It’s the typical tactic of a contrarian. Usually, a ton of ad hominem surfaces while arguing such a point and speakers attack the character of those opposing them instead of dealing with the facts.

I tend to merely wave my hand at the older bigots in Congress and dismiss their perverted views and attitudes as the result of just being there too long. Ted Cruz, who is a small-minded person parading as an intellectual, introduced TERM LIMITS, but made sure they would not affect those who, like himself, are “grandfathered” in Congress. It’s like the “reform” we sometimes hear from successful immigrants, “Hey, I’m in now so close the door and don’t admit any others like me.” By the way, Ted Cruz’ father came to America from Cuba.

The daily discord in Congress is disturbing in many ways. Their lofty talk about compromise and unity is meaningless; they don’t care about those ideals at all. They would rather win the argument, massage their base and ask for more money from their voters, concepts far removed from keeping America great, or at least safe. The best recent example is the way Republicans decried the terrible Capitol Hill riots but, once the smoke cleared, were incapable of punishing the members who supported Trump’s incitement. It’s like they weren’t there. These same folks feel that convicting Trump by an impeachment trial in the Senate would be outrageous.

Minority House Leader Kevin McCarthy cannot bring discipline to new House member Marjorie Taylor Greene for her anti-Semitic, racist, xenophobic, and hurtful rhetoric. Even though McCarthy personally condemns such words and thoughts, Trump is still the puppet master of his political actions. McCarthy believes he can dodge the pressure by letting the Democrats vote Greene off committees. Wait and see how that won’t work. McCarthy will ultimately become the target of the malcontents, malicious traitors and cancerous contrarians of Congress.

Politicians have learned how to lie and take dark money to get elected. They have a naïve notion they don’t have to give the devil his due after he’s delivered the dinero. Such fools! Taking the money destines one to eventual ball playing on a burning field in hell.

We have always elected a certain number of whacked lunatics to Congress. We’ve had KKK grand wizards and outwardly racists fools like Steve King of Iowa. He was voted out after his neighbors learned his ways. I must believe that Marjorie Taylor Greene and Lauren Boebert have embarrassed their constituents and will be replaced in 2022, but right now they need to be controlled. I just read a story about Ms. Boebert claiming 38,000 miles on her House expense report. Wow, stealing gas from the government; shouldn’t she be fired right now?

It’s easy to see that we are living in weird times. The fact that I was backing Liz Cheney 100% on her fight to keep power in the House of Representatives is proof. Now before you possibly start thinking things couldn’t be stranger, consider last night’s story from Reuters, “Newly unsealed court documents and other records show that Merck & Co and U.S. regulators knew about reports of suicidal behavior in men taking the company’s anti-baldness treatment Propecia when they decided not to warn consumers of those potential risks in a 2011 update of the popular drug’s label.” Donald Trump uses this treatment every day. Could the 45^th President be suffering from a drug induced depression that has turned him into a monster? Hey, I am just reporting the news here. Yes, it comes with a large dose of opinions and fearful conjectures but at least you don’t have to pay for it.

As I have said before, getting rid of one goofball just causes another to pop up. You can play whack-a-mole all day but, like a rat’s tooth, break one off and another will grow in its place. These politicians raise money on being “persecuted” and maligned by the other side, but like any good martyr they desperately seek love. I guess the love that Matt Gaetz never got from his own father, was replaced by the “love” Donald Trump fed him. He’s so beholden to Trump that he wanted to resign from the House to become Trump’s lawyer during his Senate impeachment trial. Matt took an oath to protect the Constitutions of Florida and the US but has done much harm to both. This attorney is now risking his membership in the Bar Association. Disbarment would end his career as a lawyer, but not as a liar.

It’s going to take years for us confused voters to uncover the real criminals here. I do have some hope, given that hardly anyone in my generation has anything kind to say about Richard Nixon. The sycophants and losers hanging onto Donald John Trump’s shirttail should wake up and smell the covfefe. They are so stupid that they don’t even realize they are complicit in crimes against America. Like I said, it’s going to take a long time and moving forward in conflict is never an easy process.

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LOONY LIES & CANCER

Mitch McConnell’s Last Term

American politics and governance provide only a few examples of true leadership. The process is based more on gamesmanship and less on leadership. Our former president was far from a leader; he was a psycho complainer.

Today the new Trump lawyers threw their first pitch and revealed what they hope to pull off during the former president’s second impeachment trial. They will claim that Donald John Trump never urged his followers into insurrection and has always promoted peaceful assembly and protest. They will assert that Trump bears no responsibility for the Capitol Hill riot and, above all else, they will argue that an impeachment trial for a president who has left office is unconstitutional. Isn’t that like saying the man who embezzled money from the company the day before he was fired has neither guilt nor a legal obligation to pay back the money? What country is this?

If Trump did not commit the crime of inciting an insurrection, why do those who carried out the treasonous and seditious acts say they were following his orders? I’m sure the trial will cover the content of Mr. Trump’s speech right before the mob marched to the Capitol and killed people, but Trump’s hired hands will say his words couldn’t possibly incite a normal person. What a convoluted court drama! The accused blame the leader while the leader faults the accused. Who can we believe, or should we simply let all of them go Scott-free? But let me move on to today’s main story.

