Stop apologizing to fascists - but on the lighter side. . .

Someone suggested to me recently that I try a different tact on my blog, sort of lightening up on the topics, because, you catch more flies with honey . . .  I would actually love to do more of what I used to do, history, trivia, music, art, etc. But, the Blog's sub-title is "what I'm thinking" (something like that - I actually forget exactly) and it is hard for me to write about anything other than what I'm thinking. And, these days I am often thinking of the growing fascism. Despite the fact that it is much more fun, relaxing and less stressful to think of pretty much anything else, it's too important to take lightly. And not that it is too important, because I have to be my own guide about what I want to write about, my general audience, always and still small (generally around 2000 hits a month lately) has multiplied at least a few times over since I started largely writing about fascism. 

Nevertheless, to break the tension today, I'll write a little on modern fascism (to make it even easier for me, and then will alternate with something a little lighter. Why not? Who could it hurt?

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Marjorie Taylor Greene has apologized for comparing mask wearing to the holocaust. Why? Of course, it's a silly comparison. But, her statements are not offensive. It was just a very bad analogy, not not just because of the quality of it, but because of the dimensions of it. The holocaust was obviously a million times, actually many millions of times worse than the mask mandates. As she said, she was just trying to say that they were forcing people to do things like the badge Jews had to wear. To some extent I agree, though I wasn't against masks for a period of time, although they weren't very effective.

But, we are facing fascism in ways I have been trying to describe for a long time now, since 2016. One thing that is at least incipient fascism is that everyone must apologize for some opinion, some real or imagined mistake or, goodness gracious, some slight to the narrative of the left or be canceled. I've always hated these phony apologies for unintended gaffes or plain mistakes. Worse, just because someone decides there feeling were hurt. Now, of course, the apologies seem to have to be made only by those on the right or just not on the left.
Come on – AOC said that they should archive the names of Trump supporters and thought about what sure sounds like the end of free speech and re-education. Did she apologize? I hear that and I suspect this is someone who would line people up and have them shot if she could. Ted Yoho apologized to AOC for calling her a "f***ing Bitch."  Normally, it wouldn't be nice, but, if someone said Himmler was a dirt bag, no one would likely be looking for an apology? This is AOC we are talking about - the woman who defended her "sis" Rashida Tlaib for calling Trump a "motherf***er." How does that person deserve an apology? She has complained that she is someone's daughter too, but she 

Maxine Waters literally encouraged a gathers in a city where rioting had caused 150 fires and uncountable damage, to riot again. Did she apologize? Sen. Hirono said she wouldn't sit though any more rhetorical speeches by Ted Crus and that she was leaving. She did. Hirono packed up her things and was silent when Cruz gave her yet another chance to condemn Antifa (mouthing the words out of a committee meeting when Ted Cruz (who I used to dislike - now I think he's terrific) castigated the Ds for not condemning Antifa. Here's part of their exchange:

"Sometimes I don't think you listen. So, how many times have I had to say that we all should be denouncing violent extremists of every stripe." 

"Does that include Antifa?" asked Cruz.

"I have the time." she responded. No, she wasn't going to put down the fascist group. Maybe she is afraid that they will show up at her door. Hirono, who is an out and out racist in my belief, said "I hope this is the end of this hearing, Mr. Chairman, and that we don't have to listen to any more of your rhetorical speeches. Thank you very much. I'm leaving."

Still, after a little sarcasm about her comments, he gave her one more chance. "Well, I appreciate the always kind and uplifting remarks of Senator Hirono. And I would also note that throughout her remarks she still did not say a negative word about Antifa nor has any Democrat here. "You're welcome to say something negative about Antifa right now."

It is reported that she said off the record that she said "I think that I've covered the subject quite well," but I also heard she cursed. I don't know. Couldn't hear on the tape.

Cruz said, "Okay, she declined to speak, so that is the position of the Democratic Party." 

Why won't she say condemn Antifa? Does she approve of it? She has before said she understood why people were becoming violent (implying, it seemed to me, that if Trump is president people had a right to be violent, but whatever the reason, that sure isn't saying she will condemn all violence). She also won't apologize for not attacking a fascist group that has made Portland (and other places) a hellhole for so many, a group that has literally tried to burn cops alive and and has been implicated in murder. She won't apologize for calling Trump a bully or for when she falsely accused Justice Amy Coney Barrett at her confirmation hearing of using a term that was supposedly offensive to the LBGTQ - "sexual preference." I cringed when Justice Barrett apologized, saying she would not intentionally use a term offensive to them. I'm sure she wouldn't. But, it came from Hirono's mouth, so chances were very good it was a lie. And it was. She shouldn't have apologized. Of course, of course, of course, there is nothing offensive about the term whether sexual orientation is innate or developed and, of course, of course, of course, it turned out that many Ds have used the term like Joe Biden, Dick Durbin, Joe Biden and even Barrett's sainted predecessor, Ruth Bader Ginsberg. Any apology from Hirono or the other drones who repeated it? Of course not.

Kudos! to Daniel Elder, a 34 year old award winning composer from Tennessee who was blackballed by his own publishers and local choirs (they won't even let him sing) because he refused to apologize (his publisher wrote out a fawning apology) for saying something horrible. What did he say? Ready? He criticized ARSON (I know, you are thinking I'm exaggerating - go read - A Composer Condemned Arson. Now No One Will Hire Him. – Reason.com, 

This is the state of the world we are in. Sickened at seeing broken windows, graffiti, police cars attacked and the courthouse set on fire, not to mention his own friends support of mob violence, he wrote as a last post on the Instagram account he was cancelling - "Enjoy burning it all down, you well-intentioned, blind people. I'm done." He even called them well-intentioned (by the way, the arsonist was white - but the narrative is what matters to the left). 

Despite all the hate, he stood up for his values and refused to apologize, despite it torpedoing his career. To the contrary, I was vexed and disappointed by the couple from Missouri, Mark and Patricia McCloskey, who, fearing for their lives and property by BLM "protesters" who they said were going to burn them out and take their house - stood in front of their property with their legal guns (she pointed it at the "marchers"). Of course, they were terrified, and why wouldn't they be? So, naturally, like Kyle Rittenhouse, who defended his own life, they were prosecuted. After saying they will never back down - they pled guilty.  I'm sure that their attorney convinced them to take the no-jail, small fine misdemeanor plea. I know it's easy for me to say, as I wasn't facing jail, but I wish they didn't. It was like apologizing even though afterwards he said he'd do the same again (though, they took away their guns). And the governor had said he'd pardon them. I don't know if he will now.  

Stop apologizing! The psychiatrist (who should be mentally examined) who said at Yale that she fantasizes about killing white people, hasn't apologized. Has Donald Moss, who teaches at the New York Psychoanalytic Institute, apologized for his "On Having Whiteness," which calls being  white a "malignant, parasitic-like condition to which ‘white’ people have a particular susceptibility”? Has the American Psychoanalytic Association apologized for publishing it in its journal? 

Judy Munro-Leighton, a left wing activist who admitted making up her claim that Kavanaugh raped her, didn't apologize (nor was prosecuted). Julie Swetnick claims were so laughable even many Ds who had drank the Dr. Ford Kool-aid had trouble believing it (among her claims, she voluntarily went to multiple parties where there were gang-rapes (her idiot lawyer, once a MSNBC darling, has since been convicted of fraud and extortion).Have any of them apologized, even the team of D Senators who acted together to try to derail the hearing by interruption until they were outed for planning it)?

Did Nancy Pelosi, who tried to usurp the president's powers and absolutely slandered him by interfering with the chain of command for nukes (with zero reason) apologize and say, sorry, I over reacted? Did Chuck Schumer, who threatened Supreme Court members if they didn't vote the way he wanted, apologize?

When politicians or other celebrities apologize, it rarely seems sincere, anyway. For crying out loud, stop apologizing for things you aren't responsible for or are leftist lies! I don't care if you "fake (or pseudo)-apologize" that you are sorry if someone is offended (though I can believe few claims of it anymore). At least that is genuine.

By the way, the left is absolutely following the path of fascism, controlling the police and army, propaganda, including proselytizing minors, arresting people for defending themselves against them, and so on, even if its not the same scale yet. You think Ashli Babbett wasn’t murdered and nothing done about it? You think thousands of people aren’t dead thanks to under-policing, a direct result of this fascism? You think the entire BLM theme of victimization isn’t what Hitler did with Germany and using an ethnic scapegoat isn’t what Hitler did?

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(Babbett's husband can't get cop's name who shot her). I am not even saying he should be guilty of a crime, because we can't know edge:/the facts. Maybe he was listening to some CRT proponent and felt like he was exterminating a parasite. Maybe he hates women. Maybe he panicked. 

All I know is that when George Floyd died we knew Derek Chauvin's name right away and he was arrested and charged with everything they could throw at him and then some (3d degree murder, which doesn't even make sense). When Daunte Wright was shot we knew Kim Potters' name right away and she was charged with murder though everyone knows she thought she was firing her taser.  

Was there a difference. Even some experts for the prosecution recognized that there was at least some resistance by Floyd (I consider what happened to him an easily preventable tragedy and believe Chauvin should have been found guilty of manslaughter) and Wright. But, both were black, and BLM is energetic and doesn't care even if someone is responsible for his own death so long as he/she is black. Ashli Babbett was white though and in today's world, though the great majority of people, almost everyone, realizes that black lives matter too (b/c all lives matter); we've come full circle and now many people think justice for black slaves in America or victims of Jim Crow can only be made right by unfair killing or prosecution of whites. 

When I say almost everyone knows black lives matter too, I'd exclude two groups. 1) Nazis, Klan and the like. 2) BLM, which has, through its systematic attack on police (of any color), they've indirectly killed off more blacks to gang violence at a far faster rate than the Klan ever did, using NAACP numbers of lynchings. They also probably caused more damage to property of innocent people around Minneapolis environs than the Klan ever did anywhere, though I'm not sure of that. In any event, they are the biggest, most well funded gang in our history.

Be pro-civil rights, pro-justice. Be against fake civil rights and social justice - which means no justice except by virtue of skin color.

