At the Start of the RNC, Things are not Going Well for the Trumpster

 Yes, there have been, are some developments this morning and in the last day or two, both, just before the start of this Republican National Convention. And virtually all of them are---darn it---not good for this Republican Party Donald Trump or his group. Here's the first. It's my favorite. Just broke this morning.

27 former Republican members of Congress announce they'll support Joe Biden over Trump

Jeff Flake, 27 Other Ex-GOP Congress Members Endorse Biden

How great is that?

Yet more Republicans bailing on this psychotic President.

Next up is this from a conservative commentator. It came out yesterday.

The Biden administration needs to pursue every Trump appointee accused of perjury: conservative

In a column for the Washington Post, conservative commentator Jennifer Rubin said, should Democratic presidential nominee Joe Biden win in November, he should commit to having his Justice Department look into any Donald Trump appointee who has been accused of committing perjury during the past four years.

According to the never-Trumper, the first thing the new administration needs to do is open up to the public “all documents the Trump administration previously withheld from congressional subpoenas.”

Pretty incredible, coming from, as it says, a conservative. Most, very likely a fellow Republican.

Next up and another I especially enjoy. This came out yesterday.

Trump's strategy on mail ballots divides party before GOP convention

What's especially great about this one is that the Trumpster is tearing his own political party apart.

Better still, he has no idea he's doing it.

That is fantastic.  I've said several or many times, what isn't to hate about this President, what he does and says and his administration, is to love.  This is one of the love parts.

The following broke this past Saturday and while we knew it, it's still important to hear and see--and from such an excellent source.

Trump's sister says president 'has no principles,' lies and is cruel

Not done there, God bless her...

Donald Trump’s Own Sister Thinks He’s a Complete Phony

Then it came out this morning that another one exiting the very revolving door of this administration.

Kellyanne Conway To Leave White House At The End Of The Month

Does that not maybe smack of a rat deserting a sinking ship, folks?

This next one is very likely good for destroying the Republican Party but very bad if, God and heavens forbid, this idiot were reelected. I don't think any political party has ever done this in the history of our nation.  If you didn't think or know the Republican Party has been taken over by Donald Trump, perhaps this will convince you. What would you call a party that has no platform and says whatever it’s leader says is the platform?

Republican convention to forgo party platform in favor of Trump's agenda

This one is partially good for tearing down this President's reelection attempt and to likely also tear down his political party but if this man, this buffoon, should, God and heavens forbid, actually be reelected? 

Insane.

• First, I don't think any political party has ever done this in the history of our nation and for good reason.
• Second, this kind of thing happens in Communist countries and dictatorships and banana republics. This doesn't take place in Democracies. It sure as heck doesn't happen here in America. At least, it didn't take place in America until now, with this man, this Donald Trump and his own personal political party. 
• Third, I and a lot of us out here are just personally hoping it helps just destroy his reelection campaign and their political party. Once again, proof positive he can no way be reelected, for the good and betterment of the nation, no exaggeration or overstatement. 
• Finally on this, if this isn't the epitome of a despot and despotism, what is?

Between this and the fact that 6 of the 12 keynote speakers this week at this RNC have the last name Trump, to what other conclusion are we to come but that this is a despot? He's praised other like Kim Jong Un and the Philippines' Duterte, etc.

Trump family make up half of RNC key note speakers

Additionally, Trump is requiring he speak ALL 4 NIGHTS of this convention.

Who does that? In America, what candidate for the presidency does that? Ever did it. I don't think ever. I think it's one more thing unprecedented by this President.

Finally, there is this great, breaking news this morning. I know we've seen this headline before but this just broke an hour ago.  The state of New York just isn't going to let us down.

New York attorney general investigating Trump over financial statements

And so, we go on to their---his--political convention tonight. I think NPR summed it up nicely.

Convention Gives Trump A Chance To Explain How He'll Make America Great Again...Again

86 45

BYEDON

Vote, folks!

And VOTE BLUE!!

#BlueWave2020

This President Is Apparently Melting Down in Desperation

This President came into this office, this presidency, far over his head and plenty of people, including Republicans, warned us of it all, warned us of him.

