American Complacency by many our citizens is looking more and more like authorities of our world’s past. There is plenty of blame to go around regarding how this happened. The leadership within the U.S. A. are doing a terrible job. I am not talking about the Democratic leadership. Don’t get me wrong they have their problems too. I am talking about the Republican parties leadership and what they have been doing over the last several years. It seems I am watching scenes from a movie unfold about WW 2 and Hitler. However, I am not. I see this real time. Today I am wondering why Trump’s followers have consumed the cool Aid that Hitler gave the people of Germany. The Republican leaders seem hell bent on believing the party is more important then our country. They demonstrated that by not upholding the US constitution in Trump’s 2nd impeachment. I believe these are the same type of people that wouldn’t have stopped Hitler. Trump is much like Hitler. There are lots of red flags about Republicans right now. However, one of the big red flags is Trump’s support for Putin. How does that fit in a democracy? I want to talk about the Republican party, world history and what it takes to have healthy leadership.
Quote:
“You can’t right a ship with your eyes closed.”
Defend that
I worry about our country because the Republicans seem really off. As I mentioned they have demonstrate the party is more important then our US constitution. For example, Trump was charged with impeachment for incitement of insurrection on January 13, 2021 by the House of Representatives. I remember listening to Trump’s speech and he had all sorts of inflammatory remarks. We have it all on video and audio. He has lied to the people and they still follow him. Why? I don’t really know. Except I do know if someone lies to people, but keeps repeating that lie continuously and often enough. Those people will believe it as the truth. Trump and others has continued to do just that. They claimed the election was stolen and It wasn’t stolen. Trump kept saying this at rallies ,. “stop the steal”. Trump repeated this any chance he got. Back when 9/11 happened I remember someone say if a lie long enough and keeps repeating it. People will believe it as truth. That was the first time I heard it. It was regarding the Pilots of 9/11 the news said they were from Iraq. And I knew from the newspaper those pilots were from Saudi Arabia. Although this is nothing really new. The Nazi party had used this same tactic. Lies become the truth. In Trump’s speech on January 6th he encourage the crowed to go after then VP Mike Pence to change the vote. First of all VP Pence couldn’t change the vote it is more of a ceremony to finalize the vote of each state and put the votes in the record books. Second, Pence doesn’t have the power to change the vote it is in the US constitution. Another lie by Trump he was telling the crowed he hoped Pence had the courage to change the vote. However, that is not all that is bad with our republic. Many of our Republican Senators dismissed their duty to uphold the US constitution and possibly dismissed our democracy.
Donald J. Trump
The Republican Senators are messing with our democracy to keep the ring of power on their fingers. We are supposed to be a country of laws with leaders who follow and support those laws. I believe the Lord of the Rings movie demonstrated the craving for power visually. When someone puts on the ring they get very addicted to it’s power as shown in this film. Yes power can be addicting for people that are not grounded. Not impeaching Trump was egregious sin by majority of the Republican Senators. It was an abuse of their power given them by the people. I believe what Trump said at that rally on January 6, 2021 made him guilty of insurrection. Even though this may not meet the legal definition. It showed a screaming red flag that he should never hold office again. However, those Republican Senators that voted to acquitted him are playing with fire because they want the votes. They want that power is my belief. Republicans are looking the other way when it counted most. They seem to be afraid of the Far right, the MEGA types and their religious slant. At least one leader spoke after the vote.
Quote: “Bad men need nothing more to compass their ends than that good men should look on and do nothing.”
John Stuart Mill in an address at the University of St. Andrew 1867.
One Senator spoke out about Trump after his acquittal. Senator Mitch McConnell denounced Trumps conduct. It was so unwise for these Senators to do just that. There was no punishment. No keeping Trump from further ambition. Just like what happened to Adolf Hitler when he went to jail for a short time. No real punishment. Hitler was able to write a book while in prison for a failed coup. Just as the Germans didn’t know the real ambitions of Hitler. He was allowed to be active politically. I am sure they didn’t know the threat he would be to their democracy. I am not sure what real threat the MEGA republican party is to our democracy. The problem I have is all these similarities to the Germany occupation are showing up or red flags if you will. They keep popping up and I guess I have been in a hole for so long I didn’t see it until I did research for this blog. Trump claimed victory and labeled his 2nd impeachment as a witch hunt. This just emboldened him to be more defiant. The republicans need to remove Trump, but I fear there will be others just to take his place. The Nazi Germany playbook is well documented I believe and it seem MAGA republicans are following it. In part, I hold the Democratic managers responsible for not calling witnesses at his 2nd Impeachment trial. It was a foolhardy mistake. Trumps speech reminds me of an event in the 1960’s.
Mitch McConnell’s remarks after Impeachment Senate vote
http://www.law.cornell.eduAs you may know President John Kennedy was shot and killed in the 1960‘s. When I have watch news reels of the event. I think about how comical it was of the reporters kept say how Lee Harvey Oswald was guilty, yet they had no film evidence of Lee shooting John F. Kennedy. The press kept saying he was guilty of the killing. Again no film evidence. A few days later Lee Harvey Oswald is covered by all the major networks of the time for his jail transfer. He is in TX police custody walking with detectives and police all around. Out of the right corner of the camera Jack Ruby steps in front of Lee Harvey Oswald with detectives to either side and shoots him several times. Of course all these officers and detectives apprehend Jack and detain him. This is on live TV mind you. Whenever the reporters talked about Jack Ruby they remind the audience that Jack Ruby is innocent until proven guilty. What? Lee is guilty with no film, yet Jack is innocent with film evidence. On January 6th, Trump’s speech is all there recorded and the majority of Republican Senators voted he was innocent. Jack Ruby and Trump are alike. They both did crimes that were recorded. These are the facts and Trump got away because of jury nullification.
Jury nullification refers to a jury’s knowing and deliberate rejection of the evidence or refusal to apply the law either because the jury wants to send a message about some social issue that is larger than the case itself, or because the result dictated by law is contrary to the jury’s sense of justice, morality, or …
In its strictest sense, jury nullification occurs when a jury returns a Not Guilty verdict even though jurors believe beyond reasonable doubt that the defendant has broken the law.
To me it is beyond a reasonable doubt that the majority of the Republican Senators committed nullification as a body to preserve their desire for power and control of the US government. “Power tends to corrupt, and absolute power corrupts absolutely”, as the quote goes. Ex president Donald Trump has shown he isn’t a man of great character. He has lied, he has cheated. He called Vladimir Putin a “genius and savvy. That was just incredible, but not unexpected. Trump thinks bullies are all the rage. There is an old saying, “People of the same feather flock together.” Trump is a bully too and he has fooled so many people. Other leaders around the world have fooled many people many times. Maybe not so much in the United States, yet we are a very young country when compared to the other countries. A common theme in our world seems to be that those who forget history are doomed to repeat it.
“People are people and it doesn’t matter what century they are from.”
Defend that, 1984
Note: Often drinking the cool aid refers to being a blind believer in someone or something. One example is of John Jones who was a fanatical religious leader who had people follow him in death. They drank poisoned cool aid.
Maybe you know who I am about to talk about from history or maybe you don’t. As humans we have belief systems and we believe in certain people. I believe trust is a pretty big part for followers. My dad was often a very trusting man. He would often trust people he shouldn’t have. I am not sure why he trust people they shouldn’t. I know myself that I have trusted people I shouldn’t. Maybe it is something passed down from generation to generation. Although I believe most if not all people want a leader they can trust. Also, it can be something that the speaker said that resonated with a particular group or person. And people begin to sip the cool aid. He speaks again and more people gulp that cool aid. Eventually if no one is really listening to what is being told or said people will blindly follow and to chug that cool-aid. Well during WW2 the people of Germany were drinking the cool aid from Adolf Hitler. He was a pretty dramatic speaker and had showmanship qualities. Weimar Republic.
The destruction of Democracy- Nazism and the Rise of Hitler
During Hitler’s time as he gave speeches much like Trump. I have watched some clips and often wonder what he was saying as I don’t speak German. He seems to get the crowds pumped up just like Trump. As I have said people are people. People are fools sometimes. Trump is the same to the American Republicans as Hitler was to the German people at that time. One thing I didn’t know is that Germany was a democracy Hitler took power. There was a suspicious fire at the German Parliament in February of 1933 that allowed him to destroy democracy in Germany. After Hitler indefinitely suspended civic rights like freedom of speech, press and assembly he went after his enemies. He was able to eliminate these liberties because President Hindenburg offer the Chancellorship which was the highest position in the cabinet of ministers. Hitler completed the destruction of democracy by smashing the nations democratic institutions. Like they say about making pottery , “ it has all been done before”, so it is with the kinds of leaders a country can be guided by or dominated by. “ Hindenburg’s advisors convinced him that Hitler must be given the chancellorship to ensure the support of the Nazi Party and a functional government. Despite his distaste for Hitler, Hindenburg made him Chancellor on 30 January, 1933, and gave his Nazi Party two seats in the cabinet.” 1
Even though President Hindenburg offered the Chancellorship to Hitler, it was Vice chancellor Franz von Papen who thought he could keep Hitler under control. However Hitler built up his political power of the people where von Papen was weakest. von Papen was strong within the establishment, but not with the people. Hitler also used Article 48 of the Weimar Republic. That article states the President can declare a state of emergency in Germany in times of National problems. It allowed him to be a dictator for short periods of time. It seems to me Mitch McConnell is in the same situation as Franz von Papen was in back in January of 1933. McConnell wasn’t able to control Trump either. Plus, our country seems to be under the similar economic circumstances as that of Germany when Hitler took power.