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On a lighter note - 

I read recently that the 19th century writer, Robert Louis Stevenson (Mutiny on the Bounty, Kidnapped, etc.) was buried on a hillside overlooking the water in Samoa. His tombstone bears a poem he wrote that spoke to me, whatever that means:

Under the wide and starry sky
Dig the grave and let me lie.
Glad did I live and gladly die,
And I laid me down with a will.

This be the verse you grave for me;
"Here he lies where he longed to be,
Home is the sailor, home from sea,
And the hunter home from the hill."

Really nice. It started me remembering that some years ago, I was speaking with my 25 to life sentence about a guy we knew who felt he was good to the women in his life and would have appreciated it if once in a while they told him he was wonderful. I said to P, “I know you don’t think I’m wonderful.”
And my evalovin’ gf responded, sincerely, “Well, you’re not horrible.”
“Wow.” I said. “That’s my epitaph. ‘He wasn’t horrible.’”
Almost as good as Stevenson’s, right?

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I do believe Floyd was negligently deprived of life (the murder convictions were outrageous and it was not a fair trial) and I do think the police could have handled it much better. I watch that video and like everyone I know, left or right, cringe. Floyd didn't even really resist. He said "thank you," when they put him on the ground. Though he was a big man and imposing, he seemed more like a big baby than a vicious brute.

That said, he was one person who sadly died and for the gang known as BLM, it was the best thing that ever happened to them. No wonder they are celebrating on his anniversary. This was there excuse to riot and loot hundreds of times across the country in a matter of months. Before they had to rely on made up murders like with George Zimmerman (rightfully acquitted) or Darren Wilson (rightfully never charged), both whose lives have been terribly impacted by BLM lies. But, Floyd was something most people could agree on. 

But, what justification is there for the rioting, the arson, the murder everywhere across the country where the idiots who are in power gave in to radicals demanding some kind of "justice," against the police - you know, the ones who save lives every day, the ones who can stop crimes just by patrolling (at least formerly)? Even as racist a person as self-loathing Joe Biden (who thinks - possibly pretends he thinks - that only whites can be racist), says that rioting and looting is not protesting and should stop (though like Obama, encourages them in other ways). They have turned parts of cities inhabitable or disgusting places. The police, subject to scorn by fascist pols like De Blasio, stopped policing in many places and the gangs took over. When will this country wake up? Taking over the police, education, the media, the big lie, etc., all part of the Nazis' playbook and now BLM/Antifa etc. They actually hurt minorities and it's a crying shame, because as Obama - yes, that Obama, said in 2016 repeatedly, this was the best time and place ever to be a minority. 

We are not a perfect country. None is. But, we were a great country with liberty and order. I have said many times (many many) up to a few years ago, that we were not just the luckiest people on earth, but the luckiest people in the history of earth. Are we anymore? The fascists, and they are nothing less, are trying to take that away. And, it's working, especially in big cities. I will say it to anyone - if you are for BLM, CRT, Antifa, CRT, etc., then you are for fascists. If you voted for Biden, you are at least supporting those who support those groups. And, remember, they usually eat their own at some point.

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On a lighter note - 

Some opera music is just exquisite (some of it people don't even realize is opera because they just hear the music alone in a movie or tv commercial), but most opera singing is just unbearable to me with some exceptions. The exceptions, like with the instrumental parts, are often songs that usually end up in tv commercials or in the movies. Just a few examples with links to Spotify and Youtube.

 

La Donna è mobile from Rigoletto (Verdi). 

https://open.spotify.com/track/1nRkprKas1lFz6Mu3Qh05X?si=bce6004bcf0b4eed

(14) Andrea Bocelli - La donna e' mobile - Live From Piazza Dei Cavalieri, Italy / 1997 - YouTube

The Queen of the Night aria, Hell's vengeance boils in my heart, from The Magic Flute (Mozart).

https://open.spotify.com/track/2IRMCtPrxmJwpyfCF8WcJA?si=19ac251f73fc4dfe

(14) The Magic Flute – Queen of the Night aria (Mozart; Diana Damrau, The Royal Opera) - YouTube

The Habanera from Carmen (Bizet), 

https://open.spotify.com/track/3pzBD8BVdrv7VJ7glRYshl?si=f756d80359b4418a

(14) Carmen - Habanera - Lyrics (Angela Gheorghiu) - YouTube

The Flower Duet from Lakmé (Delibes),

https://open.spotify.com/track/5Zhpw0qZya9rrklFvSkc2s?si=bd51617000834577

(14) The Flower Duet Charlotte Church - YouTube

You probably all know these songs even if you think you don't.

Finally, here's a rock n' roll star's version of the tune to Nessun Dorma from Turandot (Puccini). Jeff Beck did this pretty late in his career, 2010. No singing. I find it hauntingly beautiful.

https://open.spotify.com/track/6a08bsmQBcmsjmn2AzTu5F?si=2657dca933ee4a72

(14) Nessun Dorma - YouTube

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In California v. Texas (poor Texas, can't win a thing), the Court, for the third time, saved the ACA. How, this time the case was dismissed on standing grounds. In short, I will say that standing still means to me that the court just ignores the cases it doesn't want to decide by claiming it's not a real case and controversy (as required by the Constitution for them to review). In other words, it found neither the individual or state plaintiffs had suffered an injury related to the statute that they claimed. Justice Alito does a great job of showing the lengths the court has been willing to go to shelter this act. The standing issues in the case are kind of in the tangles of legal mumbo-jumbo and would take a long time to summarize here, so read the opinions if you want to understand better. 

Alito ends his sharply worded dissent this way:

"No one can fail to be impressed by the lengths to which this Court has been willing to go to defend the ACA against all threats. A penalty is a tax. The United States is a State. And 18 States who bear costly burdens under the ACA cannot even get a foot in the door to raise a constitutional challenge. So a tax that does not tax is allowed to stand and support one of the biggest Government programs in our Nation’s history. Fans of judicial inventiveness will applaud once again."

Though obviously Thomas is, with Alito, the main defender of the Constitution on the court, the bottom line is, despite Trump's having put three judges on the Court, it really is, generally, still a left of center court in the cases regular people care about. 

The interesting thing lately with the Court is the fact that despite being now - supposedly - 6 conservatives to 3 liberals, doesn't much seem that way in those sexy cases that people really care about. At least 2 if not more conservative judges seem to flip to the minority side, giving them the majority. In this case, even Thomas, supposedly the most right wing guy on the Court, hated by liberals, joined them along with two of Trump's picks, and, not surprisingly, Roberts. I read Thomas' concurrence, of course, and I see that he said he agreed with Alito about the previous two cases and might have on standing, but felt that there was because these were not raised below, they were forfeited. I am surprised he did, because it seems to me Alito made mincemeat of his arguments (Dissent, ps. 20-22, if you care). Right now, in most important cases though, it seems more like a 7-2 or 6-3 liberal favor than the reverse.    

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On the lighter side - 

Since the woke tried to bury him, I'm finally paying more attention to Woody Allen after a hiatus of maybe 30-35 years or so. When I was young, I and friends found him hysterical - a genius. I still have my copy of his Without Feathers, one of the funniest books I've ever read. But, of course, it was his early movies that killed us. Take the Money and Run, Play it Again, Sam (for me the greatest of them all), Sleeper, Love and Death, Annie Hall, and others. As he got older he sort of lost interest in being funny and his movies became less uproariously silly. Some were serious. Anyway, I stopped watching them a long time ago (I think Manhattan was the last one that interested me). Maybe I was unfair. Some are critically acclaimed, but I rather disagree with a lot of critics. If the NY Times' movie critic hates a movie, there's a good chance I will love it. I'm just giving you some scenes I find hysterical from the distant past:

This one's from Take the Money and Run. It's ridiculous, I know, but so funny. Poor Woody (there is, of course, a character name, but I'll just call him Woody here), is a career criminal who always loses. Here he muffs a bank robbery. (14) Woody Allen - Take The Money And Run - Bank Scene - YouTube.

This one's from Play it Again, Sam, where the hapless Woody is fixed up on a double date and is a little nervous. (14) Play It Again Sam Blind Date Scene - YouTube.

This one from Annie Hall. This movie was a little more serious than the previous. Here he explains the difference between the horrible and the miserable. (14) Annie Hall - "the horrible and the miserable" - YouTube.

I know some women didn't like his movies when we were young, because they hated slapstick (I don't know if there is a poll somewhere, but it seems many women in my age group hate slapstick) and also because his nebbishness was too much for them (like with George in Seinfeld), but it still cracks up me and a lot of my older friends. 

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There is nothing dumber than woke arguments and if it wasn't so dangerous some would just be hysterical. Lately they are debating (seriously, they really debate this stuff) since "black" must now be capitalized to (I guess) bolster the self esteem of black people or maybe exalt their escape from slavery (I know, whatever it is, it's just ridiculous), whether "white" should also get a capital W. What's the issue? How could it not. Well, it seems that some woke people feel that giving white a capital letter will be a nod to white supremacy. No, this isn't a Woody Allen movie. It's real.

Every intelligent person knows that the blacks were horribly, murderously, oppressed for centuries. But, every intelligent person also knows that that was then and this is now. Obama himself said in 2016 in speeches (years after BLM started) that it was the best time ever for minorities in America. And, it was. It actually got even better during Trump’s terms with very low unemployment.
I will not give the “woke” the dignity of arguing the merits about whether it should be “B” and “w” or “B” and “W.” It's like the arguments that Baby, it's cold outside is promoting date rape, when it was really written as a duet for the composer and his wife, who would sing it together at parties for Xmas. It nonsense, and in case of "W/w", also racist and even fascist, because they cancel people over stuff like this and even intimidate them into agreeing with them. Sadly, the fascists have been winning, canceling people, prosecuting people who are defending themselves and the like. We have a lot of mayors and pols who believe in black supremacy. We don’t have anything even remotely like white supremacy in this country (many laws actually favor non-whites), or systemic racism (there will always be racism, and despite the woke’s mantra – anyone of any skin hue can be racist). I understand the Sharpton/BLM/Antifa mentality. Facts don’t matter, justice doesn’t matter, fairness doesn’t matter – only skin color. We must all reject this as more and more institutions crumble.

