JULY 1, 2018—DECEMBER 31, 2018
BY JON NELSON

WHERE WE STAND

This fourth installment on Donald Trump and the Republican party will pick up where the last one left off by providing more evidence that our country is moving ever closer to a totalitarian dictatorship. Although the Democrats did well in the midterm elections and succeeded in taking over the House of Representatives, for the most part the Republican party continues to defend the president no matter what develops. They are also determined to push their destructive agenda on everyone, even though it has proven to be unpopular with an increasing number of American voters. The Republican party seems hell-bent on self immolation and cares not a whit about destroying their country in the process. Unless the American public recognizes the colossal error of electing this man and is able to do something about it, our days of freedom are seriously imperiled.

If there is one thing that we have learned from Donald Trump’s presidency so far, it is the fact that when he said he could shoot somebody on Fifth Avenue in New York City and get away with it, he was absolutely correct. Never in the history of the United States has there ever been a president so oblivious to the needs of the American people than Trump. Never before has there been a president who so brazenly acts in defiance of the Constitution. And, paradoxically, there still remain a large number of Americans who support him—no matter what he says or does. This is more of an indictment of America than of the man who is supposed to be leading it.

We are moving ever closer to a totalitarian dictatorship in this country, and more and more people are recognizing it. It is a slow, incremental process, but the simple fact is that Donald Trump and Congressional Republicans are destroying, one by one, all of the institutions and pillars not only of our country, but of what our civilization has always been about. Almost a century ago, Benito Mussolini was able to create the word’s first fascist state, one step at a time. The same thing is happening in the United States today. We have a man at the helm who thinks he is above the law. Now we have a member of the Supreme Court who thinks the same way. The same can be said for Congressional Republicans who will stand by the president no matter what he says or does. Let us take a moment to review these incremental changes, step by step.

First off, there was “fake news.” The right-wing wants everyone to believe that the entire media industry is against the president. This is a new term, but an old strategy. What is new is the term “alternative facts.” Again, when the Republicans encounter the objective truth, they manufacture their own spin that favors them and what they want to do. To cite just one example, Trump screams about “voter fraud” when it is Republicans who have been doing everything in their power to keep people they think will vote against them away from the polls. Getting control of the press is first on the agenda of every dictator. The next step was to attack the Justice Department, again illustrating that Trump will claim that any information coming out against him is an attack not only on him, but against “the people.” Claiming to represent the will of “the people” has always been the hallmark of dictators wanting to implement their version of death and destruction on everyone. Next comes an absolute unwillingness to condemn clearly immoral behavior—if it is committed by someone of their party. Next comes the Federal Reserve, which has, to use Trump’s own words, “gone loco.” One wonders what the Republicans will do to counter this. Strict Constitutional constructionists can point out that it isn’t mentioned in the Constitution and in fact has only been around since 1913, so the Federal Reserve may well be on the chopping block. When interest rates were increased, Trump said: “It’s not necessary in my opinion. And I think I know about it better than they do, believe me.” This comes from the same mouth that said: “only I can fix it.” Trump seems to view himself as some kind of savior to the country when in fact we are more polarized, more unwilling to listen, and more violent than at any other time in memory. This article will demonstrate that it is Trump and the Republican party that have brought this on. Finally, there is the failure to obey legal procedures, as when Trump illegally appointed Matthew Whitaker as acting Attorney General, replacing Jeff Sessions. The appointment was unconstitutional; it was done in open defiance of the Appointments Clause in the Constitution. Again, Republicans said and did nothing, and most Congressional Democrats shamed themselves and their party by also doing nothing.

Trump’s delusion of omniscience is a threat not only to every American, but to everyone on the planet. He has alienated virtually every one of our allies, while cozying up to the world’s worst dictators. His “trust me, I know what I’m doing” attitude would be laughable were it not so dangerous.

Trump’s words, antics, and policies have made the United States a much less safe place than it was prior to his becoming president. Any Republican appointee who fails to agree with what Trump says and does is automatically attacked, either verbally or by one of his infamous tweets, by the president and invariably fired. Loyalty to Trump, rather than loyalty to the country is now the litmus test for anyone wishing to gain a position in the government. Race-related hate crimes are on the rise. Mass shootings and homicides are on the rise. Packages containing makeshift bombs were sent to Hillary Clinton and other Democratic leaders; this is a direct result of the demonization of the Democratic Party undertaken by Republicans which has inspired the crackpots to come out of the woodwork.

All along, and for decades, the Republican party has passed itself off as the “party of faith.” The emphasis on “family values” energized the right forty years ago. However, any claim to possess the moral high ground has been lost as the right has failed to speak out against the neo-Nazis in their midst; instead, Trump refers to them as “very fine people.” Accused rapists (Brett Kavanaugh) and child molesters (Roy Moore) are given wholehearted support by Republican leaders. All of these issues will be examined in detail in this article.

Timothy Egan of the New York Times pulls no punches on how Trump’s most ardent supporters will continue to support him no matter what: “Wishing for supporters of Donald Trump to find their hearts, their brains or their patriotism is a fool’s errand. We are, as the president has said many times, ‘a stupid country,’ and every day of this presidency proves his point…Trump supporters stuck with him through his boasting of sexual assault, through the comforting words he gave neo-Nazis after Charlottesville, through the revelation that he paid off a porn star, through his policy of ripping children from their mothers’ arms and putting them in cages.” (Timothy Egan, quoted in Daily Kos, July 20,2018)

There are numerous reasons why this man still has a disturbingly high amount of partisan supporters. One of these is the fact that, as I have previously discussed, the Republican party of today is far removed from the party of forty years ago; they have been taken over by hysterical, bible-spouting demagogues determined to overturn decades of progress and return us to an imagined halcyon day when women, gays and minorities were oppressed and no one did anything about it. Forty years ago, there were still some Republicans who put the interests of their country above partisan politics and called for the resignation and/or impeachment of Richard Nixon. Today, even though there are countless more, and much more serious crimes being committed by this man and his criminal cabinet, Senate Republicans have banded together and are supporting Trump no matter what evidence comes out against him. Their strategy (and Trump’s) is clear: Go on the offensive and attack anyone daring to speak up against the president or expose his multitudinous lies and crimes. Even though there are at least eight indictable offenses calling for impeachment, Senate Republicans refuse to uphold the Constitution and the rule of law and do the job they have sworn to do. This makes them, as well as the president, traitors to their country. Despite this abysmal state of affairs, few politicians of either party are doing anything about it.

Another reason for Trump’s continued support among the extremists in his party is simply that many Republicans (and admittedly many Democrats as well) simply cannot fathom that their party could possibly be wrong, or acting against the interests of their country. No matter what comes out, the blame will be shifted away from their party and president to somewhere else, invariably Democrats and the press. And, in today’s fractured political world, “fake news” and “alternative facts” are cited as ‘proof’ that they, their party, and their president are always on the right side, no matter what the objective facts may be.

A third reason is the complicity of the media. Ever since the presidency of Ronald Reagan (and the concurrent rise of the Radical Religious Right), Republicans have been given a free pass from the press; anything that tends to show the party in a negative light is approached with the most extreme caution. If and when something is said or done that might be detrimental to a Republican or his/her party, the right wing buckles down and goes on the offensive, screaming about the ‘liberal press.’ Conversely, when a Democrat is elected to high office, the press then reports on the slightest imagined transgression he/she might have committed. The most obvious cases in point were the presidencies of Bill Clinton and Barack Obama. These men were attacked by the supposedly ‘liberal’ media from the first day of their presidencies. Although Donald Trump continues to refer to the Russia investigation as a ‘witch hunt,’ Republicans went on a real witch hunt against Clinton, but after six years of investigating him, produced nothing at all warranting an indictment, much less a conviction. And, when Obama became president, the uncritical press reported the words of key Republican Congressmen who vowed to vote against anything he proposed. These issues will also be discussed at length in later chapters. The bottom line is that today’s Republican party is nothing more than a modern-day Tammany Hall party, aided and abetted by a media that is increasingly partisan in its reporting. Simply put, today’s media outlets are aiding and abetting a criminal administration.

As an aside, there wasn’t even a hint of scandal during eight years of Obama’s presidency. No lies were covered up. No sexual peccadilloes were leveled against the president. No one left his administration under the cloud of scandal. The differences between Obama and Trump boil down to a simple issue of character. History will note the differences, even if today’s Republicans and media won’t.

Yet a fourth reason why Trump and the Republican party still have a large following is the complacence of the Democratic party. The Democrats have bent over backwards to accommodate what has become a rogue political party, but when the Democrats are in charge, Republicans make no such reciprocal effort. As the Republican party has moved ever further to the right, Democrats, fearful of being labeled ‘liberal’ (when did this word suddenly become an epithet?) have, with very few exceptions, gone out of their way to fill in the void: Today’s Democratic party is much more akin to the Republican party of fifty years ago than they are to their Democratic predecessors of those times. Fortunately, there are a few progressive voices emerging, such as Massachusetts’ Elizabeth Warren and California’s Kamala Harris, who are pulling no punches in exposing the hypocrisy, errors, and crimes of the Republicans. Warren in particular will be quoted extensively in this article. As I discussed in my previous article “How We Are Becoming a Third-World Country,” today’s political climate is increasingly resembling that of the 1930s, with fascists on the right, and appeasers on the left. The thirties gave way to World War Two. Are we headed in the same direction?

A fifth reason, closely related to the second described above, is more psychological: Most of Trump’s supporters are comfortable with their decisions and absolutely refuse to consider that they have been misled or that they have made a huge mistake. Their comfort zone is threatened, and when this happens, many people turn inward and lash out against anyone or anything that they think threatens their stasis. Come hell or high water, they will continue to support this criminal administration, no matter what happens.

Given all this, it becomes understandable why our country is in such a shambles. We have lost our moral bearings. Trump’s presidency has enabled skinheads, neo-Nazis, Ku Klux Klans members, and other hate groups to re-emerge, and with a newfound sense of purpose.

Having said all this, the majority of Americans recognize what Trump and the Republican party is doing to this country. Issue One informs us: “A new, bipartisan poll called the Democracy Project Report found there is an alarming crisis of confidence among Americans about the status of democracy in the United States. This poll—jointly pursued by the George W. Bush Center, the Penn Biden Center and Freedom House—found that half of Americans think the United States is in grave danger of becoming a ‘nondemocratic, authoritarian country.’ 55 percent see democracy as ‘weak’—and even more, 68 percent, believe it is ‘getting weaker.’” (Meredith McGehee, Issue One, July 19, 2018)

Trump supporters often claim he is a great businessman, but I have already refuted this argument in a previous article. However, additional facts have emerged that shed light on his business activities, and they certainly do not show him in a favorable light. People’s Action tells a startling story: “President Trump participated in dubious tax schemes during the 1990s, including instances of outright fraud, that greatly increased the fortune he received from his parents, an investigation by The New York Times has found. Mr. Trump won the presidency proclaiming himself a self-made billionaire, and he has long insisted that his father, the legendary New York City builder Fred C. Trump, provided almost no financial help. But The Times’s investigation, based on a vast trove of confidential tax returns and financial records, reveals that Mr. Trump received the equivalent today of at least $413 million from his father’s real estate empire, starting when he was a toddler and continuing to this day. Much of this money came to Mr. Trump because he helped his parents dodge taxes. He and his siblings set up a sham corporation to disguise millions of dollars in gifts from their parents, records and interviews show. Records indicate that Mr. Trump helped his father take improper tax deductions worth millions more. He also helped formulate a strategy to undervalue his parents’ real estate holdings by hundreds of millions of dollars on tax returns, sharply reducing the tax bill when those properties were transferred to him and his siblings. These maneuvers met with little resistance from the Internal Revenue Service, The Times found. The president’s parents, Fred and Mary Trump, transferred well over $1 billion in wealth to their children, which could have produced a tax bill of at least $550 million under the 55 percent tax rate then imposed on gifts and inheritances. The Trumps paid a total of $52.2 million, or about 5 percent, tax records show.” (Rev. Tony Pierce, People’s Action, October 3, 2018) This report is a landmark document that destroys forever the nonsensical notion of Trump the self-made billionaire. Instead, it reveals the president to be nothing more than a high-level crook. And of course, Republicans are doing their level best to either wave all these facts aside as insignificant or else deny them altogether. Given the scale of this ongoing familial corruption, the current state of corruption that is business as usual in Washington should come as no surprise. And, this report should answer any questions as to why Trump refuses to release his tax returns—as every one of his predecessors has done for the past forty years.

There is much more evidence that Trump most certainly isn’t the great businessman he and his followers claim him to be. Daily Kos follows up on the New York Times article: “It’s what Trump did with the business empire he was handed that gets interesting. Tourneau looks at that and connects some dots. Trump was clearly in deep financial trouble: he sold off his father’s assets to pay creditors, filed for bankruptcy, sued his banker to avoid a loan payment, and took a job hosting a reality TV show. And yet, at the about the same time, he went on a $400 million spending spree with cash. On top of that, he got more than $300 million in loans from Deutsche Bank. Keep in mind that in 2017, Deutsche Bank reached a $630 million settlement with American and British regulators for turning a blind eye to money laundering from Russian investors. In other words, Trump blew through the money his father had accumulated with a series of bad business deals—but still found a way to keep operating. (Daily Kos, October 10, 2018)

When questioned on all this, Trump’s response was typical: He called the story: “very old, boring, and often told.” In other words, he didn’t even try to deny the truth of the story. This tells us much about this man’s character (or lack thereof) and proves once again that lying is standard operating procedure for him.

Trump’s silly and costly military parade was scheduled to take place on Veterans Day. The only point of this parade was to show off our military might. An action like this was par for the course in Nazi Germany and Stalinist Russia, but it is a slap in the face of what America has always stood for. Even the Pentagon didn’t want this parade to take place, but the fuhrer in chief did. Fortunately, this didn’t pan out but there is no doubt that Trump will bring it up again. Trump and other Republican leaders simply cannot admit defeat and read the handwriting on the wall.

After being forced to backdown from the parade, Trump blamed Washington officials for not supporting his parade. According to CREDO Action, Trump: “presented himself as a victim who was trying to honor the military. But Trump has never done anything for our service members. In fact, recent reports indicate that the Department of Defense and Mick Mulvaney, Trump’s handpicked agent of destruction at the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau, are actively working on detailed plans to sabotage financial protections for members of (the) military…his regime is plotting to let Wall Street exploit service members.” (Heidi Hess, CREDO Action, August 18, 2018) The article concludes: “Trump does not care about the military or veterans. His deportation task force at ICE consistently rounds up and deports veterans who have served in the military. His administration was recently forced, under intense pressure, to suspend its cruel discharging of undocumented immigrant recruits who had joined the military with a promise that their service would help them gain a path to citizenship. He spent his campaign attacking prisoners of wars and Gold Star parents. The parade was all about an increasingly unpopular Trump exploiting troops for his own gain.”

Elizabeth Warren provided us with a typical example of how “alternative facts” operate in Trumpland: “You probably remember: Right after Donald Trump became President, one of his first orders of business was launching an illegal, bigoted Muslim ban. We all felt powerless at the time—Republicans had just won the White House and both branches of Congress—but my staff and I wanted to do something about it. So we tried to get answers from the Department of Homeland Security about their policy of illegally detaining Massachusetts residents (and their family members) at Boston Logan Airport. There was only one problem: Trump’s new Director of Homeland Security—John Kelly—wouldn’t return our calls and emails. My staff emailed back and forth with his staff, but we couldn’t get them to set up a call or answer our questions. When I finally did get on the phone with John Kelly, I asked if he had an office number that I could use in the future to get in touch more quickly. He brushed me off, directing me to the main line listed on the Department of Homeland Security’s website (really). Even worse, he bizarrely insisted that I’d made the whole thing up and we’d never tried to reach him in the first place. I happened to be looking at all the emails between his staff and my staff when he said this, so I started reading them to him. He accused me again of making it all up. My policy staffers were in the room. And to this day, I’ve never seen so many jaws drop in unison. It was one of the first times we saw ‘alternative facts’ so up close and personal. And one of the first times we saw how truly dysfunctional the executive branch had become—and how quickly.” (Elizabeth Warren, letter to constituents, October 11, 2018) Elizabeth Warren is senior Senator from Massachusetts; we will be hearing a lot more from her during the course of this article.

In terms of foreign policy, there is clearly no attempt by this administration to be consistent. The United States supposed allies in the war in Yemen are assisting Al Qaeda. Win Without War tells us: “For three years, the Saudi-UAE coalition in Yemen has been using U.S. military support to bomb and starve civilians. But the U.S. has been flat-out ignoring these atrocities because our government believes Saudi Arabia and the UAE are our critical ‘allies’ against Al Qaeda. Turns out, both Saudi Arabia and UAE have been secretly paying off Al Qaeda operatives in Yemen, even recruiting them to join their ranks—making the U.S. Al Qaeda’s de facto air force! In other words: The Trump administration’s favorite excuse for ignoring the brutality we are supporting in Yemen just went up in a puff of smoke. (Cassandra Euphrat Weston, Win Without War, August 12, 2018)

Win Without War discusses the corruption of the war in Yemen: “Earlier this year, Congress passed a law to force some action by the Trump Administration in Yemen. They gave the Secretary of State a choice: Certify that Saudi Arabia and the UAE were doing everything they could to stop the suffering in Yemen, or stop U.S. military support for this deadly war. Days ago, Pompeo chose to keep the U.S. fueling the war in Yemen, ignoring the advice of our career diplomats and listening instead to former Raytheon lobbyist Charles Faulkner. It’s now clear that Secretary Pompeo outright lied about the horrors we’re fueling in Yemen to protect Raytheon’s profits. This takes putting profits over people to a whole new, disgusting level. You’ve probably never heard of Charles Faulkner. Turns out he’s Donald Trump’s Acting Assistant Secretary of State. It also turns out, he’s the reason Secretary of State Mike Pompeo lied to Congress last week to keep U.S. weapons flowing into Yemen. Why? Well, Charles Faulkner just so happened to previously make a living by lobbying for Raytheon, the massive arms maker. And Raytheon happens to have a $2 billion arms sale to the Saudis and UAE sitting in legislative limbo right now. Using your power to make sure the U.S. keeps fueling a brutal war because it would benefit your former—and likely future—employer? Corruption doesn’t get much more black and white than that.” (Stephen Miles, Win Without War, September 22, 2018) None of this should come as a surprise to anyone who has read this far: Corruption is the bread and butter of this administration.

But if the United States is fighting Al Qaeda, Trump’s December 2018 decision to remove American troops from Syria and Afghanistan makes no sense whatever. The Taliban rejoiced at the news, and CNN wrote: “This is a ‘do not adjust your set’ moment, in which the world’s preeminent military power effectively withdrew from its two active battlefields, ceded the ground to its geopolitical rivals, and abandoned allies…First, Afghanistan. The expected announcement of the withdrawal of 7,000 troops that could come as early as January, is precisely what you do not do when your officials are trying to negotiate a peace deal with the Taliban…Yesterday’s announcement that half the US contingent could be coming home is the equivalent of Trump walking behind his diplomats as they engage in diplomatic poker, and yelling ‘he’s bluffing’. The timing is beyond undermining…we may never know the precise motivations that spurred on this move. We do know that it benefits three groups: First, the Taliban, who now know that the White House is rushing for the exit, regardless of how long their troops retain their current force strength. Only the departure of Donald Trump will change that mood music, and they have a solid year ahead of them, as they already gain ground, to gain yet more.
Secondly, ISIS also wins here. They thrive in the chaos of Afghanistan. And will continue to do so. Thirdly, there is Russia. This should not come as a surprise by now when it comes to Donald Trump and foreign policy. US and Afghanistan have accused Russia of courting the Taliban with arms supplies and Moscow will now see yet greater scope for influence. They don’t want to own the problem, but they do want to see the US lose, like their empire did there in the eighties.” (Nick Paton Walsh, CNN, December 21, 2018)

Concerning Syria, CNN notes: “A similar issue surrounded the US presence in Syria. It was small and effective enough to be sustained more or less indefinitely. The US Special Forces there could go after ISIS, diminish Russian and Iran’s influence, and ensure the Syrian Kurds they fought ISIS alongside didn’t do anything stupid to their NATO allies Turkey in the North. At some point too they would have to leave, but when the conditions were right. Instead, the announcement came in the face of Turkish threats to launch a full-scale offensive against the Syrian Kurds, and flatly leaves a valiant fighting force, who gave thousands of lives to rid the region of ISIS’s Caliphate, naked in the desert…Again, who benefits? First, ISIS, who get a little bit of breathing room in the chaos, just as they were close to being extinguished. Second, Turkey, who have a green light now to retake ground from the Syrian Kurds. And thirdly, Russia, whose alliance with the Syrian regime is now the dominant military power in the country.”

The insanity of Trump’s announcement shook our allies all over the globe and resulted in the resignation of Secretary of Defense James Mattis. Trump responded with a typically childish mocking of the man he had formerly held in high regard. Mattis had been perhaps the only administration official who could counter a disturbed president. The likelihood of finding a worthy successor is remote indeed. No other official at the Pentagon supports Trump’s withdrawal plans. The timing of Trump’s announcement and Mattis’ resignation came at a particularly troublesome time in America as the government rushed toward a shutdown (the third in 2018) and the market experienced a serious slump.

I have given much attention in previous articles about how Trump cozies up to dictators while alienating our allies. This becomes more and more obvious with each passing day. Win Without War has a telling article demonstrating where Trump’s true loyalties lie, and his utter disregard for the human cost of these misplaced alliances: “Last week, the U.S.-backed Saudi-UAE coalition bombed a school bus in northern Yemen, killing dozens of Yemeni children. And the Trump administration didn’t respond.
News broke that the Saudi-UAE coalition in Yemen has turned the United States into Al Qaeda’s de facto air force. The Trump administration didn’t respond. Canada criticized Saudi Arabia’s jailing of feminist activists who fought for the right to drive. The Saudi government—the United States’ close ally—retaliated with diplomatic tantrums and serious threats. The Trump administration didn’t respond. Besides the fact Trump loves to cozy up with dictators, Washington’s silence is because policymakers believe we can’t speak out against Saudi Arabia, the UAE, or the rest of Gulf without losing these ‘friends.’” (Kate Kizer, Win Without War, August 16, 2018) The article also notes: “Trump has effectively handed over all decision-making on U.S. foreign policy in the Middle East to the corrupt regimes of Saudi Arabia and the UAE. But this isn’t new: For years our government has let the Gulf states get away with brutal repression and human rights abuses—whether it’s bombing and starving Yemeni civilians with impunity, waging an influence campaign to tear up the Iran deal, or repressing any murmur of dissent inside their borders. Plus, Saudi Arabia and the UAE have mounted a massive campaign to buy influence with foreign policy wonks, think tanks, and media pundits in Washington who look the other way as the evidence of Gulf corruption and brutality mounts sky-high.”
Given all this, much of Trump’s tweeting may seem insignificant in comparison; he continues to tweet on a daily basis. On any given day, one can safely predict that his tweets will involve one or more of the following: Denial of anyone in his administration being involved in the Russian scandal; attacks on President Obama; attacks on Hillary Clinton; attacks on Democrats in general; attacks on the media; racism; sexism; attacks on our allies and support of dictators; lies about foreign policy; and ad hominem attacks on everyone perceived to be an enemy. There will also be self-congratulatory posts about how great he is and all the great things he has done. Nothing he tweets will be any different from what we have already seen: Trump is nothing if not predictable.

One of his most hysterically false tweets was on July 3, 2018 when he wrote: “If not for me, we would now be at War with North Korea!” Daily Kos exposes this as the nonsense it is: “In the real world, commercial satellite imagery has revealed that North Korea is continuing to expand both a factory where it builds nuclear missiles and the reactor complex where it creates the plutonium used in creating its bombs. According to NBC News, North Korea has actually increased its capacity to build nuclear weapons since the Trump–Kim meeting.” (Mark Sumner, Daily Kos, July 3, 2018) One can only wonder if Trump actually believes the nonsense he is spouting, or if he is just shooting off his mouth knowing that few people will call him to task for his lies.

The Kos article goes on: “Trump’s claims that America was on the brink of war with North Korea when he took office are entirely, entirely, fictional. North Korea claimed one successful missile launch in 2016, and even that one traveled less than 20 miles. In 2017, with Trump at the helm, North Korea held 14 launches, including one where four missiles were fired at the same time. Every missile that passed over Japan. Every sign of progress that terrified citizens in Hawaii, that was all on Trump’s watch. Donald Trump spent all of 2017 attacking ‘Little Rocket Man.’ What it achieved was driving North Korea to a rapid pace of test launches and development, drastically scaling up their ability as Trump absolutely convinced Kim that the path of developing nuclear weapons had been the right choice. Then Trump capped this crap show by showering Kim with attention, weakening sanctions, and positioning North Korea to become an accepted member of the world community with nuclear weapons.” How can this man (and his followers) possibly be so deluded as to think that he has somehow ‘solved’ the North Korea crisis? It is he who has brought it about. But Trump’s strategy is ridiculously transparent: state something that is the exact opposite of the truth, and expect the press and the American people to buy into it. If and when anyone dares to question what he says, he acts like a cornered dog and goes on the offensive.

That same day, July 3, 2018, Trump tweeted: “Just out that the Obama Administration granted citizenship, during the terrible Iran Deal negotiation, to 2,500 Iranians—including to government officials. How big (and bad) is that?” The only problem is that this never happened. Yet another lie masquerading as fact and presented as an “alternative fact.” In situations like this, Trump simply shoots from the hip and never cites references for his lies. “Just out” is enough for him—and his slavish devotees.

Trump has also threatened to launch a military strike against Iran, a terrifying prospect that could result in nuclear war. Joe Biden has said that: “We have never been closer to nuclear war.” Progressives are hard at work trying to make the world safer from Trump by revoking his nuclear authority. The seriousness of this threat became obvious early in October, as Win Without War reports: “the situation with Iran just got even worse. Yesterday, the Trump administration yanked the United States out of a six-decade treaty of goodwill with Iran, calling Iran’s government ‘henchmen’ and ‘a rogue regime.’ It’s the Iraq War playbook, word for word: Cut off diplomatic options. Make a government look 100% evil. Open the floodgates to war. Yesterday, at the United Nations, Trump demanded a roomful of world leaders get behind regime change in Iran. That’s Washington-speak for war. Then, ultra-hawk John Bolton followed that up by threatening that Iran would have ‘HELL to PAY.’” (Stephen Miles, Win Without War, October 4, 2018)

Trump’s hawkish attitude toward war could be the death of us all. In October 2018, he announced that he wants to renege on the treaty made during the Reagan years which banned a new kind of nuclear bomb from being built. This in addition to the new nuclear warheads has ordered the Defense Department to build. Clearly the only way of stopping him from using nuclear weapons is if the public raises its collective voice; he is too naive to recognize that nuclear war isn’t just another kind of war.

Trump has made it his singular purpose to alienate our allies while cozying up to dictators like Kim Jong Un and Vladimir Putin. Trump is so hostile to Germany, our closest ally, that he actually threw candy at Chancellor Merkel during a G7 meeting! As unthinkable as this is, Trump’s crude behavior was widely reported in the world press—but not in the American press. One would think that the supposedly ‘liberal’ media would have jumped at the opportunity to embarrass Trump, but the story was largely ignored in America. This man degrades and embarrasses the United States on a daily basis and yet our mainstream media outlets continue to give him free rein to say and do just about anything he wants.

As an indication of how far removed from reality Donald Trump really is, consider this tweet he sent out in early July, 2018: “Thanks to REPUBLICAN LEADERSHIP, America is WINNING AGAIN—and AMERICA is being RESPECTED again all over the world. Because we are finally putting AMERICA FIRST!” However, the facts tell a very different story. A Pew Research Poll at the same time discussed:
“Confidence in American leadership from Obama to Trump:
-75% Germany
-71% South Korea
-70% France
-68% Spain
-61% Canada
-57% UK
-55% Australia
-54% Japan
+42% Russia
So, unless by “all over the world” Trump really meant “all over Russia,” his pronouncement was utterly ridiculous. Not unlike all his other tweets.

Trump has used (abused) the power of the president to grant pardons. People’s Action provides us with a stellar example: “‘In a move that sends a ‘very friendly message to some very dangerous people,’ President Donald Trump on Tuesday granted full pardons to Dwight and Stephen Hammond, the father-son team of Oregon ranchers whose 2012 conviction for arson inspired the right-wing Bundy militia’s armed takeover and month-long occupation of the Malheur National Wildlife Refuge in 2016. Trump’s pardon abandons human decency to signal encouragement of violence and extremism among his base,’ Kierán Suckling, executive director of the Center for Biological Diversity, told Common Dreams in an email denouncing the president’s decision. ‘The Hammonds are dangerous people with a long history of arson, illegal grazing, threatening violence against federal officials, and child abuse.’” (Jeff Bryant, People’s Action, July 11, 2018) Trump’s abuse of the power to pardon is one of eight charges that should be brought against him if and when he is impeached; these charges will be discussed at length in the penultimate chapter.

Incredible though it may seem, Republicans are ignoring all the corruption in their own party, ignoring their president’s assault on human rights and trampling on the Constitution, and are instead focusing on something that has long since been settled, but that they cannot let go of: They continue holding hearings on Hillary Clinton’s emails! This involves a third party, Peter Strzok, an FBI agent who worked on the investigation back in 2016 but who also texted some anti-Trump messages around the same time. Think Progress informs us that: “The conspiracy theory Republicans are trying to push is that Strzok’s texts are evidence of anti—Trump bias in the FBI’s ranks that impacted the Clinton investigation. Their theory was contradicted by the recently released Inspector General report, which found that bias didn’t impact how it was handled.” (Aaron Rupar, Think Progress, July 12, 2018) This accusation is an exact reversal of the facts, as the article shows: “Republicans’ conspiracy theory is also contradicted by the underlying facts of the 2016 campaign. Despite the fact that both Hillary Clinton and Donald Trump were investigated at different points during that year, FBI agents didn’t leak to the press about the Trump investigation. Instead, on two occasions, then-FBI Director James Comey took unusual steps to publicize the Clinton investigation—decisions that prominent pollsters believe may have cost her the election.” Business as usual, in other words: Make bogus accusations against a Democrat while ignoring the real corruption of the Republicans—and then claim that it is the Republicans who are being hounded.

Echoing their attacks on Christine Blasey Ford (as will be discussed in a subsequent chapter), Senate Republicans treated Strzok with the utmost contempt. On July 12, 2018, Daily Kos reported: “FBI agent Peter Strzok is testifying before the House Judiciary Committee today in yet another Republican-controlled investigation aimed at helping themselves politically. In this case, they are trying to smear FBI agent Strzok, whose text messages were publicly revealed. Republicans are hellbent on twisting late night messages into some grand conspiracy that the FBI was trying to help Hillary Clinton win. This despite all the known facts: that Trump and his campaign were quietly being investigated for colluding with Russia, that James Comey inexplicably broke FBI procedure to publicly announce Hillary Clinton’s email investigation had been re-opened (and closed just as quickly, but not before blaring headlines nationwide) and that senior FBI agents in the New York City office were regularly leaking information to Rudy Giuliani. With that background in mind, Strzok took his turn in the congressional hot seat and former prosecutor Rep. Trey Gowdy went to work, badgering Strzok for fifteen minutes, barely letting Strzok respond to his questions, questions that were more statement and innuendo than fact probing. When Trey Gowdy’s time was finally up, Strzok finally got an opportunity to reply and this was an absolute obliteration of Trey Gowdy and Donald Trump.” (Jen Hayden, Daily Kos, July 12, 2018)

Senator Jerry Nadler (D-NY) summarized the whole ridiculous situation as follows, as reported by the Think Progress article cited above: “‘Why have Republicans have been so dismissive of Russia’s attacks on the United States?…Why are they so intent on destroying confidence in the Department of Justice and special counsel investigation?…Because they are scared, and accountability is coming.’”

Unfortunately, Republican attacks on the integrity of the FBI may already have borne fruit: Daily Kos reported in July 2018 that no less than five senior FBI officials have resigned or are about to tender their resignations. These individuals were in charge of election protection and cybersecurity. The article asks: “Are Trump and his minions in the House driving them out? Sen. Mark Warner (D-VA) suggests so. ‘One-and-one-half branches of our government appear to be committed to attacking the Bureau, its workforce and its mission on a near-daily basis.’ (Joan McCarter, Daily Kos, July 20, 2018)

In his paranoia, Trump has threatened to revoke security clearances from people and groups he doesn’t like. He even considered revoking president Obama’s security clearance, but was talked out of it. He revoked the clearance of former CIA director John O. Brennan on August 15, 2018 because Brennan had dared to criticize the president. Brennan responded by saying: “This action is part of a broader effort by Mr. Trump to suppress freedom of speech and punish critics. It should gravely worry all Americans, including intelligence professionals, about the cost of speaking out. My principles are worth far more than clearances. I will not relent.” Later, on MSNBC, he added: “I’ve seen this type of behavior and actions on the part of foreign tyrants and despots and autocrats in my national security career. I never thought I would see it here in the United States.” A comically ironic moment was provided by Sarah Huckabee Sanders when she reported Trump’s decision to remove Brennan’s security clearance. She cited as one of the reasons that Brennan was allegedly “monetizing” his position. Given how Trump, Wilbur Ross, and other top administration officials have profited from their offices, it is indeed laughable that Sanders could make the same claim about Brennan.

Denunciations of the president’s action were swift and came from surprising sources. One of these was from retired Admiral William McRaven, a former Navy SEAL and the man who commanded the Special Operations Command that oversaw the raid that killed Osama Bin Laden. McRaven wrote an op-ed piece printed in The Washington Post which condemned the revocation. The piece was written as if it were an open letter to Trump, saying: “I would consider it an honor if you would revoke my security clearance as well, so I can add my name to the list of men and women who have spoken up against your presidency.” (Fred Kaplan, Slate, August 17, 2018) Strong words like this are rare from a man like McRaven, who is usually quite apolitical. “The op-ed continued: ‘Like most Americans, I had hoped that when you became president, you would rise to the occasion and become the leader this great nation needs—Your leadership, however, has shown little of these qualities. Through your actions’—which he later described as ‘McCarthy-era tactics’—‘you have embarrassed us in the eyes of our children, humiliated us on the world stage and worst of all, divided us as a nation.’”

Later that same evening, twelve former CIA directors and deputy directors released a similar statement. The Slate article quotes part of their statement: “Like McRaven, they defended Brennan’s integrity and denounced Trump’s action as having ‘nothing to do with who should and should not hold security clearances—and everything to do with an attempt to stifle free speech.’..The statement went on: ‘We have never before seen the approval or removal of security clearances used as a political tool, as was done in this case,’ adding that ‘this action is quite clearly a signal to other former and current officials” to stay silent.’”

It should be noted that this was a bipartisan statement; four of the signatories served under Republican administrations.

On October 2, 2018, Jamal Khashoggi, a Saudi Arabian journalist who was a columnist for The Washington Post, was killed in Istanbul, a killing that would have startling ramifications globally. Although this is not the place for an in-depth examination of the killing, I will focus on how it is affecting the Trump administration. The Post reported on November 16 that the CIA reached the conclusion that Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salmon had ordered the murder. Four days later, Trump disputed this, and on November 22 he went further, denying the CIA’s findings; this was contradicted by senators from both political parties. Trump’s actions were obvious to anyone familiar with U.S. foreign policy, namely that the U.S. has vested interests in keeping Saudi Arabia happy.

The murder didn’t affect Steve Mnuchin or banking executives in the least. As People’s Action reports: “Even amid reports that agents for Saudi Arabia’s Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman brazenly killed a Saudi journalist working for The Washington Post, some of the world’s richest and most influential business, media and political figures still plan to attend a Saudi-sponsored schmoozefest in Riyadh this month. U.S. Treasury Secretary Steve Mnuchin, JPMorgan Chase CEO Jamie Dimon and International Monetary Fund Managing Director Christine Lagarde plan to attend the event, the second annual Future Investment Initiative, scheduled for Oct. 23 through 25. It is a government-backed conference bankrolled by the country’s sovereign wealth fund. On the agenda at what has been dubbed Davos in the Desert, after a similar gathering of elites every winter in Switzerland, are the sorts of topics beloved by the globe-trotting superrich. ‘Investing in transformation,’ ‘technology as opportunity’ and ‘advancing human potential’ are listed as the conference’s broad themes. The real attraction, to be sure, is the promise of lucrative deals with the Saudi government.” (Lois Gibbs, People’s Action, October 12, 2018)

Saudi Arabia has been at war with Yemen for years; in fact the Saudi government is directly responsible for that war, and even though this has been called the world’s worst humanitarian crisis, the United States continues to support the Saudi government with military aid and millions of dollars worth of weapons. CREDO Action reports: “Instead of opposing Saudi human rights abuses—including the detention of at least 60 human rights defenders and critics of the Saudi government—the Trump regime is enabling authoritarian MBS to act with impunity. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo met with Saudi royalty on Tuesday in Riyadh, just a day after Trump spoke to King Salman and told the media that ‘rogue killers’ might be to blame for Khashoggi’s death.” (CREDO Action, October 17, 2018) MoveOn weighs in: “The Saudi regime is brutal. It has most recently been accused by the U.N. of possible war crimes for Saudi-led attacks in Yemen, including bombings of hospitals and school buses. But despite these atrocities, the United States continues to support Saudi Arabia with huge amounts of military aid and sales of weaponry.. America has blood on its hands, including that of U.S. resident Jamal Khashoggi.” (Michael Winslow, MoveOn, October 16, 2018) This is more than yet another example of this administration’s willingness to cozy up to the world’s worst dictators and regimes: It makes the United States complicit in war crimes and is making more and more of our allies suspicious of U.S. motives in any foreign policy issue.

The Yemen war is indeed a humanitarian crisis. Progress America reports: “According to the United Nations, this war has led to around 85,000 children starving to death—the most severe famine in more than 100 years. Saudi bombs have destroyed Yemen’s water infrastructure, leaving them unable to access clean water and leading to a cholera outbreak with more than 10,000 new cases each week. The United States has been supporting Saudi Arabia in this war. The Saudi-led coalition is using our bombs, we are refueling their planes, and our weapons are being used to kill civilians. In August, an American-made bomb obliterated a school bus full of young boys, killing dozens and wounding many more.” (Mike Phelan, Progress America, November 28, 2018) The Saudi government must be recognized for what it is—at totalitarian dictatorship that violates international law on a daily basis.

Many Congressional leaders have expressed outrage at Saudi Arabia’s criminal government. People’s Action reports that this issue is one of the very few issues that has united Democrats with a few Republicans: “Furious over being denied a C.I.A. briefing on the killing of a Saudi journalist, senators from both parties spurned the Trump administration on Wednesday with a stinging vote to consider ending American military support for the Saudi-backed war in Yemen. The Senate voted 63 to 37 to bring to the floor a measure to limit presidential war powers in Yemen. It was the strongest signal yet that Republican and Democratic senators alike remain vehemently skeptical of the administration’s insistence that the Saudi crown prince cannot, with certainty, be blamed for the death of the journalist Jamal Khashoggi. It took place hours after Secretary of State Mike Pompeo and Defense Secretary Jim Mattis briefed senators about the Yemen conflict in a classified discussion, which the administration had hoped would persuade lawmakers that Saudi Arabia must remain a vital American ally.” (George Goehl, People’s Action, November 29, 2018)

The questions that arise out of this homicide are crucially important as they reflect on Trump’s already corrupt business interests. Public Citizen summarizes what is currently known about Trump’s ties to Saudi Arabia: “1) The Saudi embassy spent at least $270,000 at Trump’s D.C. hotel since the November 2016 election; 2) Ostentatious Saudi spending at Trump’s New York and Chicago hotels have spiked revenues at those properties since Trump took office; 3) In August 2015, then-candidate Trump registered new corporations to manage a prospective hotel in the Saudi city of Jeddah. The ties even precede Trump’s candidacy.” (Robert Weissman, Public Citizen, October 19, 2018) The article then makes several other telling points: “A Saudi prince once bought a superyacht from Trump, and Trump sold the 45th floor of Trump World Tower to the Saudis for $4.5 million. In 2015, on the campaign trail, then-candidate Trump boasted: ‘Saudi Arabia, I get along with all of them. They buy apartments from me. They spend $40 million, $50 million. Am I supposed to dislike them? I like them very much.’ To be sure, the U.S. under presidents of both parties—all obsessed with oil geopolitics—has long tolerated rampant Saudi Arabian human rights abuses. But Trump has embraced Saudi Arabia to an entirely new degree. One result has been his embarrassing series of excuses for the Saudi royal family in the Khashoggi case. Even more consequential has been the administration’s complicity in the Saudi aggression in Yemen, which has created the world’s worst humanitarian crisis, with millions on the brink of starvation. The UN warns that Yemen might suffer the worst famine in the last 100 years, if Saudi airstrikes in Yemen do not end. Trump has refused to stop refueling Saudi fighter jets or take other action to end the Saudi war on Yemen.”

All this reflects the problems inherent when a president refuses to divest himself of his business interests upon assuming the presidency. This is why the Emoluments Clause was written into the Constitution. The Impeachment Project tells us how Trump’s violation of the clause threatens our safety: “Just a few days after Trump’s inauguration, a lobbying firm working for, and reimbursed by, the government of Saudi Arabia spent about $270,000 at Trump’s D.C. hotel. These Saudi government payments came as the kingdom lobbied to modify U.S. law to limit the ability of American families to file lawsuits against Saudi Arabia related to the terrorist attacks of 9/11. And these financial ties didn’t just start when Trump became president. The Saudi mission to the United Nations is housed at Trump World Tower at 845 United Nations Plaza. The Kingdom of Saudi Arabia owns the 45th floor, and pays annual building amenity charges that exceeded $85,000 per year in 2001…This new crisis with Saudi Arabia is yet another example that Trump’s financial ties create national security risks. Our so-called allies are emboldened to commit human rights abuses because they know if they pay the president enough, he’ll let them get away with it…As a candidate for president, Trump bragged about the millions he earns from Saudi Arabia. But last week he denied having any financial interests there whatsoever. Who’s lying? Trump in 2015, or Trump in 2018? The truth is, the president has financial interests all over the globe, and it’s hard to believe he doesn’t keep them in mind while he’s governing. A Washington Post analysis of Trump’s financial filings found that at least 111 Trump companies do or have done business in 18 countries and territories around the world. When foreign officials travel to Washington for official business, their governments pay for them to stay at Trump International Hotel. According to a former U.S. diplomat, the U.S. State Department’s official protocol now emphasizes to world leaders that they should use Trump’s D.C. hotel for official visits.” (The Impeachment Project, October 23, 2018) What Trump is doing is clearly and unequivocally unconstitutional. He has always been doing it, and no one is calling him to task on it.

The war in Yemen graphically illustrates how brutal the Saudi regime actually is. Credo Action reports: “The United States backs Saudi Arabia’s war under the guise of confronting Iran. Saudi Arabia sees Iran’s support for the Houthis—a Yemeni Shiite militia group originally formed around the historical economic and political marginalization of Yemen’s northwest—as a threat to its power in the region. Since the start of the war in 2015, the United States has provided the Saudis with weapons and logistical and intelligence support and helped refuel coalition jets as they dropped bombs on Yemeni civilians. After one such attack in August, the Saudis dropped an American-made bomb on a school bus that killed at least 40 children. The strike was just one in a long string of Saudi attacks on civilians. Despite the international coverage of the bus bombing and calls for greater U.S. oversight, the United States is still supporting the Saudi war—all without explicit congressional authorization. That is because the Houthis have limited ties to Iran and absolutely nothing to do with Al Qaeda, ISIS or any other terrorist organization that could conceivably fall within the scope of military intervention under the current Authorization for Use of Military Force. This unauthorized war started under the Obama administration. But after the Saudis used a U.S. missile to strike a Yemeni market and killed 97 people, President Obama scaled back United States involvement by banning the sale of precision-guided military technology. Donald Trump overturned that ban and gave Saudi Arabia the green light to double down on its disastrous air campaign.” (Kaili Lambe, CREDO Action, October 24, 2018) Win Without War adds: “Every ten minutes, a child dies in Yemen of preventable causes—and the U.S. government is directly complicit. The United Nations now warns 14 million Yemenis will risk starvation by the end of the year. Meanwhile, the U.S. provides Saudi and the UAE jets with mid-air refueling, airstrike intelligence, and weapons—all to bomb hospitals, schools, farms, funerals and school-buses.” (Stephen Miles, Win Without War, October 29, 2018)

Trump’s words and actions have fueled the hatred that has long bubbled beneath the surface in our country. In this administration, this hatred has come to the surface. Much of the violence taking place in our country can be laid directly at the feet of the hateful rhetoric coming not just from Trump, but from other fanatical Republicans. Proof of this is not hard to find.

In California, right-wing pro-Nazi groups attacked protesters in 2017 in Huntington Beach, the University of California, Berkeley campus and in San Bernardino. The Rise Above Movement, based in Southern California, is a white nationalist group that is actively involved in various violent acts. Speaking of one specific incident, Daily Kos informs us: “The criminal complaint is painstakingly detailed, tracking not just the violent acts of the R.A.M. maniacs, but also their internet and cellphone usage. Text messages, tweets, and Facebook posts show a digital trail of recruitment, shameless bragging, and vile mindsets. Based in Southern California, the gang of suburban, mostly 20-something white men, which was founded as the ‘DIY Division’ in late 2016, has long been defined as a hate group.” (Jessica Sutherland, Daily Kos, October 24, 2018) This kind of activity has risen immeasurably since Donald Trump became president.

People’s Action gives another example of a hate crime inspired by today’s rabidly racist political environment: “Three men who were convicted of plotting to bomb an apartment building that housed a mosque and dozens of Muslim Somali refugees in Kansas were encouraged by President Donald Trump’s rhetoric and asked a judge for leniency in their sentencing, their attorneys said. In court documents filed this week, attorneys for Patrick Stein, Curtis Allen, and Gavin Wright, say the men were influenced by Trump’s anti-Muslim rhetoric and Russian propaganda on social media and argue that life sentences against their clients would not deter others from committing similar crimes. ‘As long as the White House with impunity calls Islam ‘a dangerous threat,’ and paints average Americans as ‘victims of horrendous attacks by people that believe only in Jihad,’ a mixed signal gets sent,’ Wright’s attorneys wrote in a sentencing memorandum filed Tuesday. ‘As long as the Executive Branch condemns Islam and commends and encourages violence against would-be enemies, then a sentence imposed by the Judicial Branch does little to deter people generally from engaging in such conduct if they believe they are protecting their countries from enemies identified by their own Commander-in-Chief,’ they continued.” (Keith Sellars, People’s Action, October 31, 2018)

Here’s another violent crime committed because of racist hate: “U.S. Attorney Russell Coleman said Gregory Bush is charged with killing two people based on their race and attempting to kill a third person based on his race. Bush also was indicted on three firearms charges. Police said Bush walked into a Kroger grocery store with a .40-caliber handgun on Oct. 24 and shot one person, and then killed another in the parking lot before exchanging fire with an armed man before fleeing.” (Associated Press, quoted in Daily Kos, November 15, 2018)

On October 27, 2018, Robert Bowers entered a Pittsburgh synagogue and began shooting. Eleven people died as a result of his rampage. Bowers is an ardent Trump supporter as well as a rabid anti-Semite who joined Gab, a social network that has become popular among white nationalists and alt-right activists. He called immigrants “invaders” and said that Jews were “the enemies of white people.” After his arrest, he told a swat officer that he wanted all Jews to die and that they were: “committing genocide” to his people.

Trump came to Pittsburgh three days after the slaughter, even though the mayor and others had asked him to stay away. This indicates that many people are becoming increasingly aware of the fact that Trump and his Republican cohorts share at least some responsibility for the culture of hate that encourages people like Bowers to commit such heinous acts. Dan Doubet, a Pennsylvania resident and writer for Keystone Progress, writes: “Almost exactly a year ago, I wrote that the rise of Pennsylvania’s racist right is a warning to the nation. Then the unthinkable happened. The assailant’s reasoning neatly mirrors the narrative Republicans have deployed ahead of the midterms. With a caravan of displaced refugees from Honduras making their way north to the U.S., right-wing media has been ablaze with pundits who call this an invasion. Scott Wagner’s campaign for Pennsylvania governor has amplified this thread. Rush Limbaugh and right-wing agitators on Fox News question whether the caravan of refugees, fleeing conditions of violence, is some kind of manufactured and orchestrated conspiracy. President Trump himself echoes this theory. To be clear, Glenn Beck is on record saying it was George Soros who is orchestrating and funding the refugees. For his part, Scott Wagner has publicly called Soros a ‘Hungarian Jew’ who has a ‘hatred for America.’ Wagner has alluded to him as a distant, menacing conspirator in Pennsylvania Governor Tom Wolf re-election bid, making a starkly naked anti-Semitic evocation of Jews as manipulating world affairs. It takes a village to create a hate crime. It is clear that the suspect in Saturday’s attack got all of these messages loud and clear from right-wing media and candidates. Because Robert Bowers felt so much urgency and fear about a hostile invasion, orchestrated by Jews, he went to the Tree of Life Synagogue and killed as many people as he could.” (Dan Doubet, People’s Action, October 30, 2018) Given these and other statements, can there be any doubt that the Republican party bears some responsibility for enabling this and other slaughters?

Can anyone name a Democrat spouting anything comparable to what these men are saying? Where is the hate-filled rhetoric in the Democratic party? Who are the Democratic versions of Robert Bowers? More to the point, who are the Democratic versions of Limbaugh, Glenn Beck and Wagner?

People’s Action reports on one Republican’s reaction when someone dared to ask him about his own anti-semitic views. “Today, Kaleb Van Fosson, an Iowa State student and active Iowa CCI Action member from King’s district tried to ask the congressman a question. King cut him short and refused to answer. Here is the full question Van Fosson asked: There was a shooting on Saturday at a synagogue that left 11 people dead. The person who did this hate crime was anti-immigration and said, ‘They bring invaders in that kill our people. I can’t sit back and watch our people get slaughtered.’ You [Steve King] have been quoted as saying ‘We can’t restore our civilization with other people’s babies’. And during your recent trip to Austria you did an interview with a known anti-Semitic white supremacist website. You and the shooter both share anti-immigration views and the view that western civilization is under attack. What distinguishes your views and your ideology from the views and ideology of the shooter?” People’s Action then reports: “King vehemently objected to being compared to the Tree of Life shooter, but previous anti-Semitic and racist statements by King mirror that of the shooter. ‘Steve King has time to talk to fascists in Austria, but won’t answer a question from one of his own constituents?’ Van Fosson commented after being ejected.” (Hugh Espey, People’s Action, November 1, 2018)

CREDO Action tells us more about King: “Rep. Steve King of Iowa is a racist and a white supremacist. He keeps a confederate flag on his desk. He retweets neo-Nazis and endorsed one for mayor of Toronto. He courts favor with extremist, right-wing European nationalists. He has accused immigrants of ‘undermining our culture and civilization.’ Even though King spreads so much hate, major corporations continue to bankroll him. One of his biggest corporate donors, the telecommunications giant AT&T, donated $5,000 to his 2018 re-election campaign and a total of $59,000 over King’s career…King’s corporate funders have been in the spotlight because recent media reports highlighted a trip King took over the summer where, after visiting the Nazi concentration camp Auschwitz in Poland, he gave an interview to an anti-Semitic publication tied to the far-right Austrian Freedom Party, which was founded by a former Nazi officer and is currently led by neo-Nazis. In the interview, King spouted white supremacist talking points and expressed his belief that Europeans are superior and that white Western culture is threatened by Muslims and immigrants.” (Heidi Hess, Credo Action, November 2, 2018) The Washington Post has called King: “The Congressman most affiliated with white nationalism.” Is King a mere aberration, or is he the type of Republican politician that is increasingly becoming mainstream? The answer to that question should be obvious as the reader peruses this article. Here, I will note that, even though King’s racist views are documented and readily available, he still won re-election in the November election. This says more about voters than it does King.

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FOXES GUARDING THE HENHOUSE: TRUMP’S CRIMINAL CABINET AND APPOINTEES

Donald Trump’s presidency has seen more turnovers, both inside and outside of his cabinet, than any other administration in U.S. history. This is not difficult to understand; he has surrounded himself with some of the most ridiculously incompetent and corrupt people imaginable. He has put people in charge of cabinets whose sole purpose is to destroy those cabinets from within. I have discussed most of these individuals in previous articles. Here, I will focus on more recent developments.

I will begin with Mike Pence. I have perhaps not given him the attention he deserves in my previous writings. The vice president, unlike Trump, is a fundamentalist Christian to the core, and this affects, as one might expect, his entire worldview. President Pence is indeed a scary thought. As New York Times columnist Frank Bruni puts it, it would be going from “kleptocracy to theocracy.” His fundamentalist brand of Christianity has made him an unqualified bigot, exactly like Trump in many respects.

As with virtually every other Republican in Congress, Mike Pence wants to defund Planned Parenthood; he even tried to redefine “rape” in a bill in order to limit women’s access to abortion.

Certainly Pence and Trump are blood brothers when it comes to lying. And, they are also both deeply involved in the Russian scandal. Daily Kos provides us with a damning indictment of his involvement: “Mike Pence lied through his teeth about not knowing of Mike Flynn’s lobbying work in Turkey, and he avoids discussion about Trump Russia, unless he is obsequiously parroting a Trump denial of same. He speaks not at all about his benefactor Erik Prince’s Russian connections, the biggest one being his 2017 visit to the Seychelles. All of these dots connect. Erik Prince has had lucrative contracts with the United Arab Emariti government. At one point they paid his post-Blackwater security firm, Academi, a reported $529 million to bring in foreign fighters to help assemble an internal paramilitary force capable of carrying out secret operations and protect Emirati installations from terrorist attacks. Connect that with the fact that Prince made the aforementioned trip to the Seychelles concurrently with Jared Kushner’s discussions with Sergei Kislyak about setting up a back channel. Kushner also made a trip to the Middle East with none other than Steve Bannon and Mike Flynn for the purpose of selling nuclear reactors, a nuclear start up kit if you will, to the Saudis. Plus the UAE set up the meeting in the Seychelles between Prince and Putin’s representative.” (usulafaw, Daily Kos, July 29, 2018) It is to be hoped that the Russian investigation headed by Robert Mueller will clarify the vice-president’s role in all this.

There’s much more to Pence, all of it negative. He is one of the most vehement anti-abortionists on the politician scene, and once spoke on the House floor about the alleged halcyon days when people “actually placed it beyond doubt that the offense of abortion was a capital offense, punishable by death.” Nowhere has he said that he would oppose such a death penalty today. That is the mark of a Christian extremist.

Pence also buys into the nonsensical idea of conversion therapy, the idea that gays can be “changed” and become heterosexual. He would have no problem giving federal funds for such therapy, which has been proven not only to be ineffective, but potentially harmful. Given this, the fact that he supports a constitutional amendment banning same-sex marriage should come as no surprise. Like all religious fundamentalists, he is convinced that, since he thinks his views align with that of his god, they should become public policy. In other words, he wants the Bible, rather than the Constitution, to be the law of the land. This is the exact same thinking of the Reconstructionists, discussed in an earlier article.

Then there is the infamous football game publicity stunt. Pence attended a game pointedly left after the National anthem was played, saying he was offended that certain black players took the knee in protest of racial injustice. No doubt he had planned to leave in advance and was just playing to his right-wing supporters. The only thing this stunt accomplished was to cost taxpayers an exorbitant amount of money. Daily Kos, quoting the Huffington Post, lays it all out: “ As The Washington Post reported in the days after the game, Air Force Two costs approximately $43,000 an hour to operate, which the Post estimated meant a total bill of $250,000 for the flight alone. That’s to say nothing of the cost of local law enforcement, an extra ambulance and extra trauma teams at the local hospitals, with many of these supernumeraries making overtime for Sunday work. None of those expenses was included in the Secret Service’s cost breakdown. All told, it cost $325,000 at the very least for the vice president not to watch a football game.” (Daily Kos, October 8, 2018) All that money, paid for by American taxpayers, to allow the vice-president to pull a publicity stunt.

Trump’s son-in-law, Jared Kushner, is senior advisor in the White House. I have covered him in quite a bit of detail in previous articles, notably with regard to his involvement in the Russian scandal and in detailing the reasons why his security clearance should be revoked. Here, I will just point out another transgression, namely that he has paid little or no federal income taxes since at least 2009, as reported by the New York Times. Americans for Tax Fairness notes: “As a real estate developer, Kushner has taken advantage of numerous tax loopholes, which Trump himself has also likely used, to avoid paying his fair share of taxes even as his personal wealth increased to an astonishing $324 million…For years, our tax laws have been rigged with loopholes that allow the wealthy to dodge their fair share of taxes. And while Jared Kushner’s tax dodges may have been perfectly legal, that doesn’t make it right, and they have absolutely been made much worse thanks to the Trump-GOP tax scam.” (Frank Clemente, Americans for Tax Fairness, October 16, 2018)

The tax loopholes that enable real estate developers to cheat the system must be closed once and for all. Americans for Tax Fairness lists several of these loopholes: “1) Taking huge annual tax deductions from the depreciating cost of a building—dramatically lowering their tax bill while the value of the real estate actually goes up, not down; 2) Canceling out future income to reduce tax bills due to ‘paper’ losses from depreciation—in some cases even getting huge refunds; 3) Avoiding paying any capital gains taxes when selling one property at a huge profit by purchasing a new property within a certain period of time.” (Craig Johnson, Americans for Tax Fairness, October 24, 2018)

Many liberals celebrated at the end of June 2018 when Scott Pruitt, the criminally corrupt head of the Environmental Protection Agency, was finally forced to resign due to the multitudinous scandals associated with him. The celebration was extremely premature, and indicates something that many liberals have yet to figure out: Namely that no matter who leaves this administration, he or she will be replaced by someone equally obnoxious, partisan, and corrupt. And, as usual, Trump lied in a tweet he posted soon after Pruitt’s resignation: “We have made tremendous progress and the future of the EPA is very bright!” Sure, if by ‘bright’ he means its total and complete destruction. For that is what Trump, his cabinet, and his corporate friends have every intention of doing.

The EPA, like most other cabinet departments, has become a sick joke, doing the exact opposite of what it is supposed to be doing. People’s Action informs us of how the EPA currently operates: “If there’s one thing ‘EPA’ doesn’t stand for, it’s Equal Protection for All. Too many communities of color, like North Birmingham, Alabama, are threatened by toxic chemicals in their soil and water, and the EPA doesn’t offer them the protections they are entitled to by law. Then instead of fixing environmental problems, they blame victims. Instead of stopping toxic air emissions from an industrial coke plant or properly cleaning up the contaminated soils, EPA and health authorities gave each family a piece of paper. It included a list of things they should do, not the polluter, to avoid exposures to chemicals in their air and backyard soils.” (Lois Gibbs, People’s Action, October 12, 2018)

Climate Parents weighs in on the administration’s actions: “In the past two weeks alone, the Trump administration has: 1) Introduced a proposal to significantly weaken regulations covering mercury, a toxic heavy metal known to damage the nervous system of children and fetuses, and other air toxics addressed in the Mercury and Air Toxic Standards. 2) Inexplicably placed renowned public health expert and pediatrician, Dr. Ruth Etzel, on leave from her position as the head of the Office of Children’s Health Protection at the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA)—the only office in the agency dedicated to protecting children from environmental health hazards, and 3) Removed any mention of the impact of climate change on children from a proposed rule change on the most powerful greenhouse gases (HFCs)…The national Mercury and Air Toxic Standards would prevent up to 11,000 premature deaths, 4,700 heart attacks, and 130,000 asthma attacks annually. Dr. Etzel’s role was to advise EPA leadership on the specific health and environmental protection needs of children. With mercury safeguards under attack and Dr. Etzel on a forced administrative leave, who will advocate for our children’s best interests? We already know that fossil fuel pollution disproportionately harms children’s health—fueling asthma and other respiratory diseases. We also know that children are especially vulnerable to climate disasters such as wildfires and floods. This week, a new landmark report by the UN Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) stated that we have less than a dozen years to drastically cut fossil fuel use to avoid exceeding the 1.5C degree of temperature rise that will unleash the worst effects of climate change. Under Trump and Acting Administrator Andrew Wheeler, the EPA is failing to protect children’s health today, and it is also failing to safeguard their future. The only time this administration has reversed it’s harmful decisions has been when enough people chose to make their voices heard. The EPA must live up to its mission to protect human health and the natural environment upon which we all depend.” (Lisa Hoyos, Climate Parents, October 12, 2018)

The most encouraging thing about Pruitt’s resignation is the activism that made it possible. Throughout the country, Pruitt’s scandalous behavior and destructive policies made him the most vilified member of Trump’s cabinet. As Sierra Club notes: “Last week, we followed EPA Administrator Scott Pruitt to Oklahoma City and then to regional EPA offices in San Francisco. Huge crowds and an inflatable boot greeted him in both cities. Thousands of people called on their senators to boot Pruitt, and nearly 100,000 Sierra Club members and supporters sent emails calling for his resignation. Altogether,the Boot Pruitt coalition generated almost a million comments. A few days ago, one mother’s video confronting Pruitt went viral and garnered national media attention.” (Mary Ann Hitt, Sierra Club, July 5, 2018)

At present it is unclear how Pruitt’s resignation will affect the fifteen ongoing legal investigations into his corruption. The media has predictably ignored this investigation. Their attitude seems to be: “Pruitt’s gone, so just forget about him. After all we don’t want to be called ‘biased’ or ‘liberal,’ do we?”

