Two Quick, Easy Examples Today of Stunning Admissions From Trump's Himself

Both of these took place earlier today on the White House lawn. Here's the first.

President Trump Said He Wants People to 'Sit Up at Attention' for Him Like They Do for Kim Jong Un

The president strode out from the White House in the morning, first appearing on Fox and Friends alongside Steve Doocy, and then taking some questions from reporters on the lawn of the executive mansion. While he covered a range of topics, and went through many of his greatest hits, the most notable elements were his praise for the totalitarian rule of North Korea’s Kim Jong Un, his own declarations of criminal behavior by political opponents, and a series of easily disprovable statements about immigration law and a Justice Department inspector general’s report released Thursday.

While Trump has shown surprising deference and affection for autocratic rulers in the past, including effusive praise for Kim after the summit earlier this week, Friday’s comments were still unusual.

Here's the money line:

“He is the head of a country and I mean he is the strong head,” Trump said. “Don't let anyone think anything different. He speaks and his people sit up at attention. I want my people to do the same.”
Got that, America? Get that? This is what he wants from us. America? Land of the free? Not if he has his way.

Then there was this beauty.

Trump’s Remarkable Admission About Dishonesty

The other most notable moment came during the gaggle, when reporters asked Trump about a statement to The New York Times concerning a June 2016 meeting at Trump Tower between Donald Trump Jr., Jared Kushner, and campaign chairman Paul Manafort, along with a Russian lawyer. The president dictated the statement, as his lawyers acknowledged in a letter to special counsel Robert Mueller. That statement was false and quickly debunked.

“That's irrelevant,” Trump said Friday. “It's a statement to The New York Times, the phony, failing New York Times. That's not a statement to a high tribunal of judges. That's a statement to the phony New York Times.”

In short, the president is saying that it’s totally acceptable to lie to the press, and by extension the public, as long as he is not under oath in the justice system.

Trump admits he dictated lie 

about his son's meeting with a Russian

 lawyer, says it doesn't matter

From his own mouth, ladies and gentlemen. No interpreter. No other source. His own mouth.

Donald Trump Is Going to Puerto Rico This Week?

This week, in the last few days, our illustrious President Donald J. "You're Kidding Me Here" Trump took it upon himself to insult the Mayor of San Juan, Puerto Rico. In Tweets, of course.

Trump attacks San Juan mayor 

over hurricane response

Not done there, that, alone, wasn't bad enough, he went on to INSULT THE ENTIRE CITIZENRY of that nation.

Trump attacks hurricane-ravaged Puerto Ricans as lazy

So, now, given all this, what could he possibly, possibly think he can do to help these people, given that he has, again, insulted each and every one of them, already?

What good could he possibly do now?

How are they to receive him?

We Are, As a Nation, Normalizing the Insanity and Irresponsibility That Is Donald J Trump

Lots of us swore we would not, could not let this happen. That is, we swore we would and could not possibly let the normalization of Donald J. Trump and all his petulance and non-logic and emotionalism and rantings and ravings and tweets and self-centeredness and narcissism. We were sure we wouldn't all "go there."

But it's happening. Sure as he's called President, to this day, it's happening.

An example?

This past week.

Donald Trump's last 7 days are just 

mind-bogglingly bad

And then, today, there's this.

Trump calls negotiations with North Korea a waste of time, says U.S. will ‘do what has to be done’

He has no idea, I expect, that he's flirting with some sort of nuclear disaster, at minimum, if not out and out nuclear war.

Bravado is one thing when you're in the locker room and disrespecting women. God knows that's bad enough. But as President of the most ridiculously powerful nation on the planet to, again, flirt with nuclear warheads being rained down on some part of the planet--anywhere, really--is just outrageously stupid, even childish but certainly irresponsible.

We, the United States, can't allow, hell, exist with this, again, irresponsible dolt as leader.

The planet can't, either.

No exaggeration.

Missouri: Republicans, Cutting Your Pay

They're working, fighting to take health care away from at least 22 million Americans with their latest AHCA "wealthcare" bill and now this.

Missouri Republicans Lower 

St. Louis Minimum Wage

Not done there, this is what they did in May.

Missouri lawmakers just took 

raises away from minimum wage workers

In February, this is what they did, also lowering Missourians wages.

Right-to-work bill signed by 

Missouri Gov. Eric Greitens

Three different efforts to lower Missourians wages.