…… (Andrei Tapalaga; the Man who Brought Hitler to Power)
As far as political dynamics go I believe Mitch McConnell is much less powerful then Trump. Trump has national political clout where Mitch McConnell only has it in his home state of Kentucky. It sort of looks like we are going down the same road as the Germans did just prior to WW2. Trump has a very strong political support. We are currently in the beginning of a recession and the Germans were in the depression. Republicans are starting to dismantle some Institutions that have been established for a long time. Are these the institution that democracy is built on? As I have done some research for this blog, it is really scary close the way Trump and Hitler do mirror each other in the speeches, political power and how they wreck things. The way to prevent all of this is to get healthy leaders elected. One philosopher developed ideas on political characteristics and leadership skills that are desired.
I have always said, “Politicians don’t fix things, they just claim to.”
Defend that
That philosopher Niccolo Machiavelli who worked from 1469 to 1527. He wrote a book called the Prince. Here are some of the ideas from that book that make for good leaders. He defined virtue as behavior which showing high moral standards (i.e., They are honest, respectful, courageous, forgiving, and kind, for example). Moral standards are those concerned with or relating to human behavior, especially the distinction between good and bad behavior. Moral standards involves the rules people have about the kinds of actions they believe are morally right and morally wrong. …”the medieval Italian philosopher asserted that a good leader: Should be feared rather than loved “if you cannot be both” in order to avoid a revolt. One should have the support of the people because it’s difficult to take action without their support. Should hold good virtues.”- – Machiavelli
Some thoughts by Aimee Juarez on her blog in the Saybrook forum stated some leadership theories on what that entails. When talking about authentically in her translation of Machiavelli’s principles. She explained the why. It is because believe it or not the man didn’t appreciate dishonesty. She states that “there is no other way to guard yourself against flattery,” Machiavelli wrote, “ then by making men understand that telling you the truth will not offend you”. Aimee couldn’t have possibly know how our world would change so much in June 29, 2012 when she wrote these words about leadership at that time. In our frail world, USA leadership consists of power grabs for the sake of power- grabbing, leadership will ultimately fall apart. Machiavelli wrote, It is not titles that honor men, but men that honor titles.” Any leader who focuses solely on the accrual of power is acting disingenuously and, when the people revolt against this behavior, this leader’s employment status may meet a tragic end.
While morals tend to be driven by personal beliefs and values, there are certainly some common morals that most people agree on, such as: Always tell the truth. Do not destroy property. Have courage. Keep your promises. Do not cheat. Treat others as you want to be treated. Do not judge. Be dependable.
These senators from the Republican party did their job on voting to convict then President Donald Trump. These brave men and women showed leadership, courage, determination and most of all they kept their oath of office promises. These are the types of leaders the United States needs:
Senators: (R) Richard Burr [NC], (R) Bill Cassidy [LA], (R) Lisa Murkowski [Alaska], (R) Mitt Romney [Utah], (R) Ben Sasse [Neb], (R) Pat Toomy [Pa], (R) Susan Collins [Maine]. House of Representatives: (R) Liz Cheney [Wy], (R) Tom Rice [SC], (R) Dan Newhouse [Wa], (R) Adam Kinzinger [IL], (R) Anthony Gonzalez [OH], (R) Fred Upton [Mi], (R) Jaime Herrera Beutler [Wa], (R) John Katko [NY], (R) David Valadao [Ca]
Again, these are the kinds of leaders we need in the USA. They are the ones with honesty, courage, dependability, keep their word/ promises and they stood by the truth in our time. They knew when it is time to stand up no matter what your party wanted them to do. It is amazing to me that the Republican party dropped support for Liz Cheney for someone who would continue the lies of the president Trump that lost. Liz protected the constitution of the United States and stood up to a Tyrant. That is leadership who speaks their mind and defended the US constitution. She was good for our country as were the others. There in another Philosopher, Scientist and professor of economics who actually talks about Machiavelli. He says that Niccolo made a mistake.
Machiavelli’s Mistake: Why Policies Designed for “wicked Men” fail
Sam Bowles presented a lecture at Yale University and it is titled, “Machiavelli’s mistake: why good laws are no substitute for good citizens. Although, I can’t go into this at the moment. Just that statement make a whole lot of sense to me. Even now as the Republicans and Democrats try to force their beliefs on people of the USA whether it is rescinding a law or writing a new one. They both are trying to write some good law for guiding citizens. In the moral standard most of us know to treat others as we want to be treated.
“Lawgivers make the citizen good by inculcating habits in them, and this is the aim of every lawgiver. If he does not succeed in doing that, his legislation is a failure. It is in this that good constitution differs from a bad one.”
Aristotle Nicomachean ethics (350 BC)
Judaism symbol. Jewish Star of David. Jude Cemetery in Cracow Ghetto. Kazimierz district. Poland. Auschwitz and Holocaust metaphor. Black and white.
In closing, I wish American citizens who will be voting could see where we are headed. The thing is people are people. One can find the same kinds of people no matter what generation your search covers. We have the bad and the good. We haven’t changed all that much, however; technology has changed. I believe a mirror of history has returned to our soil from Nazi Germany of World War 2. Our American counterparts are now in play. These are not people of good character nor are they men and woman of honesty. They are going where the wind blows them. At the end of the day lying is still lying and that is not a good thing. The MAGA hat Republicans are becoming the main stream Republicans which seems to be adopting extremism which has emphasized nationalism and patriotism. It wouldn’t be bad if it was centered and not on the extreme edges of the political spectrum. It makes me think this was the attitudes of the Nazi party and maybe many of them didn’t think it would end up that bad. Maybe they didn’t know? Undoubtedly some people did know I’ll never know, yet I do see things that are the same. The Republican leaders didn’t speak out about the scapegoating of Mexicans, of Muslims and whoever else they included. Scapegoating is what the Nazis did in Germany. Check. Trump was a dynamic speaker, he told lies and he used propaganda. Hitler and the Nazi party did those things too. The party was characterized by extremism and scapegoating. Check. The Untied States of America has weak political parties which includes the Democrats, moderate Republicans, Libertarian and Green parties. All of these parties seem much weaker the those of MAGA republicans. With many of the candidates continue to spread lies initially started by Trump. The stolen election is a lie and always has been. In Germany at the time the older parties couldn’t form a majority government between them. The Nazis blame the economic down turn on the current party or parties. Hitler had determination to follow the law now and try to gain power through elections. Check. In November of 1923, Hitler lead a coup attempt. He only served several short sentences as the authorities probably thought he wasn’t a threat to their Republic. Interesting Trump tried a coup attempt too on January 6, 2021. Trump spent no time in jail so far as the Republican majority Senate voted to acquit his through jury nullification. Check. In Germany 1936, Hitler had Nazi you groups one for boys and girls to indoctrinate them into the way of Nazi though or beliefs. Although Trump’s MAGA party aren’t with children per-say, but there is an organization that is Pro Trump anything and everything called TPUSA. They have contact with 2, 500 High schools and colleges. It is a youth movement just like Hitler. Check. In the end Germany leadership in 1933 and 1934 dismantled the republic of democracy to dictatorship. The elected leaders that can’t be trusted. But that blind following happens in religions all the time. What concerns me is that these followers/ voters are acting just like religious zealots. They have already drank the cool aid and have been lied to for so long. I believe it is in Hitlers book that if you keep feed people the lies they will eventually believe. You just have to keep saying it and saying it. Trump has done that. Check. The propaganda came from newspapers to craft language and imagery carefully to praise Nazi policies and Hitler himself, and to demonize their enemies…. In America, that sounds like FOX news. Check. I am going to vote for the democrats because frankly the republicans can’t be trusted. The republican candidates follow party lines religiously. We need politicians that don’t lie. That don’t continue those lies like Germany of old. Lying is bad. For me voting has always been about choosing between the lesser of two evils. We need leaders of good moral standing. They have now outlawed Roe vs Wade. Where will it stop? Seriously, I don’t want a dictatorship do you?
Closeup of a ragged Jewish badge in the hands of a man
Quote: First they come for
First they came for the socialists, and I did not speak out – because I am not a socialist. Then they came for the trade unionists, and I did not speak out – because I was not a trade unionist. Then they came for the Jew, and I did not speak out – because I was not a Jew. Then they came for me – and there was no one left to speak for me.