Senator Minority Leader Mitch McConnell made a dramatic and surprising statement yesterday about some of the lunatics in the House of Representatives. Although he didn’t speak her name, McConnell denounced newly elected Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene on Monday, calling the far-right Georgia Republican’s embrace of conspiracy theories and “loony lies” a “cancer for the Republican Party.” According to the Associated Press he further said, “Somebody who’s suggested that perhaps no airplane hit the Pentagon on 9/11, that horrifying school shootings were pre-staged, and that the Clintons crashed JFK Jr.’s airplane is not living in reality. This has nothing to do with the challenges facing American families or the robust debates on substance that can strengthen our party.”

The former Senate leader’s pronouncement drew a line in the sand and boxed in his House of Representatives counterpart Kevin McCarthy, who should now act. Perhaps he will condemn those Republicans who endorse such bullshit and strip them of leadership roles, or maybe not. We have to wait and see.

The outrageous claims of Trump wannabe Marge from Georgia are the direct result of Republicans ignoring all the daft lies of the past four years. Maybe they’re all crazy, and I mean that in the mental illness kind of way. Greene garnered only 229,827 votes in a district with slightly under one million people, but she was elected and that gives her a megaphone. I believe she’s not highly intelligent. I know saying that is politically incorrect, but if she were the least bit aware, she would know all that QAnon stuff is fantasy. What any of that made-up shit has to do with America being great is lost on everyone except the other dumb people. Maybe her boredom with older anti-Semitic tropes is what led her to say that the California wildfires were ignited by Jewish controlled laser beams coming from secret space satellites.

Mitch is attacking Marjorie because he thinks her lunacy will cost Republicans future elections, including her own election in in Georgia two years from now. The Democrats can easily find someone with more creditability than Miss Georgia Greene. By the way, have you ever noticed that when a Senator or Representative announces they are retiring from Congress they begin to say what they should always have said? It’s ironic that they become truthful when no longer seeking reelection.

McConnell is 78 years of age and he was just reelected to a six-year term. He will be 84 when his term is up and it’s unlikely he will run again. So, this is probably the end for Mr. McConnell and all of a sudden, he’s telling us what he honestly believes and thinks. Using his great political skill, McConnell was able to manipulate Trump to cause himself the least amount of pain, but he surely doesn’t like what has happened to his party.

Mitch will forever be labeled a failure because he couldn’t stop the election fraud scam within his caucus and an insurrection occurred under his watch. For the next two years McConnell will have to work at cleaning up his party while the Dems trample over him. He’s now much less relevant, but at least, he’s finally speaking out.

The loony lies McConnell has called out could very well destroy the Republican Party and, if given enough oxygen, might ruin the House and the Senate as well. If we were to line up Josh Hawley, Ted Cruz, Rand Paul and Marjorie Taylor Greene to ask why they are being so stupid, they would endlessly tell you why they are right, and we are wrong. Their lies, conspiracies and misinformation make America look bad. Consider Rand Paul saying that masks do not protect against COVID-19. Yeah, he really said that. Think about Ted Cruz’ belief that a president cannot commit a crime. What about murder, Teddy? As for Josh Hawley, he just wants to be president one day. God help us all!

We need to keep our eyes on Mitch McConnell to see if stands his ground. If he recapitulates and walks it all back, we’ll know, he’s just another dirty, grifter politician. We have accepted mediocrity for so long it will be hard to know a real leader when one comes along. It’s as if we are as brain dead as Q himself. I assume he’s a man, but I know he’s a dick.

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ULTIMATE ABUSE OF POWER

Trump’s Pardon of Bannon & Others

Every morning, I read a passage of dialog from the Broadway musical A Thousand Clowns. “I gotta know what day it is. I gotta know what’s the name of the game and what the rules are without anyone else telling me. You gotta own your own days and name ’em, each one of ’em, every one of ’em, or else the years go right by and none of them belong to you.”

I know that if I break a rule, I will have my day in court, and if found guilty of a crime, I will certainly do the time. With that in mind, it’s numbing and discouraging to realize that a single person in America has the power to overrule a judge or jury. The power to pardon was awarded to the United State president by our founding fathers. It was intended as a means of intercession when corruption, partisan political rancor or other such nonsense put an innocent person in jail. Things changed when President Gerald Ford gave Richard Nixon a preemptive pardon, which set an absurd precedent that a person who hasn’t even been convicted can be pardoned.

Let’s examine the case of Steve Bannon, whom Donald Trump just pardoned. Bannon was an officer in the United States Navy for seven years, and after his military service he landed a plum job as an investment banker at Goldman Sachs. In 1993, he became acting director of the research project Biosphere 2, which was a total failure because its hubristic, pseudo-scientific experiments never accomplished their mission.

Then, Bannon became an executive producer in Hollywood and between 1991 and 2016 he produced 18 films. Because of his early investment in Castle Rock Entertainment, which produced the phenomenally successful TV show Seinfeld, Bannon will never need to work again.

In 2007, Steve Bannon co-founded Breitbart News, the far-right website he described as “the platform for the alt-right.” In 2016, Steve joined Donald Trump’s campaign as the Chief Strategist, and then after the election he was named Senior Counselor to the President. That position latest only eight months when Trump realized that Bannon was a destructive force and dismissed him.

After Bannon left the White House, he and Trump continued to talk, and it seemed there was unity between the philosophies of the two men. In many post-White House interviews, Bannon was extremely supportive of his Frankenstein monster.

