The Trump Files

Not so for Donald Trump, against whom the damning evidence of his involvement appears to be overwhelming. Not only has he not been charged for literally planning and endorsing an armed coup, he may never be. That decision is in the hands of special counsel Smith and attorney general Merrick Garland, and those hands may be forever tied by political considerations.

Yes, we have been led to believe that Trump may be indicted for other alleged crimes including the misappropriation and mishandling of highly classified government documents after his term of office ended in January 2021, and in Georgia for doing everything in his power to try and overturn the 2020 election in that state. But we have been hearing that song for more than two years now, and the lyric has become rather stale. If Smith, the DOJ or Fulton County district attorney Fani Willis have plans to ever move in that direction, they are holding their cards close to the vest.

Trump already faces thirty-four felony charges in a case brought by New York City district attorney Alvin Bragg but there will be no trial there until March 2024 when the former president should be well into his campaign for re-election. And with his capacity to delay and deflect, those proceedings could drag on well past the November '24 election, one in which Trump could conceivably (it is so disheartening even to have to consider the possibility!) regain the presidency. What then? Dismiss the charges in every case, or merely postpone them until he leaves office? Trump would be eighty-two by then (assuming his preferred diet of cheeseburgers and fries hadn't already killed him). On top of which, he would have no intention of ever surrendering the White House again, no matter what the American people had decided.

That scenario becomes even grimmer once one realizes that Trump would by that time have congress and the courts (especially the for-sale Supreme Court) in his hip pocket. Good luck using either of them to try and squeeze him out of office. President for life, anyone? In case you are thinking it can't happen here, yes it can, and Trump is edging closer to that goal than anyone save those in his inner circle may realize. He still faces some hurdles, re-election being the largest. But win or lose in '24, you may rest assured that Trump will claim he won, that somehow the Democrats have pulled another fast one, denying him the victory that is rightfully his. Having bought that argument once, his brain-dead base won't hesitate to buy it again.

What Trump would need most is the US military on his side; without its help he couldn't possibly succeed, no matter how large and well-armed his civilian militias. It would be interesting to see how he chose to play that hand.

Meanwhile, in Florida...

...governor Ron ("the leader America needs") DeSantis seems unaware of the adage, "if you find yourself in a hole, stop digging!" His one-man crusade against Mickey Mouse continues with no sign of a truce, even though the Disney Corp has canceled plans for a $1 billion addition to Disney World in Orlando, costing the state millions in tax dollars and at least 20,000 well-paying jobs. Disney can't say the governor didn't warn them: "Don't say gay!," he roared. Mickey promptly thumbed his nose at the repressive order, whereupon DeSantis said, "I'll show him!" And show him he has, threatening all manner of retaliation as the Mouse continues to checkmate his every move. It is clearly a battle that the governor can't win, but neither can he back down, as that is not what "tough guys" do, and he can't show anyone a weaker side, especially as Donald Trump has already claimed the "tough guy" territory for himself and DeSantis has an enormous hill to climb simply to ease close to his chief adversary in the race for the '24 GOP presidential nomination. A tip for the guv: that's another battle you can't win unless you manage to grow a personality.

June 9, 2023

Am I missing something?

About all I hear from the news media these days is how former president Donald ("it wasn't me!") Trump allegedly mishandled classified government documents after leaving office, taking them to his den in Mar-a-Lago, FL, and refusing to return them to the National Archives even after a subpoena for their return was issued.

Special counsel Jack Smith's investigation of the matter "is winding down," we are told, and "an indictment may be forthcoming." And today, as this was being written, Trump announced and the DOJ confirmed that he has indeed been indicted on seven counts related to the unlawful withholding of classified and other materials.

Still, as Annie Hall famously said in Woody Allen's classic movie of that name, "La de dah." Okay, maybe Trump did commit a crime under the Espionage Act and/or Presidential Records Act by keeping many of those classified documents squirreled away at Mar-a-Lago instead of handing them over to the Archives, but when compared to sowing the seeds of an armed insurrection whose goal was to overthrow a lawful presidential election so that Trump could reclaim the White House, secreting documents is small potatoes.

