Wake Up, Trumpsters: 45 is 100% Owned By Putin

Unlike the role he PLAYED on "The Apprentice", the real 45 was and is a terrible businessperson. No bank would give him a loan to bail him out of his many bankruptcies. Yet he mysteriously kept getting money--substantial sums, vasts sums, of money--and now won't show his tax returns. Let me spell this out for anyone who has not been dialed in to the actual news for the past few years as I have (if you were, for example, if you watch The Rachel Maddow Show, you would know all the substantive evidence out there on this that is the size of Mount Everest): Putin put money into 45, correctly pegging him as a useful idiot. Putin owns 45. 45 is doing Putin's bidding in the White House, NOT what is in the best interest of the United States of America.

For example, this whole Ukraine thing that has led to the House finally starting long overdue impeachment proceedings was, I'm 100% convinced, orchestrated by Vlad. 45 didn't come up with this on his own. Pressuring Ukraine, of all countries, to go on mike and say that Russia didn't interfere in the 2016 elections (the news media is not focusing on THAT part of the ask enough: yes, 45 also illegally held up money approved by Congress for Ukraine on the condition that Ukraine go on mike and say that they are investigating a political opponent of 45, but he asked them to state that Russia didn't interfere in the 2016 election. Who benefits from him getting Ukraine to say that lie? Is that in the best security interests of the USA? To deny the fact that our election integrity was interfered with by an enemy foreign power? Whose PR interest is getting Ukraine to say that in? Whose interest has it been in for 45 to consistently deny Russian interference in the 2016 election ever since it happened? Certainly not ours.
No: RUSSIA'S.

This is all Putin. The entire Trumpocalypse, all of it, this whole almost-three-years: it's all Vlad. Except for the incitement of xenophobia and hate. That's the only part that comes naturally to 45. Everything else he does is as a puppet, the strings of which are controlled by the fascist, murderous head of a fascist, oligarchic, enemy country.

Somehow, the Republicans are okay with this. All my life, they shouted "I'd rather be dead than red!" and jeered at all of us on the left, calling us "commies". To this day, they are trying to elicit old, cold war and post-cold war scare tactics toward Bernie Sanders and those of us who support him by calling us "socialists" and conveniently leavings out the "democratic" ahead of that. "Socialist", when screamed by the Right in the USA, is code for "communist": Soviet-style communism.

Yet it is 45, The Republicans' chosen one, who actually IS a puppet of ex-KGB and current fascist head of Russia, Vladimir Putin. Follow the money. Follow 45's actions. Connect all the plethora of dots that are out there and that have already formed themselves into a clearly pixelated picture.

Twitter version: PUTIN OWNS TRUMP. The sooner those of you who haven't figured that out yet do, the better for our republic. And for those of you who have, yet turn a blind eye to him for whatever disgusting reason(s) you have, you are complicit. Complicit with treason. Complicit with a POTUS who kidnaps babies and puts them in cages in for-profit concentration camps. Complicit with a POTUS who is lawless and incites hate and violence on a daily basis. I could go on but I'll just say you are COMPLICIT.

Wake up, Trumpsters. Wake the bleep up. Before it is too late for our country.

Bernie Exists

I'm sitting here watching the pundits on "Inside Politics", live on CNN right now, attempt to make Bernie invisible. How? Well, they keep showing a poll that has Warren first, Bernie SECOND, and Buttigieg 3rd. Buttigieg is BEHIND Bernie by 1 percentage point. Okay, so bear that in mind when I say:

Jeff Zeleny just said "The primary is shaping up as a race between Warren and Buttigieg."

WHAT? Do you not see Bernie Sanders in that poll you just had up on the screen, in 2nd place? Buttigieg is in third place in that particular poll. So how do you conclude that the primary is now between Warren and Buttigieg?  Then the host echoed that, saying, yes, it really is. And on and on they went.

Do they really think that by not mentioning Bernie, he and WE, will just go away? They tried that strategy with the Fukushima nuclear meltdown and, guess what? It's still epic and it is still going on and it is still news and they still never mention it. Yet they can't make it go away.

