Trump Demands That He Be Appointed President

 Click here for Heather Cox Richardson's diary entry for December 3, 2022.

Today, one of former president Trump’s messages on the struggling right-wing social media platform Truth Social went viral. 

In the message, Trump again insisted that the 2020 presidential election had been characterized by “MASSIVE & WIDESPREAD FRAUD & DECEPTION,” and suggested the country should “throw the Presidential Election Results of 2020 OUT and declare the RIGHTFUL WINNER, or…have a NEW ELECTION.” 

Then he added: “A Massive Fraud of this type and magnitude allows for the termination of all rules, regulations, and articles, even those found in the Constitution. Our great ‘Founders’ did not want, and would not condone, False & Fraudulent Elections!” 

In other words, Trump is calling for the overthrow of the Constitution that established this nation. He advocates the establishment of a dictator.

Today, both Trump’s White House counsel, Pat Cipollone, and deputy counsel, Patrick Philbin, testified before a federal grand jury for several hours. They had previously refused to testify, citing executive privilege, but another court struck that argument down, and they were forced to testify to what Trump had said to them.

 Judge Aileen Cannon's appointment of a special master to review the documents seized from Trump's residence at Mar-A-Lago last August was struck down, so the DOJ now has the documents in their possession. 

The Trump Organization's fraud trial is concluding -- and Trump lost yet another lawsuit and has finally been forced to turn over tax records to the Senate Finance Committee. What will the committee find in the documents Trump fought so hard for six years against turning over?

But Trump's demand to overturn the Constitution and establish him as president is the newsworthy event of the day:

White House Deputy Press Secretary Andrew Bates said in a statement: “The American Constitution is a sacrosanct document that for over 200 years has guaranteed that freedom and the rule of law prevail in our great country. The Constitution brings the American people together—regardless of party—and elected leaders swear to uphold it. It’s the ultimate monument to all of the Americans who have given their lives to defeat self-serving despots that abused their power and trampled on fundamental rights. Attacking the Constitution and all it stands for is anathema to the soul of our nation, and should be universally condemned. You cannot only love America when you win.”

But Republicans, so far, are silent on Trump’s profound attack on the Constitution, the basis of our democratic government. 

That is the story, and it is earth shattering.

 

 Click here for an article entitled "The one thing you need to know about the railroads," by Robert Reich.

Reich says that "legislation effectively prohibiting a strike would impose unfair working conditions on employees in one of the most profitable industries in America — further tilting the nation’s economic imbalance toward large corporations and Wall Street, and against working people."

An example of the railroads' profitability: "Union Pacific, the largest publicly traded US railroad, paid its investors more than $41 billion in dividends and share buybacks over five years through 2021. In the first six months of 2022, it heaped an additional $5 billion on them."

Reich asks: "Why is it that whenever lawmakers confront the social costs of corporate greed, they roll over? They allow the greed to prevail while penalizing workers and others who are most immediately harmed by it."

He ends the article as follows:

In the age-old battle between labor and capital, labor is taking it on the chin. In some respects, the US economy is back to where it was in the late nineteenth century.

After all, the Great Railroad Strike of 1877 began with a work stoppage by railroad employees in West Virginia protesting a reduction in their wages. Railroad workers in other states soon joined them. Commerce in the East and Midwest was seriously disrupted. The economy was threatened.

The strikes were ended within a few weeks, largely because the federal government sided with the railroads. President Rutherford B. Hayes called out federal troops to quell the strikes.

Honestly, how far have we come since then?

 

But Can He Ski?

 

Dog having fun.. 😊 pic.twitter.com/Rdhi6JGlQh

— Buitengebieden (@buitengebieden) December 1, 2022

Oath Keepers Conviction

Click here for an NYT article by Alan Feuer and Zach Montague, entitled "Oath Keepers Leader Convicted of sedition in Landmark Jan. 6 Case." Read about how leader Stewart Rhodes, holder of a Yale law degree, "became increasingly panicked as the election moved toward its final certification at a joint session of Congress on Jan. 6."

 "Hundreds of encrypted text messages swapped by Oath Keepers members" showed that: 

"Mr. Rhodes and some of his followers were in thrall to outlandish fears that Chinese agents had infiltrated the United States government and that Mr. Biden — a “puppet” of the Chinese Communist Party — might cede control of the country to the United Nations.

"The messages also showed that Mr. Rhodes was obsessed with the leftist movement known as antifa, which he believed was in league with Mr. Biden’s incoming administration. At one point during the trial, Mr. Rhodes, who took the stand in his own defense, told the jury he was convinced that antifa activists would storm the White House, overpower the Secret Service and forcibly drag Mr. Trump from the building if he failed to admit his defeat to Mr. Biden."