And that is the indictment Trump should actually be facing. Yes, it may be harder to prove, but from where I sit—facing my trusty computer—the evidence against him seems overwhelming. Remember the January 6 Committee? It painted a damning—not to mention a damn near irrefutable—portrait of a man determined to do whatever it took to nullify an election and return him to power. Through it all, Trump knew exactly what he was doing, even claiming to have won the election before all the votes were counted. From that day on—November 6, 2020—the loser declared the election had been "rigged" to deny him a one-sided victory, urged his supporters to buy into the lie, and used every trick in his huckster's handbook to try and steal an election that Joe Biden rightfully won. He took individual states to court sixty times and "won" only a tiny sliver of one on a technicality. He had votes recounted and recounted again, all to no avail. Undaunted, he phoned the Georgia secretary of state and begged him to "find 11,780 votes," enough to nullify Biden's victory there. If that isn't election interference, what is?

When none of those ploys worked, Trump "invited" his supporters to come to Washington, DC on January 6, 2021, and take part in a little exercise known as storming the US Capitol to prevent Joe Biden's 306 electoral votes from being counted. Yes, he knew many of his partisans were armed; and yes, he urged them to "fight like hell" on his behalf before pointing them toward the Capitol. While that may not be treason as defined by the Constitution, it sure as hell isn't legal either.

So far, almost five hundred of those charged for taking part in the January 6 insurrection have been convicted, while about that many more await sentencing. As the mastermind behind that rebellion, Donald Trump can and should be held accountable. "But he's an ex-president!" some say in his defense. To which the proper response should be, "So what?" If "no one is above the law" in this country, that should apply to ex-presidents as well as to the average man or woman in the street.

Yes, Donald Trump was once president, savoring all the perks associated with that high office (including, apparently, immunity from prosecution). When he left office those perks were erased, as was his immunity. In other words, ex-president or not, where the law is concerned Donald Trump is no different from anyone else and should be treated like anyone else. If a grand jury finds he may have committed a crime (or more), he should be indicted, as would anyone else, and made to stand trial before a jury of his peers (even though Trump has no "peers" when it comes to lying, cheating, obfuscating and doing anything else his devious mind can come up with to evade and befuddle his adversaries).

It should be noted that the former president has already been indicted by Manhattan district attorney Alvin Bragg on thirty-four felony counts of falsifying business records in connection with "hush money" payments to porn star Stormy Daniels (for which Trump's fixer, Michael Cohen, was sent to prision). Serious charges, yes, but again nowhere near as weighty as the charge of inciting an insurrection, for which Trump could (and should) face lengthy prison time. A conviction on that charge would more than likely put a damper on his bid to regain the White House in 2024 (even though his diehard base would vote for him anyway, even if he were campaigning from behind prison bars).

That's one reason why the Department of Justice has been walking on eggshells when it comes to pursuing and prosecuting Trump. It upsets a lot of people who somehow believe he is telling them the truth. Even though most people of sound mind will avoid falling into that quagmire, Sigmund Freud and other patrons of hypnotism would no doubt be impressed by Trump's ceaseless efforts to becloud their judgment (while at the same time picking their pockets).

July 4, 2023

Lunacy, the final frontier
These are the voyages of the Trumpship Avarice
Its five year mission
To explore the Deep State
To seek out new half-wits
And spread new half-truths
To boldly go where no narcissistic sociopath has gone before

The scene is the flight deck of the Trumpship Avarice:

"Captain Trump...captain Trump, sir..."

"Yes, what is it, Mr Sprocket...?"

"We've just passed the cash-rich planet Soros, sir...we can't be far from the Deep State itself..."

"Good, Sprocket. Let's maintain a steady course at optimal cruising speed...Any sign of our arch-enemy, the inept but blackhearted DeSantis?"

"No, sir. I've heard that he is still doing battle with that clever and ferocious mouse..."

