Trump's ongoing attempted coup

Click here for Robert Reich's Substack entry for April 16, 2024, entitled "The Big Picture: Trump's ongoing attempted coup."

Reich writes: "Zoom out and Trump’s entire presidential campaign constitutes an assault on America. In reality, Trump’s campaign is an ongoing attempted coup. In his presidential campaign, he has:" and then he goes on to list 

(1) Repeatedly rejected the legitimate outcome of the 2020 presidential election, without any basis in fact. Trump continues to tell his followers, — in advertisements, on social media, and and in rallies — that the 2020 election was “stolen” from him.

2) Repeatedly praised the criminals convicted of the January 6 mob violence. He calls them “hostages” and promises to pardon them, despite the fact that most were convicted of injuring police officers during the attack.

(3) Repeatedly claimed, without evidence, that the criminal indictments issued against him in connection with his attempts to overturn the election are the work of President Biden, and that prosecutors and judges are part of the same Biden-led conspiracy against him.

He then says: Together, these three central elements of Trump’s presidential campaign — his baseless claim that the 2020 election was stolen from him, his praise for the January 6 rioters, and his groundless claim that the indictments against are a partisan plot — constitute a direct extension of his attempted coup that began in 2020.

 

 

Trump's Foul-Mouthed Campaign Spokesman - Steven Cheung

Click here for an article at Mother Jones by Michael Sokolove entitled "How Trump's 2024 Campaign Became a Bloody Cage Fight." It introduces us to Trump's campaign spokesman, Steven Cheung, an imposing, burly figure 6 feet tall, the Sacramento-born child of two Chinese immigrants (did they pollute the nation's bloodstream) who was spokesman for the UFC (Ultimate Fighting Championship); he and Trump bonded over a common love of combat sports.

This is Mother Jones' introduction to the article:

I’ll admit that I sometimes laugh aloud at the things Steven Cheung, Donald Trump’s campaign spokesman, posts on X.

It’s not that the posts are inherently funny. It’s more that they’re so outrageously middle-school-bullyish that they manage to both amuse and repel me. An example: On Monday, Cheung posted a screenshot showing online attendance for an obscure Biden media event. His caption: “Broke dick press conference by @BidenHQ with only 59 people watching.”

Broke dick. I mean, is this what our political discourse has come to?

Seems so. In Cheung’s trollish postings, Chris Christie is a “weak b*tch,” “birdbrain” Nikki Haley is “f*cking stupid,” and presidents Bill Clinton, Barack Obama, and Joe Biden are “dumb and dumber…and dumbest.” Cheung's posts didn't use the asterisks, but I added them out of respect for your email program's trash filters.

Presidential campaigns have always been dogfights, as the talented Michael Sokolove reminds us in his profile of Steven Cheung published today by Mother Jones, and Trump is one dirty dog, but such base and aggressive rhetoric from a campaign spokesperson is pretty unprecedented. It makes sense that Cheung cut his teeth doing comms for the Ultimate Fighting Championship, an organization that promotes brutal cage fights that are particularly popular in demographics the Trump campaign wouldn't mind poaching. Trump, himself a huge boxing and pro-wrestling fan, has become a UFC devotee as well. He and Cheung bonded, Sokolove writes, “over their mutual affection for combat sports.”

And sure, past Trump spokespeople were combative, too. But Cheung pumps things up further, channeling that hyper-macho UFC sensibility as he amplifies his boss’ personal grievances, aggressions, and ruthlessness, and gleefully pummels political rivals and cultural critics, even people who very reasonably question Trump’s Nazi-esque characterization of migrants as “vermin.”

Behind the scenes, though, Cheung is at the center of a comms operation that is far more professional and sophisticated than Trump has ever had before. His pugilism aside, Sokolove cautions, Cheung “is disciplined and laser-focused on the mission: Elect Trump at all costs.”

 

Steven Beschloss: "The Weakness of a Violent Man"

Click here for the Substack daily entry of Steven Beschloss. Today's is titled "The Weakness of a Violent Man," a blistering takedown of Trump for his weakness, hidden behind the blustering of a bully.

He attacks a judge’s daughter to stir up hate and conflict. He posts a video of the President of the United States, bound and gagged. He condemns millions of humans as poison, who, in their struggle to survive, have come to the United States to seek better lives. This is not a strong man, a man displaying his strength to lead; this is a malignant man who’s revealing his essential weakness and dangerously exacerbating a climate of violence.

Bereft of any vision of positive change, this is a man who is only capable of exploiting an aggrieved people’s worst instincts—who has figured out that he can get what he wants by stoking the fear, hatred and anger of others. He uses violence, not imagination. Conflict, not collaboration. Cruelty, never kindness. Retribution, not affirmation. These are the tools of a weak man inciting the mob to satisfy his hunger for carnage.