Martin Niemöller – a German Protestant pastor
My political Science 101 class book in the 1980’s had a paragraph that kind of jumped out at me as we were reading. It said something to the effect that people don’t care about laws that don’t affect them. Eventually a law is passed that does affect them, but now it doesn’t affect others, so they don’t care about that law. We needed to vote out bad laws. Martin Niemoller seems to sum that up pretty well in his poem.
F7NJH6 mentally and physically handicapped Jewish prisoners, in Buchenwald concentration camp 1938
Trump calls Putin genius and savvy for Ukraine invasion
I wanted to just put out a copy of the 12th Amendment. It seems there is so much misinformation out there I thought I would just put this section up so people can see it. In addition, I have added the 3rd article of the 20 Amendment. It is mentioned in the 12th Amendment, so I wanted people to be able to read it. I fixed my mistakes and I hope that I got them all. The insurrection or coup or “Domestic Terrorists” or whatever you want to call it. It was not a demonstration of what good citizens do. “Good laws are no substitute for good citizens” – Sam Bowles As you will read there is no way for a vice president to short circuit the certification process. They were do just certify what the people wanted. President Joe Biden and and Vice President Kamala Harris had the majority votes of the people. Some of the members of the House and Senate voted against certify process. I hope that our leaders choose the decision for all these members. We shall all see what they do.
The flag at half staff for those who died on January 6, 2021.
Amendment XII. The 12 Amendment was ratified June 15, 1804.
The Electors shall meet in their respective states, and vote by ballot for President and Vice President, one of whom, at least, shall not be an inhabitant of the same state with themselves; they shall name in their ballots the person voted for as President, and in distinct ballots the person voted for as Vice- President, and they shall make distinct lists of all persons voted for as President, and of all persons voted for as Vice-President and of the number of votes for each, which lists they shall sign and certify, and transmit sealed to the seat of the government of the United States, directed to the President of the Senate; -The President of the Senate shall, in the presence of the Senate and House of Representatives, open all the certificates and the votes shall be counted; – The person having the greatest number of votes shall be the President, if such number be a majority of the whole number of Electors appointed; and if no person have such majority, then from the persons having the highest numbers not exceeding three on the list of those voted for as President, the House of Representatives shall choose immediately, by ballot, the President. But in choosing the President, the votes shall be taken by states, the representation from each state having one vote; a quorum for this purpose shall consist of a member or members from two-thirds of the states, and a majority of all the states shall be necessary to a choice. [And if the House of Representatives shall not choose a President whenever the right of choice shall devolve upon them, before the fourth day of March next following, then the Vice- President shall act as President, as in the case of the death or other constitutional disability of the President- -] * The person having the greatest number of votes as Vice-President, shall be the Vice-President, if such a number be a majority of the whole number of Electors appointed, and if no person have a majority, then from the two highest numbers on the list, the Senate shall choose the Vice-President; a quorum for the purpose shall consist of two-thirds of the whole number of Senators, and a majority of the whole number shall be necessary to a choice. But no person constitutionally ineligible to the office of President shall be eligible to that of Vice-President of the United States.
* Superseded by section 3 of the Twentieth Amendment
Amendment XX. **
Section 3. If, at any time fixed for the beginning of the term of the President, the President elect shall have died, the Vice President elect shall become President. If a President shall not have been chosen before the time fixed for the beginning of his term, or if the President elect shall have failed to qualify, then the Vice President elect shall act as President until a President shall have qualified; and the Congress may by law provide for the case wherein neither a President elect nor a Vice President elect shall have qualified, declaring who shall then act as President, or the manner in which one who is to act shall be selected, and such person shall act accordingly until a President or Vice President shall have qualified. ** The Twentieth Amendment was ratified January 23, 1933.
“All tyrannies rule through fraud and force, but once the fraud is exposed they must rely on force”.
George Orwell ,… from Az Quotes
Remember,
“All tyranny (evil) needs to gain a foothold is for people of good conscience to remain silent”.
This quote is credited to Edmund Burke and Thomas Jefferson, yet no firm evidence exists for Jefferson.
I bought my copy of the constitution from the post office. You can go online and buy a copy. I bought mine in 1998. I am not sure how I order it. I may have just gone to the US Post office. I bought it for $1.25. On the label it says Constitution of US Pueblo Books ISBN -X2567-1-34 I am not sure if it is still available through this company. The one I have is a pocket version.
Sorry this took so long. I started on December 12, 2020 and finished on January 5, 2021. Technical difficulties on 6th & 7th, so now I will put it out there…….
The story of the Jim Jones and the Peoples Temple are indicative of what has been going on with leaders and followers in this country. There have been plenty of twists and turns in this presidential election after the electoral collage did their job and turned in the results. All we need now is House and Senate of the United States do their bit according to the 12 Amendment. While I have been observing people I have learned that tigers will always shows their stripes. In other words a person will show you who they are by their actions or even by what they say. Although US Attorney General William Barr resigned from the Trump administration as many others have done. Perhaps the reason for their separation was just a disagreement over voter fraud claims and the lack evidence. US elect Joe Biden has called out Trump for his behavior. I feel like this is some soap opera playing out in a screenplay, but it is real. We have a problems and it is getting worse. Like all infections they start with an opening. Then the bugs infect and the puss emerges. Then it’s cleaned out and triple antibiotic gets put on and covered with a band-aid. We have 3 problems that are like an infection and it’s reared its ugly heads. First, we have problems within the Republican party and the leadership in the US in general. Second, we are in the camp fire moment. The USA is burning in conflict. Third, we have a problem with accountability and tiger stripes.
The Leadership
We have a problems with our leadership. I bet you may be wondering what Donald Trump has in common with Jim Jones. Jim Jones was a leader of a religious group, perhaps even a cult. The People’s Temple was actually created in the 1950‘s in Indianapolis. Jim created branches later in Los Angeles and in San Francisco, CA. In 1974, he created an agricultural facility in Guyana. He convinced hundreds of people f to move from the US to this settlement Jim called Jonestown. Jim Jones controlled all or most of the transactions in this town. He had a number of people who were enforcers. On Nov. 18,1978 approximately 900 people died there. I believe some were willing to drink, while others were forced to drink. Dozens of members did survive; however, Democratic Rep. named Leo Joseph Ryan Jr. and his group did not survive. They were ambushed and killed while preparing to board several airplanes. Surviving members stated Jones would not tolerate defectors. He saw them as traitors. If you ever hear of the phrase “,drinking the Kool- Aid”, it is from this event in Jonestown. The Kool-Aid was spiked with poison. It’s a fable about followers who drink whatever is being preached and they blindly accept any information without questioning it. I believe Trump exemplifies Jones demeanor. Trump tweets so many things and he slips these followers his brand of “drinking the Kool- Aid ” of which they are too eager to sip.
To read more about the People’s Temple click on the link below.
Trump’s mesmerizing speeches some how got people excited and committed. His followers eat it up his every word. His rallies have sparked the creation of songs, T-shirts and hats. He has a Christian following. When anyone confronts his speeches or question what he has said, he says it is” fake news.” Trump is much like Jim Jones. The two of them share similar traits. They share the silver tongue to get people rilled up at rallies, they must have common attitudes and each demands absolute loyalty. I don’t know all the traits they have in common, but I do know a red flag when I see one. Trump said something so outrageous while out campaigning trail. He stated ….”I could shoot someone on 5th avenue and I wouldn’t lose votes”. I certainly believe they “drank the Kool-Aid” to follow a man after he says such a thing. Maybe for some it was his to do with the slogan “Make American Great Again” ? I don’t know because I am not one of those people. Although, I did watch a clip of the video where he spoke in Iowa. That clip tells a very different story. It is short, however it reveals a lot about Trump by what he says and what he does. It reveals a lot about the candidate D.J Trump. The video was taken at the Sioux Center in Iowa. That center is on a small Christian college campus.
The link below is a short clip on that Christian campus. I heard some laughter, but not a lot. What I see is Trump bragging and boasting. He seemed to have a straight face and didn’t laugh once. By the audio it would be difficult to determine whether audience saw his statement as funny or whether they were uncomfortable with what they just heard. Someone’s body language would key to telling if they were comfortable with what was said or uncomfortable. The audience is never seen. Watch and see.
The Interview with Wolf Blitzer contains misinformation by Trump. He says to Wolf ,”you know I was kidding” and “they know I was kidding.” He goes on,” I was laughing they were laughing”. He changed the narrative right there. I can’t speak to his motives for saying what he said. Trump responded to Blitzer’s question by saying,” it is in essence a fabrication of a dishonest press”. How does that get spun? People with borderline personality disorder can lie to your face because they are pathological liars. They literally believe what they say is the truth. [I may have a blog about borderline personality] It was a very telling clip of Trump with Wolf Blitzer. This candidate already shows his tiger strips and people either knew it or just ignored it. He was like the Pied Piper with promises.