"Good. That should keep him away from us well beyond campaign season. Oh, and Sprocket...are we still within fund-raising range...?"

"I've made sure, sir, that we're never outside fund-raising range. And your latest trumped-up plea for cash (pardon the pun) seems to be going quite well..."

"Even so, Sprocket, be sure and tell the PR firm we hired to do all the work for us that we need to hustle the MAGA pinheads at least three more times today; expeditions like this don't pay for themselves, you know...unless of course you're Clarence Thomas or Sam Alito..."

"Copy that, sir."

"Now to business. Once inside the Deep State, we will undermine its sources of power, starting with gullible Garland and spiteful Smith, and working our way down the ladder to the corrupt FBI and beyond..."

"So we're going to take affirmative action..."

"No, no, no! No affirmative action, Sprocket! We don't need any dark-skinned government-aided freeloaders mucking about on our ship. We'll simply meet any challenges we face head-on, by ourselves..."

"Yes, sir. Is that part of your grand plan, sir, the one to purge government agencies and remake them in your image?"

"Exactly, Sprocket. In fact, there are three agencies that I plan to eliminate immediately once I've been re-elected: education, commerce and... and... and... well, I can't seem to think of the third one at the moment... but believe me, once I've remembered which one it is, it'll be gone in a flash, you can bet on that!... I'm as determined to do that as Rick Perry ever was..."

"The weather is worsening, sir. I'm afraid it may become a little stormy..."

"Sprocket! I've told you before to never utter the word 'stormy' on this ship! It's about as welcome as a Christmas 'Carroll.'"

"Sorry, sir; slip of the tongue. Won't happen again."

"Well, let me see the map, Sprocket, so I can chart our course..."

"Here it is, sir."

"No, no, Sprocket; that's not the map! It's a blueprint for attacking Iran! Haven't I warned you to be more careful with the top-secret information I leave lying on the deck? I could have declassified it when I was president but can't do that now..."

"You have warned me, sir. I must have picked up that document by mistake on my last trip to the loo...there are so many boxes in there it's hard to do one's business without tripping over one or two..."

"No matter; we should soon have the evil, malignant Deep State within range. Tell me, Sprocket, how many crew members are still onboard?"

"Not many, sir. Pence, Barr, Haley, Pompeo, Bolton, Kelly, Mulvaney, Tillerson, Mattis, Chao, Scaramucci—they've all abandoned ship. A couple of them are even building ships of their own..."

"Well, we don't need those losers anyway. You and I can manage this enterprise quite well without their so-called help..."

"Speaking of which, sir, we are approaching the Deep State now and should be engaging its sinister forces in a matter of moments..."

"Good, good. But before we do that, Sprocket, there's a question I've been meaning to ask you..."

"Anything you wish, sir."

"Well, Sprocket... what exactly IS the Deep State? Does it have anything to do with 'woke'—or 'trans'—or 'CRT'?"

Meanwhile, in Washington, DC...

A majority of Americans were outraged last year when the US Supreme Court overturned the landmark Roe v Wade decision, setting aside half a century of established law in order to erase a woman's right to choose what is right for her and make abortions difficult if not impossible to obtain in many states.

The public marched, screamed and protested, but could do no more, as the justices have LIFETIME APPOINTMENTS.

More recently, most Americans were stunned to learn that justice Clarence Thomas (and his wife) were able to fashion a princely lifestyle thanks to the generosity of billionaire "friend" Harlan Crow who wined, dined and treated them to high-priced vacations all over the world, and that justice Samuel Alito had accepted a free round-trip seat on a plane that could have cost him up to $100,000.

Rather dodgy, it's true, but no one could hold them to account for such blatant breaches of ethics because the justices have LIFETIME APPOINTMENTS (and almost no rules when it comes to policing their personal behavior).

This year, SCOTUS again overturned many years of precedent when it ruled that affirmative action programs at Harvard and the University of North Carolina (and by implication, other schools as well) are unconstitutional. Many Americans, and especially minority students most affected by the change, loudly disagreed, but couldn't challenge the ruling because the justices have LIFETIME APPOINTMENTS.

