The Dangerous Place We Stand Today---Thanks, Mr. President

It has been 29 days since our presidential election in which this sitting President lost. So, thanks, Mr. President and thanks to all enabling members of your Republican Party. Here's a snapshot of just where we stand now. 

Donald Trump is still, still, to this day, December 2, 2020, not recognizing our vote, our votes, our election or Democracy. He has still, still, to this minute, not conceded the election to Joe Biden.

'It has to stop' -GA election official condemns Trump

A GOP, Republican party election official has gone public, asking this also Republican Party President Trump to stop threatening people in Georgia as it's promoting and prompting death threats in that state over this election.

Not done there.

Trump discussed pre-emptive pardons for family

He's actually discussed preemptively pardoning his 3 children as well as his son in law. And they haven't even been accused of any crimes yet, of course.

Speaking of pardons. We're not done there.

DOJ investigating alleged 'bribery-for-pardon scheme'

Check that out. Trump's own, our own Department of Justice is actually investigating Trump himself for a possibly bribery for pardon scheme. It doesn't get any crazier, wilder or more illegal than this man Trump or his administration.

Meanwhile, we have this. In these 29 days, this is what has taken place regarding the elction.

• Media: No evidence of fraud.
• Politicians: No evidence of fraud.
• Legal experts: No evidence of fraud.
• Election officials: No evidence of fraud.
• Cybersecurity officials: No evidence of fraud.
• Dept of Homeland Security: No evidence.
• Trump's own Attorney General William Barr: No evidence of fraud.
• Random person on Twitter and Facebook: The truth will come out

--

Darius Hall III

Not done there, of course...

Trump Accuses William Barr And The FBI Of Election Fraud

This is just how desperate he's now gotten. He's now even calling his own, our own FBI and Attorney General of election fraud. Insane. More insanity. It's like his calling anyone else corrupt or "crooked." It's ironic, sure, but it's hypocrisy at its most outrageous and most wrong.

Dangerously, honestly, this is what Trump is possibly planning for inauguration day, instead of, oh, I don't know, being a mature, responsible, thinking adult for the first time in his life and actually attending that inauguration.

Trump May Hold Rally During Biden’s Inauguration

This may well be the most dangerous, divisive thing he's done yet if he goes through with it. Getting his followers all riled up across town, there in Washington, as well as across the nation while President elect Joe Biden is sworn in as actual President.

And even if he doesn't have the rally--so hoping--there is every indication he's going to continue to be, remain, small and petty.

Trump to boycott Biden’s inauguration and won’t even invite him for White House visit - report

I can't even believe all I read any longer it's so insane, so bizarre, so incredible what's happening, what's happened and what this nightmare of a President--certainly no leader--has gotten away with, to date, and is getting away with.

Trump Organization, Kushner Companies benefited from pandemic relief loans: report

Coincidentally, this, the pandemic is still going on, of course.

CDC director: winter could be 'most difficult time in public health history'

Not that we'll hear anything about it coming out of THIS White House. The Boston Globe said it right, said it correctly.

A leaderless nation adrift in a crisis

And CNN.

A leaderless America slips deep into a grim pandemic winter

Come on, December 14...

Why December 14 Is The Most Important Election Day

Trump’s Election Attack Ends December 14—Whether He Knows It or Not

And January 20, too, naturally.

God help us all get there, quietly and safely.

The "Alternate Facts" Presidency

The First 48 Hours of the Debacle That Is the Trump Presidency

How we've begun, how they've begun, in the first two days, the first 48 hours of this new Trump presidential administration. It's at least as bad as we thought/said it would be.

It had an historically low turnout, in terms of Americans being there for the inauguration.

Furthermore, the Women's March on Washington, the next day, was far larger, by multiplications.

Scientists: Women’s March Had 3X Attendance Of Trump Inauguration

Not just scientists but our own, the nation's own, now President Trump's own Secret Service says the inauguration was small.

Secret Service slaps down White House claim that ‘magnetometers’ shrank inaugural crowd size

Seems not that many of us wanted to even watch on television, either.

TV ratings for Trump inauguration far lower 

than for Obama

Trump inaugural TV ratings lower 

than Obama, Reagan: report

And not just a little bit lower TV viewership, either.