The Pied Piper story is about a person who plays a flute to attract his catch. One of those things he catches are children and people to follow him. These followers get mesmerized by the music her plays and follow him blindly. They believe everything that comes out of his mouth. I kind of get it about it that because I followed blindly a fundamental religion because I had hope. Have you ever lied to yourself because you want something to be true even though you had experiences that were just the opposite of what they told me? Perhaps Trump fulfills some sort of savior type of character who saves the U.S.A and drains the swamp. At least that was one of his promises. Perhaps it is this sense of getting people all riled up that gets them to agree with what he says and only to be slipped something entirely different. Perhaps these people get lost in the hopefulness of what they see going on in the USA and they buy into believing in what he offers. Trumps character also reminds me of Adolf Hitler too. Although, I believe Hitler was much smarter then President Donald Trump. He too had a silver tongue and was able to convince people of things that were false. Hitler blamed the Jews for everything that was wrong with the world. I believe the perfect storm happened in Germany in the 1930’s and a similar storm in 2016 for the followers to follow. Trump has successful to scapegoat the News media. He calls it “fake news”. Scapegoating has been around for centuries. Currently Trump is scapegoating the software companies for his lose in the 2020 Election. Even in the absence of proof his believers follow. I know people who are still buying what Trump is selling. The problem with all of this is that Republicans haven’t spoken up enough. The leaders of this country have remained mostly silent. The same with the Democrats. They haven’t said enough to counter act the mis or dis information Trump has sold on Twitter almost everyday. Perhaps there was nothing to do since the bad Genie had been out for a while. Even though Mitch McConnell has only spoken up lately. He didn’t speak on his own he stated that the the Electoral College has spoken. The 12 Amendment states what comes next via the House and the Senate certify the votes from the Electoral college. In the event that no presidential nominee has the majority, then the House and the Senate would vote to choose the US president. Rumblings are already happening prior to January 6, 2021 which is the date of certification.
One thing about abuser is that they need enablers. I believe that leadership members of Congress did not stop the lying in the beginning, nor did the Republicans. None of them spoke as often enough against Trumps tweets. My mom once told me, you will only get abused to the amount that you are willing to let it happen. I believe as citizens we have had enough abuse that hopefully the pendulum swings back the other way. Many politicians hand out all sorts of misinformation and disinformation. Unfortunately because it has been going on for a long time I don’t believe we will be able to stop it. Perhaps the best way to counter this sort of false information is a good defense. That defense would include being well informed from both sides of the aisle. You many never be able to figure out which side is telling the truth, but at least you won’t be close to extremism. National security is something we don’t need to be informed on. For instance, national security of troop movements or other military operation can’t be shared. I get that and I am okay with too. It is important to keep our special operators safe and revealing that kind of information to the public would threaten the lives of service member’s. One of the casualties of Trumps misinformation and or disinformation campaign is that our allies don’t know if they can trust him as commander and chief. Even though he says he will back our allies they began to not trust him. I know Israelis stopped trust him anymore it was in their newspaper. Nor do our allies in Europe and Asia as their confidence in America’s commitments are very shaken according to NBC news. His integrity , his word has no meaning. Instead of uniting all of us Trump has been dividing us for a long time. It is certainly crazy to me to know that 70 million people voted for President Trump in the 2020 elections. How many of them “drank the Kool-aid”? I wonder if these same 70 million share the same attitudes and beliefs in Trump as the people of Germany had of who of Adolf Hitler in the 1930’s to be their chancellor. Hitler rose to power with almost unlimited political power through terror, manipulation and false promises. Paul von Hindenburg was assured by Franz von Papen that Hitler could be easily controlled (see https://www.britannica.com/biography/Paul-von-Hindenburg). Did someone in the US make the same promise about Trump that he could be easily controlled? I believe Trump had these some similar ambitions as Hitler, yet the checks and balances within the US constitution were enough to stop his dreams of being some sort of dictator or even emperor. Animals will always show you who they are and this tiger continues to show his type of stripes and colors.
In this country we can find leadership comes in all shapes and sizes. I am not talking physically qualities. I am talking mentally qualities. We are allowed to have lots of ideas, beliefs, and experiences because we live in a relatively free country. We need a president that works with others. Great leaders can travel the country and speak. They should not be speaking in rhetoric. They should be speaking clearly and honestly. They aught to bring people together. The one thing about the commander and chief is that he or she can’t be a peacenik. You lead one of the most powerful armies in the world. That President ought to not wield this power on whim. He must stand up to the big bullies on the block. The President is the highest diplomat we have in this country. A leader should be able to see other peoples views. That person aught to be a speak to both parties to get things done. They aught to read up on Roman history learn the good the bad and the ugly. This way they could become a wise man with the knowledge of what happened to a once very powerful nation.
I believe the other part of this bad leadership puzzle problem lays at the doorstep of each party. It seems more like a secret club. Like all board members in business or large corporations only certain people are allowed access. Board members run the business while telling CEOs or Presidents what to do when they are told. So it makes me wonder is the Republican National Committee telling leaders what they can or can’t do? What is Ronna McDaniel’s job as committee chairwoman do? Then we have the o the Democratic National Committee and the same questions can be ask. Is Tom Perez , chairman, telling leaders what they can and can’t do? How come so many of our leaders did not speak up at Federal level when our US president had been out for so long? Many more are speaking up now that the end of Trump’s reign is closer to the end. I am glad Senator Majority Leader Mitch McConnell has finally spoken up, but is it too little to late? When people follow the law and it is applied to everyone equally this nation is in a good place. The law needs to be king. There are rumblings of dissent on the 12 Amendment. Senator Josh Hawley is laying claim that large media corporations interfered with the election. I don’t believe that has any validity. It seems a coup is developing purely because some Republicans from the House (140) and the Senate (12) want to show their allegiance to the Fundamentalist Republicans or Trump. It is not normal and I suggest each of these members be removed and hold those states effected have a special election since each are not upholding the US Constitution and their duties to protect it from foreign and domestic enemies.
“All tyrannies rule through fraud and force, but once the fraud is exposed they must rely on Force.”
George Orwell ……from Az Quotes
“ All tyranny (evil) needs to gain a foothold is for people of good conscience to remain silent”
Edmund Burke……. NO firm evidence exists for Thomas Jefferson
The Camp fire moment
We are currently at a campfire moment with messages that are going out. I remember when everyone was gathered around the campfire as a kids on a camp out. My friends and I are sitting near the campfire on stumps or chairs. Then someone starts the game where you send a message around in the circle. I can’t remember how these started. A message is sent from mouth to ear, mouth to ear until “the message” had gone around the whole circle at the camp fire. The message had changed when the beginning and the end message were compared. In a way Trump has done this with all his tweets. There are many news outlets with all of this misinformation and or disinformation being spread like at the campfire. There are commentators, bloggers repeating or embellishing story after story on the internet or on the News which are just like being around that campfire. The truth is very hard to separate from the falsehoods. One thing that is essential to combating all the misinformation and disinformation is being educated about both sides of the issue. Often reading neutral publications that are less bias is best. If you can’t find one then read two different view points, say the right and the left side. By doing this you will know the truth is somewhere in the middle. I like to hear views from the other points of view. Not only does it make me informed it also makes me balanced in my point of any particular view. I often look at my own beliefs because I am a reflective practitioner. I often ask myself is my thinking in a healthy place? One thing is for sure is that Trump sends out a lot of tweets. The spread of misinformation and disinformation were the actions of the day in San Fransisco a little over 100 years ago much like today.
If we go back to early 1900‘s we find a similar situation happening today that happened in San Fransisco. This is all about the Bubonic plague that came to San Fransisco. I have included two links where you can read about it or watch a video. Just like today’s Covid -19, Bubonic plague came from the shores of China. I have always said, “people are people”- Defend that. It really doesn’t matter what era a person live in there are liars, cheaters and whatnot. The good and the bad. This cast of misfit characters includes the California Governor Henry Gage, publisher William Randolph Hearst, Navy Surgeon General W.K. Van Reypen, we have all of Chinatown in San Francisco, the Mayor James Phelan of San Francisco, Dr. Joseph J. Kinyoun an American Physician, the major 3 newspapers of the day (the Bulletin, the Call and the Chronicle), about 300 SF policemen, the original rat pack of killers (Kids and adults killing rats throughout the city), S.S. Nippon Maru which transports the disease when two died at sea and 2 mores cases of stowaways found dead when they arrive in the SF bay. Eventually the US Government and whoever else gets involved in this mess. It just reminds me of the Keystone cop movies where one crazy thing leads to another crazy thing and it just goes on and on.
It all starts on a trade ship that either had immigrants, sailors or stowaways who were sick. The ship starts from Canton (Guangzhou), China then travels to Hong Kong and heads east to Hawaii Islands and ends in the bay at San Francisco, California. The ship raised a flag which meant there was someone sick or dead. Some how Hawaii’s Chinatown it’s discovered that they have Bubonic plaque in late 1899. Initially 41 fires are set in Chinatown, Honolulu to cleanse the place; however, the fires burned out of control for 17 days which equates to about 38 acres in the 1900. Many of those residents left and settled elsewhere. As a result, Chinatown, San Francisco finds out about that and they fear the authorities will burn there place down too. A male who contracts the black death, who may or may not be dead, is taken by roommates to a place in town. They anonymously leave this individual at funeral parlor or casket place. As it turns out that place gets a Health inspection say the next day. the inspector finds black bumps and lumps and thing on this corpse. This fires up all the mechanism for misinformation and disinformation.
