Trust_Reality
Trust_Reality's JournalYes, the resistance is tired... BUT
There are big challenges ahead. From my point of view we are getting some R and R, easing back to catch our breath, spending a little self care and family care time preparing for the coming battles:
We must fight for honest and properly inclusive elections in the fall.
We must beat back the radical aggressive Christian Nationalist and mobster authoritarian take over.
We must see to it that something is done about the current regime.
Once Democrats get control, we must be ready to demand and fight for major reforms. Real reforms, not the minimal negotiated band aides permitted by big money donors. Real major reforms.
So, I say: Rest up. Get ready. There are big battles on the horizon.
We are going to need BIG changes to the federal government.
And I have ideas:
1. Money --- End “Citizens United” --- as a start.
a. Congress must establish an independent entity similar to the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau for the purpose of regulating federal elections including screening in advance presidential and VP candidates for national security clearance. Federal officers as noted below must include supreme court justices.
b. Campaigns - Presidential candidates will receive, at no cost, five one-hour time slots on each of at least four different major networks simultaneously to use any way they see fit.
c. Campaign funds - from donations may be used only for offices, equipment, and paid campaign workers. No media of any kind may classify campaign comments from any candidate or surrogate as “news”. They will cover as news only what candidates do, or have done historically, not what they say - beginning nine months before the upcoming election.
d. State elections for federal officers - Every state must establish similar rules and procedures for the elections of their federal senators and representatives.
2. Supreme Court --- Serious reforms needed.
a. After seven years on the court, justices must be subjected to a nationwide federal mandate election of the form, “Shall Justice John Doe be retained on the US Supreme Court for an another five years?” This will be repeated every fifth year for each justice.
b. Congress must establish an independent entity which will monitor and report ethics concerns regarding the justices.
These are serious reform ideas for legislation or constitutional amendments because serious changes are needed.
An unhappy cousin (in Missouri) !!
As reported by a different cousin...
"The country is in the trash can ! But there is hope ! My brother, xxxxx, that has always been a huge Trump supporter, has blasted him repeatedly and called him all kinds of names ! If xxxxx can do it .... let's hope the [other] southern Missouri cousins can do it too !"
Season of Primaries is starting. I have advice.
1. Participate.
2. Don't try to guess who is most likely to win.
3. Vote for the one you want. This is how democracy benefits from the wisdom of many. This how we get great leaders and representatives like AOC.
I cannot seem to use my Alaska Airlines flight credits with Alaska Airlines - and they are worth a lot of money!
It's almost as if they want me to forget the credits and just pay again.
Could it be good ole fashioned capitalist greed?
It seems reasonable to have different charges for less desirable seats.
It seems reasonable to charge for extra luggage, or even extra heavy luggage.
Charging extra for refundable tickets is pure ripoff profiteering.
Charging extra for changeable tickets is pure ripoff profiteering.
Charging extra for basic luggage is pure ripoff profiteering, and rather deceptive in nature.
For future justice, U.S. or Nuremberg...
Citizens and special forces... Find ways to identify the Trump/ICE thugs and murderers. Secret cameras in their hotel rooms. Infiltrate their gangs. Welcome and protect whistle blowers. Collect samples for DNA. Clone their cell phones. Get photos of eyes and unique clothing items. More - be creative.
My effort to cope: Figure out how we got here.
The Long March into Tyranny (Disclaimer: I'm not a historian.)
1787. US Constitution was finalized giving the president broad, unfettered pardon power.
(See January, 2025) (Nixon was pardoned by his former VP Ford, 1974.)
1905. Fredrich Trump was stripped of his Bavarian/German citizenship for being a draft dodger leading to his permanent immigration to the US. He was the father of Fred Trump the father and creator of Donald J. Trump.
1960s. Decline in civics education in the 1960s in order to focus on math and reading skills
1970s. Lawyer Roy Cohn began mentoring Trump on how to be a successful mobster - how to avoid criminal prosecution and game and weaponize the justice system, mid 1970s.
1973. Future billionaire Rupert Murdoch arrived in the US.
1973. Heritage Foundation formed. (Conservative Christian and pro-business activist organization.) See Project 2025!
1977. Focus on the Family founded - began seeking political power, and religious involvement in politics contrary to the separation of church and state.
1977. Peter Thiel, born in Germany and having lived in apartheid South Africa 1971 - 1977, moved to California where he was a top math student and future billionaire. He reportedly charged fellow students $500 each to fraudulently take the SAT for them.
1970s. Aggressive religious conservatives began gaining political control of the largest evangelical religious group (Southern Baptists), late 1970s.
1980s. Reagan normalized greed. Reaganomics cut taxes for the wealthy, cut services for the needy, and cut revenue sharing to states. (He appears to have been the father of homelessness in the U.S.)
1982. Federalist Society formed. They promote radical conservative and libertarian lawyers toward becoming judges and supreme court justices.
1985. Stephen Miller was born. (Trump's primary hate-based advisor and strategist.)
1980s. Russia's KGB began recruiting businessmen from capitalist countries, late 1980s.