Trump announced that Deputy Administrator Andrew Wheeler would replace Pruitt in an interim position. This man is every bit as dangerous as Pruitt, as he is (surprise!) a former lobbyist for the coal industry. NRDC tells us a little about his history: “Wheeler is a former coal industry lobbyist. One of his biggest clients was Murray Energy, whose CEO, Robert Murray, is fighting tooth and nail against the Clean Power Plan. And before that, he was a legislative aide to Oklahoma Senator Jim Inhofe, who is, without question, the most virulent climate denier on Capitol Hill.” (Rhea Suh, NRDC, July 5, 2018)

The Clean Power Plan has come under repeated attack from Wheeler and the administration. As Sierra Club reports: “The Clean Power Plan set the first ever standards to cut carbon pollution from existing power plants. It would have reduced carbon emissions from the electricity sector by 30 percent, prevented 150,000 asthma attacks, and stopped 6,000 premature deaths by 2030. Now, Trump and former coal lobbyist and acting EPA Administrator Andrew Wheeler want to replace the Clean Power Plan with a Dirty Power Plan…Unlike the Clean Power Plan, which mandated steep emission cuts, the Trump-Wheeler scam passes the buck to states, allowing them to set exceedingly weak carbon pollution standards likely to fall short of the EPA’s legal obligation to reduce these harmful climate-disrupting emissions as required by the Clean Air Act.” (Mary Anne Hitt, Sierra Club, August 21, 2018) The article then tells us who will be the most affected if the Clean Power Plan is replaced: “Dismantling or weakening the Clean Power Plan puts the health and well-being of our communities—especially communities of color and low-income families that bear the brunt of air pollution and climate impacts—further at risk.” In other words, Trump and his Republican cohorts have no problem putting the health of minorities and the disadvantaged at risk—while simultaneously acting to strip away their rights to vote and to protest. Once again, we see the totalitarian nature of right-wing politics.

SEEC PAC noted: “It took Andrew Wheeler only a few weeks on the job to pick up right where Scott Pruitt left off, rolling back essential protections put in place by the Obama administration…His first major act? Delivering the coal industry a big gift that jeopardizes public health by loosening standards on coal ash disposal. Coal ash is the stuff left over after coal is burned. It’s highly toxic, full of lead, arsenic, mercury, and boron. It pollutes the air and seeps into groundwater, putting the public at risk of poisoning. The results? Increased risk of cancer, heart damage, and kidney disease in communities across America.” (Jeremy Marcus, SEEC PAC, July 19, 2018)

Daily Kos weighs in: “Miners who work for an extended period in Appalachia have odds worse than playing Russian roulette with their lives. NPR reports that 20 percent—one in five—of all miners who have worked in the region for 25 years or longer, are now suffering from coalworker’s pneumoconiosis, better known as black lung disease. When mining safety laws were passed in 1969, it brought an almost immediate decline in black lung cases. And miners today should be protected by a number of measures meant to ensure adequate ventilation and the reduction of coal dust in their environment. But, as Donald Trump continually attempts to boost the coal industry and the EPA under both Scott Pruitt and Andrew Wheeler cuts regulations on coal, conditions for miners are sliding. With coal-powered plants still closing, and projections showing that coal will continue to lose market share over coming years, mine owners are trying to squeeze every last penny out of their declining industry. That is causing some operators to cheat on measures meant to protect miners. In the last month, a company in Kentucky was convicted of repeatedly gaming the system by falsifying results of dust monitors. That conviction seems to be emblematic of whole swathes of the industry in Appalachia. Meanwhile, companies have been dipping into the compensation meant to go to afflicted miners. Altogether, coal companies have already lifted $11 billion from funds earmarked for miners with black lung, and they have their eye on another $15 billion that they hope to get with a little helpful legislative action. All of that is predicated on the idea that black lung rates are falling, meaning that the funds won’t be needed. Republicans are routinely campaigning on the idea that miners who apply for black lung benefits are lazy cheaters. Republican legislators in Kentucky have passed laws requiring miners to be certified by doctors who work for the coal companies, before they can obtain their due benefits.” (Mark Sumner, Daily Kos, July 20, 2018) Is any further proof required to show how Republicans care only about the dying fossil fuel industry and not a whit about the health of the American people?

The coal industry is dying simply because clean options are becoming readily available. Daily Kos discusses the administration’s efforts to prop up the dying industry: “On June 1 President Trump ordered the US Department of Energy (DOE) to ‘prepare immediate steps’ to keep money-losing coal and nuclear power plants running, soon after the Trump administration floated a plan to force utilities to buy from these plants…On July 19, economists from the Brattle Group published a report ‘The Cost of Preventing Baseload Retirements: A Preliminary Examination of the DOE Memorandum’ which analyzes several scenarios under the DOE’s sketchy draft plan. The Brattle study was funded by a raft of non-coal and non-nuclear energy advocates including Advanced Energy Economy, the American Petroleum Institute, the Electric Power Supply Association, and the Natural Gas Supply Association. In the Brattle scenario that best matches a September 2017 DOE notice of proposed rulemaking, federal regulations would essentially force ratepayers to cover sunk costs in coal and nuclear, as opposed to merely throwing coal and nuclear a lifeline to keep them going. Under this scenario, Brattle economists estimated a total cost of between $20 and $35 billion per year for the entire US. Since the US has 126.2 million households (2017 Census Bureau estimate), this works out to about $160 to $275 per year for an average household. In June 12 testimony before the Senate Energy and Natural Resources Committee, Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC) member Richard Glick, a Democrat, went further, saying the cost could be as high as $65 billion per year for the US, or about $500 per year for an average household. Not all the cost would show up directly in your electric bill: some would appear as higher prices for other products and services, as manufacturers and other companies would raise their prices due to their increased electricity costs.” (Lincoln Green, Daily Kos, July 30, 2018) This is nothing less than robbery: The Trump administration wants to force all Americans to pay for the losses of a dying fossil fuel industry.

At one level, it is amusing to find Republicans, who always tout the virtues of the “free market,” backing off from that view when coal is concerned. Climate Hawks Vote notes the irony: “Trump’s plan to prop up coal should be opposed by any Republican who still believes in the free market. Renewables like solar and wind can compete on a level playing field.” (RL Miller, Climate Hawks Vote, October 15, 2018) Republicans and Libertarians who support Trump’s efforts to save the dirty fossil fuel industry are a walking contradiction to their own stated views.

On July 23, it came out that Wheeler was finalizing a new rule to roll back national auto emission standards and to revoke California’s authority to use different, stricter standards, standards currently being used by thirteen other states. Again, note the irony of Republicans who claim to be anti-big government not hesitating to enforce federal law and eliminate state’s rights to set their own clean air standards. And, as one would expect, Trump halted the Obama era’s Clean Car Standards, a great program for combatting climate change. Trump’s proposal will end the anti-pollution and fuel efficiency program that has helped to reduce global warming emissions. This is yet another example of a president (and a political party) that acts in ways contrary to the wishes of the American people: The public is strongly in favor of clean cars. Why wouldn’t they be? The Clean Cars program requires vehicles to meet a 54 mile per gallon standard by 2025 and prevent 2.2 billion tons of greenhouse gasses from being released into the atmosphere by 2040. But under Trump’s proposed rule change, the miles per gallon requirement would end at 37, costing consumers more money while putting our health at even greater risk. The irony is that even the auto industry isn’t supporting Trump’s repeal!

As justification for his action, Trump has falsely claimed that the clean car standards are “crushing the auto industry” even though U.S. automakers have experienced a record seven-year sales streak. The clean air standards were in effect for six of the seven years. NRDC tells us: “The truth is that clean car standards are good for our environment, but they are also good for jobs. They have helped maintain thousands of manufacturing jobs producing clean energy components for cars, making U.S. automakers more competitive with foreign car companies that have already prioritized making their vehicles more fuel efficient…It’s clear that the only people who will benefit from a rollback of clean car standards are fossil fuel executives. Meanwhile, drivers will be forced to shell out billions in additional fuel costs while our cars and trucks speed up the process of climate change.” (Rhea Suh, Daily Kos, August 2, 2018) Yet another example of Trump saying something that is the exact opposite of the truth.

Energy Innovation, is a non-profit think tank whose mission statement reads: “Energy Innovation’s mission is to accelerate progress in clean energy by supporting the policies that most effectively reduce greenhouse gas emissions. Through customized research and analysis for decision makers, we uncover the strategies that will produce the largest results. We work closely with other experts, NGOs, the media, and the private sector to ensure that our work complements theirs.” The group estimates that we will pay some $457 billion by 2050 to oil and gas companies if the rollback on car emission rules goes into effect. Climate Hawks Vote recognizes that there is much more to this than just money: “Even more outrageous: the estimated 13,000 lives that will be lost from people breathing dirtier air. And then there’s the itty bitty tiny problem of accelerating climate change from greater emissions. This past week, a new study showed a possible ‘hothouse earth’ scenario where we blaze past tipping points that accelerate climate change via the melting Arctic permafrost.” (RL Miller, Climate Hawks Vote, August 13, 2018)

Even thought Pruitt left in disgrace, the EPA is far from being on the road to recovery. CREDO Action tells us: “a DowDupont executive is reportedly overseeing Superfund projects to clean up the toxic and deadly chemical spills his company is responsible for—all without the required Senate confirmation. Peter Wright, a lawyer for Dow and a former Monsanto employee, is already working at the EPA, occupying a desk at the agency and serving as ‘special counsel to the administrator,’ completely skirting Senate confirmation rules. This outrageous conflict of interest comes at a time when the EPA is facing scandal after scandal, yet the Senate committee responsible for overseeing the EPA recently approved Wright’s nomination…According to a biography by the American Bar Association, Wright managed ‘the legal issues and outside counsel with respect to Dow’s largest and most significant environmental matter, the mid-Michigan dioxin matter,’ a toxic Superfund site that Dow has been litigating for more than 40 years and has yet to clean up. The dioxin contamination, which is highly toxic and linked to a whole host of health problems including cancer, extends 50 miles down the Tittabawassee and Saginaw rivers and into the Saginaw Bay, and continuously threatens communities along its banks. Earlier this year, Dow won a major lawsuit that prevented local residents from suing the company for the dioxin contamination. Wright’s nomination is yet another example of the Trump administration’s cozy relationship with Dow Chemical. Dow Chairman and CEO Andrew Liveris headed up Trump’s now-disbanded American Manufacturing Council, and last year, the company donated $1 million to Trump’s inaugural committee. So it wasn’t a surprise that after a brief meeting with Liveris last March, then-EPA Administrator Scott Pruitt overturned an Obama-era rule banning chlorpyrifos, the popular brain-harming pesticide manufactured by Dow.” (Josh Nelson, CREDO Action, August 20, 2018)

All this is singularly amazing, on many different levels. For one, the shady move to install Wright without Senate approval. The appointment of someone to an agency they are hostile to and dedicated to destroying from within is standard operating procedure in this administration. Finally, the press is failing to cover this scandal and report it for what it is—a direct conflict of interest that should be remedied at once, before more damage is done to the environment.

Just about everyone currently working in the EPA (notice I did not say for the EPA) is a corporate lackey of some kind. Many of them are as corrupt as Pruitt and Wheeler. People’s Action reports: “An Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) official in the Trump administration was arrested Thursday two days after being indicted on multiple alleged violations of Alabama ethics laws. Trey Glenn, the regional director for EPA’s southeast region, was arrested for allegedly helping an Alabama law firm fight potential EPA actions to clean up contaminated sites on behalf of Drummond Co., which could be responsible for the cleanups. Among other charges, Glenn and former Alabama Environmental Management Commissioner Scott Phillips were indicted on soliciting a thing of value from a principal, lobbyist or subordinate and receiving money in addition to that received in one’s official capacity. Acting EPA chief Andrew Wheeler declined to comment on the case Tuesday, saying he hadn’t spoken with Glenn about it.” (Jeff Bryant, People’s Action, November 16, 2018)

Of course, Pruitt and Wheeler are far from being the only corrupt administrators in Trump’s cabinet. The same accusations of misuse of public funds, self-enrichment and cronyism can be leveled at virtually every cabinet member, to say nothing of the Republican-dominated Congress. And so how does Congress respond? By investigating Hillary Clinton and create kangaroo courts to investigate perceived enemies, which invariably means anyone daring to point out the crimes of this administration. Cleaning their own house and serving the interests of the American people are not part of the equation in the Republican mindset.

Mick Mulvaney has been discussed in my previous articles. Here, I should just mention that he continues to be dedicated to destroying the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau. Rootstrikers tells us: “As Trump’s hand-picked acting CFPB director, Mulvaney has never even tried to pretend to hold financial institutions accountable for misleading or exploiting consumers. It’s gotten so bad that the career CFPB Student Loan ombudsman, Seth Frotman, just resigned. He called out Mulvaney for ‘turning [the CFPB’s] back on young people and their financial futures.’ Whether you have student loans or not, this is a big deal! Student loan debt tops $1.3 TRILLION dollars. And rather than shielding borrowers and young professionals from unscrupulous, aggressive and illegal debt collection tactics, Mulvaney’s CFPB is throwing student borrowers to the Wall Street wolves right at the start of their careers. Congress created the CFPB as a part of the Dodd-Frank Act to be a watchdog on financial corruption and stand up for everyday consumers who have been ripped off by Wall Street’s rigged system. But under Trump, the CFPB isn’t just weak, it’s actively harming the very people it was created to protect. Former Student Loan Ombudsman Seth Frotman wrote to acting director Mulvaney, ‘you have used the Bureau to serve the wishes of the most powerful financial companies in America.’” (Tihi Hayslett, Rootstrikers, August 29, 2018)

A senior official at CFPB named Eric Blankenstein, is in charge of enforcing our anti-discrimination laws for consumers. This is the same man who has called into question whether the word “nigger” is actually racist. He has also said that the nonsensical “birther” scandal aimed at President Obama had nothing to do with racism. He has also stated that the overwhelming majority of reported hate crimes are “hoaxes.” When called to task for his stupid statements, Blankenstein said he was guilty of nothing more than “governing while conservative.” Add “governing while bigoted” and you get a more accurate statement.

Housing and Urban development head Ben Carson is one of the few cabinet appointees who has managed to stay at least somewhat under the radar during the second half of 2018. The man who after his 2016 presidential bid admitted that he doesn’t have enough experience to head a cabinet agency nonetheless is every bit as corrupt as other cabinet members have proven themselves to be. For one thing, he is guilty of nepotism: His wife has been involved in official HUD activities and he has appointed personal friends to positions they are not qualified to hold. Mother Jones discusses one of these: “For example, in May, Carson announced that 29-year-old Alfonso Costa Jr. would be joining HUD as deputy chief of staff in the office of the secretary. Costa’s father, Alfonso Costa Sr., is Carson’s best friend and a dentist and real estate investor who was convicted in 2015 for defrauding insurers of nearly $45,000.” (Nathalie Baptiste, Mother Jones, December 26, 2018)

Far worse than nepotism is Carson’s effort to raise rent prices for the most economically disadvantaged. He says this will force them to seek employment, as if they have never searched for a job before. This hasn’t helped anyone except slumlords, who have been encouraged to make greater profits while failing to upgrade their tenements. The Courage Campaign Issues Committee reports: “Everyone deserves a safe, affordable, and happy place to call home. Yet many California families are living paycheck to paycheck—at risk of becoming homeless—because they are spending more than half their income on housing. And while they struggle to make ends meet to avoid eviction after another arbitrary $700 rent increase, corporate landlords like CEO Stephen Schwarzman are making $800 million a year off of their suffering!…So in cities like Los Angeles or San Francisco that passed rent control ordinances in the 70’s, any apartment built after 1979 cannot be rent-controlled. It also means that greedy landlords can craft as many schemes possible to evict rent-controlled tenants in order to hike rent prices. And forget about living in a single family unit. Every day is a game of rent hike roulette as you can receive a notice from your landlord that your rent has doubled or even tripled overnight.” Clearly, this kind of price gauging is, in addition to being unfair, an embarrassment to the way we treat the disadvantaged in this country.

Like his president, the only standard Ben Carson has for anyone wishing to join his HUD team is loyalty. People’s Action reports: “The U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development awarded promotions and pay increases to five political operatives with no housing policy experience within their first months on the job, demonstrating what government watchdogs and career staff describe as a premium put on loyalty over expertise. The raises, documented in a Washington Post analysis of HUD political hires, resulted in annual salaries between $98,000 and $155,000 for the five appointees, all of whom had worked on Donald Trump’s or Ben Carson’s presidential campaigns. Three of them did not list bachelor’s degrees on their résumés. The political hires were among at least 24 people without evident housing policy experience who were appointed to the best-paying political positions at HUD, an agency charged with serving the poorest Americans. They account for a third of the 70 HUD appointees at the upper ranks of the federal government, with salaries above $94,000, according to the Post review of agency records. The limited experience at the upper reaches of the agency—HUD Secretary Carson, a retired neurosurgeon, has no prior housing, executive or government background—injected confusion into the rollout of policy initiatives and brought delays to even routine functions, according to interviews with 16 current and former career staff members. ‘This administration is different, because the people coming in really don’t know housing at all,’ said Ron Ashford, who retired as director of HUD’s public-housing supportive-service programs in January after 22 years at the agency. ‘As a result, they’re pursuing initiatives that aren’t grounded in reality.’” (Miles Mogulescu, People’s Action, September 21, 2018)

Secretary of Education Betsy DeVos is another embarrassment. Like other cabinet appointees, she has no interest in actually serving the post she was appointed to. Rather than improving public schools, she wants to eliminate them and force taxpayers to fund non-accountable private schools. I have already covered the many problems with the voucher system in my earlier writings and need not repeat them here other than to note that, even though John Q. Public is overwhelmingly opposed to vouchers, Republicans ignore their wishes and keep introducing them across the country. People’s Action provides an example of DeVos’ actions consequences: “Secretary of Education Betsy DeVos wants to remove limits on the state funding of religious schools. The hazards of this approach are evident in New York, where a bitter dispute has escalated over the lack of academic instruction offered by ultra-Orthodox yeshivas, which accept state funding but reject state education laws. Former students and parents have gone public to expose yeshivas that do not provide required secular studies. This includes basic English instruction. The Trump administration seems perfectly content to deny fundamental courses like social studies, science, history, civics, physical education, health and geography to students who invariably grow up to bloc-vote in lockstep behind their religious leaders.” (Jake Jacobs, People’s Action, August 8, 2018)

Republicans have for decades been trying to eliminate public education altogether and replace it with private schools, and about ninety percent of these schools are religious-based. Time and again, Republicans have tried to enact legislation that would force taxpayers to fund these schools, even though they are doing well on their own, even though funding religious institutions runs counter to the Constitution, even though these schools are not accountable to the public, and even though every cent that is put in these schools is a cent that is removed from public schools. Church & State provides us with one recent example: “In a 5-2 decision released December 12, the Montana Supreme Court invalidated the state’s tuition tax credit program that was passed by the state legislature in 2015. Americans United hailed the court’s decision which prevents public money from funding private religious education. ‘Montana taxpayers should never be forced to fund religious education—that’s a fundamental violation of religious freedom,’ said Rachel Laser, president and CEO of Americans United. ‘The Montana Supreme Court’s decision protects both church-state separation and public education. It’s a double win.’” (Church & State, January, 2019)

Montana is far from being the only state trying to destroy public education through voucher schemes. Knowing that these schemes are wildly unpopular with the public (voucher schemes have been around since 1967 and have been continuously defeated at the ballot box), proponents dishonestly don’t refer to them as vouchers, but rather by other innocuous sounding terms. Church & State provides us with a good example: “The heading in the British newspaper The Guardian was certainly eye-catching: ‘Billionaires v. teachers: The Koch brothers’ plan to starve public education,’ it read. The story by reporter Steven Greenhouse ran September 7, 2018. It focused on a battle in Arizona, where big-money forces backing education privatization have been active for years. In 2017, they scored a key victory when the legislature passed a bill expanding Arizona’s voucher plan which had formerly been limited to students with special needs, to every child in the state. The Koch brothers, U.S. Education Secretary Betsy DeVos and others who yearn to dismantle public education in America looked at Arizona as a laboratory for what they viewed as a grand experiment. Under their scheme, taxpayer money would flow to private, mostly religious schools under the guise of ‘school choice’ through a voucher-like plan called ‘education savings accounts.’” (Rob Boston, Church & State, January, 2019) Notice how the name of the plan sounds overwhelmingly positive: Who could resist supporting something called “education savings accounts?” However, the emperor’s nudity was soon exposed for all to see: Six women recognized it for what it was and began a campaign to save public education. Despite the incredible odds against them, they were able to put an initiative on the ballot of their state that eliminated the misnamed voucher scheme, and they won. Their heroism should serve as an example to the rest of the country of how grassroots political action can fight big money—and win.

DeVos has another scheme that will harm college students while lining the pockets of for-profit college investors. Elizabeth Warren tells us: “She’s about to scrap important rules that forced for-profit colleges to prove that they provide a quality education (known as ‘gainful employment’) to students…For-profit colleges lure people in with big promises of well-paid jobs, and then squeeze every last dime out of students and taxpayers—even if it sometimes means breaking the law. In fact, for-profit colleges are responsible for 98.6% of all student loan forgiveness claims alleging fraud… thanks to Betsy DeVos, the U.S. government is going back to the days of rubber-stamping these garbage-dump schools, funneling federal dollars into the for-profit college industry, and making it harder for students to get the relief promised to them under the law. She’s also stacked her office with former for-profit college executives with massive conflicts of interest.” (Elizabeth Warren, letter to constituents, August 13, 2018) There is no other word for this except corruption, which of course is a cornerstone foundation of the Trump administration.

Daily Kos reports: “Students in American schools are increasingly reporting more incidents of racial discrimination, yet the Department of Education is underreporting their complaints. According to The Huffington Post, an analysis based on data from 2013 to 2016 found that more than 2,000 allegations of race-based discrimination in schools were excluded from the department’s annual reports…Interestingly, while discrimination against black students comprises the majority of complaints, complaints of discrimination against white students have increased in recent years.” (Kelly Macias, Daily Kos August 22, 2018) Just coincidence, or standard operating procedure from a racist administration?

It isn’t just racism that more students are experiencing due to DeVos’s policies. In September, 2017, she rescinded President Obama’s campus sexual assault policy, insisting she could do better. A year later, her policy: “seeks to protect rapists, abusers, and harassers on college campuses. Among other things, DeVos’s regulations would allow perpetrators to cross-examine survivors during mediation and have access to survivors’ evidence obtained during the investigation. They would also narrow the definition of sexual harassment.” (Sarah Hogg, Daily Kos, September 1, 2018) Because of these stupid changes, some colleges and universities have stopped investigating claims of sexual assault altogether. It doesn’t take much imagination to realize who benefits from all this.

If this were not enough, Betsy DeVos is another tax dodger, a ubiquitous recurrence in the Trump administration. She owns a $40 million yacht, but in order to avoid paying taxes on it, she registered it in the Cayman Islands. Economist Robert Reich, infuriated, asked: “Here’s an idea: How about we close the loopholes that the DeVos family uses for their yachts to fund the public schools they want to gut?”

Some of her comments and ideas are so wacky that it’s difficult to take them seriously. It will be remembered at her confirmation hearing, she was asked if guns have any place in schools; she responded yes, schools need to defend themselves—against grizzly bears! To cite another example, she wants to take money away for after-school programs and counseling services and turn it over to gun manufacturers: She wants to arm teachers. Teachers and educators almost unanimously reject such nonsense. As Action Network tells us: “former Sandy Hook teacher Abbey Clements said, ‘I would like to make something perfectly clear: Had school employees been carrying guns at Sandy Hook School, it would not have made us or our students any safer’…Even responsible gun owners have spoken out to say this is a dangerous plan. Despite all that, DeVos is overstepping her authority so she can turn the U.S. government into an arms dealer for schools.” (Randi Weingarten, Action Network, August 23, 2018)

Wilbur Ross, Trump’s Secretary of Commerce, was approved to his post on February 27, 2017 by a Senate vote of 72-27. Nine months later, a major scandal arose when some documents known as the Paradise Papers were leaked which showed that Ross had failed to clearly disclose his financial connections to Russian interests (here we go again!) during his confirmation hearings. However, this was only the first allegation of corruption against Ross. In June, 2018, it came out that Ross, like Trump, had failed to divest himself from his financial holdings when he accepted his secretarial appointment. Thus, he lied when he wrote to the Office of Government Ethics in November 2017 saying that he had done so. In that same month of June, 2018, Forbes magazine revealed the results of an investigation which showed that, while he was Secretary of Commerce, Ross, for most of 2017, owned: “stakes in companies co-owned by the Chinese government, a shipping firm tied to Vladimir Putin’s inner circle, a Cypriot bank reportedly caught up in the Robert Mueller investigation and a huge player in an industry Ross is now investigating.” As with Trump, Ross has a clear economic conflict of interest.

It gets worse. June 2018 was obviously a bad month for Ross, because, in addition to the above, it was revealed that he shorted stocks in one of the firms before reporting emerged that would have had a negative effect on the stock; he then sold the stocks at a substantial profit—after the story was published. This means that, even though federal office-holders are not allowed to profit on nonpublic information Ross illegally did so. Later in that month, it emerged that he had shorted stocks in two more firms, and the following month it was reported that he had done the same with yet another two companies.

Forbes magazine reported in August of 2018 that there was a “pattern” of allegations that he had grifted his business partners and workers over the years. Numerous individuals came forth accusing Ross of stealing or illegally siphoning funds from them, which amounted to $120 million dollars.

Daily Kos sums it up thusly: “Forbes is reporting that Secretary of Commerce Wilbur Ross quietly settled a lawsuit with a former business partner just days before that case would have reached court. The subject of that lawsuit: Ross stealing millions from his erstwhile partner. But while investigating this suit, Forbes uncovered a much larger story: Wilbur Ross is a serial liar who accumulated much of his enormous wealth in the most direct way possible. He stole it. According to the suit from equity manager David Storper, while the two were working together at Ross’ investment firm, Ross simply took funds belonging to Storper and transferred them to his own account. That’s not subtle. It’s not complicated. It’s not the kind of difficult-to-follow financial maneuvering likely to leave a jury scratching its collective head. It’s just plain old, garden-variety, straight-up theft. Which seems to be why Ross was anxious to quietly settle the case rather than let it reach trial. But as Forbes reporters looked into this, they made a much bigger discovery—bigger in the ‘tip of the iceberg’ sense. As in this kind of behavior seems to have been a common occurrence for Ross. As in Wilbur Ross, the U.S. Secretary of Commerce, may just be the single biggest grifter in the nation’s history. Forbes turned up a staggering 21 different people who reported occurrences similar to that of Storper. Each of them was taken for $1 million or more. In total, just the victims that Forbes found in their research had been taken by Ross to the tune of $120 million.” (Mark Sumner, Daily Kos, August 7, 2018) These were not just Ross’s clients; they were his business partners that he stiffed.

The Kos adds even more to this amazing tale: “Not only is Ross like Trump in loving to inflate his wealth and ripping off his partners, he has a fondness for Russian funds illegally being funneled into the United States. Ross was one of the co-founders of the Bank of Cyprus, which despite the name existed as little more than a mail drop for most of its life. A mail drop—and a place where oligarch dollars leaving former Soviet Republics could get a quick whitewash courtesy of an instant LLC and an account at Ross’ bank before heading for real estate ‘purchases’ in the United States…Dmitry Rybolovlev, the guy who gave Trump $100 million to supposedly buy a $40 million property in Florida, was Wilbur Ross’ partner at The Bank of Cyprus.

Ross’ bank was also very handy for Trump’s campaign chair, and current guest of the court, Paul Manafort. Manafort used Ross’ bank for much of the funds that were funneled into his accounts from Russian oligarch Oleg Deripaska under the pretense that he was giving Manafort a ‘loan.’ And, as Forbes points out, if Ross was there for Trump and his friends, Trump came through for Ross when he needed it. Trump’s offer of the Commerce Secretary role came at a time when ‘genius’ Ross had created a private equity fund that was actually managing to lose huge amounts of money in a rising market. His clients were in revolt, law suits were in the works, and Ross was already paying off massive fines for skimming from investors. Ross was actually funding his equity firm not through any earnings on his funds, but by the money he was taking from his investors. His firm was drubbing investors to the tune of $60 million a year—and that’s not the $120 million Ross owed elsewhere.”

People’s Action reports: “On Monday, the Campaign Legal Center (CLC) filed a complaint with the Commerce Department’s Office of the Inspector General, alleging serious misconduct and potential criminal violations by Commerce Secretary Wilbur Ross. The complaint, according to the overview, calls for ‘an investigation into whether Commerce Secretary Wilbur Ross violated the criminal laws on conflicts of interest and false statements.’ Specifically, CLC alleges that Ross, a billionaire investor, holds assets in multiple companies that are directly impacted by decisions of the Trump administration, in potential criminal violation of federal conflict of interest laws, including Air Lease, Sun Bancorp, and a ‘major’ holding in Chinese steel. Altogether, the document cites 46 different assets Ross has not accounted for despite pledging to divest.” (Adrienne Evans, People’s Action, August 14, 2018)

It appears from all this that Wilbur Ross is nothing more than a crook. A very high level one, but a crook nonetheless. Putting him in charge of the Commerce Department is like putting Lady Godiva in charge of the fashion industry. He might just well be the most corrupt person in the entire Trump White House. And that’s saying something.

In keeping with his tradition of appointing people to important positions that have no expertise in the agency they are supposed to lead, Trump nominated Kathy Kraninger to lead the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau. It stands to reason she will have no intention of actually protecting consumers from anything; she also has no experience whatever in financial regulation. If she takes over the leadership of CFPB, she will, like all other Trump appointees, try to destroy her agency from within, to the benefit of predatory financial companies. If this were not ominous enough, CREDO Action reports: “Worse, in her current job at the Office of Management and Budget, Kraninger oversees the agencies responsible for the unconscionable separation of thousands of children from their parents, leading Sens. Elizabeth Warren and Sherrod Brown to demand she turn over all records of her involvement.” (Josh Nelson, CREDO Action, July 2, 2018)

Warren asked Kraninger some tough questions at her confirmation hearing, which she discussed in an email to her followers: “I repeatedly asked her: Did you help develop or implement this policy? She bobbed, she weaved—and she completely dodged the question. Then I asked her, point blank: Do you think it is immoral to set up a plan whose deliberate intent is to inflict harm on children? She couldn’t give me a straight answer. She refused to answer the question ‘yes’ or ‘no.’ Kathy Kraninger’s role in the border separation policy is a moral stain that will follow her for the rest of her life—and if we give her a big promotion to run the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau, then it’s a stain on the senators who vote for her.” (Elizabeth Warren, July 19, 2019) Despite her being clearly unqualified for the post, and despite the efforts of knowledgeable Democrats to wake up their fellow congress people, Kraninger was confirmed in December, 2018 in a strict party-line vote.

Warren also asked Kraninger about her role in the meager efforts of assistance to the people of Puerto Rico following the disaster of Hurricane Maria. She received no response. Warren has since sponsored or co-sponsored legislation that would require FEMA and HUD to “activate the Disaster Housing Assistance Program in Puerto Rico—the same program they activated after Katrina and Sandy to help provide stable housing for survivors.” (Warren, July 26, 2018)

And of course, White House Press Secretary Sarah Huckabee Sanders has absolutely no credibility with anyone save for Trump and his cronies. Her job is simple: defend Trump’s words and actions at all costs. When a reporter noted that Trump keeps attacking the media, her response was: “Well, stop criticizing him then.” In other words, go along with everything he says and does. Is she so intellectually challenged that she doesn’t see the totalitarianism inherent in that remark? Her daily briefings are a joke; when a reporter asks a question she doesn’t want to answer, she either lies or says: “I’m going to move on now.” The press is becoming tired of these evasions, and are beginning to band together. Daily Kos notes: “…the reporters are starting to coordinate. Sanders got tired of Hallie Jackson from MSNBC hammering her on Trump’s perceived lack of credibility with the American people, so she ignored her and called on someone else. While Jackson kept yelling her question, the new reporter said: “Thank you Sarah. I’ll cede my time back to Hallie so she can get her question answered.” Slavish Sarah had no choice but to go back to getting cuffed around by Hallie Jackson.” (Daily Kos. July 18, 2018) Trump can either rid himself of Sanders, which won’t stop the discomforting questions, or he can eliminate the briefings altogether, which would be one more step in the direction of a dictatorship.

CREDO Action reports on an incident that, to say the least, doesn’t reflect well on Sanders: “Trump’s war on journalists has hit a dangerous new low. After refusing to answer questions from CNN Chief White House Correspondent Jim Acosta during a press conference this week, Trump revoked his press pass altogether. Worse, White House Press Secretary Sarah Sanders justified the ban by falsely accusing Acosta of assaulting a White House intern and promoted a doctored video to back up her allegations.” (Brandy Doyle, CREDO Action, November 9, 2011)

On July 23 2018, Robert Wilkie was confirmed by the right-wing Senate as the new Secretary of Veterans Affairs. He was born in Frankfurt Germany and apparently has not grasped the moral implications of that country’s defeat in the Second World War. In addition, he is a thoroughgoing Confederate sympathizer, and has spoken at numerous pro-Confederate (yes, they still exist) events. He is on record as having called Confederate president Jefferson Davis: “a martyr to the ‘lost cause” and called the Confederate cause “honorable.” If this were not enough, he called the abolitionists who worked to eliminate slavery “radical”, “mendacious”, and “enemies of liberty.” It takes some serious rationalizing to publicly state that the people who were fighting for the liberty of the slave population were themselves enemies of liberty. Prior to his confirmation, Wilkie had defended racists such as Jesse Helms and Trent Lott, and used racist smears against Democratic candidates. If all this were not enough, his hatred toward the LGBTQ community is one of his qualifying characteristics; he led the charge in the Trump administration’s effort to impose a transgender ban on the military, a ban that even the military didn’t approve of.

Clearly, under Wilkie, the office of Veterans Affairs will no longer serve all veterans equally; straight white racist southerners will be the standard-bearers that will be the best-served by his office.

I have gone into considerable detail in my previous articles about the failings of Attorney General Jeff Sessions. I will add one more point here, as reported by the Daily Kos in late July, that he: “announced the creation of a ‘Religious Liberty Task Force’ in the Justice Department that will ensure certain religious groups can keep ‘practicing their beliefs’ in public despite government regulations. Do not be fooled by the use of the word “liberty:” To right wing Republicans, it simply means that religious people should be “free” to discriminate against those they don’t like or approve of. Let’s be clear here: Sessions’ new task force of bigots is about enabling Christians who discriminate against the LGBTQ+ community and people who use contraception and seek abortion care.” (Daily Kos, August 2, 2018) It has nothing whatever to do with freedom.

Although Jeff Sessions was forced out as Attorney General in November, his temporary replacement, Matthew G. Whitaker is, as one has come to expect from this administration, yet another unswerving Trump supporter who echoes the president’s view that the Russia investigation is a “witch hunt.” Unlike Sessions, Whitaker refuses to recuse himself from the investigation. On December 7, Trump announced that William Barr would be his nominee for the permanent position of Attorney General; this leaves Whitaker’s future at the Department of Justice in doubt. Let us examine both these men in turn.

Trump may have shot himself in the foot in an interview in which he admitted that his reason for removing Sessions and replacing him with Whitaker was to end the Russia investigation. People’s Action reports: “President Donald Trump on Wednesday indicated during an interview that he tapped former US attorney Matthew Whitaker to replace then Attorney General Jeff Sessions in order to rein in the Russia investigation. Speaking to The Daily Caller, Trump expanded on his thought process behind choosing Whitaker to take over as acting attorney general. The president then appeared to allude to the fact that he tapped Whitaker primarily to constrain the Russia investigation. ‘As far as I’m concerned, this is an investigation that should have never been brought,’ Trump told The Daily Caller. ‘It should have never been had—It’s an illegal investigation.’ He then tacked on: ‘And you know, it’s very interesting because when you talk about not Senate confirmed, [the special counsel Robert Mueller] is not Senate confirmed.’ The admission is reminiscent of when Trump told NBC’s Lester Holt last year that he ousted then FBI director James Comey because of the Russia investigation. Trump’s statement to Holt now makes up one of the central threads of the special counsel Robert Mueller’s investigation into whether the president sought to obstruct justice in the inquiry, and legal experts told INSIDER his admission to The Daily Caller could add another piece to Mueller’s probe.” (Jeff Bryant, People’s Action, November 16, 2018)

Progress America tells us what we could expect from Whitaker, had he become the Attorney General. The article outlines some of his views and actions: “1) Complained that Mueller’s investigation might hurt the Trump and his family’s reputation. 2) Defended the Trump Tower meeting with Russians. 3) Derided Mueller’s investigation as a ‘witch hunt.” 4) Proposed slashing Mueller’s budget in order to sabotage the investigation. 5) Suggested that Rod Rosenstein should interfere with the scope of the investigation. 6) Retweeted an op-ed on the ‘Mueller Lynch Mob.’ 7) Suggested hiding the Mueller evidence from the public.” 8) Complained about aggressive tactics. 9) Opposed legislation to protect the special counsel from White House interference.” (Mike Phelan, Progress America, November 8, 2018) Given this, it should be obvious to everyone why Trump wants him to be his Attorney General: He is unswervingly loyal to the president. And that’s the only thing that matters to Trump.

Whitaker’s appointment, had it gone through, should have been denied because it was illegal in the first place. As I write this, he remains acting Attorney General, but there are already nine legal challenges to his appointment. This is because our Constitution states that high offices such as Attorney General must be held by people who have been confirmed by the Senate, and this did not happen with Whitaker. The American Prospect reports on two other factors that might have kept him from serving: “And just to annoy the Supreme Court on the eve of this and other key rulings, Trump managed to pick a fight with Chief Justice John Roberts. If Roberts, who is an ideological right-winger on policy issues but no fan of Trump, wanted to knock the president down a peg, the Whitaker case would be a splendid opportunity. And for good measure, The Washington Post just broke a story that Whitaker has been paid $1.4 million since 2014 by a mysterious ‘charity’ that seems to have no other function than channeling funds to Whitaker for a no-show job.” (Robert Kuttner, The American Prospect, November 26, 2018) At this point one begins to wonder: Are there any decent Republicans to be found anywhere on the political scene?

William Barr, the man nominated by Trump to be the permanent Attorney General is, like virtually every single Republican holding significant seats of power, a devoutly conservative Christian. Church & State tells us that he: “is no fan of secular government, public schools, church-state separation—or much of modern life, for that matter.” (Rob Boston, Church & State, January 2019) Americans United began doing research on this man, and the results were alarming. The article quotes Barr as saying: “The secularists of today are clearly fanatics.” Thus, we see yet another example of a conservative Republican stating the exact opposite of the truth. Barr also authored an article in 1995 titled “Legal Issues in a New Political Order” which, among other things, gives a totally false quote from James Madison in which Madison applauds the Ten Commandments as the foundation of moral law; this quotation was debunked years before Barr’s article. Naturally, Barr supports taxpayers being forced to subsidize Catholic schools. His appointment will not bode well for church-state related issues.

Church & State provides us with a fitting final comment on Barr: “The problem is, Barr seeks the same thing every theocrat in history has yearned for: not God’s will, but what he believes God’s will to be.” (editorial, Church & State, January 2019)

Another man who will continue supporting Trump come hell or high water is Mitch McConnell, who I have covered at some length in previous articles. The article just cited notes: “The Senate Judiciary Committee has already passed legislation to protect Mueller from being fired without just cause. Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell refused to allow a floor vote on the bill, hiding behind the excuse that he didn’t think Trump will try to fire Mueller. It is clear that that McConnell’s excuse doesn’t hold water. Every member of Congress must go on the record about whether they want to defend democracy, or if they believe that Trump is above the law.” Rest assured that if Trump does fire Mueller, McConnell will forget his previous action (or lack thereof) and throw his weight behind the president.

Yet another cabinet member who has resigned in 2018 is Interior Secretary Ryan Zinke, who announced he will step down at the end of the year. As with so many others in the White House, Zinke’s tenure has been plagued by scandal. Again like other cabinet appointees, Zinke’s sole purpose in assuming his post was to dismantle it from within. He fired many of the agency’s leaders and, like Trump, demanded unquestioned loyalty from his underlings.

Zinke has been called “the most scandal-plagued member” of Trump’s cabinet. Currently, he is facing 14 federal investigations into shady business dealings, unethical behavior, violations of federal law and misuse of taxpayer money. CREDO Action points out: “One of Zinke’s most egregious and bizarre scandals involves a sketchy land deal with Halliburton, the multinational oil services company and government contractor that ripped off billions from the American taxpayer during the Iraq War and who now benefits from Zinke’s industry-friendly public land policies. Zinke reportedly met with Halliburton’s chairman on official business to work on sealing a land development project in Montana that could enrich Zinke’s family. Halliburton even reportedly bribed Zinke with a microbrewery, a lifelong dream of his, to sweeten the deal.” (Josh Nelson, CREDO Action, August 5, 2018)

Zinke blasted those who would dare to question his “wisdom” of promoting oil pipelines, saying: “When a pipeline gets protested—it is being driven by an ideology that often—is simply un-American.” So, anyone who dares question Zinke is labeled “un-American.” We will see during the course of this article who the real “un-Americans” are.

Trump nominated Andrew Saul to head the Social Security Administration. This is yet another example of appointing a fox to guard the henhouse; Saul has no experience in this field whatever. Instead, he serves on the board of the Manhattan Institute, a right-wing think tank that seeks to reduce or eliminate programs that millions of Americans rely on. And of course, there are numerous scandals connected to Saul. CREDO Action reports: “Both Trump and Saul seem to believe being wealthy means they are above the law. Saul was caught allegedly impersonating a police officer in order to escape a trespassing charge. He also dropped out of a congressional race after accepting improper campaign donations. Saul, like Trump, also pals around with racists. The Manhattan Institute granted a prestigious platform to notorious racist Charles Murray, who argues that white people are genetically smarter and superior to Black and Latinx people. Abigail Thernstrom, another Manhattan fellow, thinks affirmative action programs puts Black children in classes they cannot handle.” (Josh Nelson, CREDO Action, October 16, 2018)

Another example of appointing someone to a post the Republicans want destroyed was seen in October 2018 when Trump nominated Mary Mayhew to run the national Medicaid and Children’s Health Insurance Program (CHIP) programs. People’s Action tells us what this means: “Mary Mayhew was criticized for completely reorganizing the state department in a way that directly harmed low-income people. The Trump administration is putting the health insurance of millions of Americans in the hands of a former Maine official best known for undermining the public health infrastructure in her state to put low-income families at risk. Mary Mayhew, Maine’s former health commissioner, was tapped on Monday to run the national Medicaid and Children’s Health Insurance Program (CHIP) programs. Mayhew will now control the $350 billion budget of the two health insurance programs serving low-income families and kids, according to the Portland Press Herald. If Mayhew takes the same approach to Medicaid as she did during her time leading Maine’s Department of Health and Human Services (DHHS), she will likely fulfill the Trump administration’s plans of running the health insurance program into the ground and attacking the program she is now responsible for overseeing. Mayhew, a former hospital lobbyist, ran the state’s DHHS for seven years under Maine governor and self-described ‘Donald Trump before Donald Trump,’ Paul LePage (R), before resigning in May 2017.” (Adrienne Evans, People’s Action, October 17, 2018)

Speaking of health issues, Trump showed his utter disdain for people’s health when he shut down research into finding a cure for the HIV virus. This ban came about because the use of discarded human fetal tissue, essential to the research, was opposed by the Christian Right whose members somehow believe that a discarded piece of protoplasm is a little baby. Opposition comes from them even though it affects real human lives; they don’t care that further stem-cell research can assist the medical profession in their fight to destroy the HIV virus. And of course the same Christian Right lied when they claimed that Planned Parenthood had been selling aborted fetuses earlier in the year.

On December 7, 2018, Trump nominated former Fox News anchor Heather Nauert to become America’s Ambassador to the United Nations. As with most of his other nominees, Nauert has no experience for the post. While at Fox News, she constantly stoked the flames of anti-Muslim hatred and also claimed that migrant children were disease-carriers. When her hearings come up, her inexperience will be laid out for all to see. But, given how they’ve dealt with previous nominees, Republicans will not doubt do the expected thing and band together to confirm her.

The American Prospect reports on another Trump appointee, David Cornstein. Although he is not widely known, Cornstein is the U.S. Ambassador to Hungary. He is important for our purposes here because, as The Prospect notes: “The most overtly anti-Semitic leader of a European nation since Adolf Hitler, (Victor) Orbán is now the target of daily demonstrations from an increasingly unified group of Hungary’s previously squabbling and fissiparous opposition. His take-over of the nation’s independent media, his closing of Budapest’s Central European University, his supplanting the nation’s independent judiciary, his anti-immigrant and anti-Jewish demagogy had already infuriated Hungarians of various political stripes—all but the rural, more elderly ultra-nationalists who constitute his party’s base of support.” (Harold Meyerson, The American Prospect, December 20, 2018) Cornstein is, as the article notes: “an octogenarian New Yorker and lifelong Republican. Representing the United States in the midst of the most anti-Semitic, anti-democratic Western regime we’ve seen since the 1940s, Trumpier-Than-Thou Cornstein—who is Jewish—has yet to find anything worthy of his condemnation or even concern. He’s called Orbán a ‘friend,’ found nothing upsetting in Orban’s ordering the Central European University to close its doors, and said he’s seen no evidence of the nation’s movement towards authoritarianism. The Hungarian government, not surprisingly, was happy to repeat Cornstein’s remarks. In addition, he has made no comment on Orban’s appointment of the owner of a notoriously anti-Semitic magazine, who has condemned as too harsh the sentences handed out at the Nuremberg War Crimes Trials, to head the nation’s new Holocaust museum.” In other words, Cornstein seems to be a rather typical typical Trump appointee—and almost no one is saying anything about it.

Other appointments are equally disturbing. Andrew Smith was installed to head the Federal Trade Commission’s Bureau of Consumer Protection. This raises a number of questions, according to People’s Action: “Given that Smith previously worked for four years at the law firm Covington & Burling, representing an enormous number of corporate clients, including companies under active investigation by the FTC—including Equifax, Uber, and Facebook—one of those questions is: How will the FTC ensure against conflicts of interest? Smith’s financial disclosure form, obtained by Public Citizen, lists his work on behalf of big banks, payday lenders, pawn shops, credit reporting companies, pharmaceutical firms, and perhaps worst of all, the Dallas Cowboys. So Public Citizen filed a Freedom of Information Act request for all documents related to Smith’s financial disclosure and potential conflicts of interest, as well as how the agency would ensure Smith’s recusal from matters involving former clients. The FOIA request produced 495 pages worth of material, another hint at just how deep the conflicts run—but the pages were almost entirely redacted. Virtually no information is exposed in the document release other than the email headers and footers of Smith, his designated agency ethics officer Lorielle Pankey, and a handful of other FTC officials. Also included are copies of a presidential executive order on ethics and a letter from Sen. Elizabeth Warren, D-Mass., expressing concern about Smith’s appointment; both were already publicly available.” (Jeff Bryant, People’s Action, August 31, 2018)

All this conclusively demonstrates that the criminally corrupt Donald Trump has surrounded himself with equally criminal toadies who will cater to his every whim, stoke his ego, and do everything in their power to destroy the agencies they have been appointed to lead. But these people are far from being the only corrupt leaders in the country: Virtually every other Republican in power is equally dishonest and/or corrupt to some degree. It is time now to expose some of their corruption.

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REPUBLICANS—CORRUPT TO THE CORE

I will begin this segment with a rather long, but necessary quotation from Daily Kos which illustrates just how corrupt the Republican party has become in recent decades: “…is Trump an aberration or a symptom of increasing malignancy? How far back do we have to go to find a Republican president who fulfilled his duties with honor? Nixon set the precedent for criminal behavior in the modern Republican party with the break in and theft of DNC materials. The criminal cover-up of those crimes led to his resignation, thanks to pressure from Republicans with a modicum of shame and honor. Reagan followed up a half decade later by negotiating for Iran to keep our hostages until he became president. Then, during his term, he either ignored or approved the illegal selling of arms to Iran and using the proceeds to illegally fund Contra rebels in Nicaragua. Now, Reagan is practically considered a saint, while members of his administration who carried out the crimes are revered among Republicans. George HW Bush might have been the most honorable of the modern lot, but he was caught up in Iran-Contra too, and later invaded Panama on dubious pretenses before starting the decades long military intervention in Iraq. George W. Bush, under false pretenses, eventually invaded Iraq, which killed and hurt millions of people, and which has been a significant contributor to instability in the region to this day. Let’s also not forget the previously unacceptable torture that Bush Jr approved. Perhaps we have to go back to Eisenhower to find honor in a Republican president. Or, maybe George HW Bush was the only honorable modern Republican president. At best, he was forced to bloody his hands as all presidents must do in this imperfect world. Still, Iran-Contra, Panama and Iraq hang over him. Yet, that is not what kept him from a second term. That happened because he committed a sin that was unforgivable to proponents of supply-side economics; he broke a promise of no new taxes. This hints at why modern Republicans cannot govern with honor. Their philosophy prevents it.” (Daily Kos, July 19, 2018)

That philosophy is crystal-clear to anyone who makes an honest effort to find out the truth about this party. They campaign on a platform that government is the enemy and they want to get it “off the backs” of the American people. They tell their constituents what they want to hear, then do what they want to do. When their words come back to haunt them, they deny they said them or attack the person/group that dares to report them. Republicans are vehemently anti-tax. They idolize the wealthy, and ignore any possible criminal means by which that wealth might have been attained. Poverty is either ignored or else stated to be a “choice” the disadvantaged have made. Homosexuality is also viewed as a “choice,” as if members of the LGBTQ community sat down one summer day and decided they would only be attracted to members of the same sex. The increasing economic disparity between the super-rich and everyone else is ignored; under Republican policies, the gap constantly widens.

A bit of history is called for at this point. Until the 1970s, the nation’s middle class enjoyed rising levels of prosperity and growth in living standards. Although the growth slowed in the late 1970s due to a number of factors (including a recession and global economic competition), the beginning of the end occurred in the 1980s, during the presidency of Ronald Reagan. It was during this time that the term “voodoo economics” came into use, and it refers to the “trickle-down” theory that if rich mega-corporations were financially rewarded, they would pass along their savings to their workers. In this scenario, everyone benefits. Acting on this theory, Reagan cut the top income tax rate in half while simultaneously slashing public assistance programs. The results were predictable: The super rich were able to gobble up more and more of the nation’s wealth, while everyone else was forced to foot the bill. Wages for middle class workers plummeted and, of course, the promised benefits never “trickled-down” to anyone. The top one percent enjoyed greater prosperity while the middle class slowly began to shrink. Organized labor was also attacked by Reagan, a trait that has since escalated as Republicans have gained more and more political clout.

In 1981, the Professional Air Traffic Controllers Organization (PATCO) went on strike. Reagan’s response was to fire over ten thousand of these government employees, an action that harmed the aviation system and also sent out warnings to all unions across the country. Leaving unions moribund has greatly reduced the power of American workers; job security is much more tenuous today than at any previous time in our nation’s history. Worker benefits have also spiraled downward.

Graft and corruption were the hallmarks and the legacy of the Reagan years: During his administration, a record 138 of his appointees were indicted for various crimes. The whole point of bringing all this up is that Reagan and his successors have no problem whatever with corporate welfare, although they oppose it for everyone else.

Contrary to what Republicans would have the rest of us believe, Reagan’s legacy is an overwhelmingly negative one: Currently, American’s trust of their government is at an all time low. Today’s Republicans couldn’t care less about the people they are supposed to serve. The middle class has all but vanished due to Reaganomics which to this day forms the cornerstone of Republican economic policy. Income inequality is greater than at any time in our nation’s history, and has directly led to an increase in ethnic hatred, stereotyping, and violence. Communities are dissolving into factional groups that scream at each other but refuse to listen. More and more people are losing their jobs due to corporate downsizing, the number of homeless people increases by the day, and violence and mass shootings have become every day occurrences.

And still Republicans blame the Democrats for the current state of affairs.

Fundamentalist Christianity plays an integral role in the increasingly swamp-like atmosphere of the Republican Party. I will be covering this in some detail in a subsequent chapter. Here, I will simply provide one example of the corruption inherent when separation between church and state is ignored. The above-cited Daily Kos article weighs in: “Fundamentalist Christians are particularly prone to concealing their true intentions. They fervently believe that they must do god’s will, which they believe is opposed at every turn by evil beings, including nonbelieving humans. Therefore, in order to assist in reestablishing god’s dominion over earth, they are free to use the weapons of deception and cheating in the ongoing spiritual war. In fact, they are not entirely good Christian soldiers if they fail to incorporate these tools into their arsenal.” And then, they have the gall to proclaim themselves the party of morality!

The article concludes on an ominous note: “When truth is optional, facts may be the enemy. Only facts that confirm their worldview are acceptable. Therefore, rational and critical thinking are discouraged. Education is not necessary in their ‘real world’, so, it is thusly scorned. With a dearth of facts and reality supporting their stances, the entire Republican movement has shifted to a cult of mythology and personality. Democrats and liberals are ugly creatures inhabiting dimly lit television commercials. Republicans are heroes simply for opposing heinous Democrats. Above all is the mythology that shall not be questioned. Republicans are for law and order. They support our troops. They are fiscally responsible. They are better for the economy. Facts be damned…One by one, facts and reality disprove the Republican myths. But, they are too invested to heed the facts. They risk annihilation and eternal damnation should they change course. They must maintain control and not give in to alternative explanations. Ostensibly dishonorable acts are simply misinterpreted as such by loathsome nonbelievers and liberals, according to Republican mythology. They have to act as they do. To them, it’s a holy war. They believe that it’s an us or them world. If blacks or immigrants gain, white people must lose. Never mind the stagnant wages and growing inequality. We must give to the rich…When warranted, Democrats have demonstrated time and again a willingness to admit mistakes and to adapt. Republicans lie and cheat to avoid changing course, and, therefore, act with dishonor. It sullies not just their name. It threatens the survival of our constitutional republic, as well as, with climate change accelerating, everything up to and including modern civilization. Until and unless they are able to step away from the corner they have backed into, Republicans will continue to push towards a dark precipice. If we cross that threshold, it will not be good for any of us. The winners will have to rebuild from the ruins, with no guarantee that they can even get back to where we are now.” (Daily Kos, July 19, 2018)

With this excellent summary of today’s Republican party and the dire threat it poses to our survival, let us now turn to their current stances on key issues and the actions they are undertaking.

Embolden by their victories in the 2016 elections, Republicans have made every effort to consolidate their interests, marginalize the Democratic party, and attack any group perceived to be a threat. People’s Action focused on Florida Rep. Vern Buchanan: “A recently filed financial disclosure shows U.S. Rep. Vern Buchanan celebrated passing the House version of the Republican tax bill in quite the lavish way. According to the disclosure, Buchanan spent between $1 million and $5 million purchasing an Ocean Alexander yacht on Nov. 16, 2017, the same day he joined 226 other Republicans and no Democrats in voting for the first draft of the ‘Tax Cuts and Jobs Act.’ It’s no secret that Buchanan, who represents Florida’s 16th Congressional District, is a wealthy man. According to a Roll Call report, his $73.9 million net worth makes him the eighth wealthiest member of Congress, and by far the wealthiest from the Sunshine State—U.S. Rep. Tom Rooney is $19 million behind in the No. 11 spot. Given his net worth and income, progressive group Tax March estimated that the bill would save him up to $2.1 million on his taxes. That’s most of the way to a yacht, which likely trended toward the higher end of the reported range given that Ocean Alexander’s least expensive model—the 70-foot 70E Motoryacht—has a base price of $3.25 million.’” (Tobita Chow, People’s Action, July 12, 2018)

It is certainly no secret that literally dozens of Republicans in Congress gained millions of dollars from the tax scam foisted on the American people. Clearly, enriching themselves and their millionaire/billionaire donors and supporters is top priority, even as everyone else is forced to foot the bill.

With this in mind, the past forty-five years have seen the richest Americans become increasingly richer. People’s Action informs us: “The United States ended the 20th century on a roll—for the rich. Between 1973 and 2000, the nation’s most prosperous 1 percent tripled their incomes, after taking inflation into account. The top tenth of that 1 percent did quite a bit better. Their incomes more than quintupled between 1973 and 2000, rising 414.6 percent. And what about the other 90 percent of Americans ? Their incomes rose 2.6 percent. Something went horribly wrong over the last quarter of the 20th century. And so far in century 21, our decision makers in Washington have done their best to make things even worse.” (Sam Pizzigati, People’s Action, July 16, 2018) The tax scam foisted on America late in 2017 only serves to escalate this trend.

If you listen to Republicans, you would think that the “war on poverty” is over and their policies are the cause of the ‘victory.’ People’s Action paints a very different picture: “President Trump’s Council of Economic Advisers concluded that America’s long-running war on poverty ‘is largely over and a success.’ While the council’s conclusion makes for a dramatic headline, it simply does not align with the reality of poverty in the U.S. today. Poverty exists in all areas of the country, but the population living in high-poverty neighborhoods has increased over time. Following the Great Recession, some 14 million people lived in extremely poor neighborhoods, more than twice as many as had done so in 2000. Some areas saw some dramatic growth in their poor populations living in high-poverty areas. Given the complexity of poverty as a civic issue, decision makers should understand the full range of evidence about the circumstances of the poor. This is especially important before undertaking a major change to the social safety net such as broad-based work requirements for those receiving non-cash assistance.” (Richard Eskow, People’s Action, July 20, 2018) To this I need only add that the number of homeless people living on the streets has dramatically increased since Trump became president. The announcement that the “war on poverty” is over must have come as a surprise to the nation’s forty million Americans who live at or below the poverty line.

I have received emails from Trump supporters who gloat about how “great” the economy is under Trump. There are many angles to this. First of all, the economy as I write this is about the same as it was during the last years of Barack Obama’s administration. However gas prices are higher than ever, and overall wages are on a steady decline. But as justification, Trump’s supporters invariably look to the stock market, as if stock prices are benefitting everyone. But what Trump’s supporters either cannot or will not realize is that governmental policies as a rule take between three to five years to affect the economy. Trump inherited a very stable and prosperous economy from his predecessor. By contrast, Presidents Clinton and Obama inherited major economic downslides, and within several years had uprighted the sinking ship. The facts, the numbers, and the evidence are transparent and readily available to anyone seeking the truth about economics. Only those blinded by their political faith will continue to credit Donald Trump for the status of the current economy.