Here you have it and it is not in any order whatsoever. I am just informing you what happened by individuals and entities. If only, you could hear rag time music playing in the background as you read this. In early 1900’s the big 3 newspapers, the Bulletin, the Call and the Chronicle, continued to call it “the plague fake”. On the other hand the Examiner boasted that “San Fransisco is plague proof” in their February edition. Hearst’s paper headlines their paper with,” The black plague creeps into America.” Henry Gage blamed conspiracy stuff on Dr. Joseph J. Kinyoun for the “plaque fake.” And actually Gage succeeded in blaming the doctor and convince people of disinformation. Henry Gage himself said, ”never seen a living case of plague” in San Francisco. Gage is not a health professional. The health officials believed it was a China plague. “It is a disease peculiar to the Orient and seldom, if ever, attacks Europeans…There is absolutely not danger of the plague ever getting here” echoed Navy Surgeon General W.K Reypen. The mayor, James Phelan, got in on the action too by lifting the quarantine. The governor was trying to hide the fact because other states didn’t want to do business or trade with the state of California if it indeed had the plague. Gage suspected people were trying to take his power as governor during all this. Eventually it gets so bad the people of Chinatown are hiding black plague corpses. The Washington DC health board eventual figures out that SF does have the black plague from tests and what not. Children become hunters of rats to be autopsied. Then 300 police officers stand guard while all of Chinatown is surrounded by barbed wire and an 8 foot tall fencing. The Governor Henry Gage is so motivated by his concern a U.S. Navy fleet would not do a port of call if the Bubonic plague was found in San Francisco. And then a big earth quake and fire of 1906. Now you know that mis- and dis- information were used long before 2020. If you want to read more Bubonic plague in San Fran two links below.
Just to explain the two different types of false information. Misinformation is defined as a person who believes they are telling the truth, but in fact they are not telling the truth. For example, people who are a “flat earthier” believes the earth is flat, but that isn’t the truth. The earth is in fact round. Disinformation is when a person knows the information is false, yet they are saying it is true.
Video: The Bubonic Plague in San Francisco by Ask a Mortician Caitlin Doughty. 32 min
I didn’t realize how much misinformation and disinformation played such rolls in our country until I started writing this blog. I heard as a kid that P.T. Barnum said,” there is a suck born every minute”, but that is wrong. So, for me this was misinformation and the person that told me could have been disinformation. It is actually attributed to David Hannum. I won’t go into the details. So for many of us we have been dealing with misinformation and disinformation our entire lives. I believe it has only gotten worse these last four years with President Trump in office because he was spewing out erupting volcano loads of stuff that was hard to contain. Don’t get me wrong there are other president of the US that had done this too. I don’t know how many times I had read the paper different details then those reported by TV anchors. Shouldn’t these stories be the same? I never thought about it before. I hope to illustrate the differences between the newspaper and what TV anchors were told to say. I just let it go, but the absence of the truth creates more and more problems. Eventually I see this as a true problem may yet cause our country to fall. Are we on the same road as the Roman Empire before it fell because big or small campfire moments?
These campfires that happened were hallmark events and adjustments were made later. Each time one these events happened the pendulum swung in a different direction. It was a time for our leaders to change how they do business, but talk is cheap. Although well intentioned these changes were talked about, but sometimes history does have to repeat itself before real change takes place. These two agencies have dealt with high profile events in particular. The ATF and FBI give news information to news agencies to dispense to the public. Sometimes that information is in the form of mis- and dis- information. Why this is used, I don’t really know. None of these will be covered in any real detail as each are a complicated mess that has had many articles written about them The 3 events that stand out in my mind are Ruby Ridge, the Branch Davidian Compound and September 11, 2001. The first happened at a cabin in near Naples, ID. I read articles about the incident. The government putting out misleading facts to the news agencies. The Field commander gave a kill order which listed 4 directives and that is why Vicki Weaver is killed. See Wikipedia for more details. The news media had me believe she was standing between the door and door jam as if greeting someone. Something doesn’t make sense here. How can a 2nd bullet hit Harris in the chest and goes though him and kills Vicki as she stands behind the door? Why? A sniper took a 2nd shot so close to the cabin entry he must have known he could endanger others inside the cabin. Why did he take the shot? All these deaths for 2 sawed off shot guns and a failed court date appearance? There have been long standing rules to use deadly force. Why was it handled this way? FBI, ATF & other lawman: In the hundreds. Weavers: 3 adults, 4 children under 16 years old.
My second choice is the Branch Davidian Compound near Waco, TX. It had a different set of problems of abuse and true details were withheld. Later after the compound burned to the ground about 300 firearms and components were found. The ATF and FBI were misleading to the news agencies, but both sides appear to be misleading. The ATF and FBI labeled the followers of the fire starters. The use of pyrotechnic tear gas canisters which they denied at first. I have read military grade tear gas canisters was used too. I read 400 tear gas canisters were used. I don’t know, but that is a lot of canisters that have potential to start a fire, but could it have hindered their escape? When searching for the number of agents involved, I thought it would be easy and it wasn’t. Articles conflict on number of ATF agents on site one was 80 the other states 100. This was all about the Federal arms allowances. Another states 900 agents were involved. Recently discovered President Bill Clinton had ears on the situation. He preferred a “wait and see strategy. He did okay the gas plan. Which is the truth and what is fiction ?
Coeur d’Alene, ID- Report /ID State Fire Marshall shows tear gas / source of a house fire on July 12, 2006. Canister first ignited the fabric then foam cushions of a couch.
As a side note on February 2013 to Ex. LAPD Christopher Dorner who had a beef with Officer Evens and the LAPD. Dorner did attack and killed officers. He got cornered in a cabin in Big Bear. Someone decided to shot pyrotechnic tear gas canister (s) that cabin with wall damage. This type of tear gas devices nicknamed “burners”. At a news conference, Sheriff John McMahon reiterated the claim that… ”deputies had not deliberately set the cabin on fire.” The biggest event on the list is absolutely Sept. 11th. With all the buildings which were destroyed and things that happened that day. One thing I can say is that misinformation and disinformation were used. None of us will ever find out the truth about what really happened. Questions could be asked about several locations. This campfire burned so massive and all consuming. Eventually this single day was used as pretext for going to war with a country that did not cause it, nor did they have weapons of mass destruction. The actors in all these incidents were never held accountable.
1992 FILM ; A FEW GOOD MEN; Colonel Nathan R. Jessep
If we as a people do not keep ourselves accountable, then we can’t keep others accountable because we are hypocrites. As I have struggled, to write this I see people breaking the law daily. I wonder what is it going to take to get us to come together to truly be “we the people.” I see people breaking all sorts of traffic laws while I am out driving. I am sure you see them too. I am sure your kids see them as well. Some are just being bad examples, people driving through red light, stop signs, change lanes without a turn signal ,etc. The strangest thing I saw was at a 4 way stop. As I drove up, I looked to my right and notice that car wasn’t slowing down. I beat them to the stop line and they just drove right through the intersection. When are people going to obey the traffic laws? Are they even conscious of that choice or unconscious?
Perhaps the biggest flaws are with our justice system. I am not saying it is all because of the judges, the officers, prosecutors or even the Supreme Court. What I am saying is that there is something fishing going on. It needs a tweak here and a tweak there and a bad apple thrown out here and there. I have questions about prosecutors who send innocent people to death or even jail. How can this still be happening in 2020? What is the penalty for a prosecutor withholding info? I know that justice is not about finding the truth. It is about the story prosecutors can tell to a jury to get someone convicted. It is disturbing to me that people can get away with murder if you are an officer of the law. Yes, I agree with the use of deadly force at times, but at Ruby Ridge the rules of engagement were severely changed. A field commander gave the illegal order to kill which were not the long established rules for such a directives. No one spoke up. No secret hot line for call ins when something plained is bad? Why not? Then to allow a sniper off for shooting to close to a cabin. What? That sniper knew where those bullets would go if shot to close to the house. To shot at someone who is retreating that is illegal. The field commander on site allowed that to happen. Then he or she should have gone to trial. The same thing could be said about the US Marshal who shot a dog. Again, all the death and destruction over two sawed off shot guns and a failure to appear in a court of law that someone passed to Randy Weaver the wrong date. It seems a bit ridiculous to me.