President Biden's debt-relief program for college students? The Court ruled it dead in the water. Needless to say, students who are chafing under the burden of enormous student debt were shocked by the Court's decision, but shock was their only recourse because the justices have LIFETIME APPOINTMENTS.

The Court then ruled that a woman need not design wedding web pages for same-sex couples, as that would violate her right to free speech. The gay couples' rights? Apparently, they have none. Yes, it does seem unfair, but fairness isn't an issue because the justices have LIFETIME APPOINTMENTS.

Does anyone see a pattern here?

And finally...

Today is July 4, Independence Day, the day on which Americans celebrate their freedom from British rule and the establishment of the United States as a self-governing nation.

Supreme Court justices no doubt observe Independence Day too—but with one small difference. For the men and women who sit on the nation's highest Court and interpret our laws, EVERY day is Independence Day!

July 17, 2023

Just when you thought that America's former swindler-in-chief and other miscreants who bought into his Big Lie about the 2020 presidential election may have run out of fresh ways to fleece the hapless flock, along come "Trump Bucks."

Yes, "Trump Bucks," as in "currency"—bills, cards or coins—that bear the former president's likeness along with the noxious odor of bullshit. The idea, it seems, is for true "patriots" to buy these facsimiles, which will magically be converted into legal tender worth many times their face value when—not if—Trump is re-elected in 2024, thus making those who were shrewd enough to buy "Trump Bucks" wealthy beyond their wildest dreams. As an example, one promissory note selling online for $99.99 is alleged to be redeemable under the coming Trump dynasty for $10,000.00.

And who guarantees that? Not the Treasury Department. Not the FDIC. And certainly not Trump, who has kept his usual distance from the scam, even though he has yet to deny publicly any involvement in it. Perhaps the con artists who issued them—Patiots Future, Patriots Dynasty, USA Patriots—will redeem them? Well, good luck even finding those scalawags when the bill comes due. According to the most recent research, their "national headquarters" seems to consist of an out-of-order pay phone somewhere in Colorado.

Even so, some "patriots"—mesmerized by anything that carries the name Trump—have bought into the scam, investing hundreds—sometimes thousands—of dollars in the bogus "Trump Bucks," and even trying in some cases to cash them in at the local bank. Needless to say, such efforts have not gone well. But the "patriots" see that as simply being premature; after all, their patron saint hasn't yet been re-elected. When he is, he will—unlike presidents before him—have the power to abolish our currency and replace Washington, Jefferson, Lincoln, Grant, Franklin and those other posturers with portraits of His Highness on every banknote.

After the online retailer ClickBank shut down the sham operation, at least on its site, a spokesperson said, "Any consumer purchasing these items through ClickBank received a pre-purchase disclosure that they are for commemorative value only and are not legal tender."

To which the savvy and soon-to-be-wealthy "patriot"—one of whom is born every minute—replies with a knowing grin: "Not yet, anyway."

Isn't it time Americans "woke" up?

Tired of hearing the word "woke" uttered with loathing and disdain by Republicans of every source and stripe, I thought the time had come to look up its definition, and this is what I found: according to the dictionary, woke means "alert to and concerned about social injustice and discrimination."

How's that again? "Alert to and concerned about social injustice and discrimination." That's what "woke" means? And that is somehow bad? Since when? How in the name of simple-minded Trumpism did Republicans manage to turn such worthy sentiments upside down and make them somehow repugnant? In Florida, governor Ron DeSantis said "this is where 'woke' goes to die." In other words, he and his administration are no longer concerned about social injustice or discrimination? Apparently not. And he has convinced many of his constituents that since "woke" is bad, social injustice and discrimination must be good. How? Because most people haven't a clue as to what "woke" really means. It's simply a convenient catchword, like "trans" or "CRT." If DeSantis says "woke" is bad, well, he's our leader, so it must be true. Somewhere in the nether regions, George Orwell must be laughing his butt off.

July 24, 2023

So what did we learn last week, students?