The irony of the economic situation (as it stands at the end of 2018) is that many of the people who voted for Trump will be among the hardest hit by his policies. As People’s Action reports: “Times are tough all across rural America. Nationwide numbers paint a rosy picture of accelerating growth and near-full employment. Swaths of the countryside tell a different story, its protagonists barely scraping by as their jobs drain away in the downturns and don’t come back in the booms. The economic divide maps onto a political one, which only deepened in this month’s midterm elections. President Donald Trump claims credit for a vibrant economy. America’s rural landscape is dotted with reminders of where the jobs used to be. In Clay County, it’s empty smokestacks, fossils of a vanished coal economy. Federal money rescued rural America after the Great Depression of the 1930s, as the government poured resources into job-creating investments. Today, Washington’s main presence in places like Clay County is the U.S. Department of Agriculture. It helps with everything from building houses to providing medical services. Clay County got a $50,000 grant this year for an ambulance, an urgent need in a region blighted by opioid addiction. The agency also helped bring wireless Internet to remote areas. That creates opportunities for people to ‘make good wages from their home,’ said Anne Hazlett, the USDA’s assistant to the secretary for rural development. But the Trump administration plans to cut USDA funding by 16 percent in fiscal 2019, and revamp the food stamps it distributes.” (George Goehl, People’s Action, November 29, 2018)

A word about the stock market is in order here. More than half of the American citizens don’t own a single stock share, while ten percent own eighty percent of shares in the market. Elizabeth Warren, one of the few real progressives on today’s political scene, notes: “…when our biggest American companies focus only on rewarding shareholders with record profits, they are literally working to make the richest Americans richer. Meanwhile, workers are more productive than ever and make trillions of dollars in profits for their employers—while their wages just stay flat.” (Elizabeth Warren, letter to constituents, 2018) Rather than just moan about the economic injustices of a system that allows the richest Americans to pour so much money into their bank accounts while the producers of that wealth see little change in their paychecks, Warren has authored a bill entitled: “The Accountable Capitalism Act.” This act has a fourfold purpose which Warren lists in her letter: “1) Requires the biggest American companies—those that make more than a billion dollars a year in revenue—to get a new federal charter that considers the interests of workers and other stakeholders; 2) Bans top corporate executives from selling any shares of company stock for five years, or three years after a stock buyback; 3) Requires companies to let their workers elect at least 40% of the company’s board, and; 4) Stops corporate executives from making political contributions in the name of the corporation without getting the approval of 75% of the directors and shareholders.” Warren summarizes: “These rules aren’t just good for workers—they’re good for our economy. When corporations put profits into improving their business and paying their workers more, they’re investing in our country’s long-term growth—not just the short-time payout for rich investors.” Germany has already enacted similar legislation. People’s Action weighs in on this: “It works in Germany, where half of the members of boards of directors for large corporations are chosen by workers. They maintain a positive trade balance, unlike the United States, which suffers a sustained and massive trade deficit and workers make about $10 an hour more than their U.S. counterparts.” (Leo Gerard, People’s Action, August 22, 2018)

Republican response to the bill was swift and completely removed from reality. They called it an attack on capitalism and that it would “destroy everything.” In fact, the bottom line is that the bill would require corporations to do more than just line its own pockets while ignoring the needs of consumers. The situation got worse during the Reagan years. As CREDO Action tells us: “Corporations only exist because government-granted charters allow them to profit, for instance, by protecting owners from full liability for anything the corporation does wrong. In return, corporate boards and executives used to believe they had a responsibility to do right by workers and communities as well as competing in the market. That all changed in the 1980s, when corporate executives began to focus narrowly on providing value to shareholders. The result? Executives get paid based on how much they can squeeze workers without regard for their health, the environment or the impact on communities. Focusing on shareholder value poured fuel on the flames of inequality. Today, CEOs make on average of 361 times more than their average worker, and the few Americans who own stock get most of the wealth created. Meanwhile, many companies aren’t innovating, investing in future production or raising wages…The hate from right-wing Republicans and their Wall Street allies for this plan betrays their loyalty to the super-wealthy over widespread economic growth and raising wages.” (Josh Nelson, CREDO Action, August 30, 2018) Anyone who looks at the numbers objectively will come to the obvious conclusion that “voodoo economics,” whether in the Reagan years or the Trump years, is utter nonsense.

Warren has introduced the most sweeping anti-corruption bill in Congress that has been seen in decades. Called the Anti-Corruption and Public Integrity Act would, if passed, end business as usual in Washington. Although long, Warren’s email to her constituents needs to be quoted in full. She outlines six of her bill’s main ideas: “1) Padlock the revolving door between big business and government. Right now, Goldman Sachs has so many former employees in the Trump administration that they could open up a new branch. They’ve given obscene bonuses and payouts to executives like Gary Cohn to go work on the inside and stick taxpayers with a massive corporate tax cut. We need to make sure government works for the people, not for officials’ previous and future employers. 2) Stop public officials from using their government position to pad their own pockets and help out their former employers. That starts at the very top—with the President of the United States. Presidents shouldn’t own companies while they’re running the country; and they should disclose their financial interests to the public. But we shouldn’t stop there. Members of Congress and leaders and high-level executive branch officials shouldn’t own and trade individual stocks—whose value they could influence with their policy decisions. 3) End lobbying as we know it. Armies of corporate influence-peddlers flood the halls of Congress every day, but many aren’t even required to register as lobbyists. Let’s start by fixing the crummy definition of a lobbyist. And we should shine a light on ALL influence-peddling in Washington—and stop lobbyists from trading money for government favors. We can go even further by placing a lifetime ban on lobbying by high-ranking ex-officials like former members of Congress and Cabinet Secretaries. 4) Stop corporations from working in the shadows to undermine public interest rules. Make federal agencies work for the public—not powerful industries like big oil. We can start by ending the practice of corporate bigwigs paying experts to write sham studies designed to prevent agencies from writing strong public interest rules. If conflicted studies don’t meet minimum scientific standards, agencies shouldn’t be required to consider them. And let’s empower the public to make sure that companies can’t break the rules and agencies aren’t asleep at the wheel. 5) Restore public faith in our courts and give ordinary people a fair shake. No one should have to defend themselves in front of federal judges with conflicts of interest. We can stop corporate interests from funding fancy junkets for judges. We can put tough ethical standards in place. And we can make it easier for everyone to get their day in court. 6) Hire a new independent sheriff to police corruption. They’ll watch over Washington like a hawk and swoop in to strike back against corruption—wherever and whenever it happens.” (Elizabeth Warren, letter to constituents, August 21, 2018)

The implications of this act are staggering: It would put a lifetime ban on lobbying for presidents, vice presidents, members of Congress, federal judges, and Cabinet Secretaries. It would require both the president and vice president to place all assets that might present a conflict of interest in a blind trust to be sold off. It would require the Internal Revenue Service to release eight years of tax returns for all presidential and vice presidential candidates. It would also require them to release their tax returns each year they are in office. The IRS would also release two years of tax returns for each member of Congress, as well as require them to release their returns each year they are in office. It would also ban members of Congress, Cabinet secretaries, federal judges, senior congressional staff members, and White House staff members from owning individual stocks while they are in office.

It is perhaps a pipe dream to envision this legislation from actually being passed, but if the media actually reports on it (unlikely in and of itself) the American people will be presented with an opportunity to make government work for them again—instead of the other way around.

Now consider the situation of corporate debt. At present, it stands at about 6.3 trillion dollars. This is an utterly unfathomable number. Daily Cos weighs in: “Optimists point out that corporate cash reserves of $2.3 trillion can easily service that debt. The problem is that the Companies with the cash aren’t the Companies with the debt. The cash is with the 200 profitable giants like Apple, Google, Microsoft, and Amazon. The debt is held by Companies that are barely able to service their debt. So, with the increases in interest rates this year, you might expect that it has all got a bit too much for some Companies to handle and the numbers support that view. Chapter 11 bankruptcies, according to Business Insider are up 63% this year. If you couple this to the fact that the uptick in wages has been canceled out by inflation, you get a picture of an economy that is pretty unhealthy. The surface gloss provided by cheap money can hide the dry rot within for only so long.” (Anne Elk, Daily Kos, August 10, 2018)

Daily Kos paints a disturbing picture of American poverty: “Fifty-years ago, Lyndon Johnson declared war on poverty. He expanded food stamps and the created Medicare and Medicaid, which changed millions of lives for the better. However, as Martin Luther King explained, America also needed to fight racism, economic inequality, worker mistreatment, and militarism. MLK believed that without an integrated approach we would never defeat poverty and live up to our ideals. Today there are two Americas: one for the rich, and one for the rest. Rich America is the land of plenty, with luxury cars, renowned universities, innovative companies, and smiling families. Yet, most Americans live in the ‘other’ America. This ‘other America’ lags well behind Europe and Japan in health, quality-of-life, and opportunity. Last year, nearly half of low-income Americans put off medical care due to costs. American life expectancy is decreasing, and is several years shorter than Japan’s. American children lack the educational and economic opportunities of their European peers, and our level of inequality falls between Lithuania’s and Turkey’s. We have the second highest poverty rate among wealthy nations, and nearly 15% of Americans will experience hunger this year. Millions of Americans have third-world standards of living. In Oglala Lakota County, S.D., life expectancy is under 67 years, significantly below the global average. Montgomery County, OH saw over 800 opioid deaths in 2017. In Wheeler County, GA, per capita income is below $9,000 a year. In Flint, MI, nearly 40% of residents live at or below the poverty line.” (Camillus, Daily Kos, July 16, 2018) The article also provides one solution that Republicans would never consider: “Japan’s national government invests in poorer schools to ensure they have adequate resources and good teachers. As a result, unlike in America, poor Japanese students perform nearly as well as their wealthy peers.” And: “France effectively provides universal healthcare that is both affordable and state-of-the-art. Compared to Americans, French patients have broader choice of doctors, wider access to preventative care, and spend far less of their incomes on healthcare. The French system also costs less than half America’s per capita healthcare costs. Each year, thousands of American families face poverty and bankruptcy due to health issues that could be addressed with better coverage.”

People’s Action provides us with some economic facts with regard to Medicare that Republicans will go out of their way to ignore or deny: “A new study from the Mercatus Center at George Mason University is making headlines for projecting that Independent Vermont Sen. Bernie Sanders’s ‘Medicare for All’ bill is estimated to cost $32.6 trillion—a number that’s entirely in line with 2016 projections, and is literally old news. But what the Associated Press headline fails to announce is a much more sanguine update: The report, by Senior Research Strategist Charles Blahous, found that under Sanders’s plan, overall health costs would go down, and wages would go up… the report actually yields a wealth of good news for advocates of Sanders’s plan—a remarkable conclusion, given that Blahous is a former Bush administration economist working at a prominent conservative think tank. Blahous’s paper, titled ‘The Costs of a National Single-Payer Healthcare System,’ estimates total national health expenditures. Even though his cost-saving estimates are more conservative than others, he acknowledges that Sanders’s ‘Medicare for All’ plan would yield a $482 billion reduction in health care spending, and over $1.5 trillion in administrative savings, for a total of $2 trillion less in overall health care expenditures between 2022 and 2031, compared to current spending.” (People’s Action, July 31, 2018)

CREDO Action weighs in on the Medicare/Medicaid situation: “Medicare already covers 40 million Americans over the age of 65, providing quality care at prices that are much lower than the private market. If we start by lowering the Medicare eligibility age, it will provide competition to bloated predatory insurance companies and bring us closer to the day when people are covered from birth. Medicare and Medicaid are our nation’s most-effective and efficient health care programs, but right-wing Republicans have long had their sights set on dismantling our social safety net. Now, Trump is helping them do it. Their ultimate goal has been to end Medicare as we know it and cause skyrocketing premiums and loss of coverage for nearly 57 million of us.” (Josh Nelson, CREDO Action, August 4, 2018)

Republicans rely on long-discredited ideas about poverty. The first of these is that welfare programs make people lazy. The above article states: “This is patently false. Rigorous research into effective anti-poverty programs shows them to benefit both recipients and society. Studies demonstrated that children whose families received expanded Medicaid coverage earned higher wages, worked more, and required less welfare as adults.” The second myth is racist to the core, as well as being transparently false: namely, that certain race groups are the main beneficiaries of welfare. In fact, it is whites who are the largest benefactors of Medicaid, food stamps and welfare. Yet another myth is that assisting the poor in any way is a waste of money. A study from Columbia University has found the opposite to be true: Without such programs, the nation’s unemployment rate would likely double, and the number of those below the poverty line would rise to 30% of the American people.

Republicans were able to turn the 2016 presidential defeat into a victory by a number of dubious means. One of these is the gerrymandering they have undertaken to re-district communities in their favor. Another is their ongoing efforts to keep minorities, who tend to vote Democratic, away from polling places. A third method is the use of dark money in elections. Simply put, they don’t want their donors names and the amounts they have received from them to be public knowledge. The disastrous Citizens United ruling of 2010 has been discussed in my previous articles, and I need not repeat myself here other than to note that, when it was passed, the right-wing Supreme Court promised that the spending would be accompanied by disclosure, which of course it wasn’t. But Republicans haven’t settled for this victory. Common Cause reports that: “the Trump Administration issued a new Treasury Department and IRS policy that will empower wealthy special interests to let secret money donors stay anonymous. The new policy will make it harder to investigate red flags about money that is illegally laundered into our elections.” (Karen Hobert Flynn, Common Cause, July 18, 2018)

While politicians of both parties accept unlimited donations and then act in the interests of those individuals rather than the general public, the Republican party is many times worse than the Democratic party. Senator John Barrasso (R-Wy) is nothing more than a shill for the fossil fuel industry and cares not a whit about how dirty fuel affects our planet and the life on it. CREDO Action reports: “Republican Sen. John Barrasso, longtime friend of the fossil fuel industry and enemy of the ESA, recently proposed new legislation to severely weaken the decades-old law that has saved dozens of endangered species and helped the recovery of hundreds more…under Sen. Barrasso’s purely political, unscientific proposal, these incredible gains to protect imperiled animal and plant species could be completely wiped out. His legislation would shift much of the broad protection authorities away from the federal government and onto the states, that lack the resources to protect endangered species. It’s no surprise that Sen. Barrasso has been leading the charge to gut the ESA: He is one of the fossil fuel and mining industries’ top recipients of campaign cash. From 2011 to 2016, Barrasso received more than $700,000 from extractive industries that are eager to exploit the land that endangered species inhabit. And, as a result, Barrasso has been more than willing to do the industry’s bidding. He has a long legislative record attacking the ESA, having led the charge on 10 bills to gut the ESA and voting against the law nearly a dozen times.” (Josh Nelson, CREDO Action, July 20, 2018)

Adam Schiff discusses the Trump administration’s stance on this issue and how dark money corrupts our government: “President Trump’s Treasury Department just announced they’re no longer requiring certain nonprofit groups to disclose to the IRS the names of donors who give $5,000 or more to these politically active organizations. These donations were already secret, but at least they had to be reported. Now, they have turned on the green light for any corporate interest or billionaire to try to buy our elections, and even made it much easier for foreign money to flow to these ‘fly by night’ groups. This means even more dark money in politics, especially for conservative groups like the NRA which has been suspected of illegally accepting secret donations from foreign donors.” (Adam Schiff, email to constituents, July 23, 2018)

Thanks to the disastrous Citizens United ruling back in 2013, dark money has had a corrosive influence in the electoral process. An estimated $1.4 billion was spent in the 2016 presidential election by SuperPACs and various dark money groups. Corporate Accountability tells us how that money is used: “How did they spend that money? On nasty attack ads, misleading information about critical issues, and tricks designed to prevent people from going to the polls. Corporate interests poured money into these groups to elect candidates who would promote their own agendas—knowing they could remain anonymous. It’s corrupting our democracy—and it’s getting worse every election.” (Taylor Leake, Corporate Accountability, August 13, 2018)

As Rootstrikers informs us: “The wealthiest of the already wealthy want to use their money and influence to buy politicians and elections outright—and they want to be shrouded in secrecy while they do it.” (Reuben Hayslett, Rootstrikers, July 28, 2018) To counter this, Congressional Democrats have introduced the DISCLOSE Act which if passed would force dark money groups to reveal their donors. Several states have already passed similar legislation, but unless it is passed at the federal level, the charade of “free elections” will continue.

For years, Republicans have made attempts to privatize the Post Office. Trump has issued an executive order to “reform” and “re-structure” the Post Office, which only means that he wants to privatize it. It’s all part of the Republican’s plan to eliminate all public programs.

Another part of this is seen in Trump’s plan to eliminate funding for public libraries. The fact that libraries are vital for community services is irrelevant to an administration determined to line the pockets of the richest 1% at the expense of everyone else.

In my article “How We Are Becoming a Third-World Country,” I focused a great deal on the corrupt Mitch McConnell, the Senate Majority leader since 2015. A minor milestone was reached in July 2018, as reported by Daily Kos: “Former Republican strategist Steve Schmidt, who recently renounced his Republican affiliation and left the party, pulled no punches when it comes to Mitch McConnell. Schmidt noted the Senate Majority Leader has been ‘up to his eyeballs’ in this entire Russian affair and makes the case that it is time for Republican senators to remove Mitch McConnell from power and elect a new Senate Majority Leader who will right the ship…Senator McConnell and congressional Republican leaders have never taken a stand against Trump’s vile rhetoric. That’s because the hate emanating from Trump’s mouth reflects the Republican Party’s agenda here in the United States Senate for the past seven and a half years. The agenda that Senator McConnell himself promoted. For years, Senator McConnell and other Republican leaders embraced the darkest elements within their party. The Republican Party made anti-woman, anti-Latino, anti-Muslim, anti-immigrant, and anti-Obama policies the norm. Trump is the logical conclusion of what Republican leaders have been saying and doing for seven and a half years. By refusing to denounce Trump’s attack on a federal judge for the racism it clearly connotes, it shows Senator McConnell is the poster boy for Republicans’ spinelessness that allowed Donald Trump to be the Republican nominee for president of the United States.” (Jen Hayden, Daily Kos, July 18, 2018)

More and more individual Republican leaders are being exposed as the corrupt officials they are. People’s Action tells us of one of them: “Rep. Chris Collins (R-N.Y.), the first member of Congress to back President Donald Trump before the 2016 election, was indicted Wednesday by federal prosecutors and charged with fraud in connection to an alleged insider-trading scheme linked to his investments in an Australian biotech firm. The third-term congressman, who represents a district in western New York, had been under scrutiny from the Office of Congressional Ethics for his connection to the company, Innate Immunotherapeutics. He was the company’s largest shareholder and served on its board. Prosecutors say that in 2017, Collins passed inside information to his son, Cameron, who passed it to another alleged conspirator, Stephen Zarsky, father of Cameron Collins’ fiancee. The three—who were arraigned Wednesday afternoon in New York and pleaded not guilty to charges of securities fraud, wire fraud and making false statements to the FBI—and other family and friends avoided about $768,000 in losses as a result of the inside information, prosecutors allege.” (Robert Borosage, People’s Action, August 9, 2018)

There are so many fanatics and general nut cases in the Republican party that a listing of just their names would probably fill a book. One of the most extreme of all is Alex Jones, a Texas-based radio show host who also has his own website that espouses all kinds of ridiculous conspiracy theories, such as the idea that the Sandy Hook elementary school shooting was a hoax, that September 11, 2001 was planned by the U.S. government, and that nobody ever landed on the moon. He also bought into the idea of Hillary Clinton’s fictional pedophile ring. The Los Angeles Times ran a compellingly sarcastic article on Jones which begins: “During child custody hearings last year, a lawyer for Alex Jones, America’s leading far-right paranoiac, claimed his client was ‘playing a character’ on his ‘Infowars’ radio show and on websites. Jones’ ex-wife, Kelly Jones, testified that her former husband was a violent basket case. ‘He is not a stable person. He says he wants to break Alex Baldwin’s neck. He wants J-Lo to get raped.’ Jones lawyer countered that his client was a ‘performance artist.’ Ah. An artist. So Jones is faking his argument that NASA faked the 1969 moon landing. That the 1995 Oklahoma City bombing by American terrorist Timothy McVeigh was a government op. That the 2012 massacre in Newtown, Conn. by addled misogynist Adam Lanza was staged. That white genocide is nigh. And that just this week, Democrats were planning a ‘second civil war’ to destroy the United States on Independence Day.” (Virginia Heffernan, Los Angeles Times, July 8, 2018) Only in today’s rabid political climate would a lunatic like Jones even be allowed on the airwaves.

Simply put, the entire Republican leadership is corrupt to the core, and their defenses of Trump and involvement in other activities proves they are traitors to their country. Daily Kos, using the Russian scandal as just one example of their treachery, notes: “for the most part, the Republican Party has dithered between silence and outright surrender in the face of this Russian aggression—aggression that has extended to brazenly murdering allies. And Trump and his Republicans don’t care, and haven’t, since the day that top Republicans Paul Ryan and Kevin McCarty were taped saying that they believed that Trump and other Republicans were literally on the Kremlin payroll. But they got their tax cuts and Supreme Court seats, so what do they care? I f they had to surrender their country to their historical boogeyman to enact their agenda, well, it was an acceptable price to make. That is called treason. And most Republicans aren’t even hiding it anymore. There are the eight Republicans who went to Moscow during the Fourth of July weekend, paying respects to their new bosses—Sens. Richard Shelby (R-AL), John Kennedy (R-LA), John Hoeven (R-ND), Jerry Moran (R-KS), Steve Daines (R-MT), John Thune (R-SD), Ron Johnson (R-WI) and Rep. Kay Granger (R-TX). No Democrats were invited for obvious reasons. We’re not traitors to our nation. There are the Republicans who outright defend Russia, unafraid to take our traditional foe’s side over that of our own country.” (Daily Kos, July 16, 2018)

Republican leaders absolutely refuse to call Trump to task for his crimes and attacks on the Constitution. Senator Orrin Hatch said: “you can make anything a crime under current law,” and that even if Trump committed a crime he doesn’t care because “he’s doing a good job as president.” This stunning statement is typical of how today’s Republicans think, to say nothing of how they view the law: As long as he’s on our side, we’ll stand by him, the laws and the Constitution be damned. They have put party above the country—exactly what Hitler’s henchmen did during the Second World War. The parallels between that conflict and today will be more closely examined in a later chapter.

Imagine if Hillary Clinton had won the presidency and it emerged that there was considerable evidence showing her collusion with the Russians. Democrats, unlike Republicans, would demand an investigation. They are statesmen/women first. The Republicans aren’t. It’s really that simple.

As yet another example of the fascistic nature of today’s Republican party, consider the recent activity in North Carolina, as covered by Daily Kos: “North Carolina Republicans escalated their assault on democracy to yet another level on Friday when state party executive director Dallas Woodhouse issued a barely disguised threat to impeach the Democratic justices on the state Supreme Court if they block the GOP’s attempt to put several deceptively worded constitutional amendments on the November ballot, an effort that’s been widely criticized as a partisan power grab.​ In other words, Republicans are telling the justices, ‘Rule the way we want or we’ll boot you out of your jobs’—making no attempt whatsoever to disguise their contempt for the rule of law and judicial independence… North Carolina Republicans are not alone in their crusade to undermine the very notion of an independent judiciary. Earlier this year, Pennsylvania Republicans threatened to impeach their state Supreme Court after it struck down the GOP’s congressional gerrymander and replaced it with a fairer map. After an uproar, these Republicans backed down, but their counterparts in North Carolina have shown they’ll stop at nothing to cling to power, so we know they are shameless enough to follow through.”
(Stephen Wolf, Daily Kos, August 20, 2018) Clearly, these Republicans are power mad and want everyone to kowtow to their demands, yet another sign of Republican’s totalitarian bent.

Republicans also care not a whit about our national parks and monuments; to their way of thinking, these priceless treasures are in the way of the corporate interests they are beholden to. Colorado is home to the Great Sand Dunes National Park, where visitors can see sand dunes as tall as some of our skyscrapers. The park is home to six species of insects which are found nowhere else in the world, and every year, some three hundred thousand visitors visit this uniquely American site. Unfortunately, Environmental Action informs us: “Under a new Trump Administration proposal, oil and gas companies could begin drilling on up to 18,000 acres near this national treasure—and next to the Sangre de Cristo Wilderness Area. This area contains some of America’s most pristine wilderness and headwaters. Should we: industrialize our beautiful public lands—and the home of six species found nowhere else on the planet—for the sake of fossil fuel companies? Threaten local water supplies with waste from drilling and fracking operations? Destroy our public lands just to double down on dirty fossil fuels that can cause toxic spills and make climate change worse? The answer is clear: we owe it to future generations to be responsible stewards of irreplaceable places like Great Sand Dunes National Park and the wild areas nearby.” (Environmental Action, July 23, 2018) None of this means anything to Republicans, of course. People’s Action reports: “In a quest to shrink national monuments last year, senior Interior Department officials dismissed evidence that these public sites boosted tourism and spurred archaeological discoveries, according to documents the department released this month and retracted a day later. The thousands of pages of email correspondence chart how Interior Secretary Ryan Zinke and his aides instead tailored their survey of protected sites to emphasize the value of logging, ranching and energy development that would be unlocked if they were not designated national monuments.” (Richard Eskow, People’s Action, July 24, 2018)

Another national treasure under threat by Republican legislation is the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge, one of the few remaining wild areas in America that hasn’t been opened to oil and gas extraction. Wildlife Conservation Society informs us that the refuge is: “home to 700 kinds of plants, 200 bird species, 47 different species of mammals, and 42 fish species. The Refuge provides important habitat for caribou, wolverines, polar bears, Arctic foxes, and birds that migrate from as far as the Amazon, Patagonia, and Bangladesh. It’s a one-of-a-kind place. If we allow it to be despoiled, it will never be the same. Last year, Congress passed legislation that required that the Coastal Plain of the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge be opened for oil and gas leasing. Since then, we’ve seen the Administration move quickly to start development.” (John F. Calvelli, Wildlife Conservation Society, July 24, 2018) To Republicans, desecrating our national treasures is standard operating procedure.

Then there is the Grand Staircase-Escalante National Monument in Utah. Sierra Club tells us: “Grand Staircase-Escalante has more Late Cretaceous fossils than any other site in the world, and paleontologists have only surveyed six percent of the monument so far. Archaeologists have also identified over 5,000 sites since the monument’s creation.” (Lena Moffitt, Sierra Club, August 25, 2018) The utah.com website calls it: “A Delaware-sized museum of sedimentary erosion that walks you down through a 200-million-year-old staircase of animals (that’s us!), minerals and vegetables—a.k.a the longest, slowest front porch ever. Depending on where you stand, Grand Staircase–Escalante National Monument has been quietly doing its thing for between 275 million and 50 million years. But it’s relatively new to us humans: It was the last part of the lower 48 United States to get cartographed, and once people started poking around they realized they were dealing with an un-spent wealth of ancient and modern science and culture. President Bill Clinton set it aside as a national monument in 1996 because its untrammeled significance distinguishes it for researchers and explorers alike.” This monument is huge, roughly the size of Delaware. Yet, as Environmental Action tells us: “Last year, President Trump slashed the Grand Staircase-Escalante National Monument in half. The legal boundaries of the monument may have shrunk, but the entire area remains home to breathtaking landscapes and endangered wildlife. The difference is: now mining companies can stake claims to develop this precious land. Canadian mining firm Glacier Lake Resources plans to begin a copper mining project in the former Grand Staircase-Escalante National Monument this summer…Copper is mined in massive open pits, which would forever scar Grand Staircase-Escalante’s amazing landscape. Copper mining leads to pollution that damages rivers and streams and impacts sensitive wildlife. Bald eagles and endangered California condors soar over the spires of Grand Staircase-Escalante. The Southwestern willow flycatcher, another of Grand Staircase’s endangered birds, is particularly vulnerable to disruption of the streamside habitat where it makes its nests. Copper extraction could destroy the habitat that these animals depend on to survive. Mining also poses a threat to priceless fossil deposits. Paleontologists have discovered fossils from 37 previously unknown species in the Grand Staircase-Escalante area. Mining has no place on land that is so rich in nature and natural history—land that by all rights should still enjoy legal protection.” (Environmental Action, July 31, 2018)

In my previous articles I have discussed the Bears Ears National Monument in Southeastern Utah. National Resources Defense Council warns of the perils faced by this monument if the Trump administration gets its way: “Roads large enough for gas-guzzling trucks to reach drill sites will be cut through the quiet, red rock valley. Serene landscapes will be ripped open to search for the minerals buried deep underground. And the din and bright lights of machinery will replace the stark quiet and dark skies that make Bears Ears special.” (Kabir Green, NRDC, July 27, 2018)

Trump has an overall plan to privatize our National Parks, which means that national treasures such as Yosemite and Yellowstone will be sold off to the highest bidders—and we all know who has the money to buy them. We also know what will become of them once their sold. Again, frightening threats such as this receive scant coverage in the mainstream media, which is more concerned with items such as discussing the latest police chase.

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THE TAX SCAM

The results of the Republican tax scam, passed in December, 2016, continue to enrich the already rich while ignoring and hurting everyone else. The American Prospect has gone into great detail exposing this scam for what it is. While this is not the place for a long quotation from this magazine, I will focus on just a few salient points: “Like most of Donald Trump’s policy agenda (and the rest of his career and life), the GOP tax cut has been sold on bluster, exaggeration, and outright lies.” (William Rice, The American Prospect, Summer, 2018) Rice goes on to list: “The Top Ten Fallacies About the New Trump-GOP Tax Act.” I quote here the first fallacy: “Even though the Trump tax cuts were originally estimated to lose $1.5 trillion in revenue, supporters claimed the shortfall would be made up through greater economic activity generating more tax revenue at lower rates. No reputable economist agreed. Now, the latest estimate from the Congressional Budget Office is that the Tax Act will in fact add $1.9 trillion to the nation’s debt over the next ten years. We also now know how Trump really intends to pay for his tax cuts: with $1.7 trillion in spending cuts to vital public services, including Medicare, which he promised he’d never touch. Other funding cuts in Trump’s proposed budget include more than $750 billion over ten years from Medicaid (also supposedly sacrosanct under Trump) and subsidized private health insurance; $200 billion–plus from nutrition assistance; and more than $70 billion from low-income disability programs. Millions of Americans would lose services ranging from health care to tuition aid, from housing to food.”

The other nine fallacies in this crucially important article are:
2) It is meant to help working Americans.
3) It will boost the economy and create jobs.
4) The Corporate Tax Cuts Will Raise Worker Pay a lot.
5) It’s Already Responsible for Widespread Worker Bonuses and Wage Hikes.
6) The corporate tax cuts will keep jobs in America.
7) Before the Tax Act, U.S. Corporations Paid the Highest Taxes in the World.
8) It’s a boon to small business.
9) It simplifies the tax code.
10) It doesn’t help Donald Trump.

This expose should get the attention of any thinking American. Kudos to The American Prospect for exposing the tax scam for what it really is. The only thing I need to reiterate here concerns the last point. We will not know how much Trump himself prospers under this scam because, as I have noted in my earlier articles, Trump is in violation of the Emoluments Clause of the Constitution as he refuses to release his tax returns. So the claim that the scam will not help Trump is the exact reversal of the truth: another lie that the administration hopes to sell to an increasingly illiterate and gullible voter base.

Here is a summary of the fallacies along with their refutations:
“It will pay for itself.” The magazine notes: “Even though the Trump tax cuts were originally estimated to lose $1.5 trillion in revenue, supporters claimed the shortfall would be made up through greater economic activity generating more tax revenue at lower rates. No reputable economist agreed. Now, the latest estimate from the Congressional Budget Office is that the Tax Act will in fact add $1.9 trillion to the nation’s debt over the next ten years.” The article goes on to note exactly how Trump and the Republicans in Congress intend to pay for his tax cuts: with 1.7 trillion dollar cuts in public services. Even though he promised not to touch Medicare, this will be one of the key service areas affected. The article goes on to note: “Other funding cuts in Trump’s proposed budget include more than $750 billion over ten years from Medicaid (also supposedly sacrosanct under Trump) and subsidized private health insurance; $200 billion–plus from nutrition assistance; and more than $70 billion from low-income disability programs. Millions of Americans would lose services ranging from health care to tuition aid, from housing to food.” (The American Prospect, Summer 2018 issue)
“It’s meant to help working Americans.” Even though Trump promoted the scam by saying it would help the majority of American workers, the reality is quite different. In fact, if the scam is allowed to come to fruition, the article notes that 83 percent of the benefits will go, not surprisingly, to the wealthiest one percent of Americans. Anyone whose annual income is less than $100,000 per year will wind up paying higher taxes than they would have under the old system.
“It will boost the economy and create jobs.” Almost no economist agrees with this; a November 2017 survey noted that only one out of the 42 economists interviewed thought that the scam would help the economy to grow. The American Prospect article notes that: “Over recent decades, economic growth has actually been stronger after tax increases on the wealthy than after cuts.”
“The corporate tax cuts will raise worker pay a lot.” As with everything else, this flies in the face of the facts; we know how corporations act with increased profits. Far from letting the money ‘trickle down’ to the workers, they hold on to the money and enrich their wealthy shareholders through stock buybacks and dividend increases.
“It’s already responsible for widespread worker bonuses and wage hikes.” The article refutes this claim thusly: “As of mid-June, only 4 percent of workers from just 400 employers (out of the nation’s 5.9 million) had received any kind of payout linked to the tax law. Three-quarters of those payouts were one-time bonuses, not permanent wage increases. Moreover, the $7 billion that workers are getting this year represents just 9 percent of the $77 billion in 2018 business tax cuts estimated so far. The vast majority of the tax cuts are instead going to wealthy CEOs and shareholders: Corporations have announced $484 billion in stock buybacks since the tax plan passed—69 times more than workers are getting in bonuses and raises.”
“The corporate tax cuts will keep jobs in America.” In fact, they encourage outsourcing operations and jobs. One of the ways it does this is by taxing foreign profits at one half the rate of domestic earnings.
“Before the Tax Act, U.S. corporations paid the highest taxes in the world.” This statement ignores all the loopholes in the current tax code. The article notes: “The share of federal tax revenue coming from corporations dropped by more than two-thirds over the past 65 years, and some big companies like General Electric frequently went years without paying any federal income taxes at all.”
“It’s a boon to small business.” More wishful thinking. The fact remains that the biggest beneficiaries are the biggest corporations, including Trump’s various economic enterprises. Again, the Emoluments Clause in the U.S. Constitution prohibits a sitting president from profiting from his office.
“It simplifies the tax code.” The article refutes this as well: “Daniel Shaviro, a tax professor at NYU School of Law, has declared that the new law’s rules for pass-through firms—which make up 95 percent of all businesses—have made the tax system “less efficient, less fair, and more complicated.”
“It doesn’t help Donald Trump.” It is singularly amazing that Republicans have the unmitigated gall to make claims such as this which fly in the face of all known facts. The American Prospect concludes by noting: “…it’s clear that cuts to the top individual rate, the corporate rate, and the pass-through rate all benefit Trump enormously, and the weakening of the estate tax will be a boon to his family. The new law not only failed to close any of the many real-estate loopholes that Trump has exploited for years, it actually opens new ones that are particularly beneficial to the president.”

Simply put, the tax scam is nothing more than a huge giveaway of special-interest tax breaks. It is a product of the Republican party’s culture of corruption. Most Americans strongly disapprove of this scam, even in the face of Republican lies of its alleged verities. As income inequality continues on its upward ascension, as corporate tax profits rise to unimaginable levels, as the average working American continues to pay more and more to support the scam, and as the deficit continues to rise, the Republicans knew that if they were to sell the scam to the American people, they would have to completely lie about its contents and insist that it would benefit everyone. They also knew that they would have to act fast and ram it through Congress before the general public would have time to carefully examine it. People who want to raise tax rates on rich corporations constitute a two-thirds majority over those who want to lower them. Not that this fact has any impact on Republican politicians. Their lies are not fooling anyone but their most vehement supporters.

For example, Trump’s Treasury Secretary Steve Mnuchin promised that the tax overhaul would produce “no absolute tax cut for the upper class.” He also claimed that: “Not only will this tax plan pay for itself, but it will pay down debt.” Again, no reputable economist believes this. The American Prospect article reveals the scale of Mnuchin’s corruption and lies: “Mnuchin repeatedly promised to back up that assertion with an economic analysis from the Treasury staff, claiming at one point that 100 of his staff members were ‘working around the clock’ on it. But it turned out the analysis never existed. Mnuchin made it all up. Meanwhile, he removed from the Treasury website a study by career economists that had concluded that shareholders, not workers, are the main beneficiaries of corporate tax cuts.” (The American Prospect, Summer 2018)

One final quote from this essential article shows us both the secrecy and the urgency of getting the scam passed: “In 2017, it was the public—and Democratic legislators—who were shut out of the process. After releasing the first version of the tax bill on November 2, 2017, congressional Republicans jammed the bill through in a 50-day sprint—an unheard-of pace for a bill of this magnitude and complexity. The House and Senate held a total of zero public hearings on the legislation. They deliberately compressed the legislative schedule to avoid having to face constituents at town halls. At various points during the process, they plunged ahead without analysis of the tax bill’s distributional and macroeconomic effects, even though Republicans had spent years emphasizing the need for such ‘dynamic scoring.’”

The claim that the tax scam will help working Americans is, like all the other claims cited above, patently false. Americans for Tax Fairness informs us that: “…a 40-year-old nonsmoker in Baltimore who is now paying $456 for coverage will see their monthly premium soar to $622 in 2019—or nearly $800 more a year. Nationwide, AARP estimates that older Americans will suffer the steepest price hikes, absorbing a Republican ‘age tax’ of almost $1500 a year for an average 64-year-old.” (Frank Clemente, Americans for Tax Fairness, July 10, 2018)

Supporters of the scam often refer to point number 3 above, that it will somehow create jobs. People’s Action reports on what has really happened: “In the lead-up to the enactment of the Tax Cut and Jobs Act, Donald Trump’s massive tax cut that mostly benefited rich people and big corporations, a coalition of powerful business interests formed with one major priority in mind: slashing the corporate tax rate. The Reforming America’s Taxes Equitably (RATE) Coalition comprised dozens of companies and trade groups that all insisted lowering corporate taxes would mean more jobs. A ThinkProgress review found that about half of RATE Coalition’s members have made layoffs since the law’s enactment. In other words, not only did the expensive tax cut not bring more jobs, it couldn’t even forestall significant job losses. In 2017, the RATE Coalition’s website identified 32 companies and trade groups who had come together around the singular mission to ‘reform the tax code, making it fairer and simpler and improving the prospects of growth and jobs in the U.S. economy by reducing the corporate income tax rate to make it more competitive with our nation’s major trading partners.’ Together, they constituted a 501(c)(4) tax-exempt organization (first launched in 2011) and promised that a corporate tax rate reduction would ‘boost job creation and economic growth.’ Their membership list was a who’s who of Big Business: Aetna Inc., AT&T, Altria Client Services, Association of American Railroads, Boeing, Brown-Forman, Capital One, Cox Enterprises, CVS Caremark, Edison Electric Institute, FedEx, Ford, General Dynamics, Home Depot, Intel, Kimberly-Clark, Liberty Media, Lockheed Martin, Macy’s, National Retail Federation, Nike, Northrop Grumman, Raytheon, Reynolds American, P Global, Southern Company, Synchrony Financial, T-Mobile, UPS, Verizon, Viacom, and Walmart. In just the second quarter of 2017 alone, their combined corporate lobbying on taxes and other issues exceeded $48 million.” (Sam Pizzigati, People’s Action, December 6, 2018)

Almost nobody seems to be making an issue out of Trump and Paul Ryan’s forgotten promise: Namely, that workers would receive a $4,000 raise from their employers once the tax scam was implemented. One would think that workers would remember that lie, since it affects them directly. Again, the media rarely mentions it. The fact remains that not only have workers not received the thousands of dollars promised them, their wages are decreasing once you enter other factors into the equation, such as the rising prices at the gas pump, higher prescription drug costs, health insurance increases, and other mitigating factors.

CREDO Action focuses on how the pharmaceutical industry is systematically raising drug prices and making them unaffordable to people who desperately need them: “Millions of Americans with diabetes rely on pharmaceutical insulin—yet Big Pharma monopolies have tripled its price. It is a perfect example of the way the generic pharmaceutical drug system is broken. Generics—the same drug, but without the name brand—are supposed to be available at a lower cost after a set period of time. But anyone who has been to a pharmacy in the last few years knows generic drugs are not always as cheap as Big Pharma wants us to believe. Big Pharma monopolies will buy up exclusive rights to generic drug and jack up the price. In some cases, no company will produce a badly needed medicine—or a handful of companies will control the market and line their pockets by charging desperate people more money. It’s not ok.” (Josh Nelson, CREDO Action, December 28, 2018)

Americans for Tax Fairness makes some compelling points on this issue: “Last year, corporations such as AT&T promised to use windfall tax breaks to raise wages and create more jobs. AT&T itself promised to invest $1 billion to create at least 7,000 new jobs here in the U.S. Instead, since the tax law took effect in January AT&T has eliminated about 7,000 jobs, thousands of them held by union workers. Many of these jobs are being shifted offshore to low-wage countries with low corporate tax rates. Analysts estimate AT&T will get $2.1 billion in tax breaks this year thanks to the Trump-GOP tax scam. But AT&T is giving out less than 10%―$200 million―in one-time bonuses. And those bonuses paid in December were not primarily the result of the Trump tax scam but due to labor negotiations…AT&T has broken its promise to use the Trump-GOP tax cuts to invest $1 billion here in America and create 7,000 jobs. And it’s fighting tooth and nail against workers’ demands for decent wages, affordable health care and a secure retirement. Sadly, AT&T’s vice-like grip on their windfall tax breaks is not unique. Americans for Tax Fairness research shows that just 67 out of the wealthiest 500 U.S. corporations have used their huge tax cut to give out any bonuses or wage hikes, impacting just 4.3% of U.S. workers.” (Frank Clemente, Americans for Tax Fairness, August 4, 2018)

In a subsequent article, Americans for Tax Fairness elaborates: “ATF also estimates that corporations are planning to spend 100 times more on stock buybacks for CEOs and wealthy shareholders than on pay increases for working people.” (Colin Hernandez, Americans for Tax Fairness, September 1, 2018) After discussing how workers are harmed by the tax scam, ATF shifts the focus to corporate profits: “Corporations on the other hand have made out like bandits―paying 40% less in U.S. taxes this year while raking in record profits. AT&T got a $20 billion windfall this year alone. And instead of adding jobs, it has eliminated about 7,000 jobs, many of them outsourced, since the tax law took effect. Walmart is saving about $2.2 billion in taxes this year yet closed 63 Sam’s Club stores laying off nearly 10,000 employees. Pfizer is getting a tax discount of $25 billion on its $200 billion in profits stashed offshore yet is not offering its customers any price break on its high-priced drugs.”

Concurrent with the tax scam is the constant Republican effort to cut health care for millions of Americans. The new proposed cuts will have devastating results for millions of Americans. Anyone with a mental illness will automatically lose coverage. Insurance companies will be free to charge Americans aged fifty to sixty-four much higher rates; they will also be able to create “junk insurance” plans that will fail to address basic health needs while at the same time raising rates. Also, anyone with a pre-existing condition will lose their protections; this encompasses as many as 130 million people.

Tax March informs us that, as a result of the scam: “Wages are down, stock buybacks are up, and many of the country’s wealthiest corporations have announced layoffs as they pocket billions in tax giveaways.” (Maura Quint, Tax March, July 24, 2018) As to be expected, the budget costs would include $537 billion from Medicare, $1.5 trillion from Medicaid and the Affordable Care Act, $157 billion from SNAP, $59 billion from veteran benefits, and $317 from transportation and infrastructure.

On August 31, 2018, Trump announced that he was canceling the 2 percent pay raise he promised federal employees, claiming that the nation’s budget couldn’t afford it. Yet, on the same day, he said he was considering giving wealthy shareholders another huge tax break on the money they make from their investments. Tax March tells us: “Canceling these raises hurts 2 million federal workers and their families—with a disproportionate burden falling on Black workers, who make up a large share of public employees. The raises themselves would have cost a tiny fraction of the TrumpTax’s $1.9 TRILLION price tag, and are only about half the cost of one provision Trump’s own business benefited from last year. At the same time, the plan he revealed last week could guarantee billions more in profits for millionaire shareholders.” (Maura Quint, Tax March, September 6, 2018)

CREDO Action summarizes who will benefit and who will suffer because of the tax scam: “The Trump Tax Scam was immoral from the start. It could end up wiping away health care coverage for 13 million people by sabotaging the Affordable Care Act’s protections that keep healthy people in insurance markets. International corporations got a massive tax handout despite sitting on billions in offshore profits while Americans lose health care coverage. Poor and middle-income Americans got pocket change while the Donald Trump and the super-rich donors who fund Republican political campaigns pocketed big money. Then it got worse—just as we all predicted. Instead of raising wages, corporations funneled the tax giveaways to executives and shareholders through stock buybacks. The bill did not pay for itself, as Republicans claimed it would. Instead, Trump and Republicans began using the lost revenue as an excuse to push $1.7 trillion in cuts to Medicare, Medicaid, food stamps and other earned benefits. The Trump Tax Scam has gotten less popular since the day it passed.” (Josh Nelson, CREDO Action, September 15, 2018)

Unfortunately for Republicans, the much-ballyhooed tax scam has not, as they promised, “pay for itself.” Daily Kos focused on Mitch McConnell who said in October, 2018 that he was “disturbed” that the budget deficit hadn’t decreased: “Remember that massive tax cut McConnell forced through last year? Remember how he said: ‘I not only don’t think it will increase the deficit, I think it will be beyond revenue neutral? In other words, I think it will produce more than enough to fill that gap,’ he said. He lied. Because that’s what McConnell does. He lies. Everybody knew this was coming. Every economist and budget analyst in the nation predicted a ballooning of the deficit with that tax cut, and those of us who have been paying attention to Republicans for decades know what that means.” (Joan McCarter, Daily Kos, October 16, 2018) McConnell’s “solution” of course is to cut more “entitlements.” Of course, entitlements are not giveaways from the government; they were paid for and earned by every paycheck. This is typical of how Republicans operate: Ignore anything the experts say, be they scientists, economists, educators or anyone else, and then plow ahead with what they and their corporate toadies want to do. And, when it becomes obvious that their plan didn’t work, blame the Democrats and “fix” for the problem by making ordinary working Americans pay for the problem that shouldn’t have occurred in the first place. And, to make the situation even more surrealistic, many of those same Americans will go to the polls and vote Republican.

Bloomberg Politics adds: “McConnell’s remarks came a day after the Treasury Department said the U.S. budget deficit grew to $779 billion in Donald Trump’s first full fiscal year as president, the result of the GOP’s tax cuts, bipartisan spending increases and rising interest payments on the national debt. That’s a 77 percent increase from the $439 billion deficit in fiscal 2015, when McConnell became majority leader…The Office of Management and Budget has projected a deficit in the coming year of $1.085 trillion despite a healthy economy. And the Congressional Budget Office has forecast a return to trillion-dollar deficits by fiscal 2020.” (Steven T. Dennis, Bloomberg Politics, October 16, 2018) But Republicans have no problem with the national debt, as long as they are calling the shots.

The end result of the scam is crystal clear: American’s jobs are being outsourced to other countries. As Americans for Tax Fairness reports: “American manufacturing has taken a major hit. Thanks to the Trump-GOP tax scam, corporations get a 50% off coupon to send jobs overseas. They’re shifting profits to tax havens. It’s not fair—because leaders in Washington should be doing all they can to protect American jobs. Recently, General Motors announced it will close five factories, laying off nearly 15,000 workers. This comes after GM received a hefty tax break from the Trump-GOP tax cuts. But instead of using that money to invest in American workers, GM chose to build their Chevy Blazer in Mexico.” (U.S. Senator Sherrod Brown, Americans for Tax Fairness, December 17, 2018) Senator Brown continues: “My number one priority is preventing American jobs from being outsourced to other countries. And a critical first step is overhauling the Trump-GOP tax law, so that corporations have to pay the same tax rate on their offshore profits as they pay on their domestic profits…Right now, if you’re GM and you’re producing a vehicle in Lordstown, Ohio, you pay a 21% tax rate on your profits. But if you shift production to Mexico, you effectively pay about half that rate. That puts American companies and American workers at a huge disadvantage. And believe it or not, under the Trump-GOP tax law, the more factories American manufacturers build offshore, the less they pay in U.S. taxes on their foreign profits! That’s just an open invitation to more outsourcing.”

Tax March provides us with some numbers to show how imbalanced the tax scam actually is: “In just the first nine months of 2018, corporations spent $1.1 trillion on themselves, (while) workers saw just a two cents per hour in bonuses. 140,000 jobs were eliminated by 1000 of America’s largest companies: Verizon laid off 10,400 employees; General Motors laid of 14,000 people and moved jobs overseas. Meanwhile, worker’s wages are barely staying steady with inflation.” (Tax March, December 21, 2018)

But wait, there’s more. Senate Republicans are currently trying to install another scam, with even larger breaks for the super rich. This time, there is a difference: Republicans want to make the tax breaks permanent, and fund them with yet more reductions in social services many Americans depend on. This latest edition, if enacted, will cost taxpayers another trillion dollars. Americans for Tax Fairness says that this scam: “will give Republicans even more excuses to pursue their slash and burn agenda against health care―driving up the cost of premiums, copays, deductibles, and even the age at which someone would be eligible for Medicare (from 65 to 67).” (Craig Johnson, Americans for Tax Fairness, July 26, 2018) Clearly, the Republicans will stop at nothing to reward their wealthy supporters at the expense of everyone else.

To Republicans, economic policy means only one thing: Finding ways to give more money to the wealthy.

Republicans know that their scams aren’t popular with the majority of Americans. So they’ve come up with another way to get this new scam implemented. Tax March explains: “This week, news broke that the Trump Administration is considering a new plan to cut taxes for the 1% again—without approval from Congress. The proposed plan would slash taxes on investment profits for wealthy traders—while burning up $100 billion of our national budget that could otherwise be used for Medicaid, Medicare, and Social Security…The TrumpTax is already wildly unpopular—so much so that Trump and his cronies know that another $100 billion in tax breaks for the super-rich won’t pass Congress. So they’re considering bypassing the democratic process altogether.” (Maura Quint, Tax March, August 4, 2018) This is yet another step, a huge one at that, towards our becoming a fascist state.

Republicans, of course, like to call themselves conservative when it comes to money. But the tax scam will come home to roost; in fact it is already doing so. Are there any workers out there who have received the money the Republicans promised them with their tax scam? The fact that the national debt is currently higher than it has ever been and only promises to grow larger is but one manifestation of wrong-headed thinking about the economy. The Washington Post ran a telling article on this issue which should be widely disseminated. As quoted by Daily Kos, the article notes: “The federal government is on track to have a $1 trillion deficit in 2020—and to continue running yawning deficits for years to come, the nonpartisan Congressional Budget Office predicted Monday. It’s a report that should make Americans concerned, especially younger ones. On a basic level, this means the U.S. government is spending way more money than it brings in. This is not a new problem. The United States has been running a deficit every year since 2002, but the situation is about to get really ugly. The country has never run this high of a deficit during good economic times. If spending keeps up at this pace (and there is every indication that it will), President Trump and his successors are going to have less flexibility to pump up the economy during a downturn or even a crisis. ‘This is unprecedented,’ said Justin Bogie, senior policy analyst on fiscal affairs at the conservative Heritage Foundation.” (Quoted from Daily Kos article, July 29, 2018) The article closes with this astute observation: “Note that the conservative think tank, the Heritage Foundation who more so than not pushes tax cuts, are also raising alarms. This stance will allow them to blame Trump and not conservatives for being the principal cause of the deficits. The Donald owns it. While most of the traditional mainstream media focus most of their time on tapes, subpoenas, and the like, Republicans continue to move their destructive policies in the name of Trump. When it all comes tumbling down, the lack of proper media scrutiny for appropriately calling out Republicans may give them the plausibility to say Trump did it. They will be quick to unload him because he would have served his purpose.”

USA Today tells us of the dirty little economic secret being kept from the American public: “It became very clear this month that neither the Trump White House nor its allies on Capitol Hill want you to know that the federal budget is already in very bad shape—and getting worse. It happened when the U.S. Treasury, the official keeper of Washington’s financial results, issued its monthly statement for the first 10 months of fiscal 2018 about federal revenues and spending and, therefore, the budget deficit. Treasury showed what no president ever wants to admit: the deficit is spiking. The federal government’s red ink this year is already 21 percent above what it was in 2017 and there are few prospects that the bottom line will improve anytime soon. Except with infrequent and unsubstantiated platitudes about how the situation is going to get better, the Trump White House and Republicans in Congress have been doing everything possible not to talk about the budget this year. To avoid tough questions and politically embarrassing votes, the House and Senate have even refused to consider a budget even though they are required by law to adopt one. Unlike the trillion-dollar budget deficits that occurred during the Obama administration that were temporary and largely the result of the Great Recession, the Trump deficits that will soon reach and exceed $1 trillion are permanent and will only get worse in the years ahead.” (USA Today, quoted in People’s Action, August 20, 2018)

There is a progressive group in Washington called the Congressional Progressive Caucus that is made up of members of the Democratic progressive caucus. This group consists of one Senator and seventy-eight members of the House of Representatives and has existed since 1991. According to its webpage, the CPC has four core principles: “1. Fighting for economic justice and security for all; 2. Protecting and preserving our civil rights and civil liberties; 3. Promoting global peace and security; and 4. Advancing environmental protection and energy independence.” The CPC has authored The People’s Budget, a counter-balance to Trump’s budget that, rather than giving away trillions of dollars to the richest Americans, instead invests in our future. This includes $2 trillion to fix our crumbling infrastructure and promote job growth. This would be paid for by making the wealthy corporations pay their fair share of taxes. It remains to be seen how far the budget will go, but given the current makeup of the Senate, it doesn’t bode well.

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THE SUPREME COURT DEBACLE

Republicans began crowing the moment Anthony Kennedy announced his impending retirement from the Supreme Court. Not surprisingly, Donald Trump then announced his appointment of Brett Kavanaugh to fill the post. Kavanaugh was rushed through with ridiculous speed, resulting in his being officially confirmed by the Republican-dominated Senate on October 6, 2018. I am going to be putting a great deal of emphasis on this issue not only because Kavanaugh’s appointment was a travesty of justice, but also because it reveals the true character—or lack thereof—not only of Kavangaugh, but of today’s Republican party as a whole, and also of Christian fundamentalism’s utter lack of moral scruples.

This appointment was a travesty of justice and the American system for a number of reasons.

The main point is that Donald Trump is under a criminal investigation for conspiring with a foreign government to undermine the 2016 presidential election and that Brett Kavanaugh has stated that a sitting president should not be indicted, or even investigated, for alleged crimes. This is crucially important because the Supreme Court is the body that determines key items such as whether or not a president is required to turn over evidence in a criminal investigation. The court also determines if a sitting president is required to testify before a grand jury, or if he/she can be indicted for criminal offenses. Given the massive amount of evidence already uncovered by the Mueller investigation, it stands to reason that the Court will eventually be called upon to hear Trump’s case. Trump has now successfully named two extreme reactionaries to the nation’s highest court of law. Kavanaugh’s appointment is a clear conflict of interest: A Supreme Court composed of two justices who owe their appointments to Trump are not likely to be impartial should legal action of any kind be undertaken against him. Common sense should dictate that Trump does not have the right to appoint anyone to such a post until he has been found innocent of all charges.

No president under investigation for impeachment has ever appointed a justice to the Supreme Court. Senate Democrats need to grow a backbone and tell Senate Republicans that, now that Kavanaugh has been confirmed, they will make a concerted effort to impeach him and remove him from office. Another interesting strategy would be for them to expand the court to 15 when they regain control of the executive and legislative branches of government. There is nothing in the Constitution to prevent them from doing so.

Mitch McConnell and the Republican-led Senate rushed through the confirmation hearings, knowing that the November elections might not go their way. Because of the rush to confirmation, the Senate had little time to review over one million documents from Kavanaugh’s career, even though examining such documents is common practice for judicial nominees; the Senate reviewed all of justice Elena Kagan’s documents from her time in President Clinton’s White House prior to confirming her; Republicans demanded they do so. Yet the much more controversial Kavanaugh was steamrolled through the process, and Republicans opposed releasing his records. It’s easy to see why: Kavanaugh spent over five years as staff secretary in the Bush administration. This was an important role, as it enabled him to give approval to Bush’s “signing statements” that the president was able to use to circumvent laws passed by Congress. Among these were laws about torture and national security. Had Kavanaugh’s records been made readily available, the confirmation hearings might have taken a completely different turn.

The Democrats willingly complied with Republican requests to review all of the documents pertaining to Kagan. Yet when Democrats requested the same for Kavanaugh, the Republicans balked. Senator Charles Grassley, chairman of the Judiciary Committee, said that the requests were just “bloated demands” by Democrats in a ploy to obstruct the process for Kavanaugh to be confirmed. Again, one rule for Republicans and another for Democrats.

Perhaps the height of Republican gall was seen when Orrin Hatch said: “I’m tired of partisanship and frankly, we didn’t treat their candidates for these positions the way they’re treating ours.” He then said that Democrats were opposing Kavanaugh’s confirmation due to “dumbass” partisanship. Of course, it wasn’t partisanship when he and his Republican cohorts refused to even consider President Obama’s nominee Merrick Garland. No, Republicans didn’t “treat” Garland at all. The hypocrisy of Hatch and his colleagues is absolutely unbelievable, but perfectly understandable once it is understood that they are traitors to their country and are hard at work making the United States into a totalitarian regime led, of course by the dictator in the White House.

It is not only the Supreme Court that Republicans are determined to take over. Rolling Stone reports: “(White House Counsel) Don McGahn has spearheaded the administration’s unprecedented campaign to reshape the American judicial system, filling courts with judges who share Trump’s goals of dismantling environmental protection, rolling back civil and reproductive rights, and gutting labor laws—in other words, destroying the so-called administrative state…On the campaign trail, Trump told evangelicals and other wavering Republicans they had no choice but to vote for him: ‘You know why? Supreme Court judges, Supreme Court judges.’ He talked about judges nonstop and even released a list of 21 potential Supreme Court picks that he had gathered with the help of the Federalist Society and the archconservative Heritage Foundation. He would enter office with the most judicial vacancies since Bill Clinton—largely thanks to Republican filibustering of Obama’s nominees—and his administration has filled those vacancies as fast as possible. As of this writing, Trump has put 26 new judges onto the appellate courts, more than any other chief executive at this point in the presidency. He has also nominated over 100 district-court judges and gotten 26 of those picks confirmed. These judges are overwhelmingly young, ideological and now set to serve lifetime appointments.” (Rolling Stone, quoted in People’s Action, August 20, 2013) This is crucially important to our nation’s future: While reform efforts begin in the executive and judicial branches, these reforms may be blocked for decades by the radical anti-progressive judges Trump and his cronies are in such a hurry to appoint.

The disastrous Citizens United decision, which allows virtually unlimited amounts of money to influence elections, has corrupted the political process immeasurably. Action Network tells us how Kavanaugh helped set the stage for this piece of legislation: “As an appellate court judge, Kavanaugh authored a 2009 opinion that helped set the stage for the Supreme Court’s eventual decisions in Citizens United and SpeechNow. In EMILY’s List vs. the FEC―a case that challenged non-profits’ spending limits on elections―Kavanaugh wrote in his decision: ‘The First Amendment, as interpreted by the Supreme Court, protects the right of individual citizens to spend unlimited amounts to express their views about policy issues and candidates for public office.’ In this context, the U.S. Senate must debate whether Kavanaugh believes that political spending equates to free speech, whether Americans have a right to know who is trying to influence their votes and views, and whether there should be limits placed on corporations, unions and wealthy individuals who seek to influence our elections.” (Nick Penniman, Action Network, September 15, 2018) Clearly, Kavanaugh has no problem whatever with dark money influencing our elections.

It is no secret that Trump and Senate Republicans have been doing everything in their power to undermine the Russian investigation. If and when the investigation reaches the Supreme Court, the Court may be forced to address several key issues; one of these is that they will decide if, as Republicans contend, the investigation is illegal and/or unconstitutional. The court may also need to decide whether or not Trump can legally pardon himself and can continue to obstruct justice without fear of repercussion. Another factor is Trump’s demand for loyalty from everyone associated with him; it is inconceivable that an extremist justice like Kavanaugh will buck the trend and be impartial. Given the extreme conservatism of the current Republican majority on the Court, it is not too far fetched to imagine them giving Trump virtual dictatorial powers.

The most alarming aspect of Kavanaugh’s appointment is his stated position that a sitting president cannot be prosecuted under the law. This is clearly a nonsensical position; he seems to think that the president is the law rather than a servant of it. If Kavanaugh doesn’t understand this much about the Constitution, how can he be trusted on anything else? Again, the conflict of interest should be obvious: Now that Kavanaugh is on the Supreme Court, there is little doubt that he will vote against any impeachment issues that are brought before him—regardless of the facts. Is this what American justice is supposed to be about? Can there be any question of why Trump nominated him in the first place? Trump knows how the investigation is increasingly coming closer to him, and he wants to pack the Supreme Court with reactionaries he can rely on to rule in his favor. It is singularly incredible that this crucial fact was not brought up during the hearings. Kavanaugh should never have been considered, much less confirmed.

Action Network adds: “Kavanaugh also believes that presidents shouldn’t have to enforce laws they personally believe are unconstitutional and that presidents are neither subject to being subpoenaed or indictable. This means that, in this context, Kavanaugh would allow President Trump to ignore Congress or the Mueller investigation. That’s not a conservative position, it’s radical. It ignores the role of the court and Congress as equal branches, and as a check on presidential power.” (Randi Weingarten, Action Network, August 21, 2018) Clearly, Kavanaugh doesn’t have a clue as to what the Constitution says or what the separation of powers means. Either that or he just doesn’t care. Either way, this alone should have disqualified him for a judicial appointment.