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On the lighter side - 

My life often slides into the ridiculous, and you wouldn't be the first person to say (if you said), your life should be a sitcom or your life should be a movie. They really mean, Are you an idiot? I may have told these stories on previous occasions here, but don't think so.

- I think I was roughly 21 and going somewhere out of state my friend, Peter when I had to use the rest room at the McDs we were eating in. I walked into the restroom, kind of sort of maybe picked up at the edges of my consciousness that the guys at the mirror turned to look at me, and then went into a stall. I came out, left the restroom and immediately got applause. Naturally, I had walked into the ladies room and somehow, in my usual stupor, failed to notice not only the sign, but that everyone else was a female and also that there were no urinals. It was a memorable occasion, but to tell the truth, I've done it a number of times in my life and just caught myself even more than that.  

 - Many years ago I was hiking along a trail in Sedona, Colo., the prettiest place I've ever been that I had never heard of before I went. My evalovin' gf was in the lead and our three girls, probably ages 8-11 at the time, were following single-file and I brought up the rear. I was looking down at them, feeling good and then WHACK, I was flat on my back. They, the tallest being P's 5' 4", walked under the tree branch extending across the path without bending. I did not. Right in the forehead. Stung like a bastard too. As much as it hurt at the moment, it gets a lifetime of laughs from all of us. Someone getting suddenly whacked on the noggin and flattened never gets old, even if its you.

- I was in Sicily with my friend, Fred, and after a long day in bright sunlight, I walked ahead of him into the small, shady lobby of the hotel we were going to stay in. As I entered I saw that some kind of shimmering gauzelike veil had been put up across the whole area blocking my way. Instead of stopping, for some reason I continued walking, but putting out my hands in front of me to make chopping motions in order to cleave my way through it. After a few seconds of not feeling anything with my hands and my eyesight normalizing, I realized it was just some relatively brief combined effect of my light-contracted pupils suddenly expanding and a ray of sunlight coming through the window. In other words, there was nothing there. Fred came up and asked me what I was doing? I think everyone in the room saw. Oops.

- This one involves, not me, thank goodness, but my friend, Fred, mentioned above, who I know since the first day of my first full time job as were both looking for coffee. There were bathrooms in the hallway outside our office door with two stalls. Fred went in and noticed in one stall was someone sitting down, happily reading a newspaper (Fred could hear the paper crinkling as the occupant turned the pages). He says he also heard whistling, although that sounds a little too good not to be a false memory. Fred entered the stall, accomplished his mission and ready to leave the stall, flushed the toilet. The other guy was still there reading.  Fred went to the sink and washed his hands. Just as he was drying his hands to leave, he hears water spilling. The toilet didn't flush and was overflowing. Up in the air goes the newspaper and Fred can see the poor sod desperately trying to pull his pants up. Fred didn't wait. He said "Sorry" and fled. I am sitting here laughing at the memory.

Next post's doom and gloom will possibly make you want to cry, so I'm leaving this on a lighter note.

On the Border

A few days ago I posted, in part, on the institutions the left is trying to destroy, as opposed to Trump. But, I thought the section on the border was too long (I read long articles but some people I know will not read very much of an article, even one with which they completely agree). So, if you haven't read it, go to the last post and read it. If the State of the Union doesn't make you want to cringe, come back.

The left wants to weaken or destroy our border. Biden, hypocritically, pretended during the primary debates that he didn't want to decriminalize illegally aliens. But, immediately on becoming president he stopped the stay in Mexico policy, immediately ended the border wall project, ended the Trump ban on immigration from certain countries,* rescinded the Trump order calling for removal of illegal (undocumented according to the left) aliens, refunded Sanctuary Cities (in other words, he is a president who is rewarding those cities frustrating federal law), tried to pause deportation enforcement for a hundred days (thankfully, blocked by the courts), terminated the emergency proclamation (and then created a new emergency) and ordered the census to count illegal aliens (in other words, increasing the power of those states they would naturally flock to, like NY and Calif. - D states). Shortly thereafter, he ended immigration status checks for sponsors of unaccompanied minors, quadrupled the number of refugee admissions. 

I won't say I'm against everything he did, but most of it.

*Calling it the Muslim Ban was just another lie, as no persons were banned for that reason. In fact, banning people on religious grounds was prohibited. Only people from countries his administration believes do not control their immigration and which raised certain dangers. Yes, those countries were primarily Muslims, not least in part because they themselves are very exclusionary - but it was actually a tiny percentage of Muslims in the world. 

Biden's actions led to record low deportations, record border crossings, a huge influx of fentanyl (according to Tex. Gov. Abbot, an 800% increase) and even NBC News (NBC NEWS!!!) has admitted that there was a "massive surge at the border" because Biden gave "good reason (for immigrants) to believe it would be easier to get into the United States," causing "chaos at the border." The Southwest border crossing are on pace for largest in 20 years (back to early Bush terms). Forbes reported on May 11th, that in April, the last month reported on, immigration officers apprehended 179,000 people, the most in decades, border arrests were up to "63% from April 2019, more than tenfold from April 2020" and unaccompanied minor numbers were out of control. 

Not surprisingly, the news being what it is, I have intelligent friends who don't know or believe there is a crisis (again, I presume because of the media's protection of Biden). If there isn't one, why did Vincente Gonzalez, a Democrat congressman from the border call the Biden policies "catastrophic." Sen. Manchin called it a "crisis." Obama's Border control chief, Mark Morgan, has said that this is absolutely a national emergency. 

I need to quote Morgan, because again - this was Obama's guy - from March. He testified that "In February, we saw a 30 percent jump over the previous month, with agents apprehending or encountering nearly 75,000 aliens. This is an 80 percent increase over the same time last year. And I can report today that CBP is forecasting the problem will get even worse this spring as the weather warms up.”

He blames both asylum law loopholes and incentives for being in the States. “The intelligence will show you they’re not fleeing violence and persecution like a lot of the talking points. Actually violence in Guatemala, [and] all Central American countries, are way down—homicide rates overall.”

Morgan's comments about the immigrants not fleeing violence and persecution is important because during the campaign Biden said in a primary debate “I have guts enough to say his plan doesn’t make sense” (speaking of another candidate, Castro). “Here’s the deal: The fact of the matter is that, in fact, when people cross the border illegally, it is illegal to do it unless they’re seeking asylum. People should have to get in line.”

But, if there is not a real reason for refugees (or as much as there used to be) and they are just using it as an excuse, he doesn't make a lot of sense either. 

The border patrol chief in San Diego, Aaron Heitke, said in late May, “This year, there has been an alarming uptrend in the apprehension of convicted sex offenders.” Several sex offenders were caught among the 1600 apprehended border crossers in a single sector in Texas in just 3 days. Of course, it is not just sex offenders. They have also apprehended two Yemenis on terrorist watch lists and many Iranians, a country which it seems everyone but Biden's team understands is the leading exporter of terrorism. 

Meanwhile, it has been reported that journalists were not being given access to the border. Wonder why? Same reason, I guess, that Henry Cuellar, another border Democrat congressman says he gets more information from Mexico than he does from the Biden administration. Cuellar has leaked photos about the horrid condition the children are being kept in. And there are many children because the immigrants know it is another way to get into the country, once the children are taken care of - you know, reuniting the families. 

What are they hiding from? Well, it's because it's, no doubt, Biden's fault and only a few media outlets, which are basically like Pravda now and an arm of the D party,  (I know, I've said this before, but it's worth repeating) want to report on it. Mexico knows. Mexico's president, Andrés Manuel López Obrador right away said it was Biden’s policies that caused the “expectations” which spurred the illegal immigrants on. Why wouldn't he say it? It's obviously true. In February, Biden's first full month as President, Border Patrol caught over 100,000 illegal border crossers, a 28% increase over January's haul. Guatemala's president,  Alejandro Giammattei, said that human smugglers also exploited Biden's message and that families understood get the kids in and then they can get the parents in. That's not a secret. If you know any immigrant Hispanics you are friendly, ask them.

Biden, who pretended that he was the moderate during the campaign, has caused an almost unprecedented crisis in decades, almost immediately. In May, last month, the numbers climbed still. 180,000 according to CBP.  Fortunately, thanks to Trump (yes, Trump) CBP can still turn away most under the emergency health regulations without letting them stay. But far from all.

In response, Biden's administration now says - "Do not come." Actually, I'm sure to provide him, a white man (something he now seems to find offensive), with cover, he had the VP say it.

What is it all about? Come on, come on. You know you know. Like so many things the Ds do, it is about future votes. The more immigrants, even with illegals, the more they can expect can stay and eventually become citizens - and vote Democrat. The danger and pain to the children - you think they care? Even the radical AOC said that under BIDEN the treatment of immigrants was "inhuman," "horrifying" and "unacceptable." Even "barbaric." Not surprisingly, she called for reparations for those who aren't even citizens (so, why wouldn't they ignore her "do not come" message). The effects on crime in the border states, the additional Covid-19 risks, terrorism, drugs - you think they care?

I honestly don't expect most people to know these things. The media says it wants more information, but they don't report on things that hurt the left.

As with almost all posts, there is much more to it and I can't touch on everything. But, I think this is enough to show that it is not just a crisis but one created by the new Administration and no one else. Why wouldn't the new left, the ones who made the great leap left in their party not want to destroy or end the border. Some have come right out and say things like defund ICE (such as meteoric rising star on the left - AOC). According to Wikipedia, even now mainstream Ds like Elizabeth Warren, Bernie Sanders, Kirsten Gillibrand and Bill De Blasio feel the same way (all sourced). A CNN article from July 3rd, 2018 listed those above and 7 other congressmen. I notice only 1 was from a southern border state, the rest were northerners, but that's where most of our radicals come from. D presidential candidates Sanders, Warren, Harris (now, of course, the VP), and Pete Buttigieg (now, Biden's Sec'y of Transportation) and congressman Julián Castro all called for decriminalization of illegal crossings. 