First, we learned (thanks to the Florida department of "education") that the many thousands of men, women and children who were kidnapped in Africa, taken against their will to America and forced to toil without pay in southern cotton fields weren't really "slaves"—they were INTERNS, developing the sort of business and social skills that would prove indispensable once they were no longer required to use their cotton-pickin' hands in service to their kindly and benevolent masters—who had always intended to set them free once they had fought and lost a war that was in no way related to a desire to keep their unpaid and overworked African apprentices in captivity.

Second, we learned that former president Donald Trump gleaned a lot from his failed attempt in January 2021 to overthrow our American democracy, and has been taking the necessary steps to make sure a second try goes his way.

Now that we know there is almost no chance before the votes have been counted in November 2024 that the former seditionist-in-chief will be held responsible for his scurrilous conduct leading up to and on January 6, 2021, one of two things is possible: either Trump wins the election in '24—and places democracy on immediate life support—or he loses and says he won. In other words, Rigged Election 2.0.

Yes, we've heard that song before. The lyrics may change but never the purpose: to cast so much doubt on our electoral process that many Americans may be convinced that Trump "won" and demand that he somehow be installed to replace the lawfully elected president. It didn't work the first time; we already know that. Which is one reason why Trump and his Mafia are doing everything they can to make sure our government rests in the "proper hands" after the votes have been counted in '24.

To be more specific (and we must tip our hat to author and commentator Thom Hartmann for the concise overview), Trump and his iniquitous surrogates are setting in place the ingredients for success in '24 by:

Infiltrating police departments and enlisted ranks of the military;

Taking over school boards and local boards of elections;

Compiling lists of loyalists who could serve in the next Trump administration and which agencies they intend to purge;

Banding together to dismiss principals and teachers who defend multiracial, multicultural democracy while banning books that promote such "dangerous" ideas;

Demonizing LGBTQ+ persons and outlawing drag shows;

Working with right-wing media and Fox "News" to rewrite the history of January 6th;

Gerrymandering state election maps and purging voter rolls so that regardless of who tries to vote, Republicans control the levers of power;

Changing election laws to make it harder for city-dwellers to vote and allow GOP officials to ignore or even change the outcome of elections in which they don't perform well;

Building media structures that will support an authoritarian takeover when it happens;

Organizing armed paramilitary groups with back-channel connections to local police;

Radicalizing Americans through social media and an ever-growing network of subsidized hard-right radio programs and podcasts;

Spreading anti-semitic conspiracy theories about Democrats and Jews using the dog-whistle proxy "George Soros."

Dire as those steps may be, they are merely foreplay. Trump won't really start screwing us unless and until he reoccupies the White House.

According to news reports, "Donald J Trump and his allies are planning a sweeping expansion of presidential power over the machinery of government if voters return him to the White House in 2025, reshaping the structure of the executive branch to concentrate far greater authority directly in his hands."

For example:

Trump and his allies, we are told, plan to "alter the balance of power by increasing the president's authority over every part of the federal government that now operates, by either law or tradition, with any measure of independence from political interference by the White House."

For starters, they "intend to bring independent agencies—like the Federal Communications Commission, which makes and enforces rules for television and internet companies, and the Federal Trade Commission, which enforces various antitrust and other consumer protection rules against businesses—under direct presidential control."

"What we're trying to do is identify the pockets of independence and seize them," says Russell T. Vought, who ran the Office of Management and Budget in the Trump White House and now oversees a policy organization, the Center for Renewing America (and how Orwellian is that name?).

Trump wants to revive the practice of "impounding" funds, refusing to spend money Congress has appropriated for programs a president doesn't like—a tactic that lawmakers banned under President Richard Nixon.

He also intends to strip employment protections from tens of thousands of career civil servants, making it easier to replace them with those more loyal to his agenda. And he plans to scour the intelligence agencies, the State Department and defense bureaucracies to remove officials he has vilified as "the sick political class that hates our country."