Millions of people have been duped by the conman Donald Trump. Some of them have acted on their misguided beliefs. 

Click here for Heather Cox Richardson's summary of the conviction and the circumstances leading to it:

Beginning in late December 2020, they planned to travel to Washington, D.C., on or around January 6, 2021, to stop Congress from certifying the electoral college vote that would officially elect Biden. They recruited others, organized combat training sessions, and smuggled paramilitary gear to the area around the Capitol. They planned to take control of the Capitol grounds and buildings on January 6. 

According to the Department of Justice, on that day, “Meggs, Harrelson, and Watkins, along with other Oath Keepers and affiliates—many wearing paramilitary clothing and patches with the Oath Keepers name, logo, and insignia—marched in a ‘stack’ formation up the east steps of the Capitol, joined a mob, and made their way into the Capitol. Rhodes and Caldwell remained outside the Capitol, where they coordinated activities” and stayed in touch with quick reaction force teams outside the city, which were ready to bring in firearms to stop the transfer of power.

Kenneth Harrelson, Jessica Watkins, and Thomas Caldwell were also found guilty of lesser charges, not including the serious count of sedition.

There are two more seditious conspiracy trials scheduled for December. One is for five other Oath Keepers; the other is against the leaders of the far-right gang the Proud Boys, led by Henry ‘Enrique’ Tarrio. 

 

Former federal prosecutor Randall D. Eliason, who teaches law at George Washington University, told reporters: 

“Now the only remaining question is how much higher did those plans go, and who else might be held criminally responsible.” While federal prosecutors sought only to tie Rhodes to the other Oath Keepers, both sides agreed that Rhodes communicated with Trump allies Roger Stone, Ali Alexander, and Michael Flynn after the election. 

Might we see Stone, Alexander (who has been collaborating with the feds quite a bit, I think), and Flynn in the defendants' box soon? Hope springs eternal!

 

11 School Shooting Deaths In Canada!

pic.twitter.com/yFhvD8hhfA

— Emily Winston (@Emywinst) November 25, 2022

Vox Populi, Vox Dei, Elon? Nope.

full quote is "Nec audiendi qui solent dicere, vox populi, vox dei, quum tumultuositas vulgi semper insaniae proxima sit.”

it translates to:

"Do not listen to those who say the voice of the people is the voice of God, since the tumult of the crowd is always close to madness." pic.twitter.com/K77VU6eUrB

— shauna (@goldengateblond) November 20, 2022

It turns out that's not really the "full quote"; it's somebody's commentary on "vox populi, vox dei." Nevertheless, "vp, vd" is a flawed concept. You can't always be governed by a majority belief. If something is the wrong thing to do, a poll to the contrary doesn't change that fact. For example, I believe that Ukraine deserves to be supported in its resistance to Russian aggression, and I believe that's an objective truth. If a poll runs 9 to 1 that the U.S. and the West should stop supporting Ukraine, all that means is that the poll is wrong. If a January 6, 2020 poll ran 9 to 1 that Mike Pence should be hanged, all that means is that the poll is wrong. You may not agree with policy decisions that Joe Biden has made, but he has most certainly not committed any "high crimes or misdemeanors," and if a poll runs 9 to 1 that he should be impeached -- yes, you guessed it: The poll is wrong. 

An aside: How many of those votes were bots? And how easily could this poll be gamed?

NY Post's Brutal Takedown Of Trump's "Big Announcement"

The New York Post is a Rupert Murdoch paper. So is The Wall Street Journal, but that's in the conservative mainstream. The Post is on the other end of the spectrum, a right-wing muckraking tabloid. It's believed the Post has been Trump's favorite newspaper; if so  -- not anymore! 

The day after Trump's speech announcing his candidacy, the front page of the Post didn't cover it -- except for about a 1-inch banner at the very bottom of the page, saying "Florida Man Makes Announcement - page 26."

That's some pretty decent trolling. But if you turn to page 26, the complete article was less than a column, headed "Been there, Don that." The article, too, is brutal -- here it is in its entirety:

With just 720 days to go before the next election, a Florida retiree made the surprise announcement that he was running for president. In a move no political pundit saw coming, avid golfer Donald J. Trump kicked things off at Mar-a-Lago, his resort and classified-documents library. Trump, famous for gold-plated lobbies and for firing people on realtity television, will be 78 in 2024. If elected, Trump would tie Joe Biden as the oldest president to take office. His cholesterol levels are unknown, but his favorite food is a charred steak with ketchup. He has stated that his qualifications for office include being a “stable genius.” Trump also served as the 45th president.