Brett Kavanaugh is as extreme as they come. Elizabeth Warren has named a few of the things he stands for: “He believes that the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau is unconstitutional, he tried to strike down net neutrality, and he’s worked to make it harder for federal watchdogs to hold corporate criminals accountable and protect public health, safety, and economic security.” (Warren email, July 9, 2018) Tom Steyer elaborates: “Kavanaugh has suggested that Congress pass a law barring sitting presidents from criminal prosecution and investigation, personal civil suits, and questioning from criminal attorneys. He has claimed that presidents can disregard laws they consider unconstitutional, despite what courts say. And Kavanaugh’s track record shows he is comfortable using his position to further the agenda of fringe-right groups that back him. He declared the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau unconstitutional. He wrote that Washington D.C.’s ban on semi-automatic rifles was unconstitutional. He tried to roll back President Obama’s greenhouse gas regulations. He’s anti-choice—just last year, he argued in favor of prohibiting an undocumented pregnant immigrant in federal custody from getting an abortion. He considers the Affordable Care Act unconstitutional.” (Tom Steyer, Need to Impeach, July 9, 2018)

Of course, Kavanaugh sang a completely different tune when Bill Clinton was president. Then, he was a most enthusiastic supporter of the witch hunt against Clinton. The Los Angeles Times quoted Kavanaugh’s slams against Clinton: “The young attorney decided the president deserved to be forced from office for ‘his pattern of revolting behavior’ and the ‘sheer number of his wrongful acts…The president has disgraced his office…He has lied to his aides, He has lied to the American people’ Brett Kavanaugh wrote in a 1998 memo to his colleagues. ‘I’m strongly opposed to giving [him] any ‘break’—unless he either resigns or…issues a public apology.’” (David G. Savage, Los Angeles Times, August 26, 2018) As Daily Kos notes: “Kavanaugh has been consistent, yes; he has consistently argued that Republican presidents credibly accused of criminal activity, from Richard Nixon’s obstruction of justice to the George W. Bush’s program of state-sponsored torture, must be shielded from investigation, but worked himself on the most spittle-flecked and unending investigation of a Democratic president in modern history.” (Hunter, Daily Kos, July 22, 2018) The article also notes: “It is certainly an uncanny coincidence that Donald Trump, whose office is currently roiled in a scandal potentially far bigger than Nixon’s Watergate role, happened to pick this fellow out of all possible judges.” Given this, those who think that Kavanaugh will be an impartial judge are only fooling themselves. He’s nothing more than a hack for the Republican party whose hypocrisy staggers the imagination.

There’s much more on Kavanaugh, all of it unfavorable. He once wrote an opinion upholding a voter ID law in South Carolina that threatened to disenfranchise tens of thousands of voters. He has written that an employer’s religious beliefs should allow them to deny health care coverage for their employees. Sustainable Energy and Environment Coalition (SEEC PAC) provides us with even more damaging information on this most unqualified man: “He rejected an EPA rule that air pollution can be regulated across state lines. He struck down part of a ban of hydrofluorocarbons set in place by the Obama administration. He has written that the EPA should consider costs to the industry prior to regulating air pollution. He has even said that: ‘Global warming isn’t a blank check’ to regulate carbon emissions.” (Jeremy Marcus, Seec Pac, July 10, 2018) If all this were not enough, Kavanaugh has shown that he will consistently rule against American workers; he lied about is involvement on President Bush’s detention policies; and he has no problem with foreign money entering our elections.

Kavanaugh has a long history of animosity toward the EPA. CREDO Action provides us with a few examples: “ In 2014, Kavanaugh opposed the EPA’s mercury and air toxics rule for power plants. In 2015, he wrote a majority opinion tossing out the EPA’s cross-state air pollution rule. In 2016, he ruled against the EPA’s authority to regulate greenhouse gases. In 2017, he wrote the majority opinion against the EPA’s authority to eliminate some uses of hydroflourocarbons, which are potent greenhouse gases.” (Brandy Doyle, CREDO Action, August 1, 2018)

Elizabeth Warren provides us with yet more damning information on Kavanaugh: “ 1) He’s already sided with giant financial institutions to try to strike down the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau, and he sang the tune of big telecom and cable companies when he tried to eliminate net neutrality. 2) He authored an opinion that would have allowed two giant health insurance companies to merge, despite the evidence that the merger could hurt consumers across 14 states. 3) He wants to make it harder for agencies to protect public health, safety, and economic security. (Elizabeth Warren email to constituents, August 2, 2018)

Then of course there was the sexual scandal. CNN reports: “the woman accusing Supreme Court nominee Brett Kavanaugh of sexual assault says the FBI should investigate the incident before senators hold a hearing on the allegations. In a letter addressed to Senate Judiciary Chairman Chuck Grassley of Iowa, and obtained by CNN’s ‘Anderson Cooper 360,’ Christine Blasey Ford’s attorneys argue that: ‘a full investigation by law enforcement officials will ensure that the crucial facts and witnesses in this matter are assessed in a non-partisan manner, and that the Committee is fully informed before conducting any hearing or making any decisions.’” (CNN, September 19, 1018) Daily Kos sarcastically notes how Grassley responded to this letter: “Just a brief recap. The allegations surrounding the letter are that Brett Kavanaugh, as a high schooler, attempted to rape another teenager at a party. So Wednesday night, after Grassley hears about this letter—but only its existence and not its contents—his staff manages to find 65 women who just happened to know Kavanaugh at the time in question, when he was in high school. And all 65 of these women just happen to be perfectly willing to attest to the character of this guy they knew 35 years ago when they have absolutely no information as to why they are being asked to sign this letter. And Grassley expects anyone to believe that?…So overnight, Meghan McCaleb who is the wife of one of Kavanaugh’s best friends (Scott McCaleb) and who also attended Kavanaugh’s hearings got 64 other women who she knew and who she knew would remember Kavanaugh from high school and be willing to attest to his character to sign this letter, even though they didn’t know exactly what allegations they were refuting because those hadn’t been published yet to sign the letter. Yeah, that’s totally believable.” (Joan McCarter, Daily Kos, September 14, 2018)

Clearly allegations of rape should have merited a full-scale investigation, but Republicans would have none of it. They treated Blasey-Ford as the criminal, and Kavanaugh as the victim. Their hostile, even hysterical questioning of Ford was blatantly partisan, but Ford never lost her composure, as Kavanaugh surely did.

It’s not hard to envision how Kavanaugh will rule on cases that come before the Supreme Court. Public Citizen has researched his past and come up with some startling facts: “We examined each of the 101 cases where Judge Kavanaugh wrote an opinion and where there was disagreement among the judges hearing the case. Those cases are often more revealing than unanimous decisions. The results were striking: In 22 cases involving consumer and other regulatory issues, Judge Kavanaugh sided against consumers and the public interest 18 times. In 13 environmental cases, Judge Kavanaugh sided against clean air and environmental protection 11 times. In 17 cases involving worker rights, Judge Kavanaugh sided with employers 15 times. In all seven cases involving victims suing for compensation over police or human rights abuses, Judge Kavanaugh sided with the alleged abuser and against the victims. In both antitrust cases, Judge Kavanaugh sided with merging companies and against antitrust enforcement agencies. Important themes also emerge in analyzing the decisions themselves. Over and over, Judge Kavanaugh’s doctrines favor Big Business. For example, Judge Kavanaugh believes that corporations almost always should be able to challenge regulations that affect them in court, but he imposes enormous hurdles on the ability of citizen groups like Public Citizen to sue. Judge Kavanaugh believes federal agencies should be permitted to regulate corporations on ‘major questions’ only when Congress specifically instructs them to do so—a rarity. When government agencies are challenged by corporations, Judge Kavanaugh almost always rules against the agencies. But when consumer or public interest groups challenge agencies, it’s an entirely different story—he sides with the agencies.” (Robert Weissman, Public Citizen, September 4, 2018) Does all this indicate a man dedicated to public service, or does it expose someone who is little more than a big corporation shill?

Some insight into his character was seen in September, 2018 when the father of a girl killed at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School in Parkland, Florida attempted to shake Kavanaugh’s hand during his confirmation hearing. Kavanaugh responded with a cold look, ignored him, and was whisked away. The video of this is readily available and shows a cold side to a man that has now been confirmed to the nation’s highest court. Kavanaugh’s face is the face of evil. Giffordspac notes: “The truth is, Brett Kavanaugh is a Second Amendment radical. He believes that limiting access to the weapon that killed 17 people in Parkland, Florida is the same thing as limiting free speech.” (Giffordspac, August 4, 2018) Not only did Kavanaugh show complete disrespect for a man whose daughter was murdered by gun violence, he even insisted that security remove the man from the room. Kavanaugh’s real character was revealed in this telling moment: he is a thoroughly despicable man, one of the reasons why so many active protesters were at his confirmation hearing.

The hearings were a joke: Senate Republicans had long since made up their minds that they would approve him, no matter what came out at the hearings. MoveOn Political Action provides us with one example of how ridiculous the proceedings were: “Imagine it’s your first day back to school. The night before, out of nowhere, your teacher says you have to read all of War and Peace by the next morning. That’s what happened on Monday night when the Senate received 42,000 pages of documents about Brett Kavanaugh the night before the hearings began. That’s like having to read 30 copies of War and Peace overnight! That’s not all: Trump’s White House is hiding another 100,000 pages without explanation, and The National Archives has said that it will not finish reviewing documents until the end of October—a month after the scheduled vote on Kavanaugh. And the documents that might be most revealing of all, from Kavanaugh’s time in the powerful inner-circle role of Staff Secretary to President George W. Bush, won’t be released until 2021. Even among the documents that have been released, Senate Republicans have classified more than 100,000 as ‘Committee Confidential’—threatening any Senator who makes them public with expulsion. But, in an act of political courage, Senators Cory Booker and Mazie Hirono have taken an extraordinary step: They are reading the confidential documents into the record to give the public more of a picture of how extreme Kavanaugh’s record is. In addition, just today, leaked memos show that when serving in the White House, Kavanaugh did not consider Roe vs. Wade ‘settled law’—despite his assurances to Sen. Susan Collins and his implications under oath yesterday.” (Ben Wikler, MoveOn, September 6, 2018) So, with regard to Roe v. Wade, Kavanaugh clearly and unequivocally lied. MoveOn concludes: “Let’s face it: The documents that have already been released tell a clear story of an pro-corporate, anti-woman partisan who could give Trump a get-out-of-jail-free card.” This fact alone should have disqualified him from consideration for the Supreme Court.

During the Roe v. Wade discussion, California Senator Kamala Harris showed her ability as a former prosecutor when she asked Kavanaugh: “Can you think of any laws that give the government the power to make decisions about the male body?” Kavanaugh obviously had no answer because his warped ideology isn’t about controlling men.

Harris also grilled him on another crucial point. Daily Kos reports: “In a remarkable exchange, lasting almost five minutes, Sen. Kamala Harris—who might have become president today—implied that 1) Judge Kavanaugh has spoken with someone about Bob Mueller’s federal investigation into Trump; 2) this conversation is potentially very problematic for someone interviewing for a lifetime appointment to the Supreme Court; and 3) she has access to the person Judge Kavanaugh spoke with and the details of the conversation he had with that person.” (Walter Einenkel, Daily Kos, September 6, 2018) Here is the exchange: Harris: Judge, have you ever discussed special counsel Mueller or his investigation with anyone Kavanaugh: Well, it’s in the news every day. Harris: Have you discussed it with anyone? Kavanaugh: With other judges, I know—Harris: Have you discussed Mueller or his investigation with anyone at Kasowitz Benson Torres, the law firm founded by Marc Kasowitz, President Trump’s personal lawyer? Kavanaugh: Ahhh—Harris: Be sure about your answer, sir. Kavanaugh: Well, I’m not remembering, but if you have something you want to, ah—Harris: Are you certain you‘ve not had a conversation with anyone at that law firm? Kavanaugh: Kasow—? Daily Kos then adds: “Suddenly, Mr. Memory doesn’t know the name of an incredibly well-known law firm, one that the guy nominating him to this job is intimately involved with.”

Here is the rest of the Harris/Kavanaugh exchange: Harris: Kasowitz Benson Torres, which is the law firm founded by Marc Kasowitz, who is President Trump’s personal lawyer. Have you had any conversation about Robert Mueller or his investigation with anyone at that firm? Yes or no Kavanaugh: Is there a person you’re talking about? Harris: I’m asking you a very direct question. Yes or no? Kavanaugh: I need to know, I’m not sure I know everyone who works at that law firm. Harris: I don’t think you need to. I think you need to know who you have talked with. Who’d you talk to Kavanaugh: I don’t think I ah, I’m not remembering, but I’m happy to be refreshed or if you want to tell me who you— Harris: Are you saying that with all that you remember—you have an impeccable memory, you’ve been speaking for almost eight eight hours, I think more, to this committee—all sorts of things you remember. How can you not remember whether or not you had a conversation about Robert Mueller or his investigation with anyone at that law firm? This investigation has only been going on for so long, sir. So please answer the question. Kavanaugh: Right. I’m not sure, I’m just trying to think, do I know anyone who works at that firm, I might know— Harris: That’s not my question. My question is, have you had a conversation with anyone at that firm about that investigation? It’s a really specific question. Kavanaugh: And I would like to know the person you’re thinking of. Harris: I think you are thinking of someone and you don’t want to tell us. Who did you have a conversation with?” Kavanaugh hemmed and hawed, but one thing he did not do is answer her question.

Democrats, increasingly frustrated by the sham of a proceeding, finally grew a backbone. Daily Kos reports on what transpired: “‘I sincerely believe that the public deserves to know this nominee’s record—in this particular case his record on issues of race and the law,’ Sen. Cory Booker of New Jersey explained after he flouted Senate protocol and released a document designated ‘Committee Confidential’ under the auspices of protecting national security. ‘I could not understand—and I violated this rule knowingly—why these issues should be withheld from the public,’ Booker told Grassley during Thursday’s hearing. After noting that he had not specifically broken the Presidential Records Act, Booker said he would ‘openly invite’ any consequences that arose from his actions. ‘I stand by the public’s right to have access to this document,’ he added. Fellow Democrats on the committee backed Booker’s move immediately after he took it, with Illinois Sen. Dick Durbin jumping in to say, ‘If there’s going to be some retribution against the senator from New Jersey, count me in.’ Brilliant. Democrats claimed the moral high ground by elevating the public’s need to know over a Senate rule that—whatever purpose it might have served—was clearly being abused by the Republican majority. GOP Sen. John Cornyn of Texas initially responded by calling Booker’s move ‘irresponsible and outrageous’ and effectively threatening to expel him from the Senate. ‘Bring it,’ Booker countered. Sen. Richard Blumenthal of Connecticut called the ‘Committee Confidential’ designation ‘bogus,’ saying, ‘Just because there is a Senate rule doesn’t mean it can be misapplied.’…Shortly after the skirmish, Republicans appeared to back off their threats of taking action against Booker et al., claiming that the documents had been cleared for release ahead of when Democrats made them public. Republicans are likely saving face here, realizing that bringing charges against Booker while he’s arguing for the public’s right to transparency would be a political loser.” (Kerry Eleveld, Daily Kos, September 6, 2018)

Daily Kos described one day of the confirmation hearing: “Brett Kavanaugh was all smiles walking into the hearing room, posing for pictures and getting settled in. I suspect anyone reading this has been furious ever since Merrick Garland was denied even a hearing, much less a vote. We’ve been wanting Democrats to fight like hell against this nomination of Kavanaugh and even if it proves a losing fight they at least have opened up guns blazing. Grassley was barely into his opening remarks when Democratic Senators came at him with rhetorical & procedural guns blazing. One after another they interrupted him and protesters started shouting in the audience. Grassley is of course ignoring quite proper requests from Democrats regarding the proceedings and even a motion to adjourn. And early on every time the camera shifted to Kavanaugh his smug assed smile was gone. He is now stone face and trying to hide his anger. In the meantime I’m waiting for someone to answer Grassley directly as he keeps trying to assert that Kavanaugh deserves his hearing and that the Senate is obligated to provide it with ‘Where was your sense of the Senate’s duty and fairness when Merrick Garland was nominated?’” (Daily Kos, September 4, 2018)

People’s Action adds even more to this travesty: “Dozens of screaming protesters were hauled out of the hearing room in handcuffs. The verbal brawl began moments after the hearings began. Democrats, furious at being denied access to records related to Judge Kavanaugh, immediately interrupted the chairman of the Senate Judiciary Committee, Charles E. Grassley of Iowa, demanding time to consider tens of thousands of pages of documents released late Monday—the night before the hearing. The hearings were dominated by Democratic theatrics and crackling protests. For more than an hour at the outset, irate Democrats and a frustrated Mr. Grassley parried back and forth. Senator Richard Blumenthal, Democrat of Connecticut, denounced the hearing as ‘a charade and a mockery’ and repeatedly moved to adjourn, while Mr. Grassley ruled him out of order over and over again. Protesters, most of them women, shouted down senators; by day’s end, Capitol Police said a total of 70 people had been arrested, including nine outside the room. It was a chaotic start to what would ordinarily be a staid, albeit deeply consequential, process.” (Sam Pizzigati, People’s Action, September 5, 2018)

When a woman announced that she would die without the Affordable Care Act’s provision that mandates that people cannot lose their insurance because of a pre-existing condition, far-right Republican Orrin Hatch said: “Mr. Chairman, I think we should have this loudmouth removed.” Let there be no mistake about it: Hatch’s rude and unprofessional comment is not an aberration in today’s Republican party. It’s part and parcel for a party trying to establish a plutocracy, a rule by the rich. In a large measure, they have already done this. The next step is to remove all opposition, the tactics of fascism. Hatch’s remark is a strong indication of how Republicans will act toward opposition once they gain complete control of government.

As the proceedings were winding down, Kamala Harris pointed out just how evasive and dishonest Kavanaugh was during questioning: “I asked Kavanaugh if he supported Section 2 of the Voting Rights Act, which helps protect the right to vote for all communities. He refused to answer. I asked him if the landmark Supreme Court decision on marriage equality was correctly decided. He refused to answer. I asked Kavanaugh if he believed there was blame on both sides for last year’s deadly neo-Nazi rally in Charlottesville. He refused to answer that question, too. My colleague Senator Richard Blumenthal asked him if a judge deserves to be attacked, as our president has done repeatedly to judges, because of their heritage and race. He refused to answer the question. That’s not a hard question to answer. None of these questions are.” (Kamala Harris, email to constituents, September 10, 2018)

His responses were evasive at best, downright lies at worst. This is a man who has made a career attacking anyone he perceives as different, be they women, Muslims, blacks, Native Americans, members of the LGBT community, or even ordinary workers. He also supports torture and mass surveillance. He has said that detainees at Guatanamo don’t have any rights, and he has no problem with the government spying on its citizens—without search warrants. He is a nightmare that won’t be going away anytime soon.

One of the more stupid statements Kavanaugh made was when he said: “It is not for judges to weigh…whether a gun law is constitutional.” In other words, he is saying that gun laws are not subject to legal scrutiny. In that case, why even have a judiciary at all?

It should come as no surprise that Republicans were not forthright in answering Democrats’ questions during the hearing. Daily Kos reports: “Senate Judiciary Committee Democrats continued their protest at the beginning of the confirmation hearing for Supreme Court nominee Brett Kavanaugh, pointing out again and again that Republicans are hiding as much as 90 percent of Kavanaugh’s documents. Republican Chairman Chuck Grassley out-and-out lied about the document release, saying that they were making as much available for Kavanugh as Democrats did for Justice Elena Kagan, an assertion destroyed by Democratic Sen. Patrick Leahy, who corrected the record with the facts: 99 percent of the White House’s Kagan records were made public 12 days before the hearings began, as opposed to the Kavanaugh debacle, where just 4 percent of documents have been made public and 40,000+ were released just hours before…So what are they hiding? Something that the Trump Justice Department wants to keep under wraps. And who made that decision has also been secret. No one, ‘not the Justice Department, the White House, nor Burck—provided on-the-record comment over the weekend about who made those decisions, beyond what was contained in Burck’s letter.’ That would be William Burck, the Bush lawyer put in charge of document vetting. He’s also legal counsel for Trumpists like Steve Bannon, as well as other current and former Trump White House figures who are involved in the Russia probe. That raised some key questions from Illinois Sen. Dick Durbin: ‘By what authority is this man holding back hundreds of thousands of documents from the American people? Who is he? Who is paying him?’ The answer is that all the Republicans are paying him, and they’re paying him to steal the Supreme Court for Trump.” (Joan McCarter, Daily Kos, September 4, 2018) Clearly, a massive cover-up by Republicans.

Leahy sent out a message to his constituents which read in part: “On the second day of Brett Kavanaugh’s nomination hearing, the alarming truth of what Senate Republicans have endeavored to hide from the American people is beginning to come out. This morning, I released eight pages of materials that prove that Brett Kavanaugh received confidential documents obviously belonging to Senate Democrats stolen from the Judiciary Committee during the Bush administration, which Kavanaugh previously claimed—under oath—to not have received. Thanks to other documents released at 3‌AM this m‌orning, we also know that—despite claiming previously that he was not involved in the controversial Judge Pryor nomination—Kavanaugh was. His testimony under oath? False again.” (Patrick Leahy, letter to constituents, September 6, 2018)

Further evidence of Kavanaugh’s willingness to lie and perjure himself in order to advance his cause. MoveOn lists some of his lies: “Kavanaugh’s lies under oath go back to his original confirmation hearings as a federal judge during the Bush years: In 2003, Kavanaugh denied receiving emails that had been stolen from the staff of Democratic Senator Patrick Leahy. Newly released documents show that in fact Kavanaugh had the documents after all and was lying. In 2006, Kavanaugh testified that he knew ‘nothing at all’ about the Bush administration’s warrantless wiretapping program. Newly released emails show he was told about the policy from the beginning. Also in 2006, Kavanaugh stated under oath that he ‘was not involved’ in the development of President Bush’s torture policy. Again, newly released documents show he was. Kavanaugh twice testified that he wasn’t involved in the vetting or selection of right wing judges William Pryor or Thomas Pickering. Now we have proof that he was involved in both. Lying under oath is a federal crime—and while it’s unlikely that the Justice Department would actually bring charges in a case like this, it’s clear that Judge Kavanaugh simply has no respect for the oath he took to tell the truth, the whole truth, and nothing but the truth.” (MoveOn, September 16, 2018) The bottom line is that the Republicans approved a serial liar to sit on the nation’s highest court.

Grassley and the Republicans’ efforts to push the nomination process to its conclusion despite everything that had come up questioning the competency of Kavanaugh were blatantly dishonest. Daily Kos sums it up: “Sen. Feinstein then moved to subpoena the hundreds of thousands of documents from Kavanaugh’s Bush White House service that have been withheld, and was voted down by 11-10, all Republicans voting to keep the nation in the dark. A second motion ‘to subpoena 100,000 documents denied to the committee through a bogus assertion of ‘constitutional privilege’ followed, also defeated 11-10. Sen. Mazie Hirono (D-HI) moved to subpoena documents from Kavanaugh’s Bush White House service related native Hawaiians and indigenous people, and was defeated 11-10. Blumenthal came back with another motion to subpoena more records about the stolen emails we already know Kavanaugh lied about. He was defeated, 11-10. Sen. Dick Durbin (D-IL) made a motion to subpoena documents related to torture and warrantless wiretapping, which Kavanaugh also lied to the committee about. Defeated, 11-10. Sen. Chris Coons (D-DE) had a last subpoena motion, attempting to get more information on Kavanaugh’s views of expansive presidential power. It was defeated, 11-10. Grassley is pushing the vote next week, breaking the rules of the Senate, setting the vote for 1:45 on Thursday, September 20 against objections by Durbin that he is violating Rule 4 of Senate Rules which sets the process for ending debate on nominations and taking votes. Grassley is denying senators the opportunity to debate and discuss the nomination. Democracy is breathing its last gasps in the Senate, thanks to Mitch McConnell and Chuck Grassley. They’re killing it for unindicted co-conspirator Donald Trump and his get-out-of-jail-free Supreme Court nominee—and every Republican senator is enabling that.” (Joan McCarter, Daily Kos, September 13, 2018)

With the sham of a hearing over, Sierra Club noted the results: “Last week Brett Kavanaugh’s Supreme Court confirmation hearings revealed more of what we already knew—that Kavanaugh believes in limiting the power of federal agencies like the EPA to protect people from polluting corporations, that he thinks birth control pills are ‘abortion-inducing drugs,’ and that he’s just not sure if racial minorities deserve protection under the law…Here’s a recap of what happened last week: 1) Kavanaugh lied about his rulings on environmental cases. During the hearings, he claimed to have sided with clean air and water when in fact he almost never rules on the side of clean air and water. 2) Kavanaugh lied under oath. I’ll say it again: A nominee for a lifetime appointment to our Supreme Court has evidently lied under oath, perjuring himself and raising the obvious question: how can we trust him? 3) He can’t seem to make up his mind on Roe v. Wade. During the hearings, he testified that Roe v Wade is settled precedent, but in emails released last week he previously wrote that it is NOT settled law, and 4) Protesters made it clear that Kavanaugh is massively unpopular. Over 200 people were arrested inside the hearing last week, something we have never seen before with a Supreme Court nominee.” (Courtney Hight, Sierra Club, September 10, 2018)

Brett Kavanaugh is now a justice on the United States Supreme Court. Given his lies and the other detrimental facts that have emerged about him, the only logical recourse is for his impeachment. Impeachment of a federal judge is not without precedent. Free Speech for People informs us: “In 2010, federal Judge Thomas Porteous was impeached by the House of Representatives and convicted by the Senate because he ‘knowingly made material false statements about his past’ to the Senate. He was disqualified from ever holding federal office again.” (Free Speech for People, September 10, 2018) Clearly, Kavanaugh’s repeated lies and disdain for democracy qualify for an impeachment hearing.

Senate and House Republicans ignored the facts as well as the U.S. Constitution when they rammed through the confirmation hearings; their minds had long since been made up. It is worth going off topic for a moment to examine two of these individuals to see just how contradictory and laughable the Republicans really are.

The first man I am going to discuss is Senator Lindsey Graham. Graham was perhaps the most vocal Republican supporter of Kavanaugh throughout the entire nomination process, screaming at Democrats with remarks such as: “Boy, you all want power. I hope you never get it.” As if the Republicans don’t want power! He also defended Trump’s mocking of Christine Blasey Ford, Kavanaugh’s main sex crime accuser. All this is fairly typical of how the Republicans attacked her during the hearings, perversely portraying him as the victim rather than Ford and other women he is said to have attacked. What makes Graham laughingly ridiculous is his utter hypocrisy.

To see Graham’s hypocrisy, we need to go back to December, 2015, when Graham was campaigning for the Republican presidential nomination. At that time, he mocked Trump, saying: “You know how you make America great again? Tell Donald Trump to go to hell.” The New York Times elaborates: “‘If we nominate Trump, we will get destroyed,’ he tweeted, apparently referring to the Republican Party’s prospects in 2016. ‘And we will deserve it.’ He called Trump the ‘world’s biggest jackass.’ He said that choosing between Trump and Senator Ted Cruz, who survived much deeper into the party’s 2016 presidential primary than Graham did, was like deciding whether to be shot or poisoned. (Frank Bruni, Opinion, The New York Times, October 6, 2018). The article continues: “He went from defending Jeff Sessions to pushing him toward the exit, from sounding the alarm about Russia to hyperventilating about the Justice Department and the F.B.I., from calling Trump a ‘kook’ to savaging the media for portraying him as one, from wanting to put Trump on a bed of nails to fluffing his pillows and smoothing his duvet. At times he gushes so much that he makes Rudy Giuliani look withholding. Shocker of shockers: He now has a nearly open line to the president and the president in turn calls him. White House reporters routinely mention this and him. He has all the TV time that he could ever want. On Thursday he got a prime spot at The Atlantic Festival in Washington, where he was interviewed by the magazine’s editor in chief, Jeffrey Goldberg. On Friday he got a big profile in the Style section of The Washington Post. But his smearing of Christine Blasey Ford and the Democrats who championed her was so vehement that he earned public raves from Giuliani, Sarah Huckabee Sanders, Eric Trump and Sean Hannity.” Clearly, Lindsey Graham knows how to switch sides when it suits him to do so. He is one of the most hypocritical people in American politics. Nowadays, that is saying a lot.

Graham is another Republican who seems to be more unhinged by the day. His response to the accusations of sexual misconduct by Kavanaugh were to tell reporters that Democrats are never the subject of sexual misconduct. He childishly added that if Kavanaugh’s nomination fails, Republicans would come up with their own set of false accusations against future Democrats, just to even the score. This is the same Graham who was one of the managers at Bill Clinton’s impeachment trial, in which one of the key accusations was one of sexual misconduct. Graham seems to be suffering from a most convenient memory loss.

Another Franklin, evangelist Franklin Graham, the son of Billy, was every bit as despicable. Daily Kos reports on what he thinks of Blasey Ford and, by extension, any sexual assault victim: “Franklin Graham began by first saying that Kavanaugh’s attempted rape was ‘not relevant.’ ‘It’s just a shame that a person like Judge Kavanaugh who has a stellar record—that somebody can bring something up that he did as a teenager close to 40 years ago. That’s not relevant.’ Why he chose to try to justify the crime when Kavanaugh’s entire defense is that he never did it wasn’t just unnecessary, it exposed Graham’s truly immoral character. But then he said something so terrible, I couldn’t believe it. During the same Christian Broadcast Network’s interview with the evangelical leader, he was asked about the kind of message that might send to sexual abuse victims. His response: ‘Well, there wasn’t a crime committed. These are two teenagers and it’s obvious that she said no and he respected it and walked away… He just flat out says that’s not true. Regardless if it was true, these are two teenagers and she said no and he respected that so I don’t know what the issue is.’ I’ll tell you what the issue is, you cretin. Professor Blasey vividly described an intoxicated Kavanaugh pushing her into a bedroom, locking the door, getting on top of her and trying to tear her clothes off. He put his hand over her mouth to muffle her screams. She said she feared he would inadvertently kill her, and that she barely escaped.” (Daily Kos, September 19, 1018) So according to Graham, the fact that Kavanaugh walked away from an attempted rape is evidence of “respect.” It should be remembered that previously, Graham had supported a pedophile and attacked his accusers. Can the evangelist sink any lower? And yet, Christians still support him as a moral leader even though he gives kudos to an accused rapist just because his victim was able to escape. While many right-wing Christians falsely accuse gays and transgender individuals of being pedophiles, they ignore the pedophiles in their own priesthood. Christians who continue to support Franklin Graham are guilt of supporting rape culture. How Christian is that? Given Christianity’s loathsome history, I would say Very Christian indeed.

Let us now return to the nomination and the women who stood up to tell their stories.

The nomination process was the most contentious in history. The fact that three women—Dr. Christine Blasey Ford, Deborah Ramirez, and Julie Swetnick—had the courage to come forth with their stories knowing they would be subjected to vicious counter-attacks from Kavanaugh’s supporters, speaks volumes about their integrity. All contended that they had been sexually assaulted by Kavanaugh and, by coming forth with their stories, tried to protect the integrity not only of the Supreme Court, but of our democracy. Despite this, only Ford was called forth to testify in front of the Senate Judiciary Committee, where she was subjected to harsh, even hysterical rants by Senate Republicans. Despite this, she maintained her dignity and showed remarkable poise, in stark contrast with the man who she said assaulted her. She came across as calm, controlled, and completely believable. But because of her testimony she received death threats and was forced, along with her husband and sons, to move out of her home. Can anyone name any “fanatical” Democrats who behaved this way toward a Republican?

Daily Kos makes some crucial points about the brouhaha about Ford: “The Republican line attacking Christine Blasey Ford is likely to be more or less this: ‘All we have is your word that Brett Kavanaugh pinned you to a bed and covered your mouth to keep you from screaming as he tried to rip your clothes off, and Kavanaugh denies it and his friend who was in the room backs him up, and anyway, that was 35 years ago and what boys do in high school doesn’t matter.’ Republican refusal to understand that attempted rape in high school may not be something that’s prosecutable now but should at least disqualify someone from sitting on the nation’s highest court is on their heads…First of all, for all the attempts to tear down Ford’s reputation and reliability as a witness that we are 100 percent sure to see from Republicans, consider whose word we’re supposed to take above hers. Brett Kavanaugh has lied his way through his confirmation hearing already. That he lies under oath is not some hypothetical mystery. It’s an established fact. Kavanaugh, we should remember, also strenuously advocated for the Starr investigation into then-President Bill Clinton to ask explicit questions because ‘It may not be our job to impose sanctions on him, but it is our job to make his pattern of revolting behavior clear—piece by painful piece.’” (Laura Clawson, Daily Kos, September 17, 2018) Of course with the tables turned, we are not supposed to consider any possible “revolting behavior” from Kavanaugh. The article provides a sobering conclusion: “Her word against his? Ford told two different therapists about the incident several years ago—it’s not like she just appeared out of the ether with this story last week. And for anyone who can put aside ingrained misogyny and sexism and think rationally about this, it’s clear that you believe the woman who’s about to be publicly vilified for being brave enough to tell her painful story over the man who has already shown us that he’ll lie again and again to get the job of a lifetime.”

Even many Republicans insisted that Ford’s testimony was believable. KellyAnne Conway has always been a rabid Trump supporter, yet she said “This woman should not be insulted and she should not be ignored.” Jeff Flake, an ardent Republican, uttered a similar statement. All to no avail; the extremists won the day.

No matter how convincing her testimony, Republicans told her she must be “confused” about who assaulted her. Even though she took a lie detector test and passed, Republicans continuously acted as though she were the perpetrator rather than Kavanaugh. And Fox News used the polygraph test as an opportunity to slander her further. Daily Kos reports on what transpired: “Fox opens its article, which is headlined ‘Polygraph exam taken by Kavanaugh accuser Christine Ford comes under scrutiny’ by noting that Trump’s most eager undertoadie, Lindsey Graham, has ‘concerns’ about a polygraph test that Blasey Ford took in connection with her statement. It takes exactly one (count ‘em) paragraph for Fox to move from the idea that Graham has “concerns” to this: ‘Without mentioning any particular instances, one former senior FBI agent said polygraphs would have difficulty detecting deception by sociopaths, psychopaths and committed liars lacking a ‘conscience.’” (Mark Sumner, Daily Kos, September 19, 2018) The article then indignantly notes: “The specialness of this hard to overstate. With a hop, skip, and a broad jump over all the facts, Fox moves straight from saying there are concerns about Blasey Ford’s polygraph, to stating that: ‘sociopaths, psychopaths and committed liars lacking a ‘conscience’’ can beat the polygraph. That’s not an insinuation. That’s an ax to the forehead.” This is exactly the kind of disgusting tactics we’ve come to expect from Fox News. This isn’t legitimate news; it’s a Republican propaganda machine.

And of course, the nominee behaved as an immature spoiled brat during all this. He increasingly appeared as unhinged as the man who nominated him. His reaction to Ford and the other women’s accusations was to call them: “revenge on the part of the Clintons.” Does that sound like the words of a man who will be an impartial justice of the Supreme Court, or does it sound like an intolerant political hack lashing out at perceived enemies? Democrat Ted Lieu from California tweeted a most telling comment: “If Brett Kavanaugh can be this angry on national TV, imagine what he’s like when he gets inebriated.”

Survivors of sexual assault should never have to endure what Ford and the other women endured. The entire process was a national disgrace and showed the world just how fanatical and evil these Republicans really are. It also revealed for all the world to see that Brett Kavanaugh is morally and temperamentally unfit to serve in any court, much less the Supreme Court. He simply lacks any kind of character, and anyone who fails to see that simply hasn’t been looking.

Brett Kavanaugh was confirmed because he was born into wealth, is an ardent far-right Republican, and was backed by equally far-right Republicans and corporate enablers. “Boys will be boys” was the rationalization used to defend his behavior toward his accusers. He and his supporters have no moral standards, and no credibility whatever. The hearings showed that to the entire world.

Within days of Trump’s announcement appointing Kavanaugh, Robert Mueller’s investigation announced thirteen new indictments against Russian officials. As the walls close in on Trump, his ace in the hole Brett Kavanaugh will play an increasingly important role not in maintaining the law, but in perverting it to favor a criminal president and keep him from prosecuted.

Trump had already nominated another extremist to the Supreme Court, Neil Gorsuch who was then confirmed by the right-wing Senate. As the late MarieAlena Castle notes: “…Gorsuch argued that placing the Ten Commandments on a courthouse lawn in Oklahoma was constitutional because it was not necessarily a religious symbol. At the same time he also said the Ten Commandments played a part in shaping our laws and so did not violate the Establishment clause. (Gorsuch’s stunning ignorance of legal history, U.S. history and even the commandments should have disqualified him right there for any judicial position).” (MarieAlena Castle, Divided We Fall: The Secular vs. the Sacred, pg. 8 published by Archway Publishing, 2018) Castle also shows how far right the Supreme Court has gone in recent years: “In 2007, in Hein v. Freedom of Religion Foundation (FFRF), the Supreme Court ruled that taxpayers do not have standing to challenge the constitutionality of expenditures by the Executive branch of government. FFRF had argued that the use of money appropriated by Congress to support faith-based social programs was unconstitutional.” (ibid, pg. 11) in other words, the president can force taxpayers to pay for anything he wants, and they can’t do anything about it because they don’t have ‘standing.’ Castle notes the ramifications of this totalitarian ruling: “This, of course, means that money can be appropriated for religious activities as long as it is laundered through an appropriation designated for carte blanche use by the president.” (ibid, pg. 12)

Neil Gorsuch and Brett Kavanaugh are far from being the only extremists the Republican party wholeheartedly supports. Trump nominated Thomas Farr for a judgeship on the United States District Court for the Eastern District of North Carolina twice: Once in 2017 and again in 2018. CREDO Action tells us about this most dangerous individual: “Farr’s record shows a judge only Donald Trump could love. He: 1) Helped draft and defend a 2013 North Carolina’s 2013 voter ID law that a federal court struck down because it targeted black voters ‘with almost surgical precision.’ 2) Has close ties to the Pioneer Fund, a hate group ‘established to use science to pursue the goals of its founder: the preservation of white supremacy and white racial purity from the threat posed by blacks and undesirable immigrants, especially Jews,’ which was one of the major funders of the fight in the South against the Civil Rights Movement. 3) Spent years working alongside Thomas Ellis, a strident segregationist and racist who built a political network to maintain white supremacy. 4) May have lied about his role in illegal voter suppression efforts while working on the campaigns of unrepentant racist Sen. Jesse Helms. 5) Continues to praise his mentor Helms, despite Helms’ refusal to apologize for opposing civil rights and his fights to keep Black judges off of the federal courts. Racism. Voter suppression. Eugenics. It’s all there in Thomas Farr’s friends, clients and mentors. This man has no place on the federal bench.” (Heidi Hess, CREDO Action, November 25, 2018) Indeed he doesn’t—unless the country has move so far to the right that such an avowed racist can be appointed and confirmed and not be considered out of the mainstream. To their credit, two Republican senators, Jeff Flake and Tim Scott, each announced they would refuse to support his nomination. This made it impossible for Farr to be confirmed, one of the few times when Republicans did not unanimously support someone as unqualified or bigoted as Farr.

Clearly, the Republicans have every intention of packing the courts with the most extreme reactionaries they can find. Let us now turn to the president himself and his desire to build a wall on our southern border to keep immigrants from entering this country.

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THE WALL AND FAMILY SEPARATIONS

Protests against Trump’s stupid idea of building a wall to keep out illegal immigrants has always been unpopular with most Americans. But what really raised the stakes was when his administration began separating families and putting children in concentration camps. In all fifty states, thousands of protesters turned out in “Families Belong Together” rallies to protest Trump’s ‘zero toleration’ policies that broke up families and unified Trump’s opponents. This was reported in all the country’s major newspapers beginning on July 1.

True to its fascist leanings, the government is cracking down hard on anyone daring to dissent. As but one example, on July 2, 2018, ten activists protesting Operation Streamline—a plan to expedite criminal prosecution and deportation of those crossing the border—were arrested in San Diego and face felony charges. Operation Streamline is a system devised to expedite prosecutions of people entering the United States illegally. They are arrested at the border and prosecuted in trials resembling a factory assembly line. This system, already in place in Texas, may soon find its way to California.

Big banks like Wells Fargo have profited enormously from all this. presente.org notes: “Families fleeing poverty and violence in Central America have reached our shores for refuge, only to find that the private prison industry and its funders like Wells Fargo are raking in $Billions off the backs of these families’ pain…Two of the private prison industry’s main profiteers, CoreCivic and GEO Group, depend on debt financing from banks like Wells Fargo to conduct their day-to-day business operations, finance new facilities and acquire smaller companies. An analysis of U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) filings over the past 10 years shows that Wells Fargo has played a leading role in financing these debts. In doing so, Wells Fargo is complicit in and profiting from mass incarceration and Trump’s inhumane immigration policies.” (Matt Nelson, Presente.org, July 4, 2018)

In a desperate attempt to change its image, Wells Fargo began a campaign with the tagline: “Established 1852. Re-established 2018.” Of course the company won’t tell people that the new “re-established” company continues to get richer due to their support of Trump’s heartlessly immoral immigration policies.

It is not just Wells Fargo and other banks that are profiting from separating families and putting children in concentration camps. General Dynamics, MVM, Inc., and other defense contractors are raking in millions of dollars off of surveilling and detaining all these migrant children away from their parents and other family members. Win Without War tells us just how these contractors are benefitting from the misery of others: “General Dynamics has a $1,667,580 contract with the Trump administration’s Office of Refugee Resettlement for the infrastructure to detain migrant kids. Yep—that’s $1.6 million public dollars. And MVM has a long list of multimillion-dollar contracts to detain and spy on migrants as well.” (Tara Tabassi, Win Without War, July 6, 2018)

CREDO Action has much to say about Wells Fargo: “Wells Fargo should not exist. Wall Street cops punished the megabank 43 separate times since 2008. Wells launched three separate ad campaigns begging Americans to believe it turned a corner, and it keeps breaking the law. Now, new reports claim the feds are investigating Wells Fargo’s wholesale banking unit. The news came right after female executives blew the whistle on gender bias within the bank, which occurred right after reports that the bank was scamming even its wealthiest clients, which we learned soon after Wells Fargo came under fire for profiting off the private prison companies running Trump’s immigrant jails, which became a scandal on the heels of the company admitting it foreclosed on 400 homes absolutely without reason, which happened right after…” (Josh Nelson, CREDO Action, September 11, 2018) The article numerates Wells Fargo’s many crimes, and discusses a bill that could shut them down for good: “Rep. Maxine Waters’ bill would shut down Wells Fargo and other criminal megabanks. Federal regulators have the power to crack down on criminal megabanks and even revoke their federal corporate charters, but utterly failed to do their job. Rep. Waters’ bill would force regulators like the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency and the Federal Reserve to use every tool available to shut down megabanks that repeatedly abuse consumers and to hold bank executives responsible. Just a few of Wells Fargo’s recent greatest hits include. 1) Blaming a computer glitch after it foreclosed on 400 homes for absolutely no reason (the bank was ‘very sorry’). 2) Facing accusations of gender bias from senior executives. 3) Forcing redundant car insurance on more than 800,000 people, raking in $73 million while 25,000 people had their cars repossessed. 4) Allegedly changing loan terms of bankrupt mortgage borrowers in secret without informing them. 5) Playing a role in funding Trump’s immigrant prisons as one of the lenders to private prison companies GEO Group and CoreCivic. 6) Being accused of falsifying records in order to make mortgage applicants pay for delays the bank actually caused. 7) Facing allegations of stealing from rich investors to pay for legal fees to defend a lawsuit from those same rich investors. 8) Pushing even its richest clients into unnecessary products and charging huge fees. 9) Opening 3.5 million unauthorized bank and credit card accounts and blaming it on low-paid workers struggling to hit incentives.” It is singularly amazing that crimes of this nature, crimes that have been going on year after year, are only now coming to light.

Dishonest banking isn’t the only issue affecting immigrants (not to mention anyone who has banked with them).

The Republican party seems to have no problem at all with the injustices and mayhem their immigration policies have caused. But the American people overwhelmingly recognize that human rights violations are not, or shouldn’t be, a defining characteristic of our country. There have been numerous protests and other events that have taken place around the country decrying their inhumane policy. The Washington Post informs us that Mitch McConnell was: “pursued…through a restaurant parking lot on Saturday, berating him with a mixture of immigration rhetoric and personal insults—and at one point an apparent threat to visit his home. The Louisville encounter was the second time in two weeks that McConnell’s private life has been disrupted by a spontaneous protest—and it was the latest in a weeks-long series of confrontations between powerful Republicans and those eager to shame them on camera, wherever they are found.” (Avi Selk, The Washington Post, July 8, 2018)

And of course, the president is willing to make bald-faced lies whenever it suits his purposes. In a re-tweet, he said: “Illegals can get up to $3,874 a month under Federal Assistance program. Our social security checks are on average $1200 a month.” The $3,874 refers not to the United States, but to Canada, and not to the recipients legal status; it was given to a family of refugees. Lies like this would be laughable if they weren’t being made by the president of the United States.

Clearly, there is a war going on at our country’s southern borders. Win Without War pulls no punches about this: “despite what Trump is telling the U.S. public, the crisis is NOT families seeking asylum. The crisis is Trump’s hate-fueled policies and efforts to turn the southern border into a war zone. Toddlers were tear gassed last week by authorities at the U.S.-Mexico border. Now a group of women seeking asylum are holding a hunger strike in Tijuana, in a camp facing flooding and overcrowding. Thousands of active-duty troops—illegally authorized by Trump to use deadly force—are deployed at the border with an-ever extending deadline. And the Trump administration continues to push their inhumane Asylum Ban…It could only get worse if billions more are poured into this already dire border militarization crisis. Because even more funding for more walls, more border patrol, more detention centers, and more equipment just means more harm to some of the most vulnerable communities in the world: families escaping violence, who simply, and justly, are seeking refuge.” (Tara Tabassi, Win Without War, December 1, 2018)

The U.S. Border and Customs Protection Commission is now dealing with a child’s death. A seven-year-old named Jakelin Caal Maquin died of dehydration and cardiac arrest after she was received basic medical attention while in their care. This is far from being the only example of death and suffering that has taken place at our southern borders. It is also not surprising, considering that the man at the head of APB is Kevin McAleenan, an avid Trump loyalist.

Despite the inhumanity of Trump’s actions, he has repeatedly threatened to shut down the government unless he receives billions of dollars to construct his wall. Sierra Club reports: “Last March, to avert a government shutdown, Congress approved $1.6 billion to help implement Donald Trump’s border wall. In so doing, Congress put its stamp of approval on the dangerous anti-immigrant agenda of the Trump Administration.” (Lisa Hoyos, Climate Parents Director, Sierra Club, July 14, 2018) Trump made a similar threat in July, promising to shut down the government in September if Congress did not comply. The article continues: “Expanded funding of Trump’s immigration plan would result in more families being detained for extended periods in unsafe facilities, more militarization in border communities, and more environmental damage to the fragile ecosystems of the region.”

On December 19, Trump made good on his threats to shut down the government if they don’t fund his wall. On that day, the Senate was posed to pass a bipartisan spending bill, but it didn’t include the five billion dollars Trump demanded for building his border wall. Trump then took House Republicans into a closed-door meeting and insisted they fund his wall. Of course, they went along with it, and this began the governmental shutdown that was still in place as the year ended. And, of course, Trump predictably blames the Democrats for the shutdown, even though it was he who had promised this many times previously: He had threatened a “very long” shutdown if Congress didn’t fund the wall by midnight of that night. His exact words on December 11 were: “I am proud to shut down the government…I will take the mantle. I will be the one to shut it down. I’m not gonna blame you for it.” Now that the shutdown has taken place, suddenly it’s all the Democrat’s fault. As a result of this shutdown, hundreds of thousands of federal workers were required to work without pay through the Christmas holiday. Instead of getting a well-deserved bonus for their heroism fighting the California fires which devastated much of the state, firefighters worked through the holidays without pay.

The suffering of children in these detention centers is so extreme that many have begun calling them “concentration camps.” The term is somewhat appropriate, given what is happening there. Conditions are horrible. Several women have had miscarriages due to the lack of care and abuse they have received at these centers. Some children were actually drugged at these centers. Progress America tells us that: “In these centers children suffer from: 1) Forced administration of psychotropic drugs 2) Jail-like conditions with armed officers and, 3) Physical abuse, sexual abuse and even death…These privatized detention centers are big money makers for the industry and are rife with physical, psychological, and sexual abuses that include forced labor, inadequate medical care, and failure to respond to abuses suffered by detainees such as rape. Trump has benefited from these industries, receiving monetary donations from industry CEOs.” (Mike Phelan, Progress America, July 18, 2018)

One particularly horrific incident received widespread coverage. Color of Change relates the incident: “On May 24, a six-year-old girl, identified as D.L., arrived to the United States with her mother attempting to flee gang violence in their home country of Guatemala. Under the Trump administration’s ‘zero-tolerance’ immigration policy, D.L. was separated from her mother a few days after they arrived, taken to Southwest Key in Arizona where she suffered sexual abuse several times. Scared and alone, the little girl had little to no contact with her parents. D.L’s father was contacted about the incident, but was only told basic facts of the case and was not able to communicate with his daughter or any staff involved. D.L.’s mother remained helpless as she was detained at a separate facility miles away. Fortunately, immigrant rights activists helped get D.L. and her mother released and reunited them with D.L.’s father in California. However, most children aren’t as lucky…The Department of Justice, under the leadership of Attorney General Jeff Sessions, continues to dehumanize immigrants and has even proposed a rule that explicitly excludes immigration detention facilities from coverage under the Prison Rape Elimination Act (PREA), legislation designed to protect sexual violence in detention centers. With an agenda rooted in white supremacy, there is no federal government oversight to combat the surge of immigrant child abuse. The protection of our children lies in our hands.” (Enchanta Jackson, Color of Change, August 15, 2018)

Daily Kos informs us about some Department of Homeland Security officers who have quit their jobs in protest over the administration’s immoral actions: “Members of a Department of Homeland Security (DHS) advisory council that conducts recommendations on policy have quit over the Trump administration’s barbaric ‘zero tolerance’ policy, writing in a letter to DHS Secretary Kirstjen Nielsen that if they had been consulted over the policy in the first place, ‘we would have observed that routinely taking children from migrant parents was morally repugnant, counter-productive and ill-considered.’ The administration’s barbaric ‘zero tolerance’ policy has resulted in as many as 3,000 migrant children being kidnapped from parents at the border. The four members—including former secretary of the Navy Richard Danzig and former director of the National Counterterrorism Center Matthew Olsen—write that: ‘we cannot tolerate association with the immigration policies of this administration, nor the illusion that we are consulted on these matters.’ Two other resigning members, former Democratic Congress member Elizabeth Holtzman and former DHS deputy general counsel David Martin, also sent separate letters condemning further hateful and racist actions and proposals from the administration, including the Muslim bans, the stupid border wall, and the rescission of the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) program, which has left hundreds of thousands of young immigrants in limbo. ‘DHS has been transformed into an agency that is making war on immigrants and refugees,’ Holtzman wrote to Nielsen. ‘These actions,’ Martin said, ‘have fueled polarization, alienated state and local governments, and moved us much further from a sustainable, effective, and strategically sensible immigration enforcement program.’” (Gabe Ortiz, Daily Kos, July 18, 2018)

The Kos article summarizes the criminal activities of this administration: “There is no honor in this administration, which failed to reunite all children under age five with their parents by Judge Dana Sabraw’s July 10 deadline, is fighting his ruling that prevents the deportation of these families while examining their asylum options, never had a plan in place to voluntarily return all children to their parents in the first place, and now wants to lock up migrant families together.”

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THE TARIFF WAR

The news media often refers to a “tariff war” that the Trump administration has undertaken. The purpose of tariffs is to protect domestic production and jobs. They are usually put in place to protect industries that are perceived to be essential for the well-being of the country—or else because those companies have strong political clout. Tariffs made the news in September 2018 when Trump imposed ten percent tariffs on $200 billion worth of Chinese imports. Walmart (WMT) and other major retailers promptly announced that these new tariffs would result in some combination of higher prices or lower profits. Other countries were affected by Trump’s actions. Reaction was swift and sure from countries. Canada reacted by levying tariffs against U.S. imports ranging from ketchup to lawnmowers. Canada also slapped a 25% tariff on both steel and iron, as a reaction against the new U.S. tariff on steel. Canada is the second largest trading partner with the U.S.; China is first.

People’s Action discussed the role tariffs play in Trump’s agenda: “In early March, President Trump announced steel tariffs as part of a protectionist, anti-China economic strategy. Since then, he’s put tariffs on $34 billion of Chinese products, and threatens to sanction $200 billion more. Some progressives support these tariffs, on the grounds they protect workers in the United States. But it is strategically disastrous to offer support to Trump’s tariffs. Protectionism plays much better to the Right, where it is a core principle that foreigners are competitors and threats. Protectionism easily promotes xenophobia, for it is all too short a road from treating Asian industry as a threat to treating Asian people as a threat. In order to escape this nationalist abyss, we must unite with like-minded people around the world in a shared vision that puts people and planet first. It is therefore urgent that we set aside protectionism, which promotes the counterproductive narrative that Chinese workers are our competitors, rather than our potential comrades in the real struggle.” (Tobita Chow, People’s Action, July 12, 2018)

People’s Action provides critical information on Trump’s trade war: “President Trump is remaking the global trade order without significant political resistance or penalty, unchecked by a largely compliant Congress and bolstered by the loyalty of his supporters—even those likely to be hurt by his burgeoning global trade war. The Senate on Wednesday passed a nonbinding measure calling for a greater role in overseeing Trump’s trade decisions, an implicit criticism of new tariffs the president has levied on some of the country’s closest allies and largest trading partners. But the vote has no power to prompt a course change from the White House. And it follows failed attempts to advance measures that could have given Congress new power to restrain Trump. Congress’s passivity in the face of Trump’s escalating trade conflict is one of several factors that have made it easier for the president to push on. Others have included markets that haven’t melted down, business leaders who have done little beyond using rhetoric to criticize the trade spat, and Republican voters who have stood by their president. In each of these cases, critics of his trade policy had hoped Trump would find reason to be dissuaded. The trade changes mirror Trump’s rapid and similarly unchecked efforts to reposition the United States in the global political order. During his trip to Europe this week, the president has antagonized the country’s NATO allies. He also plans to meet next week with Russian President Vladi­mir Putin, seeking to tighten ties with a traditional rival. On trade, U.S. partners have retaliated with their own tariffs on U.S. goods, targeting GOP strongholds and paining sensitive industries and areas that depend on access to foreign markets.” (Tobita Chow, People’s Action, July 12, 2018)

The above article also shows how tariffs against China will not help U.S. trade: “President Donald Trump’s administration late on Tuesday released its list of $200 billion worth of Chinese goods that it said it aims to subject to 10 percent tariffs following a review process. China threatened retaliatory action and pledged that it would lodge a complaint with the World Trade Organization. Last week, U.S. tariffs on $34 billion in Chinese products went into effect. China responded by slapping 25 percent duties on the same amount in U.S. goods. China imported only about $130 billion in U.S. goods last year, compared with the $505 billion in Chinese goods imported by the United States. But that doesn’t mean China will run out of ammunition in the trade fight, Roach argued. ‘The idea that China has a math problem misses the fact that America has a few problems of our own,’ said Roach, a senior fellow at Yale University.”

China isn’t about to take this nonsense sitting down. People’s Action reports: “China said on Wednesday that: ‘blackmail’ wouldn’t work and that it would hit back if the United States takes further steps hindering trade, as the Trump administration considers slapping a 25 percent tariff on $200 billion worth of Chinese goods. The proposal would increase the potential tariff rate from 10 percent the administration had initially put forward on July 10 for that wave of duties in a bid to pressure Beijing into making trade concessions, a source familiar with the plan said on Tuesday. The tariffs target thousands of Chinese imports, including food products, chemicals, steel and aluminum and consumer goods ranging from dog food, furniture and carpets to car tires, bicycles, and baseball gloves and beauty products.” (Leo Gerard, People’s Action, August 1, 2018)

Although the full impact of Trump’s tariffs will take some time to be felt, there are already notable signs taking place indicating just how damaging they will be to the American economy. Quoting journalist Jacqueline Thomsen of The Hill, the Daily Kos reports: “BMW exports more cars from the US than does GM, Ford, or anyone else. And they’re moving production of some their SUVs to China, in response to the recent trade war that Trump started. And it’s not just existing SUV models that will be affected. Planned future models, including those with technology not yet available to BMW customers, will also be made outside the US. Fred Lambert reports in Electrek that BMW recently confirmed that production of the all-electric iX3 SUV will be in China, using batteries produced in Europe—of course this sort of thing would have been risky to plan in the US due to the Republican trade war in progress, and automakers hate risk…It looks like the 10,000 BMW employees in Spartanburg, South Carolina will be out of luck in all this. They can thank Republicans for the hostile business environment in the US, one that will be costing them jobs.” (Lincoln Green, Daily Kos, July 10, 2018)

Daily Kos reports on one company that has already been forced to shut its doors due to the tariff wars: “California Fabrication Company, parent company of CaseLabs, announced this weekend that they were closing down operations, in large part to the popular vote loser’s budding trade war.” (Jessica Sutherland, Daily Kos, August 11, 2018) The company made this announcement on their website: “We are very sad to announce that CaseLabs and its parent company will be closing permanently. We have been forced into bankruptcy and liquidation. The tariffs have played a major role raising prices by almost 80% (partly due to associated shortages), which cut deeply into our margins. The default of a large account added greatly to the problem. It hit us at the worst possible time. We reached out for a possible deal that would allow us to continue on and persevere through these difficult times, but in the end, it didn’t happen.” The Kos article continues: “PCGamer states the obvious: CaseLabs is likely referring to the growing number of tariffs being enforced on Chinese imports by the United States government. China and the US are currently engaged in a trade war, causing many US companies to lose money, lay off employees, or close entirely.”

This is far from the only company endangered by the tariff wars. Stack-on Products, a storage safe manufacturer, is closing up shop and taking its business operations to Mexico. Daily Kos reports: “The Chicago Tribune says that about 153 people will be laid off in the Chicago area as a result of Stack-On’s closures. But wait, there’s more! There are at least ‘885 coming job cuts that Illinois employers reported last month to the state’s Department of Commerce and Economic Opportunity.’ Those numbers come from an act that forces businesses planning on laying off more than 75 workers to give 60 days notice.” (Walter Einenkel, Daily Kos, August 15, 2018)

People’s Action adds: “Corey Southard steers red-hot molten steel slabs all day. And he’s worried about his job. The 48-year-old assistant roller at NLMK Pennsylvania says President Donald Trump’s steel tariffs have driven up costs for his company and left everyone at his western Pennsylvania plant—deep in the heart of Trump country—on edge. ‘Trump’s supposed to be making America great again, right? Why isn’t he creating more jobs here instead of taking jobs away?’ Southward said…Stories like that of NLMK are playing out across the country from Iowa soybean farmers slammed by retaliatory Chinese tariffs to Michigan auto industry workers worried about the metal tariffs and the impact of proposed levies on imported cars and parts.” (Leo Gerard, People’s Action, August 22, 2018)

One group that is suffering a great deal under the Trump administration is America’s farmers. Much of the blame for this can be laid at the self-defeating tariff wars instigated by the president. People’s Action reports: “The rate of bankruptcies among farms is rising steeply in the upper Midwest due to falling revenues from corn, soybeans, milk and other products. Over the last 12 months ending in June, 84 farms have declared bankruptcy in Wisconsin, Minnesota, North Dakota, South Dakota and Montana, more than doubling the number of bankruptcies over the same stretch in 2013/2014, according to the Federal Reserve Bank of Minneapolis. Additionally, the outlook moving forward doesn’t look good. Some farm exports actually spiked in the second quarter in the race to beat the implementation of China’s retaliatory tariffs. Soybean sales, for instance, have now ‘slowed to a crawl,’ according the Star Tribune. Given the price drops on the products since June, Minneapolis Fed analyst Ron Wirtz tells the AP, ‘The trajectory of the current trends suggest that this trend has not yet seen a peak.’ Analysts told the AP that many farmers were already producing beyond demand before the trade war with China escalated. Trump’s tariffs have exacerbated what was already a looming problem. ‘Grain farmers have had low prices for the past three years but high yields have helped them through. We’re just waiting for a turnaround,’ said Mark Miedtke, the president of Citizens State Bank in Hayfield. ‘We’re waiting for the tariff problem to go away.’” (Jeff Bryant, People’s Action, November 28, 2018)

Not that any of this will steer Trump from his chosen course. In the same article cited above, People’s Action also notes: “‘The Trump administration is moving closer this week to levying tariffs on nearly half of Chinese imports despite broad opposition from U.S. business and the start of a fresh round of talks between the U.S. and China to settle the trade dispute,’ the Wall Street Journal reports. ‘The twin administration initiatives—pursuing tariffs on $200 billion of Chinese goods while relaunching talks to scrap tariffs—underscore a split within the U.S. administration, with negotiators in the U.S. Treasury Department offering a carrot, while the office of the U.S. trade representative threatens with a stick, both with the approval of President Trump.