Trump inauguration had 7 

mill less viewers than Obama

Mr. Trump himself misrepresented, if not out and out lied, about the numbers and the people there.

FACT CHECK: Trump overstates crowd size 

at inaugural

The truth about the crowd at 

Trump's inauguration, in one photo

Spicer Assails Media For 'Misrepresenting' 

Inauguration Crowd (VIDEO)

Apparently this is okay for a Republican president to do. Can you imagine if Barack Obama was caught lying to us all in the first two days of his presidency?

It was followed by yet more lies on those numbers attending by Mr. Trump's White House Press Secretary.

Trump Spokesman's Lecture on Media 

Accuracy Is Peppered With Lies

Mr. Trump then went to the CIA and gave a really awful speech to staffers there and again, attacked the media, along with trying to talk himself up, "bigly" and repeatedly.

Trump, in CIA visit, attacks media for coverage of his inaugural crowds

Former Director of the CIA John Brennan was stunned and would have nothing of it.

Former CIA Director John Brennan Was 

'Angered' By Trump's CIA Visit

Ex-CIA director John Brennan: 'Trump should be ashamed of himself' over CIA remarks

Trump's new Press Secretary, Mr. Spicer, then also scolded the media for "misrepresenting"---read: reporting---the low numbers.

Trump's New WH Press Secretary Scolds 

the Media

Trump Press Secretary Slams Media 

Over Inauguration Crowd Size

There were protests, for the first time in the nation's history, against Mr. Trump and his presidency.

Protesters rally against Trump 

around the nation

There were protests, again, for the first time, across the globe, famously, in cities across nations, across the planet, against Mr. Trump and his presidency.

PHOTOS: Millions of Women March 

Against Trump on All 7 Continents

 Millions of Women March Against Trump 

on All 7 Continents

Women's march: Protesters rally worldwide 

in solidarity

Meanwhile, just as we both feared and, in worst cases, predicted, Mr. Trump and his family are, in fact, trying to capitalize on his being in the White House, on his being President. They're prostituting the White House itself and the office of the Presidency.

White House website touts Melania Trump’s modeling and jewelry line

So there you have it, ladies and gentlemen, fellow citizens of America. The first 48 hours of the Trump Presidency. Only the first 48 hours and the lies and lying and misrepresenting and hell, even the prostitution and hustling of the nation has begun.

Thanks, once more, once again, Republicans.

This will no way get better.

Link:  Donald Trump to Michelle Malkin: “You were born stupid!”

¿Quién le teme a Donald Trump? 

(Who is afraid of Donald Trump?)

Trump’s Vainglorious Affront to the C.I.A.

Republicans, The Next Four Years Are All On You (Redux)

Yes, Republicans and all who supported and voted for Donald J. Trump for president, after today, he and all he does and all the ramifications are all, every one of them, on you.

Sure, Mr. Trump is already taking us down his deep, dark "rabbit hole" and we'll all suffer but his actions? The blame for what he does and says and tweets and all the ramifications? Even the ones from the election to today, while he was only president-elect, everything from November 8 to today and for as long as he is president, it's all on you. We have you and your vote and your actions to blame.

The economy?   On you.

The nation's international standings?

You.

Any debt or debts he accrues?

Wars?

All.

On you.

And believe me, if he should do anything right and/or well and good, sure, you absolutely get any credit there.

Should that occur.

Same for Mike Pence, as Vice President or, God also forbid, President.

You get all the blame.  It's all on you, to repeat.

You wanted this. You voted for it. You supported him and all he represented then and represents since.

Yes, he's all our President, the nation's President but not because we voted for him, not because a majority of us voted for him.  You did this.

So buck up and suck it up, kids, because Mr. Trump has already shown us all, since that fateful November election day last year that this is going to be a bumpy, bumpy, unpredictable ride.

Any debt. Any wars. Any bloodshed. Any diplomatic and/or international political mistakes and/or miscues.

It's all on your hands.

Inauguration Day: One Last Dig

From here on, God help us.

"Once More Unto the Breach..."

We survived Nixon. We survived Reagan. We survived George W.