Of course, many non-official Ds feel exactly the same way.  A Morning Consult poll in 2019 found that a plurality, 42% of Ds would vote for a primary candidate who would abolish ICE. 

As in my last post, if you voted for Biden (possibly because of  "But Trump" politics), you have to own this, including the tragedy of all those little kids. Trump worked with Mexico and other countries and pretty greatly reduced the illegal crossings. Though we continue to return most of the illegal immigrants, Biden, in his efforts to please his radical base by undoing all the good Trump did within his power, seems willing to do any amount of damage. 

But Trump . . . .

A lot of my best friends, including family members, voted for Biden. They are for the most part very smart people. But, politics isn't about smart at all. It's not about rationality at all. Albert Einstein was a political idiot in my view and he's a synonym for genius. He was also, for the most part, a very congenial man. But, my friends are also nice - they are terrific people. So, you might wonder if you pay close attention to what is going on in the country, why would they vote for Biden?

I know the answer. They've told me many times. "Trump's too conceited and that's dangerous." "Trump's too arrogant." "Trump's too mean." "Trump only does things to increase his own power." "Trump is evil." These are literally the arguments I have gotten from friends who I think are smart and nice. Basically, to any question or point, the answer might simply be "But Trump. . . ."  

"But Trump" trumps everything else. For some, it is the answer to any political question, the escape hatch for any set of facts.  It wouldn't matter if they believed Biden was also conceited, arrogant, dishonest or desperate for power at any cost to the nation, because, But Trump. . . . Though there is a point at which a presidents character or personality should impact us, at this level, their complaints seem meaningless to me, especially in a policy discussion, but it's not meaningless to them. For them, his personality dwarfs the importance of his policies and what he actually did.

Of course, there is second answer too. They don't know what is happening (I'm sure some would think that insulting, but if you watch mostly the usual media suspects on the left, you cannot know what's going on - the media literally hides it). So many times friends, discussing politics, say to me . . . but I never heard that, when I tell them something definitively true, which goes against the narrative. Inevitably, they watch CNN or MSNBC or read the usual suspect media. There's not much I can do about it if they just won't believe, not just what I tell them, but what they can easily learn themselves if they research it just a little.

I used to say that Obama was the worst president in modern times (and wrote 8 of 10 blogposts about it), but Biden has shot passed him as if Usain Bolt was racing me.  Despite what I think has been a disastrous first five months, I hear no regrets from my friends. I doubt they have these regrets. They still believe Trump is bad, Biden is either good or at least not Trump. I know Trump hate is fulsome. One friend (another smart and wonderful person), though seemingly opposed to almost everything on the left, said to me "I don't care if we have to pay reparations or if the whole country is destroyed - I hate him that much." Now, if the country was destroyed, her family lost their house, her kids their future, she'd care. Of course, she'd care. Remember, when polled in 2020 if they would rather a meteorite destroy human life on earth or Trump get re-elected - 64% of New Hampshire Ds picked the meteor But Trump. . . .

I have another friend who weekly complains about what is going on in this country? Why is this happening, he sometimes asks? I answer, repeatedly, "Because you voted for Biden."

For those who voted for Biden, I'd like you to consider the following:

The 2020 election.  Of the many offenses against Trump and his supporters, is the censorship by high tech media companies of their claim that the election was rigged or fraudulent or stolen. Why? Because they don't like him and just don't want to hear the possibility even being raised. Is there a possibility it was stolen? I don't think it was in the sense that it probably wasn't enough fraud to turn the election, but I'm guessing. I think it was lost through the media assaults on him, but the fact that courts refused to hear the matter (like the Supreme Court refusing to consider Texas' well drafted complaint against State's it believed stole the election or allowed illegal or fraudulent voting). I studied two cases from one of the States - Wisconsin - and it seems to me that it was stolen there by the judiciary and a couple of county clerks. I haven't finished my studies on the other states and cases (who knows if I will ever). 

But, leave aside whether the fraud charge is correct. The left, the Biden administration, the courts even, act as if it is outrageous for any candidate to challenge the veracity of elections. Yet, isn't that exactly what they did when Trump was elected - challenged his validity. John Lewis, once a hero, but who became dishonest and bitter in his old age, said in 2017 - "I don't see Trump as a legitimate president." Joe Biden, the Great Uniter (snicker) said in New Hampshire on the campaign trail in 2019 that he agreed Trump was "an illegitimate president in my mind." Hillary Clinton also said in 2019 “No, it doesn’t kill me because he knows he’s an illegitimate president. I believe he understands that the many varying tactics they used, from voter suppression and voter purging to hacking to the false stories — he knows that — there were just a bunch of different reasons why the election turned out like it did.” Jimmy Carter said in 2019 "“I think the interference, although not yet quantified, if fully investigated, would show that Trump didn’t actually win the election in 2016. He lost the election, and he was put into office because the Russians interfered on his behalf.” Asked if he was illegitimate, Carter said “Based on what I just said, which I can’t retract, I would say yes.” A number of D congresspersons skipped Trumps inauguration. 

You get the picture. George W. Bush's was called illegitimate too. Despite Al Gore's concession, almost 1 out of every 5 Americans did not accept him as legitimate according to a Gallup poll. A Los Angeles Times' poll said 38% did not think it was a legitimate election.

So, why would it be wrong to say Biden wasn't legitimate? Oh, right. But Trump. . . 

The Death of American Institutions

When you vote for a president, you are also voting for the message of his or her party. I don't mean the message of every person in the party. For example, if you voted for Biden, it doesn't mean you support AOC. But, if the party largely stands for certain things and wants to make them law or policy, you are bringing that with your guy or gal into the White House. One thing the D party has tried to do is destroy so many of our institutions, particularly the ones that keep them from one party power, while, hypocritically claiming Trump was destroying them.

Unlike the Ds, Trump does not want -

To end the national border: This was such a long topic, I have to do a separate post for it; coming very soon.

To destroy the constitutional nomination system - I've written before on the Kavanaugh hearing, the one event (if you can use that word) so many people have said to me is the worst thing they've ever seen in politics (I'd say since Jim Crow). I send you to my own comments on the hearing written while it was fresh (David's blog: A Stain on our Democracy? I'd have to agree (deisenberg.blogspot.com). If you want to know the skinny here, it was essentially a planned attempt by Ds on the Senate Judiciary Committee to interfere with the hearing, coupled with the actions of their radical associates who, spectators at the hearing, would simply get up and scream at intervals. I don't know for sure, but I don't believe any of them were prosecuted - nor any of the people who made false accusations against Kavanaugh, in at least one case, admittedly. 

And if you want to say, what about Garland, well, I've always thought it was a bad idea of McConnell's to not give a hearing or a vote, but, it was completely legal to do so, which is why Obama didn't really fight it. It was not the same as interfering with a congressional hearing or making up claims against a nominee. 

But, that's not all the Ds did. Even before Kavanaugh, the Ds tried their best to deprive Trump of his cabinet. If you want to go count for yourself the number of opposition votes Obama's cabinet appointees got from the Rs to the number Trump got from the Ds go ahead. I did it long ago and it's not close. As one nominee pointed out when asked why she had not responded to a Senator's question - the opposition had sent her predecessor 50 follow up questions - she had gotten over a 1000. Actually, the two Obama education nominees got 53 and 56 post hearing questions, and with sub-questions, Betsy Devos had 1397, approximately 25 times as many as either. 

To appease Russia: Since at least 1917, our countries position visa vis Russia is near the top of every president's agenda and responsibilities. Ds love to castigate Trump for saying he got along well with Putin. But, the truth is, he always held Russia's feet to the fire and never game them cheap victories. Look at Obama first. He famously sent Hillary to meet Putin with a giant red reset button. One of his most naive moves. When Russia was ready to take it's airbase in Syria, Putin went to meet with Obama and then Russia immediately went into Syria. We did nothing but we haven't been told that they discussed it in that meeting - the coincidence of the time probably tells us all we need to know. And then there's the famous Obama hot mike pick up of him saying to Medvedev, Putin's deputy, to tell Putin he would be more flexible after the election - in other words, telling Putin the truth while he kept it from us. If that wasn't impeachable, I don't know how anything Trump did could be. Not to mention Crimea. When Russia took it, Obama did nothing (personally, I didn't have a problem with that - only Obama's obvious inability to confront real aggression, as with ISIS. And, of course, we know Obama did little to help Ukraine protect itself from Russia.

Even during the first impeachment hearings the diplomatic corps witnesses who testified against Trump also said that he had done much more for Ukraine than Obama. Of course he did. Trump actually supported countries which were attacked in the world, like Ukraine and Israel. He took the handcuffs off our troops and destroyed the effective power of ISIS in Iraq and Syria.

Now, Biden is president, and what does he do? When Russia, seeing how vulnerable we are with Biden as president, starts building tanks and troops up against Ukraine, Biden sends to warships to the Black Sea and then - has them retreat. Poor Ukraine. Not only that, but, after canceling our new pipeline and Alaskan gas and oil leases, he approves Russia's pipeline to Germany. Why? I don't know. Does he want to help Russia? Maybe. Personally, although I do not believe Biden is handcuffed by China as some claim, I think Xi could walk into Taiwan and Hong Kong tomorrow, and only doesn't do it because he doesn't want the Olympics boycotted.

To let Israel flounder: It seemed that once the two parties competed to show their support for the tiny nation that survived and flourished in the desert surrounded by dozens of countries that called for its destruction. Though Biden says he has Israel's back, he immediately started in with her when Hamas shot some 4000 missiles into her borders. Israel, as it always has, acted with tremendous restraint, doing its best not to kill citizens but to destroy as much of Hamas as it could, in the short time the world would give it. And, as always, when Hamas asked for a truce, it gave it. Though most American Jews are Ds despite much anti-Semitic rhetoric and actions. A few Democrat congresspersons have called out Rep. Ilhan Omar from comparing the U.S. and Israel to Hamas and Taliban (I checked - every one of them Jewish), and even Nancy Pelosi, another horrible and dangerous human being, knocked her for it. But, Biden does not. I think he is afraid of the Squad if they decide to go after him. Just my opinion, but when Rashida Tlaib said she wants Palestine from the River to the Sea (in other words, no Israel), he was silent too. When fellow Squad members, Cori Bush and AOC, unafraid of Biden or their party, defended Khan, he said nothing. I don't have a problem with them bucking their party, they should when they think it wrong. But, I do have a problem with racism, whether against Jews or anyone else. 