But now, with the worst, most killing, international pandemic in over 100 years, protests across the nation and so much more, Mr. Trump seems to be now also melting down.

“WHAT DO I DO? WHAT DO I DO?”: TRUMP DESPERATE, DESPONDENT AS NUMBERS CRATER, “LOSER” LABEL LOOMS

From the article:

With Donald Trump’s approval sinking to Jimmy Carter levels and coronavirus cases spiking across the country, Trump is reluctantly waking up to the grim reality that, if the current situation holds, his reelection is gone. Republicans that have spoken with Trump in recent days describe him as depressed and “down in the dumps.” “People around him think his heart’s not in it,” a Republican close to the White House said. Torn between the imperative to win suburban voters and his instincts to play to his base, Trump has complained to people that he’s in a political box with no obvious way out. According to the Republican, Trump called Tucker Carlson late last week and said, “What do I do? What do I do?”

So once again, thanks, Republicans. Thanks so very much for foisting this grossly incompetent, ignorant, now desperate, reckless boob of a man as and for our President, our leader.

Now This President Wants to Adjourn Both Chambers of Congress--So He Can Stack the Courts

And now this Republican Party Gestapo agent--President Donald J Trump, in case you've been buried in sand for 3 years, wants to actually adjourn BOTH CHAMBERS OF CONGRESS so he can stack the courts with yet more Right Wing, no doubt inexperienced judges. He actually said it.

Trump threatens to adjourn 

both chambers of Congress

What part of this is not Fascist?

fascism
[ˈfaSHˌizəm]

NOUN
an authoritarian and nationalistic right-wing system of government and social organization.
synonyms:
authoritarianism · totalitarianism · dictatorship · despotism · autocracy · absolute rule · Nazism · rightism · militarism · nationalism · xenophobia · racism · anti-Semitism

(in general use) extreme authoritarian, oppressive, or intolerant views or practices.

We're in the middle of a killing, international pandemic that, by the way, has most of the nation rightly shut down so we don't spread the virus and he declares he wants to, again, adjourn both houses of Congress so he can stack the courts.

Oh, and his claim yesterday that the WHO, the World Health Organization, didn't notify us all, the world, that there was a pandemic out there and that they were irresponsible so we should actually cut their funding---in the middle of this pandemic?

'We Alerted The World' To Coronavirus On Jan. 5, WHO Says In Response To U.S.

So much for that claim. Not this his followers and supporters will agree or understand or accept this.

Naturally, this President didn't do his homework. "The Constitution does grant the power to adjourn the House and Senate, but only if the two chambers are in disagreement over when to adjourn, which is not currently the case." (With thanks to Gabe Fleisher at "Wake Up to Politics" for that last bit).

Not done there, check this out.

CIA: Please Ignore Trump’s Medical Advice On Coronavirus

Now even his own, our own CIA is saying ignore this President.

God help us.

And thanks, Republicans! Thanks again. So much. That's quite the guy you've foisted on us all, on the nation.

Link:

Wake Up To Politics

I Ask You, Which Is It With Trump?

So with all of Donald Trump's ignorance and kow-towing to Russia and Vladimir Putin and overtures to him and them while attacking our allies, what is it? Is it that--

--Vladimir Putin and Russia are all blackmailing him because he owes them all too much money or

--there really is some "pee tape", ugh, or

--he actually is really just this stupid?

Which is it, exactly?

Links:

NRA, Russia and Trump: Money laundering 

poisoning US democracy 

Donald Trump Is Obsessed with the Pee Tape 

Fran Lebowitz: 'You do not know anyone as stupid 

as Donald Trump

This President Seems to be Coming Unglued

Honestly, it's as though this President Trump is losing it. Did you hear what he did Monday at the White House during the Easter Egg roll?

Trump touts economy, military but slams Democrats at Easter egg roll

To children. To an audience of mostly children and again, at an Easter event. And nothing like trying to be the President, the leader, of all of us, eh?  This, during the event, is how he described, or tried to describe, the White House.