Hoping we survive this.

Once more unto the breach, dear friends, once more;

Or close the wall up with our English dead.

In peace there's nothing so becomes a man

As modest stillness and humility:

But when the blast of war blows in our ears,

Then imitate the action of the tiger;

Stiffen the sinews, summon up the blood,

Disguise fair nature with hard-favour'd rage;

Then lend the eye a terrible aspect;

Let pry through the portage of the head

Like the brass cannon; let the brow o'erwhelm it

As fearfully as doth a galled rock

O'erhang and jutty his confounded base,

Swill'd with the wild and wasteful ocean.

Now set the teeth and stretch the nostril wide,

Hold hard the breath and bend up every spirit

To his full height. On, on, you noblest English.

Whose blood is fet from fathers of war-proof!

Fathers that, like so many Alexanders,

Have in these parts from morn till even fought

And sheathed their swords for lack of argument:

Dishonour not your mothers; now attest

That those whom you call'd fathers did beget you.

Be copy now to men of grosser blood,

And teach them how to war. And you, good yeoman,

Whose limbs were made in England, show us here

The mettle of your pasture; let us swear

That you are worth your breeding; which I doubt not;

For there is none of you so mean and base,

That hath not noble lustre in your eyes.

I see you stand like greyhounds in the slips,

Straining upon the start. The game's afoot:

Follow your spirit, and upon this charge

Cry 'God for Harry, England, and Saint George!'

Link:

Clueless, Reckless, Graceless, Mindless and Heartless: Our President-Elect

The Topsy-Turvy World of Trump

First there was this:

Trump's EPA pick rejects climate science, 

fights for fossil fuels

It gets worse.

Trump's EPA pick has fought vehemently ... 

against the EPA

And then there's Betsy DeVos, Trump's pick to head Education:

I'm telling you, folks, God help us.

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

The Trumps Say They Won't Prostitute the Office of the Presidency Directly Any More

According to the New York Times today:

President-elect Donald J. Trump’s son Eric Trump says he will no longer directly solicit contributions for charities because of the potential for donors to try to use him to gain access to his father.

How comforting.

So, in the first place, these people, including this man soon-to-be-President, they were all going to pimp his own presidency, pimp the nation, really, all of us, for big-time funds just because enough of us were foolish, if not stupid enough to have voted for him. That's horrible enough.

Now, his son says they won't do it "directly."

Now they'll have a middle-man do it, no doubt.

What's bizarre, first, is that it would and did even occur to them to do this. Second, someone had to no doubt tell them how completely and utterly inappropriate it is, if not thoroughly illegal.

Fantastic.

Again, thanks, Republicans and Right Wingers and all the racists and Obama haters out there who voted for this clownish, infantile buffoon.  It's already paying off for them---and maybe for you, too?--and he's not even inaugurated.

Link:   Trump's Son, Fearing 'Quagmire,' to Stop Soliciting

January 20, 2017: Wear Black Day

Well, there we have it.

It's final.

Donald J. Trump will be sworn into the Presidency, January 20, 2107, about a month from now. The ugliness is now staring us squarely in the face.

So what do we do?

Anything?

Here's an idea. Let's make this a thing.

January 20, 2017, Inauguration Day in Washington, DC. Since it's going to take place and Donald J. Trump is to be sworn in as our 45th President, let's do this.

Let's all wear black.

We can't all go to Washington. We can't all be there and protest, much as we'd like and much as he, Trump, deserves.

So let's do the next best thing.

Let's all of us, coast to coast, wear black.

Head to foot.

Let's show our quiet, even silent protest at this misogynist, sexist, racist, emotional man-child being foisted into the highest and most powerful government position in the nation and the most powerful position in the world. Since the Electoral College goes through with this and does vote him in, let's show our cohesion.

Let's "put it out there", to the nation and to our fellow Americans and to the world that we're concerned and that we in no way supported, then, nor support now this petulant, unthinking man in the White House.

Yes, we support him, as far as it goes, as President, but only because we must. We only support him out of acknowledgement of this reality, this ugly, sad, even dangerous reality that the Electoral College got him into the presidency.

But that's as far as it goes.

January 20, 2017.  Wear black.