So, why does Steve Bannon need a pardon? It begins with this lead story in the in the August 20, 2020 edition of the New York Times, “Stephen K. Bannon, President Trump’s former adviser and an architect of his 2016 general election campaign, was charged on Thursday with defrauding donors to a private fund-raising effort called ‘We Build the Wall,’ which was intended to bolster the president’s signature initiative along the Mexican border.”

Seven men In the Trump administration were charged and or convicted of felonies, including Paul Manafort, Michael T. Flynn, Michael D. Cohen and Steve Bannon. All of them except Michael Cohen were awarded pardons and will go free. Interestingly, Cohen turned on Trump publicly and reverse logic indicates if one says nice things or nothing about Trump, they’re awarded a get-out-of-jail card.

I get miffed and aggressive when I see someone get conned out of their hard-earned savings. I know people who have given their money to swindlers who claimed their investment would double or triple in months, but eventually learning they were the victims of a Ponzi scheme. Bannon attained large investments by using the President’s words that a wall was on the southern US border to protect against the murderous caravan that was coming to get us. Allegedly, Bannon and his co-conspirators skimmed millions off the top of those investments for themselves.

Why do I care that Steve Bannon was pardoned? It’s just my silly, middle-class mentality that people who hurt others should be punished. Even if they don’t go to jail, they should be made to pay back the money they stole and apologize to their victims. In the case of Bannon, none of that will happen now. I am even more frustrated because the broke-dick wall was erected too close to the river and parts of it washed out during a flood. Investment dollars were in the coffers and the wall failed to deliver on its promise of security. Bannon and his crew are just like those shyster aluminum siding sales guys who bilk families out of their savings.

I find the number of white-collar criminals on the Trump list of pardons interesting. It’s part of the Trump foundational philosophy that Mary L. Trump outlined so perfectly in her book about her uncle. Donald’s father Fred preached an anti-IRS, antigovernmental mantra that eventually led to his brainwashed son barking orders at his rabid followers to storm the Capitol Building.

Trump’s presidency enforced the heartfelt belief of many Americans that there are two rule books, one for the rich, entitled and connected and the other for everyone else. Here is something all those Trump-loyal Republicans need to realize; Today they must separate themselves from this man who just left the White House. They must disassociate the party from the man. As for Ted Cruz and Josh Hawley, they are not Trump and would be wise to stop acting like him.

And just before I posted this, Trump remembered that he forgot one more person to pardon. This tweet was posted, “New: Trump has pardoned Al Pirro, who was convicted of tax fraud. Pirro has previously worked with Trump on real estate deals and is the ex-husband of Fox host Jeanine Pirro.” She must have called him and screamed “bloody Mary” murder when she saw that her husband’s name wasn’t on the list.

We must address the pardon power of the president for the future. The chief executive should have to stay the crime, the date range of when it was committed and why they gave the person a pardon. A simple, “I like his wife!” would do.

The seriousness of America’s situation would not be resolved with jail time for Steve Bannon, but for many of us that would be a positive indicator that justice works in America. The stench of Trump will take time to dissipate, but in the meantime, we should focus on the future. Let’s try to heal the hurt of a corrupt and useless president and let only good thoughts in. Let’s stop building the wall and joyously celebrate the reality that America survived a total fucking idiot of a president.

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CONFEDERATE TROOPS OF TRUMP

He Tried to Pull Off a Coup and Failed

This NBC News weekend headline hit me hard, “Off the grid, heavily armed and radicalized: He’s a law enforcement nightmare – Lonnie Coffman, a Capitol protester from the backwoods of Alabama, represents the kind of threat that keeps crime fighters ‘up at night,’ a former FBI profiler said.” Oh, great, now we have rebels amongst us thanks to Donald Trump.

What does the word “confederate” mean? It’s a person one works with — an accomplice, accessory or collaborator — especially in a secret or illegal venture. The term took on special meaning by those who supported the Confederate States of America during the Civil War. Those traitors brought groups of people together in an alliance of common cause to overthrow the US government. They were not successful, but 620,000 Americans died because of their desire to keep slavery.

Only five people have died so far in Trump’s indoctrination, instigation and incitement of the Capitol Hill riot a week and a half ago, but things could very well get worse. What are we to do? How do we reverse the cause and course of the millions of people who believe that the presidential election was stolen, and the Biden presidency is illegitimate?

What can happen when a lunatic decides to fire on the National Guard? In May of 1970 at Kent State University, we saw the damage militia can bring to protesters, but how can we prevent such a confrontational scene from happening? There is no one who could inspire Trump to issue a statement admitting he lost, and Biden fairly won the election. The man always acts exactly opposite of what any reasonable person should. That’s just who he is.

We can’t let this fat, worthless piece of shit ruin our nation. If Abraham Lincoln had lived longer, some of the lessons learned in the Civil War wouldn’t have been ignored and we could have averted the notion of carpetbaggers and Jim Crow laws. It’s sad that Andrew Johnson, the man who took over for Lincoln, was just another southern racist.