“I also want to thank the White House Historical Association, and everybody who works to keep this incredible house, or building, or whatever you want to call it — because there really is no name for it. It’s special. And we keep it in tip-top shape. We call it sometimes 'tippy-top shape,' and it’s a great, great place."
And that's the adult speaking. The man who is supposed to be leading the nation.

Then there is this, just breaking.

“Trump Is Like, 'How Can I F--k with Him?'”: 

Trump's War 

with Amazon Gets Personal

This is the way he conducts the highest level White House meetings, apparently.

Trump reportedly puts a Fox News host on speakerphone during meetings in the Oval Office

Then, finally, at least for now, for today, there is this.

Trump touts Rasmussen poll results: 

'Higher than Cheatin' Obama

Somebody, someone at the White House and/or in the Republican Party needs to get a handle on this guy.

You Must Read This Article

If you only read one piece this year on technology and what it is, where it's going and where it may or may not go and take us, you should read this.

Will Democracy Survive Big Data 

and Artificial Intelligence

It has far, far more in it than I could ever describe here.

It is both fascinating and alarming, at once.

Governments will no way be able to keep up with technology. Heck, they're already far, far behind. 

I would like--heck, I want--every member of our national, US Congress to read this, let alone our state legislators and office holders.

All the things called for in the article would have to be done by government, of course. It would have to be done by far-seeing, responsible legislators.

I don't see it happening.

I'd love to be wrong.

God help us all.

Links:

Elon Musk issues a stark warning about A.I.

Elon Musk's Billion-Dollar Crusade

 to Stop the A.I. Apocalypse

Elon Musk Says AI Is a Greater Threat Than North Korea

Elon Musk Warns: Regulators Must Be Proactive On AI

Stephen Hawking warns artificial intelligence 

could end mankind

Bill Gates is worried about artificial intelligence too

Stephen Hawking, Elon Musk, and Bill Gates 

Warn About Artificial Intelligence

Rather Frightening Facts About This Trump Presidency

I was especially struck by an article today in The Atlantic.

Donald Trump Is a Lame-Duck President

There are some things about this that need to be pointed out.

First, I and a lot of people out here think this is true, unequivocally.

Second, that he is or is considered to be a "lame duck" President in not only his first term but in the first seven months of his presidency is incredible. It's stunning. It is, again, as so much of his presidency, unprecedented. Not only has this never happened before to a president at any time in his presidency but it's stunning it has become so and yet more stunning because he's done this to himself. His own actions and words and miscalculations have brought this upon him.

Third, it may well be good because his judgment is so poor on so many topics facing the nation but...

It's bad for the nation because he's not leading, he's not governing. He's not doing nor is he now able to do those things for which he was put into office. This is just one indication of what the nation can expect with this being true.

It's bad news for stocks 

if Trump is now a lame duck

Lots of us warned about a President Trump.  Lots of us warned last year. Lots of those who did warn were Republicans, too. 

Now it's become true and those "chickens have come home to roost", so to speak.

We warned of a Trump presidency. We feared it. Now our fears have come true. Here are, already, some of the things that have been written and said about our nation, due to this man and his presidency.

The G20 proves it. The world no longer 

looks to America for leadership

Gergen: Trump no longer seen 

as world leader at G20

Because of Trump, 

U.S. No Longer World's Most Powerful Country

U.S. Has 'Resigned' As 

Leader Of Free World, Says Fareed Zakaria

Even people in his own political party are questioning him, if not out and out against him.

GOP senator questions Donald Trump's 

stability, competence

2 GOP senators question Trump's competence

Trump Comments on Race Open Breach 

With CEOs, Military and GOP

Lindsey Graham: 

'Half of what Trump does is not OK

McCain threatens to block 

Trump's Pentagon nominee

We now fear for our nation, for our nation's strength, our nation's future.