Biden also has decided to start funding UNSWA again, which Trump stopped because of its links to terrorism. When missiles rain down on Israel, they may have been purchased with our tax dollars. 

If you are not anti-Semitic, and support Biden and Democrats, you should know, that other than the Jewish "useful idiots" among them, who have blinders on to the anti-Semitism of their party, so many members of the Ds are just that. Only last year, in response to an amendment proposed by an R to include anti-Semitism in a bill meant to fight discrimination, over 70% of the Ds in the House voted against it. In fact, 162 of the 164 votes against were D votes. This is not a surprise as the D party has become more anti-Semitic over the last ten years or so (see, e.g., Antisemitism Spikes, And Many Jews Wonder: 'Where Are Our Allies?' | WAMU). I don't think Biden is really anti-Semitic, but I do think he is afraid of those who are in his own party and has swallowed the company line on Israel. And because he, like Obama, reflexively thinks if you are nice to terrorists they will be nice to you, he supports them despite Hamas being a declared terrorist group.

Trump, of course, is hardly afraid of his party, as he quickly insults any in it who displease him. Some people love that about him. I have always liked anyone bucking their party and so admire that about him, while having disquiet about his temperamental and sometimes ridiculous way of showing it. You also couldn't call Trump anti-Semitic, although both Obama and Biden has tried to blame Trump for the rise in anti-Semitism (if you look at U.S. stats on hate crimes - I found 2019's, the closest year available - you see that they are committed by whites less than their share of the population and by blacks almost double their share of the population). It was also seen that though Jews are less than 2% of the population, 60% of religious hate crimes are committed against them. 2018 data showed Jews were 2.7 times more likely than blacks and 2.2 times more likely than Muslims to be victims of hate crimes. In 2019, there were 1032 Jewish victims of hate crimes as opposed to 797 against blacks, although blacks far outnumber Jews in the population. 

Trump also was a great friend of Israel, so much so, that they named a settlement Trump Heights. The accusations against Trump for anti-Semitism was astonishing, given his daughter and son-in-law are Jewish, given his having finally kept the American promise of making Jerusalem the home of our embassy and his support of their defending themselves.  Even if you aren't anti-Semitic, but think Israel is no big deal, don't you get queasy by the left's anti-Semitism?  Any claim that it is no different than the Klan or neo-Nazis on the right is just ridiculous. One, they are quite few and there's not a single one in congress. The GOP and conservatives completely reject those groups. You couldn't find a Republican in office who supports Nazis, but you can find hundreds of thousands of Ds in Portland alone, which supports Antifa and many radical congresspersons.

If you don't recognize as true the powerful anti-Semitic streak among blacks and especially BLM, well, I'll leave you to research it yourself, for now. I've said enough on this topic in prior posts.

To appease terrorists: I can't go as far as to say that Biden is pro-terrorist, but let's face it, the Obama-Biden team has worked hard to appease Iran, entering into an agreement that gave hundreds of millions to Iran (though they are considered the leading exporter of terrorism) and Biden has just restarted giving millions, perhaps over $100 million to Palestinian groups and government through the U.N. and others. You might feel that is good and that it will lead to peace, though it never has. UNRWA, the UN's Palestinian refugee agency has a history of being infiltrated with Hamas supporters and knuckling under to its pressure. A friend of mine texted recently "Could u imagine we have 100s of FBI & CIA agents working tirelessly for years & years, trying to track the sources of funding of terrorists, through businesses & charities. 1000s of pages of financial regulations to prevent funding of terrorist...yet Obama writes a billion dollar check to Iran & Biden to Hamas. This is literally right out of Catch-22 & would be funny if it wasn't reality."

To increase racism: I've been covering this topic a lot and leave you to read back-posts or research it for yourself. I'll just very generally point out that Biden, despite being lily-white himself, is a spokesman for anti-white racism, both by saying incredibly stupid things like only whites can be racist, by saying the words "white guys" or "white man's culture" like it was a type of cancer and restoring the incredibly anti-white rhetoric of the critical race theory (CRT, though its hardly an actual theory and really just racism) movement back into the federal government, even the military. If you don't know what CRT is, I refer you to Home (christopherrufo.com), as he has been no less than heroic in combatting it. And despite Obama's mockery of making CRT our biggest threat yes, I do think it is our greatest concern, as it seeks fascism imposed from inside, rather than without.  

While pretending to be a uniter, Biden has been imprisoned by his knowledge that he won the D nomination and the Ds the bare majority in the Senate, thanks mostly to blacks, often in southern states, but elsewhere too. His putting CRT indoctrination in the military (while at the same time saying we are not a racist nation) and his making a federal program to benefit farmers of only his preferred race are simply racist (thankfully, it has been temporarily shelved by an injunction) not to mention actually harmful to children and adults of every skin hue. There's no other word to describe except as fascistic, which I still think many people will feel goes to far as it envelops us. Trump stopped both these things - dealing with Iran as if it was a responsible government and giving money to Palestinians whose charters still include death to Israel.

To destroy our system of electing a president: How many Ds who ran for president in 2016 were for destroying the system of government that we have had since our founding - the Electoral College? Hillary Clinton, Cory Booker, Beto O'Rourke, Julian Castro, Elizabeth Warren, Jay Inslee, Pete Buttigieg, Kirsten Gillibrand, Marianne Williamson. How many will just say it would be difficult, impossible or impractical (but not that we shouldn't?) John Hickenlooper, John Delaney and Andrew Yang. How many sort of, kind of, maybe - Bernie Sanders, Tulsi Gabbard (the best of them, probably) and our VP, Kamala Harris.

Is there any reason to abolish the system which makes gives every State a say in the contest and not just elects who the Ds want? Could be. I'd like to hear it it. It's a difficult but ultimately fairer system than a straight popular vote. This becomes more obvious as millions of immigrants come in. In other words, most of them, although not Biden or Bloomberg. According to Pew, almost 3/4 of Ds are in favor of scrapping it, but only a little more than a third of Rs. I wonder why even that third think it's a good idea.

To water down the Supreme Court: Is there any reason to "pack" the Supreme Court other than to make sure the Ds never lose other argument before it? I don't think so. A NYTimes/Siena College poll said that 57% of Ds wanted to pack the Court and only 6% of Rs. A surprise? Hardly. If you heard one of our leading fascist Senators, Chuck Schumer, standing before the Supreme Court, calling out judges by name and promising to unleash the whirlwind on them, you wouldn't doubt it.

To make congress's impeachment powers ridiculous, partisan and trivial : Maybe you think that the two impeachments were valid exercises of the power. The first was no more than a joke. After failing to get rid of Trump by the Russia Hoax (he was right again), the Ds impeached him for asking Ukraine's leader to investigate corruption (though I admit he thought it would help himself - that's what almost all pols do). First they said it was a constitutional level crime, like Bribery. Then they said it was coercion (poor Ukraine, they argued). Then they gave up crimes (because there was no basis for it) and called it a quid pro quo for weapons even though Ukraine said they never felt any pressure to do it. They ended up by two vacuous charges, the usual "abuse of power" and, of course, "obstruction of congress." They knew it had no chance to win in a Senate vote, but Nancy Pelosi perhaps said it all by claiming it was a stain for all time on his presidency. It was a stain, but on the Constitution and Ds.

Then, after January 6th, they tried again, blaming Trump for what they called an armed insurrection, despite the fact Trump is recorded saying to supporters to "peacefully" protest. Despite the fact that there were no firearms. Even though it seems to have been, for almost everyone there, spontaneous. Even though there doesn't seem to be any real insurrection planned (I don't know, perhaps a few idiots). Even though the only apparent murder was of a protester by an officer whose name the federal government refuses to release and who isn't being prosecuted. Even though the Biden Administration pretended that Brian Sicknick was murdered and gave him a state funeral. And so on. But, despite the ridiculousness of the claim, they impeached Trump and even got a few yeah votes from Rs (most of whom I doubt will be re-elected and of whom I will speak about soon). 

Like with the George Floyd killing, Ds could not be happier than with the fake insurrection, which gave them one more opportunity to relentlessly attack Trump. Trump is the new "Jew," the new "black," the new scapegoat. Anything the Ds don't want to take responsibility for, or even just to distract us - its Trump.

As with most posts, I could go on and on. But, you hate droning on and on and so do I. In any event, I will be back shortly with the post on Biden and the border. 

Trump - Winner of the 2021 Lincoln Award

Relax, I'm not elevating Trump to Lincoln stature by giving him this award. 

But . . .

though the dissimilarities between DT and AL are certainly even great, there are some similarities. Both are/were Republicans that came from another party (Lincoln was a Whig, Trump was originally a Democrat). Both were hated not just by their opponents, but by many in their own party. Lincoln was held in contempt, not only by the Confederacy, but by many of the radicals in his own party who wanted the South utterly destroyed (so much for union - sounds like the Squad today). Lincoln, who wanted to "let 'em up easy," was often pilloried and mocked by his own allies. The magnificent political and communication skills he employed to win two elections and run the gamut from the Confederacy in the south to the radicals and Copperheads in the north is now legendary and so far past Trump's political abilities, as to be on a completely different plane. But, they also both believed deeply in the continued existence and prevailing of America, and in resisting those who would tear it apart.

The main reason I am giving Trump the 2021 Lincoln Award (and yes, I do know the award is a figment of my imagination) is that Trump has been attacked more viciously than any president since Lincoln (give me a rational argument otherwise and I'll amend my statement), not just by his natural opponents, the Democrats, but the media and the never Trumpers on the right, some of whom were Bush family devotees. Trump had no political abilities absent the one single quality of playing the Trump caricature we know so well, with which to contend with it. 

In my opinion, Trump was helped to the presidency in 2016 by multiple a lot of factors. 