It’s good that Twitter and Facebook stepped up and acted responsibly. They are finally applying their rules and policies consistently. The cable news networks, including some Fox News reports, have painted a more realistic portrait of the narcissist who has been living in the White House, but he certainly won’t be there to greet the new President. He’s a pure loser,

Did you see that former military man carrying wrist ties and stalking about the Capitol during the riot? Surely his nylon wraps were intended to restrain members of Congress, but he offered this lame excuse, “Oh, I just found them on the ground and was going to give them to the police.” Yes, I’m sure he was going to do just that. His lawyer will deliver carefully written excuses to the court and a judge will have to glean the man’s true intent, but anyone with half a brain can see that he’s a liar, just like his orange idol.

Let’s set aside the lies of that dipshit. We should concentrate on the Donald’s behavior and where he will direct it next. To what end does this madman think he can affect reality with his conspiracies? Donald Trump has no moral compass, and he did not learn any lessons with either of his impeachments, despite what Susan Collins of Maine thinks. The man is incapable of comprehending facts and consequences and therefore oblivious to the worthwhile lessons he might otherwise absorb.

Where do these militias set to harm our structures of government and the peace of the nation get their ideas? Well, Ronald Reagan taught that government interference is bad, and the two Bush presidents demonstrated that starting a war without a declaration was easy when citizens’ heads are filled with nationalistic fervor. After electing our first African American President, the “birthers” came along with their lies and the phrase “Take our country back.” The white supremacists then adopted the phrase, and their meaning was taking the country back from Black people. If you don’t believe me, ask them.

All the while we obsessed with those weapons of mass destruction over there we were deregulating ownership of similar weapons over here. Ask the parents of the kids killed at school in Newtown, Connecticut. Here’s a thought-provoking headline from USA Today, “America’s other epidemic killed 41,000 people this year.” Yes, this year alone firearms killed nine times more Americans that those killed in the Afghanistan and Iraq Wars combined.

The incompetence of the Trump administration’s handling of COVID-19 contributed to over 400,000 deaths in this country, more than any other in the world. If you told me that Vladimir Putin was in total control of Trump and guiding him toward a grand sabotage of our country, I would absolutely believe you. Here’s Putin’s checklist: sew distrust of our institutions, create a vast cultural divide among our citizens, push the state into political disarray, decrease the effectiveness of our educational institutions and foment Civil War. Does any of that sound familiar?

The United States is vastly different than Turkey, with a tyrant who wants to be a sultan. When the attempted coup of January 6^th failed here, our wannabe dictator was not strengthened but severely wounded instead. With more than 67% of our citizens saying they disapprove of the job Donald Trump has done, it’s clear that he is both a LOSER and a FAILURE!

Trump is utterly incapable of crafting a useful strategy. Those “loyal” judges he appointed are strict Constitutionalists. They don’t have the back of our raving, lunatic President. Why does Trump think that everyone owes him something? Well, it’s not surprising; he’s been taught that since he was a child. Read Mary L. Trump’s book.

Donald Trump owes us an apology for fucking up America, but don’t hold your breath waiting for it. I need readers. The FBI and local police forces will have their hands full with those proud boys, neo-Nazis, white supremacists and antigovernmental militias who attacked Congress. Expect to see many infiltrations, investigations, arrests, charges and trials over the coming months. These goofballs are not afraid to tell the truth about at least one subject, their allegiance. According to the Washington Post, the “retired firefighter from Pennsylvania who has been charged with throwing a fire extinguisher at police officers felt he was ‘instructed’ to go to the Capitol by the president.”

Oh, I hate to do this, but I must. There is this thing called the Nuremberg defense, sometimes referred to as “Due Obedience.” A defendant might say “I was just following orders” or, in German, “Befehl ist Befehl (“an order is an order”). A member of the military, law enforcement, a firefighting force, or the civilian population might invoke the defense under the belief they should not be considered guilty of committing any actions that were ordered by a superior officer or official. Here’s a bit of historical reality to demonstrate the defense isn’t always successful. 199 defendants were tried at Nuremberg for Nazi war crimes. Out of the 161 who were convicted, 37 were sentenced to death. So, those who gave criminal orders suffered the consequences. Let’s see how things play out for Donald John Trump.

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HOW DEEP IS THE THREAT?

Trump’s Inside Job Surfacing

How long will it take to heal the nation? Can we tamp the threats and fear that Donald Trump has brought to us? Many Trump loyalists in Congress, even after being attacked by insurrectionists, believe that nothing major happened and the President bears no responsibility for all of his lies and actions these past four years.

Are they trying to give Trump a pass for the damage he has done? Why are they resisting wearing masks in the Capital? Are they dashing around metal detectors to avoid being outed for caring firearms into Congress? Who are these people? We are no longer in the 18^th century when disputes were decided by duels.

An Axios/IPSOS poll showed that among those Republicans who consider themselves “traditional,” 42% would like to see Donald Trump as their candidate in 2024. Trump has been impeached twice, and faces a chance of being convicted of insurrection by the Senate after Joe Biden’s inauguration. Wake up people! We must convict Donald Trump to ban him from our political blood stream forever.

Unsettling facts are emerging indicating that the attack on the Capitol Building may have been planned and organized, which is the true definition of conspiracy. The Washington Post has reported a very disturbing inference that the violence might have been an “inside job.” The Philadelphia Inquirer took it to the next level, “Weeks before a mob of President Donald Trump’s supporters stormed the U.S. Capitol, right-wing activist Ali Alexander told his followers that he was planning something big for Jan. 6, 2021. Alexander, who organized the “Stop the Steal” movement, said he hatched the plan — coinciding with Congress’s vote to certify the electoral college votes — alongside three GOP lawmakers: Reps. Andy Biggs, Ariz., Mo Brooks, Ala., and Paul Gosar, Ariz., all hard-line Trump supporters.”