And they all worked.

Someone please tell me why anyone, anyone in the middle and/or lower classes vote with these greedheads.

Links:

GOP vs Health, Voters, & Healthy Voters

Senate Health Care Bill Includes Deep Cuts to Medicaid

Republican Health Care Bill Delivers Big Tax Cut For The Rich

How the AHCA Leaves the Old, Sick, and Poor Behind

And here's that Republican, Right Wing, "Conservative" "small government"

Trump Administration's Request for Extensive Voter Data Raises Fears

The Outrageous, "In Your Face" Presidency of Donald J. Trump

There is a fascinating, if not insulting, article over at ThinkProgress today on the Trump Presidency:

Trump visits Trump-branded property for 8th consecutive weekend

Here's the "meat" of the headline:

...on Saturday, Trump headed to a golf course for the 12th time during the nine weeks he’s been president. And by visiting the Trump National Golf Club in suburban Virginia, Trump — who repeatedly ripped President Obama for his much less-frequent golf outings and promised he “would rarely leave the White House because there’s so much work to be done” during the campaign — has now visited a Trump-branded property for eight straight weekends. That covers all but the very first weekend of his presidency.

But there's so much more to the article, and to this Presidency so far, it's difficult to think of anything but the outrageousness of it all. Here's another example:

White House pool reporter Adrian Carrasquillo reports that it’s unclear what Trump is doing at his golf course.

"After multiple inquires, (the press) pool still does not know who the President has met with today over the last 3 hours. It is unclear why the Trump Team can not find out this information for the pool. Will update if any information becomes available..."

What this means, ladies and gentlemen, is that, in spite of being President and in spite of what he said on the campaign trail about how he'd never go on vacation and how much work there is to do, not only is he not doing said work and not only is he down there on our Federal dime (dollars), not only is he not doing anything constructive in his job, he's also in no way beholden to the press--read: to you and I--as to what he's doing and/or with whom he's meeting or with whom he might be talking.

He's not done there, either, in his chutzpah.

Trump’s latest trip to one of his properties comes a day after Forbes broke news that Eric Trump plans to give his father quarterly updates about how Trump’s sprawling business empire is doing financially. Trump has refused to divest from his business, putting him in a unique position to profit off the presidency.

“Yeah, on the bottom line, profitability reports and stuff like that, but you know, that’s about it,” Eric Trump said, in reference to what he’ll brief his father on. “My father and I are very close… I talk to him a lot. We’re pretty inseparable.”

Those statements contradicted what Eric Trump told the Forbes reporter less than two minutes earlier.

“There is kind of a clear separation of church and state that we maintain, and I am deadly serious about that exercise,” he said. “I do not talk about the government with him, and he does not talk about the business with us. That’s kind of a steadfast pact we made, and it’s something that we honor.”

In January, Trump discussed his plan to hand over day-to-day management of the Trump Organization to his sons while retaining ownership of the company.

“My two sons, who are right here, Don and Eric, are going to be running the company,” Trump said at a press conference in New York. “They are going to be running it in a very professional manner. They’re not going to discuss it with me.”

But Eric’s comments about the quarterly briefings he plans to give his father aren’t consistent with the plan Trump outlined.

Just look at what he, Trump, has done since he was sworn into office:

Memberships at Mar-a-Lago doubled in price to $200,000 shortly after the inauguration (taxes and $14,000 annual dues not included). For that price you get access to the president — perhaps even while he’s trying to deal with an international crisis in a dining area.

Then, to make things worse and to capitalize yet further with his/this Presidency, he wants to exploit it and us all even further.

Meanwhile, the head of Trump’s hotel-management company recently announced plans for “an ambitious expansion across the U.S.” that would triple the number of Trump-branded hotels in the country.

Bottom line:  Trump didn't divest himself from his business, from his company or companies in any way. It seems he had no intention of doing so, too, in spite of what he said, again, during the campaign. He's blowing the Emoluments Clause of our own Constitution, right out of existence. (see below).

Besides being full of nerve and arrogance, it likely is already unconstitutional, this Presidency, this administration. Based on the Emoluments Clause alone. I said it before, between all this and the fact that he lost the American popular vote in November by 3 million votes, this administration should be ousted and the real winner of it all should be installed, inaugurated.

And post haste.

Meanwhile, here, ladies and gentlemen, are the first less than 100 days of this Presidency.