All this while leading a criminal investigation into his political rival, sitting president Joe Biden, and Biden's "crime family" (how's that for irony).

One item that hasn't been mentioned is presidential term limits, defined in the Constitution's Twenty-second Amendment as being two in number. Trump will argue that the Amendment refers only to presidents elected for two CONSECUTIVE terms of office, and the US Supreme Court will agree, thus paving the way for Trump to waive any constitutional provisions and declare himself "president for life." Think how much money Americans would save without those pesky elections every four years.

On the brighter side...

After thinking it over, there is no "brighter side." Not if American voters are so insane that they would choose to elect as president a devious, smooth-talking confidence man whose goal is to destroy their country and all that it stands for. Hardly a topic for casual humor. We'll try to be funnier next time...

August 7, 2023

Good evening, ladies and gentlemen (and those who identify otherwise), and welcome to another thrilling episode of "The Fugitive," starring Donald Trump as himself and Jack Smith as Trump's relentless stalker and implacable enemy, special counsel Jack Smith.

With the evidence against him apparently overwhelming, Trump has been brought by Smith to courts in Florida and Washington, DC, in an effort to hold him accountable for crimes against the American people and the Constitution, but the slippery Trump—who insists he has "done nothing wrong" and blames his predicament on a mysterious one-dimensional lawyer named Rudy G—is on the run again, surfacing in Alabama and later in South Carolina, always one step ahead of Smith and his dreaded warrants.

We resume our story at Mar-a-Lago, the Florida hideaway where Trump plans to evade Smith's pursuit by hiding behind large stacks of boxes authorities somehow overlooked while searching the premises for proof of his misdeeds—and which Trump swears were planted there by miscreants acting on behalf of Rudy G and the FBI. With Trump at the hiding place is Mar-a-Lago property manager Carlos De Oliveira.

"Another close call, Carlos. But elusive as we are, we can't keep running forever. Our best bet is to lie low and wait 'em out. Only one more indictment and I'm a shoo-in for president in '24."

"You're absolutely right as always, boss. And it looks like Fani Willis may be ready to lend you a hand..."

"I'm not so sure. She talks a good game, but after I threatened to slice off her head and serve it with my fries I think she had second thoughts... and speaking of threats, did you ever disable that security camera footage?"

"Sorry, boss. 'Trump Employee 4' still won't play ball. I think we may have to lean on him a bit harder."

"Later, perhaps... right now I have to find out where Rudy G is hiding..."

"Last I heard, boss, he was staying at a Marriott something-or-other..."

"No, that turned out to be trash-talk. We have to find out which of his female relatives he's closest to this week..."

"Maybe we could sic Walt on him..."

"No, he's too busy re-sorting boxes and making sure the floodgates are open in case our deranged but persistent adversary shows up here at the castle."

"There is one thing that's been bothering me, boss. If you need one more indictment, and Smith may have it, why are you hiding from him here?"

"Simple, Carlos. The longer I hide, and the more he has to chase me and delay any trials, the better off I'll be, because after I'm re-elected in '24 there's nothing they can do to me. I'll be out of reach and indictment-free!"

"I get it! And then they'll have to go after Rudy G..."

"Precisely! And since I have done absolutely nothing wrong, Rudy will have to pay the price for setting me up..."

"You mean under the bus?"

"Yes, and head-first. And that goes for anyone else who crossed me while I was temporarily 'citizen Trump.' Don't forget my motto, Carlos: IF YOU GO AFTER ME, I'M COMING AFTER YOU! (IN ALL-CAPS SO YOU KNOW I REALLY MEAN IT)!"

"Jack Smith?"

"Oh, he's toast. Along with the crooked, deep-state DOJ and FBI. I can hardly wait to tell them 'you're fired'!"

"But boss... believe me, I know this is beyond possible, but suppose... just suppose, only for the sake of argument... suppose you don't win in '24?"

"You're right, Carlos...that wouldn't be possible. But as you say, simply for the sake of argument, let's say it does appear that I may have come up a bit short in the electoral count. That would clearly be a mistake, as there is no way it could happen unless the election was rigged—again—so I would take whatever measures were needed to reverse the phony-baloney outcome and award the presidency to the rightful winner."