According to the reporting, their stated goal was to “change the hearts and the minds of Republicans who were in that body, hearing our loud roar from outside.” Did their rally get out of control, or did someone give them permission to attack? I genuinely believe the protest would have been contained, had not President Trump told them to march to the Capitol and be strong, words that rabid minds translated into “Attack!”

This is not a unique idea. In May of 1604, a handful of Catholic dissidents in England — Guy Fawkes, Robert Catesby, Tom Wintour, Jack Wright and Thomas Percy — met at the Duck and Drake inn in London. Catesby proposed a plan to blow up the Houses of Parliament with gunpowder. Afterwards, all five men purportedly swore an oath of secrecy upon a prayer book. The men were part of a movement that wanted to kidnap the king, kill him and replace him with another king who would be more open to Catholics. How did that turn out?

By the time of the conspiracy, Fawkes was calling himself Guido rather than Guy. He also used the alias John Johnson while serving as caretaker of a cellar that was located just below the House of Lords. The group’s plan was detonating large barrels of gunpowder under the House to blow it up. An anonymous letter that warned a Catholic sympathizer not to go to the State Opening of Parliament was the beginning of the end of the conspiracy. The letter’s recipient requested the authorities to investigate, and this led to discovery of the plot. To this day no one knows who wrote that letter. Here in 2021, we have sophisticated means of investigation and evidence gathering. Might this uncover a scheme of three Congressmen to overthrow the US government?

New Jersey Congresswoman Mikie Sherrill posted a Facebook video saying she witnessed members of Congress leading what she called “reconnaissance tours” of the Capitol the day before the deadly attack. Who are these Congress people? Do we have traitors in our midst? Can the bodies of our government ever be safe with members bringing guns into the building and not wearing masks during a pandemic? Full disclosure is needed and, might I add, a special prosecutor.

Ms. Sherrill’s story has been corroborated. Here’s a quote from the Washington Post, “[Florida Representative] Debbie Wasserman Schultz said in an interview that I do know that, yes, there were members that gave tours to individuals who participated in the riot.” Did these Congress people know about the plan?

Guy Fawkes is portrayed as a revolutionary hero today, largely due to the influence of the graphic 1980s novel “V for Vendetta” and the 2005 movie of the same name. They depicted protagonist Fawkes wearing a white face mask. Here in the United States we don’t depict John Wilkes Booth as a hero because he was an insurrectionist and assassin.

Treason, sedition and insurrection are taken seriously in our country. When found guilty, we typically execute operatives of such acts, but we are getting ahead of ourselves. Any elected official who was involved in any way with the insurrection must be removed from Congress. Those people who encouraged and supported Donald Trump’s lies and fraud should at least be censured. All those who participated in the attempted coup should incur maximum penalties. We need to clean up this mess, then work on a national plan of intervention and prevention.

American law enforcement has been extraordinarily successful dealing with organized crime over the years. I’m not saying that they always got their man, but they weeded out the mob bosses and lunatics who thought it was okay to kill those they didn’t like. No matter how much money or power a person has, they are not above the law.

Imagine an individual who ran into a packed theater and yells, “Fire!” when there was no fire. People panicked and were killed trying to get out of the building. The argument that there wasn’t a fire is irrelevant; the legal argument will be based on the intent of the person causing the panic. Did they understand that their words would lead to such a tragedy? Did they yell the warning because they had some deep-seated grievance with those in attendance? Was the scream meant to strike fear or just a stunt? Maybe the yeller wanted to demonstrate their power over others. All such possibilities must be considered as we judge whether words and actions of the 45^th President of the United States caused death and destruction at the Capitol.

This may go beyond a federal insurrection. It could also be a deep state conspiracy inspired by President Trump, facilitated by some members of Congress and executed by a vicious mob of militant supporters who were brainwashed into action. Should a trial find that he was responsible, Donald John Trump must be held accountable with a conviction and punishment.

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THE PURGE IS COMING

The Rot Trump Has Wrought

Why are things so bad? Well, anyone with half a brain will tell you that Donald Trump is the reason. I watched with intense interest as various Republicans spoke at Trump’s second impeachment hearing. Each of them admitted that what happened at the Capitol was bad and shouldn’t have happened. Some maintained that Trump should be held accountable for his language, but impeaching him would divide the nation. Oh, really?

Let me see if I understand. Someone inciting a riot and causing insurrection against the Congress of the United States, which also caused death, is a minor crime? What is this accountability you speak of my fellow Americans? Did you take the time to read the Constitution? Impeachment is the only way to hold a president accountable for high crimes and misdemeanors. You represent your voters, not some party boss or a broke-dick president.

I once had an exceptionally good lawyer counsel me about language I placed in an employment agreement. It would have given me the power to extract a pound of flesh had my worker violated certain rules. He asked me, “Would you want that rule used against yourself in the future?” The light bulb above my head flickered to life, “Gee, I never thought about it that way.” If Congressional members made a law that every president and vice president must disclose their tax returns 90 days before an election, it could affect them one day. That’s why we don’t have it. The members often serve themselves more than their constituents.