One, was the despair of so many at the incessant bungling of the Obama administration in domestic and foreign policy. I've written years ago a number of pieces on I why I thought Obama was the worst president in modern times and won't repeat myself on that topic (Biden is on a path, if he hasn't already succeeded in surpassing him). Two, was the very common occurrence in the last thirty years of Americans shifting back and forth from R party to D party and back after one or two terms of a president. Three, was the overkill of the anti-American and very anti-Trump media to destroy him, which let him run a campaign without the usual need for a candidate to make an effort to put  himself in the limelight - they made everything about Trump. Four, was his bombastic personality, which while hard to like, for many people it was entertaining and made them believers. Fifth was the awful campaigning of his adversary, Clinton, who, though protected by the FBI from prosecution, just irritated people with what seemed like a very phony personality. And, of course, the bungling of that modern day evil twin of Jacques Clouseau, Comey, who probably unintentionally played a role too. I'm not saying there weren't other factors, or that some aren't more important than others. Who can ever really know. Those seemed to me the largest. If I had to pick one to be the biggest factor, I would say it was the media's constant attack on him. 

Once he became president, and partly because of the behavior of his adversaries, including the media, you'd think they might change. Those who made fools of themselves laughingly declaring he wouldn't run (oh ho ho ho), then wouldn't win the nomination (oh ho ho ho) and finally, couldn't win the presidency (oh ho ho ho), were not just disappointed, they were devastated and enraged. There seemed, initially, to be some internal recognition by some of them, probably not remorse, for their behavior, but it was brief. They doubled and tripled down, perhaps more than that, on their attacks on him, the lack of fair reporting and outright lies. The behavior of the Ds in congress was probably the worst behavior I've personally ever seen in politics (it seems I must mention the Kavanaugh hearings every post or so, but RussiaGate, the two ridiculous impeachments, Nancy Pelosi's own personal insurrection in trying to interfere with the nuclear chain of command, to name just a few). 

I like to refer to the statement of some anonymous person I read in the comment section of an article in the New York Times (back when I'd bother to read them) as defining part of the left's attitude with Trump. When some commenter dared suggest that Trump be given credit for some small thing, another commenter replied - "No credit for Trump ever." 

I am not suggesting that comment had any effect on the world at all. For all I know, only I read it, but more likely just a few thousand people at most. But, it sums up for me half of what the left determined to do, perhaps intuitively, without the need for a grand plan that 100 million people needed to sign onto. They sensed that they had their  perfect "villain" that every political party desires. They would not give him credit for any of the good work he did. In the unlikely event you are a Trump hater reading this - I recognize you do not accept anything he did was good. But that was only half of it. The other half was to attack him relentlessly, pretend every stupid remark was a declaration of war on minorities, act as if a phone conversation of which many listened in, was a crime (they did pretend it was, and when that didn't work, they pretended other things leading to the first impeachment). In fact, everything he had to do was a crime for them - it didn't matter what it was, it was enough that Trump did it. As way too many people acknowledged to me during that time - they wanted him assassinated or, at least, they wouldn't mind so much.

And that was what happened. Virtually no credit would be given to him no matter what he did. As a perfect example, when Trump's team, in particular, his son-in-law and his adviser, a 33 year old lawyer named Avi Berkowitz, was able to craft the first peace agreements between Israel and Arab countries known as the Abraham Accords, it was met with staggering silence by the press and the supposedly pro-Israeli Democrats. No credit for him, plus non-stop attacks and insults. No Nobel Prize either, which they had already actually rendered completely irrelevant by giving it to Obama before he did anything (Obama's words). Trump's incredible work under vicious and hypocritical attack getting Mexico and El Salvador to police their borders (now undone by you know who), his holding China, Russia, Iran and N. Korea at bay (our foreign enemies are almost as relentless as our domestic ones), his forcing China to the economic table and getting concessions they know they don't have to live up to and no consequences for not doing so, under Biden), his literally keeping a decades' old promise to Israel to move our embassy to Jerusalem (met with shouts of horror - end of the world!), his allowing our armed forces to defeat ISIS, his managing of the economy, including modern record low unemployment for minorities (which, of course, we are told by the left, was really Obama's doing), and his quick recognition of Covid-19 coming from China and Operation Warp Speed, for which the press and Biden have immediately tried to take credit. He talked to N. Korea even stepped over the border with its - it's the end of the world, the left said. He left the Iran deal - the one which did not close off Iran making a nuclear weapon and which used - RUSSIA - as Iran's guarantor of good behavior, and the left said - it's the end of the world. It wasn't. He left the Paris Accords which allows China, our deadliest enemy, to out-carbon footprint the whole world. He stopped modern fascism from being taught to the employees and agents of the federal government (don't worry - no details this time). Horrible public figures cut the heads of effigies or called him "Scumbag" or fantasized about his death.

Despite his own boneheaded statements, the media (and his political opponents) simply lied or exaggerated almost everything about him. They lied about Russia (including, as we know, the FBI) and what his supporters did, they lied about Ukraine, reducing the impeachment clause in the constitution to the equivalent of a kangaroo court, they lied about Jan. 6th incident - the allegedly Trump driven armed insurrection which turned out to be neither armed (no  firearms), nor an insurrection (maybe a few idiots had wild ideas) nor driven by Trump (who expressly asked for peaceful protests) and lied about Trump supporters murdering Brian Sicknick. The attacks were relentless, every single day. They tried to stop him from forming a cabinet, they tried to stop the Kavanaugh hearing. They even claimed he was responsible for 400,000 Covid deaths, which is up there with the dumbest things I've ever heard.

Though Trump lost, every day under Biden reminds me of how lucky we were to have Trump. I don't think I will ever be able to like him personally. He's not someone I can imagine having dinner with. But so what?  I have a lot more respect for him than I did 4 years earlier (I did not vote then; I did vote for him this time). The left cannot give him credit for anything, but I give him credit. A lot. 

He accomplished many things and in the face of the most ferocious attacks since Lincoln, earning him the 2021 Lincoln Award. 

Congratulations, Mr. President.

So, you don't think we live in a fascist state II?

THE HEART OF FASCISM IS RACISM. 

THE HEART OF RACISM IS THE BELIEF THAT DNA IS DESTINY. 

THE HEART OF THE NEW LEFT IS THAT DNA IS DESTINY.

GET IT?

I've written numerous times here about what is called Critical Race Theory and the BLM/Antifa movement. Actually, for the last few years what used to be my blog about history, science, philosophy, etc., is mostly now dedicated to fighting the fascism that we are facing, something most people either don't know about, as their media sources are all about protecting it. Some know, but refuse to see or concern themselves with it.  I don't really blame them for burying their head in the sands, because it's scary when huge institutions with power over you like government, the media, education and big business buy into it.  

The first mention of the actual words in this blog about CRT weren't until September, 2020 soon after it was reported that Trump was putting a stop to its teaching in the federal government (now reversed by Biden). CRT is basically black supremacy fascism sweeping the blue states like a plague. Fascist is just my chosen word and you could use others. It is undoubtedly Marxist and racist. It has been successful in NYC, Seattle, California and other areas for a few years. Journalist Christopher Rufo, who I recently learned about from a friend has a database (I have not found that database online - I don't know if he shares it or if you have to pay a premium for it). I won't even try to cover all he has on this topic (it be my longest post ever) but here are his articles. Read and literally weep for our country. Articles (christopherrufo.com). But because I think his recording of this history is so important I am going to just print one set of facts from a recent article entitled "Critical Race Theory in Education" (but go to his website):

• Seattle Public Schools tells teachers that the education system is guilty of “spirit murder” against black children and that white teachers must “bankrupt [their] privilege in acknowledgement of [their] thieved inheritance.” 
• San Diego Public Schools accuses white teachers of being colonizers on stolen Native American land and tells them “you are racist” and “you are upholding racist ideas, structures, and policies.” They recommend that the teachers undergo “antiracist therapy.” 
• A Cupertino, California, elementary school forces third-graders to deconstruct their racial and sexual identities, then rank themselves according to their “power and privilege.” They separate the eight-year-old children into oppressors and oppressed. Link
• A middle school in Springfield, Missouri, forces teachers to locate themselves on an “oppression matrix,” claiming that white heterosexual Protestant males are inherently oppressors and must atone for their “covert white supremacy.” 
• A Philadelphia elementary school forces fifth-graders to celebrate “Black communism” and simulate a Black Power rally to “free Angela Davis” from prison. At this school, 87 percent of students will fail to achieve basic literacy by graduation. 
• Buffalo Public Schools teaches students that “all white people” perpetuate systemic racism and forces kindergarteners to watch a video of dead black children warning them about “racist police and state-sanctioned violence” who might kill them at any time. 
• The Arizona Department of Education created an “equity” toolkit claiming that babies show the first signs of racism at three months old and that white children become full racists—”strongly biased in favor of whiteness”—by age five. 
• The California Department of Education passed an “ethnic studies” curriculum that calls for the “decolonization” of American society and has students chant to the Aztec god of human sacrifice. The solution, according to one author, is “countergenocide.” 
• North Carolina’s largest school district launches a campaign against “whiteness in educational spaces”—and encourages teachers to subvert families and push the ideology of “antiracism” directly onto students without parental consent. 
• Santa Clara County Office of Education denounces the United States as a “parasitic system” based on the “invasion” of “white male settlers” and encourages teachers to “cash in on kids’ inherent empathy” in order to recruit them into political activism.

Even Rufo can only just touch upon what is happening in this country. These are not just people with opinions. These are governments in action. Not just governments. He recently reported on the bizzare events at one of the government's largest defense contractors, Lockheed Martin, where poor schmucks in leadership guilty of whiteness, were forced to attend a Zoom meeting where (from the NYPost article on it):

"The participants from Lockheed Martin engaged in activities over Zoom that included a “free association” exercise in which the term 'white men' was equated to 'old,' 'racist,' 'privileged,; 'anti-women,' 'angry,' 'Aryan Nation' and 'KKK' . . . . ."

That session reportedly led to conclusions that white men 'don’t care about diversity,' 'have a classical perspective on history and colonialism,' and 'don’t want to give away our power.'