Beschloss says: 

But this is a weak man, a narcissist in the extreme, who cannot tolerate his own failures or the painfully obvious reality that he will never get the total adoration that his bottomless pit of need seeks. This is a sad creature, utterly lacking self-consciousness. When he looks in a mirror, he never sees the truth.  

He concludes:

The responsibility to defeat Donald Trump and the Trump Republicans could not be clearer. In another time, that may sound like a partisan urging. But this is about our commitment to sustaining America’s centuries-old democratic experiment.

Many of our fellow citizens look at Joe Biden and insist he lacks something they want. But his capacity for compassion and kindness, his commitment to democracy, and his record of competence and achievement should be more than enough for doubters to find a reason to support him.

The failure to achieve massive voter turnout can lead to a dark, fascistic future, led by a weak and desperate man who thinks he’s strong. That is a dangerous combination, which each of us has the power to help overcome.

 

Women's History Month (March): Ruth Bader Ginsburg

Click here for the Heather Cox Richardson entry in her diary, "Letters from an American," for March 31.

Noting that "On Wednesday, President Joe Biden issued an executive order instructing the National Park Service to “highlight important figures and chapters in women’s history," HCR writes:

In a time when American women are seeing their rights stripped away, it seems worthwhile on this last day of Women’s History Month to highlight the work of Supreme Court Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg, who challenged the laws that barred women from jobs and denied them rights, eventually setting the country on a path to extend equal justice under law to women and LGBTQ Americans.

She goes on to tell how RBG, who was born on March 15, 1933,  spent her whole life battling against sexual discrimination in an age when women were definitely seen as second-class citizens. The first time she appeared before the U.S. Supreme Court, she quoted nineteenth-century abolitionist and women’s rights activist Sarah Grimké: “I ask no favor for my sex. All I ask of our brethren is that they take their feet off our necks.”

One of her important dissents from the majority opinion of SCOTUS was the disastrous decision in Shelby County v. Holder:

In 2013, Ginsburg famously dissented from the majority in Shelby County v. Holder, the case that gutted the 1965 Voting Rights Act. The majority decided to remove the provision of the law that required states with histories of voter suppression to get federal approval before changing election laws, arguing that such preclearance was no longer necessary. Ginsburg wrote: “Throwing out preclearance when it has worked and is continuing to work to stop discriminatory changes is like throwing away your umbrella in a rainstorm because you are not getting wet.” As she predicted, after the decision, many states immediately began to restrict voting.

 

Click here for Robert Reich's diary entry on Substack for April 1, 2024, titled "Trump's 5-Step Fascist Plan," subtitled "He's already laid each step out."

Reich says:

In a previous post, I laid out the defining traits of fascism and how MAGA Republicans embody them, and I suggested that Trump and his lackeys shouldn’t be seen as simply “authoritarian.” They need to be understood as fascist.

But how could Trump actually turn America into a fascist state?

In five steps, which he’s already signaled he plans to take. Here they are:

And he explains each of the steps in detail:

Step 1: Use threats of violence to gain power.

Step 2: Consolidate power.

Step 3: Demonize a group of people and establish a police state to round them up into detention camps. 

Step 4: Jail the opposition.

Step 5: Undermine the free press.    

Excellent article by HCR

Click here for an excellent, wide-ranging article by Heather Cox Richardson on Substack, March 29, 2004.

On Wednesday the nonprofit, nonpartisan Institute for the Study of War published a long essay explaining that Russia’s only strategy for success in Ukraine is to win the disinformation war in which it is engaged.

This means that the strategy that matters most for the Kremlin is not the military strategy, but rather the spread of disinformation that causes the West to back away and allow Russia to win. 

Trump is gaining increasing support from right-wing billionaires.

Tonight, Adrienne Watson, the spokesperson for the National Security Council, the president’s primary forum for national security and foreign policy, pointed to Russia’s devastating recent attacks on Ukraine’s energy grid and called again for Speaker Johnson to bring up the bipartisan national security supplemental bill providing aid to Ukraine that the Senate passed in February. She warned: “Ukraine’s need is urgent, and we cannot afford any further delays.”

Robert Reich on Price Gouging

Click here for Robert Reich's entry on Substack, March 30, 2024, entitled "Record corporate profits from your thinning wallets," about price-gouging and corporate greed.

Heather Cox Richardson: Some Thoughts on President Andrew Johnson

Click here for Heather Cox Richardson's diary entry for March 30, 2024; some interesting information about a largely detested president, Andrew Johnson.

Mercedes-Benz A220 Review

Mercedes-Benz A220 Review

Cleaning Stainless Steel Pans

Click here for an article at the NYT's site "Wirecutter" for an article entitled "How to Clean Stainless Steel Pans," by Anna Perling.