Links:

Washington Post Gloats: Trump is Lame Duck President

Why a Lame-Duck Trump Is Even More Dangerous 

Mark this date: Donald Trump is now a lame-duck president

Donald Trump Is Already a Lame Duck

Trump Disbands Manufacturing And Business Advisory Councils

Amid wave of defections, Trump's business, jobs councils disband

Trump shuts down CEO advisory councils

Now charities are dumping Trump, too

16 Charities Have Cancelled Fundraisers At Mar-A-Lago

How Donald Trump Fails Logic and Presidential Thinking

Quote of the Day/Week

"Let me say, in one week Donald Trump got rebuked by 

the Boy Scouts, 

by the Pentagon, 

by the International Association of Police Chiefs," 

Rep. Ted Lieu said. 

"You really gotta' try to be that bad."

Links:

Dem rep on Trump: 'You really gotta try to be that bad'

Boy Scouts official apologizes for 'political rhetoric' 

of Trump speech

The Military Is Officially Ignoring Trump's Transgender Order

Police departments distance themselves from Trump's comments encouraging police violence

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.

America, You're In a Bad Relationship. And You're Being Abused

Yes, America, Americans, we seem to be co-dependent just now. We seem to be drawn to a person, a man who is decidedly not good for us.  And he really is abusing us.

Donald Trump and his past, his recorded past, on audiotape and video, both, have shown him to be, once again, sexist, misogynist, racist and a whole array of ugly, negative aspects. These are his traits, this is his character.

Yet, here we are and he's still, still one of the two top candidates for the highest government office in the nation and the most powerful position in the entire world.

Things he's said and done so far, in the last 2 years, no one could have ever gotten away with. He just keeps plodding along, going forward.  People are still behind him, however dwindling but there they still are.

At one point, we all know he famously said he "...could stand in the middle of Fifth Avenue and shoot somebody and I wouldn’t lose any voters."

We all laughed, at the time, and just thought him crazy but now, honestly, there seems to be more than a little bit of truth to it.

32 Worst Things Donald Trump 

Has Ever Said

Social media reacts to Trump's explicit remarks 

about women

An Abbreviated List of Every Bonkers Thing 

Donald Trump Has Done

This one came out last May, for pity's sake.

7 Disqualifying Things Donald Trump 

Has Done in the Past 48 Hours

Yet, with all that, with all we've seen and heard from Mr. Trump, he's still in the race and we're still in this relationship.

Donald Trump is not who we should be. He's not "the better angels of our nature" and far from it. Quite the opposite is true, it seems clear. 

So how can we get out of this ugly, abusive relationship?

Can we text him it's over?

Dorothy Parker, August 22, 1893 – June 7, 1967

"I’m a feminist, and God knows I’m loyal to my sex, and you must remember that from my very early days, when this city was scarcely safe from buffaloes, I was in the struggle for equal rights for women." --Dorothy Paker, writer

Link: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dorothy_Parker

Newt and MItt: "I won't show you mine but let me see yours"

Yes, indeed, say what you will about what their differences are, whether many or few, but Republican presidential candidates Newt "I won't cheat on this wife" Gingrich and Mitt "I'll say anything to be president" Romney do share one trait. That is, they are both huge hypocrites of the first order. Right now, the Newtster want Mittens to release his tax returns and Mittens wants the Newtster to have released an "ethics review" of some 300 pages from when Newt was Speaker of the House. No surprise, both say no. It seems the American public might best be served if we got all these documents out in public, doesn't it? And then, maybe as soon as possible? Links: http://firstread.msnbc.msn.com/_news/2012/01/20/10201597-gingrich-foes-fight-to-remind-gop-of-ex-speakers-ethics-woes; http://www.vanityfair.com/online/daily/2012/01/The-Case-of-Mitt-Romneys-Missing-Tax-Returns

Snippets of brilliance and clarity from economist Joseph Stiglitz

Here's your "class warfare", folks.  And I have news for you---we're losing.

A few lines from an article by economist Joseph Stiglitz from Vanity Fair, May, 2011:

Of the 1%, by the 1%, for the 1%

Americans have been watching protests against oppressive regimes that concentrate massive wealth in the hands of an elite few. Yet in our own democracy, 1 percent of the people take nearly a quarter of the nation’s income—an inequality even the wealthy will come to regret.