In another exercise, referred to as 'hearts and minds' training, the Lockheed executives were given 156 various “privilege statements” to read and discuss . . . .   

The statements reportedly included, 'My culture teaches me to minimize the perspectives and powers of people of other races,' 'I can commit acts of terrorism, violence or crime and not have it attributed to my race,' 'My earning potential is 15-33% higher than a woman’s' and 'My reproductive organs are not seen as the property of other men, the government, and/or even strangers because of my gender.'"

Perhaps the two most disturbing recent news stories about racism in America are as follows:  

1. Lt Col. Matthew Lohmeier, a ten year veteran of the air force and then a commander of 11th Space Warning Squadron in Colorado, was relieved from his post because of, allegedly, a question of his ability to lead. Why? Well, obviously, because it turns out he is a communist. Right? Wrong? You would think that would be a disqualification in our military, but I doubt it is now. But, in reality world, he self-published a book about Marxism's invasion into our military. 

I understand that he was just removed from his command and hasn't been demoted. But, that's bad enough. When criticizing Marxism becomes grounds to be thrown out of a command, we have a serious problem.

2. The American Medical Association has ended meritocracy. Imagine. The AMA, which has tremendous power and control over medicine in America, has decided, it has had enough of merit. Now, it's all about diversity. 

Here's from their new policy statement:

"Land and Labor Acknowledgement: We acknowledge that we are all living off the taken ancestral lands of Indigenous peoples for thousands of years. We acknowledge the extraction of brilliance, energy and life for labor forced upon people of African descent for more than 400 years. We celebrate the resilience and strength that all Indigenous people and descendants of Africa have shown in this country and worldwide. We carry our ancestors in us, and we are continually called to be better as we lead this work."

What? Who acknowledges? Us? My family were serfs in Russia and the like until early in the 20th century. Yours? Betting they weren't slave owners. Owe the AMA leaders and policy maker's are "us." I have a feeling there family weren't KKK leaders either.

But, leave that aside. Maybe the policy makers were all rabid fascists who until last week kept pictures of Adolf Hitler smiling at them on their PCs. Here's my favorite part (i.e., the worst part) of the statement:

"The resulting differences in outcomes among historically marginalized and minoritized populations have been explained away through the myth of meritocracy."

So, you think they are saying that Barack Obama wasn't elected to be president twice because of merit? I doubt they mean that because that wouldn't feed the narrative. Anyway, great to hear that now the AMA is dedicated to the end of meritocracy in our medical system. Good God. Good f'g God (perhaps I need to rethink my self-imposed ban on cursing on this blogpost. Some things just call for swear words).

I am not going to go into depth here, but I hope that my dear readers recognize that the "myth of meritocracy" mantra is one of the attacks on capitalism made by the left and socialists. And if you don't understand that BLM is all about socialism, you don't read their websites or books like How to be an Anti-Racist." 

You still don't think we live in a fascist country? Keep reading.

5/4/21     A New Jersey town, Hopewell Township, fired (by a unanimous vote) Officer Sara Erwin and demoted/suspended Sgt. Mandy Gray because of a June 2020 post that went up during the George Floyd riots.  Each had over 20 years time in on the job, but, apparently, but fascists don't permit seniority to get in the way of a good firing. Here's the horrible stuff Erwin wrote that got them fired:

“Last night as I left for work I had my two kids crying for me not to go to work. I don’t think I’ve ever felt the way I did last night. And then I watched people I know and others I care about going into harms way. I love my police family like my own. So when you share posts and things on Facebook I’d really appreciate if you’d THINK before doing so. I’ve seen so many black lives matter hashtags in these posts. Just to let you know — they are terrorists. They hate me. They hate my uniform. They don’t care if I die.”

Was she wrong? I don't think so. For years the BLM movement has been successfully selling a almost completely false narrative, especially demonizing police.  Sometimes they chant "death to cops" at rallies and they have tried to burn down precinct houses with the cops inside.  I bet she could have said anything negative she wanted about the Proud Boys or anyone named Trump without consequence.

*

James Boasberg, the presiding judge of the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Court, last November issued a report just declassified by the Director of National Intelligence showing that the FBI “has been seriously and systematically abusing its warrantless electronic surveillance authority.”  ​

The FBI?!?!  I'm shocked. Shocked, that there is abusive behavior going on at the FBI. In reality, this is hardly news. The FBI has a long history of doing this and the directors and congress usually just shrug at it. What has been done about their behavior over attempting to destroy Trump (I'm not going through that all here, but, if you don't know, you really are watching the wrong news shows)? Nothing really, not systemically. A token arrest and conviction of one agent, some firings during the Trump administration, but buoyed up by media and even the Biden administration (who hired, e.g., Peter Strzock's wife. Strzok himself is teaching at Georgetown). 

*

5/3/21    I've spent a lot of time recently discussing the Chauvin case as an example of how the justice process is being destroyed by BLM and its supporters. This report is fairly new though. A juror on the Chauvin case was exposed as having worn a BLM, anti-police t-shirt during a rally in Washington, D.C. He wasn't exactly asked those questions during his questioning, and he did say he was very positive about BLM, but neutral about Blue Lives Matter. He could have volunteered this. Ask yourself, if you think its no big deal, what if they had acquitted and you learned he had worn an "George Floyd deserved it" tee-shirt?

*

5/1/21   A teacher berates student for calling police "heroes" in a Zoom class at Cypress College. She said she wouldn't call the police because she feels more endangered by them. Frankly, I don't even believe her. I bet she has 911 on speed dial. The young student was incredibly brave to hold his ground against her and remained calm. Happy ending maybe? She, an adjunct, who responded to this student as if she was arguing with a frenemy on facebook rather than as a calm college professor discussing a subject, took a leave of absence from the class for the rest of the semester.

But, are there happy endings anymore? The faculty union at the Cypress blamed the administration for not defending the professor, who was increasingly nasty to a young student in a SPEECH CLASS - NOT EVEN A POLITICAL CLASS, while he tried to argue that police were generally speaking, heroes. His poise was remarkable for a kid his age.

Worse, the union for the community colleges in the district said the school failed to be ANTI-RACIST. Can you imagine if she had pulled this with a kid arguing that all cops were racist monsters. She'd probably be stoned. Really, what hope do these kids today have?

Because the zoom video went viral, there were allegedly threats made (they don't say who made them?) and they had to cancel classes. Because if they don't say precisely who the threats were made to, I presume they were not right-wing threats (does it mean you are right-wing if you appreciate cops?) but the usual BLM/Antifa threats with which we all should be familiar absent the media black out.

*  

The Biden administration is seeking to end single family home zoning in America. Call it the American Dream or what have you, but my hope my good friends who voted for Biden are paying attention. Betsy McCaughey former Lt. Governor of NY writes (5/19/21, Biden's War on Single-Family Homeowners) :

That $213 billion is nearly twice the spending on roads and bridges. It will change towns everywhere and torpedo the American dream of a house with a patch of lawn.

Biden’s plan should be called “hypocrisy housing.” Its backers are hypocrites. Biden himself owns a four-acre lakefront home in upscale Greenville, Delaware, where there is absolutely no public housing, affordable housing, or rentals that accept housing vouchers. And don’t expect any to be built next door to the Bidens.

Biden has always had a passion for stately homes and swanky addresses, even buying a 10,000 square foot mansion that once belonged to the DuPont family. Not exactly the image of “Middle-Class Joe.”

Vice President Kamala Harris and her husband own a $5 million gated home on a street of expensive single-family homes in Brentwood, California. That reeks of privilege.

President Barack Obama launched his Affirmatively Furthering Fair Housing program in 2015 to ensure that every neighborhood includes housing for low-income buyers and renters and public transportation.

Yet, for their own family, the Obamas bought an $11.75 million Martha’s Vineyard mansion on 29 waterfront acres. Martha’s Vineyard is critically short of affordable housing, according to a public report, but that didn’t stop them.

These politicians love single-family zoning and exclusivity for themselves, but not for the rest of us. The poster person for this hypocrisy is avowed Marxist Patrisse Khan-Cullors, the Black Lives Matter activist who purchased a home in exclusive Topanga Canyon, part of Los Angeles.

It's been pointed out for a long time, nothing energizes cronyism and elitism like Marxism and Fascism. The Commissars and Nazi Party officials didn't share in their people's sufferings for their idealistic causes. These people will not either. It was only reported that Khan-Cullors is stepping down from leadership of BLM. I guess she figures it will help her keep the houses. I'm sure Hollywood will embrace her.

*

I'm guessing you aren't aware of this. On his very first day in office, in his run of executive orders that dwarfs any other modern day presidents, Biden ordered federal agencies to reinterpret Title VII of the '64 Civil Rights Act based on the Supreme Court (I know, which you think leans conservative) decision in Bostock v. Clayton County. All prohibitions on sexual discrimination must include gender identity and sexual orientation (I read the decision by Justice Gorsuch, cherry-picking nonsense as pointed out in dissent by Justice Alito - the idea that any text written in '64 even considered the following is virtually insane). According to HUD now, that bars from federal funds (in other words, schools, among many other things) segregation by sex of bathrooms, showers or living quarters based on gender. You read correctly. 

A lawsuit by a religious school, College of the Ozarks, requesting a stay, was rejected (May 19th) by an Obama appointed trial court judge who said it wasn't judiciable (meaning, the court's can't decide something like this - don't worry, it makes no sense). Frankly, this is an assault on our entire culture which distinguishes men and women in domestic situations. Not in college any more. 

Personally, I don't think it is just outrageous to force religious institutions to do this. They shouldn't force any colleges to make the kids share bathrooms, showers and dorms. You could argue, this is just crazy, but not fascism. It is when they are forcing people to share living bathrooms with the opposite sex. At least in our culture.

*

A friend sent me a link today which has to go into the file of WHY ARE JEWS STILL DEMOCRATS? Ami Horowitz (obviously Jewish) a conservative film maker, stopped college students in Portland (which, obviously, given that the "Antifa candidate" got 43% of the mayoral vote, is going fascist faster than the rest of us) and pretending to be raising money for Hamas, got students to donate to it making statements like:

“We just want to get rid of Israel — it’s for the Palestinians,” “We’re looking to destroy Israel,” “We don’t want just Gaza, we want to have all of Israel,” “We want to fund operations against Israel and the type of attacks we’re talking about are cafes and schools, and, you know, soft targets,” “Hospitals, shopping malls and schools and places of worship. This is the kind of stuff we’re talking about.” 