Laws and rules needed to be changed. I read articles that said there were new rules of engagement. However, changing the rules doesn’t help the fact that rules were broken and people died. They aren’t coming back and to not hold law enforcement is just despicable. Leaders must be held accountable in law enforcement by prosecutors, but as of yet they are not doing that. Not to the extent they needs to be done. Discipline is something you give your kids for doing a some thing wrong, but killing people. No, that puts the responsible individual in a totally different category. Victims need justice and law demands that the guilty be brought before a court of law. It is criminal as far as I am concerned for officers of the law to murder when when they are not in a threat for their life. Prosecutors need to get the courage to fulfill their duty to the people they serve and to protect the law from abuse.
Note:
FBI ‘rule of engagement’ implemented at the beginning of the Ruby Ridge siege that stated ‘any armed adult male observed in the vicinity of the Weaver cabin could and should be killed.’ Many condemned this policy as unconstitutional. * Rumors that the FBI had engaged in a cover-up regarding the Ruby Ridge operation were verified when E. Michael Kahoe, former chief of the FBI’s violent crimes section, pleaded guilty to obstruction of justice in 1996. Kahoe, who had destroyed an official bureau critique of the standoff, was sentenced to 18 months in prison.” Click on the links below to read about Ruby Ridge.
Prosecutors need to hold police officers accountable who killed black men in cold blood. Some can be justified, but others can’t. Certainly not all cases are the same. This death of Walter Scott was videoed on a witnesses phone. Officer Micheal Sager shoots Walter Scott as he runs away. It is an illegal shooting. The victim’s running away with back to the officer. Next, we see the officer pick up the the taser which was only a few feet away from him from where he fired on Mr. Scott. The officer drops the taser several feet from the body of Mr. Scott. By the officer actions I know he was planning his alibi, but in reality that is evidence tampering. Office shot 8 times from 15 to 20 feet away. Ex officer Slager pleaded guilty to violation of civil rights… What? He murdered Mr. Scott in 2015 as far as I am concern. Instead of 20 years he should have gotten the death penalty in 2 weeks time. So in 20 years does Walter Scott come back? I mean man it is on video in color and not black and white like it was when Jack Ruby shot Lee Harvey Oswald on Nov.24, 1963. Still the news anchors kept saying he’s ….”innocent until proven guilty.” Right in front of a whole bunch of officers. WTF.
Prosecutors need to prosecute officers that break civil rights laws. It needs to become the norm when officers acts outside the lines of the law. I know police officers often deal with the shady side of society. I believe they all deserve respect the good the bad the ugly. My parents taught us to respect police officers since I was a kid. I was raised in a white middle class family neighborhood. I‘ve dealt with officers and some good and some not so much. I have gotten tickets, but the real perspective was when I was trained as a federal guard. I gave one officer some lip once. It seemed to flip his switch. Luckily he didn’t hear what I said. First I was wrong on giving lip for doing his job. I had a tail light out. Second, it was disrespectful. Under my breath I said. “ why don’t catch some real criminals.” He asked what did you say. I responded with oh nothing. He turned back to walk to his vehicle.
Most the time I just answer their questions and they give me the paper work. One bay area officer gave me a reduction on my ticket because I was honest. Another put me in jail for one night for being honest. Other didn’t even give me a ticket cause I was honest he let me go with “ just drive safe okay.” I have talked with some black people and they told me they don’t have any problems with the police. They just answer their questions and they are on their way.
The first time I was arrested was in ABQ, NM. I have know for a while that when two officers show up you’re going arrested. As I said I was a federal guard, so I know if they are in fear of their life I could get shot. Because I knew that I drove to a location with good lighting. After stopping I had my license, registration and insurance card in my left hand resting at 10am and the right at 2pm on the steering wheel. I told the officer the truth. The first thing out of his mouth was how much have you been drinking? I said 2. No follow up questions, I knew it was is bad. A 2nd question should have followed. Answer: 2 drinks in 3 hours. From my experience good officers usually tell you why they stopped you. I actually thought they look for the truth, but perhaps not all?? 10 – 15 minutes passed before the 2nd officer showed up. I was like oh crap. They failed me on my F.S.T.. My BAC was 0.01 in 2010 in ABQ., NM. My 2nd blow was 0.01 BAC. Arrested for drunk driving and charges changed to drugs. Side note: I don’t do drugs, but I opened my big mouth again. Don’t challenge them, don’t ask them any questions. I honestly and naively asked, “What are you going to do when you find out I am not drunk?” I didn’t mean that as a challenge. I was literally just asking. Challenge given and accepted. He put me in jail for the night. Later my attorney said he thought civil rights were violated. No officer got in any trouble for arresting me. I didn’t do anything wrong to warrant an arrest. It cost me $1,500.00 to hire a lawyer. Here is some advice for those get stopped during a traffic stop.
This advice is a laundry list of things to do and not to do. First of all stop doing stupid stuff. Don’t run from them, don’t take anything off their equipment belt, don’t fight them, don’t argue, don’t give them lip, don’t say I know my rights, etc. You will exacerbate the situation and make it worse. It is not the time or place to argue. That place is in a court of law. Second, adjust your own attitude, be polite, be kind, and answer their questions. I will always say the truth. (You have to decide) You are the only one that can control yourself so do it. Remember they are just doing their job in most cases. Third, drive to a location that has lots of lighting if you can. Also, drive to a place where there are people. Chose not to be embarrassed of being stopped. NO one makes you feel embarrassed you choose it. It is a choice. Also, if anything shady goes down you want witnesses. I drove up maybe 50 yards. from where the officer turned on his lights. I drove the speed limit and used my turn signals. There was fishy stuff happening at my arrest, but I won’t go into those details. See it on another blog. Fourth, pull out your driver’s license, registration and insurance cards have them ready for when they ask. Then place in you hands at the top of the steering wheel gripping with your free hand before the officer walks up to your vehicle. Do as you are directed. Show them your hands when asked, don’t play games. Andre Hill, of Columbus, OH, most likely got shot because his right hand was not visible. He was probably told to show it and he didn’t. Don’t do stupid stuff. Fifth, remember you have a 90 day window after your arrest to file a civil rights complaint with the FBI. Plus, you need witnesses for your case it is not good enough of your word against theirs. With a witness or more you can probably get a lawyer to take your case and maybe get the ACLU. The ACLU didn’t take my case because in my description to them I didn’t know a witness was so important. Perhaps it wasn’t that big of a thing because I was white and they had more important cases to spend money on. It all opened my eyes. Sixth, after I failed the Field Sobriety test according to them. They said the magic words,“You’re under arrest.”. I said, “oh man”. I put my hands where they wanted them. I didn’t resist. I did not fight. I didn’t run off. Seventh, I use to work as a Federal security guard, so I knew they could should me if they felt threatened. The only way they know that they can semi feel comfortable with you is if you follow their instructions, so do it. Again, don’t have anything in your hands. Show them your empty hands. In addition, they have support from the courts and case law from decades ago. Remember, an Officers has the right to defend themselves, which I totally agree with. So why would anyone do something to put their life in danger? Is it worth it to try to prove a point and be dead? NO it is not!! Remember,” live for change, don’t die for change” which is one of the things my college professor taught. Lastly, Parents teach your kids, your preteens and your teens to drop their toy guns before police arrive with their sirens. Direct them to drop it and step away from the toy gun. Tell them you love them more then anything, so please drop it and we’ll get you another one somehow. Remember, replacing a toy gun is easy, so teach them to live. Some things are just not worth their lives. I have an analogy that might demonstrate this point of view.
The Moth Analogy
I call it the moth analogy. I was visiting a local hospital for some physical therapy. After checking in, I started walking down the hall towards PT. As I got closer I could hear a moth bump the glass exterior window. It made a distinctive sound. I heard it again, again, then again until it faded into nothing as I walked further down the hall. I opened the door to go to my physical therapy appointment. An hour later I came out, as I walked down the hall I got closer to where the moth was still bumping it’s head. I could hear it get louder and louder as I neared. Then as I passed the sound it got less and less until I could not hear it anymore. Well I came back a weak later. I saw a moth lying dead on the window sill where I saw it once bouncing off the glass window.
The moral of this story is stop bagging your head against things that are stronger then yourself. The glass window pane is somewhat transparent, it is very strong. I see it as representative of the police officer, the police force, the justice system and also case law precedence. In addition, the glass symbolizes the court system as it is quite hard to go through The moth represent people like me, you and everyone else. Isn’t it easier to go out the door with the assistance from others? By others I mean counselors, therapists, lawyers and even a change in attitude when dealing with police could put us on the other side of the window. No one can assist you if you keep running in front of a bus. It is all over then. The black live matter Kool-Aid is not what I am drinking.
” Live for change, don’t die for change.”
Jr. College professor
My teacher, a junior college professor, told my classmates and I to, “Live for change, don’t die for change.” If you die, they can forget about you. Maybe you will have a memorial, but what does that really do? You can do so much more being alive then dead. I get sad every time I hear anyone, blacks in particular, die at the hands of the police. When African Americans are killed by police officers, they can’t be lumped all together. Their deaths are as diverse as the circumstances under which they died. In fact, African Americans are the 2nd most racial group killed by police. The 1st most racial group killed by law enforcement are whites.