1980s. Trump developed a social and business relationship with financier and child sex offender, Jefferey Epstein, late 1980s.
1987. Trump became Russian asset Krasnov (so stated by a former KGB agent).
1987. Billionaire Harlan Crow befriended (began funding and promoting) Clarence Thomas.
1991. Clarence Thomas confirmed to Supreme Court in spite of being accused of sexual harassment. (vote 52 - 48) / (Nominated by GHW Bush).
1992. Future billionaire Elon Musk arrived in the US from South Africa by way of Canada.
1996. FOX “News” propaganda and misrepresentation political TV Channel was founded.
1999. Putin, a former KGB agent, came to power in Russia.
2000. Karl Rove used dirty tricks and misinformation to help get George W Bush elected.
2005. Chief Justice John Roberts confirmed to the Supreme Court (vote 78 - 22) / (Nominated by George W Bush). Roberts was a member of a Federalist Society steering committee 1997-1998, but he “does not remember” being associated with the Federalist Society.
2006. Samuel Alito confirmed to Supreme Court (vote 58 - 42) / (Nominated by George W Bush).
2007. Mitch McConnell became Senate Republican caucus leader. He eventually facilitated five of the current MAGA Republican supreme court justices.
2010. Citizens United v FEC Supreme Court decision in favor of Citizens United drastically changed campaign finance laws to favor the wealthy and secret sources of money for funding and influencing politicians.
2011. JD Vance met and became enamored with billionaire Peter Thiel. Thiel has supported, advised, promoted, and funded Vance.
2012. Elon Musk became a billionaire.
2016. Trump began the process of normalizing violence and hate speech.
2016. Mitch McConnell blocked President Obama's nominee (Garland) to the Supreme Court from February 2016 until after Trump became president in 2017.
2017. Neil Gorsuch confirmed to Supreme Court (vote 54 - 45) / (Nominated by Trump). Gorsuch has been actively associated with the Federalist Society since the early 1980s.
2017. Stephen Miller became an official advisor to Trump.
2018. Brett Kavanaugh confirmed to Supreme Court in spite of being accused of sexual harassment (vote 50 - 48) / (Nominated by Trump). The Federalist Society helped propel him onto the supreme court.
2020. Amy Coney Barrett confirmed to Supreme Court, 2020 (vote 52 - 48) / (Nominated by Trump). She was a member of the Federalist Society 2005-2006 and 2014-2017.
2020. Justice Thomas and Republican Judge Aileen Cannon sabotaged the secret documents and insurrection cases against Trump, early 2020s.
2023. Project 2025 (How to dismantle the US Government) published. (Developed by the Heritage Foundation.)
2024. After the Colorado Supreme Court determined that the 14th Amendment disqualified Trump from being president because of convincing evidence he had engaged in insurrection, the US MAGA Republican majority Supreme Court declared otherwise. Trump was permitted to remain on the ballot. (All six MAGA justices were nominated by Republican presidents, three by Trump himself.
2024. The John Roberts Supreme Court gave presidents, Trump in particular, broad immunity from criminal prosecution for deeds done as president. They placed the president above the law contrary to the most basic tenet of the US Constitution.
2025. Elon Musk's young son in the White House said “They'll never know, ha ha ha.” (Know what?)
January 21, 2025. (Pretty sure of this date.) (I'm having trouble finding that part of the video again.)
FYI: Nothing online is completely safe, including votes and vote tallies.
2025. Trump pardoned and commuted sentences of hundreds of insurrectionists and mobsters beginning on the first day of his second term as president, January 2025.
Heads up. Money in politics - from pharmaceuticals, for example.
Big money donations to US senators. Does not look good.
"The pharmaceutical industry has a significant influence on U.S. politics, with many members of Congress receiving substantial campaign contributions from pharmaceutical company PACs. In the 2023-2024 election cycle, six members of Congress received at least $100,000 from the pharmaceutical/health products industry, including Sen. John Curtis, R-Utah, who received $233,566. Other notable recipients include Sen. Lisa Blunt Rochester, D-Del., $320,793; Sen. Ruben Gallego, D-Ariz., $244,135; Sen. Adam Schiff, D-Calif., $196,635; Sen. Elissa Slotkin, D-Mich., $187,096; and Sen. Andy Kim, D-N.J., $106,778. These contributions highlight the industry's ongoing efforts to influence healthcare policy and legislation."
- Deseret News (Salt Lake City)
My request to Democrats and democrats...
Learn from the Nordic countries via history.com: "Many Nordic countries implement social democratic policies that blend capitalism with strong welfare systems and public services."
"Social Democrats" - yes.
"Democratic Socialists" - not a desirable label or structure.
Well regulated capitalism - yes.
Free markets / unregulated capitalism? This is a free-for-all for big money, corporations, and amoral profiteers. It is an open door to government corruption, inequality, and the downfall of democracy.
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Gender: Do not displayHometown: Colorado
Home country: USA
Member since: Thu Nov 19, 2015, 12:31 PM
Number of posts: 2,299