I hate to compare Bernie and those of us who support him with a nuclear meltdown, but I'm just saying: not mentioning something or someone does not make that thing or person go away.

The mainstream news media is funded by corporate interests, so I guess they are trying the elementary school playground strategy of pretending they can't hear someone when it comes to Bernie, who is taking on all those monied interests of their sponsors. They see that Bernie is an inspiring, eloquent, authentic leader with a platform that would lead to real change that their corporate sponsors are afraid of, so their strategy in reporting on him as a candidate, and on the yuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuge, inspired, passionate, hopeful groundswell of support he has engendered and enjoyed since 2016 when he first ran, is NOT to. Not to report it. Pretend Bernie, Bernie's campaign, and Bernie's supporters do not exist. The corporate-sponsored, mainstream news media simply covers their ears and says "La la la la la la la, I CAN'T HEAR YOU!"

*shrug* Okay then. Don't report on us. Don't report on Bernie. Put a poll up on the screen and then act like you don't even see who is in second place in said poll that you are supposedly reporting on. We'll still be here when you stop pretending. Just like 45's actions will still be impeachable when Fox News stops pretending. Facts matter.

If you put a poll up on the screen as a topic of discussion, don't leave out the person in second place, and state that the race is now between the person in first place and the person in third place. Surely those of us who are ardent Bernie supporters cannot be your only viewers who are noticing that inaccurate and downright daft reporting. Get it together, CNN. And don't even get me started on how MSNBC covers--and doesn't cover--Bernie. Come on, guys.

45: The Puppet Show From Hell

Folks, no one seems to be saying it, stating the obvious, so I will: when it comes to 45’s now rightly infamous, impeachment-inquiry-triggering Ukraine call, I think it was all orchestrated by 45’s puppet master: Vladimir Putin. Think about it: strong-arming the Ukraine into somehow producing faux dirt on 45’s possible 2020 opponent *AND* telling them to produce faux evidence that shows Russia didn’t interfere in 2016’s election. Who does this benefit most? PUTIN!!! And now, 45 suddenly pulling the US out of Syria, totally abandoning the Kurds, our allies, and benefiting Assad: whose interests does that align with? Those of PUTIN!!!

Of all the news stories, op-eds and television punditry I’ve been absorbing like a sponge since the whistleblower’s story broke and now, since 45 decided to pull us out of Syria as of yesterday, I’m not seeing or hearing ONE journalist just SAY IT: 45 didn’t come up with these things on his own, people: Putin is pulling the strings and making his puppet dance!

Many have pointed out during the past three years that 45 is compromised, under Putin’s control, yet for some reason, no one in the news media, at least not that I have seen, is saying it specifically and clearly right now about those two things: the Ukraine call and surrounding entire situation, leading up to it and afterward, and this latest horror show of pulling out of Syria suddenly, abandoning our Kurdish allies and basically giving new life to ISIS. None of that is in the interests of the United States of America. All of that is treasonous because 45 is acting as the puppet of an enemy foreign power, precisely against the interests of the United States and our allies.

I have seen it said today that 45 pulling us out of Syria benefits Putin. I have not seen it said that he did it AT THE INSTRUCTION OF Putin, yet it is so crystal clear to me that he did, just as the whole Ukraine situation must have come from Vlad. 45 wouldn’t think of those things on his own.  Oh, he'd initiate a wild goose chase to dig up non-existent dirt on an opponent, for sure--that's classic 45--but via the Ukraine, via strong-arming them?  And including in said strong-arming that they should somehow clear Russia of interfering in our 2016 election's integrity?  That's got VLAD written all over it, baby.

And this Syria pull-out?  That's all Vlad, too.