The BLM used the words white privilege and for a while everyday white people were getting berated for speaking the truth. I got berated from black woman when I thought we would have a conversation. I watched Patrisse Cullers, co founder of BLM where she demanded Police accountability. Accountability is a two why street. I haven’t seen her call out black people to be good citizens. She is no Moses until she calls people out for bad behavior. Why didn’t she call out her own African American people? She seems to be doing the blame game. It is called scapegoating. Yeah, blame it on the regular people, “white privilege”, for why blacks are getting hurt is just ridiculous. Some Blacks are getting hurt because they are doing stupid stuff. I can’t be blamed for something you’re doing. Ms. Cullers could be like Moses to lead the BLM group in the right direction. I hear their cries too and I know many are due to being poor. I certainly agree that more needs to be done for them, yet the victim mentality isn’t going to help them. All people have to take responsibility for their own actions. Can African Americans change their own attitudes? Profiling was just a tool. I was profiled once as a white rapist. It wasn’t true and I knew it and so when an officer stopped me. They were looking for white male in the area. I just looked at it as the officer was doing his job. I got stopped because the woman said he was a runner. I was running by the apartments where it happened. An officer pulled me over and I didn’t have any ID. I told the officer my house was a few miles up the street. I waited as patrol car drove up and she got a good look at me. The officer who I waited with me thanked me for my cooperation and let me go. That is just being a good citizen. Profiling is just a tool like a hammer is to a carpenter. The leaders of BLM must assist their own people into making new choices. I have always believed an ounce of prevention is worth more then a pound of cure. Blacks and others groups need financial assistance to get out of the place they are in. Racism by any shade isn’t going to help that culture.
I have always believed an ounce of prevention is worth more then a pound of cure.
Defend that
A chart/ shows statistics for race of those killed by police from 2017 to 2020.
Colin Kaepernick has a responsibility to be a leader. He made his announcement while kneeling at 49er football games as a protester. His plea was about “police brutality” became the calling card. That is the most racist thing to come out of someones mouth who wants to fix the problem. Then he kept repeating it and repeating it. Albert Einstein defined Insanity is doing something thing over and over again expecting different results. I felt he was a really good QB on the field, but his leadership off the football field was questionable. Either that or he was getting bad advice from someone. He kept labeling a group of people namely police officers in his cry to fix “police brutality”. He can’t possibly know all the police officers in a City, in a state, or in our country so that is racism. Racism is defined as prejudice, discrimination, or antagonism directed against a person or people on the basis of their membership in a particular racial or ethnic group. For me Colin’s racism is just antagonism directed against a people on the basis of membership in a particular group, police officers. If he is going to be a Moses, he needs to call out his own people out on the carpet. Accountability is a two way street. He sacrificed his career for this movement. I figure he won’t play again cause his holier then thou attitude at that last football tryout. Maybe it was a trap, but he needed to just go with it. He had scouts there from teams who were interested and he followed someone with bad advice. He wanted what he wanted and ended up with nothing. Perhaps one day he can be like Moses or Mahatma Gandhi, or Martin Luther King and be the man who leads people out of harms way.
Leadership is the responsibility of those who have money, influence (such as bloggers), and power due to position like leaders of a Nation. They need to take the time to speak up against bad behavior. They need to speak up loudly and often to counter the act what is going on. The protests about police brutality by the BLM marches are just crazy to me because of their results. You know if I looked protest videos and videos of the fans whose team has won a championship ,in Baseball, Basketball and Football, could I tell the difference?? I cannot tell the difference because they both destroy property that isn’t theirs. I can’t tell the difference between celebration vs. protest because they are breaking other people’s stuff. Now all that stuff needs to be fixed and that is not what good citizens do. I mean you wouldn’t go into your friend’s house and break their stuff to celebrate or protest would you? All that destruction just diverts money to other places instead of where it go to assist the African American communities. Where are the influencers for change? What are they saying?
One popular influencer is known by many. If you don’t listen to him perhaps you know his name. Many news agencies use to just report the facts on events. However then large conglomerates began to buy up media companies which changed the way audience on advertising was targeted and marketing. I found this guy by accident while surfing the radio and I listened to Rush Limbaugh show in Sacramento, CA in the 1990’s. I would listen to his show periodically. He seemed like a very smart individual. While listening I’d hear him convince people of his perspective. I think he even talked with people on the radio answering questions or discuss something with them. I believe he may have been arguing with someone and had turned off their mic or phone line disconnected. Then Rush t said…………”come on folks this is just entertainment.” It shocked me to hear him say that. I turned my radio off and never listened to him again. His behavior appeared reckless to me because if he was using his brain power to convince people to his beliefs then that is real power. It is that kind of power that can be misused whether it is spread misinformation, disinformation or the truth. Is what President Donald J. Trump says just entertainment tweets like Rush? What is the difference?
Accountability doesn’t have to be an illusive thing. Perhaps the easiest laws to observe being broken it the laws of the road/ transportation. Now this has been going on for a while. Just choosing to obey the law because one chooses to says a lot about the integrity of that person who keeps their word. It is not because they of threat of punishment, but because it is the right thing to do. I see it as a problem because it weakens our believe about law and order. How far does a society go before it collapses? How much are you contributing to the attitudes of today that it doesn’t matter? Oh I didn’t hurt anyone some will thing. Actually you are hurting yourself slowly one denial at a time. Next you might start stealing like pencils at work, then paper clips, then maybe food at the grocery store. Do you have a red line you wouldn’t cross? Didn’t you promise you would not run red lights? I would like to believe that we don’t break the laws because we accept them as ground rules for society. Ground rules are how to treat each other. I don’t think about the punishments. I think about doing the healthy things. For example, serving other people by holding the door open. While driving, not blocking intersections or letting people in from side streets. You stop running stop lights and stop signs because you choose to. There are some basic stuff to a healthy society.
Obeying laws is important to all societies. However, not all societies are equal nor are all the cultures. Uniformity of all laws applied to leaders and to every member society determines the general health of that society. US society has the bill of rights which allows for free speech and not every country or kingdom has that rule. The great Roman Empire didn’t have that rule. In fact, any person found bad mouthing the leaders could end up in either prisoner or as tonight’s entertainment at the Colosseum. President Trump is free to say whatever he wants even when it is false. If we the people were less tolerant of misinformation and disinformation coming from our leaders, I believe the US would be a different place today. Samuel Bowles wrote a paper titled Machiavelli’s Mistake. Both the paper and video explains the reasoning behind his thoughts of “why good laws are no substitute for good citizens”. He covers this idea in economic terms, math and talks about incentives. He includes all these thoughts from some philosophers from the 1700 century. He talks of material incentives to get people to do the right thing. He mentions contracts, very large penalties such as physical harm. He mentions incentives that don’t have counter productive effects. I can’t speak of these things and pretend to know what he is talking about here because I don’t. I do know is that people choose to be good because they choose that way of life. They know it from their upbringing. They know if from their kindergarten class that taught it. “Raise a child up into the way that they should go, and when he is old he will not depart from it”.- Proverbs 22:6 They change because of economic stresses or physical stresses that drives them to a life of crime. An economic factor such as growing up poor.
Samuel Bowles; Yale lecture video on Machiavelli’s Mistake.
Our leaders on the Federal level need to be held accountable as well. Are more and more of our politicians misbehaving badly as a result of the Trump administration? The prosecution arm of Federal agencies needs to do their job. The AG needs to prosecute law enforcement agents whenever they cross the red line. Murder by law enforcement agents should be unacceptable no matter who it is whether Police, Sheriff, SWAT, FBI, ATF, snipers or whomever. In 1992 at Ruby Ridge, in 1993 The Davidian Branch, with Christopher Dorner of 2013 was tragic because really no one was held accountable for the deaths of individuals. Why doesn’t the AG prosecute murder by law enforcement? My nephew explained it to me this way. That prosecutors need officers to convict, so they don’t want anything to interfere with that relationship. He argues a valid point. However the law suffers because of that choice. I believe the officer who killed George Floyd, the officer who killed Eric Gardner and officer who killed Walter Scott deserve the death penalty in my book. Because right now it is Insanity as Albert Einstein described it. This is about accountability and if you take someones life when there was no risk to your own it’s wrong. That individual should not get a free pass. I am totally in agreement when an officer needs to use deadly force because his life is in danger. Power is a powerful hypnotic for those unprepared to have it.