The upper 1 percent of Americans are now taking in nearly a quarter of the nation’s income every year. In terms of wealth rather than income, the top 1 percent control 40 percent. Their lot in life has improved considerably... In terms of income equality, America lags behind any country in the old, ossified Europe that President George W. Bush used to deride. Among our closest counterparts are Russia with its oligarchs and Iran. While many of the old centers of inequality in Latin America, such as Brazil, have been striving in recent years, rather successfully, to improve the plight of the poor and reduce gaps in income, America has allowed inequality to grow.


The more divided a society becomes in terms of wealth, the more reluctant the wealthy become to spend money on common needs. The rich don’t need to rely on government for parks or education or medical care or personal security—they can buy all these things for themselves. In the process, they become more distant from ordinary people, losing whatever empathy they may once have had. They also worry about strong government—one that could use its powers to adjust the balance, take some of their wealth, and invest it for the common good. The top 1 percent may complain about the kind of government we have in America, but in truth they like it just fine: too gridlocked to re-distribute, too divided to do anything but lower taxes.


But one big part of the reason we have so much inequality is that the top 1 percent want it that way. The most obvious example involves tax policy. Lowering tax rates on capital gains, which is how the rich receive a large portion of their income, has given the wealthiest Americans close to a free ride. 


Much of today’s inequality is due to manipulation of the financial system, enabled by changes in the rules that have been bought and paid for by the financial industry itself—one of its best investments ever.


When you look at the sheer volume of wealth controlled by the top 1 percent in this country, it’s tempting to see our growing inequality as a quintessentially American achievement—we started way behind the pack, but now we’re doing inequality on a world-class level. 


Virtually all U.S. senators, and most of the representatives in the House, are members of the top 1 percent when they arrive, are kept in office by money from the top 1 percent, and know that if they serve the top 1 percent well they will be rewarded by the top 1 percent when they leave office


With the top 1 percent in charge, and paying no price, the notion of balance and restraint goes out the window. There is no limit to the adventures we can undertake; corporations and contractors stand only to gain.



The rules of economic globalization are likewise designed to benefit the rich: they encourage competition among countries for business, which drives down taxes on corporations, weakens health and environmental protections, and undermines what used to be viewed as the “core” labor rights, which include the right to collective bargaining.


Imagine what the world might look like if the rules were designed instead to encourage competition among countries for workers. Governments would compete in providing economic security, low taxes on ordinary wage earners, good education, and a clean environment—things workers care about. But the top 1 percent don’t need to care.


Of all the costs imposed on our society by the top 1 percent, perhaps the greatest is this: the erosion of our sense of identity, in which fair play, equality of opportunity, and a sense of community are so important. America has long prided itself on being a fair society, where everyone has an equal chance of getting ahead, but the statistics suggest otherwise: the chances of a poor citizen, or even a middle-class citizen, making it to the top in America are smaller than in many countries of Europe. The cards are stacked against them... With youth unemployment in America at around 20 percent (and in some locations, and among some socio-demographic groups, at twice that); with one out of six Americans desiring a full-time job not able to get one; with one out of seven Americans on food stamps (and about the same number suffering from “food insecurity”)—given all this, there is ample evidence that something has blocked the vaunted “trickling down” from the top 1 percent to everyone else.

The top 1 percent have the best houses, the best educations, the best doctors, and the best lifestyles, but there is one thing that money doesn’t seem to have bought: an understanding that their fate is bound up with how the other 99 percent live. Throughout history, this is something that the top 1 percent eventually do learn. Too late.


There's far more of the article I could print here but won't.  I highly recommend it: http://www.vanityfair.com/society/features/2011/05/top-one-percent-201105?printable=true&currentPage=all#ixzz1ImNW3xNn


With thanks and a hat tip to America Blog:  http://www.americablog.com/2011/04/stiglitz-we-have-government-of-1-by-1.html?utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=feed&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+Americablog+%28AMERICAblog%29

On Mr. Stiglitz:  http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Joseph_Stiglitz