I’m not saying 45 isn’t crazy—clearly he is a sociopathic, unhinged mercenary within the construct of a malignant narcissist’s personality. I've been shouting that from the rooftop to anyone who will listen since 2015.  But I am saying that all of these actions are not just things that he up and did on a whim, or even on what passes for something that he thought through. I am saying, point blank, that if we scratch the surface of any of this, it will be Vladimir Putin’s face that we see beaming back at us. When you look at all the “crazy” things 45 does through the lens of him being Putin’s utterly compromised puppet, IT ALL MAKES SENSE.

As I have written many times before, 45 is a clear and present danger to our constitution, rule of law, separation of powers, free press, rights and our very democracy and republic. I am so very grateful and heartened that my Democratic Party has finally opened a formal impeachment inquiry, and I just pray that they move with all deliberate speed because, as the walls close in, 45 is becoming more and more dangerous, more and more putting the “clear and present” in “clear and present danger”. He’s got to go: it’s his presidency or the United States of America that we love—both cannot survive, so we have to choose. I am rooting with all my heart and soul for my country, the United States of America, and all that we truly stand for.

Impeaching 45 is not about party, it is about country.

Okay, where, where, where, oh dear God WHERE to start on the jaw-droppingly infuriating, sad, frankly scary (we have GOT to get this man out of the office of POTUS, asap), incredible, sickening news conference I just witnessed 45 give?

Oh, I know!

Infuriating and Outrageous Item Numero Uno:

He kept saying that this is all a Democratic "witch hunt" because we are so terrified of losing the upcoming election, we have to impeach and remove him. Um, let me update you on something, 45: *every* poll out there shows *every* major candidate in the Democratic field of same beating your rhymes-with-bass definitively in the upcoming 2020 election. If any of us--our leaders, or Democratic voters out here in the electorate who also are AMERICAN CITIZENS FIRST--were acting on a purely partisan basis, we would NOT, not, not, not, not, not, not, not, not, not, not, not, not, not, not, not, not, not, not, not, not, not, not, not, not, not, not, not, not, not, not, not, not, not, not, not, not, not, not, not, not, not, not, not, not, not, not, not, not, not, not, not, not, not, not, not, not, not, not, not, not want to impeach you! I myself would love to run against you! My platform? Two words: Not Trump!

This isn't about party, this is about saving our rule of law and our very country from you!

As for all the many, many other points I could make re your terrifyingly unhinged press conference, I will let them all speak for themselves. I will say this, though: the only people who still support you are the voluntarily brainwashed members of your cult, fueled by the constant pro-you propaganda and unsubstantiated conspiracy theories of Fox "News".

You, non-sir, are going DOWN. And you clearly know it. You know what you looked and came across like in your little presser there? A very rattled cornered rat who knows he's cornered.

Bye bye, 45. You're done.

Thank you, Speaker Pelosi

Email sent to House Speaker Nancy Pelosi this afternoon by moi:

"I just want to profoundly THANK YOU for doing your duty by starting a formal impeachment inquiry re our current POTUS. By doing so, you are fighting for our constitution, rule of law, and democracy. I have sent you several emails and phone messages in recent months, passionately asking you to do this, so now that you have, I had to take just a moment out of my busy day to say thank you, Speaker Pelosi. I appreciate very much that my party is taking a stand on the right side of history and the constitution--I appreciate that so much, as a Democrat, but even more as an American. This is not a partisan thing, this is about preserving and protecting our democracy."

Respect the Earth: my thoughts for Climate Strike 2019

This will be my shortest blog entry ever.  Yet this is what I'm most passionate about in all the world, and have been my entire life.  These are my thoughts during Climate Strike 2019:

Respect the earth. Every day, in every way you possibly can, and can possibly imagine.

That's it.  That's everything.  For when we live in harmony with our earth, with nature, then we truly "get it", and we treat each other with respect, too.

Stop saying that Bernie "yells", or I'm going to yell.

I feel so bad for Bernie, having a sore throat last night going into what was arguably the most important Democratic 2020 presidential candidates debate so far, as it was the first debate with all the major candidates on one stage, and also it was on regular, broadcast television. I know most of us have cable in 2019, but believe it or not, some people do not. This was the first televised debate of the 2020 Presidential campaign for all those people—their first chance to see the candidates and hear them argue for their platforms and vision for America. What a night for Bernie, the candidate with THE platform and vision for America, to lose his voice! But, bless him, bless him, bless him, he soldiered through it admirably.