The law again needs to be king. That really doesn’t happen with our leaders in Washington DC. They are much like Gollum from Lord of the Rings when he wears the ring of power. The power to disappear and reappear from what I remember. Our politicians are getting a bit warped sense of the power like that ring Gollum wore. Two leaders come to mind one is Speaker of the House and the other is Senator Majority leader. I am talking about Nancy Pelosi and Mitch McConnell respectfully. She went to a Hair Salon in San Fransisco without a mask covering. Pelosi claimed it was a set up. She is not a child, so what gives? She is an adult. And besides wearing a mask is the governor’s rule. No punishment, no fine? Pelosi has been in office since 1987. McConnell has been a Senate since 1985. He did not allow Obama’s nominee Merrick Garland to go through the process of confirmation/ vote. He made up some excuse that the presidential election year and it was too close. Only to reverse this opinion some 4 years later to get another Republican supreme court justice seated. He broke the law. No punishment, no Fine? No one spoke up against either leader. In 1887, John Dalberg- Acton stated, “Power tends to corrupt and absolute power corrupts absolutely. Great men are almost always bad men, even when they exercise influence and not authority; still more when you superadd the tendency of the certainty of corruption by authority.” Each of members of the House and Senate are supposed to protect the US constitution from foreign and domestic threats. Only a few have spoken up to say anything much about the 2020 election fraud claim. I know Senator Mitch McConnell has, so has Rep. Liz Cheney, some others have did too, but not that many. I don’t know what has been said privately, or in the big internal conference call by McConnell. McConnell did make an announcement. If someone wanted to talk about voter fraud in this country, you’ll have to go back to 1840’s, 1850’s or somewhere in between. I believe President George W. Bush in 2010 admitted to a mistakes in war and his Hurricane Katrina response. Oh how empty were those words. I ask my friend did he pay a fine? No. Did he go to jail? No. So he gave lip service, so how is that justice? That is what happens to powerful people. Exactly Nothing.
On December 15, 2020 Mitch McConnell said something priceless about the Electoral College. The electoral college is based on the 12 amendment of the US constitution. Senator Majority leader Mitch McConnell spoked these 5 words. On December 15, 2020, Mitch McConnell said, “The Electoral College has spoken.” My first thought went right back to the Wizard of Oz scene the great wizard also spoke 5 words. Dorothy, Toto and the crew stand before an image of that Wizard. A few words are exchanged between the cast and the Wizard. The Wizard is behind the curtain says….” the Wizard of Oz has spoken”. Only he has be outed by a small dog, Toto, who is curious enough to go behind the curtain. Are you curious enough to go behind the curtain of our leaders? The law needs to apply to all with no favoritism, no matter the position, but who will enforce that?
This clip is from the Wizard of Oz and it is 1:54 minutes.
Trump tweeted the following that very same day McConnell spoke those 5 words.
Donald J. Trump Tweets today at 8:41am Dec. 15, 2020 “Tremendous evidence pouring in on voter fraud. There has never been anything like this in our Country!”
Trump continues to send out mis and or dis information unimpeded to his base, and many are riled up. This is certainly one of those campfire moments and again not many leaders are speaking up. I don’t know why they won’t stand up to speak against what Trump has been doing since the 2020 election. Rallies have taken place to “Stop the steal” but the Kool-aid has been drunk by too many. And now Trump is hoping for a 4th quarter Hail Mary pass. I have also read reports that Facebook and other social networks restricted the false election claims to their sites. This lead many extreme right to got to a website called Parler which surged. Will extremism from either side destroy the US? Has McConnell’s actions on the Supreme court nomination contributed to the rebellion in the EC certification voting process in the House and Senate? A theoretical situation here: If Trump gave his buddies guns while they all stood outside a bank with intent to rob it. As they start to open the door, would they be arrested for attempted bank robbery? With many fellow Republicans in the House (140)and Senate 10 to 12) planning to vote against certification of the Electoral College. There is no fraud, so why would they do it? It does not matter to me that they choose this, they choose the of their own free will and choice. However, they do not get to choose their consequence and each and everyone one of them needs to be removed from office. Each has sworn to protect the US constitution from foreign and domestic enemies. They are the enemy. The way I see it is they are trying to provide a coup door to overthrow the vote of the American people. They are breaking the highest law in the land. If there are no consequences for each and every member of this rebellion, then we are in serious trouble. Each and everyone of them should be asked to resign and replaced or be throne in jail for treason. Being afraid of the base of any party is not a reason to break the highest law in our land. We are all on notice to see what happens. Again President Trump has shown his tiger strips to remain in power. He is rocking the foundation of this country. January 6, 2021 may, yet reveal the true colors of our countries leaders.
In conclusion, there are examples of leaders we do not need leading this country. Any candidate who is found pouring drinks of Kool-Aid should be removed as quickly in the process as possible. Many candidates who would be good do not make to the final vote. Since I have been voting no president has been very good. It has always a vote for the lesser of two evils. What choice is that? It never occurred to me that I needed to do more to campaign against red flag candidate. We need our leaders to stand up and speak up to be defenders of the truth. United they stand and divided we all fall. Trump spoke like Jim Jones and acted like Adolf Hitler, yet people still drank the Kool-Aid. He used misinformation and disinformation for his benefit. He lost the 2020 election and there is no fraud except for him. His time is almost up as U.S. as president, yet in the waining days of his presidency this tiger has thoroughly shown his stripes. We need Republican party members to not shirk their duties as leaders in the House and Senate and as defenders of the US Constitution from both foreign and domestic enemies. We need this from the Democrats as well. Each to certify the Electoral College. Trump wants them to override tradition and responsibility of obeying the law. The Republicans may very well put cracks in our rule of law with mutiny. However, he wants the seat that a majority of the people denied him. We need all of you to stand unified as the past 10 Secretaries of Defense are standing together now. Please stop drinking the Kool-aid.
The campfire moments will soon pass only for others to rise up. I believe our recent pasted has shown we have lots of things to fix. I am not talking about reinventing the wheel. I am talking about solving real problems. Stop making mountains out of mole hills. Yes, law enforcement needs tweaks, but it is not as bad as people keep shouting from one side. Just because they keep shouting doesn’t necessarily make it true. Like all relationships it take two to tango. And as my uncle told me there are bad apples in every organization. I believe there are real solutions out there. I have seen some good organization out there that are helping communities thrive. We need more of that. Politicians always seem to want to fix things that aren’t real problems. They avoid the hard stuff to fix minor stuff. “I have always said politicians don’t fix things they just claim to.”- Defend that Our US government often believes the one shoe fits all method to solve real problems. It doesn’t work. The campfires of mis and dis information need to be removed. Although it may never truly go away we must fight it where ever it raises it’s ugly head. We need assistance from social media giants to combat such types mis information. Our leaders need to stand up in groups or individually to also call out other leaders who are not supporting the US constitution.
Before we pony up to one side or the other of any issue we need to do our research. We have to realize that at times we won’t have great leadership, but that doesn’t mean we the people should not challenge our leaders to be their best as we challenge ourselves to be our very best too. No country has had great leaders throughout their existence. What we can hope for is that great leaders be sprinkled in every now again or we can demand it of them. They are not saviors even though political parties profess that they are. They are men just like you and I. I hope that prosecutors will step up to the plate and take a swing at the real problems of today. Prosecutors should not get a free pass for getting innocent people convicted. No politician should roam free above the law.
Accountability is what needs to happen in our country. Checks and balances need to be done as offered in the US Constitution by the 3 branches of government. We the people need to find the middle ground. If you have children and you allow them to go undisciplined they will act out. They will do bad things. That is why parents usually have ground rules and house rules. When rules are broken the child gets punished. This is why civil societies has ground rules or laws. We can’t allow lawlessness. Each of us has to do our part to be accountable to ourselves, even when no one is around. We choose the right thing to not break the law. Remember Samuel Bowles said, Machiavelli’s mistake; “Why good laws are no substitute for good citizens.” Our leaders need to be the good citizens as well. I am glad the the last 10 Secretaries of Defense have spoken up because our standard leaders have not neither loud enough or often enough. I know Senator Mitch McConnell has spoken, but when you see the parent break rules. Children feel entitled to break them too. Maybe this is why this rebellion of the certification started because the parents broke the rules? The do as I say not as I do isn’t going to fly. It is nice to see that Senator Josh Hawley be called out on the carpet for his objections by fellow Senators. Frankly this last year has made me wonder about if our leaders are more like dominos to the party line? It is time for the leaders to call each other out when radicalism crops up. January 6, 2021 will be telling of what the new year has in store for us. I hope our leaders stand united for the rule of law and the 12th amendment. Even if the certification does pass we need to remove these people who voted against it. Otherwise there are no consequences for breaking the rule of law when their is no rational reason not to certify the 2020 election which Joe Biden and Kamala Harris won. Otherwise, we leave open a coup door to happen by vote years down the road. Don’t we? And are those House of Representatives and Senators committing treason as defined as intentionally betraying one’s allegiance by levying war against the government or giving aid or comfort to it enemies (radicalism)? Can a vote be considered war? These representatives, 140 in the House and 10 or 12 in the Senate, should be removed from office by willing resignation or forceful removal. They have broken their word to defend the constitution from foreign or domestic enemies of the US. Is this not an over throw of the of transfer of power process? It should not go unpunished. May President Joe Biden and Kamala Harris restore the law, meter out punishment to those who are deserving and bring peace and tranquility to all within the United States of America. My God bless us all.
May be a good resource to figure things about the truth?