Trump showed that he has no grasp of basic economics when he claimed that the tariff war was being won. People’s Action tells us quite the opposite: “President Donald Trump on Thursday celebrated his administration’s tariffs on Chinese goods, claiming that they’re bringing in ‘billions of dollars’ for the U.S. However, according to Treasury Department data, the tariff revenue is just a drop in the fiscal bucket. The U.S. government closed the 2018 fiscal year $779 billion in the red, its highest deficit in six years, according to the latest Treasury Department financial statements. The increased shortfall came as Republican tax cuts cut into revenues and expenses rose as higher interest rates raised the cost of carrying the growing national debt. Trump and congressional Republicans have touted the tax cuts as a boost to growth and jobs. Independent tax analysts expect the deficit to surge as corporate and individual tax cuts kick in and government spending increases.” (Leo Gerard, People’s Action, November 30, 2018)

Trump’s celebratory attitude toward tariffs was challenged by Daily Kos, which provides us with examples of how tariffs really work. Although long, it needs to be quoted in full:
“Donald Trump celebrated his monomania this morning in a text boasting: “Billions of Dollars are pouring into the coffers of the U.S.A.” because of tariffs on the Chinese. Yes, tariffs do indeed go to the federal government, but who pays them? Trump and his zealots will claim it’s the exporter. But is it?
“Let’s say the Chinese currently sell widgets in the US for $15 each. While US companies must sell them at $18 to make a profit. In response, Trump levies a tariff of $3 per widget. The Chinese could pass along the whole cost, making American widgets competitive. The US Treasury would benefit by collecting $3 for each Chinese widget sold.
“But who’s paying the $3? Whoever is buying widgets—in this case, the American consumer. Increasing the price of widgets by $3 is the equivalent of adding a 20% sales tax. However, that revenue would only come from Chinese widget sales. The Treasury would get no direct benefit from increased American widget sales.
“Ultimately, the treasury would receive some money from an increase in corporate tax collected. But let’s remember Trump slashed the corporate tax rate—and businesses are very good at hiding profit.
“Let’s say the Chinese decide to absorb $1 of the tariff. The American consumer would still pay $2 (13%) more for a widget. And American widgets would still be uncompetitively priced. The Treasury would still receive tariff revenue of $3 a widget, but the American consumer would pay 2/3rds of that.
“Also consider this: Sales tax is a retrogressive tax which burdens the poor more than the rich—because the poor must spend a higher percentage of their income on ‘stuff’ (widgets) than the rich do.
“It gets worse. The Treasury needs more money because of Trump’s tax cuts. So while the rich get theirs, the poor are paying more to ease the deficit burden. In other words, tariffs aren’t just a sales tax they also shift wealth from the poor to the rich.
“Let’s look at one last scenario. Trump slaps a tariff of $5 on each widget and the Chinese can’t afford to pay it. Now the consumer is paying a 33% sales tax. And where is that money going? Not to the government to fund things the consumer needs, but straight to American corporations to be paid out in executive bonuses and stock buybacks. Again benefiting the rich at the expense of the average consumer.
“But here corporate apologists will cry triumphantly ‘but what about all the extra jobs created by a rise in American widget sales?’, I grant you there will be an increase in US widget jobs. But the Chinese are not sitting on their hands. They are targeting American exporters. So jobs in those companies will decline.
“And what of Trump’s claim that foreigners can just shift production to the US? It’s magical thinking. The Chinese are not about to shift jobs to the US. They will do as stated above, put tariffs on American goods.
“Lastly, if the aim of Trump’s policy is to increase jobs and reduce the trade deficit he should forget tariffs and instead subsidize the labor cost of American widget manufactures. Now the domestic widget makers can hire more people and price their widgets competitively.
“The advantage here is that employment goes up. The consumer doesn’t pay any more for widgets. And the Chinese are priced out of the US widget market. Just imagine not subsidizing fossil fuels but instead training miners to make widgets in plants run on clean power. Feels good, doesn’t it?
“Free-market types will protest—but it will be meaningless. Tariffs are just as significant an interference in the free-market as labor subsidies are.
“The disadvantage from Trump’s point of view is that US widget manufacturers won’t profit from it. And it will increase the deficit. But step two is electing a Democratic President and Congress so that America can have a tax code that creates a more equitable distribution of wealth.
“In other words, we can see an increase in American production. An increase in employment. A fairer tax code. And a move away from a new Robber Baron age to an era of Eisenhower-style wealth distribution. And don’t conservative always extol 1950s values?” (The Critical Mind, Daily Kos, November 29, 2018)

The irony is that the United States stands to be the biggest loser from Trump’s tariff wars. Daily Kos explains how: “Soren Skou runs the world’s largest shipping company, AP Moller-Maersk. In an interview from his offices in Copenhagen, Skou explained that Donald Trump’s insistence on applying tariffs could greatly hamper global trade growth by .1 to .3 percent annually, but that the results for the U.S. economy would be the worst, perhaps 3 or 4 percent.’ He adds: “The first thing the American importers would do if tariffs are put on Chinese consumer goods would be to buy in Vietnam, in Indonesia or elsewhere in Asia. Big US consumer brands like Nike produce in all of Asia, not just in one country, so there will be a substitution effect.” (Walter Einenkel, Daily Kos, August 20, 2018)

Of course, Donald Trump isn’t the kind of man to back down, or to admit making an error. People’s Action reported: “President Trump has decided to impose tariffs on $200 billion in Chinese goods, two people briefed on the decision said, one of the most severe economic restrictions ever imposed by a U.S. president. An announcement is expected to come within days, the people said, speaking on the condition of anonymity because they weren’t authorized to discuss internal plans. The new tariffs would apply to more than 1,000 products, including refrigerators, air conditioners, furniture, televisions and toys. These penalties could drive up the cost of a range of products ahead of the holiday shopping season, though it’s unclear how much. Apple said recently its Apple Watch, AirPods, Mac mini and a variety of chargers and adapters would be caught in the tariff war. ‘Our concern with these tariffs is that the U.S. will be hardest hit, and that will result in lower U.S. growth and competitiveness and higher prices for U.S. consumers,’ the company said in a letter to the U. S. Trade representative. ‘The burden of the proposed tariffs will fall much more heavily on the United States than on China.’” (Robert Borosage, People’s Action, September 17, 2018)

And of course, as money disappears from manufacturers’ profit margins and the costs of creating the things that Americans consume rise, so will the prices of things—and that doesn’t really bother the top 1 percent of our country, because they can afford it.

Finally, on December 1, 2018, Trump and China’s president Xi Jinping announced that they would momentarily halt their trade war until after the beginning of the new year. Both men agreed on a ninety-day halt after which, if they cannot reach an agreement, the tariffs will be raised from ten percent to twenty-five percent. In addition, China has agreed to buy large but unspecified amounts of agriculture, energy and other goods from the United States in order to make the trade between the two countries more balanced.

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FOREIGN RELATIONS

Donald Trump’s foreign policy is a joke. He has ignored and insulted virtually every one of our traditional allies while cozying up to the worlds dictators. The result is that no one in the international community takes him seriously and our traditional standing as a nation dedicated to justice is poisoned.

Daily Kos noted that: “Donald Trump opened his visit to NATO by doubling down on his efforts to attack America’s closest allies and deploying his I’m-not-a-puppet-you’re-a-puppet defense on Russia. Trump: ‘Germany, as far as I’m concerned, is captive to Russia because it’s getting so much of its energy from Russia. Germany is a captive of Russia, It’s very inappropriate.’ When he was confronted by NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg with the need for the alliance to stay united in the response to Germany, Trump dismissed the idea with contempt, saying that Germany had ‘gotten rid of all its coal and nuclear.’ (Mark Sumner, Daily Kos, July 11, 2018) As usual, there is no truth to this nonsense: He provided no elaboration on his claim that: “Germany is a captive of Russia.” In addition, Germany has not “gotten rid of its coal” although they are importing much of it from Australia. The Kos article notes the real reason behind Trump’s hostility: “But the biggest source of new power in Germany hasn’t been Russia—it’s been renewables. The big change in Germany over the last two decades has been the rapid, successful, and cost-effective growth of solar, wind, and off-shore wind. Renewables now make up 14 percent of Germany’s electrical production, and that number is growing rapidly…It’ s no coincidence that Trump’ s attack on Germany combines Russia, coal, and nuclear power all in one big mash-up. Because Germany is everything that Trump is working against in one bundle: They’re maintaining a democracy that is pushing back against right-wing white nationalism, they’re fighting back against Russia’s influence in both Europe and their local politics, and they’re rapidly building a base of renewable power that is set to displace their need for imported fossil fuels.” Simply put, Germany, like most of the civilized world, is moving beyond dirty fossil fuels, and Trump can’t accept that fact. The article aptly concludes: “It’s entirely in Trump’s interest to paint Germany—one of the most successful nations of the 21st century—as a kind of failed state, where Muslim immigrants pillage through the streets, the lights would go out without the help of Vladimir Putin, and the United States picks up the tab for their defense. None of it is true. But that will not stop Trump from presenting this model.”

People’s Action hits the nail on the head, showing considerable insight into Trump’s imaginary worldview: “One of the dangers since Donald Trump became president is that it becomes all about him—his attention-seeking theatrics, his latest social media grenades thrown into cyberspace. Some of the establishment opposition has focused on Trump’s vulgarity, his manners, that he is somehow unpresidential, rather than his political substance and what he represents. As Naomi Klein explained in her book No Is Not Enough, the Trump performance becomes a distraction from scrutinising the dangerous political forces and economic interests he represents. Ever since the financial crash, movements and elite politicians across the western world have attempted to scapegoat migrants, refugees and Muslims for unemployment and job insecurity, stagnating living standards and decimated public services. Conveniently, their racist deflections have been accompanied by policies that favour the wealthy and big business. They have proved increasingly successful, and feel legitimised and emboldened by having one of their own in the White House.” ( Tobita Chow, People’s Action, July 12, 2018) Questionable spelling aside, the key point cannot be emphasized enough: All of Trump’s rants and raves serves the purposes of him and his cronies: They function as distractions to keep people from examining the actual political agenda he hopes to implement.

Of course, Germany is far from being the only ally that Trump has offended. He caused a diplomatic uproar in the United Kingdom when, prior to his meeting with Prime Minister Theresa May, he gave an interview with an extremely right-wing tabloid called The Sun. Trump’s interview was designed to: “harm May, roil her government, keep the fires of white nationalism burning, and give a boost to the UK’s own blowhard Trump-a-like, Boris Johnson. Some overnight reporting even suggested that Trump’s interview might be enough to unseat May’s fragile government—an idea that surely thrills Trump.” (Daily Kos, July 13, 2018) Trump was particularly incensed over Britain’s decision to withdraw from the European Union and spoke forcefully against it. May had been making every effort to diplomatically remove the UK out of the union while at the same time preserving freedom of movement and open trade; she was trying to create a delicate balance by continuing to observe EU rules and regulations on certain trade goods. But Trump would have none of it. He all but issued an ultimatum to May, saying he thought the United States would do better by talking with the EU rather than working out the trade deal between the U.S. and UK that observers had figured would be the result of their meeting. The Kos article sums it up by noting: “So Trump is telling May how she should conduct the delicate business of extracting the UK from the EU, directly interfering British domestic politics, and holding up the threat of taking away a US trade deal unless she reverses course in the eleventh hour to do it the way he wants—an action that would likely result not in a clean Brexit, but a “Brupture” that would leave the UK isolated and apart from an angry EU. But Trump didn’t stop there. He had plenty of time for other topics—like a massive shot of white nationalism.” Trump said: “Allowing the immigration to take place in Europe is a shame. I think it changed the fabric of Europe and, unless you act very quickly, it’s never going to be what it was—and I don’t mean that in a positive way.” The article aptly summarizes: “But the idea that Trump doesn’t understand the damage he is causing, like the idea that he doesn’t understand the nature or funding of NATO, is last year’s news. Trump understands. He understands that his way forward requires that he always find some source of fresh outrage. And his base at home demands the scalps of leaders who are playing along to the white nationalist autocratic game. That’s why Trump went out of his way during his NATO visit to attack Germany. That nation’s success in integrating migrants, accepting large numbers of refugees, building up an infrastructure of renewable energy, and holding off the force of alt-reich nationalism is a massive rebuke to Trump and to the forces he represents. It’s not that Trump doesn’t understand what he’s doing. It’s that he does understand. And that’s far worse.”

Brits reacted to Trump’s interferences by staging massive protests against him. Prince Charles and Prince William pointedly refused to see him. One can only wonder why there are so few similar protests going on here in the United States.

True to form, Trump seems intent on destroying any positive relations we have always had with our allies. It is not surprising, therefore, to note that the result of his arrogant intrusion into the affairs of another country were met with contempt by British lawmakers of all political parties.

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RUSSIAGATE

If there is one thing that is painfully obvious about the ongoing Russian investigation, it is that our democracy and our right to free elections has been under attack by the Russian government. This is not in dispute; the only thing in dispute is whether Trump himself was involved in the collusion. But even if he is proven to be completely innocent (which is becoming more and more unlikely as each new development unfolds), his subsequent actions, by any objective standard, are highly suspicious. In July, 2018, he attended a closed-door meeting with Vladimir Putin. Tom Steyer has some choice words on this: “A president who actually cared about our democracy would not be meeting with a foreign leader who attacked our most critical democratic process. But Trump couldn’t care less about our democracy, and he certainly isn’t going to get to the bottom of what happened in 2016. Instead, he’s surrounding himself with lawyers and U.S. Supreme Court justices who will protect him and his illicit presidency.” (Tom Steyer, Need to Impeach, July 13, 2018)

This investigation still has a long way to go, but if Trump’s actions demonstrate anything, it’s that he puts his own emotions above the well-being of the country he is supposed to be leading. He continues to call the investigation a “witch hunt,” even though Mueller’s investigation has at this writing already produced significant results, including more than 190 criminal charges, thirty-six indictments, seven guilty pleas, and three people sentenced for criminal activity. And this is only after a year into the investigation. Compare this with the investigation into Bill Clinton’s presidency, which went on for six years and had exactly zero results, and you will get an indication of what constitutes a real “witch hunt.”

At any rate, there have been significant developments in the six month period covered herein that demonstrate the depth of corruption entailed in this scandal. In July, Special Counsel Robert Mueller indicted twelve Russian military officers who: “hacked the DNC, DCCC, and state election officials’ computers (includes boards of election, and secretaries of state) beginning in March 2016.” (Daily Kos, July 13, 2018) The article continues: “The implication is that the hacked information may have been transferred to the GOP, because of the breadth of material stolen and because of other classified evidence.” The indicted intelligence officers are accused of: “a sustained cyberattack against Democratic party targets and Hillary Clinton’s campaign.” These officers operate at the discretion of President Putin. The article also notes: “The 11-count indictment spells out in granular detail a carefully planned and executed attack on the information security of Democrats, implanting hundreds of malware files on Democrats’ computer systems, stealing information and then laundering the pilfered material through fake personas and others to try to influence voters’ opinions. Rosenstein said the suspects worked to ‘hack into computers, steal documents, and release those documents with the intent to interfere with the election.’”

This was the first charge by Mueller that directly accuses the Russian government of interfering in the 2016 presidential election. Of course, Trump had always maintained that Russia had nothing to do with the hacking of the Democratic National Committee and Hillary Clinton’s presidential bid. And, even though the twelve operatives could not have done their work without prior approval from Putin, Trump still insists that he and Putin can eventually be friends and was predictably unresponsive to the countless demands that he not attend the subsequent meeting with Putin. When he met with Putin just three days after the 12 indictments, both men denied that the interference in the 2016 election had actually happened. Predictably, although the entire U.S. intelligence community says the exact opposite, Trump reiterated that there was: “no collusion at all.”

Many Americans were rightfully stunned at their president’s betrayal of his country. Congressman Adam Schiff sent the following message to his constituents: “With the eyes of the world on him, just days after bullying and denigrating our closest allies and the NATO alliance, President Trump met with Vladimir Putin. Far from standing up for our values and our security, Trump stood next to the Russian dictator, one who attacked our elections, who has bombed civilians in Syria, who invades his neighbors, who has poisoned British citizens—and apologized for America. And then he attacked the people working to keep us safe.” (Adam Schiff, July 16, 2018)

Rob Reiner weighs in on this: “Trump has no problem meeting with Putin, whose government engaged in cyberwarfare to sow discord in our nation and help Trump become president—the same Putin who has committed human rights abuses against members of the LGBTQ community, jailed journalists, invaded Ukraine, attempted to execute a British informant with nerve agents, and attacked his political opposition. Yet Trump is running scared from a meeting with Mueller. In January, Trump said he would meet with Mueller and answer his questions under oath, yet he’s backpedaled as Mueller’s investigation has heated up. Now with 35 indictments, five guilty pleas, over 100 criminal charges, and Trump’s campaign chair sitting in prison, Trump has publicly attacked the investigation and threatened to fire Mueller and his boss, Deputy Attorney General Rod Rosenstein. The latest rounds of indictments on Friday exposed that on the same day that Trump asked Russia to find Clinton’s missing emails, Russian intelligence agents hacked DNC and Clinton campaign emails. This begs the question: What did Trump know, and when did he know it?” (Rob Reiner, MoveOn.org, July 16, 2018) MoveOn has a sample letter that elaborates on this: “Mueller has indicted 35 people for over 100 criminal charges. Three of Trump’s top people have pleaded guilty; Trump’s Deputy Campaign Manager Rick Gates, campaign foreign policy advisor George Papadopoulos, and his former National Security Advisor Michael Flynn. Trump’s Campaign Chairman Paul Manafort has also been indicted and was sent to jail for tampering with witnesses. On Friday, Mueller indicted 12 Russian military intelligence officers for interfering in the election.”

Things got more and more interesting during one two day period in early August, 2018. Free Speech for People informs us: “ FIRST there was Trump’s tweet this weekend, acknowledging that Donald Trump Jr. met with Russian operatives to “get information on an opponent”—DESPITE helping craft a statement that insisted the meeting was only to discuss adoption programs. THEN a confession in court yesterday, from the man that ran Trump’s inaugural committee, revealed that he acted illegally on behalf of Paul Manafort (Trump’s campaign chairman who has been accused of more than 20 illegal acts, including failure to register as a foreign agent, conspiracy, and obstruction of justice).” (Free Speech for People, August 7, 2018) The article goes on to ask: “What else does Congress need to see to finally act? We know Donald Trump has consistently violated the Constitution since taking office. We know that he and his team have actively lied to the public about his campaign’s activities with Russian agents.” Lie after lie comes from this man’s mouth—and still Congress refuses to take any steps to hold him accountable.

Manafort has been under surveillance since 2014; it was revealed in January 2017 that he was under investigation by numerous federal agencies, including the CIA, FBI, and National Security Agency (NSA). Robert Mueller took over the probe into Manafort’s criminal activities. United States v. Manafort has served to strengthen the constitutionality of the Russian investigation. His trial, which began on July 31, 2018, included charges of tax evasion, bank fraud, and secretly hiding foreign bank accounts. He was convicted on five counts of tax fraud, one count of failing to disclose his foreign bank accounts, and two counts of bank fraud. The jury realized that Manafort lied about the sixty-plus million dollars he made lobbying for a foreign government, and made a cool sixty million for himself in the process. His sentencing is scheduled for early February, 2019. Interestingly, two minutes later, Michael Cohen pled guilty to eight criminal counts.

If all this were not enough, August 21 also saw Republican Congressman Duncan Hunter indicted by the Department of Justice for misusing $250,000 of campaign money for personal expenses. The Los Angeles Times lists some of the expenses racked up by Hunter and his wife: “They dropped more than #14,000 on a family vacation in Italy. They racked up #3,300 at In-N-Out, Carls’s Jr., Taco Bell and other fast-food restaurants. Over the years, prosecutors allege, Rep. Duncan Hunter and his wife, Margaret, picked up Fandango movie tickets, a $250 airplane ride for the family rabbit, video games and vitamins from Costco—and once, 30 tequila shots for a bachelor party.” ( Sarah D. Wire, Christine Mai-Duc, and Alene Tchekmedyian, Los Angeles Times, August 22, 2018) It shouldn’t come as any surprise that Hunter was one of Trump’s main supporters in the House of Representatives.

People’s Action notes that: “Many Trumpworld insiders are now convicted criminals. Manafort, Cohen, Flynn, Gates and Papadopoulos. Former CBS news anchor Dan Rather calls them Trump’s ‘Flock of Felons.’ Even more Trump boosters are charged with crimes. New York GOP Representative Chris Collins is indicted for insider trading. California GOP Representative Duncan Hunter used campaign funds to fly his pet rabbit to Italy. Corruption caused the resignations of both EPA Secretary Scott Pruitt and HHS Secretary Tom Price.” (James Mumm, People’s Action, August 26, 2018) Given all this, anyone who still denies that this is the most corrupt administration in U.S. history must be living on another planet.

One interesting fact emerged following Manafort’s conviction. Although he was convicted on eight counts, he was charged with eighteen. He would have been convicted on all eighteen counts if it weren’t for one lone juror, who later gave an interview on Fox News (where else?) in which she stated that she is an “avid” supporter of president Trump and was skeptical about prosecutor’s motives in the financial crimes case. “Certainly Mr. Manafort got caught breaking the law, but he wouldn’t have gotten caught if they weren’t after President Trump,” she said. She separately described the special prosecutor’s case as a “witch hunt to try to find Russian collusion.” She said she plans to vote for Trump again in 2020. With rationalizing like this at work, it is amazing that she was even allowed to be a juror.

Need to Impeach has some telling comments about that momentous day of August 22: “With their combined 16 charges, Manafort and Cohen join a host of top Trump officials—including his national security adviser, deputy campaign chairman, and campaign foreign policy adviser—to be guilty of felony crimes. Our president surrounds himself with criminals. He hired criminals to work for him, he hired criminals to run his campaign, and he hired criminals to serve in his administration.” (Jack Shaw, Need to Impeach, August 21, 2018) Strong words. But, given the current political climate, highly appropriate.

A separate trial in the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia began in September 2018 for Manafort. The charges included conspiracy to defraud the United States, money laundering, and failing to register as a foreign lobbyist. He was also charged with making false statements to investigators as well as witness tampering. He entered into a plea deal on September 14, 2018 and pled guilty to two of these charges, the conspiracy to defraud the United States, and witness tampering. As part of the agreement, he also promised to forfeit more than $22 million in cash and property as well as cooperate fully with the Special Counsel. However, on November 26, Mueller’s office stated that Manafort had repeatedly lied about numerous items and was thus in breach of his plea agreement. All this could conceivably land Manafort in prison for life.

What has Congress done while all this information is coming out? Absolutely nothing. Not a single Republican in Congress seems to have any intention whatsoever of holding Donald Trump responsible for anything. And that is the biggest scandal of all.

There’s still more: Need to Impeach reports: “The walls are closing in on Donald Trump. The news this week did not end with his former campaign chairman and former personal attorney racking up 16 guilty charges between them on Tuesday. Federal prosecutors granted immunity to Allen Weisselberg, the longtime chief financial officer of the Trump Organization, for providing information in the investigation into hush-money payments made during Trump’s presidential campaign. Since Trump was elected, Weisselberg has been leading the Trump Organization, along with Trump’s sons Don Jr. and Eric, and is said to know ‘where all the financial bodies are buried’ in Trump’s businesses. Federal prosecutors also gave immunity to David Pecker, the chairman of tabloid publisher American Media Inc., for information in the Michael Cohen probe. A longtime friend of Trump’s, Pecker could have valuable information on the President.” (Tom Steyer, Need to Impeach, August 24, 2918)

Of course, none of this will affect Trump’s attitude toward the investigation; he will continue to call it a witch hunt and claim that Manafort’s convictions have nothing to do with him. But he’s going to have a difficult time explaining why he should get away with massive tax fraud.

The bottom line should be obvious: When the president of the United States chooses to believe a foreign dictator instead of his own intelligence sources, there is no word for it other than treason. Trump is actively seeking to turn the United States into a Russian puppet state. But he is not the only traitor. Daily Kos weighs in: “There are the eight Republicans who went to Moscow during the Fourth of July weekend, paying respects to their new bosses—Sens. Richard Shelby (R-AL), John Kennedy (R-LA), John Hoeven (R-ND), Jerry Moran (R-KS), Steve Daines (R-MT), John Thune (R-SD), Ron Johnson (R-WI) and Rep. Kay Granger (R-TX). No Democrats were invited for obvious reasons.” (Daily Kos, July 16, 2018) Other Republicans are equally guilty: Rand Paul (R-Ky) said of the Russian interference: “We all do it” and blamed the whole thing on NATO!

People’s Action asks a pointed question: “Imagine if—after the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor—President Roosevelt gave a press conference, stating that he had just spoken to Japan’s Emperor, who assured him ‘it’s not Japan. I will say this. I don’t see any reason why it would be… Emperor Hirohito was extremely strong and powerful in his denial today.’” How would Americans have reacted to Franklin D. Roosevelt? Would they have believed him? Why should we react differently to Trump, especially given the fact that he is a man who, unlike Roosevelt, is a proven, shameless liar?

If there remains anyone in these United States that thinks Trump isn’t delusional, those doubts should have been completely erased when, after the Russian summit he actually told his cabinet that: “there’s been no president ever as tough as I have been on Russia.” As laughable as this is, when a reporter asked him if Russia was still targeting the U.S., Trump replied: “no.” This of course contradicts what Director of National Intelligence Dan Coats said, namely that Russia is “most definitely” targeting the U.S. and the electoral process.

On July 18, Trump tried to back track a bit from his ridiculous statement on Russian interference by making the absurd statement that the interference “could be other people also.” Of course, he made no attempt to enlighten anyone on just who these “others” might actually be. Democratic Senator Patrick Leahy (D-Vt) noted that even some of his Republican Senatorial colleagues were appalled by Trump’s pandering to Putin.

Trump’s presidential campaign was well-aware of the fact that Russia’s president and his henchmen were attacking our democracy. Several of Trump’s advisors were actively involved in the attacks, being in communication with Russian intelligence agents and the hackers who did the actual attacks. Tom Steyer notes that: “In fact, the Russians tried to hack the Clinton campaign just hours after Trump publicly called on Russia to do so.” (Need to Impeach, July 14, 2018) Steyer also indignantly notes (why aren’t more people indignant over this scandal?): “Trump continues to side with Russia over the country he swore an oath to protect.” Trump is indeed, as Steyer notes, a “lawless” president who needs to be impeached.

Despite all this, the Daily Kos reports that: “The head of House Republicans’ 2018 campaign has refused to pledge to not use stolen documents in this year’s election. Your read that right: Steve Stivers, the head of the National Republican Congressional Committee, will not rule out using hacked materials to attack Democrats and win elections for the GOP.” (Michael Langenmayr, Daily Kos, July 15, 2018) Clearly, Republicans have no problem in using any means at their disposal, including treasonous activity, to hinder the investigation.

There is another angle to all this, one that makes Trump’s collusion with Putin more understandable, if not forgivable. Climate Hawks Vote tells us just what it is: “Putin doesn’t hide his embrace of Big Oil. In the infamous Helsinki press conference, one of the things he said about cooperation with the USA was ‘I think that we as a major oil and gas power, and the United States as a major oil and gas power, as well, we could work together on regulation of international markets.’ That’s Putin-speak for more fossil fuel exports—and more climate chaos. Putin’s regime is extremely dependent on export of fossil fuels to maintain the Russian economy and his popularity. If the world does what’s needed to rapidly decarbonize the economy, the Russian economy may well crash. Like most dictators, Putin doesn’t care about the long run health of the planet or its people. And wanna-be dictator Trump will keep embracing him, and Congressional Republicans will turn a blind eye to collusion.” (RL Miller, Climate Hawks Vote, July 18, 2018)

Most Democrats reacted with outrage over Trump’s betrayal of his country. A very few Republicans did the same. In one of his last public statements before his death from cancer, John McCain (R-Az) minced no words: “Today’s press conference in Helsinki was one of the most disgraceful performances by an American president in memory. The damage inflicted by President Trump’s naiveté, egotism, false equivalence, and sympathy for autocrats is difficult to calculate. But it is clear that the summit in Helsinki was a tragic mistake. President Trump proved not only unable, but unwilling to stand up to Putin. He and Putin seemed to be speaking from the same script as the president made a conscious choice to defend a tyrant against the fair questions of a free press, and to grant Putin an uncontested platform to spew propaganda and lies to the world.” And former FBI director John Brennan opined: “Donald Trump’s press conference performance in Helsinki rises to & exceeds the threshold of ‘high crimes & misdemeanors.’ It was nothing short of treasonous.”

The Nation reports: “Shortly after the Trump-Putin press conference, federal prosecutors announced the indictment of Maria Butina, a Russian national in Washington, DC, who, unlike the 25 Russians the special counsel has so far indicted, was arrested over the weekend. Butina, who in 2016 attempted to arrange a meeting between Trump and Putin, is accused of operating as a foreign agent to gain influence in Republican political circles and advance the interests of the Russian Federation. Working on behalf of Alexander Torshin, the deputy governor of the Russian Central Bank, she appears to have brokered ties with the National Rifle Association and conservative religious organizations, which she herself accurately identified as the financial backbones of the Republican Party in Congress. Butina is a colorful example of an increasingly common phenomenon in Washington: foreign nationals, not only from Russia but from dozens of other countries, who blur the line between lobbying and spying until it’s imperceptible. This is what the evisceration of campaign-finance laws has yielded: a capital where American corporations and foreign governments see every official as being for sale. Mueller, who knows more than anyone in the media about the extent of the Russiagate scandal and never leaks, isn’t telling us that Trump colluded and obstructed justice—we already know that, because we literally saw Trump request on camera, in the summer of 2016, that Russia hack the Clinton campaign, just as we later saw him bluntly admit to the world that he fired James Comey to end the Russia investigation. Instead, we are being told something much more frightening: that Russiagate doesn’t end with Trump and his inner circle, that some members of Congress may be implicated, and that the Republican leadership therefore has a personal stake in preventing anyone beyond Manafort and a few other flunkies from being held accountable. Mueller and the FBI are giving everyone a glimpse at the scale of official corruption in Washington, and they’re warning us that they aren’t going to be able to rein it in all by themselves.” (David Klion, The Nation, July 17, 2018)

It is a sign of our times that Republicans, who have always portrayed themselves as pro-law and order, have suddenly turned against the nation’s top law enforcement agency, the FBI. Polls have shown the majority of Republicans are now accepting Trumps attacks on the FBI; in addition to Senate Republicans, from whom such a shift might be expected, but also from ordinary Republican voters. Since 2016, their approval of the agency has dropped about sixteen percentage points.

It is fascinating to see how Republicans have changed their tune about Russia. Daily Kos provides us with one stellar example. Quoting Politico, it reports: “Pat Buchanan, who had spent decades chewing every inch of scenery over the possibility that a Russian spy might be hiding behind the White House drapes, had already so reversed himself that in 2014 he said Putin was: ‘entering a claim that Moscow is the Godly City of today.’ It didn’t matter that Putin was routinely assassinating his opponents, killing and imprisoning journalists, and stealing everything that was and wasn’t nailed down. He was crushing the rights of gays. For Buchanan, that meant everything. Pat Buchanan: In the culture war for the future of mankind, Putin is planting Russia’s flag firmly on the side of traditional Christianity. Buchanan, a devout Catholic, made the claim that God was on Putin’s side, even as Putin was invading Ukraine and the United States and Europe were scrambling to find a response to the clearest act of territorial aggression since World War II might seem shocking…but it was already settling in as accepted wisdom on the right. Putin was strong. Putin was manly. Putin was brutally cruel to gays. For Buchanan—as for anyone in the religious right (a group that’s always searching for a David to rule them as they want, even if that rule comes with moral failings up to murdering a friend, or sleeping with a porn star) learning that Putin hated gays was enough to make him the anointed one of God. No matter how many dozens, or hundreds, or thousands he had killed.” (Mark Sumner, Daily Kos, July 18, 2018)

There are other developments that, to say the least, don’t reflect favorably on the Republicans. One of these concerns Devin Nunes. Nunes, as I discussed in my previous articles, was the chair of the House Intelligence Committee (HIC) that release the March 12, 2018 four page memorandum that tried to sell the American people on the idea that there was no collusion between the Trump administration and the many Russian operatives. In that report, Nunes also attempted to smear the FBI by making the ridiculously unsubstantiated claim that there is a secret anti-Trump society operating within the FBI. Obviously, this is nothing more than a transparently crude attempt to discredit any agency pursuing the Russian investigation, and anything that Nunes says or does must be seen in that light.

It now turns out now that Nunes is in trouble for various financial irregularities. The Ethics Committee has disclosed that he had ownership in three California companies but failed to include those shares on his financial disclosures to the American people. If this were not enough, he may also have bought part of a winery called Phase 2 Cellars for less than what other investors were required to pay. Clearly this would be an illegal activity. Nunes has had other encounters with the Ethics Committee, which is currently investigating his having hosted a party with another winery called Alpha Omega Winery, which is being sued for having sexually trafficked underaged girls and illegal drugs at the party. And when the Fresno Bee attempted to investigate the incident, Nunes responded with an attack on the newspaper. In other words, standard Republican operating procedure.

Rolling Stone adds: “Nunes has local worries. An Esquire expose revealed that Nunes’ family dairy farm—which gave him Central Valley ag cred—is no longer in California, but Iowa. Nunes has also been caught living high on the campaign hog, reportedly spending PAC funds on limo rides, Las Vegas soires and—most scandalous in California—Celtics tickets, worth $15,000.” (Tim Dickenson, Rolling Stone, October 25, 2018)

The Los Angeles Times ran an interesting article on Nunes called “Devin Nunes’ disappearing act” which began by noting how little work he seems to be doing for his constituents. The article notes: “Thrust into prominence by the Intelligence Committee’s role in investigating the Trump Campaign’s Russia connections, Nunes has delighted the president’s supporters by turning congressional norms upside down. Instead of conducting a genuine probe of the campaign, he has tried to investigate the investigators, endeavoring to use his committee’s powers to show that intelligence officials perpetrated a hoax to discredit the 2016 election.” (Jacques Leslie, Los Angeles Times, August 19, 2018) The article then compares Nunes’ strategies with the president’s: “Nunes follows the Trump playbook: Lie. If caught, double down. Throw accusations back at the source. Proclaim ‘fake news.’ He has run television and radio ads denouncing the Fresno Bee and calling it: ‘a left-wing rag,’ an especially shameless charge considering that the Bee endorsed Nunes in every congressional election since 2002. But the Bee and other outlets also have reported that since 2013, Nunes has used political donations to pay for lavish Las Vegas trips, limousine travel, winery tours and $15,000 worth of tickets to NBA games featuring his favorite team, the far-from-the-22nd-District Boston Celtics.”

Despite these scandalous developments, Nunes won re-election in the November, 2018 election over his Democratic rival Andrew Janz. Even though Janz rightly referred to Nunes as “a national security danger” and ran his campaign on a tough law-and-order platform, he still lost the election by six percentage points. And just where was Nunes during the campaign? Visiting Azerbaijan and meeting with a potential witness in the Russia investigation. In other words, Devin Nunes engaged in obvious witness tampering. This is a criminal offense, not that this means anything to him or his Republican cronies: they know that illegal activities like this are not likely to receive much media coverage.

If this were not enough to show Nunes as the crook he is, NBC news was able to get an inside look at a message board used by extreme right-wing conspiracy theorists to invent and advance their stupid theories. One site in particular, Big League Politics, seems to thrive on making money from right-wing stupidity. This group offers theories of secret pedophile rings like “PizzaGate” based on nothing more than the ravings of internet trolls. If this were not alarming enough, it has emerged that national Republicans have been using this site as well as its user email list for their own purposes, mostly for fundraising. As it turns out, both Devin Nunes and the National Republican Congressional Committee have not only been exposed as having used the ring, they steadfastly say the refuse to stop doing so. Daily Kos weighs in: “You think Republicans can’t get worse, but they always do. These conspiracies have led to gunshots inside a restaurant, an armed lunatic barricading himself beside the Hoover Dam, a man starting a major California wildfire, and the regular harassment of seemingly randomly-chosen businesses and individuals. You may see that as a danger to the republic, but the ever-odious Devin Nunes sees that as a fundraising opportunity. After all, if you can believe in all those other tall tales, you’re just the sort of person pro-Trump, pro-hoax Republicans need on their team.” (Hunter, Daily Kos, August 28, 2018)

In their effort to derail the Russian investigation, Nunes, along with Jim Jordan, Mark Meadows, and other Republican cronies are making every effort to impeach Rod Rosenstein, who is overseeing Mueller’s investigation. CREDO Action notes the timing: “The timing could not be more suspect: According to news reports, Rep. Meadows ‘had the impeachment document on the floor of the House at the very moment that Rosenstein spoke to reporters and TV cameras’ to unveil the indictments of 12 Russian agents last Friday…Nunes’ most loyal ally in his effort to impeach Rosenstein is Rep. Jordan, who was recently named by Ohio State University survivors as complicit in covering up sexual abuse and seems to have a vendetta against investigations…Supposedly their attempt to impeach Rosenstein is based on his refusal to turn over classified documents. But given Nunes’ history of leaking confidential information, Rosenstein is clearly in the right. Furthermore, the impeachment of a non-cabinet executive branch official is practically unheard of, but Trump and his lapdogs will try anything to undermine Mueller’s investigation. Earlier this month, the Senate confirmed Trump-appointed Putin-linked Brian Benczkowski to head the Department of Justice Criminal Division, even though Benczkowski refused to recuse himself from the Russia investigation. As the new DOJ Criminal Division head, Benczkowski, who previously worked closely with Jeff Sessions, is now in a position where he can leak information about Mueller’s probe to Sessions, who is recused, and even to Trump, who may be a subject of the investigation. If Nunes, Jordan and other Trump lapdogs succeed in impeaching Rosenstein, Trump could name Benczkowski as Rosenstein’s replacement and effectively end Mueller’s investigation.” (Kaili Lambe, CREDO Action, July 23, 2018)

On July 25, Republicans formally called for Rosenstein’s impeachment. Daily Kos calls this: “an utter abrogation of Congress’s responsibility to act as a check on the executive.” The article continues: “The Republicans who signed that legislation put their names down in, if not infamy, at least the roll call of those who placed their own needs light-years ahead of the nation. Which is exactly what they intended. Because the Rosenstein ‘impeachment’ legislation isn’t about impeaching Rosenstein. It’s not even about protecting Trump. It’s about being seen calling for the impeachment of Rosenstein, and being seen as if protecting Trump…They’re gambling that raising their clenched fists for Trump will do for them what it’s done for Nunes: generate more than enough dollars to cover anyone upset by the fact that they’re basically rubbing out the ‘balance’ part of checks and balances. After all, what are people going to do? Vote for Democrats?”
(Mark Sumner, Daily Kos, July 26, 2018) Of course, these Trump henchmen had to come up with something that would justify the calling for Rosenstein’s impeachment, so they claimed he wasn’t providing enough information to House members intent on derailing the investigation. This is nonsense; Rosenstein has been far from reticent in this matter, and has turned over literally thousands of documents into the investigation, including those requests made by Meadows and Nunes. Clearly this is nothing more than another Republican attempt to discredit anyone seeking to find the truth about the Russian investigation. After a brief discussion with Republican leaders, Meadows tabled his efforts.

Then there is Michael Flynn. According to Daily Kos, the White House knew in advance about Michael Flynn’s corruption: “Former United States Deputy Attorney General Sally Yates was a guest on The Rachel Maddow Show and she confirmed some rather big news: the White House definitely knew former National Security Advisor Michael Flynn was under investigation when Donald Trump asked James Comey to lay off the investigation. According to a memo then FBI Director James Comey wrote immediately upon leaving the meeting in question, Donald Trump said, ‘I hope you can let this go.’ Yates had twice warned the White House that Lt. General Michael Flynn was compromised. From her Senate testimony: Former acting Atty. Gen. Sally Yates testified Monday for the first time that she warned White House lawyers at least twice in January that President Trump’s national security advisor at the time, Michael Flynn, ‘could be blackmailed’ by Moscow, may have violated criminal statutes and had misled Vice President Mike Pence about his dealings with Russian officials. ‘We believed that Gen. Flynn was compromised,’ Yates, a career prosecutor, told a Senate Judiciary subcommittee investigating Russia’s role in the 2016 election.” (Jen Hayden, Daily Kos, July 20, 2018) The bottom line is that indicates there is a strong case to be made against Donald Trump for obstruction of justice.

Further developments also concern Michael Cohen, who served as Trump’s lawyer from 2006 until May, 2018. The federal investigation against him resulted in a guilty plea entered on August 21, 2018 to eight counts of tax fraud, bank fraud, and various campaign finance violations. Upon entering his plea, Cohen said that he violated these laws: “in coordination with and at the direction of a candidate for federal office, for the principal purpose of influencing the election.” This “candidate”, of course, can only refer to Donald Trump. This is huge: it names the president as an unindicted co-conspirator. Even more damning is the fact that Cohen stated that he operated with Trump’s full knowledge and under his direction. With Watergate, Nixon was only implicated in the cover-up of the break-in, not directing it. If Nixon resigned in disgrace, why aren’t people demanding Trump do the same, and for much more egregious crimes?

On November 29, Cohen made a second guilty plea, this time for lying to a Senate committee about efforts to build a Trump Tower in Moscow. He was convicted, and sentenced on December 12, 2018 to three years in prison and ordered to pay a $50,000 fine. At his sentencing, Cohen said: “I take full responsibility for each act that I pled guilty to: The personal ones to me and those involving the president of the United States of America.” Cohen also said that Donald Trump was “the man that caused me to choose the path of darkness” and do “dirty deeds.”

Common Cause summarized what this amazing week meant for Cohen—and the presidency: “Under oath, Cohen said that Trump ordered hush money payments to Stormy Daniels and Karen McDougal in the run up to the 2016 election so they wouldn’t come forward during his presidential campaign and influence voters’ views. Cohen also pleaded guilty to two felony crimes—making an illegally large $130,000 campaign contribution and causing the tabloid corporation American Media Inc. to make an illegal $150,000 campaign contribution. And, Cohen implicated Trump in further crimes: receiving these illegal contributions, failing to disclose them, funneling the money through the Trump Organization, conspiracy, and other charges. Michael Cohen’s guilty plea could be the thread that unravels the entire Trump presidency.” (Karen Hobert-Flynn, Common Cause, August 26, 2018)

Given all this, is it any wonder why Trump nominated Brett Kavanaugh to the Supreme Court, a man who thinks the president cannot be indicted for any crimes and that the president should be able to terminate a special counsel’s investigation? How long must this ridiculous charade continue?

In July 2018, The New York Times exposed a story concerning tapes that had been secretly recorded by Cohen of his discussions with Trump about hush payments to Karen McDougal (a former Playboy model who has, like Stormy Daniels, claimed to have had an affair with Trump between 2006 and 2007), which contradicted earlier statements made by Trump in which he denied any knowledge of these payments. Of course, this raises obvious questions about Trump’s campaign finance ethics, or lack thereof. Cohen has also stated that Trump, despite his denials to the contrary, knew in advance about the June, 2016 Trump Tower meeting between his son Donald Jr. along with other campaign officials, with various Russian operatives who claimed to have damaging information about Hillary Clinton’s campaign.

After he was convicted, Cohen’s lawyer Lanny Davis publicly noted that Cohen was ready to “tell everything about Donald Trump that he knows.” This would include information about what Trump knew about the computer hacking that damaged Hillary Clinton’s presidential campaign, as well as what he knew about the meeting at Trump Tower in June, 2016. All this could have potentially devastating ramifications for the president, which is why Trump’s supporters have unleashed a steady stream of attacks against Cohen.

Adam Schiff summed up the situation thusly: “Trump campaign chairman: Guilty. Trump personal attorney: Guilty. Trump deputy campaign chairman: Guilty. Trump National Security Advisor: Guilty. Trump foreign policy advisor: Guilty. Some witch hunt, huh? Despite numerous guilty verdicts from his inner circle, President Trump continues to attack the Special Counsel’s investigation and is claiming that he is ‘totally allowed’ to be involved in this investigation and could even ‘run it.’ That should set off a whole new set of alarms. This president thinks he is above the law and should be his own prosecutor, judge, and jury.” (Adam Schiff, letter to constituents, August 22, 2018)

The bottom line can be summed up in just one sentence: Donald Trump became president of the United States because of criminal conspiracies. August 22, 2018 will go down as one of the most significant days in United States history. Trump broke the same laws that Cohen pled guilty to. If he had an ounce of honesty and intellectual integrity, Trump would have immediately resigned.

Once all this came out, Trump’s champions said some really stupid things in his defense. Daily Kos covered a few of them: “Sean Hannity blasted law enforcement officials and lied to his audience about the timeline of the crimes committed. One Fox legal analyst tried to convince viewers that the Trump team’s crimes were comparable to Obama campaign paperwork errors. Geraldo Rivera sang the same tune as Trump, claiming that evidence of wrongdoing didn’t matter because there’s no evidence of collusion (yet). This is what propaganda looks like—and this is just the tip of the iceberg of lies Fox and other right-wing news outlet like Breitbart, Sinclair Broadcasting and talk radio have been pumping out over the past 24 hours. The sad—and dangerous—reality is that right-wing outlets like Fox overwhelm progressive media. And progressives will never be able to beat conservatives until we have a left-wing media infrastructure that can rival the right’s.” (Michael Langenmayr, Daily Kos, August 22, 2018)

Trump’s current attorney, Rudy Giuliani, has become a joke in his own right. Prior to Cohen’s announcement that he would be willing to disclose all he knew about Trump, Giuliani said: “He doesn’t have any incriminating evidence about the president or himself. The man is an honest, honorable lawyer.” Afterwards, he completely reversed himself: “I expected something like this. The man has been lying all week. Or for two…He’s been lying for years…There’s nobody that I know that knows him that hasn’t warned me that if his back is up against the wall he’ll lie like crazy because he’s lied all his life.”

On December 19, 2018, Vox ran an article entitled: “Rudy Giuliani lied about a Trump Tower Moscow letter of intent. CNN has receipts.” The actual letter was shown, and it has Donald Trump’s signature. The story says: “On Tuesday evening, CNN host Chris Cuomo announced that the network has obtained a letter of intent personally signed by Donald Trump to proceed with a lucrative Trump Tower Moscow project that would have provided his company with a $4 million upfront fee. Cuomo brandished the document on his show and highlighted how it contrasts with what Trump’s lawyer, Rudy Giuliani, said as recently as Sunday, when he told CNN that Trump Tower Moscow ‘was a real estate project. There was a letter of intent to go forward, but no one signed it.’ Giuliani’s claim is incorrect. It turns out Trump himself signed the letter of intent, which is dated October 28, 2015—five months after Trump launched his presidential campaign, and during a period in which he was lavishing praise on Russian President Vladimir Putin.” (Aaron Rupar, Vox, December 19, 2018)

And of course, all this also highlights yet another Trump lie. The Vox article notes: “Even though he personally signed a letter of intent for Trump Tower Moscow, Trump repeatedly claimed during his campaign that he had ‘nothing to do with Russia’ and ‘I know nothing about Russia…I don’t deal there.’” The article continues: “Trump has already tried to rewrite this history. After Cohen agreed to a plea deal with special counsel Robert Mueller last month that acknowledged he made false statements to Congress about the Trump Organization’s dealings with Russia, Trump claimed ‘everybody knew’ about his secret business dealings with Russia. Trump once said he had ‘no dealings with Russia.’ Now he claims ‘everybody knew’ about them.” Which is it?

After the tape recordings, Free Speech for People notes: “it’s clear that Donald Trump had advance knowledge of a $150,000 payment made for the purpose of killing a story about an alleged affair that could have sunk his campaign. According to the complaint FSFP filed with the Federal Election Commission, ‘the payment appears…to have been a coordinated effort to conceal a politically embarrassing fact and influence the 2016 general election.’ Thats a serious campaign finance violation, and it could have played a large role in swaying the election.” (Free Speech for People , July 30, 2018)

Rudy Giuliani’s attempts to defend Trump are downright ridiculous. Time and again, he gets caught up in his own lies. Daily Kos, reporting on Giuliani’s disastrous appearance on CNN, notes that: “ Giuliani appeared to be caught out in another lie, and to drop another in his series of bombshells. Asked about Trump’s request to former FBI director James Comey that he ‘give a break’ to former national security advisor Michael Flynn, Giuliani at first claimed there had never been such a conversation…Then, reminded that he had already discussed the conversation he was claiming never happened, Giuliani attempted to deny that conversation: ‘I never … I never told ABC that. That’s crazy. I never said that.’ Which is when CNN went to the tape. However, while forced to admit—after watching himself discuss it—that he had previously accepted the reality of the conversation between Trump and Comey, Giuliani this week shifted his claim to say that was only ‘talking about their version of it.’” (Mark Sumner, Daily Kos, August 13, 2018)

Perhaps the most ridiculous thing Giuliani has said in recent months is his claim that: “truth isn’t truth.” Later, he tried to weasel out of it by saying: “My statement was not meant as a pontification on moral theology but one referring to the situation where two people make precisely contradictory statements.” Does he seriously think that clarified matters? One is reminded of George Orwell’s famous line from 1984: “War is peace. Freedom is slavery. Ignorance is strength.” At this point, Rudy Giuliani has removed himself from any kind of reputable discourse. Rudy Giuliani has become a laughing stock.

Given all this, it is rather comical to note that Giuliani has called former Vice President Joe Biden a “mentally deficient idiot.” Someone should ask him: “Is that the truth?”

There is a darker side to this nonsense, however. That is the fact that when objectively verifiable facts are disputed by those in power, and when “alternative facts” are introduced as (pardon the expression) “truth,” then we are clearly witnessing an autocratic government at work. Apparently, Trump, Giuliani, Kellyanne Conway, Sean Spicer and all the others think that this will somehow become a viable defense in a court of law. Given the rate that Trump is making judicial appointments, it just might be. Adam Schiff notes: “Nothing is more corrosive to democracy than the idea that there is no such thing as facts or the truth. Convincing the public that they cannot believe what they see with their own eyes or what they learn from a free press is what authoritarian rulers around the world try to persuade their people. And no one has told more falsehoods than the President himself. No wonder he views a free press as the enemy, and why we must protect the First Amendment at all costs.” (Adam Schiff, email to constituents, August 20, 2018) Obviously, there is no depth to which this administration will not sink in order to defend the indefensible.

Trump’s subsequent tweets have taken a new strategy. He now claims that, even if he lied, lying is not a crime and that this means the Mueller investigation: “Is an illegal hoax that should be ended immediately.” Mario Cuomo took issue with this on his show, noting that legal defenses are one thing, but lying to voters about your business dealings with a foreign adversary during a presidential campaign in which that adversary is interfering in the election on your behalf is another.

As an indication of how far removed from reality Trump’s supporters have become, consider this article from Daily Kos: “It was inevitable. Faced with increasing evidence of Russian meddling in our elections, it was only a matter of time before Republicans began believing that traitorous surrender to a foreign power was actually totally okay! A Yahoo Finance/Survey Monkey poll finds 11% of Republicans say it would be appropriate for Russia to intervene in the upcoming U.S. elections on behalf of Trump and Republicans, and 29% say it would not be appropriate, but it wouldn’t be a big deal. That number will only grow as more Republicans realize that yes, their president is a tool of a hostile foreign power. And faced with the choice of recoiling in horror at this kind of treason, or embracing their new Russian masters? It’s only logical they would choose treason. I mean, these are the same people that proudly wave the Confederate treason flag. Allegiance and loyalty to their country is not their strong suit.” (Daily Kos, August 1, 2018)

People’s Action tells us of yet another White House attempt to stifle needed legislation: “A bill that would have significantly bolstered the nation’s defenses against electoral interference has been held up in the Senate at the behest of the White House, which opposed the proposed legislation, according to congressional sources. The Secure Elections Act, introduced by Sen. James Lankford, R-Okla., in December 2017, had co-sponsorship from two of the Senate’s most prominent liberals, Kamala Harris, D-Calif., and Amy Klobuchar, D-Minn., as well as from conservative stalwart Lindsey Graham, R-S.C., and consummate centrist Susan Collins, R-Me. Sen. Roy Blunt, R-Mo., was set to conduct a markup of the bill on Wednesday morning in the Senate Rules Committee, which he chairs. The bill had widespread support, including from some of the committee’s Republican members, and was expected to come to a full Senate vote in October. But then the chairman’s mark, as the critical step is known, was canceled, and no explanation was given.” (Sam Pizzigati, People’s Action, August 24, 2018) Even with rare bipartisan sponsorship, bills that are introduced to correct obvious flaws are shot down by Trump.

Republican leaders obviously had no problem at all with Russian interference in the November elections. As Daily Kos noted: “It’s almost enough to make you think the Russian fix is already in with Republicans for November. House Republicans have repeatedly resisted Democrats’ efforts to fund election systems protection. Russian asset Donald Trump spent less than half an hour with his national security team to discuss the issue, and now Senate Republicans are opposing the grants to states that the House Republicans blocked, as well. Senate Democrats are trying to get $250 million in grants to states as soon as possible to upgrade their systems and make necessary fixes. Republicans say they’ve got enough money, ignoring the reports from the intelligence community that Russia is interfering right now. Ignoring the Russian hacker attack on Sen. Claire McCaskill’s campaign. Ignoring the discovery by Facebook of a new ‘sophisticated’ attack possible from Russia showing that they are at it again. That’s not to mention the infrastructure hacking they’ve been doing.” (Joan McCarter, Daily Kos, July 31, 2018)

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HOW THE MEDIA AIDES AND ABETTS TRUMP

In my previous articles, I have gone into considerable detail on how today’s media outlets are increasingly partisan in their reporting (and, more significantly, not reporting) of President Trump and the Republican party. By partisan, I don’t necessarily mean that they fawn over the president and the Republican party (though many do). Rather, I mean that, in their efforts to be “balanced,” they go out of their way to make the far-right appear normal. Their efforts also try to blame “both sides” whenever a key issue arises, a stalemate occurs or, more important for our purposes, someone in the Republican party says or does something really stupid or evil. Failure to address corruption as what it is gives the impression to viewers that both sides are responsible for the problem. The simple fact is that the Republican party has become so extreme that the political give-and-take that had previously been part of political discourse has all but disappeared. While Democrats have certainly made errors, it is the Republican party that is responsible for the current poisonous attitude prevailing in Washington, and across the country.

Vox is a fairly new (founded in 2014) news and opinion website that focuses on journalism and how reporters do their jobs. One of their most significant mini-shows for our purposes is entitled: “Admit it. Republicans have broken politics.” This ten minute video is available on Youtube. Here, I will summarize its contents.

The video opens with the moderator showing a chart that shows how Republican extremism has risen over the past half century. The moderator explains that the researchers who created the chart looked at every politician’s voting record and, while Democrats have stayed pretty much as they were, Republicans have become more and more radical. The term for this is “asymmetrical polarization.” This makes it difficult for reporters and media personalities who want to remain neutral; despite the obvious facts in front of their eyes, they cannot report that the Republican party has increasingly, as the Vox reporter puts it, “gone off the rails.”

The video relies heavily on political scientist Norm Ornstein from the American Enterprise Institute, and author of numerous books who has spent decades covering and writing about American politics. He has been called one of the top 100 global thinkers. Ornstein has worked with members of Congress and has always tried to appear non-partisan. Ornstein’s books have evolved over the years, culminating in his co-authorship (with Thomas Mann) of the 2012 book “It’s Even Worse Than It Looks: How the American Constitutional System Collided With the New Politics of Extremism.” The Vox video quotes from the book: “The Republican Party…is an insurgent outlier. It has become ideologically extreme…scornful of compromise…and dismissive of the legitimacy of its political opposition, all but declaring war on the government.” The video then quotes: “The Democratic party, while no paragon of civic virtue, is more ideologically centered and diverse…open to incremental changes in policy fashioned through bargaining with the Republicans…This asymmetry…constitutes a huge obstacle to effective governance.”

The modern GOP, according to Ornstein, falls into two categories: their goals, and their methods. The video then shows how their goals have changed over the years. Even as recently as 2006, President George W. Bush was able to say: “There is a rational middle ground between granting an automatic path to citizenship and a program of mass deportation.” This is compared to Donald Trump who says on the video: “We are going to have a deportation force.” Next, the video notes that Richard Nixon, a Republican, was the man who created the Environmental Protection Agency and who appears on the video saying: “These problems will not stand still for politics, or for partisanship.” The narrator of the video notes that: “Now, Republicans campaign on abolishing that same agency.” It then shows Donald Trump saying: “We are going to end the EPA intrusion into your lives.”

Even though the Republican Party is so adamantly opposed to raising taxes, the video notes that one of their heroes, Ronald Reagan, did so eleven times during his presidency. He is shown asking: “Do you think the millionaire ought to pay more in taxes than the bus driver, or less?” The audience roars out “more!” while Reagan smiles, clearly in agreement. Reagan’s successors obviously think the opposite.

Ornstein is then shown saying that the two political parties should, in an ideal world: “View the other side as adversaries who may view the world differently but we can work with them.” This is where Ornstein discusses the second category: Republican’s methods. The narrator says: “Over the past few decades, Republicans have gotten less and less willing to work with Democrats on anything.” The video then shows a chart that shows how often Republicans are willing to use the filibuster in the Senate. The narrator then makes a crucial point, namely that when the Republicans aren’t in power, they will do anything in their power to keep Democrats from getting anything done. He notes how this tendency escalated after Obama became president. I would argue that yes, part of this is due to Republican extremism, but a huge part of it is the racism that I will discuss at length in a future chapter. At any rate, the year Obama first won the presidency, Democrats also won both houses of Congress. The video shows Mitch McConnell’s reaction to Obama’s victory: “Our top political priority over the next two years should be to deny President Obama a second term.” This wasn’t just a lone rogue Republican talking. The article then quotes California Republican Kevin McCarthy: “If you act like you’re the minority, you’re going to stay in the minority. We’ve gotta challenge them on every single bill and challenge them on every single campaign.” This method has been followed through ever since. The narrator states: “In 2011, Republicans held the debt ceiling hostage, threatening to let the country default if the Democratic majority didn’t agree to major cuts in Medicare and Social Security.” McConnell then appears, saying: “As long as this president is in the Oval Office, a real solution is probably unattainable.” Two years later, the Republicans actually shut down the government down, trying to force the president to defund Obamacare. Ted Cruz is shown calling the shutdown “a profile in courage.”

Today, Republicans refuse to even listen to what the Democrats have to say, or consider any of their nominations; their party is the party of obstructionism. In 2016, they refused to even hear the president’s budget proposal before they even knew what was in it. The video then focuses on the Supreme Court scandal involving Merritt Garland: “Republicans flat out refused to meet with Obama’s Supreme Court nominee for months, not because he was too liberal…but because they wanted a Republican to take the seat.” Mitch McConnell is then shown saying: “We don’t intend to take up a nominee.” If Hillary Clinton had won the election: “Many Republicans said they would have kept the seat open permanently.” Does this indicate any flexibility at all on the part of Republicans? Or does it show an increased radicalism that is tearing apart the body politic?

Ornstein is then shown on the video, and his response to the Merritt Garland scandal pulls no punches: “That is not normal behavior by party leaders, and it is a reflection of a strategy designed to divide Americans and use your leverage to hold power even if you are not a majority in the country.” The narrator then accurately if understatedly notes: “This ‘my way or the highway’ approach is bad for democracy.” He then notes that Ornstein’s book was an attempt to make journalists recognize that fact. One final quote from Ornstein follows: “…and it really is a party that I would say has gone rogue. And, I don’t say that as a partisan; it is a fact of life, an unfortunate one for the country.”

The next point the video makes is that the media, fearful of being labeled “liberal,” makes every effort to portray Republican extremism as mere differences between two parties that just can’t get along. Several journalists quotes follow that prove that point. Even though it was the Republicans who held the country hostage over Obamacare, journalists blamed “both sides” for “digging in their heels.” One journalist notes that Washington has become a “dysfunctional town, and there is plenty of blame to go around on both sides.” This ignores the fact that Obama went out of his way to avoid the shutdown. Even so, several journalists are then shown claiming that Obama was “playing the blame game.” The blame game has rarely been discussed when it concerns Republicans.

Finally, the video points out how Democrats have responded to Republican filibusters, not by standing up for their principles, but by going further to the right themselves, in an effort to appear willing to compromise. But no compromise is possible with the rogue party the Republicans have become. This is why 2018 was marked by certain Democrats who have finally had enough and unashamedly call themselves “progressives.” Enough of them have done so for the media to pick up on it. And, the election results clearly indicated that when Democrats call themselves “progressives,” they win: In the places where they lost, voter suppression played a key role.

The end result of asymmetrical polarization is that, as Ornstein notes: “People who behave badly get off the hook.” And that is because the news media is cowardly in the face of extremism and in their attempts to make both sides equally culpable for the mess that is the current state of affairs in Washington, and across the country. They need to become more honest and call out people who are dishonest, who are corrupt, and who are refusing to do the jobs they were elected to do.