If reasonable people, even those with deep conservative pedigrees like Wyoming’s Liz Cheney and Kentucky’s Mitch McConnell, believe that Trump betrayed the oath of his office by urging a mob to march to the Capitol and wreak havoc, then what is driving the other Republicans to stand with Trump?

The purge is coming, because when something bad happens in America we all get sober and react quickly. Look at what happened after 9-11. Laws were passed, rewritten or ignored to get the bad guys. While that was successful, what was the cost? According to a Congressional Budget Office (CBO) report published in October 2007, the US wars in Iraq and Afghanistan cost taxpayers more than $2.4 trillion. Some experts believe that more than 507,000 people were killed in the wars in Iraq, Afghanistan, and Pakistan. Let’s never forget that the umbrella name of that operation was Operation Enduring Freedom, and it was a total failure.

Operation Accountability isn’t going too well either. When discussion turns to the insurrection, Republicans quickly jump to the Black Lives Matter movement with its public protests and police brutality. Okay, the looters and shooters in those incidents are just as guilty as the marauders who invaded Washington, D.C. last week, but why compare two tragic events that are vastly different? False equivalencies are a preposterous way to debate any subject. Yeah, it’s terrible that the Romans killed Jesus Christ, but think about what his followers did to the rule of law. Donald Trump presents a “clear and present danger” to the Republic.

Had the January 6^th attack been led by a foreign entity, Congress would have voted that very day to begin moving toward a solution. So, what resolution do we have for last week’s travesty? We’ve made a good start by finding and arresting the insurrectionists. Now, if only we knew where the leader of this STOP THE STEAL movement was hiding out we could prevent these radical, right-wing lunatics from doing more harm. There are those who say that impeaching, removing and arresting Donald Trump would make things worse. Great, let’s make it worse! Let’s flush the cockroaches and rats from the woodwork so we can see their faces.

Think of it this way. Remember back in school when a classmate acted out and the teacher asked who did it? All the other classmates became complicit by remaining silent. Then the teacher imposed a draconian punishment on the entire class, hoping the guilty kid would admit to being guilty. The purge is now underway in America, but too many self-serving assholes won’t stand up against Trump.

How might the purge unfold over time? First, more effective gun control laws will be enacted. Next, our own government will use the NSA to spy on all of us and use the Patriot Act to take away a little more of our freedom and due process. Every American should be mightily pissed off at these insurrectionists and work to cure the disease, not the symptom. Those Senators and Representatives who backed the ridiculous STOP THE STEAL campaign should be impeached. Now. They are modern day counterparts of Benedict Arnold and Aaron Burr and must be held accountable for their fraud and its result.

Ohio’s Representative Jim Jordan stood in the Capital and bragged about how great Donald Trump has been for America. He failed to mention the 382,000 people who died from COVID because of the failed policies and actions of the 45^th President. He failed to mention the unrest in this country during the last eleven months that was mostly ignored by Trump. He is but one of the pitchmen for an immoral criminal who lied his way to the top of the Grand Old Party. A list of those elected officials who have been complicit apologists and deniers will be published.

This rotten fat man must be removed from office. Those who decide to “let it be” in a futile attempt to “heal the nation” will not please moderate Republicans and will certainly push the other side further away. Justice isn’t served by promoting a lie, seating a commission, or saying it’s too late to do something about what happened. Americans need action to see resolution, understand the facts and feel safe. Our immediate needs are total transparency and a purge of those who have pushed frauds, forgeries and fabrications. If our government is to move forward with a respect of freedom, we must hold this President accountable for his actions. Failing that, what will happen next time?

My heart is true. Donald John Trump should be charged, arrested, tried and convicted, earning the punishment the letter of the law stipulates: “Whoever incites, sets on foot, assists, or engages in any rebellion or insurrection against the authority of the United States or the laws thereof, or gives aid or comfort thereto, shall be fined under this title or imprisoned not more than ten years, or both; and shall be incapable of holding any office.” Trump has been impeached for a second time. Hold the trial… now!

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FIRST AMENDMENT TRASH TALKING

Trump Propaganda Machine Diversion

Today we see all the hypocritical politicians complaining about how Facebook, Twitter, Google, Amazon and Apple have slammed the door on those who flame insurrection, post false claims and threaten violence. Their true fear is that the tech CEOs and presidents of social media have more power than they do. Previously, Congress complained that the social media platforms allowed Russians to corrupt our elections with propaganda. Now they are whining about these same platforms taking steps to protect America from domestic terrorist flamers, including soon-to-be-ex-President and certified loser Donald John Trump.

When Twitter threw me off their platform for life, I signed up on Parler, and can now confirm that it’s GONE. Their founder says the shuttering of the service will put them out of business. It’s not hard to get an ISP to serve a website or service. All you must do is pay them. The truth is these billionaire public bulletin board runners are worried about one major thing, liability. If someone were to sue them as a victim of violence or harassment, it could open the whole can of worms surrounding their current protections embodied in what’s known as Section 230. Let’s take a look.

United States Code Section 230 states that providers or users of “interactive computer services,” which include internet service providers as well as platforms such as Twitter, Facebook, and Craigslist, cannot be treated as publishers of — and thus held liable for — content produced by others.” It’s like your inability to sue a phone company for something said about you over their phone lines.