You don't believe it. Here's a link. Ami Horowitz on Twitter: "Think the woke are not antisemitic? Think again. Watch me raise money for Hamas to kill Jews from students in Portland! https://t.co/osIVUKNk80" / Twitter

Thanks in part to support like from the pro-terrorist "Squad" in congress anti-Semitic violence in America (and elsewhere) is surging.  What does team Biden think? Here's recent advice from Aaron Keyak, the Jewish Engagement Director at Biden for President:  

“if you fear for your life or physical safety take off your kippah (head covering) and hide your magen david (star of David).” 

Can you imagine if  he was a Trump campaign leader? Or if it was said about Muslims? Mr. Keyak would be toast.

Still don't think we are living in a fascist country? Why? Because no one has beaten you up personally? Because they aren't destroying your neighborhood? 

BUT, WHAT ABOUT THE VIOLENCE? ISN'T THAT PART OF FASCISM?

Of course it is. Fascists are violent. The 500-600 violent BLM rallies in 2020 alone (counted by a think tank), each of course being constituted by many acts of violence, alone tells us that. The media has had a general blackout on what has happened in Portland the last year (actually, much longer, but it spiked after the Floyd affair) where not only does Antifa, with a lot of support, try to burn police to death and the like, but thanks to the anti-police sentiment and rhetoric from so many on the left, murder rates have skyrocketed since then. In fact, it is beyond out of control if you live in an urban area. Here are just some cities (percent more murders in 2020 than in 2019):  

Seattle - 74.1%  New Orleans -67.1  Atlanta - 72.6 (Fulton County)  Chicago - 55.5  Boston - 54.1

Portland - 51.5  Houston - 42.7  NYC - 39.2  San Francisco - 32.4  LA - 30.4 

The statistics are from Jeff Asher, a crime analyst, of select states. Asher reports that "Murder up 36.7% in 57 agencies with data through at least September (though most have data through November). Murder up in 51 of 57, 37 of 58 agencies reporting murder up more than 30%."

I'm sure I've said here before, the BLM movement and the Ferguson effect in its wake has killed minorities off in a far faster rate than the KKK did in their whole history (using NAACP statistics). If any group doesn't care about black lives, it is BLM.

You want to believe it's because of the pandemic, go ahead. That's the narrative from the media. There may be some truth to it, but I seriously doubt a lot. Isn't this what happens when police stop policing, known as the Ferguson effect? There's real evidence of that. In fact, a 2020 study from Harvard (as is often said - hardly a liberal bastion) showed that in five cities where a shooting went viral and there was an investigation into the police, the violent crime rate dramatically increased.   

As in previous posts, I can write all day about this stuff and not scratch the surface. You either recognize what is happening or you don't and probably won't until it affects you or your loved ones personally.. I'm trying in my tiny way to make up for the fact that the media is generally on the side of the fascists. When we see people like Kyle Rittenhouse prosecuted for murder when the video and other evidence seems clear he was defending his life, but the shooting of Ashli Babbett goes without prosecution or the shooter even being named, when we see NYS and City take political prisoners like Paul Manafort (NYS has tried to find charges against Trump people since 2017. The charges against Manafort were dismissed by a court, and the appeal went against the State too - now, as we know, NYC is trying to find away to prosecute Trump), when we see . . . . 

Okay, I'll stop. It is depressing. I am happy to say that this past week for the first time since May, 2020, I've seen a little evidence that at least red states are starting to wake up and are fighting back. Let's see if the federal government will try and crush their efforts.

And for those who want to think this is a white supremacy site - can't stop you, but, in reality, not at all. Sometimes in videos of a BLM violent confrontation, you can't find black people in it. This is as much about young white idiots, socialism and capitalism, as it is about blacks. And I'm convinced as well that the movement to ignore education and to eschew merit will ultimately harm blacks even more. Their leadership is among the worst aspects of our society. No less so than the KKK with whom I'd compare them. I'm still a believer, perhaps an overly hopeful one, that absent peer pressure, most blacks would reject what is going on in their name. I'll stick with MLK Jr.'s dream. I hope others do too.

Even if he was guilty, how could the Chauvin trial possibly be fair?

"The First step in a fascist movement is the combination under an energetic leader of a number of men who possess more than the average share of leisure, brutality, and stupidity. The next step is to fascinate fools and muzzle the intelligent, by emotional excitement on the one hand and terrorism on the other."

            Bertrand Russell, Freedom and Government (1940)

I've already posted on my thoughts about the summations in the Chauvin case and touched upon some other matters concerning the case, particularly its relationship to the growing fascism in our country. I'm not going to repeat everything I already wrote (pause for applause from the studio audience). Mostly, I've reflected that the defense counsel just wasn't up to the job and missed a lot of stuff. And, I know I've touched on the fact that this could not be a fair trial - and I am going to go over that, because first, more has come out about the trial and second, I think this has to be emphasized. 

You already know if you read some of this blog the last couple of years, not just the last post which was directly about it, that I believe we are already living in a country that has become fascist. It may not be the fascism of Hitler or Mussolini, or the terror of the French Revolution or Stalin, but it is always different. And, as I pointed out in the last two posts, this Chauvin case is a pretty good example of how it is working here. 

Consider this in determining whether this could be a fair trial or not:

• Chauvin was arrested in 4 days of the event, with scarce time for all the investigation the expert witnesses would testify to as to Chauvin's use of force to restrain Floyd. As I pointed out in the last post, they took 3 1/2 months to determine, against all evidence I can see in the video of Ashli Babbitt's slaying, that the officer killing her was justified (it's a lie, of course; for goodness sakes, they are prosecuting Kyle Rittenhouse in Wisconsin just for saving his own life - here's an officer who is not in anymore danger than officers surrounding Ashli and her friends with guns).
• 
  
• Immediately after his death, Minneapolis was subject to a reign of terror lasting days including 150 fires, 1300 vandalizations and resulting in 2 deaths. 
• 
  
• For 10 months after the death of Floyd, there have been riots and protests across America before the trial. That included attempts to intimidate politicians and the police union leader.
• 
  
• Right before the trial the protests started up again. During the jury selection, it was pointed out that the jurors realized they were in an armed camp so that they could feel safe.
• 
  
• Right during jury selection it was announced by Minneapolis that they had settled with Floyd's family for $27,000,000, a number that was remarkably high for any similar case, let alone death case considering that Floyd didn't earn a lot of money (that is the main consideration in these cases), that he had a long criminal record, was a chronic drug user and had a bad heart. It was an astonishing, unrealistic amount. Of course, I can't read minds and say that the powers that be were trying to influence the jury, but it couldn't but help have that effect. If I had to guess, more than influence the jury, the municipality was trying to appease the rioters that could tear apart their city again. It was an appeasement that had as much chance of working if there wasn't a conviction as giving Hitler Czechoslovakia did to stop WWII.
• 
  
• The National Guard in Minneapolis was called out as protesters gathered in Minneapolis in record numbers since WWII.
• 
  
• Two national guardsmen were injured when shot in a drive by.
• 
  
• Maxine Waters made her famous statement in a neighboring city that they needed a conviction or they would have to fight harder (More fires? Deaths?)

All that happened prior to the jury being sequestered. They were not told they could not use computers. The judge thought about granting a motion to stay and move the trial just because of the revelation about the civil case being settled and said that Maxine Waters' statement about the case might get it overturned on appeal (then why didn't he do it).

Although I personally thought Chauvin was guilty of manslaughter II (not murder II or III), he was and we all are entitled to his having a fair trial. Arguably, in light just of the announcement of the civil case settlement, or in light just of Maxine Water's Goebbel's like speech, or in light just of the riots, or just the need for the national guard and the security measures the jury had to live under, and the promise of so much more violence and destruction, if the jury did not do as demanded and convict, was enough to get this case thrown out. It wasn't. Personally, I do not think the judge's on the appellate courts of Minnesota will have the courage to do so on appeal. I hope I'm wrong. Not because punishment would not be just, but because BLM and the fascist movement can't get away with frightening jurors into not fairly and impartially weighing the evidence before they make a determination.

And, it looks like, they did not do it fairly. As the first juror to reveal himself has stated, 11 of the 12 did not even want to go over the evidence in light of the charges. They only did so because the other juror demanded it.

And, we now know that at least one juror seems to have lied or at least been deceptive about his participation in George Floyd protests. When asked on the form if he had been to any George Floyd rallies in Minnesota, he said "no" and otherwise did he or those close to him participate in protests about police use of force or police brutality (the picture that came out was of him in D.C. wearing a tee-shirt saying "Get your knee off our necks" on one side and "BLM" on the other). 

The fact that they found Chauvin guilty of Murder III as well, where it doesn't even make sense in this case, makes me think that the jury acted irrationally.

If you tell yourself, well, I hear what you are saying, but it was okay, ask yourself this -

What if the person being tried was a black cop who had killed a member of the KKK.

Now, imagine, after that happens and before the jury deliberates:

Thousands of members of the KKK rioted through the city, burning buildings, looting stores, destroying homes and assaulting cops, threatening members of the government, rioting throughout the country. Then consider if during jury selection the city settled with the Klan member's family for an unheard of sum of money, that the National Guard had to be called out for the trial in unheard of numbers since WWII and that the KKK was shooting at them. And then imagine some Republican you can't tolerate because you think they are evil - say Donald Trump - makes a speech which incites further violence just before the jury goes into deliberations? And then the jury very quickly finds the defendant guilty?

Or imagine if you find out that one of the jurors who had worn a "white supremacy" tee-shirt at a rally had answered a jury questionnaire at least indicating he hadn't?

Do you think you might find justice hadn't been done then?

I believe you would. You can believe you wouldn't. Until you do face up to what happened in this trial and what we are doing to ourselves in this country, the fascism will continue.