When CNN reporter Jim Acosta’s press pass was revoked by Trump, the danger to a free press was made frighteningly obvious. CREDO Action reports: “Independent journalism is one of our most powerful tools to hold Trump accountable. If Trump can punish reporters who question him without any consequences, impartial journalism itself is under threat—and so is our democracy…While Trump’s petulant attacks on CNN are predictable by now, cutting off access to a major news network is a troubling new sign. This is not about CNN—it is about our democracy. If Trump can ban reporters he does not like, other reporters may avoid tough questions in order to preserve their access. Some may avoid writing stories that make him look bad. Over time, all of us will be less informed and less able to hold Trump accountable.” (Brandy Doyle, CREDO Action, November 9, 2018)

Of course, there are particular media groups that are unabashedly pro-Republican and will continue to disseminate lies and nonsense, no matter how obvious the corruption is.

One of these is Facebook. Color of Change fills us in: “A damning new report from The New York Times revealed that Facebook executive Joel Kaplan is leading a smear campaign targeting the Color Of Change community. Facebook has been seeding right-wing hit pieces and anti-Semitic conspiracy theories in response to our efforts to ensure the safety of Black users on the platform. Kaplan hired a Republican public relations firm for the express purpose of undermining Color Of Change and other organizations who have held them publicly accountable for their harmful practices. Black people are a major part of Facebook’s revenue stream, and make up a disproportionately high percentage of their Instagram and WhatsApp user base. Yet their response to us challenging them to make their platform safe for us was to fan the flames of anti-Semitism with racist tropes. Facebook’s choices fed into the same far-right conspiracy theory that resulted in a pipe bomb in George Soros’s mailbox, along with a slew of hit pieces against our organization and staff by Breitbart and other outlets that cater to dangerous figures.” (Brandi Collins-Dexter, Color of Change, November 17, 2018) The article closes by noting that the only way for Facebook to make amends is to fire Joel Kaplan which has not yet taken place.

Sinclair Broadcast Group, a far-right media outlet, is attempting to gain a monopoly on news dissemination. Although I have covered this in previous articles, it needs to be brought up again. Sinclair operates more stations than any other company in the United States. Currently, it owns or operates 193 stations across the country, covering forty percent of American households. They are hardly objective in their handling of the news: Former news anchor Dan Rather has called Sinclair’s biased reporting and business practices as “an assault on our democracy.” Although the much-discussed merger of Sinclair with Tribune Media came to nothing (Tribune has filed a billion dollar lawsuit against Sinclair, alleging breach of contract), Sinclair continues to purchase hundreds of local television stations across the country. By doing so, they will continue to serve as Trump’s apologist and disseminate propaganda, lies, and anything else that serves the Republican agenda.

Sinclair’s corruption is transparently obvious to anyone seeking to uncover the facts. During the proposed merger, Sinclair was ordered to sell some of its stations so they would not be breaking monopoly laws. Sinclair complied—by selling them to its shareholders and partners! This is an obvious effort on their part to obviate the rules so they can air their pro-Trump propaganda all over the country.

This is but one example of Sinclair’s right-wing bias, a bias that makes a mockery of the term ‘objective journalism.’ Sinclair also forced its stations to air Trump advisor Boris Epshteyn’s segment on the family separation crisis at our Southern borders. Epshteyn insisted that horrific stories of family separations and concentration camp detainments are the work of anti-Trump liberals. Lying to the public about children in cages is unconscionable. Men like this have no shame, and they are on the rise. Little wonder that Sinclair has been called “Trump TV.”

The issue of Trump failing to release his tax returns has not received the attention it deserves, and the media is complicit in the cover-up. More and more politicians are calling for him to do so. Even ultra right-wing Mark Sanford (R-SC) renewed his demand that Trump release his tax returns; Trump’s steadfast refusal to do so, as his predecessors have unquestioningly done for the past forty years, raises obvious questions about his financial ties to Russia. If Trump is innocent, he surely should want to turn over the returns. What is he hiding that he doesn’t want anyone to see?

In August, 2018, the New York Attorney General wrote a letter to the Internal Revenue Service citing multiple “knowing and willful” violations of tax law and campaign finance law dating back to 2007. The letter focuses on the Trump foundation, including the president and his three eldest children of illegally using the foundation and its multiple assets for their own personal and political gain, including “attempting to influence the outcome of the 2016 presidential election.” The Attorney General is far from alone in this effort to force Trump to come clean with the American people. Americans for Tax Fairness has long been involved in this effort. They sent an email to their followers which includes the following: “ATF and a dozen other national organizations sent a letter to the IRS Commissioner recently demanding that he commence an investigation based on this extremely damaging information. We need you (i.e. the recipients of the letter) to back us up by signing a petition to the IRS today, which we will deliver along with thousands of others to the IRS Commissioner here in Washington to force action. Between 2007 and 2015, the Trump Foundation spent over $300,000 to settle legal claims against Trump’s businesses or cover other costs of his businesses, such as purchasing a $10,000 portrait of Trump to hang in one of his golf clubs. In other words, the foundation was essentially used as a personal slush fund. In 2016, during the presidential campaign, the Trump Foundation allowed campaign officials―including then-Trump campaign manager Corey Lewandowski―to control the Trump Foundation’s assets. I’m sure you remember one of these apparently illegal activities―Trump hosted a widely publicized fundraiser for veterans’ causes shortly before the Iowa caucuses. He was competing directly with a Fox News Channel candidates’ debate a few miles away, which Trump refused to attend. While the money he was raising from his rich pals was going to his foundation to donate to veterans’ groups, the operation was stage-managed by his campaign staff. And the media was falling all over itself to cover this fraud―helping to bump up Trump’s poll numbers before the crucial caucus voting. These likely illegal activities amount to not just civil violations, but potential criminal behavior.” (Frank Clemente, Americans for Tax Fairness, August 21, 2018) Notice again the media’s role in failing to report scandalous activities by Trump. These activities in and of themselves are enough to bring criminal charges against Trump and remove him from office. Trump clearly thinks he is above the law, and can act without fear of retribution. And the media, by failing to do its job, is aiding and abetting this criminal.

Even though the media, in its misguided effort to appear neutral, has bent over backwards to avoid overtly bashing this criminal administration, Trump continues to blast them for doing what they are supposed to be doing: Reporting on what he says and does. Anything he doesn’t like is automatically named “fake news” and “a threat to the people.” Simply put, Trump hates the first Amendment of the Constitution. What he wants is for all media outlets to shower him with praise and adoration; he simply cannot stand to be questioned on anything he says or does. This is the mark of a dictator, and the Boston Globe finally had enough of his nonsense: They contacted editorial boards across the country and asked them to join with the Globe and publish editorials on August 16th that condemned what they called: “A dirty war against the free press.” This was done, and Trump responded in typical fashion, calling the press “the opposition party.” In a sense this is true: the press reports what is actually happening, and Trump wants them to lavish praise on everything he says and does.

That same day, the Senate unanimously passed a resolution that focused on their affirmation of the First Amendment and condemning attacks on the free press which only serve to undermine the integrity of the press as a national institution dedicated to reporting the facts to the American people. The resolution stated in part: “The Senate affirms that the press is not the enemy of the people.” This was a direct rebuke to the dangerous attacks Trump has made on the press. It is a sad state of affairs that such a resolution even needed to be made. At any rate, this is one of the few times the Senate has had the integrity to challenge the president on anything he says or does. This president only listens to Fox News, which isn’t even a legitimate news source, but instead a propaganda agent for Trump’s extremist policies. He refuses to listen to experienced journalists, instead resorting to childish name-calling whenever they report something he doesn’t like.

Another bogus “reporter” at Fox is Tucker Carlson who regularly rants about white supremacy and various conspiracy theories. He has said that diversity is not an “American value” and that the NAACP is “a joke” and that they should be shut down. Surely this proves him to be yet another racist; if this were not enough, he has also minimized the damage caused by slavery and insists that Mexico has interfered in our elections. Virtually everyone at Fox is a fear monger in some way or another, but fear mongering can lead to violence; the man who killed nineteen people at the Pittsburgh synagogue said that he was motivated to commit murder because the congregation supported immigration.

There was a hilariously appropriate tweet that went out concerning right-wing fears of immigration: “If you think that Mexico is only sending drug dealers and rapists, but also worry that Mexicans are going to take your job, what the *$%# do you do for a living?”

Dan Rather, one of the most respected journalists in the country, co-wrote an article with Elliot Kirchner which appeared in The Atlantic: “The institution of a free press in America is presently in a state of crisis greater than I have ever seen in my lifetime, and perhaps in any moment in this nation’s history. The winds of instability howl from many directions: a sustained attack on press freedom from those in political power, crumbling business models, rapidly changing technologies, and some self-inflicted wounds. This is a test, not only for those of us who work in journalism, but also for the nation as a whole. The most immediate threat comes from the dangerous political moment in which we find ourselves. We have seen individual journalists and some of our best press institutions singled out for attack by the highest of elected officials for reporting truths that the powerful would rather remain hidden; for pointing out lies as lies; and for questioning motivations that deserve scrutiny. It would be easy to fill this essay, and indeed entire volumes, with examples of these recent outrages against the press and to call out the chief culprits in these assaults on our constitutional freedoms. I suspect much scholarship in the future will be dedicated to just such topics. But I am less interested in naming names than in explaining the larger forces at play, which have been years, if not decades, in the making.” (The Atlantic, as reported in Daily Kos, August 17, 2018)

It should be noted that liberal publications like Think Progress have come under fire by ad networks for producing “controversial political content.” In other words, because they report on racism, white nationalism and other topics, they are branded “controversial.” The ad networks are clearly run by right-wing conservatives who will do everything in their power to ensure that liberal voices are squelched. They expect us to believe that these issues are not controversial and should not be addressed. At best, these networks are appeasers for right-wing nationalism. At worst, they are in the pockets of the nationalists trying to turn the United States into a Christian version of Iran.

The media is also reluctant to report most of Trump’s statements as lies even though that is obviously what they are. There are two sides to this issue. On the one hand, the lies play into Trump’s hands because if the media reports on what he is saying, they will be so busy that they won’t have time to report on what he is doing. On the other, if they ignore his nonsensical lies, the public will get the impression that what he is saying must be the truth; after all he’s the president. So it is easy to sympathize with the press to some extent but, even so, this man lies so frequently, that they must do a better job of reporting the more egregious statements as the nonsense they are. CREDO Action reports: “Donald Trump has spit out more than 5,000 blatant lies since seizing the White House, even by a conservative estimate. At his worst, he clocked in with 125 lies in one 120-minute speech. But instead of fact-checking every word from a man proven to be a serial liar, major media outlets continue to give him a free platform to spout his hate. The latest offender is USA Today, which just published an unhinged Trump editorial making already-debunked, false claims about Medicare for All. The constant failure to push back on Trump’s lies helped him reach the Oval Office and has continued to help him since. The media are supposed to inform people—not mislead them. We need to hold the media accountable and demand they do better, starting with USA Today…One month out from pivotal midterm elections, USA Today decided it would be a good idea to allow Trump to use its wide circulation to spread obvious lies and rant about ‘open borders socialism.’ Trump’s op-ed is a sign that Republicans are worried about the appeal of a common sense idea like strengthening Medicare for seniors and expanding coverage through Medicare for All. But it is also an example of how corporate media care more about clicks and pageviews than their duty to inform the people. Trump’s op-ed is a conglomeration of previously debunked distortions and outright lies common to Trump’s stump speeches. Journalists roundly denounced USA Today for publishing it. Washington Post fact-checker Glenn Kessler reviewed the op-ed and said, ‘almost every sentence contained a misleading statement or a falsehood.’ He also tweeted: ‘How can @usatoday allow Trump [to] publish an article with documented falsehoods?’ CNN’s Jim Acosta commented that the piece ‘may break the record for the number of falsehoods from a President ever published in a newspaper op-ed,’ adding, “Come on USA Today.” Several other journalists also debunked Trump’s falsehoods in the hours after the op-ed’s publication. Given the Trump administration’s willingness to blatantly lie to the media, responsible journalists and media outlets must always assume that the Trump administration is lying unless independent evidence shows otherwise. Media executives and journalists must take a strong stand now and fight back against the Trump administration’s lies.”
(Josh Nelson, CREDO Action, October 11, 2018) To this, I need only repeat that when Trump calls the media “the enemy of the people” he is doing so for one obvious reason: To continue his lies to the American people and push the country ever further toward right-wing totalitarianism.

In October, 2018, Trump wrote a column for USA Today in which he made so many transparently obvious lies that one is left wondering if even he believes them. The Week reports: “President Trump’s USA Today op-ed lacerating Democrats’ push for Medicare-for-all on Wednesday used his signature hyperbolic flair, including claims that health care as we know it would be ‘forced to die’ and that Democrats want to recreate Venezuela. But The Washington Post’s fact checker found that the op-ed was even worse than merely hyperbolic. ‘Almost every sentence contained a misleading statement or a falsehood,’ the Post concluded. The single-payer health-care plan as outlined by Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.) would expand services for seniors, not ‘take away benefits that seniors have paid for their entire lives,’ as Trump posited. Fact checker Glenn Kessler also pointed out that health insurance premiums have not, in fact, gone down on average, and Trump did not keep his promise to bolster protections for pre-existing conditions. Where Trump blames Democrats, the Post blames the efficacy of health-care providers; where Trump claims seniors will be disproportionately harmed, the Post describes the opposite. When Trump, or his ghostwriter, inexplicably ropes in the calls to abolish Immigration and Customs Enforcement, Kessler reminds him that it’s far from a widely held view. Trump’s warning that the ‘Democratic plan would inevitably lead to the massive rationing of health care’ is nothing more than a ‘Chicken Little’ style ‘scare scenario,’ Kessler determines. Read the point-by-point dismantling of Trump’s rhetoric at The Washington Post.” (Summer Meza, The Week, October 10, 2018)

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THE DESTRUCTION OF THE ENVIRONMENT

The Republican assault on the environment continues unabated, and may constitute the worst crime of all in a criminally obscene presidency. Trump’s National Park Service wants to repeal yet another of President Obama’s wise moves, a 2015 administration rule that bans predatory hunting practices in these National Preserves. If Obama’s rule is repealed, killing just for the sake of killing will take place; bear cubs and wolf cubs will be needlessly shot in their own dens—all in the name of sport. Bears will be killed while hibernating and baby wolves will be killed while still dependent on their mothers. What is the legal justification for this? As absurd as it sounds, Alaska wants to re-instate “predator control” laws, which have long since been shown to be both unnecessarily cruel and unethical. Essentially, “predator control” allows the killing of carnivorous animals indigenous to the area in order to artificially boost animals they depend on for food, such as deer, moose, and others. Predator control does nothing except upset the natural diversity of Alaska’s wildlife and its ecosystem. Officials cannot cite financial issues, since tourists who come to Alaska to view it’s wildlife contribute five times as much to the local economy as do hunters.

National Resources Defense Council (NRDC) tells us that, if Obama’s rule is repealed, it will have a devastating effect on Alaska’s wildlife. “If this rule is repealed, it will become legal to: 1) Lure grizzly bears and black bears with bait so they can be shot point-blank. 2) Use dogs to hunt black bears. 3) Kill hibernating black bear mothers and cubs and, 4) Slaughter wolves and coyotes and their pups during denning season, when the young animals are still dependent on their parents.” (Rhea Suh, NRDC, July 14, 2018)

But wildlife isn’t the only threat that Alaska now faces. Secretary of Agriculture Sonny Perdue is trying to destroy Alaska’s Tongass National Forest by opening it up for destructive development. This forest is the world’s largest temperate rainforest. Environment America tells us about the Tongass: “t’s home to ancient spruce, hemlock, yellow and red cedars, and more than 300 species of birds like the marbled murrelet. Bald eagles soar above the treetops. The Tongass’ range of topography is a vital asset to the forest’s wildlife. Its rivers are valuable nurseries for Pacific salmon species that fuel fisheries down the Pacific Coast. The fjords and caves shelter bears, wolves, mink and blacktail deer. And as a bonus, the amount of carbon that trees in the Tongass store is crucial in our fight against global warming.” (Ed Johnson, Environment America, August 20, 2018) But all this is irrelevant to Republicans since after all, global warming is a “hoax.”

At present, there are only about 35 red wolves in the forests of North Carolina, as a result of unregulated hunting. Unfortunately, the Fish and Wildlife Service’s new management plan would open the door to their complete elimination.

The Trump administration is doing its utmost to de-fang the Endangered Species Act. Even though species are dying off at a rate a thousand times faster than normal, the administration plunges ahead with its anti-life agendas. People’s Action informs us: “Gutting the law that has protected the bald eagle, the American crocodile, the gray wolf, and countless other animals from extinction over the past four decades, the Trump administration gave its latest handout to corporate interests on Thursday when it unveiled sweeping changes to the Endangered Species Act (ESA). ‘These regulations are the heart of how the Endangered Species Act is implemented. Imperiled species depend on them for their very lives,’ said Jamie Rappaport Clark, a former director of the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service who is now president of Defenders of Wildlife, in a statement. ‘The signal being sent by the Trump administration is clear: Protecting America’s wildlife and wild lands is simply not on their agenda.’” (Richard Eskow, People’s Action, July 20, 2018)

Putting Ryan Zinke in charge of the Interior Department was a clear indication that the Trump administration is utterly determined to destroy the Endangered Species Act. NRDC tells us: “The very agencies that are charged with saving imperiled species are trying to gut the law’s bedrock protections. The proposed rollbacks would: 1) Make it more difficult to extend protections to threatened species, delaying lifesaving action until a species’ population is so small it may be challenging or impossible to save. 2) Exempt climate change from key parts of the law, making it more difficult to protect the polar bear, the bearded seal, and many other imperiled species that are impacted by the effects of climate change. 3) Require economic factors to be analyzed when deciding if a species should be saved. 4) Make it easier for companies to build roads, pipelines, mines, and other industrial projects in critical habitat areas that are essential to imperiled species’ survival. The Trump administration is giving its friends in the drilling, mining, and logging industries the green light to destroy fragile wildlife habitats and drive our most threatened species to the brink of extinction, just to bolster corporate polluter profits. (Rhea Suh, NRDC, August 7, 2018)

Some Republicans are so blatantly in denial of climate science that it boggles the mind to think how anyone could possibly take them seriously. But there are Democrats who are equally guilty. Take Joe Manchin, senior senator from West Virginia. He is now ranking member of the Senate Energy Committee. Manchin has close family ties to the coal industry and this obviously explains his failure to support health regulations that would raise expenses for the coal industry. He supports the Keystone XL Pipeline from Canada. He voted in favor of appointing Scott Pruitt to head the EPA and also supports Trump’s decision to withdraw from the Paris Climate Accord. In a campaign ad, he used a rifle to shoot a climate change bill. He has an “A” rating from the National Rifle Association and supports Trump’s plan to build a wall on our southern border. He was the only Senate Democrat to vote in favor of confirming Brett Kavanaugh to the Supreme Court. Despite all this, Joe Manchin is invariably called a political “moderate.” With moderates like this, who needs Republicans? But more to the point, the fact that he calls himself a Democrat is a telling indictment on how far to the right the Democratic party has gone, in their efforts to appease the rogue Republican party.

The administration continues to aid and abet corporate polluters that threaten the environment and our lives. Environmental Action reports on one particularly dangerous herbicide: “In 2017, Monsanto’s herbicide dicamba cut a path of destruction across millions of acres of farmland. And researchers expect twice as much dicamba to be sprayed in 2018…The way dicamba works is simple: It’s sprayed on crops that are specially treated to resist it, and harms or kills anything else. The problem is, dicamba doesn’t stay where it’s sprayed. Dicamba is volatile, meaning it gets into the air and drifts—with catastrophic effects. It devastates plants that aren’t treated to withstand it, risking the biodiversity that makes our planet great. Dicamba harmed at least 3.6 million acres of crops last year, and studies show that it can harm pollinators like bees and monarch butterflies. One report estimated that 12 million acres of monarch habitat are threatened by drifting dicamba next year.” (Environmental Action, July 5, 2018) Of course, one will look in vain to find mainstream media coverage of this devastation and its causes.

I have often quoted emails from Environment America in my articles. It’s webpage says: “Through Environment America, thousands of citizen members are teaming up with a professional staff to stand up for the places we love and the environmental values we share.” The group is comprised of environmental advocacy organizations from different states in the union. A September email informs us just how dangerous the global warming situation has become: “…Tropical forests are now releasing more carbon into our atmosphere than they absorb as they steadily lose ground to logging, burning and agriculture. That spells trouble for our climate—and us—if we don’t take action. Environment America’s Tropical Forest Protection campaign is working to save the forests by convincing the world’s largest agribusinesses based right here in the U.S. to commit to zero-deforestation in their supply chains…So why are vitally important tropical forests being clear cut or burned to the ground? In part, it’s so giant companies can produce more soybeans and palm oil for use in our everyday products and in animal feed. Spurred by demand for these products, deforestation is once again on the rise. A recent study declared 2017 the second-worst year ever for tropical forest destruction—falling just short of 2016’s record-breaking devastation. We lost the equivalent of 40 football fields of tropical forests every minute of every day for the past two years. This destruction is pushing tropical forests—and our climate—to the brink. Forests help keep climate change in check by absorbing roughly 30 percent of carbon pollution produced by human activity—and we’re counting on them to keep doing their job. But now, forest areas in South America, Africa and Asia release more carbon into our atmosphere each year than all the traffic in the United States combined.” (Ed Johnson, Environment America, September 20, 2018)

I have gone into considerable length in a previous article explaining the causes of the bee populations startling decline in recent years. Environment America informs us of a: “…farm bill passed by the House of Representatives (that) would exempt pesticide companies from restrictions required under the Endangered Species Act. Even worse, pesticide manufacturers would be exempt from liability for killing off bees if the EPA has approved the chemicals—even if research says the pesticides are responsible for the death of bees. (Ed Johnson, Environment America, July 20, 2018) The article continues: “One out of every three foods we eat are the result of pollinators such as bees. We can’t allow bees to become further endangered, or worse. And we can’t give the pesticide companies a ‘get out of jail free’ card for the damage they cause to bee species.”

The Trump administration has abruptly halted investigations into the toxicity of certain pesticides. People’s Action informs us: “The Center for Investigative Reporting has uncovered a close relationship between pesticide companies and federal agencies, mirroring a pattern the Trump administration has followed with many other regulated industries. The pesticide industry has spent years trying to fend off regulations designed to protect endangered species. Under Trump, it is succeeding. Among the findings, according to documents obtained and interviews conducted by Reveal: Three federal environmental agencies are reshaping the scientific methods used in their reviews at the request of pesticide manufacturers. Some researchers and advocates say that if these reviews, known as biological opinions, do begin again, this change could shift the results in favor of the pesticide industry—and away from protecting endangered wildlife. Officials from all three agencies held a meeting with key pesticide manufacturers, teaching them how to influence the reviews of their products. Manufacturers, in turn, schooled the government on what data to use. The agencies have granted repeated delays in the reviews to resolve questions posed by the companies that scientists say already have been addressed.” (George Grohl, People’s Action, July 23, 2018)

There are literally countless numbers of plant and animal species whose very existence is threatened due to Republican’s love of dirty fuel sources. Foxes, whales, panthers, tigers, jaguars, ocelots, wolves, seals, manatees, orca whales, polar bears, African grey parrots and many others will, if the administration gets its way, cease to exist and relegated to textbooks where future generations can look at them and wonder where they all went—assuming that we humans are not among the victims.

And indeed humans are increasingly being affected by toxins in our water, in the air, and in the food we eat. Daily Kos printed an article written by the Union of Concerned Scientists that warns us of the emergency upon us: “Earlier this year the Trump administration tried to cover up a study showing the health risks of toxic chemicals known as PFAS (per—and polyfluoroalkyl substances) in our water. After public pressure from the Union of Concerned Scientists and other advocates, the government released the study and it shined a bright light on a hard truth that the US public deserves to know: we have a public health disaster on our hands. These chemicals are commonly used in products from cleaning products to fire-fighting foams and have serious health impacts such as asthma and liver damage. And the levels of these chemicals found in military communities’ water is nothing short of atrocious. Analysis from the Union of Concerned Scientists found that more than two-thirds of the military sites tested for contamination by these dangerous chemicals have toxin levels more than 100 times higher than the government report suggests are safe. This problem is so dangerous and pervasive that legislators in Congress are setting up hearings and calling on the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) to explain the depth of the problem and how they’ll fix it.” (Union of Concerned Scientists, via Daily Kos, September 30, 2018) It remains to be seen how our legislators will address this problem. Republicans of course will downplay any threat to the health of the community.

The EPA, which now operates not to protect American citizens, but only to benefit big polluters, does most of its work quietly behind the scenes. People’s Action provides an example: “The Environmental Protection Agency has quietly signaled it may allow states to release more ozone air pollution, commonly known as smog, dirtying the air in those states and neighboring ones, but the agency did not review the health impact of such a move. The Trump administration’s position is outlined in a highly technical guidance memo about plans states must create and submit for EPA approval under the Clean Air Act’s good neighbor requirements. It was sent in August to EPA regional offices and posted on the agency’s website, but not announced to the public.” (Michaela Lovegood, People’s Action, November 1, 2018) The key word here is “quietly.” Republicans know that their work isn’t popular among the majority of Americans, so they do their dirty work behind closed doors and usually don’t report what they are doing.

In addition to the warnings emanating from the scientific community, there are occasional positive signs of growing public awareness of the dangers inherent in failing to protect our environment. To cite one of many, Starbucks announced in July, 2018 that it would stop serving plastic straws at all of its locations worldwide by 2020. Seattle had already become the first city in the country to ban plastic straws altogether. Environment America tells of some of the dangers in the over-use of plastic: “Tragic examples of the toll single-use plastic waste takes on animals and our environment have made front page news in recent months, from the whale that washed up on a beach in Spain with 64 pounds of plastic lodged in its stomach to a hard-to-watch video of scientists pulling a plastic straw out of a sea turtle’s nose.” (Ed Johnson, Environment America, July 17, 2018)

Trump is far from alone in his determination to destroy our parks, national treasures, and even the water we drink. CREDO Action tells us how: “Right-wing Sen. Roger Wicker of Mississippi, a shameless climate denier, quietly introduced legislation last month called the Advancing the Quality and Understanding of American Aquaculture (AQUAA) Act that would help open up federal ocean waters to underwater factory farming.” (Josh Nelson, CREDO Action, July 6, 2018) Notice again the word ‘quietly.’ Republicans don’t want their destructive agendas advertised; knowing of potential public backlash, their strategy is to introduce their most noxious legislation buried in some other legislative item where they hope it will be overlooked. Honesty is not a hallmark characteristic of today’s Republican party, to say the least. The CREDO Action article discusses the hazards of this legislation: “Industrial fish farming, where thousands of fish are crammed into dirty floating feed lots, pollutes our oceans, wreaks havoc on ecosystems, threatens native species, and harms public health and local communities…Instead of promoting sustainable fishing and providing local fishermen with the resources to lessen their environmental impact, this bill allows food and fishing corporations to ‘directly pollute our waters and administer agricultural drugs and other chemicals, all with very little restriction on the types of fish species that may be farmed.’”

In July, 2018, Trump rescinded an Obama era legislative order designed to protect our oceans from excess pollution. Obama’s order was designed to protect our coastlines and the Great Lakes region. As Environment America informs us: “Our oceans are in grave danger. Between the White House’s rescinding of the order and the decision to open up the coastline to offshore drilling, our waters are at risk of being irreparably harmed…Water temperature changes and pollution are causing coral bleaching off of Florida’s coast. A floating garbage patch three times the size of Texas is floating in the Pacific. And the Gulf of Mexico is still reeling from the Deepwater Horizon oil spill.” (Ed Johnson, Environment America, July 19, 2018) We now know that as much as 29,000 gallons of oil have been spilling into the Gulf of Mexico for the past fourteen years.

In December, 2018 the EPA announced a rollback of the Clean Water Rule that will affect our protected waterways and wetlands. This rollback will affect golf courses all around the country. Trump of course owns or has his name on many of them: Three in New York, two in Florida, two more in New Jersey as well as others in California, Pennsylvania, North Carolina and Virginia. Is it possible to view the rollback as anything other than a conflict of interest? Public Citizen adds: “The Obama administration’s Clean Water Rule was designed to protect the cleanliness and health of our nation’s waters. It is hard to exaggerate the importance of this objective. Almost one in three Americans—roughly 117 million people—get their drinking water from streams that lacked clear protection before issuance of the rule. Golf course owners—including Trump—shouldn’t be able to pollute the nation’s water with pesticides and fertilizers, as a rollback would in many cases allow them to do. News reports indicate we should expect not just a recalibration but a major scaling back of Clean Water Act application, leaving the public in the rough.” (Public Citizen, December 10, 2018)

NRDC tells us what climate change has already done to the waters Americans, as well as plants and animals, depend on: “We’ve already seen enough devastating impacts from pollution and climate change on the nation’s water resources as of late: Outbreaks of harmful algae in Lake Erie that contaminated drinking water for thousands in Toledo, Ohio; losses in the Pacific salmon population in the Pacific Northwest; drought in California and across the west; and unprecedented toxic algae blooms in Florida, which have killed millions of fish, and other marine wildlife, and led to a state of emergency in the Sunshine State. Hobbling the Clean Water Act will only add to this list. And while slashing safeguards for clean water will impact ALL Americans, low-income communities and communities of color could be hit the hardest—exacerbating inequality in communities that are already disproportionately impacted by polluted water.” (Rhea Suh, NRDC, December 12, 2018)

On the same day that Paul Manafort and Michael Cohen pled guilty, another exceedingly dangerous act was put in place by the president. Called the “Affordable Clean Energy” plan, it threatens the health of millions of Americans. Climate Hawks Vote explains that the plan: “implements minor requirements on energy efficiency at existing plants and then lets states relax pollution rules for power plants that need upgrades, keeping them spewing pollution for years longer. The EPA’s own documents show that 1,600 people will die annually as a result. That’s a crime against our lungs.” (RL Miller, Climate Hawks Vote, August 22, 2018) To say nothing of a felonious crime against Americans health being committed by an administration running rampant.

Democrats, while not as obnoxious in their support of the dying fossil fuel industries, nonetheless have a less than enviable record on this issue. For example, California governor Jerry Brown, who loudly proclaims himself a ‘climate champion,’ is in bed with the industry to a disconcerting degree. Because of this, his state is one of the leading oil-extracting states in the country and Brown continues to enable the polluters by giving permits to drill for more oil and gas, not only on land, but in our waters as well. Brown is set to retire in January, 2019; it is to be hoped that Gavin Newsom, his Democratic successor, will buck this trend and stand up for the environment. If he really intends to do so, he needs to begin a concerted effort to show exactly how dangerous all this is. He and other Democrats need to buy television and newspaper time. They need to put up billboards across the country that display graphic images of polluted waters, dying wildlife, our disappearing national parks and monuments, and corporate-induced air pollution. The general public needs to be inundated with a constant flow of this information.

The handwriting is on the wall for any sensible person concerned about the survival of the human species: Fossil fuels are on the way out all over the globe, and most governments are recognizing that the future lies in clean energy sources. Ireland and Costa Rica are currently making the transition. Costa Rica now gets 99 percent of its energy from renewable sources, so clean energy clearly is the way to go. It would be that way in the United States as well, were it not for mega-rich corporations and right-wing politicians who can’t see the handwriting on the wall.

The assault against the environment is a key aspect of the Republicans’ agenda. To cite but one example, several of them have aligned themselves with various mining interests to re-open the land around the Grand Canyon for uranium mining projects. Environment America tells us of the hazards: “Uranium mining is a destructive, dangerous process that has already left a mark on the Grand Canyon area: Past uranium projects have contaminated tributaries of the Colorado River, which supplies drinking water to 40 million Americans.” (Ed Johnson, Environment America, July 10, 2018)

Another disastrous item on their agenda concerns the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge. Three oil companies are seeking approval to begin seismic blasting in this pristine wilderness. If they succeed and locate oil, the actual drilling will begin, filling the area with airstrips and vehicles that will threaten the area’s fragile ecosystem. Since we at present do not have the technology to clean up major oil spills, this is a disaster in the making, one that cannot be reversed. Even if by a fortunate twist of fate a spill doesn’t happen, the oil burned from the Refuge will release carbon equivalent to 800 coal plants into the environment.

More and more people are finding the water they drink to be increasingly unpalatable. Flint Michigan’s situation was covered in my last installment. Here, I will add an unfortunate footnote, that over a thousand residents have had their water supply shut off for non-payment; Flint Michigan has the tenth highest water rates in the country. Meanwhile, Nestle continues to extract hundreds of millions of gallons of Michigan water, which costs them just $200 per annum. This is occurring while some residents have to pay the same amount per month for using incomparably less water. Nayyihra Shariff is a Flint resident and director of Flint Rising. She tells us: “Veolia, one of the world’s largest water privatizing corporations, held a contract in Flint at the height of our lead crisis. It failed to sound the alarm, and has tried to wash its hands of its failures in Flint entirely. And it helped give our state officials more fodder to continue dismissing the lived experiences of my friends and neighbors across our majority Black city as ‘hysteria.’ More than four years into the lead crisis, we still don’t have clean water. To cook, clean, and bathe, we still have to resort to bottled water.” (Nayyhira Shariff, Corporate Accountability, August 20, 2018)

A resident of Flint is perhaps best qualified to inform us what is happening: “Unfortunately, Flint is still being poisoned by lead and our community members are still being disparaged and dismissed by the state of Michigan. Gov. Snyder promised the people of Flint the state would conduct home inspections to assure our safety from even more lead poisoning. Governor Snyder is not keeping his word, state inspectors are lying about inspecting homes and our children are still in danger as a result. A report from the University of Michigan has determined what we’ve known since the beginning of this lead crisis—Gov. Snyder is responsible for the lead poisoning of thousands of Flint’s children. Instead of acting when we first spoke up the Governor pumped water filled with lead into our community. Now, Gov. Snyder is working to make sure the pain and damage they caused is re-lived as we wonder if our homes are unsafe without inspections. Real inspections of homes in Flint would give Black parents the best chance of making sure their children can have the best possible future for themselves.” (Ariana Hawk, OrganizeFor, October 4, 2018)

At any rate, there is a similar situation in Fayetteville, West Virginia and it affect that cities’ schoolchildren. People’s Action reports on the problem and also a solution: “The water in the faucet runs orange. But kids are expected to drink it. In Fayetteville, West Virginia, the water at school has been discolored for years. No one knows what’s in it and there is no plan to clean it up. Headwater Defense, a local grassroots group, has been donating bottled water to the school since 2016. When they tried to speak out against the school’s neglect, they were threatened. The school told them they’d stop accepting bottled water if the group publicized the issue…Schools can get away with potentially toxic water because, shockingly, Public Water Systems are not required to test water in schools. The Get the Lead Out of Schools Act (S.1401) would make sure that water in schools is tested and that parents and teachers find out when there is a problem right away. It also creates a grant program to help fund the improvement of water.” (Lois Gibbs, People’s Action, July 16, 2018)

It remains to be seen what action, if any, the Republicans will take before more and more American’s health is threatened by polluted drinking water. Already, the few actions they are taking are questionable at best. The EPA under Trump has already rolled back Obama-era coal ash regulations, which alarms environmental groups who say this could affect drinking water near many of these sites.

NRDC gives another example of the Trump administration’s determination to remove the EPA’s safety standards: “In April 2013, the town of West, Texas, experienced one of the largest industrial explosions of the 21st century when an ammonium nitrate facility combusted and destroyed dozens of buildings and homes across the town—killing 15 people and injuring 260 more. After the tragedy in West, and under pressure from frontline communities, the Obama administration strengthened the EPA’s Risk Management Plan (RMP) rules, which govern how to prevent, mitigate, and keep surrounding communities safe from disasters at industrial facilities around the country that use high-risk, hazardous chemicals. After months of delay, now the Trump administration, backed by chemical industry allies, is proposing to drastically roll back these lifesaving standards. This outrageous proposal was introduced by Trump’s now-former EPA Administrator Scott Pruitt, who called preventing chemical plant explosions ‘an unnecessary regulatory burden.’ But the ‘unnecessary’ regulations targeted in this proposal would protect communities and industrial workers in the following important ways: 1) Improve emergency response to chemical and industrial disasters. 2) Make it easier for communities to find out what chemicals are being used in the facilities near their homes. 3) Mandate review of accidents to identify their root causes and prevent future explosions, fires, leaks, and spills. 4) Require the most dangerous industries to evaluate and consider safer technologies and alternative practices to reduce risk to workers, communities, and first responders. (Rhea Suh, NRDC, August 1, 2018) The article continues: “Between 2004 and 2013, over 2,200 chemical disasters took place in the U.S.—killing 59 people and injuring over 17,000 more. The EPA estimates that 150 of these tragedies take place per year. The dangers associated with these hazardous facilities fall disproportionately on low-income communities of color, or environmental justice communities. And as climate change increases the risk of extreme weather, these incidents could happen more often. Last year, a chemical plant outside of Houston exploded after being destabilized by Hurricane Harvey—emitting noxious fumes and smoke beyond a 1.5-mile radius and leaking toxic chemicals into nearby floodwaters…Pruitt may be gone from the EPA, but Andrew Wheeler has said that he will continue to advance the destructive pro-polluter agenda that Pruitt and Trump began.”

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CLIMATE CHANGE

Perhaps no other issue has so galvanized the world this past year than the fact that our planet’s temperature continues to rise at an unprecedented. level. No leading scientist or knowledgable individual questions this; the facts are not in dispute. Despite this, most Republicans continue to insist that global warming is a hoax, and no objective facts will dissuade them from this position. But wishful thinking and hysterical denials cannot obscure the fact that rising temperatures are a threat to both our health and our livelihood. The problem, unless addressed, will become worse in just a very few years. The National and Oceanic and Atmosphere Administration (NOAA) has sounded the alarm, noting that both Western States and the Great Lakes region will soon begin to see longer and more intense heat waves.

Environment America points out the specifics: “Fluorinated gases persist in the atmosphere for thousands of years. They are so potent that even tiny amounts can have massive effects on global temperature. The Environmental Protection Agency calls them ‘the most potent and longest lasting type of greenhouse gases emitted by human activities.’ Hydrofluorocarbons, or HFCs, are the most prevalent of these climate change disaster-fueling chemicals. They are used as refrigerants and are common in many appliances. Now, the Trump administration plans to allow even more to escape into the atmosphere…A 2016 regulation would have phased out the use of HFCs due to their potent climate-changing effects. But now, the proposed rule changes will make it so that appliances that use large amounts of these chemicals will not need to be inspected regularly or repaired when they leak. As a result, leaking refrigerants will translate into more than 3 million additional tons of greenhouse gases in our atmosphere—every single year” (Ed Johnson, Environment America, October 18, 2018)

The Washington Post ran an article that shows that global warming is a global issue: “From the normally mild summer climes of Ireland, Scotland and Canada to the scorching Middle East to Southern California, numerous locations in the Northern Hemisphere have witnessed their hottest weather ever recorded over the past week…In Northern Siberia, along the coast of the Arctic Ocean—where weather observations are scarce—model analyses showed temperatures soaring 40 degrees above normal on July 5, to over 90 degrees…On Thursday, Africa likely witnessed its hottest temperature ever reliably measured. Ouargla, Algeria soared to 124.3 degrees (51.3 Celsius). If verified, it would surpass Africa’s previous highest reliable temperature measurement of 123.3 degrees (50.7 Celsius) set July 13, 1961, in Morocco.” (Jason Samenow, The Washington Post, July 5, 2018) The article goes on to mention the record heat set in the North American continent in such cities as Los Angeles, Denver, Mount Washington, Montreal, and Ottowa. It then mentions Glasgow Scotland, Ireland, Georgia, Armenia, and Southern Russia.

The New Yorker weighs in on the climate change fiasco: “In 1988, George H. W. Bush, running for President, promised that he would fight ‘the greenhouse effect with the White House effect.’ He did not, nor did his successors, nor did their peers in seats of power around the world, and so in the intervening decades what was a theoretical threat has become a fierce daily reality.” (Bill McKibben, The New Yorker, November 2018 issue) The article goes on to note a number of disquieting facts: “Late in 2017, a United Nations agency announced that the number of chronically malnourished people in the world, after a decade of decline, had started to grow again—by thirty-eight million, to a total of eight hundred and fifteen million, ‘largely due to the proliferation of violent conflicts and climate-related shocks.’ In June, 2018, the Food and Agriculture Organization of the U.N. found that child labor, after years of falling, was growing, ‘driven in part by an increase in conflicts and climate-induced disasters.’…Scientists have warned for decades that climate change would lead to extreme weather. Shortly before the I.P.C.C. report was published, Hurricane Michael, the strongest hurricane ever to hit the Florida Panhandle, inflicted thirty billion dollars’ worth of material damage and killed forty-five people. President Trump, who has argued that global warming is ‘a total, and very expensive, hoax,’ visited Florida to survey the wreckage, but told reporters that the storm had not caused him to rethink his decision to withdraw the U.S. from the Paris climate accords. He expressed no interest in the I.P. C.C. report beyond asking ‘who drew it.’ (The answer is ninety-one researchers from forty countries.) He later claimed that his ‘natural instinct’ for science made him confident that the climate would soon ‘change back.’ A month later, Trump blamed the fires in California on ‘gross mismanagement of forests.’” The article concludes with this ominous note: “The poorest and most vulnerable will pay the highest price. But already, even in the most affluent areas, many of us hesitate to walk across a grassy meadow because of the proliferation of ticks bearing Lyme disease which have come with the hot weather; we have found ourselves unable to swim off beaches, because jellyfish, which thrive as warming seas kill off other marine life, have taken over the water. The planet’s diameter will remain eight thousand miles, and its surface will still cover two hundred million square miles. But the earth, for humans, has begun to shrink, under our feet and in our minds.

The EPA reacted to the words of experienced, knowledgeable scientists by eliminating its Office of the Science Advisor. People’s Action explains: “The Environmental Protection Agency plans to dissolve its Office of the Science Advisor, a senior post that was created to counsel the E.P.A. administrator on the scientific research underpinning health and environmental regulations, according to a person familiar with the agency’s plans. The person spoke anonymously because the decision had not yet been made public. The science adviser works across the agency to ensure that the highest quality science is integrated into the agency’s policies and decisions, according to the E.P.A.’s website. The move is the latest among several steps taken by the Trump administration that appear to have diminished the role of scientific research in policymaking while the administration pursues an agenda of rolling back regulations.” (Josie Mooney, People’s Action, September 28, 2018) The final elimination of the Advisor took place immediately after this announcement was made. This decision will of course make it immeasurably easier for Republicans to politicize science.

On October 14, 2018, Trump appeared on 60 Minutes to speak about climate change. First, he acknowledged that climate change is real, but then backed off. Climate Hawks Vote reports: “According to him, climate change isn’t man-made, it’ll change back again, and he doesn’t want to give ‘trillions and trillions of dollars.’ Oh, and the scientists who say otherwise have a very big political agenda. The scientists’ political agenda: speaking out to save the world from unprecedented disaster. Of course, it’s not just Trump. Republicans in power claim that the costs of stopping climate change are too great—in other words, they’d rather let humanity suffer so that the fossil fuel industry can profit. Larry Kudlow, top economic adviser to Trump, said today on ABC: “I don’t think we should panic. I don’t think there’s an imminent disaster coming.” Because who should you believe on scientific matters, scientists or Trump’s economic adviser? And Florida Senator Marco Rubio on ‘Face The Nation:’ ‘If we’re going to have that debate about whether certain laws should be passed in order to alleviate what some scientists or a lot of scientists are saying is the cause of this, that has to be balanced with the public interest and other topics like the economy and the like,’ he said. Again: ‘some scientists’ versus the economy.” (RL Miller, Climate Hawks Vote, October 14, 2018) Rubio’s stupid comment is typically Republican: “Some scientists” implies that there are only a few “alarmists” out there, whereas in fact it is virtually the entire scientific community that is speaking out. And “the public interest,” according to Rubio, means nothing more than continuing on our present course toward self-immolation. Death and destruction, in other words, are in our best interests.

The following month, Trump slipped back into denial mode. NRDC reports: “Thirteen key federal agencies released a damning new scientific report last week on climate change impacts in the U.S., and it lays out the truth in stark terms: Climate change is a clear and present danger to the American people, it’s getting worse, and its impacts on our country will be more and more devastating—if we don’t take decisive action now. And what was President Trump’s response to this urgent call to action… from his own administration’s scientists? “I don’t believe it.’” (Rhea Suh, NRDC, November 30, 2018) Clearly, Donald Trump is a megalomaniacal individual who refuses to accept any truths he doesn’t like; to him, his words, feelings, and emotions count more than anyone else’s, as well as more than any objectively provable facts, and when someone contradicts him, he simply rejects what they say out of hand—as if by doing so it somehow makes him right. The NRDC article continues: “Trump’s cynical attempt to bury this alarming report by releasing it on a holiday weekend was an utter failure. Since its release on Black Friday, more and more Americans have joined the call for strong action to curb the dangerous carbon pollution fueling climate change. But as the collective demand for action grows louder, Trump is doubling down on his rollback agenda and climate change denial. He even told The Washington Post this week, ‘People like myself, we have very high levels of intelligence but we’re not necessarily such believers.’” And of course, he provided no evidence to support his stance; the mere fact that he said he doesn’t believe it constitutes, in his mind, a definitive answer.

Donald Trump is completely oblivious to the facts regarding climate change, and will lie through his teeth in order to convince people that he knows what he is talking about. He said: “You look at our air and our water and it’s right now at a record clean.” This, as is the case with most of his statements, is the exact opposite of the truth. In fact, 2017 saw the United States had the highest levels of soot pollution since 2011.

Energy Innovation works to educate people about the dangers posed by climate change. Their web page tells readers: “Climate change poses grave threats, but many people underestimate the impacts and do not realize how little time we have to act. Two of our reports, The Extremes Become the Norm and The Costs of Delay make these points unnervingly clear. Scientists argue that adding more than a trillion tons of carbon to the atmosphere—total, over all time—could trigger runaway climate change. Natural cycles can kick in as dangerous feedback loops that spin out of control, threatening both the human prospect and the environment.
This trillion-ton ‘carbon budget’ is already half-spent. Under business as usual, the planet is on track to spend the other half by 2050. To make matters worse, each year of delay in reversing emissions growth makes it harder for us to land at a reasonable climate future—ever.”

None of this matters to right-wing Republicans like California’s Dana Rohrabacher who once stated: “climate change is a fraud.” This is the same man who, in 1989, claimed to be in favor of term limits, which of course this didn’t stop him from running and being re-elected time and time again until his defeat by Democrat Harley Rouda in the 2018 mid-term elections. Even California’s Orange County, traditionally a bastion of conservatism, had enough of his lies and antics.

Republicans can deny the threat to our lives posed by rising global temperatures all they want, but the facts speak for themselves, and the rest of the world is laughing (albeit with considerable alarm) at the folly of America’s Republican leaders on this life-threatening issue. In addition to the devastating fires that hit California in 2018, similar disasters have been reported globally. For example, Daily Kos reports: “Dozens of wildfires are raging in parts of Russia, Norway, Finland and Sweden. Eleven of the fires are within the Arctic Circle. The fires are a result of a dry and intense heatwave that has turned large swaths of Europe into a tinderbox.”
(Pakalolo, Daily Kos, July 19, 2018) The article points to the root cause: “All fires are a source of carbon dioxide and other greenhouse gases notes climate.gov. ‘Fires are also a source of sooty ‘black carbon,’ which rises above the flames and drifts with the smoke to higher elevations.’ These aerosols eventually will fall on the Greenland ice sheet as well as other glaciers throughout the arctic. This soot falls on the ice sheets, turning it from pristine white to a darker color. And just like how wearing a black shirt on a sunny day makes you feel hotter, with the ice wearing its black carbon shirt, it melts faster than it would due to climate warming alone.”

ExxonMobil has long been one of the worst companies in the way they have deceived the public about the realities of global warming. They have spent billions of dollars to distort and destroy objective facts and research about the perils of continued use of fossil fuels. Now that fossil fuel executives are in the highest positions of power in the federal government, anyone who thinks they are serving the interests of the American people is sadly deluded.

Democrats are also complicit in aiding and abetting the dirty fossil fuel industries. CREDO Action reports: “In June, the Democratic National Committee (DNC) voted unanimously to stop taking fossil fuel contributions. In a secretive move less than two months later, DNC Chairman Tom Perez led a successful resolution to start taking them again. Perez and the DNC are siding with the oil and coal companies driving us toward climate catastrophe. As wildfires rage and heat waves break records across the globe, Democrats can and must do better. A DNC spokesperson claimed that the June fossil fuel money ban hurt rank-and-file workers in the fossil fuel industry. But fossil fuel workers and unions would have been free to donate to Democrats even under the original ban. The real problem is donations from corporate PACs—which are funded by company executives. Under the Perez resolution, the DNC can go back to taking these PAC donations. The idea that we must choose between workers and the environment is outdated, dangerous and simply incorrect. Instead of claiming to support fossil fuel workers by caving to corporate contributors, Democrats should be laying out a vision for a clean energy economy that retrains workers and creates good jobs that will outlast these polluting industries…Perez and the Democratic Party leadership who voted for his proposal are out of step with their base and candidates across the country. Over 900 local, state and national candidates and office-holders have signed the No Fossil Fuel Money Pledge, a promise to not accept contributions of over $200 from fossil fuel interests.” (Brandy Doyle, Credo Action, August 21, 2018) If the Democrats aren’t willing to help remove fossil fuel money from politics, who else is there for us to rely on combat climate change? The only other major party is the Republicans, and we know what to expect from them.

As a result of higher global temperatures, we are witnessing the mass exodus of large numbers of people from dangerously affected areas. For example, Vietnamese farmers are deserting their farms due to their inability to grow their traditional staple products. Daily Kos elaborates: “The Mekong Delta is the only place in the entire river basin where rice can be grown and harvested 7 times a year. But climate change and other human activity has begun to turn this oasis into a waste land. The delta is rapidly urbanizing and that is requiring more extraction of groundwater to provide for the needs of a burgeoning population. The water extraction projects have caused many local waterways to sink and dry up providing seawater an entry way into the delta poisoning the rich soil. Meanwhile, erosion and drought is affecting productivity while leaving homes and infrastructure to collapse…There are a host of climate-linked drivers behind migration in the Delta. Some homes have quite literally fallen into the sea as the coast has eroded in the Southwestern portion of the delta—in some places 100m of coastal belt has been lost in a year. Hundreds of thousands of households are affected by the intrusion of salt water as the sea rises and only some are able to switch their livelihoods to salt-water tolerant commodities.”
(Pakalolo, Daily Kos, July 20, 2018)

Many states are taking positive action to combat global warming. For example, late in August 2018, California’s Assembly passed SB 100, a bill authored by Kevin de Leon that will require the state to get 100 percent of its energy from clean sources by 2045. It remains to be seen how Trump and Congressional Republicans will react, but there is little doubt they will attempt to destroy the legislation.

Whether you call it global warming or climate change, this is an issue that affects all of us. Our very survival as a species is at stake, and Republicans are simply in denial. 350.org is a group attempting to build a global climate movement. September 8, 2018 was an important day for this issue. The group sent out an email to supporters which read in part: “Today, more than 250,000 people rose up for climate action, jobs, and justice in more than 800 cities in over 90 countries around the world. We rose to demand our elected officials at all levels of government step up and join us in building the just, bold climate solutions people and the planet need—and it was powerful…In San Francisco, hundreds of grandmothers, along with a coalition of Indigenous activists, pipeline fighters, and thousands of marchers painted the world’s largest street mural—a vivid, 5-block-wide testament to our movement’s power, resilience and creativity.
In Tacoma, Washington, Indigenous Puyallup leaders led a march protesting a fracked gas plant and immigrant detention—because all our fights for justice are connected. In New Orleans, hundreds rose up to demand justice for communities in Cancer Alley like St. James Parish, whose health is threatened by refineries, factories, and pipelines. Over 50,000 people marched in Paris, and scientists even took to the snow in Antarctica.” (May Boeve, 350.org, September 8, 2018)

Climate Hawks Vote quotes some of the stupid rationalizations coming from our Republican leaders in Washington: “The GOP in Washington has had quite the week of spreading lies and misinformation on climate: ‘Our climate always changes and we see those ebb and flows through time.’—Climate denier and Senator Joni Ernst. (R-IA) ‘Brutal and Extended Cold Blast could shatter ALL RECORDS—Whatever happened to Global Warming?’—Denier-in-chief Donald Trump. ‘It’s usually just a lot of alarmism.’ Senator Ben Sasse. (R-NE)” (RL Miller, Climate Hawks Vote, November 30, 2018) But we cannot afford to do what Senate Republicans are doing; bury our heads in the sand and pretend that this isn’t happening, or that it’s part and parcel of the way nature works. It isn’t. The article tells us what to expect if we do not act: “As the recently released National Climate Assessment made clear, we must take bold action quickly to avoid disastrous climate consequences. If we fail to act, our economy, environment and public health will suffer: ‘Foodborne and waterborne diseases will spread. Disease-carrying ticks and mosquitoes will be more common. Extreme heat will cause more deaths. Wildfires and insect infestations will overwhelm U.S. forests. Sea ice will melt and coral reef ecosystems will dissolve. Power outages and fuel shortages will be more frequent. Roads and bridges will swamp. Pipelines will become unsafe. Waterside property will be increasingly unusable. Fisheries will dwindle.’—Washington Post Editorial Board. We cannot afford to cross our fingers and hope that politicians in the pocket of fossil fuel industry will take action. Whether they’re outright deniers or peacocks who say the right thing, but then vote to drill in the arctic or terminate the EPA, we must expose them, shame them, and pressure them relentlessly.”

Ever the progressive champion, Elizabeth Warren introduced the “Climate Risk Disclosure Act in September, 2018. This crucially needed piece of legislation would require companies to study and then report on climate risks their products pose. This would mean investors will be better informed on where to put their money. In introducing this legislation, Warren said: “Climate change can be an economic opportunity if we act boldly and decisively. But if we don’t, we will see a global catastrophe that will put the 2008 crisis to shame. Our bill will use market forces to speed up the transition from fossil fuels to cleaner energy—reducing the odds of an environmental and financial disaster without spending a dime of taxpayer money.” Other politicians have weighed in on this. Former Vice President Al Gore stated: “Our addiction to fossil fuels has led to a ballooning sub-prime carbon bubble that threatens to strand assets in every sector of the American economy. Senator Warren clearly understands this and is demonstrating strong leadership by introducing legislation to assess the financial risks of climate change and require that they be disclosed to the public. This is a critical step toward breaking our addiction to fossil fuels and accelerating the transition to a clean energy economy. This bill highlights the opportunity for the U.S to lead the global sustainability revolution.” The bill builds on the work done by the former Vice President. The bill is co-sponsored by Senators Brian Schatz (D-Hawaii), Edward J. Markey (D-Mass.), Cory Booker (D-N.J.), Sheldon Whitehouse (D-R.I.), Jeff Merkley (D-Ore.), Kamala Harris (D-Calif.), and Kirsten Gillibrand (D-N.Y.). It should come as no surprise that no Republican supports it. Yet it is a win-win solution that would benefit everyone—except our worst corporate polluters, exactly the people that are in the pockets of the Republican party.

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VOTER SUPPRESSION

Suppressing the voting rights of minorities and other Americans who they deem to be a threat to their interests is a particularly vile aspect of the Republicans strategy to stay in power. They are making every effort to keep these people from voting. For example, Brian Kemp, a Republican candidate for governor of Georgia and that state’s former Secretary of State, was caught red-handed as he withheld over 53,000 voter registrations from getting approval. Not surprisingly, over two-thirds of the applications came from African Americans. Color of Change tells us of Kemp’s transgressions: “Georgia Republicans are trying to manipulate the rules to keep Black voters from making Stacey Abrams the first Black woman elected Governor in this country. Last week, a ‘handpicked’ GOP operative with ties to GOP gubernatorial candidate Brian Kemp pushed a proposal to eliminate three-quarters of the polling locations in majority Black Randolph County. As he has done for the last eight years as the Georgia Secretary of State, Kemp is using the law and his position overseeing elections as a weapon to keep Black folks from voting and controlling their own communities. The Georgia GOP has designed this proposal to exploit the political process and rig the election in their favor…The poll closings in Randolph County include a precinct in which 97% of the voters are Black, which will force Black residents, many of whom have no car or access to public transit, to travel as much as 30 miles round trip to reach the nearest polling place. Randolph County has a history of explicitly racist voting practices like this, and was previously required to obtain federal approval before changing election processes until the Voting Rights Act was gutted in 2013 by the Supreme Court. Without the protection of the VRA, the Georgia GOP is free push their voter suppression tactics.” (Brandi Collins-Dexter, Color of Change, August 23, 2018)

Kemp resigned as Secretary of State shortly after the November elections—after his voter suppression tactics had borne fruit. Even though he won his campaign for governor, he faces multiple lawsuits instigated by Georgia’s voters against his tactics.

MoveOn informs us that Georgia is far from being the only state in the union seeking to disenfranchise black and other minority voters: “Ohio Secretary of State, Republican Jon Husted, has disenfranchised 2 million people since 2011, and when the Supreme Court told him to stop, he simply ordered county officials to restart the purges. It’s the same story in state after state. Voter purges aren’t the only kind of voter suppression that we’re facing this year. Of the 60 seats most likely to flip from red to blue this fall, more than half are in states with voter ID laws that make it harder for low-income and people of color to vote. We clearly can’t count on the Supreme Court to defend the rights of voters—they’re the ones who gutted the Voting Rights Act in the first place.” (Manny Herrmann, MoveOn, July 28, 2018)

As an example of how Republicans have been stacking the cards against Democrats, people of color and other minorities, consider this article from Daily Kos: “Emails released in an ongoing federal lawsuit have confirmed that Michigan Republicans giddily engaged in naked gerrymandering when they redrew election districts after the 2010 census. One Republican staffer bragged about being able to ‘cram ALL of the Dem garbage’ in populous southeastern Michigan into only four congressional districts. Another revealed a GOP aide was effusive over the 9th Congressional District ‘giving the finger’ to Democratic Rep. Sandy Levin. These emails don’t just display the GOP’s eagerness to gerrymander, they also reveal their overall strategy: pack Democrats into just five congressional districts while guaranteeing Republicans would win the other nine—even though Michigan is a swing state that leans blue. And they knew they could lock in that advantage for a long time to come, writing that they’d ‘spent a lot of time providing options to ensure we have a solid 9-5 delegation in 2012 and beyond.’ Indeed, that disparity held up even when Democratic candidates for the House won more votes statewide in 2012 and 2014.” (Daily Kos, July 25, 2018)

Daily Kos discusses six states that have been affected by Republican anti-voting strategies: “In Arizona, voters waited up to seven hours to vote in the presidential primary in 2016, with many giving up and leaving without casting a ballot. In Colorado, the Republican incumbent actively opposed attempts to make voting easier, including same-day registration and universal vote-by-mail. In Iowa, the sitting secretary of state failed to count almost 6,000 absentee ballots in a single county in 2016. In Michigan, Republicans have repeatedly tried to eliminate straight-ticket voting, which would lead to longer lines in predominantly African American precincts. In Nevada, the Republican incumbent purged voter rolls and turned over voters’ personal information to Trump’s sham voting commission. In Ohio, the GOP candidate has a long history of supporting voter suppression legislation and tried to eliminate a full week of early voting. And in North Carolina, a major scandal has arisen: It appears that Republican operatives came to voter’s homes, collected their absentee ballots and never returned them. The result was that Republican Mark Harris won the election by a mere 905 votes (his victory has been challenged by his Democratic opponent, who rescinded his concession and has vowed to “fight back”. Is this how democracy is supposed to work?

As usual, Donald Trump reverses the facts on voters; he claims that: “voter fraud” took place in the 2016 presidential election. This is certainly true, but the fraud is due to Republican intransigence and corruption, not from Democratic corruption, as he would have us believe. He simply cannot accept the fact that he lost the popular vote. He and his Republican cohorts continue to spout this nonsense for one purpose only: To cast doubt on the electoral process and lay the groundwork for voter suppression. Of course, the voters who would be suppressed aren’t the ones who support Trump; it’s those minorities who traditionally tend to vote Democratic. CREDO Action adds: “In states across the country, Republicans are doubling down on their efforts to steal elections by enacting discriminatory photo ID laws, cutting back early voting, eliminating polling locations and doing anything else they can think of to make it harder for people to vote.” (Heidi Hess, CREDO Action, August 7, 2018) Suffice it to say that the right-wing Supreme Court will go along with this, rather than defending people’s right to vote. The article continues: “The right-wing Supreme Court continues to undermine voting rights rather than defend them. Its 2013, Shelby v. Holder decision gutted the Voting Rights Act and opened the door to ramped up state-based suppression. Recently, the Supreme Court upheld Ohio’s racist voter purges, which removed people from voter rolls if they had not voted recently—with Black voters twice as likely to be purged. Same-day voter registration is a powerful protection against these kinds of purges, which will only increase now that the Supreme Court has sanctioned them.”

