Are the "End Times" just around the corner?

How did we get here, America?

How did we let a guy named Trump invite all of these crazies into our lives?  They have taken over our politics, our way of life, and our nightmares!  We have not been the same since Jan. 20, 2017.

The first time was when America fell and broke apart on April 12, 1861. We became two peoples, and one decided they would kill off the other and become a new nation.  They would rule the country from coast to coast and from border to border.  They would no longer be "we the people," but rather "we the slave owners."

This man named Trump came along and said America would no longer be "we the people," but rather "we the belligerent, the defiant, the new order, the devil's brigade...the crazies!"

When Trump left in 2020, the "new order" hung around. They are hunkered down in our U.S. House and Senate, they are in some of our State Capitols, they are our next door neighbors, and they are our nemeses! They are waiting to pounce on anything and anybody that smells like a democracy. They insist the "new order" will give each of us our total freedom to do as we chose and the hell with law and order. No longer will there be restrictions on anything - unless they deem it so.

This is the cult that has grabbed the reins of our government. They have managed to turn our democracy into a mockery. They represent 35% of our total population, but nearly 100% of our media's time and our awakening thoughts. They have tarnished our image and lessened our credibility around the world. Their continual fight to restore the former president's corrupt administration is wearing on America's nerves. In short, this den of iniquity has brought America to its knees!

Trump is the beginning, the totality, and hopefully the ending of our problems, should he chose to do so. At this point, his band of cult followers will only listen to him, and as "juiced up" as they are, the possibility of listening to him might have already slipped away.

Trump is never coming back. Everyone understands that, but his minions of mayhem have never left. They are locked and loaded and ready to ride again.

We have to end this horror show - and soon!

Bad Guys in the Big Sky. . .

Maybe you have read about the bad ol' days of 1863-1864 when Henry Plummer was elected Sheriff of Bannack, Montana. He was accused of being the leader of a "road agent" gang of outlaws!  Well, we have our modern day "Henry Plummer" - Attorney General Austin Knudsen - who is in lock step with Governor Gianforte and all of their rowdy friends in the State Legislature.

Think about this handling by Knudsen of a typical "gun-tottin' don't fence me in" Republican who is roaming the streets and shops of our nation.

Rodney Robert Smith was criminally charged with felony assault with a weapon and misdemeanor assault by the Lewis and Clark County Attorney's Office after allegedly showing a holstered firearm to a Helena restaurant employees who repeatedly asked him to wear a face mask - which was a statewide mask requirement at the time. He was charged with two misdemeanors for carrying a concealed weapon and doing so in a prohibited place, in this case one where alcoholic beverages are consumed.

"Those are the charges Knudsen's office directed the County Attorney's office to drop against Smith. Smith did not have a current concealed weapons permit at the time.  Smith also knocked over water glasses on the table and then shoved a restaurant employee. When other workers tried to restrain him, Smith was accused of hitting an employee in the genitals several times and then pinning that staff member to a wall.  Smith then exposed a handgun he had in a black holster on his waistband. He patted it with his hand and made a statement to (an employee) to the effect of "I'm going to get you," according to the affidavit."              Helena Independent Record 8/17/2021

The case was to go to trial the end of August, but Smith's attorney last Wednesday filed an unopposed motion to delay, citing the general counsel for the Attorney General's Office now representing the state and engaging in settlement discussions with Smith's lawyer.

AG Knudsen has removed the case from the Lewis and Clark County Attorney and is now handling it himself.

This is about as flagrant as it gets - even for the flagrance of this administration.

Consider Smith's attitude in the restaurant. He came in to bully anyone who would challenge him to put on a mask. He went to the extreme in criminal assault and actually threatening employees with a concealed weapon!

This is Gianforte's and Knudsen's style of justice in Montana. We saw the evil ooze out of their legislative cohorts - now we see it in the Executive Branch, as well.

Enjoy, Montana - these are your picks  for how we will evolve into states like Texas, Mississippi, or Florida. Yaaaa-Hoo, Y'all!

 

The Real GOP Problem. . .

The Grand Old Party has left the political world and is dealing in pure evil. They have tossed overboard any Party Platforms they might have had and are now shooting from the hip. If political normalcy was ever considered, it is but a distant memory.

Their complain of government being too big is no longer an issue.  The problem now is they are just flat-out against our government, regardless of the size! It appears the Republicans have decided our democracy is much too confining for their liking. The rules of law make it hard for them to maneuver, the Legislative Branch has too many people who prefer majority rules, the Judicial System won't always rule in favor of their side, and the Executive Branch is "the other guys."  

The new census report shows that by 2045 American whites will be in the minority. That's only 24 years from now and it is scaring the pants off the GOP who were once a nearly all "white men only" private membership club.  Added to this is the increasingly huge number of women in politics  and all other segments of our businesses. America will become a majority of people of color, blended color, sexual preference, and ethnicity. A true definition of what our nation has always been referred to: a "true melting pot."

This, in a nut shell, is what is pushing the Republicans over the edge. They are attacking everything and everybody who is not like them. They are fighting against our democracy because their frame of mind right now is more aligned with an authoritarian or autocracy form of government.