Honestly, again, God help us.

Links:

Emoluments Clause - Wikipedia

Why Trump Will Violate the Foreign Emoluments Clause - The Atlantic

Check out the irony and hypocrisy of this headline, too.

Report: Trump angry Kushner took vacation during health debate

I'm telling you, this man lacks nothing if not chutzpah.

Meanwhile, here's a good idea from some Democrats in Congress:

Dems Try To Force Trump To Publish Club Visitor Logs With 'MAR-A-LAGO' Act

Meanwhile, Mr. Calm, Cool and Collected, says don't fret:

Trump signals new hope for overhaul of ObamaCare, says 'Do not worry'

The Unprecedented, Even Outrageous Presidency That Already Is Donald J. Trump, One Week In

Okay, end of week one of the Trump Presidency, weekend number two and what do we have yet again?

This was last weekend.

Women lead unprecedented worldwide 

mass protests against Trump

There were, as I pointed out earlier, an unprecedented number of protests not just all across the nation, which I don't believe ever occurred before, but all across the world, as well, and on all 7 continents. 

So here we are, one week later and he's done it again. First, across the nation.

Protests Build Across the Country 

Against Trump's Immigration Order

Then, again, once again, across the world.

Global backlash grows against 

Trump's immigration order

It's important we both know and keep in mind that all of these protests are, in fact, not just unprecedented for even a US President but especially a just-inaugurated President. Two weekends in a row of protests in the home nation and across the globe and we're only 9 days in to the administration.

Lots of us across the nation predicted a Trump Presidency would be turbulent. None of us, I think it's safe to say, thought it would be this much. It seems clear it's going to be a far wilder ride with this man, this Mr. Donald J. Trump than we would have ever imagined.

Links:

In Boston, a Late-Night Victory Against Trump’s Immigration Ban

Confusion, detentions plunge airports into chaos despite 
federal judge’s order

Trump World's Alternative Reality

John McCain, Lindsey Graham lead in GOP criticism of Trump ban

Judge halts deportations as refugee ban causes 

worldwide furor

Three Dangerous and Nearly Unbelievable Moves By Trump and Company

Bad as Donald Trump has been and shown himself to be during the campaign and even since, he and the Republicans, this week, in the last few days have made some additional really awful moves and statements that, again, portend horribly for the nation and for our foreseeable future.

The first.

Republicans threaten to subpoena ethicsdirector for daring to criticize Trump

To begin, this takes chutzpah, real nerve. The ethics director of the Federal Government merely calls out the President-elect, to say we have to stay within the law and the Republicans attack him? They threaten him? What? They don't want ethics in government? That would seem to be the conclusion to be reached. This is nearly inconceivable.

Two. Another attack, yet another near inconceivability.

'All Talk, No Action,' Says Trump, 

in Twitter Attack on a Civil Rights Icon

Donald Trump not only attacks Rep. John Lewis, in Twitter tweets, no less, but also calls him "all talk, no action."   Clearly, Mr. Trump knows nothing of even Rep. Lewis' work, let alone our own national history.

Fortunately, some good  came of this attack.

Rep. John Lewis's books sell out 

following Donald Trump's attacks

Trump slammed for attacking civil rights icon 

Rep. John Lewis

Lawmakers condemn Trump for attack 

on John Lewis

Unfortunately, however, the President-elect's Vice President-elect, Mr. Pence, doubled-down on this dumb.

Pence defends Trump calling John Lewis 

a failure to black people

I guess if you figure you can blame one person, one man, for the fact that Black people in the United States are still discriminated against and still impoverished, in education and finances and jobs and a lot of other ways, if you can do that, what he says would make sense.

To an ignorant, insensitive, outspoken, filthy-rich, extremely privileged, isolated white man it might make sense.

Then, there was this, just a few days ago.

Trump team to remove commander of D.C.'s National Guard in middle of inauguration

The President-elect is having the Commander of the District of Columbia's National Guard dismissed IN THE MIDDLE OF HIS, THE PRESIDENT-ELECT'S, OWN INAUGURATION.

To start, that makes no sense whatever and then it has to be asked, why is he doing this? Worse, is this the kind of "leadership" we can expect from this guy? It surely seems so, given all he's done and said since winning this election.