Republicans were extremely successful in their voter purges during the 2016 election, a fact that many Americans seem unaware of. ThinkProgress reports: “States purged more than 16 million voters from the rolls between 2014 and 2016. That number, calculated in a new report published Friday by the Brennan Center for Justice, is a significant increase from previous years and an indication that large numbers of eligible voters are likely being disenfranchised by inaccurate and unlawful voter roll maintenance. The report comes just a few weeks after the U.S. Supreme Court ruled in favor of Ohio’s voter purge system, clearing the way for more states to move forward with the types of purges that disproportionately impact low-income and minority voters. For the two years before the 2016 election, the number of purged voters across the county increased 33 percent over the two years before the 2008 presidential election, according to the report. The increase in purged voters was most significant in parts of the country with a history of racial discrimination that, until the Supreme Court’s Shelby County v. Holder decision in 2013, were required to seek pre-approval of changes to their voting laws from the Department of Justice. The report, which examined purge data submitted to the Election Assistance Commission, found that states historically subject to preclearance were purging voters at a higher rate than other states. If the jurisdictions with a history of discrimination had purged voters at the same rate as other jurisdictions, 2 million fewer voters would have been removed from the rolls from 2012 to 2016.” (ThinkProgress, quoted in People’s Action, July 20, 2018)

Fortunately, there is a solution to this nonsense: The Automatic Voter Registration Act (AVR) would automatically register any eligible voter who visits a Department of Motor Vehicles office. They would be able to opt out if they so choose. This reform will make the election system much simpler and more accessible. It would also increase the number of eligible voters.

Another ready solution is extremely simple: Require paper ballots in all elections. As Daily Kos notes: “With Russian cyberattacks in the 2016 U.S. elections (and their repeated efforts to sabotage the upcoming midterms), it is not unreasonable to suspect they will attack voting machines. A truly alarming report found that our top voting machine vendors installed remote-access software in their machines, which U.S. Senator Ron Wyden called ‘the worst decision for security short of leaving ballot boxes on a Moscow street corner.’” (Paul Hogarth, Daily Kos, July 21, 2018) Wyden has sponsored the Protecting American Votes and Elections Act, which would require all election departments to provide a paper copy of each ballot, which would ensure the integrity of our voting machines.

The Trump administration also wants to add a citizenship question to the 2020 census. If this comes to pass, it will mean that countless U.S. citizens will refuse to participate in the census, fearing discrimination and retaliatory practices instigated against them. I covered this issue in a previous article. Color of Change updates the issue: “Just last week,a federal judge, ruled that Commerce Secretary Wilbur Ross’s decision to reinstate the citizenship question was motivated by ‘discriminatory animus’ and will result in a discriminatory effect…In response to this lawsuit, led by the NY AG’s office, the Justice Department released thousands of documents including internal Census Bureau documents warning that the addition of a citizenship question would depress census response rates, drive up costs, and diminish the accuracy of census data. The documents also included a paper trail that demonstrated that the question was added to further the agenda of white nationalist Steve Bannon and notorious vote suppressor Kansas Secretary of State Kris Kobach.” (Brandi Collins-Dexter, Color of Change, August 3, 2018)

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THE CORRUPTION OF BIG BUSINESS

There was a time, not so long ago, when big business existed to serve the interests of America’s citizens. Those days are gone forever. As the country has moved further and further to the right, many of these corporations are making every effort to increase profits by any means possible, no matter what the consequences. In so doing, they are aligning themselves with some of the most noxious aspects of right-wing hatred.

Amazon provides us with an alarming example. Color of Change notes: “Amazon is funding white supremacist hate. Baby onesies featuring a burning cross, swastika necklaces, and ‘costumes’ depicting a black man being lynched are all being sold by Amazon…Last week, our partners at the Action Center on Race and the Economy and the Partnership for Working Families released a report showing that not only are KKK, neo-nazi, and neo-confederate products like these widely available on Amazon, but that Amazon allows recognized hate groups to use its various platforms to spread their ideas and generate revenue.” (Color of Change, July 9, 2018) The article concludes by noting: “these groups are able to build websites, recruit new members, hold weapons trainings, and send their members to violent rallies like ‘Unite the Right’ all because they can generate funds with the help of corporations and online platforms, like Amazon.” Once again, we see how racist hate groups have become increasingly emboldened by the words and actions of the Trump administration and its Republican allies.

There is more to this than just racism, bad enough though it is. CREDO Action reports on Rep. Bernie Sanders’ efforts to force Amazon and other mega-corporations to pay their workers a fair wage: “Sen. Sanders angered company executives by pointing out that Amazon, like other big employers, pays so little that many workers turn to public assistance to survive. But he isn’t just critiquing their practices, he is trying to end them.” (Josh Nelson, CREDO Action, September 3, 2018) Taking issue with Amazon founder Jeff Bezos policies, the article continues: “Amazon made $3.03 billion last year and Bezos saw his personal wealth increase from $99 to $157 billion. The company is so profitable because it shortchanges suppliers, uses its massive market monopoly power to undercut entire industries and local businesses, and pays its workers so little. Meanwhile, taxpayers essentially subsidize low-wage employers like Amazon with $150 billion each year in public benefits for their low-income workers. In order to survive and take care of their families, between 1 in 3 and 1 in 10 Amazon employees, depending on the state, must turn to the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP), commonly referred to as food stamps. Some employees unfairly designated as ‘contractors’ may earn even less. On top of it all, Amazon warehouses rank among the most dangerous and a number of workers have died on the job. The situation is similar for workers at Walmart and most of America’s biggest and most profitable employers.”

The Hightower Lowdown explains that: Bezos’ ‘business genius’ includes a fine-tuned talent for tax dodging. “When he started the company in 1994, Bezos invented and exploited the infamous ‘Amazon Loophole’ to avoid collecting local and state sales taxes. This strategy provided a huge, undeserved advantage over brick-and-mortar stores. In 2014 alone, it cost cities and states an estimated $625 million in sales tax and $420 million in lost property taxes. At taxpayers’ expense, Amazon’s low overhead and prices drove thousands of local shops and even entire chains out of business.” (The Hightower Lowdown, December, 2017) The article goes on to describe how cities and states, as well as retailers, began to realize how they were being ripped off. Once they began outlawing the dodge, Bezos tried another tactic: “Bezos shifted to a different free ride: Instead of avoiding tax payments to governments, he would get payments from governments. In March, 2012, Bezos set up a war room of experts dedicated solely to the political art of mining taxpayer’s money. Mission accomplished. As documented by Good Jobs First, a feisty public interest watchdog, Amazon garnered an average of $68 million a year in local/state subsidies from 2005 to 2014.”

Microsoft is another big business making profits off Republican corruption. Credo Action provides the details: “Detaining and separating families at the border isn’t just horrific—for some tech companies, it’s profitable.
Microsoft is one of those companies. It sells Azure, a cloud computing service that provides everything from file storage to facial recognition, to ICE and makes millions—more than $19 million in active contracts—off of Trump’s deportation machine.” (Brandy Doyle, Credo Action, July 10, 2018)

Microsoft is far from being the only company profiting from Trump’s deportation machine. Daily Kos provides us with the numbers: “Here is how much tech giants make from the deportation machine: Microsoft: $19.4 million contract, for invasive facial recognition software. Hewlett Packard Enterprises’: $76 million, for operations management. Motorola: $15 million, for surveillance. Dell: $22 million, for surveillance. Salesforce: Aiding Border Patrol to ‘be more efficient.’ The crisis at the border rages. Thousands of children remain severed from their families, and these companies make huge profits from their trauma.”

Erik Prince, the defense contractor best associated as the former CEO of Blackwater, is also the brother of Education Secretary Betsy DeVos. Even though his employees were prosecuted for murdering Iraqi civilians, he has not dried up and gone away. In fact he has expressed his desire to privatize the war in Afghanistan. This would be an unmitigated disaster: The war in Afghanistan has gone on for two decades and is obviously unwinnable. An estimated one hundred thousand lives have been lost in that conflict, and sensible people recognize that we should be working toward a sustainable peace rather than turning the war over to corrupt profiteers.

The Daily Kos discusses the role big business and ultra-right politics play in today’s world: “Corporations won the power to spend unlimited amounts of money on political campaigns in the 2010 Citizens United decision. The owners of businesses have earned the right to cite their personal religious beliefs to deprive workers of reproductive health care. At the same time, the justices have made it harder for employees and customers to sue big businesses by allowing corporations to require mandatory arbitration clauses in contracts people are forced to sign if they want jobs or want to buy goods and services. The court has also made it easier for polluters to get away with poisoning the air and water.” (Daily Kos, July 23, 2018)

Then there is the National Rifle Association. Until just a few decades ago, this organization contributed to both political parties, but that has changed; while some small amounts trickle into Democratic coffers, it is the Republican party that is now the recipient of most of the NRA’s money. But another angle has emerged in recent months, namely that at least one of the Russian agents involved in corrupting the 2016 presidential elections has long ties with the NRA. CREDO Action reports: “This week, Russian agent Maria Butina was charged and arrested for trying to influence American politics. One of the allegations against her is that she ‘arranged introductions to U.S. persons having influence in American politics, including an organization promoting gun rights, for the purpose of advancing the agenda of the Russian Federation.’ That organization is the NRA…Since Putin came back to power in 2012, Russia has increasingly pursued a goal of destabilizing the United States. Part of their strategy has been aligning with extreme groups within the American right wing to deepen existing cultural and political divisions. With the NRA, Russia has a perfect partner. The NRA is extremely divisive and has leverage over corrupt and craven members of Congress. The NRA divides us not only by blocking any efforts to keep communities safe from gun violence, but also by supercharging its long history of racism with reactionary, xenophobic and violent rhetoric that could help further radicalize white domestic terrorists.” (Heidi Hess, CREDO Action, July 18, 2018)

The NRA has essentially bought its way into political power. A new group entitled End the NRA reports: “In total, members of the 115th Congress have received nearly $66 million dollars in direct contributions and independent expenditures from the NRA and their affiliated political action committees and non-profits. If that weren’t already a mind-boggling amount of money, consider for a moment that nearly $56 million dollars of that total (almost 85%!) went to just 20 elected officials.” (End the NRA, September 30, 2018)

Some of the largest corporations in the world are now engaged in what might be called “torture for profit.” As Presente.org notes: “their CEOs are speaking out, saying they support human rights, while they’re quietly building and selling technology that the government is using to cage children and families.” (Matt Nelson, Presente.org, July 22, 2018) The article continues: “many of these companies have major contracts with agencies like ICE: Microsoft’s contract with ICE is $19.4 million, to provide dangerous and invasive facial recognition software; Dell’s contract is $22 million; Motorola’s contract is $15 million; Hewlett Packard Enterprises’ is $76 million; andSalesforce has a contract with Border Patrol to make border activities ‘more efficient.’”

Governmental de-regulations and support for corporate bailouts result in some extremely dangerous financial risks. People’s Action provides an example: “Federal bank regulators took a dangerous step this week toward loosening the Volcker Rule, which limits the ability of banks to engage in risky trading with depositors’ money. This puts the futures of millions of workers at risk, and encourages banks to gamble on the expectation that U.S. taxpayers will rescue them when they lose.” Given this, it is singularly ironic that the Republicans are the first to bailout such institutions, a direct contradiction of their professed (and blatantly false) affirmation of laissez-faire capitalism. Under a true laissez-faire system, such institutions would never take such risks, and if they did, no one would bail them out for their mistakes; they would deservedly belly-flop. What most people cannot or will not recognize is that laissez-faire is a profit and loss system, and the loss is just as important, if not more so, than the profit, as it weeds out incompetent management. This simple fact eludes members of both political parties.

The North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA), first implemented in 1994, is an agreement signed by the United States, Canada and Mexico that creates a trilateral trade bloc in North America. It’s stated purpose was to remove barriers to the exchange of goods and services between the three countries. The end result has been stagnation in American worker’s wages. Public Citizen details the follies of this agreement: “NAFTA grants corporations vast new privileges that make it easier to outsource jobs while empowering them to attack environmental and health protections. NAFTA’s lack of labor or environmental standards contributed to wages in Mexico that are now below those in China, and environmental protections that are weak and poorly enforced. Under NAFTA, U.S. firms that outsource production to Mexico can pay industrial workers less than $2 an hour, dump toxins with impunity and then ship the products back for sale here. To date, almost one million American jobs have been certified by the government as lost to NAFTA, with more being outsourced every week. And that’s not all. Multinational corporations have grabbed $392 million in taxpayer money using a NAFTA provision that empowers corporations to sue governments before a panel of three corporate lawyers. These lawyers can order taxpayers to pay the corporations unlimited sums of money, including for the loss of their expected future profits. The multinational corporations only need to convince the lawyers that a law protecting public health, a food safety regulation or a pro-environment court ruling violates their special NAFTA rights. In this outrageous Investor-State Dispute Settlement (ISDS) system, the corporate lawyers’ decisions are not subject to appeal.” (Robert Weissman, Public Citizen, July 26, 2018)

Clearly, what is needed is a NAFTA replacement that protects workers, the environment, and the health of the American people. Daily Kos tells us: “If impoverishing industrial workers and destroying the planet by dumping toxins wasn’t bad enough, corporations also have a stake in all of our taxpayer pockets. As of this email, multinational corporations have grabbed $392 million in taxpayer dollars through NAFTA’s Investor-State Dispute Settlement (ISDS) process. ISDS actually allows corporations to sue the government and order taxpayers to cough up massive, unlimited amounts of money, including the loss of anticipated future profits—all before a tribunal of corporate lawyers. And it’s safe to assume that these corporate lawyer tribunals don’t have taxpayers’ best interests in mind when overseeing these hearings, which are not subject to appeal. When it’s said that the system is rigged against us, this is exactly the type of systemic injustice that’s in mind. A system that prevents hard workers from gainful employment with living wages. One that disregards the health and well being of the planet and human inhabitants so that unfathomably wealthy corporations can stockpile even more money.” (Kelli Soto, Daily Kos, August 14, 2018)

In my previous articles, I have gone into considerable detail about how Koch Industries, led by brothers Charles and David, have long since been among the worst corporate polluters and also have been among the most generous financial supporters of the most extreme right-wing causes and political candidates. While David Koch is a supporter of gay rights and recognizes the fact of biological evolution, he and his brother expend much of their energy in funding groups that deny climate change. They are also leading the charge in fighting the increased used of solar power and are among the flooding elections with dark money. They played a crucial role in installing climate change denier Scott Pruitt as head of the EPA, which Pruitt had previously sued no less than fourteen times. Corporate Accountability notes: “This corporation has undermined environmental protections, funded climate denial, and ensured that its bread and butter—the extraction and burning of fossil fuels—can continue unabated, even as the world burns.” (Patti Lynn, Corporate Accountability, July 24, 2018)

A key lobbying group for corporate polluters is the American Legislative Exchange Council (ALEC) which has a long record of support for these industries and is a leading voice in denying the reality of climate change. This organization is huge, and it’s tax-exempt. It’s motto is: “Limited Government, Free Markets, Federalism.” They are an ultra-conservative group that authors state legislation which they then distribute to the various states. Their activities, while legal, have come under increasing scrutiny, particularly after reports came out both from The New York Times and Bloomberg Businessweek accused them of giving corporations undue influence. The negative publicity resulted in numerous legislators as well as corporations leaving the organization.

ALEC, not surprisingly, has major ties to Koch Industries, as well as other conservative business groups. The criticism stemmed from the fact that they were quietly subverting democracy in order to further the aims of huge corporations, particularly those affiliated with the fossil fuel industry. Naturally, they urge states to withdraw from regional climate change agreements.

The New York Times has this to say about ALEC: “special interests effectively turn ALEC’s lawmaker members into stealth lobbyists, providing them with talking points, signaling how they should vote, and collaborating on bills affecting hundreds of issues like school vouchers and tobacco taxes.” (Mike McIntire, The New York Times, April 21, 2012)

To see how extreme ALEC is, even Exxon quit the group. When one of the world’s leading polluters says they are too extreme for them, that should tell you something. Other groups have also withdrawn from ALEC in recent years, including eBay and Google. Others, like UPS continue their support. They clearly want to have their cake and eat it too: On the one hand, they claim to be an environmentally friendly company, while on the other, they remain affiliated with ALEC.

CREDO Action tells us more: “At its annual conference earlier this month, the secretive right-wing lobbying organization invited hatemonger David Horowitz as a featured speaker. Not once but in two separate sessions, ALEC and its funders gave Horowitz a platform to spread his dangerous message. The Southern Poverty Law Center called David Horowitz one of ‘America’s most dangerous hatemongers’ and ‘a driving force of the anti-Muslim, anti-immigrant and anti-black movements.’ In his first talk at the conference, Horowitz claimed that: ‘at the K-12 level, school curricula have been turned over to racist organizations like Black Lives Matter and terrorist organizations like the Muslim Brotherhood.’ Horowitz also attacked marriage equality and made hateful references to the LGBTQ community, people of color, public education, feminism and gender equality, and women’s access to reproductive health care. He even downplayed the tragedy and the legacy of slavery in America. Giving a right-wing ideologue like David Horowitz a platform is unacceptable. But ALEC’s harm to communities does not stop at inflammatory rhetoric. ALEC is notorious for promoting policies that limit voting rights, block climate action, expand the detention of immigrants and prevent localities from creating gun safety laws. Funding ALEC is an endorsement of its dangerous vision for our country. Any company that does not want to be associated with white supremacists needs to stop giving them material support.” (Brandy Doyle, CREDO Action, August 25, 2018)

There is a lesson to be learned from this, namely that, although ALEC still exerts enormous influence, public awareness forced them to back off, at least somewhat, from its more extreme actions. If the mainstream media does its job and objectively analyzes the Republican party as a whole, and examines exactly what they plan to do to America, who their donors are, how they are ignoring the needs of the American people, and how their actions threaten our very survival, there will be sufficient public outrage and change will be forced upon them.

Verizon has finally severed its connection with the afore-mentioned extreme right-winger David Horowitz, who makes a living as a far-right writer and activist. He has been called by the Southern Poverty Law Center: “…a driving force of the anti-Muslim, anti-immigrant and anti-black movements.” Chip Berlet, a writer for SPLC, accused Horowitz of: “… blaming slavery on ‘black Africans … abetted by dark-skinned Arabs’ and of ‘attack[ing] minority ‘demands for special treatment’ as ‘only necessary because some blacks can’t seem to locate the ladder of opportunity within reach of others.’” People’s Action tells us of the split with Verizon, and how it affects ALEC: “right-wing activist David Horowitz has enjoyed broad influence in the Republican Party. Horowitz is known for his acidic commentary and advocacy, describing all Palestinians as ‘Nazis,’ smearing former President Barack Obama as a secret Muslim, and claiming that the anti-lynching memorial in Alabama is an example of ‘anti-white racism.’ His extremist brand of politics, however, is finally turning into a liability for his GOP allies. On Wednesday, former Rep. Ron DeSantis, the GOP nominee for governor of Florida, ducked questions from reporters about his regular appearances at Horowitz-organized donor retreats. Now, Verizon is cutting ties with an influential business alliance, the American Legislative Exchange Council, over the group’s decision to host Horowitz as a featured speaker at the ALEC summit in New Orleans last month. ‘Our company has no tolerance for racist, white supremacist or sexist comment or ideals,’ Verizon spokesperson Richard Young said in a statement to The Intercept. The decision is a blow to ALEC, which has counted the telecommunications giant as a major donor for three decades. The relationship between Verizon and ALEC goes back to 1988, when Verizon lobbyist Ronald Scheberle served as the chair of ALEC’s board.” (Robert Borosage, People’s Action, September 17, 2018)

Donald Trump claims to be “as tough as they get” when it comes to lawbreakers. But his administration’s policies clearly show that this only applies to those in the lower ends of the economic spectrum. Corporations and big businesses are free to do as they like. Public Citizen gives us more information on this, and it’s not pretty: “In agencies across the government, the Trump administration has adopted policies to soften civil and criminal enforcement against corporations. The Justice Department now allows corporations to avoid criminal prosecution for overseas bribery by self-reporting violations. Yes, really. Let’s be very clear about what all It also means a greatly increased chance of corporate catastrophes, on the scale of the BP Gulf oil disaster and the 2008 financial crash, both of which can be traced directly to regulatory enforcement failures. This means: If corporations can violate the law with impunity, they will break the law for a buck. And corporate law-breaking means: 1) more workers needlessly injured and killed on the job; 2) more consumers ripped off by predatory lenders; 3) more preventable contaminated food outbreaks; 4) more avoidable asthma attacks from illegal air pollution; 5) more dangerous products on the market; 6) more ripped-off investors; and 7) more discrimination on the job.” (Public Citizen, July 31, 2018)

Eventbrite is an event management and ticketing website that has been exposed for advertising right-wing hate group events. CREDO Action reports: “Last week, members of the Proud Boys, the right-wing paramilitary hate group that led the white supremacist violence in Charlottesville, brutally beat up three people in New York. These misogynists and racists were leaving a Metropolitan Republican Club event headlined by the group’s founder, Gavin McInnes, to which Eventbrite sold tickets. Our friends at Color Of Change asked Eventbrite to pull this hateful event from its platform weeks ago, but the company refused to act. Instead, it chose to promote and profit from an event that glorified and incited far-right violence…Eventbrite helped Trump supporters throw the white nationalist-filled Deploraball and likely made upwards of $100,000. In 2016, the Southern Poverty Law Center (SPLC) reported that Richard Spencer’s National Policy Institute (NPI), a white nationalist think tank, was cleared ‘under [Eventbrite’s] Terms of Service by a member of the Eventbrite Trust and Safety team.’ One of the NPI events hosted by Eventbrite featured the editors of anti-immigrant, xenophobic, white nationalist publications. Another featured a neo-Nazi hero. In 2016, Eventbrite helped the anti-LGBTQ, anti-abortion World Congress of Families sell tickets to its annual gathering that, according to the SPLC, ‘traditionally functions as a key site of right-wing strategy development to curtail or roll back LGBTQ equality gains and restrict or deny women access to abortion and related healthcare.’ In 2015, Eventbrite helped notorious anti-Muslim extremist Frank Gaffney promote and fill seats at his National Security Action Summit. Eventbrite needs to stop giving hate groups a megaphone and funding stream now.” (Nicole Regalado, CREDO Action, October 19, 2018) Although the company promised (after numerous complaints) to stop promoting racist groups, at this writing they have failed to do so.

Yet another economic scandal involves Tesla, the automotive and energy company. Rootstrikers reports: “During the Great Recession we learned how much damage can be done when government regulators treat banks as too big to fail. Now the Securities and Exchange Commission is rolling out a new theory: that CEOs can be too big to fail. Elon Musk lied in a tweet about having secured funding to take Tesla private at a specific price. The price skyrocketed as a result. He committed textbook securities fraud and it should have cost him his job as Tesla CEO. Instead the SEC let him stay on, claiming that Tesla needed Musk as CEO to survive. That’s a dangerous way for the government to treat CEOs, giving them a green light to continue breaking the rules. Writing at The New Republic, David Dayen explained just how damaging the SEC’s settlement with Elon Musk was: ‘SEC Chair Jay Clayton said: ‘holding individuals accountable is important and an effective means of deterrence,’ but that he must take the interests of investors into account, and ‘the skills and support of certain individuals may be important to the future success of a company.’ This is mistaken and counter-productive—even dangerous. No one man or woman is or should be so vital to a company’s existence that they cannot be punished for wrongdoing. This is essentially the principle of too big to fail, brought into every corporate boardroom. If you have a reckless CEO who can’t be fired because it would hurt the company, then you don’t really have a company; you have a cult.’ Musk’s own actions since the settlement prove that the SEC should have been tougher. Despite restrictions on his use of social media, Musk unleashed a new storm of tweets mocking the SEC last week. He caused Tesla stock to fall again, wiping out $10 billion in value. It doesn’t look like Elon Musk is all that necessary to Tesla’s future. If anything, his continued presence there is damaging consumers, the company, and its shareholders. The SEC was created to rein in corporate excess and show Wall Street and corporate America that they would have to follow the rules created to protect Americans from elite greed. Instead, their settlement with Elon Musk reinforces the growing perception that rich, powerful, and famous people will be protected from consequences anyone else would face if they committed fraud. It will embolden others to break the rules. We need to tell the SEC they must not continue down this path. (Robert Cruickshank, Rootstrikers, October 11, 2018)

Stupid corporate scandals like this take place on a daily basis because corporate heads routinely make these decisions knowing that they can get off scot free no matter what happens. This can be laid directly at the Republican party’s doorstep, as it is their policy that: “businesses are too big to fail” and that bailing them out with taxpayer money is the solution every time the chickens come home to roost for these companies. It is also Republican policy to protect the rich and famous from punishment, no matter what they do. In the next chapter, I will examine how banks and other financial institutions have been benefitting from these policies to the detriment of everyone else, and also examine Elizabeth Warren’s key piece of legislation that addresses this issue and offers real-world solutions.

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BANKS AND FINANCIAL CRISES

I have already discussed the role that banks have played in our Republican government’s racist policies. It is time to take a more in-depth examination of the role banking plays in government’s economic policies.

On September 15, 2008, the financial world was shocked when Lehman Brothers, a global financial services firm, filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection. Prior to this, Lehman Brothers was the fourth largest investment bank in the United States. Founded in 1850, the firm dealt with investment banking and management, equity, fixed-income sales and trading, as well as private equity and private banking. Filing for bankruptcy followed in the steps of drastic losses in its stock and the devaluation of assets by credit rating agencies. This was largely due to Lehman’s involvement in the subprime mortgage crisis. Lehman’s failure gave rise to the “Too Big to Fail” doctrine, as previously discussed.

Lehman’s failure was the biggest bankruptcy in United States history; global markets immediately plummeted after the announcement, and the U.S. economy was devastated. As a result, millions of working people losing their homes, jobs and life savings. Aided by Washington, Wall Street foreclosed on countless American homes. Although many of these foreclosures were illegal, no bankers went to jail. This economic disaster came about for one simple reason: the greed of financial firms that sold families mortgages that exploded with the financial crisis. Nobody was charged with any crimes, of course, and taxpayers were forced to foot a $700 billion bailout for Wall Street. This crisis was the worst since the Great Depression almost eighty years earlier. Wall Street was bailed out because it was declared that these financial institutions were “too big to fail” and that their failures would destroy the entire economy.

Today, however, there are banks like JPMorgan Chase that are even bigger today than Lehman was in 2008.

Back in 2010, Congress passed the Dodd-Frank financial reforms bill that helped the American economy get back on its feet. In 2011, a new government agency called the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) was founded. This agency was authorized by the Dodd-Frank Wall Street Reform and Consumer Protection Act, passed in 2010 as a response to the crisis of 2008 and the subsequent Great Recession. The agency’s jurisdiction includes banks, credit unions, securities firms, mortgage-servicing operations, foreclosure relief services, debt collectors and numerous other financial institutions operating in the U.S. It’s sole purpose is to ensure that consumers will not be ripped off and that financial markets operate fairly and legally. The CFPB immediately went to work and forced the biggest financial firms to return more than $12 billion to Americans who had been cheated and victimized on their mortgages, credit cards and various other financial products.

Given the importance of the CFPB, it is not surprising that the Republicans want to destroy it. Thus, Trump’s appointment of Kathy Kraninger to be its director is an ominous sign for the future of the agency. Trump knows that she will be nothing more than another rubber stamp for his agenda. Trump signed a piece of Congressional legislation that exempts dozens of banks from the CFPB’s regulations and jurisdictions. This means that we are removing the solutions that fixed the 2008 financial meltdown. As my former student Jorge Flores said: “It’s like 1984 on steroids.”
Here’s the bottom line: The meltdown occurred during a Republican president’s term. It was fixed during a Democratic president’s term. And now, it threatens to return again—during another Republican president’s term. Elizabeth Warren reports: “Big bank propagandists are already at work. Former Treasury Secretaries Hank Paulson and Timothy Geithner and former Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke recently published an article defending their unjust bank bailouts. But behind their convoluted arguments and technical language lies a simple truth: The well-connected and powerful decided to prevent collapse by sacrificing everyday Americans who did nothing wrong and bailing out the bankers who caused the mess without any punishment. Today, the big banks are bigger than ever and the rule of law only seems to apply to working people and especially communities of color. While racist policing and anti-immigrant crackdowns continue, megabanks like Wells Fargo repeatedly break the law and yet grow and become more profitable. The largest banks are even bigger than they once were, and threats like hedge funds and high-speed trading threaten jobs once more.” (Elizabeth Warren, letter to constituents, September 20, 2018)
Trump’s exemption of big banks from CFPB’s regulations is just another example of Trump’s willingness to lie whenever it suits his purposes. Although rather long, an email from Elizabeth Warren to her constituents tells us exactly what is happening: “Back in 2016, Candidate Trump made big promises to drain the swamp, ignore the lobbyists, and stand up to Wall Street. It’s clear now that those promises were just part of the scam—a scam that has paid off handsomely for Wall Street. President Trump has so many bankers in his administration that Goldman Sachs could open up a new branch at 1600 Pennsylvania Ave. Donald Trump named Goldman Sachs President Gary Cohn as his chief economic advisor—but don’t think Gary Cohn took the job as his patriotic duty. Goldman Sachs handed Cohn $285 million on his way out the door to help quarterback the Republican tax scam. That tax package included giveaways worth over a quarter of a billion dollars to Goldman—in the first quarter of 2018 alone. Gary Cohn was working for Wall Street, not the American people. Donald Trump also named former Congressman Mick Mulvaney to lead the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau—a guy who had called the consumer agency a ‘sick, sad joke.’ In April, Mulvaney told a room of 1,300 bankers and reporters that he had a rule in his Congressional office: If a lobbyist didn’t pony up money for his campaign war chest, the lobbyist didn’t get a meeting. He said that right out in public with the press listening in, and Trump and pretty much every Republican in Washington just shrugged. Mick Mulvaney fired the CFPB’s Consumer Advisory Board, Community Bank Advisory Board, and the Credit Union Advisory Board. He’s dismantled the agency’s student loans office and gutted the office that fights lending discrimination. And his protégé at the Office of Management and Budget—the person Trump has nominated to fill the CFPB director job, and who has no experience in consumer protection—proposed a 23% cut to the CFPB’s budget.” (Elizabeth Warren, letter to constituents, September 15, 2018) Warren doesn’t just complain about Republican corruption, she offers real solutions: “The way I see it, there are a few ways to fight back: First, break up the big banks. Cap the size of the biggest financial institutions. This was basically the law for most of the 20th century. Senator Sherrod Brown and former Senator Ted Kaufman tried to get this rule back during the Dodd-Frank debates. And pass the 21st Century Glass-Steagall Act, my bill with the late Senator John McCain, to rebuild the wall between boring commercial banking and risky investment banking. If banks want to engage in high-risk trading, they can go for it—but not using insured deposits and not putting taxpayers on the hook. A new Glass-Steagall would shrink both size and risk. Second, hold executives accountable for their banks’ actions. In March, I introduced the Ending Too Big to Jail Act—legislation that would require senior executives at banks with more than $10 billion in assets to certify every year that they have conducted due diligence and found no criminal conduct or civil fraud within the financial institution. When Wall Street CEOs break the law, they should go to jail like anyone else. Third, get the corruption out of Washington. My new Anti-Corruption Act bans elected officials from becoming lobbyists after they leave office—so guys like Eric Cantor can’t do Wall Street’s bidding and then run to Wall Street when they lose an election. It ends pre-bribes like the Gary Cohn giveaway. It requires everyone who gets paid to influence the government to register as a lobbyist. It locks the revolving door by banning lobbyists from government jobs for six years. And ban lobbyists from writing checks or giving gifts to federal officeholders or candidates.”
Warren is right on all counts. It is time for banks and other financial institutions to stop playing russian roulette with our money. They need to be held accountable for their actions, as any other American would. And if those actions result in economic ruin, they will pay the price.
As for the notion that: “no crimes were committed,” a key Republican rationalization for the financial institution’s role in creating the Great Recession, Andrew Ross Sorkin, a financial columnist for the New York Times, laid that myth to rest in an interview with CNN: “Those who have looked closely into this have found abundant criminality. Start with the Financial Crisis Investigation Commission Report, which while looking into the root causes of the crisis, saw evidence of felony fraud.6 They detailed their findings in the 663-page The Financial Crisis Inquiry Report.” (quoted in Daily Kos, September 12, 2018)
No More Bailouts—that must be the slogan for a new era of financial accountability.

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RACISM, PURE AND SIMPLE

Trump’s racism and that of his cabinet are one of the many reasons why our foreign allies are disgusted at the United States. The facts proving this are irrefutable, and officials aren’t even trying to hide them. Andrew Veprek, an official at Trump’s State Department, has no problem whatever with promoting racism. According to the Daily Kos: “A Trump-appointed State Department official: ‘tore into’ standard UN documents stating that national leaders should oppose racism, nationalism, and xenophobia. According to CNN, deputy assistant secretary for refugees and migration Andrew Veprek not only defended nationalism, he claimed that title for Donald Trump while ‘softening language’ on racism. Over the last two weeks, Donald Trump has withdrawn the US from the UN Council on Human Rights Council after the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights called Trump’s family separation policy ‘unconscionable.’” (Mark Sumner, Daily Kos, June 30, 2018)

The article continues: “With children in cages and concern about human rights not even on the Trump radar, Veprek made it clear that he doesn’t believe hating people for their race, nation of origin or religion is a problem. And he went beyond defending ‘very fine people,’ to claiming membership in declaring that: ‘millions of Americans’ consider themselves nationalists. Including Trump. But even that wasn’t the most extreme change Veprek made to the UN documents. Veprek also pushed to soften language about fighting racism and about racism in politics in his proposed amendments to a UN Human Rights Council resolution titled: ‘The Incompatibility between Democracy and Racism’ that is adopted without a vote, with much of the same language, every few years. Veprek argued that it’s not the responsibility of national leaders to speak out against hate speech.” In other words, it is not the government’s responsibility to set a moral example by condemning hate and racism.

As vile as this man is, he is in a high position in our government, and no one is speaking out against him: Not the president (of course), not the cabinet, not the Republican leaders, and, most alarmingly if no longer surprisingly, not the press. And, of course, the Democrats, like their 1930s fascist appeasing predecessors, continue to be silent.

It is frightening that in our supposedly enlightened age there are still people in high positions of power that are unabashedly racist—and virtually every one of them belongs to the Republican party. This should be obvious to everyone who has read this far. Allow me to provide one more example. Cindi Hyde-Smith currently serves as junior Senator from Mississippi. As a resident of that state, she must be aware of its dark history on race issues. She is one of those people who simply cannot accept the fact that the South lost the Civil War and that black people are recognized the world over as not being inferior in any way. Yet she is on record as saying some truly amazing things, such as when she said that plantation owners were simply “defending their homeland.” She is also on record as defending historical revisionist myths about the Civil War. She told a supporter: “If he invited me to a public hanging, I’d be on the front row.” Later, she tried to back away from this statement, insisting that it was made as a “joke.” She also said that trying to keep blacks from voting is “a great idea.” Again, she later tried to convince people that this was said in jest. But anyone familiar with her knows better; anyone who tries to defend slaveowners and tries to name a highway after Confederate president Jefferson Davis can hardly be considered as anything other than a racist. Because of her remarks, some of the corporations that sponsored her campaign have demanded that she return the money they donated to her senatorial campaign. These include Walmart, Pfizer, Union Pacific, and even Major League Baseball. The next step is a full censure from the United States Senate. Don’t expect that anytime soon.

America in 2018 is at a moral crossroads with regard to the race issue. Republican politicians are making every effort to destroy the landmark Civil Rights Acts of 1964 and 1968 piecemeal. Progress America reports: “Yet our economic opportunities are largely determined by race, religion, ethnicity, and zip code. It means that American citizens who call Puerto Rico home are abandoned by their federal government. This means unacceptable, deep inequities persist in people’s ability to get a good education, to purchase affordable insurance, to get a mortgage or loan, or even to have safe drinking water.” (Mike Phelan, Progress America, September 8, 2018) The article ends by noting some positive legislation in the make: “It’s time to update the Civil Rights Act to address 21st century discrimination. That’s why Rashida Tlaib, poised to represent Michigan’s 13th district in the U.S. House of Representatives, plans to introduce the Justice For All Civil Rights Act when the new Congress convenes in early 2019.” The proposed legislation will: 1) Expand educational opportunity by challenging inequitable funding of our public schools. 2) Challenge unfair law enforcement and criminal justice policies that disproportionately impact people of color. 3) End redlining car and home loan and insurance practices that hurt low-income communities of color. 4) End corporate abuse of “mandatory arbitration clauses” that disadvantage workers in instances of abuse or discrimination. 5) Stop water and utility shut-offs. 6) Protect victims of age discrimination. 7) Expand access to vital public services like infrastructure, schools, hospitals, and community recreation facilities, and 8) Reform unfair tax assessments and minimize foreclosures. Rest assured that Senate Republicans will fight this legislation tooth and nail.

On September 11, 2018, Senator Jeff Merkley made a startling announcement, namely that Trump took ten million dollars from FEMA’s budget, which was to cover some of the damage caused by the disastrous Hurricane Maria, and is using it to pay for ICE internment camps. By doing this, Trump is putting his immigration issue above the health and well-being of Americans living in Puerto Rico. People’s Action follows up: “Even though hundreds of children separated from their families after crossing the border have been released under court order, the overall number of detained migrant children has exploded to the highest ever recorded—a significant counternarrative to the Trump administration’s efforts to reduce the number of undocumented families coming to the United States. Population levels at federally contracted shelters for migrant children have quietly shot up more than fivefold since last summer, according to data obtained by The New York Times, reaching a total of 12,800 this month. There were 2,400 such children in custody in May 2017. The huge increases, which have placed the federal shelter system near capacity, are due not to an influx of children entering the country, but a reduction in the number being released to live with families and other sponsors, the data collected by the Department of Health and Human Services suggests.” (Joshua Jacobs, People’s Action, September 13, 2018)

Despite Trump’s criminal neglect of Puerto Rico, he actually had the audacity to call his response to Hurricane Maria “an incredible, unsung success.” Apparently, the fact that some three thousand people died because of Trump’s disastrous response doesn’t enter into the equation. Notice also the not-so-subtle jibe at the media by his use of the word “unsung.”

In early July, Trump announced that the United States would be withdrawing from the United Nations’ Human Rights Council. Again, respect for human rights have always been part of who we are as Americans—until Trump’s administration came along.

The undeniable fact is that hate groups have enjoyed a resurgence since Trump took office and Republicans took over all three branches of government. This racism permeates various businesses as well. Amazon continues to sell hate imagery and allows hate groups to use its various platforms to promote their ideas.

True to form, President Trump appointed Bill Shine as the “Assistant to the President and Deputy Chief of Staff for Communications.” The White House announced that Shine: “brings over two decades of television programming, communications, and management experience to the role.” One needn’t dig too deeply to find the scoop on Shine: As former co-president of Fox News, he spent years covering up for all the sexual improprieties of Roger Ailes, Bill O’Reilly, and other sexual deviants from Fox. Daily Kos fills us in on the essentials: “Shine resigned from Fox News in May 2017 after he was accused in several lawsuits of covering up or downplaying allegations of workplace sexual harassment and racial discrimination. His resignation came two weeks after the network’s top-rated host Bill O’Reilly was ousted from Fox News following revelations that he and the network had paid out $13 million to settle complaints against him from five female co-workers.” (Laura Clawson, Daily Kos, July 5, 2018) At this point, one has to wonder: Is there anyone in the Republican circle that has any sense of what is right and wrong? One reader aptly noted Shine’s new position as: “going from one swamp to another swamp.”

Racism is rearing its ugly head for many reasons, but one of the main ones is the fact that the white majority in this country is slowly but inexorably becoming a minority. Experts agree that within a few decades this will come to pass. And that scares a lot of people. The rapidly changing demographic in this country is a major factor in the political polarization we are increasingly being subjected to. Immigration policy, welfare reform, abortion and numerous other issues are inextricably intertwined with this change. The election of Donald Trump and his continued support among a minority of very vocal whites is a manifestation of this fear, and racism is the undeniable central feature of their political stances: Donald Trump plays on these fears and casts everyone who disagrees with him as the “enemy.” He tells them exactly what they want to hear. He tells them they are losing jobs to immigrants. He tells them their foreign language threatens them because they “refuse” to learn English. He tells them that the poor are all, as Ronald Reagan once infamously said: “A faceless mass waiting for a handout.” He tells them that Islam is a threat to Christianity. And he tells them that Democrats are innately evil and responsible for all the ills facing our country. As demonstrably absurd as all this is, it’s working.

Racism is the unstated premise behind virtually every one of Trump’s policies. His supporters insist that Trump’s wall is designed solely to keep out illegal immigrants. But Trump doesn’t want any immigrants polluting his precious whites-first country. For proof, look at our current military policy. Common Defense tells us that: “The day after we celebrate our nation’s birth, the AP reported that the Army is throwing out immigrants who took the oath to enlist, and terminating their contracts with no explanation…Trump’s white supremacist agenda is winning out over national security…Through our country’s history, military service has been a path to citizenship for new Americans arriving on our shores. But Trump hates immigrants so much, he wants to slam even that door shut. And Secretary Mattis is standing by, doing nothing to defend these recruits.” (Perry O’Brien, Common Defense, July 6, 2018) This of course was written prior to Mattis’ resignation.

Trump has threatened to close down the government unless he receives funding for his border wall. CREDO Action tells us: “The Trump regime already jails up to 40,000 immigrants a day—including children—in inhumane detention facilities across the country. With Trump’s DOJ criminally prosecuting all undocumented immigrants, that number will skyrocket…CE’s mismanagement of the immigration detention system has resulted in a network of hundreds of jails riddled with reports of abuse and human rights violations. Immigrant detainees have filed complaints about excessive solitary confinement, physical abuse, medical neglect that has led to death, and sexual assault in ICE run prisons. In the vast majority of cases, immigration officers carry out these abuses with relative impunity. More than 95 percent of all cases of alleged misconduct have resulted in ‘no action taken’ by the federal government. Immigrant detention facilities are also cesspools of corruption. The ACLU is suing a detention center in Georgia for forcing immigrant detainees to work for basic necessities like food and soap.” (Nicole Regalado, CREDO Action, July 24, 2018)

The detention facilities have become a national scandal. Literally thousands of children have been separated from their families. Daily Kos reports: “As officials struggle to reunite thousands of children who were kidnapped from the arms of parents at the border, the administration faces a slew of lawsuits over the barbaric family separation policy, alleging filthy conditions, unsanitary drinking water, and food ‘not fit for consumption.’ In Casa Guadalupe’s case, ‘an 11-year-old boy from Guatemala claimed he had been roughly dragged off a soccer field,’ while a ’10-year-old from Brazil said he had been denied medical attention after breaking his arm.’” (Gabe Ortiz, Daily Kos, July 23, 2018)

These abuses demand accountability. The Kos article names some of the culprits: “That includes DHS Sec. Kirstjen Nielsen, who lied and tried to claim the family separation policy didn’t exist in the first place (guess those separated kids came out of nowhere); HHS Sec. Alex Azar (who lied and claimed that HHS could locate children in its care ‘within seconds,’ when in reality the administration has had to DNA test kids); Attorney General Jefferson Beauregard Sessions III; White House aide and white supremacist Stephen Miller; and, of course, Donald Trump.”

An interesting example of Trump’s racist leanings was reported in People’s Action: “Donald Trump, who generally admires dictators and ignores their victims, has finally found a human-rights issue he cares about: the plight of white South Africans. On Wednesday, he tweeted a demand that Secretary of State Mike Pompeo ‘closely study’ the South African government’s ‘seizing [of] land from white farmers.’ Despite the many graver human-rights problems plaguing Africa, Trump has somehow seized upon one affecting white people. Yes, there are legitimate critiques of the ruling African National Congress’s recent decision to support the expropriation of white-owned farmland without compensation. But claiming that Trump’s concern for white South Africans supposedly menaced by black people has nothing to do with his well-documented history of racism is like saying his focus on the murder of Mollie Tibbetts has nothing to do with the fact that she is white and her alleged killer is Latino. It long ago ceased being an argument that can be made in good faith.” (Sam Pizzigati, People’s Action, August 24, 2018)

Given how innately evil Donald Trump is, it is amazing that, to this day, there remain people who support him wholeheartedly. And, the simple fact is that the more fundamentalist religious groups are the ones that are his biggest supporters. While this may at first seem like an anomaly, it does make sense—once you recognize the simple fact that religion, particularly of the extremist kind we find in fundamentalist circles, his no relationship whatever with morality. Indeed, it tends to make people clannish and bigoted. Daily Kos ran a fascinating article on this. It begins by noting what a terrific job The Washington Post has done on examining this issue: “In an article today a post reporter visited the First Baptist Church in Luverne, Alabama—a town that voted overwhelmingly for Trump—to learn how the congregants square their fundamentalist Christian beliefs with support for someone as blatantly immoral as Donald Trump. It is painful to read the mental contortions involved in their explanations, but a common thread seems to be a fear of the ‘other.’ For some, our former president was the very embodiment of the ‘other.’” (Daily Kos, July 22, 2018) The article goes on to quote from the Post article: “She was 67, a Sunday school teacher who said this was the only way to understand how Christians like her supported Trump. ‘Obama was acting at the behest of the Islamic nation,’ she began one afternoon when she was getting her nails done with her friend Linda. She was referring to allegations that President Barack Obama is a Muslim, not a Christian—allegations that are false. ‘He carried a Koran and it was not for literary purposes. If you look at it, the number of Christians is decreasing, the number of Muslims has grown. We allowed them to come in.’ ‘Obama woke a sleeping nation,’ said Linda. ‘He woke a sleeping Christian nation,’ Sheila corrected.” The Kos continues: “In their mind, Obama and Hilary opened the floodgates for all kinds of ‘other’ people to come into ‘God’s Own Country,’ Trump’s warning of the ‘rapists and murderers’ crossing the border resonates strongly. ‘Unpapered people,’ Sheila said, adding that she had seen them in the county emergency room and they got treated before her. ‘And then the Americans are not served.’ Love thy neighbor, she said, meant ‘love thy American neighbor.’ Welcome the stranger, she said, meant the ‘legal immigrant stranger. The Bible says, ‘If you do this to the least of these, you do it to me,’” Sheila said, quoting Jesus. ‘But the least of these are Americans, not the ones crossing the border.’ If this nonsense were not enough, Sheila puts the blame on—of course—Barack Obama. And her view of slavery is one that is echoed by far too many Americans nowadays. The article continues: “The evidence was all the black people protesting about the police, and all the talk about the legacy of slavery, which Sheila never believed was as bad as people said it was. ‘Slaves were valued,’ she said. ‘They got housing. They got fed. They got medical care.” But not to fear: Along came their savior, Donald Trump, who will make it all right and lead them to the promised land.

Republicans like this don’t understand anything about American history. To them, a hovel or a mud hut is “housing.” A starvation diet means that slaves were “fed.” And addressing the most urgent medical needs while ignoring everything else constitutes “medical care.” These people also don’t understand anything about morality; their faith keeps them from understanding it. There are more people who think like this than most of us realize. And they vote.

Five days before the November elections, Republicans released a new video which was, as usual, blatantly dishonest and used racism as a medium to get their bigoted agenda across: “In the most racially charged national political ad in 30 years, President Donald Trump and the Republican Party accuse Democrats of plotting to help people they depict as Central American invaders overrun the nation with cop killers. The new web video, tweeted by the President five days before the midterm elections, is the most extreme step yet in the most inflammatory closing argument of any campaign in recent memory. The Trump campaign ad is the latest example of the President’s willingness to lie and fear-monger in order to tear at racial and societal divides; to embrace demagoguery to bolster his own political power and the cause of the Republican midterm campaign. The web video—produced for the Trump campaign—features Luis Bracamontes, a Mexican man who had previously been deported but returned to the United States and was convicted in February in the slaying of two California deputies. The ad recalls the notorious ‘Willie Horton’ campaign ad financed by supporters of the George H.W. Bush campaign in the 1988 presidential election. Horton was a convicted murderer who committed rape while furloughed under a program in Massachusetts where Democratic nominee Michael Dukakis was governor. Trump’s web video, while just as shocking as the Horton spot, carries added weight since, unlike its 1988 predecessor, it bears the official endorsement of the leader of the Republican Party—Trump—and is not an outside effort. Given that Trump distributed it from his Twitter account, It also comes with all the symbolic significance of the presidency itself.” (Michaela Lovegood, People’s Action, November 1, 2018)

People’s Action addresses the question of how anyone could possibly support a man like Donald Trump: “We need to understand why Trump supporters—especially working class white men—rally around him, despite the mounting evidence that he is the most corrupt President in modern history. Why are so many unfazed that Trump cuts deals with dictators, and looks away every time the Russians interfere in our elections and democracy? Trump offers white, downwardly mobile working class men an image of strength. He gives them someone to hate (women, people of color, immigrants) so they will look the other way as the rich and entitled pillage our country. 71 percent of working-class, non-college-educated white men supported Trump in 2016. A shift of one or two percentage points would have defeated Trump in Wisconsin, Michigan and Pennsylvania in 2016. If we don’t figure this out now, Trump will cruise to a second term in 2020. Working class white men have little to gain from Trump’s economy. In fact, they are losing. 80 percent of Americans live paycheck to paycheck. 71 percent are in debt, and don’t believe they will ever get out of it. The union jobs that lifted millions of families out of poverty and into the middle class are under an all out attack by Trump and the ultra rich. There is a direct relationship between falling unionization rates and the share of income going to the top 10 percent of wealthiest people.” (James Mumm, People’s Action, October 21, 2018) The article goes on to explain the racism behind people’s support of Trump: “Today, let’s talk about why white downwardly mobile men in America feel betrayed. They think that because of the color of their skin and their gender, they should be at the top of the pecking order, like their fathers and grandfathers were. Or at least, there should be someone below them. Now they think they’re at the bottom of the heap, and they feel utterly betrayed. Trump is a master of taking this feeling of betrayal, and promising to relieve it by giving the world back to them. This makes his supporters go wild.”

But there may be another, more psychological reason why people continue to support Trump. He’s a bully whose policies hurt everyone, supporters included. People’s Action has a most interesting take on this: “People who have been bullied often identify with their oppressor. Especially if they were bullied by their father or someone important to them when they were little. If they reject their abuser, then they feel small, helpless and alone. No kid can bear that. So they become a bully themselves to not feel that way anymore. Kids who are bullying others at school are being bullied at home. They had to learn it somewhere. This is why people defend their parents or loved ones even if they do bad things to them. Trump is a bully because he feels small and powerless inside. His supporters feel this way too. Our facts, charts, figures and arguments are not going to change that. Over time you start to feel that the mentality of the aggressor is right.
By asking people to reject Trump, we are asking them to reject their parents, pastors, teachers—whoever bullied them and made them feel powerless. Trump’s supporters can’t reject him unless they are ready to face their behavior and that of their own abusers. They don’t want to be alone. To his supporters, Trump is a strong man who is taking a stand for them…So they believe that it’s really America that is being bullied and Trump is the one who can stop it (and help them at the same time).” (James Mumm, People’s Action, August 11, 2018)

This is not unlike the guilt complex that religion’s must inculcate in their followers. Many people think that fear drives most religions, but it is guilt that keeps the devout in the faith. Those who live in fear may eventually rebel, but a person suffering from guilt (Christ died for you, you miserable unworthy sinner) is a broken individual, easily molded to the doctrines of the religious cult. And, just as with religion, you cannot get a Trump supporter to give up his crutch by kicking the crutch away (i.e. by exposing them to the truth about him) for the simple reason that he/she will hold on to it for dear life; they have too much emotion vested into their faith to be dissuaded from it by “mere” logic.

At this point, we must shift our focus to the role of the Catholic Church in the current state of affairs. This may seem an arbitrary, even pointless shift. However, as we will see, the church has exerted enormous influence over American politics for decades, and its influence is never positive. The Republican war on logic, reason, and morality is far from being a contemporary affair—it has come about through a most unholy alliance with fundamentalist religion. And, even though fundamentalist Catholics constitute a very small percentage of the body politic, they exert a political influence far out of proportion to their numbers.

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THE CATHOLIC CHURCH AND THE SUPPRESSION OF TRUTH

Many people view Catholicism as merely a religion dedicated to promoting moral behavior. In fact, the leaders of this religion espouse an extremely reactionary totalitarian political ideology completely at odds with the American experiment. In this chapter, I will provide a necessary historical background that will elucidate exactly how this one religion affects everyone in the United States—and threatens the survival not only of our country, but of the species itself. These are strong words, and I did not come by them easily. Yet the facts as I relate them here make them objectively and disturbingly true.

It is a ridiculous canard that criticizing religion is impolite. But no ideology should be exempt from critical scrutiny; to demand otherwise is to demand subservience—exactly what religions want and expect. The fact remains that religions in general, and the Catholic Church in particular, have successfully hidden their agendas and actions from critical scrutiny for so long that our very survival depends on examining them critically—without preconceived theological biases. Any such effort will unequivocally prove that the Catholic Church, far from being a positive moral influence on people and society, is in fact a medieval institution facing extinction in the modern world and doing everything in its considerable power to reverse that trend. The church recognizes the threat and has made every effort to counter-act their demise by means of an extensive—and eminently successful—propaganda campaign. This campaign is hardly a recent phenomenon; it actually goes back to 1870 when Pope Pius IX was forced to surrender the last of the church’s Italian states; the pope retreated kicking and screaming into the Vatican, never to emerge in the final eight years of his life. Pius realized that he would have to do something lest his church face extinction. Accordingly, he promulgated a new set of doctrines to re-enforce his perceived supremacy over all the world’s rulers.

At one level, this was nothing new; Pius had already in 1864 issued his encyclical Quanta Cura detailing the supposed eighty “errors” of the modern world.

Among the eighty so-called “errors” were the following: 20) “The ecclesiastical power has a right to exercise its authority independent of the toleration or assent of the civil government…21) The Church has the power to define dogmatically the religion of the Catholic Church to be the only true religion.”

There are many others that clearly show that Pius was mentally still living in the Middle Ages, but the main point here is that Pius’ encyclical is a direct attack on the American form of government. Freedom of religion necessarily entails freedom from religion, but this idea was as foreign to Pius’ thinking as it is to today’s fundamentalist Catholic leaders.

What was different in 1870 was the re-introduction of the medieval church doctrine of papal infallibility, the notion that the pope, in speaking ex cathedra, is one hundred percent correct in his pronouncement(s) and must be obeyed by everyone—not just believing Catholics. Papal infallibility thus became a cornerstone of papal doctrine which has continued down to the present day, although it is rarely presented as such and few people seem aware of it. The church today uses this nonsensical doctrine as foundational to its right-wing political aspirations.

In laying out the case for showing how the Catholic Church exerts an overwhelming power over today’s Republican party, I will be quoting and paraphrasing extensively from Professor Stephen D. Mumford’s landmark book “The Life and Death of NSSM 200: How the Destruction of Political Will Doomed a U.S. Population Policy.” (Published by Center for Research on Population and Security. Research Triangle Park, North Carolina, 1996) It should be obvious to any thinking person that there is a direct correlation between over-population and environmental crises. This book shows how the Catholic Church’s influence on the Republican party has turned that party into little more than a mouthpiece for conservative religious dogma. Over-population is viewed by right-wing Catholics as a non-existent problem because if population growth is addressed, it will of necessity involve having less children—and this is antithetical to church dogma.

But the United States is far from being the only country that the church has been able to infiltrate with its anti-birth control policies. My first quote from the book is from James H. Scheuer, a New York Congressman from 1965 until 1994. Scheuer, in a comment written for the readers of the book’s advance copy, notes: “The U.N. requires consensus for full approval of policy statements. I was a member of the U.S. delegation to the Rio Conference, and I watched Argentina and the Philippines serve as surrogates for the Vatican as they blocked all efforts to include any mention of the population/environment relationship. The outcome of the environmental conference was, in this respect, a disgrace.” And of course, the media was and is conspicuously silent on this crucial, yet obvious connection.

Another comment is from Dr. Virginia Abernethy, who writes: “…Mumford brings to bear overwhelming evidence that, from the beginning, the doctrine of papal infallibility committed the church to rejecting the reality of a world population crisis and led, indeed to highly successful efforts to block timely U.S. interventions and responses (including strict immigration control). This is a dramatic expose of the undermining of democratic institutions and political will, in the service of interests antithetical to U.S. population stabilization and the long term survival of the nation.”

So what was NSSM 200? As the book tells us: “NSSM 200 was the outgrowth of a gradually increasing concern over almost two decades about the world’s rampant and totally unprecedented population growth. In effect, NSSM 200 verified and underscored a conclusion expressed earlier by a panel of the United Nations Association: Namely, that sustained high rates of population growth: ‘impair individual rights, jeopardize national goals, and threaten international stability.’” President Richard Nixon understood that the greatest threat to our survival as a species is ever-increasing population growth. He was vocal in his support of taking measures to respond to this threat, and it was he who set the NSSM 200 project in motion. Unfortunately, as the book informs us: “the U.S. response began to unravel in 1976 and has been deteriorating ever since.” The author then tells us: “Many predictions made in the report already have been realized. None of the predictions made over two decades ago has proved to be inaccurate…While the NSSM 200 study may be one of the most important ever written on population policy, only a handful of people have seen it because it remained classified for fourteen years and has not been covered in the press.”

The 1960s were a time of world turmoil, but one positive thing that did emerge was a growing public awareness of the dangers of unrestricted population growth. It was in this atmosphere that Nixon wrote his “Special Message on Problems of Population Growth” which he then sent to Congress. Although such an action by a sitting president would be unthinkable today, what was even more remarkable was that, in a bipartisan effort, Congress approved the message. This is further proof of my earlier contention of how far right the Republican party has gone in recent decades. A commission was then formed, headed by John D. Rockefeller III, which took two years to complete its report, entitled “Population and the American Future” which offered over 70 suggestions and recommendations. None of these recommendations was ever adopted in the United States. Had they been: “America would be very different today. We would be more secure, subjected to less crime, better educated now with even greater educational opportunities ahead, living with less stress in a healthier environment, with better medical care, all in a physically less crowded America.” (ibid, pg. 21)

Essentially, NSSM 200 set several goals, one of which was a one-family recommendation which ultimately would result in a stable U.S. population by the year 2000. The United States was to take the lead in the global effort to address this threat. The report authorized the government to spend whatever steps necessary to implement this policy.

NSSM was part of a larger report, NSDM 314, and the entire report was approved by Nixon’s successor, Gerald Ford, in 1975. It set in motion a bold policy of curbing population growth. The program lasted for about six years, then rapidly declined after the early 1980s. The book then notes: “None of the Commission’s more than three score and ten recommendations was ever implemented. It is most disturbing that the American people were kept in the dark about this undemocratic and un-American intervention by the Vatican. It was not considered newsworthy simply because the press chose not to make it so.” (ibid, pg. 97)

So how did the Vatican come to exercise such a decisive role in the efforts to curb population growth? The answer lies in the actions of Pope Pius IX, as previously discussed. The doctrine of papal infallibility has never been disowned by the papacy, although today it is rarely referred to. Pius correctly saw that the world was becoming a very different place, and he viewed progress in any form as a threat to papal supremacy; he longed for the days when medieval Europe was all but run by the church.