The end user license agreements of the social media platforms state they can prevent anyone who violates their policies from using their services. I was banned for life from Twitter for violating two policies, using multiple accounts to promote this very blog site and “interrupting conversations.” Some of my posts to top administration officials were not at all polite, but Twitter has no due process for appeal and they never respond to my letters to delve further into the matter. It’s just how they are.

The executives of these firms testified at public hearings on Capitol Hill, but the main result of those one-sided media circuses was a rise in their stock values. Many of the stodgy members of Congress have no clue how the basic internet works, let alone the operation of the complex and manipulative social media sites.

Section 230 has absolutely nothing to do with the First Amendment, and anyone going down that alley will soon hit a dead end. Section 230 exists to prevent frivolous lawsuits from gumming up the works of the courts. Without Section 230, there would be little incentive for social platforms to even exist. I am sure the CEO of Parler, John Matze, Jr., will be laying off his thirty employees today, but what about the other companies? Google has 100,000 employees, Facebook provides work for more than 45,000 people and Twitter has about 5,000 workers, so which service has the greatest impact on our economy?

Let me take a diversion here. One of the Parler investors is Rebekah Mercer, heiress, foundation director and major Republican political donor. She is the daughter of Robert Mercer, a hedge fund manager billionaire and oversees the day-to-day operations of philanthropic and political projects for the Mercer family. Rebekah has a master’s degree from Stanford and an internet cookie company named Ruby et Violette. Just placing the words “internet” and “cookie” in the same sentence is funny to me.

Mercer, along with her father, contributed $25 million to the 2016 presidential campaign of Donald Trump, and they have pumped millions into conservative campaigns through their many Political Action Committees. Mercer and her father were key financial benefactors for Breitbart News, and for a long while they thought Steve Bannon walked on water.

Parler was created to create chaos. Without critical review and management of posted material, a social media website can become a venue for insurrectionists and conspiracy theorists from ANYWHERE! This isn’t funny. My entries on this blog are reviewed before they are posted, not by the government but by a journalist and editor. We all need an angel on one shoulder to counteract that devil on the other. It’s too easy to type dangerous sentiments so a watchdog is needed.

I don’t like Mark Zuckerberg of Facebook and Jack Dorsey of Twitter because they don’t know what they are doing. Their platforms have become so big and vast with squillions of members, that no algorithm or mass of humans can adequately stop the spread of hate and misinformation. On the other hand, those platforms also transmit important safety information, disclose scams, assist with Amber Alerts, help fight crime and enable all of us to reconnect with people we’ve misplaced. There’s a huge upside along with the downside.

Zuckerberg and Dorsey certainly know how to make tons of money. I will leave out Google because they are less a social media platform and more a software development company. Sure, their search results can be manipulated, but spend a week on another search engine and you be will less than satisfied with the results. Has Google also caused harm? Sure, but we’re way too far up the river and without the time to head back to the mouth of the stream to fix things.

I am sure Parler will find some internet provider in Costa Rica or Isle of Man to help them return to the internet, perhaps then the matter of government intervention will become tricky. The US does not block any internet sites, but Trump was close to shutting down his dissenters on social media. Meanwhile, the platforms are just biding time until Joe Biden becomes president, holding onto the naïve belief that all their problems will then go away. They won’t.

Donald Trump doesn’t care about the First Amendment; he just wants an outlet for his pungent propaganda, baseless beliefs and crazy conspiracies. Trump is a drug addict, and he misses his fix of Twitter. He liked slinging his shit and watching the numbers tick up right in front of his eyeballs. Then, he switched on the TV to bask in the glory of everyone talking about him and what he just wrote. That is his high.

We need to have a debate about stabilizing the government and solidifying our security. We must refine the pardon process and power of the executive. It’s time to examine our laws and traditions to see how they stand up in our modern world. Most importantly, we need more accountability and background disclosures of our elected officials. Money is a primary driver, and we have a right to understand how it motivates each of those who serve us. Think about this. We know more about the finances of Rebekah Mercer than we do about those of Donald Trump. Transparency is the only way we can remain free. Hey, that’s good, I should post that on Twitter. Oh, sorry, I can’t.

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HE BROKE THE LAW

Trump’s Self-Pardon Parlay

Because he was not removed from office during his impeachment proceedings, Donald Trump has developed an inflated view about his power. This Includes a belief that he can grant himself a pardon. I’m sure he’ll try. It’s the kind of doubling down a drunk gambler does in desperation. The greed and excitement of going all in only looks smart when there’s a winning outcome. If Trump loses the battle of self-pardon in the Supreme Court, he will be the target of endless litigation and charges. This man’s mad acts have made America vindictive and about 60% of the folks in the country will want their pound of flesh.

By now, most Americans have heard the damaging excerpts from the conversation between President Donald Trump and Georgia’s Secretary of State, Brad Raffensperger. With all the hubbub surrounding the legitimacy of the 2020 election, more people than ever understand the responsibilities of our secretaries of state (SOS). It’s ironic that the SOS acronym also means Save Our Ship, the distress call of the high seas.

The work of our state secretaries is easily seen because it involves the public interest. Here is an example of the investigative results by Georgia’s SOS office. These people do good work, and they should be respected unless they are suppressing the vote, which sometimes happen when they navigate the rough waters between partisan desires and public duty. Some pilot that craft well, while others are just as bad as those who desire to control them.