HCR On Nancy Pelosi Stepping Down

 Click here for a Heather Cox Richardson post for November 17 that gives a good summary of Nancy Pelosi's farewell speech as she steps down from her Democratic leadership position. I thought her octegenarian second-in-command, Steny Hoyer, would be a candidate for her position, but I guess he's stepping down; Pelosi's hand-picked successor is Hakeem Jeffries (who I think would be good).

Tor

Click here for an article by Bob Rankin entitled "Want Safer Internet? Just Add Onions." It's an introduction to using the Tor Network, which is safe and secure, but cumbersome!

Will The Trumpies Come Crawling Back?

1/ Don't worry, gentry conservatives. We get it.

You're writing "No" now but soon enough you'll write "While we have deep reservations about Donald Trump, Joe Biden is a socialist Marxist antifa Soros dupe and while Trump's tweets are terrible, his polices...

— Rick Wilson (@TheRickWilson) November 16, 2022

Andrew Wortman: Why Trump Will Never Be President Again

I'm still having trouble embedding tweets. I hope this works for you:

Donald is “running for POTUS again.” Hilarious. Here are all the reasons he will never be President again no matter what he says or does:

1.) He is under a dozen investigations for crimes ranging from espionage to seditious conspiracy to defraud the U.S. and is going to prison

— Andrew Wortman (@AmoneyResists) November 16, 2022

Well Said, Ann Coulter! I Agree!

She's a little late to the party, having been a hardcore Trumper for years, but . . .

Sometimes following right wing social media isn’t terrible. pic.twitter.com/IwVyBDa0Nv

— Ron Filipkowski 🇺🇦 (@RonFilipkowski) November 11, 2022

Who's President, Anyway?

pic.twitter.com/yDKOJtFH2w

— JC #MyBodyMyChoiceVoteBlue (@deweyjaci76) November 12, 2022

If L.A. County Were A State, It'd Be The Eighth Largest

L.A. County is the second tweet (but the first one's good too; click the arrow):

That’s just Los Angeles county. Lol. LA County pays more in federal income taxes than all those states combined. LA COUNTY! https://t.co/ux4MSOHUtd

— J-Nouri (@jnouri13) November 12, 2022

Those Solid Red Election Maps Are Misleading

 

Another US election, another "Land doesn't vote, people do" style map showing the election results. pic.twitter.com/XmMTSUKJof

— Simon Kuestenmacher (@simongerman600) November 11, 2022

The Democratic Republic of Wisconsinistan?

 Click here for an article by my favorite columnist, Charlie Pierce at Esquire, entitled "No One Can Pretend that Wisconsin Is a Republic," subtitled, "Whatever it is, it's a far cry from a representative democracy."

 Charlie says:

On Tuesday, the Democratic Party got 51 percent of the vote statewide. This got the Democrats…30 percent of the seats in the state legislature. Any reasonable definition of “a Republican Form of Government” cannot possibly include this kind of result. It is completely and utterly a product of grotesque partisan gerrymandering sanctioned by the Supreme Court in its disgraceful decision Rucho v. Common Cause three years ago.

The die was cast on this atrocity last April, when the state supreme court ruled that this year’s elections would be contested on the ludicrous maps produced by the state legislature, itself the product of past gerrymanders. The U.S. Supreme Court was a critical accessory after the fact.

And:

The roundness and completeness with which extreme conservatism has deformed the American republic is occasionally stunning.

 

Steph Curry is a Machine

Steph Curry is robot🌟

pic.twitter.com/f426Ia7Qld

— Tansu YEĞEN (@TansuYegen) November 6, 2022

Workout Buddy

Morning Yoga.. 🐶

🎥 IG: my_aussie_gal pic.twitter.com/gxQlHqG11v

— Buitengebieden (@buitengebieden) November 6, 2022

Don Winslow on Joe Manchin

Since @Sen_JoeManchin decided to attack @POTUS Biden days before the mid-terms, I am re-posting one of the best videos we have ever made.#JoeManchinSenatorForSale = 4.7 MILLION VIEWSpic.twitter.com/vzRH137MOH

— Don Winslow (@donwinslow) November 6, 2022

Dance Fever? The NIcholas Brothers

Apparently Fred Astaire said this was the best on-screen dancing he'd ever seen (the Nicholas Brothers appear starting about 3:15):