Still, from the git-go, when I heard his voice, I thought, and worried, and still worry: uh oh, NO, not tonight! What is wrong with his voice? And will people understand that isn’t his regular voice? He literally wasn’t in full voice last night—yet he still, to use a baseball pitching term, had his “good stuff” in terms of his arguments, his substance. He has it all over the other candidates on that and always has. He set the table for the Democratic candidates’ platforms in 2020 and they just all walked to the table and sat down, eating from the idea and vision food he laid out for them.

Yet his voice was hoarse and somehow the camera angle and lighting also made his eyes seem a tad darty and wild, so all in all, I worry that the American people, who, honestly, are kind of a superficial lot in terms of what they go for in a Presidential candidate (and I say “they”, as I myself, though also an American, am the opposite: I read the small print on the ingredients label, and ignore the shiny packaging and branding on front), may have judged him harshly somehow based on his voice last night.

That said, though I’m at work and busy and thus haven’t had time to read much post-debate news, opinion, spin and chatter this morning, it seems that Bernie’s sore/hoarse throat is a topic and is, correctly, being characterized as such: a sore or hoarse throat. So, thank goodness, people get it. They understand it was a sore throat and not his regular voice!

That’s the good news, but the bad is, in the little bit I’ve had time to read thus far, people are joking, yet not joking, that it is because of all the “yelling” he does. I swear, if I have to hear one more person say that Bernie “yells”, I’m going to lose my rhymes-with-pit. He actually does NOT often even raise his voice. Biden, for example, has a much more wound-up debate style, and Warren—fuggedaboutit, she is amped up and wired for sound, baby. And what about Castro last night, he practically had to be restrained. Yet people constantly misinterpret Bernie as, quote, “yelling”.

I think people think anyone with a thick New York accent is “yelling”. I think people think anyone Jewish is “yelling”. It’s like, people who only eat Wonderbread, if they taste rye, they probably think it is a very strong bread. If they only eat vanilla ice cream, and they get a taste of mint chip or coffee, they think, wuuuu, that’s some strong stuff!

Interestingly, sociologically, politically and psychologically, I don’t think it is that Bernie yells a lot (because he does not). I think it is that he is talking about real change, and that scares people. That jars people. So they translate that in their brains to “he’s yelling—why is he yelling?”

Bernie doesn’t yell. Not very often anyway. I submit to you that he doesn’t “yell” as often as many of the other candidates up on that podium last night tend to. He normally speaks clearly, thoughtfully, never condescendingly, always like that favorite teacher who assumes you are intelligent enough to hear the whole, complex, nuanced, substantive, detailed truth and keep up. Yes, he’s passionate. Passion isn’t the same as “yelling”. Even that time, in the prior debate, when another candidate was saying something about how he couldn’t guarantee such-and-such would happen or wouldn’t happen under his particular (single payer, woot!) “Medicare for All” plan, and Bernie said, yes I can, “I wrote the damn bill!”, he didn’t yell. He said that very passionately but he wasn’t yelling.

I feel like this “Bernie yells” false narrative is strikingly similar to when Howard Dean was taken down for literally NOTHING when he emitted a slight little exuberant “Yeah!” at a high point of campaigning. That ended his run, basically. It was nothing, and certainly nothing bad. It is amazing how something that is literally nothing can take a candidate down, so I’m here to nip this “Bernie yells” nonsense in the bud. Just stop it. Or I’m going to yell at you. I’d be scared of THAT if I were you. Because I can unleash some fire and fury when I want to, kids. So lay off all the false narratives about Bernie and stick to substance. Which, by the way, he will wipe the floor with anyone who tries to mischaracterize him on. And they know it. So they are going with the “yelling”. That’s all they have. And it’s not even real.