My hats off to Raffensperger for his honor, honesty and valor during the horrendous misuse of power Donald Trump and his enablers wielded on that phone call. The obstruction of justice and attempted law breaking is embarrassing for America and a dark stain on Democracy itself. As we hear legal experts pontificate and explain whether this man in the White House broke the law, some answer by saying a president cannot be indicted while in office. Yes, I get that, but it doesn’t answer the question if Trump’s behavior was illegal. Had anyone else made a phone call like Trump’s they would have been charged. Ask Rod Blagojevich, who was convicted of attempting to sell a Senate seat and sent to prison. By the way, he owes his freedom to Donald Trump, the friend who pardoned him.

That brings us to whether Trump will pardon himself. Will he take the risk of executing a flawed and thin authority of self-pardon? Maybe he will pull a fast one by excluding himself from a bunch of new pardons, then resigning with a diabolical plot in place. After the Chief Justice swears in Mike Pence as the new president, Pence would then pardon Trump. Is such a plan viable? It would most certainly bring political destruction and death to Pence. Is such ass kissing worth it Mikey?

Trying to parlay power into his next life would be a giant risk for Donald Trump. He’s got little credibility with anyone except the tyrants and dictators who rule some other countries. Even Israel, who appears to kowtow to him, would reject any attempt on his part to move there. Their hardcore political partisans are worse than anything we have in the US. In the bitter end, when banks and lenders come knocking on Trump’s door to collect on their loans, he’s going to have to pay up. The regulatory agencies in many countries are wise to the con and will be opening major inquiries into their corporations. For example, we’ll probably see Germany launch a major investigation into Deutsche Bank. There is a reason for this kind of extreme caution and oversight, it’s called money laundering.

So, Trump faces a serious conundrum. If he resigns, he will seem weak and guilty to his loyal followers. If he stays in office until January 20^th, he could lose his chance of pardon. If he finds out that his “self-pardon” ruse didn’t work, he will have to continue his pattern of lies and lawsuits to avoid the inevitable, being charged and prosecuted. Donald believes he never does anything wrong and, in his tiny mind, can’t possibly think that his actions are above the law.

Trump’s weekend phone call was illuminating because it showed, once again, what Michael Cohen and James Comey have said about the Donald. Like a mafia boss, he never directly says what he’s asking. It’s coyly done with intimidation and a slight nudge and wink. He never said, “You need to say I got more votes.” His words were, “What I need…” leaving the listener to intuit his actual meaning. When Trump said that he “won the election,” Raffensperger swatted back with a polite, “Your numbers are not correct.” Someone with less balance and political savvy would have retorted to Trump’s allegation that their action is criminal by asking, “Are you threatening me?” To the credit of the Georgia officials, they didn’t escalate the matter in that way. Smart.

“It’s like Donald Corleone,” Howard Stern

When I was a young man in Pittsburgh, I had a friend who ran the jewelry store where number slips for the local boss were collected. One night, he, I and a group of others went to a restaurant in the East Liberty section of town called, Win, Place and Show. When our group of partiers wanted to get another round of drinks, the waiter replied, “Okay, is this one check?” Being the jerk in the group, I barked, “How about one more drink for the road?” The waiter then peered at my jeweler buddy and quietly said, “It’s time.” After we made our way to the parking lot, I saw five black limos with their motors running in the back. I asked my friend what this was all about, and he apologized saying he forgot it was the night for the weekly meeting of the mob families. I froze.

This encounter taught me two things. One, actions can be easily provoked and, two, even though a place serves great food one must never assume the establishment believes that the customer is always right. I survived my naivete to write this blog and eat Italian food.

Should the time come when Donald John Trump announces that he will pardon himself for acts during his presidency, we must all ask these questions. What are the next steps and who will launch the lawsuit to erase this pardon? Should Trump attempt to pardon himself for all things during his presidency, then someone needs to open that can of worms and address each of the slimy lies. After all is said and done, the Donald will slink away to Florida, watch TV and throw continuous tweet-shoes at the screen, becoming a caricature of himself. As he ages and his bloated face slowly melts into long wrinkles and sagging jowls, people will walk away from him. He’s certainly the worst president in my lifetime, and that’s a seventy-plus years run.

There are times lawyers criticize me for making a statement they consider to be my “opinion.” Well, there are three reasons beyond my opinions about why I believe Trump broke the law during his call to Georgia Secretary of State Brad Raffensperger. First, there is a law that says such behavior is illegal. Next, the officials in Georgia knew that Donald was attempting to intimidate them, so they recorded the call and then released it to the press. It doesn’t matter what Trump says about his intent. The people on the other end of the call believed he was asking them to commit fraud.

Finally, there’s this. Trump attempted that call 18 times, obsessing over his need to have that conversation. He had a plan to overturn the election and was antsy to press the deceit. It’s like a three-strikes and your out legal matter. Donald Trump is guilty of violating the fundamental tenets of the law: “…prohibits any person, in an election for federal office, from defrauding or attempting to defraud the residents of a state of a fair election through casting or tabulating ballots that the offender knows are materially false or fraudulent under state law.” This isn’t obstruction of justice, it’s a clear case of soliciting and encouraging fraud. Case closed.

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