This doctrine, although never explicitly stated in the pronouncements emanating from today’s Vatican, is nonetheless a foundational cornerstone of virtually every pronouncement made. Mumford notes: “In 1974, the year the NSSM 200 study was ordered by President NIxon, the Vatican issued a document titled: ‘Vatican Declaration on Abortion’ which read: ‘A Christian can never conform to a law which is in itself immoral, and such is the case of a law which would admit in principle the licitness of abortion. Nor can a Christian take part in a propaganda campaign in favor of such a law, or vote for it. Moreover, he may not collaborate in its application.’ This statement is an unequivocal rejection of the legitimacy of our democratically elected government to pass laws legalizing abortion…The Vatican had placed papal authority on the line. It had pitted papal authority against the authority of our government.” (ibid, pg. 111)

The book continues: “The Papacy is implacably opposed to separation of church and state, the freedoms of speech, press, worship, and assembly, and legislative authority vested solely with democratically elected representatives of the people. Today all Catholic priests cut take a solemn oath to uphold and promote these views.” As proof, the author quotes from the Catholic almanac: “The Catholic citizen is in conscience bound to respect and obey the duly constituted authority provided faith and orals are thereby not endangered. Under no circumstances may the church be subjugated by the state.” (ibid, pg. 112) Every week, the medieval doctrines of the church are reinforced by the right-wing Catholic press in the United States. Mumford notes: “The church’s teachings unequivocally state that the pope rules in America whether non-Catholics like it or not.” (ibid, pg. 114)

Mumford then notes the profound differences between liberal Catholics and the conservative branch. He notes: “The liberal church, accounting for 50 million or more individuals, is mainly concerned with personal, family, community and country security-survival interests, and is largely powerless…These two groups (i.e., the liberal and conservative branches of Catholicism) are incapable of communicating with each other and this schism is probably permanent. The far more powerful group is very much in the minority but it is completely obedient to Rome. These Catholics live in America, but jut as Pope John Paul II called for in his encyclical in 1995 (and popes before him), they are not of America.” (ibid, pg. 116) John Paul was another medievalist and his encyclical promotes no new ideas. Mumford notes: “‘Evangelium Vitae’ is a strident frontal assault on American Democracy in which he asks American Catholics to do whatever is necessary to impose papal teachings on all Americans even if it means sacrificing their lives.” (ibid, pg. 117) Mumford notes: “Pope John Paul II has obviously dismissed the idea that American Protestants, Jews and secularists, who are in the majority among our democratic lawmakers, are capable of determining what is moral. Only he and other popes, as God’s representatives on earth, can make this determination.” (ibid, pg. 122) The arrogance of Christianity, like the arrogance of any faith system, threatens the very notion of living in a democratic society, ruled by the will of the people.

The call for martyrdom is a striking example of how the Catholic church, like Islam, elevates death in the name of the faith as the highest of moral ideals. This illustrates the problem inherent in all faiths: they are philosophies of death, not philosophies of life because they insist that a non-existent after-life (meaning death) is more important than the life we have. So when any religious leader speaks of morality, they are speaking out of both sides of their mouths. These people don’t need to preach morality, but rather learn what it is in the first place.

It is also noteworthy that not a single American journalist published anything even remotely critical of the encyclical. So much for the notion of a liberal press.

In fact, the mainstream press is running scared. Mumford, quoting George Seldes, writes: “To criticize the Catholic Church is to invite a boycott, the withdrawal of advertising, loss in circulation and in revenue.” (ibid, pg. 260) Mumford then notes: “On ‘Catholic issues,’ there is no free press…Overpopulation and its solutions—contraception, abortion, sterilization, population education, sex education, advancement of women’s rights, public debate of the environment and the greenhouse effect—all threaten the authority of the pope and the survival of the institution of the pope and the survival of the institution of the Papacy. On these issues, there is no free press in America.” (ibid, pg. 261) He concludes: “The story of the creation and demise of NSSM 200, and of how the government was thwarted in its effort to resolve the overpopulation problem, received no mention in the news media or any oner information source. Few Americans are aware of why is perhaps the most important story of the 20th century.” (ibid, pg. 262)

Mumford raises a key point, one that destroys forever the notion that the Catholic Church opposes abortion because it is concerned about the lives of unborn “children.” He informs us: “There are a number of Catholic countries in Latin America with abortion rates two to four times as high as the U.S. rate. But the bishops ignore abortions there. Why? Because they are illegal abortions, not legal ones. They do not threaten papal authority!” One would think that, if aborting fetuses were really that great an affront to morality, the church would be doing something about it in these countries. But, as Mumford’s comment makes clear, it’s not about babies. It’s not about morality. It’s about control. Nothing more, nothing less.

Mumford tells us how Catholic influence over American policies really took off: “On November 20, 1975, the American Catholic bishops issued their ‘Pastoral Plan for Pro-Life Activities.’ This was just 6 days before President Ford endorsed the NSSM 200 study recommendations as public policy. This Plan is a superbly detailed blueprint of the bishop’s strategy for infiltrating and manipulating the American democratic process at the national, state, and local levels. It creates a national political machine controlled by the bishops.” (ibid, pg. 137)

The Catholic Press Association has played a crucial role in implementing the bishop’s plan. Mumford notes: “Largely through one kind of intimidation or another, or simply by blocking publication of this kind of information, Catholic journalists—including reporters, editors, publishers, and producers—have successfully sought to ‘protect the faith’ as directed by their clerical leadership. Less than 0.01 percent of Americans have ever heard of the Pastoral Plan much less seen an analysis of its implications. The same is true of NSSM 200 which was made available briefly in 1976 before being reclassified and then not declassified until 1989.” (ibid, pg. 156-7) The results speak for themselves: Finding a place that actually performs abortions has become a nigh-on impossible task for many women today. Mumford notes: “Behind the scenes manipulation in medical societies and on hospital boards, etc., career advancement of anti-abortion physicians at the expense of pro-choice physicians and outright intimidation were some of the tools used by the members of the guilds to achieve this remarkable success.” (ibid, pg. 158)

The rise of what was originally called the “New Right” beginning in the late 1970s played a key role in this, as right-wing Protestant leaders aligned themselves with the Catholics and tried to blunt criticism by labeling pro-choice individuals as “anti-Catholic” or “anti-Christian” or “immoral secularists” or any other name they could come up with. This was also the time when the word “liberal” suddenly became an epithet when used by the New Right.

The Catholic bishops have exerted an enormous influence in just about every area of endeavor. Mumford tells us: “The bishop’s call to appoint only anti-abortion judges met with overwhelming success during the Reagan and Bush years. They succeeded in influencing judicial appointments during these administrations. Not one single pro-choice federal judge was named to the bench. Over 70 percent of our federal judges are now basically anti-abortion, as are all five Supreme Court justices appointed during those years.” (ibid, pg. 161) He also notes: “There are other stated objectives of the Plan that are clearly designed to intimidate American politicians and all others who stand in the Vatican’s way: ‘Encourage the development of grassroots political action organizations.’ The actions that have resulted from these objectives have meant the termination of the political careers of hundreds if not thousands of Americans who placed U.S. interests above Papal interests.” (ibid, pg. 165)

The bishops’ plan birthed the New Right. Mumford agrees, noting: “During the period 1976-1980, nearly all of the organizations that became known as the “New Right Movement” or the “Religious New Right” were organized. Examples are: The Moral Majority, the Heritage Foundation, the free Congress Foundation, the Eagle Forum, American Life Lobby, Committee for the Survival of a Free Congress, Life Amendment Political Action Committee, the National Committee for a Human Life Amendment, the National Conservative Political Action Committee, National Right to Life Committee, Religious Roundtable, Right to Life Party, and the Right to Life Political Action Committee. There are many others. Catholics were key pliers in the creation of all of these organizations and in their leadership.” (ibid, pg. 166)

Another aspect of the Pastors’ Plan was the sudden increase of corporate spending toward Republican candidates. Oil companies, savings and loan associations as well as utility companies donated huge amounts of money toward conservative candidates causes. These donations have only increased since then; the disastrous Citizen’s United decision of 2012 has made unreported political donations the law of the land. Given this, today’s political climate favoring corporations over everyone else should come as no surprise: it’s a direct result of Catholic influence in our political system.

It is ironic to see such a sea change in America’s religious/political atmosphere. When John F. Kennedy ran for president in 1960, he had to overcome American’s reluctance to have a Catholic leader. He said in effect that he would never be the Vatican’s toady. Thirty two years later, Republican Pat Buchanan ran for president and was asked in an interview what kind of Catholic he was. Mumford quotes his response: “A believing Catholic, a practicing Catholic, and a papist (Mumford’s italics). I think John Paul is a singular leader of our time.” (ibid, pg. 173) Mumford next quotes a 1996 article by Newsweek which reported: “In 1977 Buchanan, who says that his childhood heroes were Joseph McCarthy and Generalissimo Francisco Franco, wrote that ‘though Hitler was indeed racist and anti-semitic to the core…he was also an individual of great courage, a soldier’s soldier in the Great War, a political organizer of the first rank…” Mumford rightly concludes that this amazing positive summation three horrible Catholic leaders one of whom was perhaps the twentieth century’s worst dictator and whose name is now synonymous with evil, hardly reflects the feelings of the majority of American Catholics. Yet, many people voted for this man. Mumford notes: “Buchanan leaves absolutely no doubt in the reader’s mind to whom he owes his allegiance. It is clearly not to his country.” (ibid, pg. 173)

In summary, the idea of morality means one thing, and one thing only to the Catholic Church: Anything that serves the interests of the papacy.

Clearly, today’s Republican party is utterly beholden to the dictates of the Catholic church. But in a larger sense, they are beholden to Christianity in general. But, their oft-stated claim to be the party of “family values” is laughingly ridiculous. Given the history of Christianity, their statements and actions, and their support for overtly racist individuals like Roy Moore, Eric Greitens and Donald Trump show that they are merely continuing in the tradition of dishonesty cloaked in outspoken public piety.

The Daily Kos ran an article that lists numerous examples of Republican/Christian moral hypocrisy. Here I will quote a section of that article which, although long, clearly destroys any alleged moral foundation of the Christian Right, the Moral Majority, and every other right-wing Christian group loudly proclaiming its moral verities: “Here are some times in the last 20 or so months, when ‘morality’ turned out to be a ‘flat circle.’ 1) When Missouri Republican governor Eric Greitens was beset by scandal, including the very unsavory and criminal charges that he sexually assaulted a woman—who was herself married, and was not Greitens’ wife—and then photographed her in order to blackmail her into silence, the Republican Party did not condemn this man. No, they called it a “political hit job.” The “moral majority” was conspicuously silent on the matter. I guess … Jesus loved porn? I don’t know the bible as well as these evangelical types do; it must be in there. 2) When women began telling their stories of a then thirtysomething Alabama Republican lawyer Roy Moore, trolling high schools and trying to pressure and sexually assault young teen girls, some Republican supporters tried to argue that these women should be charged for telling the truth. Roy Moore pretended that facts didn’t exist; and the ‘moral majority’ explained that the laws of the land didn’t apply to Roy Moore, just the ever-changing and made up ones that are in the Bible—when the moral majority decides to use the rules on page 25 versus the ones on page 35. 3) After Texas Republican Rep. Blake Farenthold was forced to resign because it turned out he had sexually harassed a woman working for him and then used taxpayer funds to pay her off in a settlement, top Republicans turned a blind eye and then welcomed him right back to work the other side of the money-changers’ table. The ‘moral majority, blindingly quiet. 4) And of course, who can forget the audio recording of Donald Trump bragging to Access Hollywood host Billy Bush about how he can just sexually assault women—especially if ‘you’re a star.’ Then, of course, he denied it was him saying it, and then his pious surrogates explained that this was just “locker room talk.”

“The morality of the ‘personal responsibility’ party, the ‘moral majority’ Christian right is non-existent. They are forced-birther, anti-child, anti-immigrant. They are not moral. In fact they are amoral, as they do not seem to have any real concern for morality, as their interest in it is so … dubious. There is a lot that’s been made about how Trump changed the Republican Party—that there are more moderate Republicans that are ‘aghast.’ That may be true to some degree, but at this point, most of those elected ‘moderate’ Republicans have made it clear: Donald Trump has only changed one thing about the Republican Party—he’s shown them that they don’t even have to pretend to be ‘moral’ people to keep getting that ‘moral majority’ vote—they just have to make a small place at the table for the “moral majority” leaders, the snake oil salesmen. You let them do the work of twisting God’s words into tithes.” (Walter Einenkel, Daily Kos, July 12, 2018)
My only quibble with the above otherwise excellent article is the last sentence; if a god existed, he would surely condemn what is going on in his name. His only excuse, as we atheists have pointed out for years, is that he doesn’t exist.

Pat Buchanan, the extremely right-wing commentator who ran for president twice in the 1990s, has until recently spent most of his time searching the government for communists, atheists, and just about everyone else he doesn’t like. Russia had always been a pet peeve, but now, With Donald Trump in the White House, he has done an about face. Daily Kos gives a recent quote: “In the culture war for the future of mankind, Putin is planting Russia’s flag firmly on the side of traditional Christianity.” (Mark Sumner, Daily Kos, July 19, 2018) The article continues: “Buchanan made the claim that God was on Putin’s side, even as Putin was invading Ukraine and the United States and Europe were scrambling to find a response to the clearest act of territorial aggression since World War II might seem shocking…but it was already settling in as accepted wisdom on the right. Putin was strong. Putin was manly. Putin was brutally cruel to gays. For the religious right—a group that’s always searching for a David to rule them as they want, even if that rule comes with moral failings up to murdering a friend, or sleeping with a porn star—learning that Putin hated gays was enough to make him the anointed one of God. No matter how many dozens, or hundreds, or thousands he had killed.” It goes without saying that Buchanan is a devout Catholic whose every utterance mirrors that of his church.

Although much has been made about the sexual peccadilloes of Brett Kavanaugh, Roy Moore, and other oh-so-devout Republicans, a day before Trump’s visit, the BBC ran a program no media giant in the United States would dare to run: an expose on Donald Trump’s own scandalous sexual behavior: “A few days before President Trump heads to the U.K. to meet the queen and the prime minister, a BBC investigative program has revealed fresh allegations of sexually inappropriate actions by Trump during the 1980s and 1990s, comparing him to a ‘predator’ at parties with girls as young as 14…Trump’s behavior toward younger women was described by a man who attended the same parties as like that of a ‘predator.’ One of the women, Barbara Pilling, said she met Trump at a party in New York in the late 1980s while she was a young model. She alleged that then-businessman Trump asked her how old she was and approved when she said she was 17, allegedly responding: ‘Oh, great. So you’re not too old and not too young. That’s just great.’…Another woman, Heather Braden, told Panorama that she saw Trump at a party in Miami in the 1990s attended by only four men and 50 female models. ‘I felt like a piece of meat in a market,’ Braden said. ‘I could have been auctioned off in some sort of a sex slave ring.’ (Aldous J. Pennyfarthing, Daily Kos, July 9, 2018) The article goes on to quote an anonymous male on the show who said of Trump: “This guy was like a predator in action. The next day or days after we would hear about it, he would brag about it to his friends and it would get around that he scored. Maybe one or two girls at a time, which is what he loved to do.”

Why is this information not being made available to the American public? If the president of the United States can get away with this kind of scandalous behavior, then what does that say about the moral fabric of our society? Why is it that Catholic bombings of abortion clinics are never called what they are—acts of domestic terrorism? Mumford notes: On April 20, 1995, The New York Times, reporting on the Oklahoma City Federal Office Building bombing, ran a list headlined: ‘Other Bombings in America,’ which spanned four decades and included some attacks that claimed no injuries or lives. But none of the 40 officially documented bombings that have targeted women’s clinics in that period were mentioned. Why?” (ibid, pg. 197) Also, the mainstream media never mentioned that Timothy McVeigh, the mass murderer who planned and set off the bomb at the Oklahoma City Office Building, was a devout Catholic.

Other countries are gradually rejecting Catholicism. Fewer and fewer men are entering the priesthood, a trend that is even present in the United States. In Italy, of all places, the birth rate was, at the time Mumford’s book was written, lower than anywhere else in Europe (today, Germany has that distinction).

Christianity, the Republican party, dishonesty, corruption, sexual misbehavior, scandal and evil: is it a package deal?

Daily Kos ran a most telling article entitled: “Ten Signs the Republican Party is now a full-blown cult.” The article prefaces the reasons by noting: “The Kos article notes: “The Republican Party is no longer a political party—it’s a full-blown cult. Look at any list that has the features of a cult spelled out and you’ll recognize not only Trump, but his devout followers. The ones who will follow him blindly through every scandal, every gaffe, every hypocrisy, every blow to their very livelihood. The ones who will betray even their most highly held ideals to excuse his deplorable behavior. The ones who invent a new reality when the one they live in doesn’t agree with their cult leader. Cults follow no logic. They make no sense. They prey on the weak, the downtrodden, the gullible, the disillusioned. And they are not uncommon. In fact, in a period of time that constitutes a blip in our history books, a cult has taken over a major political party.”
The reasons are as follows:
“1: The leader is the ultimate authority. If you’re not allowed to criticize your leader, even if the criticism is true, you’re probably in a cult.
2: The group suppresses skepticism. If you’re only allowed to study your organization through approved sources, you’re probably in a cult.
3: The group delegitimizes former members. If you can’t think of a legitimate reason for leaving your group, you’re probably in a cult.
4: The group is paranoid about the outside world. If you believe the end of the world is near, you’re probably in a cult.
5: The group relies on shame cycles. If you need your group in order to feel worthy, loved, or sufficient, you’re probably in a cult.
6: The leader is above the law. If you’re held to a different moral standard, specifically in regard to sex, you’re probably in a cult.
7: The group uses ‘thought reform’ methods. If your serious questions are answered with cliches, you’re probably in a cult.
8: The group is elitist. If your group is the solution for all the world’s problems, you’re probably in a cult.
9: There is no financial transparency. If you’re not allowed to know what the group does with their money, you’re probably in a cult.
10: The group performs secret rites. If there are secret teachings or ceremonies you didn’t discover until after you joined, you’re probably in a cult.” (Faith Gardner, Daily Kos, July 30, 2018)

This article is a telling indictment of today’s Republican party and offers much food for thought. Let’s briefly examine some of these points. With regard to the last sign, the article notes: “We do know he demands loyalty oaths—an unprecedented ritual for a president.” Point number one is obvious to everyone: the comings and goings of so many people connected with the Trump presidency clearly indicates that Trump views himself to be above everyone else, and his word is the law. Anyone who challenges him is out. The Kos article notes: “Trump is considering yanking security clearances for those who criticize him. He blocked his critics on Twitter. He has called his critics ‘very dangerous for this country.’ He bans reporters from press events. He has asked aides if reporters could be punished for asking questions. His puppetmaster Vladimir Putin has been linked to many journalists’ deaths for criticizing Putin. And guess what? That frightening behavior doesn’t even faze Donald Trump.” Point number two is also self-evident, as the article notes: “Trump has called CNN fake news.’ He has labeled the New York Times, NBC, ABC, and CBS ‘fake news’ and ‘the enemy of the people.’ The list of times he called something ‘fake news’ in 2017 alone is jaw-dropping.” Notice also the phrase “enemy of the people” was one that was utilized by the Nazis against the Jews; more on this in the next chapter. With regard to sign number three, note how the president’s former intimates are mercilessly stigmatized and insulted once they leave the White House. Michael Cohen is one of many examples of this. The Kos article adds: “When Steve Bannon left the White House, Trump said Bannon ‘lost his mind.’” Funny how the omniscient Mr. Trump failed to notice Bannon’s mental problems when he appointed him in the first place. Number six is self-evident: Nothing Trump does is a problem with Republican cult members. Little things like the rule of law and the United States Constitution mean nothing to these cultists. With regard to number seven, the repeated references to “crooked Hillary” every time his own transgressions are brought up clearly indicate the old truism that a lie repeated often enough eventually becomes accepted as the truth—at least by today’s Republican leaders and their supporters. Number eight is also true: Trump’s embarrassing comments to the British government shows that he thinks he has all the answers to the world’s problems. It also indicates a leader obsessed with his own omniscience. Finally, the tax scam proves point number nine: Republicans steadfastly refuse to acknowledge how the scam benefits only the super-rich at the expense of everyone else. And of course, Trump’s steadfast refusal to release his tax returns conclusively proves the veracity of point number nine. As final proof of how Trumpism has become a cult, consider how difficult it is for devoutly religious people to be dissuaded from their faith. The same mental stubbornness applies to Trumpism; his followers will not be dissuaded from any discomforting facts. They’re with him no matter what.

That is exactly how a cult operates. Fundamentalist Catholicism, like fundamentalist Trumpism, is utterly incapable of compromise. The polarization that we see today is a direct result of these two ideologies. They work together and support each other. As for everyone else, they are not to be considered as anything other than enemies. In this toxic environment, anyone who disagrees with them is not just wrong, but evil.

The church has been influential in helping to pass some of the most restrictive, anti-rational pieces of legislation ever enacted in this country. The Hyde Amendment of 1976, authored by Catholic lackey Henry Hyde, started the ball rolling, eliminating federal funding for abortion for any poor woman on Medicaid. Nine years later, the Equal Rights Amendment failed because fearful Catholics thought it would give women control over their own bodies, and therefore the right to seek an abortion. Because of the strong-arm tactics of the church, President Obama was forced to remove abortion coverage from his health care reform package in 2009. MarieAlena Castle reports: “…about 1,000 bills were introduced in 2011 at the state and federal levels that would further restrict or deny women’s right to abortion and to contraceptives that would prevent the need for abortion…Every possible restriction, criminalization and humiliation was in those bills. One even required miscarriages to be criminally investigated. In Iowa, a pregnant woman was arrested for falling down a flight of stairs—she had called 911 for help—on suspicion that she might have been trying to induce a miscarriage. Another bill protected murderers of abortion doctors from prosecution” (MarieAlena Castle, Divided We Fall, published 2018 by Archway Publishing, pg. 74-5) All this conclusively illustrates just how rabid the anti-democratic forces are in our midst.

How far we have come since the days of Congressman James G. Blaine, author of the 1876 Blaine Amendment which would have kept any tax money from going to any religious body for any reason whatever. Castle notes: “Although it failed at the federal level, almost all states picked it up and added it to their constitutions, with language noting religious schools especially as being denied funding.” (ibid, pg. 137) Any politician advocating such an amendment in today’s hate-filled environment would risk losing his livelihood, if not his life.

Today’s Republican leaders think that the Constitution somehow was written to make Christianity the law of the land. Even though Article VI, Clause 3 specifically says: “but no religious test shall ever be required as a qualification to any office or public trust under the United States,” right-wing Republicans are either ignorant of the clause or else intentionally ignore it. For example, when President George W. Bush was queried on the nomination of Harriet Myers to the Supreme Court, he responded: “We need common-sense judges who understand that our rights were derived from God, and those are the kind of judges I intend to put on the bench.” What is this if not a religious test? This is the same president who gave the dying medievalist John Paul II the Medal of Freedom.

In summary, the Catholic Church today remains what it always has been: a pre-rational institution committed to only one thing: It’s own survival. It’s Dark-Age mentality continues to insist that governments follow its proclamations and that every person on earth is subject to its version of morality. Democracy is unthinkable. And that is why Catholicism and the American experiment are forever at odds.

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REPUBLICANS AND THE NAZI PARTY: THE PARALLELS

As the child of parents who lived through the Second World War, I grew up wondering how anyone in Nazi Germany could have supported Hitler and the Nazi party. Donald Trump’s statements, actions and policies have shown exactly how this phenomenon can take place. In both cases, the people of both countries fell for a con man who convinced them he alone could solve all the country’s problems. The con man was able to convince his people that there were enemies in their midst: In Hitler’s case, it was the Jews (among others), and in Trump’s case it is the Democrats, immigrants, the FBI, our allies, Hillary Clinton, Muslims, and civil libertarians. We know the results of Hitler’s rule; Trump is leading us in the same direction, day by day. Let us examine some of the strategies employed by the Nazis; some of which have their parallels in today’s Republican party, while others, not yet readily apparent, may come to pass if today’s totalitarians are not stopped.

The preface to Ludwig von Misis’ classic 1944 book Omnipotent Government has a very profound thought on totalitarianism: “At the bottom of all totalitarian doctrines lies the belief that the rulers are wiser and loftier than their subjects and that they therefore know better what benefits those ruled than they themselves. Werner Sombart, for many years a fanatical champion of Marxism and later a no less fanatical advocate of Nazism, was bold enough to assert frankly that the Fuhrer gets his orders from god, the supreme fuhrer of the universe.” (Preface, Omnipotent Government, re-printed 1985 with permission of Margit von Mises by the Center for Futures Education Inc., Grove City, PA) Although written 73 years prior to the ascension of Donald Trump, Mises’ ideas about what constitutes a totalitarian despot certainly apply to Donald Trump and his arrogant self-importance.

There are numerous other parallels with Hitler and Trump. We all know how Trump has alienated our traditional allies. Hitler did the same thing in leaving the League of Nations. We also know how Hitler aligned his version of National Socialism with that of Italy and Japan. Trump is doing his level best to align himself with the dictators of Russia, Saudi Arabia, and North Korea. Hitler attacked France, Germany’s closest neighbor; Trump is doing his level best to make an enemy of Mexico, the United States closest neighbor (besides Canada). Hitler hated the Jews; Trump hates the Muslims.

In 1930s Germany, there were two powerful coalitions that could have easily brought down Hitler. One of these, the Social Democrats, abdicated and fled the scene. The other group, the Nationalists, was an extremely right-wing group that found it advantageous to align itself with the Nazi party. Their parallels, of course, are today’s cowardly Democratic party who have abandoned what they have traditionally stood for, and the increasingly fascistic Republican party, committed to aligning itself with hate groups and totalitarianism.

There are numerous other disturbing parallels between the Nazis and today’s Republicans. For one, Trump has repeatedly threatened the free press. If Congress gives him the power to do so, their continued existence is imperiled. He has called the free press: “The enemy of the people.” This has its parallel in the Nazi party’s ordinance: “For the Protection of the German People,” which empowered the government to ban not only newspapers and other periodicals, but free assemblies as well, a statute that was used against other political parties, trade unions, and uncooperative social commentators.

The Nazis also introduced another ordinance, entitled: “For the Protection of Nation and State,” an innocuously worded document with a sinister game plan: namely to suspend civil rights guaranteed by the pre-existing Weimar Constitution. One of the articles of that ordinance allowed the central government to pre-empt the police powers of the various state governments if those governments “failed to take measures to restore public order and safety.” This ordinance was expanded to give Nazi officials the power to name and dismiss any state government officials they did not approve of. The parallel is obvious on several levels: The right-wing has a perennial enemy in the American Civil Liberties Union. In addition, many states are rebelling against Trump’s policies, most notably those involving drilling for crude oil and gas. The very same states-rights advocates in the Republican party will suddenly do an about-face and insist that states do not have the right to pursue clean power alternatives. One can only wonder how long it will take for Republican fascists to implement legislation similar to that enacted by the Nazis eighty years ago.

Yet another action undertaken by the Nazis was a step-by-step removal of all competing political parties. The Republicans are currently in the first step of doing the same thing: Demonizing Democrats at every turn and insisting that they, and they alone, are qualified to run this country.

The Nazis also attacked the Civil Service in their “Law for the Restoration of the Career Civil Service.” This statute gave the government the power to dismiss any official who “on the basis of their past political activity do not give assurance that they will at all times unreservedly take their stand of the national state.” Is it too much of a stretch to imagine today’s Republicans instituting a similar purge of any official not in 100 percent alignment with their policies? Their words and actions clearly demonstrate a willingness to do just that. Indeed Trump has fired many of his subordinates for just that reason.

Surprisingly, the judiciary was never controlled by Hitler, as were other branches of government. He avoided this problem by allowing the state police to settle political issues; the courts continued to function in other cases. Here, today’s Republicans have an advantage over their fascist predecessors in that they already control the Supreme court and are constantly packing the lower courts as well. The extremist judges on the Supreme Court will no doubt render noxious decisions based on false interpretations of the Constitution (assuming that the Constitution hasn’t been replaced) that will usher in a new era of totalitarian despotism.

The use of pomp and ceremony was an important part of Nazi strategies, and Donald Trump’s yearning for a military parade constitutes yet another striking parallel. Nationalism depends on a constant barrage of propaganda and flashy parades designed to instill what they perceive to be patriotism in the public eye.

There are also disturbing parallels on issue of immigration. Trump’s interview with the right-wing British publication The Sun contained the following quote from the president: “I think what has happened to Europe is a shame. Allowing the immigration to take place in Europe is a shame. I think it changed the fabric of Europe and, unless you act very quickly, it’s never going to be what it was and I don’t mean that in a positive way. So I think allowing millions and millions of people to come into Europe is very, very sad. I think you are losing your culture. Look around. You go through certain areas that didn’t exist ten or 15 years ago.” The key point here is that Trump did not refer to illegal immigration, but to immigration as a whole. Daily Kos notes: “Trump’s words here aren’t just shocking, they’re a direct lift from neo-Nazi white supremacist propaganda that paints migrants as ‘invaders’ and white culture as under attack. The only thing that separates Donald Trump’s policies from an open declaration of white supremacy, is using the word ‘Europe’ rather than ‘white.’ And that is a very, very thin reed. Trump’s statements to The Sun only build on the rhetoric he used in describing immigration within the United States. As NBC News reported last month, Trump on multiple occasions used the word ‘infest’ in describing immigrants coming into the United States. If it seems very, very similar to these warnings from the United States Holocaust Memorial Museum, that’s because it is. In order to make Jewish persecution publicly palatable, Nazi propagandists branded Jews as a biological threat to Germany.” (Mark Sumner, Daily Kos, July 13, 2018)

Trump also continued his verbal assault on Germany, claiming that Germany is witnessing a spiraling crime wave. This is not true: in fact, as the Kos article notes: “In fact, crime in Germany has been going down steeply, despite that nation’s generosity toward both immigrants and refugees. According to the latest government numbers that came out in May, crime in the European Union’s largest economy is down by about 9.6 percent from 2016 to 2017.” Even though this fact was disclosed to Trump, he chose to ignore it and continue to mouth his lies about Germany.

The Unite the Right rally which took place in Charlottesville, Virginia on August 11-12, 2017 was an example of how Nazi terrorism and anti-semitism still exists in this country. The words and policies of Trump and his fellow Republican nationalists had served to stoke the fires of racism, and this rally got national, even worldwide attention. Trump infamously said afterward that there were “very fine people” on both sides of the issue, thereby legitimizing terrorism and hatred in the eyes of the world. A similar rally was planned to mark the one year anniversary of the event fizzled at the starting gate. People’s Action informs us: “The several dozen white supremacists who showed up outside the White House on Sunday to mark the one-year anniversary of their movement’s violent gathering in Charlottesville, Va., were overwhelmingly outnumbered by thousands of counter-protesters. For the anti-racist and anti-fascist demonstrators, it was a successful attempt to wrest the narrative away from the alt-right, who had initially expected the gathering—called Unite the Right 2 and organized by prominent white nationalist Jason Kessler—to draw as many as 400.” (Jeff Bryan, People’s Action, August 13, 2018) The event failed for the simple reason that few white nationalists showed up.

Steve West is a radio host at station KCXL in Kansas City, Missouri. In January, 2017 he said on his program: “Looking back in history, unfortunately, Hitler was right about what was taking place in Germany. And who was behind it.” West, who promotes stupid anti-Semitic conspiracy theories on his program, won a seat representing Clay County, defeating three other candidates. He won with 49.5 percent of the vote. The Missouri Republican party tried to disavow the party from this avowed Nazi sympathizer, saying: “West’s abhorrent rhetoric has absolutely no place in the Missouri Republican Party or anywhere. We wholeheartedly condemn his comments.” This is a bit after the fact, of course. If Nazis have no place in their party, why do voters continue to nominate them?

Given all this, it is almost comical that Donald Trump Jr. actually compared the Democratic Party platform to that of the Nazis. MIC Network reports: “Donald Trump Jr. compared the Democratic Party platform to that of the Nazis while hosting the Washington, D.C. premiere of the movie Death of a Nation: Plantation Politics and the Making of the Democratic Party, created by conservative propagandist Dinesh D’Souza, who has long attempted to connect Democrats to the histories of fascism and racism. ‘When you look at the movie, you’ll see that there is a very distinct and clear difference between what actually happened and what is being sold to our youth today,’ Trump Jr. told One America News Network on Wednesday, the Washington Post reported. ‘You see the Nazi platform from the early 1930s—and you look at it, compared to the DNC platform of today, you’re saying, ‘Man, those things are awfully similar’ to a point where it’s actually scary. It’s the exact opposite of what you’ve been told.’ The film from D’Souza—who once pled guilty to campaign finance fraud and received a pardon from President Donald Trump in May—is based on his book of the same name, which sought to highlight alleged ties between Democrats and the Ku Klux Klan. The film also compares Trump to former President Abraham Lincoln. D’Souza’s film is reportedly misleading, however, as it leaves out the fact that political party membership changed dramatically during the civil rights era, when Southern Democrats angered by the party’s embrace of the Civil Rights Act defected to the GOP.(Emily C. Singer, MIC Network, August 2, 2018) Of course, Trump Jr. provided no evidence to back up his slanderously false statement.

The title I have chosen for this installment of the Trump presidency is “Dictatorship!” I did not come by that word lightly. However, the simple fact remains that the Republican party has become more and more totalitarian both in its outlook and in its policies, and the overtly bigoted Donald Trump has in his perverse way served to unite them. This is why they refuse to act against anything he says or does: He speaks for the racism and totalitarian agenda that, although never overtly stated as such, is part and parcel of today’s Republican party platform. And, should any of his associates disagree with anything he says or does (in other words, think for themselves), he fires them. The revolving door in the White House conclusively proves this. If these aren’t the actions of a dictator, then that word is meaningless.

The New York Times ran an article which discusses totalitarian propaganda and its many manifestations: “The goal of totalitarian propaganda is to sketch out a consistent system that is simple to grasp, one that both constructs and simultaneously provides an explanation for grievances against various out-groups. It is openly intended to distort reality, partly as an expression of the leader’s power. Its open distortion of reality is both its greatest strength and greatest weakness…The simple picture Trump is trying to convey is that there is wild disorder, because of American citizens of African-American descent, and immigrants. He is doing it as a display of strength, showing he is able to define reality and lead others to accept his authoritarian value system. The chief authoritarian values are law and order. In Trump’s value system, nonwhites and non-Christians are the chief threats to law and order. Trump knows that reality does not call for a value-system like his; violent crime is at almost historic lows in the United States. Trump is thundering about a crime wave of historic proportions, because he is an authoritarian using his speech to define a simple reality that legitimates his value system, leading voters to adopt it. Its strength is that it conveys his power to define reality. Its weakness is that it obviously contradicts it…Denouncing Trump as a liar, or describing him as merely entertaining, misses the point of authoritarian propaganda altogether. Authoritarian propagandists are attempting to convey power by defining reality. The reality they offer is very simple. It is offered with the goal of switching voters’ value systems to the authoritarian value system of the leader. This campaign season has been an indictment of our understanding of mass communication. Either we lacked the ability or concepts to describe authoritarian propaganda, or we lacked the will. Either way, we must do better.” (Jason Stanley, The New York Times, Opinion section, November 4, 2018)

Reduced to its simplest form, what totalitarians like Trump are doing is altering reality to address certain human fears (however unjustified), offer up scapegoats, insist that their particular religion is the source of all morality, and then wave the flag for all they’re worth. It worked for Hitler. And it’s working for Trump and the Republicans.

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IMPEACHMENT: THE ONLY SENSIBLE AND MORAL SOLUTION

There can be no doubt that, given all the crimes committed by this singularly immoral administration, the only solution is to impeach Donald Trump and begin the efforts to remove him from office.

Article II, section 4 of the United States Constitution reads: “The President, Vice-President, and all civil officers of the United States, shall be removed from office on Impeachment for, and conviction of, treason, bribery or other high crimes and misdemeanors.”

Anyone who has read this far and still doubts that Donald Trump warrants impeachment truly does possess blind faith, as explained in the previous chapter. But the facts speak for themselves. A recent book entitled “The Constitution Demands It: The Case for the Impeachment of Donald Trump” is a must-read for any thinking American: it lists eight different impeachable offenses, any one of which is sufficient to bring this man to trial. If our politicians fail to act, they are threatening the survival of American Democracy, so it will be up to the people to take appropriate action. What follows is a summary of what the authors have uncovered.

The Constitution Demands it (hereafter referred to as TCDI) was published as I began work on this installment of my expose of Donald Trump and the Republican Party. In it, the authors lay out a convincing case for the title of the book, listing eight grounds for impeachment. They are:
“1) Accepting unconstitutional foreign and domestic government emoluments;
“2) Conspiring to solicit and then conceal illegal foreign assistance for his presidential campaigns;
“3) Obstructing justice;
“4) Directing law enforcement to investigate and prosecute political adversaries and critics for improper purposes;
“5) Abusing the pardon power;
“6) Advocating illegal violence and undermining equal protection of the laws;
“7) Reckless endangerment by threatening nuclear war, and;
“8) Undermining the freedom of the press.” ( Ron Fein, John Bonifaz, Ben Clements, The Constitution Demands it: The Case for the Impeachment of Donald Trump, forward. Published 2018 by First Melville House Printing)

The authors begin by quoting Article II, Section 4 of the United States Constitution: “The President, Vice President and all civil Officers of the United States, shall be removed from Office on Impeachment for, and Conviction of, Treason, Bribery, or other high Crimes and Misdemeanors.” Next, they point out the necessity of beginning impeachment hearings now, rather than just waiting until the end of Trump’s presidency, whether that comes in 2020 or in 2024. They argue against those who insist we should just wait until the next presidential election to remove Trump from office. The authors correctly note: If we have reached such a point of compromise, then the American experiment is finished. Donald Trump may be voted out of office after one term. Or he may retire after two. Better presidents may come. Or worse. But the vision that ours would be a government of laws, not men, will be finished…The new America with its diminished system of checks and balances, where impeachment is never an option, will not be a formal monarchy. Jurists may still prattle on about statutory requirements, and those requirements will undoubtedly be applied to citizens. But those requirements will no longer be applied to the executive branch, which will go from bad to worse…The failure of Congress to hold Ronald Reagan and George H.W. Bush to account for their Iran-Contra transgressions cleared the way for George W. Bush and Dick Cheney to engage in far more destructive transgressions in Iraq. A failure to hold Donald Trump to account for his lawlessness all but guarantees that a more lawless president will eventually occupy the White House.” (ibid, forward)

The authors preface their book by noting: “President Donald Trump has been violating the Constitution since the moment he took the oath of office—and since then, the corruption, abuse of power, and abuse of public trust have only gotten worse.”

Although this is not the place for an in-depth examination of the eight points for impeachment the book lays out, I will merely summarize them. Interested readers would be well-advised to purchase the book; it is indeed an eye-opener. And a necessity.

With regard to ground number one, the authors write: “…because he profits from business with foreign governments, the federal government, and even state and local governments, he has been violating two different prohibitions of the U.S. Constitution—the Foreign Emoluments Clause and the Domestic Emoluments Clause—since day one.” (TCDI, pg. 3) These clauses were written into the Constitution because the founders had seen so much corruption around them, and also in world history. The word “emoluments” simply means financial benefits. The book then gives detailed examples of some of these violations, including foreign payments at the Trump International Hotel in Washington, D.C. as well as other Trump-owned properties in the United States. Trump’s reaction to the journalist’s murder in Saudi Arabia can better be understood once it is realized that Saudi Arabia: “owns the 45th floor of another Trump building in Manhattan: Trump World Tower at 845 United Nations Plaza.” (ibid, pg. 10) Trump’s business interests also extend to numerous other countries as well. As for the Domestic Emoluments Clause, there are numerous violations here as well. The authors note: “The Department of Defense spent almost $53,000 at Trump hotels when the president wasn’t even there.” (ibid, pg. 18)

Charge number two is obvious to anyone who is even remotely aware of the Russian scandal. The authors write: “The Russian government engaged in a sophisticated campaign of ‘active measures’ to influence the 2016 election. Trump’s senior campaign officials—his campaign manager, son, and son-in-law—and probably Trump himself actively participated in soliciting campaign help from the Russian nationals whom they understood to be Russian government agents. And Trump helped cover it up.

Charge number three, obstructing justice, should also be obvious to anyone with even a smattering of knowledge about what the president is doing. The authors write: “Since his first week in office, Trump has repeatedly tried to interfere with FBI and congressional investigations into his conduct and that of his subordinates by (variously) cajoling, threatening, misleading, and in some cases firing investigators with the intent of disrupting ongoing federal investigations. That is obstruction of justice—conduct intended to frustrate or impede an investigation.” (ibid, pg. 49) If there is one charge that should be transparently true to any thinking American, it is this one. Much of the evidence against Trump on this point comes from his own words caught on camera, or from his tweets.

The fourth point, directing law enforcement to investigate and prosecute political adversaries and critics for improper purposes, is also transparently obvious. The authors point out what should be transparently obvious: “The Department of Justice is not the president’s personal law firm. Its mission is to ensure public safety and fairly and impartially enforce the law. But Trump views federal law enforcement as a weapon to be turned against his political adversaries. That is a dangerous threat to the rule of law and an established ground for impeachment. Since taking office, Trump has repeatedly pressured the Department of Justice to investigate and prosecute political adversaries, especially but not limited to former campaign opponent Hillary Clinton.” (ibid, pg. 79) TCDI lists many examples of this, but the first one mentioned will suffice for our purposes: “On February 14, 2017, Trump told James Comey that: ‘We need to go after the reporters’ by ‘put[ting] them in jail to find out what they know.’ Comey responded that he: “was a fan of pursuing leaks aggressively, but that going after reporters was tricky, for legal reasons and because DOJ tends to approach it conservatively.” (ibid, pg. 79) The article correctly notes that what Trump calls “leaks” are not illegal.

Point number five, abusing the pardon power, is not in itself illegal; many presidents have used this during their terms in office. However, Trump’s very first pardon, as the authors note: “Crossed a line that has never been breached in the history of the Republic.” This concerned his pardon of Arizona sheriff Joe Arpaio, who had run the Maricopa County sheriff’s office for over twenty years. During that time, he had used cruel and illegal measures which he usually directed against the latino community. A federal judge found that his discriminatory policies were unconstitutional and ordered a permanent injunction. TCDI notes: “Arpaio refused to obey the injunction, and in May, 2016, the judge found him in civil contempt of court for deliberately disobeying the order.” (ibid, pg. 89) After the judge referred the case to a different judge, that judge found Arpaio in contempt of court after a five day trial. Trump pardoned Arpaio on August 25, 2017. This pardon was egregiously wrong because: “…Trump’s pardon of Arpaio endorses the very activity that was enjoined by a federal court as violating Latino’s constitutional rights. The pardon ‘sends a message to Latinos that they do not deserve, and affirms to the judiciary’—and the public at large—‘that Trump has no respect for the rule of law.” (ibid, pg. 92) By pardoning Arpaio, Trump is saying that he is above the law and can reverse any court’s decision any time he chooses. Once again, we are seeing a burgeoning dictator at work.

The sixth point, advocating illegal violence and undermining equal protection of the laws, is, like most of the others, self-evident to anyone keeping up with the news. TCDI provides numerous examples: “Since entering office, Trump has urged police to be ‘rough’ with suspects, given aid and comfort to neo-Nazis and other white supremacists, and suggested that the military should commit war crimes against Muslims. Coming from the president, words matter.” (ibid, pg. 97) Indeed they do. As the authors note: “A survey of more than 10,000 K-12 educators by the Southern Poverty Law Center found that the 2016 presidential election led to increases in: ‘verbal harassment, the use of slurs and derogatory language, and disturbing instances involving swastikas, Nazi salutes and Confederate flags;’ with ‘[o]ver 2,500 educators describe[ing] specific incidents of bigotry and harassment that can be directly traced to election rhetoric.’” (ibid, pg. 101) Concurrent with this, the number of racist hate crimes had risen dramatically across the country since Trump took office.

The seventh charge, reckless endangerment by threatening nuclear war, clearly shows that Trump has an infantile understanding of diplomacy, and is either completely ignorant of the mass devastation nuclear war would entail, or else just doesn’t care. As TCDI notes: “In the conduct of diplomacy, presidents sometimes take calculated risks. But in the nuclear age, there is a line between calculated risks and reckless endangerment likely to cause mass deaths. And Trump has crossed that line by issuing nuclear threats without considering, or even understanding, the consequences.” (ibid, pg. 103) His words are truly scary and conclusively illustrates just how dangerous this man is. The fiery threats to North Korea in 2017 are not to be forgotten, when he threatened that country will be met: “with fire and fury like the world has never seen.” He also said that diplomacy had failed and: “Only one thing will work.” Although he has since backed off from his stance with North Korea, the very fact that they were made in the first place conclusively shows that we have a president who is a walking powder keg that might detonate at any time.

The eighth and final charge, undermining the freedom of the press, is another direct attack on one of the bulwarks of a constitutional democracy. TCDI notes: “As strongman leaders in other countries have discovered, an authoritarian leader can undermine the freedom of the press, and ultimately the idea of constitutional democracy itself, even without formal censorship. Donald Trump is taking us down that path.” (ibid, pg. 111) As with the other charges, this one is also painfully obvious to anyone following what the president says and tweets. TCDI explains: “Trump has repeatedly made public statements designed to undermine major U.S. news organizations by describing them as ‘fake news’ and ‘enemies of the people.’ The number of these statements posted on Twitter alone is overwhelming; one study found that from June 16, 2015 (when Trump announced his candidacy) to late December, 2017, he had posted 990 tweets criticizing the press—slightly more than one per day!” (ibid, pg. 111) One would think that the president of the United States would have more pressing matters than to engage in childish rants against the news media—who, as we have seen, have given him much more leeway than he and his Republican colleagues deserve.

Finally, TCDI discusses other potentially impeachable items including the Stormy Daniels matter, the Michael Cohen Corporate Slush Fund, and Ukranian missiles. Clearly, there is no shortage of accusations that can be made against this rogue president. The book also notes that some have argued that the impeachment proceedings should wait until Special Counsel Robert Mueller has finished his investigation. The authors dispute this, saying: “…Congress must not use that pending investigation as an excuse to shirk its duty to conduct its own independent impeachment hearings.” (ibid, pg. 131)

Donald Trump is not going to get better. He is not going to change. He doesn’t understand how politics and diplomacy are supposed to work. He is not a leader of the people; he doesn’t possess either the knowledge or the temperament to lead. He is a threat to our very survival, and the survival of our planet. There is one solution and one solution only: He must be removed from office. And the sooner, the better. Fortunately impeachment hearings always begin in the House of Representatives, and now that that body has a Democratic majority, the world will be watching to see if they do their duty. If they do not, then the American experiment is indeed doomed. As the authors note: “Impeachment is not a Constitutional crisis. Impeachment is the cure for a Constitutional crisis.”

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CONCLUSION

We are at a crossroads in these United States. The New Yorker once summed up a similarly dire situation with a single question: “Will we remove a lawless Administration from office or will we submit to illegitimate rule?” The irony is that this question was asked back on October 29, 1973 of President Richard Nixon. The question is even more important now because the crimes of this administration are inconceivably greater. The main difference is that in 1973, there were still enough Republicans around who were able to rise above their party and put the interests of the nation first. These leaders have all but disappeared from today’s Republican party.

People’s Action tells us just how much the Republican party has degenerated since the time of Abraham Lincoln: “On the hallowed ground of Gettysburg, where over 50,000 Northerners and Southerners died in a battle over the integrity of the Union and the future of slavery, Abraham Lincoln dedicated the nation to the proposition ‘that government of the people, by the people, for the people, shall not perish from this earth.’ Such a government may be in the process of perishing in the U.S., to be replaced by a government of the minority, by the minority, and for the minority. What can be done? We can fight voter suppression, and make it easy rather than hard for ordinary people to vote. We can publicly finance elections and reduce the nefarious influence of big money on our politicians. Replacing the current partisan gerrymandered redistricting system with a system of non-partisan commissions could go far toward protecting the power of the majority of voters in House and state legislative elections. Ranked-choice voting—which Maine has been the first state to adopt—could make the meaningful growth of third parties possible, help break the partisan gridlock of the winner-take-all two-party system, and expand the range of political choices. Such moves would not eliminate the minority-rule bias in the Constitution, they might help America continue to be a flawed, but more-or-less genuine democracy, rather than drifting, or even racing, towards tyranny.” (Miles Mogulescu, People’s Action, November 12, 2018)

The Republican party as a whole will continue to lie and act indignant when their lies are exposed. Former President Obama, speaking at a high school in Wisconsin, said: “But what we have not seen before, in our recent public life at least, is politicians just blatantly, repeatedly, baldly, shamelessly lying. Making stuff up. Calling up down. Calling black white. That’s what your governor is doing with these ads, just making stuff up. What he’s saying is not true. And by the way, that’s what Republicans in Congress are doing all across the country, on this pre-existing condition thing, they are running ads everywhere saying, We are the ones protecting it. It’s not true. The president said he’d pass a middle-class tax cut before the next election. Congress is not even in session! He just makes it up. He says, I am going to protect your pre-existing conditions, while his Justice Department is in court right now trying to strike down those protections. That is not spin, that’s not exaggeration, that’s not trying to put a positive glow on things, that’s lying.”

Donald Trump’s presidency is the worst in American history, bar none. People’s Action explains how his supporters have become emboldened to say stupid things and to carry out acts of terrorism: “This week our country was terrorized by a Trump supporter who mailed pipe bombs to Trump’s critics and opponents. These are people Trump attacks almost daily on Twitter. Since becoming President, Trump has attacked CNN 63 times on Twitter. Hillary Clinton, 109. Barack Obama, 137. Maxine Waters, 73. John Brennan, 30. Cory Booker, 33. James Clapper, 20.” (James Mumm, People’s Action, October 27, 2018)

As we have repeatedly observed, Republicans can be astonishingly crude when discussing their opponents. For example, Organize For discusses California Deputy District Attorney Michael Selyam’s outrageously offensive comments about Maxine Waters: “The San Bernardino Deputy District Attorney was just suspended for calling Congresswoman Maxine Waters a ‘loud-mouthed cunt in the ghetto’ on Facebook. In a post that has since been deleted, the Deputy also said, ‘you would think someone would have shot this bitch by now.’ Although he has been suspended from duty, he remains on the DA payroll. Comments such as this reveal just how crude and ugly the Republican party has become. Is it mere coincidence that no one has come up with similar comments from Democrats?

But it all starts at the top. Our country has followed the president’s toxic lead. CREDO Action notes: “Anti-semitic violence and other white supremacist hate crimes targeting people of color, immigrants and Muslims have surged in the last two years. The common thread is Trump, who deliberately courts, stokes, fuels and encourages violent right-wing white nationalism. He told his supporters to ‘knock the crap’ out of protesters and said Trump fans who beat a Hispanic man sleeping on the street were just ‘passionate.’ After white supremacists marched and killed a woman in Charlottesville, Trump called them ‘very fine people.’ He publicly threatens political opponents with violence. He tweeted an anti-Semitic image from a right-wing message board that featured a Star of David, demonizes George Soros—a prominent target of anti-Semites—and spouts right-wing euphemisms about ‘globalists.’” (Nicole Regalado, CREDO Action, November 28, 2018)

Many things need to be done in addition to impeaching the president. For one thing, we need a constitutional amendment to be rid of the Electoral College; Trump won the presidency even though he received only 46 percent of the popular vote. The college determines who will be president rather than the American people and thus undermines the democratic process. It also disenfranchises people of color simply by where they reside. Because of the college, states choose the president, rather than the people. If there were no Electoral College, Al Gore would have become president in 2000 and Hillary Clinton sixteen years later. The inequalities that are currently destroying the fabric of our country wouldn’t be as extreme as they currently are. Climate change would long have been acted on. There would be no extremists like Samuel Alito, Neil Gorsuch, or Brett Kavanaugh on the Supreme court, and this court would not be busy disenfranchising American citizens, attacking the basic rights of women and the LGBT community. In other words, we would have a court that represents all Americans rather than a select few.

Daily Kos has done a superb job in comparing the two administrations, which writer Alyosha Karamazov explains. Although long, it is a fitting summary:

“I have spent some time now inquiring into the similarities between Watergate and RussiaGate, and here is what I’ve found:

1. In both, activities investigated were during a presidential election, where the Republican candidate was caught breaking the law trying to ruin his opponent.

How Trump is worse: He used a foreign, adversarial government to do it.

2. In both, Department of Justice officials have been fired to keep the investigation into lawbreaking from continuing.

How Trump is worse: He is attempting to discredit the entire DOJ as politically motivated.

3. In both, the Campaign Chairman for each president has been indicted multiple times. Paul Manafort and John Mitchell.

4. In both, a lawyer close to the President has been implicated.

5. In both, Nixon and Trump retained support of most Republicans over course of investigation.

How Trump is worse: It is likely that Republicans in Congress are also implicated in the scandal, AND they are in control.

6. In both, Nixon and Trump surrounded themselves with corrupt players. Trump: Roger Stone, Michael Cohen, Michael Flynn, Paul Manafort, and George Papadopoulos. Nixon: Spiro Agnew, John Erlichman, John Mitchell, Bob Haldeman, G. Gordon Liddy, Chuck Colson.

How Trump is worse: Most of his corrupt players are ALSO assets of Russia.

7. In both, Trump and Nixon have publicly called for the ending of the investigations, calling them a “Witch Hunt”

How Trump is worse: Nixon waited until the investigation had gone on for two months to name it thus. Trump started before he was even inaugurated.

8. In both, a White House that sees the investigation as a direct attack on the President.

9. In both, Witness tampering. After Nixon’s Chief of Staff HR Haldeman “resigned” Nixon called him on the telephone and told him,

“You’re a strong man, God damn it and I love you and I love John. … Keep the faith, keep the faith. You’ve got to win this son of a bitch.”

After Michael Flynn was fired, Trump called him on the telephone

“I just got a message from the president to stay strong,” Yahoo News reported Flynn told supporters following a meal in Virginia.

How Trump is worse: Trump has veered into witness intimidation. He didn’t stop at mere comforting words for his friends. He is not only holding hopes of pardons above his friends’ heads, but threatening those who prove to be against him.

10. In both, there are so many players, and so much illegality, it’s difficult to keep track.

11. In both, it took years to get to the bottom of things. The Watergate break-in happened in June, 1972, and Nixon resigned in August of 1974. RussiaGate Mueller started in May, 2017 and is still going strong.

12. In both, Nixon and Trump insolently denied involvement. Nixon, “I am not a crook” Trump, “NO COLLUSION!!!”

13. In both, HEAVY hypocrisy. Remember, Nixon’s 1972 election campaign theme was “Law and Order.” Trump: “I am the law and order candidate.”

Watergate also resulted in the indictment of 69 people, with trials or pleas resulting in 48 being found guilty, many of whom were top Nixon officials.

How Trump is worse: Trump’s hypocrisy is far too broad and deep to take account of in one diary.” (Allyosha Karamazov, Daily Kos, July 29, 2018)

I need only add that the Kos writer is focusing only on the Russian scandal; add to that all the other issues I’ve discussed, and you have a convincing case that Donald Trump is not just the worst president in United States history; he is the worst man in the history of United States politics.

The sad reality is the United States is no longer a democracy/republic. The Republican party has destroyed that notion. People’s Action tells us: “How can we tell when a democracy, or rule by the people, evolves into a plutocracy, the reign of the rich? Easy. In a democracy, the political system can and does make a good-faith effort to address the problems average people face. In a plutocracy, the political system works diligently instead at protecting—and growing—the wealth of the already wealthy. By this simple standard, we Americans today unquestionably live in a plutocracy. Our latest slam-dunk evidence: the record of the decade since the Wall Street financial crash ushered in the Great Recession. ‘This is the decade,’ says the German economist Moritz Schularick, ‘in which wealth inequality has increased the most in U.S. history.’” (Sam Pizzigati, People’s Action, September 5, 2018)

Donald Trump—both in his statements and in his policies—has brought white supremacy, bigotry, misogyny, anti-Semitism, anti-LGBT, anti-immigrant and anti-Muslim hatred from the fringes of society to the mainstream. Hate is the fuel that drives the Republican engine.

The plain and obvious fact is that the Republican party isn’t interested in governing; they are only interested in ruling. We have seen their arrogance in pushing unqualified right-wingers to the nation’s highest court. Two of these men, Brett Kavanaugh and Clarence Thomas, had serious charges brought against them which the Republicans brushed aside as inconsequential. So when the Democrats regain the majority, they can and must do the same thing: Appoint progressive Democrats to high judicial appointments, not watered-down liberals like they’ve done in the past, people who seek to work with Republicans and find common ground. There can be no common ground with Constitution destroying, anti-human legislators who have no interest in the people they are supposed to be serving. Daily Kos adds: “Democrats must come to realize this: there are no longer any norms. Republicans only abide by norms when it is in their interest, and discard them without any shame when it suits them. They are rank hypocrites and they don’t care if you call them out on it. Just look at the deficits they’re running up. Deficits were all they would talk about when Obama was President, but now there isn’t a peep about them, unless it is to discuss cutting Social Security and Medicare…Pundits and many Democrats frequently search for ‘reasonable’ Republicans who they pray and hope will demonstrate some principles and courage. They are almost always disappointed. They’re like Charlie Brown and Lucy with the football. But it’s more than that. Because they have to work with Republicans in order to allow the government to function, and because Democrats, for the most part, abide by norms, there is a desperate desire to find the good in their colleagues who haven’t earned it. I call this Battered Democrat Syndrome…I do think that many on the left are starting to get this. Work with Republicans when you have to, but please stop pretending that the GOP has any real character or honesty. Many of them are sociopaths, like President Trump, who have no principles other than the accumulation of power. And the rest are weak and pathetic lemmings. When push comes to shove, like today with Flake and Collins, they frequently talk a good game, but inevitably demonstrate who they really are—partisan hacks that will support their side—the facts, truth and morality be damned.” (Daily Kos, October 6, 2018)

Nancy Pelosi is set to run for Speaker of the House of Representatives when the 116th U.S. Congress opens on January 3, 2018. But there are serious concerns that she might consider implementing new rules that would give Republicans veto power over large segments of the Democrats’ agendas. CREDO Action reports on three ideas that Pelosi must reject if progressives are going to make any kind of significant impact: “ 1) Caving to Republican deficit hysteria. Republicans blew up the deficit with massive military spending and the corporate handouts in the Trump Tax Scam. But Rep. Pelosi publicly committed Democrats to holding every bit of spending on a progressive agenda hostage to getting conservatives on board with revenue increases, a policy known as ‘pay-go.’ 2) Allowing Republicans to set Democratic budget policy. The proposed rules for the new Congress include requiring a three-fifths supermajority for any income tax increase on individuals in the bottom 80 percent. The problem with this idea is that it gives Republicans power to block a progressive agenda. For instance, Medicare for All would save many Americans more on health care bills than they might pay in taxes, but under these rules, Republicans could veto it. And, 3) Letting Republicans pick the amendments that get votes. Democrats tried and tried to improve legislation since 2010 with amendments, and Republicans mostly refused to even listen. But now, a gang of corporate Democrats and Republicans—with the Orwellian name of ‘The Problem Solvers Caucus’—is pushing a rule that would give an amendment with 20 co-sponsors from each party preferential treatment, and Rep. Pelosi is entertaining the idea.” (Josh Nelson, CREDO Action, December 7, 2018) The fact that we will most likely have a Speaker of the House who gives every indication that she considers the Republicans allies rather than opponents is disturbing; if I have proven one thing in this article, it’s that Republicans view Democrats as their opponents.

2019 should be a most interesting year, and the election results from the previous November won’t bode well for the president. The shift in the House of Representatives will be crucial. The new majority will assist in passing bills that will no doubt infuriate Trump and the Republicans, but that shouldn’t concern Democrats in the least—we’ve seen how Republicans view the opposition, so it’s time to turn the tables on them. There are five new representatives who will chair committees that are directly connected to Trump’s multitudinous crimes and misdemeanors; they will be examining the impeachment issue and will decide the fate of his administration. The five representatives are Jerry Nadler, who will chair the House Judiciary Committee, Maxine Waters, who will chair the House Financial Services Committee, Adam Schiff, who will chair the House Intelligence Committee, Elijah Cummings, who will chair the House Oversight Committee, and Richard Neal, who will chair the crucially important House Ways and Means Committee. Need to Impeach elaborates on what these people will be doing: “Jerry Nadler will chair the Judiciary Committee, which can investigate grounds for impeachment. If impeachment moves forward, the New York congressman would be a leading force in authoring legislation and bringing it to the floor. As Financial Services Committee chair, Maxine Waters will have the power to expose Trump’s history of tax fraud and evasion by subpoenaing the Trump Organization, the Trump campaign, Deutsche Bank, and, yes, his tax returns. Adam Schiff will chair the Intelligence Committee, responsible for intelligence among different U.S government departments. They can conduct a real investigation into Russian collusion—unlike the investigation under Republican Devin Nunes’ stewardship—and present their findings to the House to explore consequences. Elijah Cummings, chair of the Oversight Committee, could launch its own investigation into Trump, separate from Robert Mueller’s. The Oversight Committee could investigate Trump’s finances, bank fraud, and collusion, and begin the necessary task of exposing Trump’s rampant corruption. The Ways and Means Committee, chaired by Richard Neal, has the ability to investigate anything related to taxation, including Trump’s finances and reputed money laundering.” (Need to Impeach, December 3, 2018)

Never in the history of the United States has the House of Representatives been called upon to play such a crucial role as it will play in 2019 and 2020. We have a president that must be removed from office—our nation and our safety and well-being depend on it. The facts are irrefutably one sided against him and if the public is so blinded by his lies and the lies of his Republican allies that they can’t see the truth staring them in the face, then perhaps we need to consider making basic intelligence testing mandatory prior to giving people the right to vote. Stupid votes can and do give us stupid election results. That was conclusively demonstrated in 2016.