For those of us connected to reality and decency and national and world and human history, how are we supposed to anything but dread this coming presidency of Mr. Trump's, especially given what he and his Vice Presidential pick and his supporting political party have said and done recently?

An additional scary, recent move:

Trump attacks China in Twitter outburst

Fortunately, there is this and things like it--people trying to keep him, his Vice President and their political party in line:

Chief Ethics Lawyers: Trump Will Be In Violation Of Constitution When He Takes Oath Of Office

More Signs Pointing to a Hillary Clinton Rout

Yet another couple of reasons, this week, why Hillary Clinton will win the presidency on Tuesday and Donald Trump will be roundly, soundly defeated.

First, these were revealed and released this week.

US Added 161000 New Jobs In October; 

Wages Rise By 10 Cents

US Wages Rising At The Fastest Pace 

In Years Amid Solid Hiring 

Check that out. More hired, more employed and higher wages for us workers.

And check out that price of gasoline, in the middle of Kansas City, from last evening.

Not just $2.00 per gallon, not just under $2.00/gallon but decidedly less than.  Fantastic.

Then check this out. I saw this last evening.

These Australians crossed the ocean to knock on doors for Hillary Clinton

It's all the people Trump has insulted and isolated and alienated as well as all the people Hillary has working and voting for her.

The Biggest GOP Names Backing Hillary 

Clinton—So Far

Meet the Republicans Who Say They'll 

Vote for Hillary Clinton

The Die-Hard Republicans Who Say 

#NeverTrump - Bloomberg View

And then there's the fact that Donald Trump as president actually, rather rightly, scares plenty of Republicans and Right Wingers.

Republicans privately panic at “terrifying” 

prospect of Trump win

And then, keep in mind, the people with money, the people from Wall Street are also against this guy.

No Fortune 100 CEOs Back Republican 

Donald Trump

Wall Street bankers are revolting against 

Donald Trump

Donald Trump terrifies Wall Street

I tell you, folks, it's going to be an electoral slaughter.

We can't take anything for granted, of course, and we have to get out there and vote but between this kind of information and facts and the fact that Donald Trump insults so many people, including those who should be in his own base, Republicans, no less. I believe strongly we're going to see a monumental loss for Mr. Trump and his Republican Party. I think it's going to be a very Truman/Dewey election result, if not even more so.

Here's hoping.

Vote, folks! And vote blue!

Links:

Hillary Clinton Is Leading In A Greater Portion Of Polls Than Obama Was In The Last Two Elections

Florida Latinos set records in early vote numbers. They could swing the election.

Clinton Has Solid Lead in Electoral College; Trump's Winning Map Is Unclear

Trump Won't Win, But You Still Need to Vote

Not Columbus Day

Today is, so far, still, officially Columbus Day, as most any school child knows. We celebrate this day Columbus "discovered" America. You know the drill. And you probably know where i'm going with this and I'm good with that.

Sure, it's great and courageous that one Christopher Columbus was courageous and ambitious enough, maybe foolhardy or even stupid enough to load up his rather tiny wooden ships and sail out on the ocean and what little he and we knew at that time, out to explore that ocean, those oceans and the world.

Sure. Naturally, any of us get that.

But it's what he then did, especially to the native people of those "new lands" that was then and still is, to this day, the problem.

His exploitation of those people and peoples, all because he thought they were "ignorant" or "savages" or whatever, was then and still is horrible. It was the beginning of the not just brutal but extremely brutal exploitation of indigenous people all across the continent. Here's just some information on it:

Columbus Day? True Legacy: 

Cruelty and Slavery

Columbus wasn’t a hero. When he set foot on that sandy beach in the Bahamas on October 12, 1492, Columbus discovered that the islands were inhabited by friendly, peaceful people called the Lucayans, Taínos and Arawaks. Writing in his diary, Columbus said they were a handsome, smart and kind people. He noted that the gentle Arawaks were remarkable for their hospitality. “They offered to share with anyone and when you ask for something, they never say no,” he said. The Arawaks had no weapons; their society had neither criminals, prisons nor prisoners. They were so kind-hearted that Columbus noted in his diary that on the day the Santa Maria was shipwrecked, the Arawaks labored for hours to save his crew and cargo. The native people were so honest that not one thing was missing.