Steven Beschloss Summarizes Trump's Rally In Dayton, Ohio, On March 16

Click here for an article at Substack, Steven Beschloss's latest entry in his diary, "America, America," entitled "The Numbing Effect." He says we are becoming numb to Trump's outrageous statements, but says Trump is getting worse, and summarizes his outlandish statements in a particularly offensive rally at Dayton, Ohio, over the weekend. He says:

But before I share what I’ve learned after watching and listening to the whole Ohio speech, I want to remind you (and me) not to let his horrible lies benumb you, even after all these years. Because the more we treat what he has to say as normal or tolerable in our public discourse, the more we adapt to and accept its existence, the more he succeeds in moving our society toward cruelty and violence. That would be an insufferable victory by the carnage-loving faction and its leader.

He concludes:

We should not underestimate Trump’s ability to convince voters to believe his delusions and lies. We can only hope there will be a rising chorus of high-profile Republicans still capable of rational thought to assert the depth of his unfitness, just as former Vice President Dick Cheney did this weekend in a short video and former Vice President Mike Pence did in refusing to endorse the man who used to attract his total adoring gaze.

But over and over, Trump proves his ability to destroy the reputation of any Republican who threatens his quest to untether voters from reality and serve himself. And he is clearly intensifying his hateful rhetoric in order to whip up the base as we head toward November.

Yet Trump cannot win in 2024 if he fails to attract a wider circle of voters and turnout is strong. That’s why I hope you will take the time to pay attention to what he says and remind any fence-sitters you know who may have forgotten or ignored who and what this dangerous man is.

 

Social Security Payments Facing A Crisis (nine years from now) - Robert Reich Explains

Click here for an article at Substack by Robert Reich -- former Secretary of Labor "(I was once a trustee of the Social Security Trust Fund, so I know about this issue.)" -- entitled "The biggest contrast in the upcoming election (other than democracy vs. "blood in the streets" fascism)."

Trump and the Republicans want another gigantic tax cut for corporations and the rich, but are afraid of the backlash if they explode the deficit, so they need to make up the balance by cuts to social spending, such as Social Security. Reich summarizes his article as follows:

So there you have it: Trump and his regressive mouthpieces want to cut Social Security so they can give another giant tax cut to the super-rich.

Biden wants to save Social Security by having the super-rich — who have become far richer over the past several decades — pay more Social Security taxes.

There's a lot in this article that makes it well worth reading. I found one anecdote particularly compelling: There is a ceiling, above which no Social Security income is taxed -- $168,000. Reich points out that Jeff Bezos reached that ceiling last year about 7 minutes into January 1st; he paid nothing into the Social Security benefit pool for ALL the money he made on the other 364 days, 23 hours, and 53 minutes of the year.

VIA Rail, Vancouver to Toronto

Click here for an article at vancouverisawesome.com entitled "Tips for riding the VIA Rail train from Vancouver to Toronto."

The trip takes four days. Base price, one way, is $500 to $700. 

Economy seats have lots of legroom and "comfortable reclinable seats."  

Travellers hoping to catch a decent night's sleep may want to book Sleeper Plus tickets. These tickets are in upper or lower areas where travellers can fully stretch out in a "semi-private" bed. There is a curtain to close at night but the area is communal. During the day, they may be seated across from other people but also have access to other carts, including the Skyline car, the Park car, the Renaissance car and the Dining car, based on route and season. 

Sleeper Plus tickets include onboard accommodations for one or two people. Passengers have access to common showers. 

Folks who want to travel across the country in ultimate comfort should opt for Prestige Class cabins. These private accommodations feature "a modular leather sofa that can be transformed into a double bed" and a personal concierge. Guests can enjoy gourmet, three-course meals and watch movies from their cabin on a large flatscreen TV. Each cabin also has a private bathroom.  

The Prestige options offer an "unparalleled level of elegance, comfort and privileged service," with prices starting at $2,500. 

Passengers in Sleeper class or higher can relax in the Business lounge and enjoy free beverages, newspapers and Wi-Fi.

Trump's Stupidity

I've said repeatedly that the United States -- and the world -- are tremendously lucky that Donald Trump is as stupid as a box of rocks -- if he wasn't, we'd all be in serious trouble. Apparently Robert Reich agrees with me: click here for his Substack entry on March 14, entitled "Seriously, again, how dumb is Trump?"

Descent to Authoritarianism

Click here for Heather Cox Richardson's entry in her blog, Letters from an American, for March 13, 2024, on Substack. A great outline of how Trump has cast off all pretenses of governing like a conventional Republican since 2020. Parallels to Germany in the 1930s are unmistakable.

Good one, Seth -- make that two.

Democrats played a montage of Trump gaffes at the Hur hearing.

We took it as a challenge and assembled the definitive collection of Trump’s most humiliating memory glitches and brain explosions in tonight’s Closer Look.

Here it is while @sethmeyers finds ways to occupy himself. pic.twitter.com/xNwjxLYVZp

— Sal Gentile (@salgentile) March 14, 2024

And ...

Watch until the end.

Then RT this far and wide. pic.twitter.com/X5Bz8Cgydg

— Ally Sammarco (@Ally_Sammarco) March 7, 2024