While many of them doubt it today, most of them know they cannot win this fight. America has been not only a democracy but one that has led the world in democratic freedoms and equality for all. We are a nation that will always be known as the "shinning city on the hill." 

The majority of Americans will always be opposed to 

what the Republicans are doing today.

 

The Evil They Do. . .

\\\\

 The Evil of Some Republican Elephants

"The evil that men do lives after them; the good is oft interred with their bones."

Evil! There is no other way to describe it. The workings of the Republican Party is definitely not about politics. Since the 2020 election, there isn't a political bone in their body. They are on a tirade of pure, unmitigated evil and a destruction of our democracy and some of our very lives. 

Governor Ron DeSantis of Florida says he will withhold school funding and officials' pay if they permit students to wear masks in school against his orders to ban mask mandates. EVIL!

Governor Greg Abbott of Texas says he will arrest any Democrat Legislator upon their return to Texas soil. The legislators left the Republican members without a quorum to proceed with a bill that would become the most outrageous voter suppression law in the history of the country. EVIL!

The Republican members of the U.S. House and Senate worked with the former president to overturn the 2020 presidential election. EVIL!

The Republican members of the U.S. House and Senate worked with the former president to cause an insurrection against our Capitol on Jan. 6, 2021. EVIL!

The former president, with the help of many congressional members of the Republican Party, conspired to force our Department of Justice to declare the 2020 presidential election full of fraud and declare the former president winner. EVIL!

It is not enough to defeat Republican Candidates who are running for offices across the country.  We must show their party that America no longer wants their brand of extreme and confrontational behavior.  We have no more time for their propensity toward evil and "civil war-like" posturing. Their thirst for power and authoritarian rule ends now!

Hopefully, the only winner in 2022, 2024, and beyond will be AMERICA!

 

My Last Blog. . .

The United States of America almost came to an end on Jan. 6, 2021.

The struggle to get Republicans to admit that the deadly insurrection that day was seriously treasonous is brain-numbing. The attack on our Capitol building was carefully planned by the then-president and soon-to-be-identified Republican members of Congress. Their goal had a singular purpose: Overturn the election results of the Electoral College that were being voted on that very day!

But for the brave officers from the Capitol Police Department and the Metropolitan Police Department, the dirty deed might have been carried out. There were only 150 to 200 of them against nearly 10,000 mostly-armed and dangerous domestic terrorists. The president chose to watch it all unfold on television as he hunkered down in his Oval Office. He chose to neither call for more help nor call on his terrorist minions to stand down. His vision was clear: Overturn the election!

There were also threats from the mob to "hang Mike Pence" and "kill Nancy Pelosi."  Curiously, they are the two in the line of succession to the presidency. 

This enterprise of ruthless traitors (from the president to a majority of Republican members in the U.S. House and Senate) carried out the worst attack on our government in America history - and it should give us all pause to think how close it came to coming to fruition. 

Today, none of those congressional traitors are yet to be brought up on charges. However, true to form in our justice system, many of the 10,000 have been and various sentences have been handed out. It is well reported that various congressional members had given suspicious "tours" the days before the Jan. 6th attack and many still openly say the election was stolen.

We can hope that the House Committee on Jan. 6th will bear fruit and put the corrupt individuals out of office and return sanity to our government!

Maybe this was a dry run.  Maybe it will happen again.  We already know of many "red states" who have passed laws to put key "loyalists" into "Election Official" positions in order to overturn election results that they do not like. 

Our democracy is a fragile thing, at best, and when the Grand Old Republican Party is hell-bent on kicking it to the curb, it becomes a nearly untenable situation.  When we all fight for it, however, we are the greatest nation on earth!

A democracy works best when it works for everyone.

Ah, but there is the rub. . . a Republican's idea of government only works best when it only works for the Republicans!

An Opinion by John Watson

The Arizona Adventure in Never-Never Land. . .

The Republicans are having a hell of a time keeping their lies and skullduggery straight. Even the best of them are tripping over their own plans to move our country straight from a democracy to an ugly state of authoritarianism. Consider the fiasco taking place in Arizona regarding the 2020 election.  

A letter to Senate Republicans from Jack Sellers, chairman of the Maricopa County Board of Supervisors - Arizona's largest county - said, "It is now August 2021 and the election of November 2020 is over. If you haven't figured out that the election in Maricopa County was free, fair, and accurate yet, I'm not sure you ever will."  He continued, "The Board has real work to do and little time to entertain this adventure in never-never land. Please finish whatever it is that your are doing and release whatever it is you are going to release."

Arizona Republicans and Cyber Ninjas, whose CEO, Doug Logan, is a proponent of Trump's bogus election fraud claims, began their sideshow review in April. The company, which had no experience auditing elections, completed a recount last month - a process that compromised voting equipment that will likely need to be replaced on taxpayers' dime. They have demanded that the county turn over even more material, including its computer routers, which Trump screamed out at a rally, "We want the routers!" 