Columbus was so impressed with the hard work of these gentle islanders, that he immediately seized their land for Spain and enslaved them to work in his brutal gold mines. Within only two years, 125,000 (half of the population) of the original natives on the island were dead.
Forget that he didn't really "discover" the continent or people since Leif Ericson, as the article also points out, arrived here 500 years earlier or that "...the Native Americans discovered North America about 14,000 years before Columbus was even born! Surprisingly, DNA evidence now suggests that courageous Polynesian adventurers sailed dugout canoes across the Pacific and settled in South America long before the Vikings."

Check out the reason we even HAVE this holiday, celebrating Columbus.

Columbus Day, as we know it in the United States, was invented by the Knights of Columbus, a Catholic fraternal service organization. Back in the 1930s, they were looking for a Catholic hero as a role-model their kids could look up to. In 1934, as a result of lobbying by the Knights of Columbus, Congress and President Franklin Roosevelt signed Columbus Day into law as a federal holiday to honor this courageous explorer.

So let's move on, America. Let's wise up. Let's make this day what it ought to be. Let's start celebrating a  national Indigenous Peoples' Day. It makes far more sense, is truer to history and it would celebrate a far bigger, better portion of why and how we're even here and the people that help make it happen. We owe them that. Heck, we owe it to ourselves.

Then, along with that, let's start helping Native Americans more fully as they most surely deserve and even need, as well.

Links:

The war against Columbus Day

8 Myths and Atrocities About Christopher Columbus

Columbus's Real Legacy: The Brutal Disparities Suffered

Why These Cities Are Dropping 'Columbus Day'

On Columbus Day, support grows for the indigenous

Seattle Swaps Columbus Day For 'Indigenous Peoples' Day'

Support grows for Indigenous Peoples Day amid Columbus Day criticism

Columbus Day changed to Indigenous People's Day in Vermont

Indigenous Peoples' Day Gains Momentum As A Replacement

Indigenous Peoples' Day - Wikipedia

You can possibly take action here:  Transform Columbus Day

Congratulations, Missouri! You kill me!

Check out these statistics on "corporal punishment"--the oh-so-polite word for state-sanctioned murder, execution of the convicted:

America Ranks in the Top 5 Globally—for Putting Its Citizens to Death

That one, that statistic, by itself, is bad enough, sure.That's awful.

Look at the company we're with, for pity's sake---only China, Iran, Iraq and Saudi Arabia executed more.

This is the company we want to keep? These are the people we want to share this with? This is the kind of people we want to be? This is what we want to be known for?

I mean, I knew we incarcerated more people than any other nation in the world, sure:

The United States Has The Largest Prison Population

And that, by itself, is horrific enough but I didn't know we were also in the top 5 for killing our own citizens. 

And I figure you know China has to be in there by sheer numbers, the size of its population but all the rest of the nations in the top 5, including and especially us? That's just wrong. 

Then, to take it one step further, check this out, Missouri and fellow Missourians, from this article--

The overwhelming majority of those executions—nearly 90 percent—took place in four states: Texas, Missouri, Florida and Oklahoma.
And not to be outdone, it seems Utah may want to get into the top 5 states that execute, with their latest move, too. Seems lethal injection just wasn't effective, dependable--or barbaric?--enough for them:

Utah Senate OKs execution by firing squads

So kudos, America and congratulations to you, Missouri. Hats off to you, state sanctioned killers that you are.

When you put all this together with the fact that we grossly outspend all other nations on the planet, in the world, in and on defense spending, it's pretty eye-opening.

BusinessInsider

It seems clear, with all this information and all these statistics, America is fully wrapped up in the death and killing business.

And here you thought we were a "peace-loving people."

Kansas and Republican policies in the news

Yes sir, good old Governor Sam Brownback and his Republican cohorts in the Topeka Statehouse are certainly, repeatedly in the news lately, aren't they?

Just not in any good way:

Budget Cuts Force Homeless Shelter To Close As Tax Breaks Go To Wealthy Kansans

Notes:

A shelter for homeless families in southeastern Kansas will close its doors next week amid a funding shortfall.

The CHOICES Family Emergency Shelter houses approximately 350 homeless people every year, the majority of whom are children. There are currently nine families, including 26 children, living in the shelter. According to the AP, three other families were set to move in as well.

The closure is coming after an unexpected budget shortfall this year. The shelter depended on state funding to keep its doors open, but for 2014 it received less than half the approximately $200,000 it needed to continue operating. The Kansas Housing Resources Corporation, which distributes money to shelters across the state, changed its formula for doling out funding this year to send more money to western Kansas, though it’s not entirely clear why.