"The 'Big Lie' is not actually about reversing the Arizona 2020 election, but rather undermining future elections, sowing doubt in the process and justifying the slate of disenfranchisement laws Republicans have been rushing to enact in Arizona and elsewhere!"          by Vanity Fair - Eric Lutz

The fight by many Republicans to overturn elections and drag our nation into a land ruled by authoritarians is real and it is happening now. This is not a wild-eyed conspiracy theory by some crackpot liberal.  If you watch news on any channel other than FOX, you will learn about it. 

Get involved or get out of the way.

 

FLORIDA: The land of "hanging chads" and "political madness"

 

Florida Governor

Ron DeSantis

A few months ago, I asked you to sacrifice your grandparents for the sake of our economy.

Now, I am asking you to sacrifice your children.

FLORIDA DON'T NEED NO DAMN MASKS! AND WE DON'T NEED NO DAMN VACCINATIONS, NEITHER!

WE'RE DYING JUST FINE, 

THANK YOU!

It wouldn't take much sawing to cut Florida free of the rest of us and let it just float out into the Atlantic. It looks like the appendix of America, anyway, and it isn't like we'd miss it. Are you with me?  Should we use a chain saw or just good ol' dynamite?

South Florida's Broward County Public Schools had announced last week that the district would require everyone in the buildings to wear masks to guard against Covid-19. Governor DeSantis threatened to withhold state funding from schools that implement the mask requirement, so the schools withdrew their order to mask up!

DeSantis has said he would run for president in 2024, if Trump doesn't. With maneuvers like this, he is obviously working hard to round up Trump's base and keep them on stand-by and stand-ready.

These atrocious actions to put adults and children at risk is unbelievable!  Republicans are throwing everything they can think of at the 2022 and 2024 elections. It appears nothing is too disgusting!

We find ourselves fighting an American Political Party that has all of the trappings of a foreign terrorist organization.

America is at a place it has not been since 1860!

Are They Too Big To Fail?

It needs to notice that the "rider" has left

It's possible that a wounded and cornered elephant could still muster a final charge against an opponent. But, the elephant has an incredible ability to remember how great it was in its "glory days." It hardly ever took "second place" to anyone. The elephants had credibility. They had followers who believed in what they stood for. They were the "Grand Old Party!

Today, that animal is in big trouble.  

It allowed itself to be "taken in" by a charlatan. It let itself be used as a follower instead of a leader. It gave in to the "dark side" of politics and was drug through the muck and mire of deceit and outright lies! It must have seen it coming, but did nothing to stop it. In simple terms, it was bamboozled by a huckster who needed a major political party to do his bidding.

The charlatan is gone and the elephants can go back to their former life. They do not need to "praise Caesar" any longer. They have millions of friends who do not want the lying and corruption. There must be enough of their brothers and sisters in congress who are ready to face their opponents with good debating instead of personal attacks and hostile threats.  Working outside of our rules of law is pure corruption and criminal. 

They seem unable to untie themselves from the ludicrous behavior of "the con man." The elephants are huddled in a corner, and striking out at the world. They have become their own worst enemy.

Who can explain that there is a life after the "Kraken" has been banished? Who can get through to them?

What will it take for the elephants to gather their courage and get back to the "glory days?"  When will they cancel out this dark side of their lives and fight for what's best for the herd?

Inquiring minds want to know.

". . . and leave the rest to me!"

"Just say it was corrupt...and leave the rest to me... and the Republicans." 

Those were the former president's words in a phone call to Acting Attorney General Jeffrey Rosen on Dec. 27, 2020. 

The names of Rep. Jim Jordan (R-Ohio) and Sen. Ron Johnson  (R-Wisconsin) were written on the note. They are two of the most vocal and active "Stop the Steal" agitators in the U.S. House and Senate, and the former president's biggest supporters.

This was how the former president was going to begin his coup to overturn the 2020 Presidential Election. All he needed was to get the United States Department of Justice to proclaim the election was corrupt and needed to be shut down. He would take it from there!

He would begin his calls to Republican-controlled state election officials asking them to declare their election results were riddled with fraud and the officials would rule that Biden did not win. Believe it or not, a state election official has that power!  Partially hidden in all of the current voter suppression laws are laws to give those officials even more power. A Republican-controlled State Legislature will even be able to remove state election officials and replace them with loyal GOP people. Remember, state officials decide how many electoral votes goes to a candidate.

The former president had loyal members in our U.S. House and Senate all line up to do his bidding to demolish our democracy. In many ways, most of them are still working for him today!

All of this corruption is one of those stories than defy belief. How did one very evil president gain the admiration and loyalty of our elected members of congress to carry out this coup? There is no easy answer.  Why has the Republican Party acquiesced to such a man? Why did they sell the possibility of their souls and their political futures just to keep an evil tyrant in power for four more years?

The final attempt made by the former president and his loyal congressional stooges was to incite the insurrection, have them storm the Capitol and stop the official Electoral College vote results that were happening that day -  Jan. 6, 2021. That, also, failed!

We can now all wait for these truths to come out during the House's Jan. 6th Investigation of the Insurrection. And come out, they will!

One thing that is always true:  Truth will always win out!

Some Republicans have yet to learn that, however.