And we all know the good part, right?

While the state isn’t offering enough money to keep all its homeless shelters open, it is doling out large new tax cuts to rich Kansans. Last year, Gov. Sam Brownback (R-KS) signed a package of nearly $1.1 billion of tax breaks that will predominantly go to the wealthy. It’s not just homeless shelters that are losing out. These tax breaks are also coming at the expense of funding for poor school districts, people who rely on food stamps to eat, and the state’s overall economic health.

Funny, I never knew and so, don't remember this Sam Brownback:

Sam Brownback circa-2006 would have trouble recognizing Sam Brownback today. The then-Kansas Senator kicked off his presidential campaign by spending a night in a Louisiana penitentiary in order to highlight problems with recidivism and the poor treatment of prisoners. He also garnered a humanitarian reputation after championing social justice causes, such as funding to fight AIDS in Africa and sponsoring the Prison Rape Elimination Act. 

Hopefully, Kansans have gotten these messages in the media.

Yet more amazing stupid out of Jefferson City

The Republicans and Right Wing just won't let up on this issue--or on women and women's rights:

Missouri Lawmakers Are Pushing 32 Separate Abortion Restrictions To Regulate One Clinic

Amazing.

Of all the issues the state legislature could and should focus on in Jefferson City but they keep returning to this one.

Women's reproductive rights.  That's it.  Only one.

Thirty-two bills, if you can believe it, just to shut down the one, last women's clinic in the entire state.

Are they paying any attention whatever to the fact that Interstate 70, from all the way on the East and the Illinois border and St. Louis, all the way through the center of the state and Columbia, all the way West to Kansas City and the Kansas border, needs updating and improving and widening and repairing?

Oh, hell, no.

It's Johnny and Jamey one-notes down there:  "Abortion! Abortion! Abortion!"

It's as I've said before, why any woman would vote Republican is beyond me.

But for that matter, why any black person, or elderly or Hispanic or gay or middle- or lower-class person would, either, is beyond comprehension.

And the thing is, these Republicans aren't bright enough to be embarrassed or ashamed, either, for themselves or their state, either one.

Sustainable: The Word of our Time

The word of the day today, indeed, likely the word of at least this decade, if not our age, is "unsustainable", I'd contend.  So much of the way humankind lives right now is just unsustainable. I came to realize this some time ago when thinking of the way we heat and cool our homes, create energy to do so, travel--think polluting, gas-guzzling cars--farm, what with corporate farming and all the chemicals we use on farms and even in the cattle and livestock we then eventually eat.

So totally unsustainable.

This headline today took that all one step further for me:

The 1% Should Be Afraid: The New Norm in the Workplace Is Unstable

The way we distribute even jobs in this country, let alone some modicum of "wealth" are both patently unsustainable, forget "unstable."

And that's what is so crazy about our current economic system in the US, at least. The wealthy, who are continuing to reap so many benefits from our current arrangement, could and would, economists have shown, also reap so many benefits from a system that is more equitable and fair. With a stronger middle classs alone, there would be so many more millions of consumers of products and so, much healthier demand for products and services.  Read:  the wealthy would benefit from that, naturally and of course.

Additionally, that top 1% would benefit again if the lower class also had more buying power--more money in their pockets. It only stands to reason.

Then there is the big picture. The entire economic and financial system needs to function successfully--sustainably--for all of us in order for it to even exist, let alone thrive.

What is so difficult about this?

Then there are these other "unsustainables":

Global Warming Effects and Threats on Human Health

Why the US Military Budget is 'Foolish and Sustainable' 

Agriculture And Food Systems Unsustainable

World Health Organization Warns A ‘Tidal Wave’ Of Cancer Will Sweep The Globe Over The Next 20 Years

We're doing so many things, as a race, at least environmentally and financially, that are unsustainable, even destructively so.

And the fact is, in order to get back control of all our systems of living is to take back our government, back for the people.  

Our government, at least in our nation, is bought and paid for by corporations and the wealthy. Campaign contributions, as I've written here and elsewhere so many times, are buying our legislators, their legislation and so, our laws and finally, our government.  It's all for them, first and foremost, and for the people, secondarily, if even then.

We have to get our government back for the people.

And we'll have to push, fight, even, to make that happen.

We need to get started.