"And if congress, the courts, the states and the people should disagree...?"

"Well, Carlos, if I'm not mistaken, the 2025 calendar does include the date January 6, doesn't it...?"

"You're too honest, boss."

Join us again next time as Donald Trump, "The Fugitive," continues to play a desperate game of cat-and-mouse with his persistent adversary, the tireless counselor Jack Smith, while Rudy G remains unseen and the 2024 presidential election hangs in the balance. Can Smith block Trump's surprising escape route and bring him to justice? Or will Trump evade Smith's dragnet and reclaim a permanent home in Washington? Find out the answer on the next exciting episode of "The Fugitive."

August 14, 2023

Back in the 1930s and '40s, Americans were outraged and horrified by the tidal wave of blood and terror unleashed by Fascist governments led by Adolf Hitler in Germany and Benito Mussolini in Italy. Outraged and horrified, yes—but comforted by the likelihood that it could never happen here. Americans, the storyline went, were far too smart to ever let that happen.

That was then; this is now. Today, not only are a large number of Americans dumb as fence posts and ignorant of history, they are quite ready—many even eager—to cede our democracy to a charismatic, conscience-free, narcissistic confidence man whose blueprint for a Fascist dictatorship in America mirrors in every way those of Hitler and Mussolini. What Donald Trump wants is to dismantle our government and replace it with him. And about thirty to forty percent of Americans of voting age presumably have no problem with that, as a perpetual Trump dictatorship would, in his view (and theirs), "make America great again."

Of course, MAGA is no more than an illusion, a clever slogan "borrowed" by Trump from like-minded predecessors to distract loyalists from the truth that he has no plan to govern apart from his own self-aggrandizement and self-interest. MAGA rests in large part on the proposition that Trump is America's "savior," that whatever problems it may have, "he alone can fix them." It's the same snake oil that Hitler and Mussolini sold to the thirsty citizens of Germany and Italy.

And what are those problems? Like MAGA, they are basically counterfeit, residing for the most part in Trump's fevered mind. In 2015, when Trump launched his campaign for the nation's highest office, I compared him—quite favorably—to the duplicitous Professor Harold Hill in Meredith Willson's Broadway smash, The Music Man ("Well, ya got trouble, my friends..."). As Hill had to "create" trouble where none existed in River City, Iowa, so Donald Trump set out to convince Americans—and has done so remarkably well—that there is "trouble" in America's democratic way of life, even though most people are quite happy sharing in the freedoms we have, especially when compared to other countries in which such independence has been stamped out by rulers who believe their country's best interests somehow coincide with their own.

My question is, why doesn't anyone—in congress, the media or anywhere else—have the guts to call Trump what he really is—an unapologetic Fascist and wannabe Adolf Hitler. Yes, his plan has been called "authoritarian," but that's not the same thing. Fascism, to anyone who has read a history book, is far worse.

Let's be clear about one thing: Donald Trump does not want to be president. He wants to be emperor, monarch, czar, ruler, overlord, dictator—anything that will keep him in power forever and erase any possibility of losing, the one outcome above all others he fears most.

He's really not bad, his partisans argue. Trump means us no harm; he only wants to "make America great again." Germans said as much about Hitler, Italians about Mussolini, and the same holds true in every country whose populace has been suckered into believing the lies of a deceitful, self-absorbed and power-hungry huckster. Can't happen here? It almost did less than three years ago. And Trump is busy setting the stage for Act II. This time he means to succeed, and there is only one way to stop him: by using the ballot box, the ultimate weapon against tyranny in our democratic arsenal. To say it plainly, we don't vote, we lose.

Of course, even if Trump should lose in November 2024 (whether running from his Mar-a-Lago resort or from a prison cell), he would claim that he won, that the election was somehow "rigged"—again—to deny him the presidency. It's an argument he has made before, and lost before, and he would no doubt lose this one as well. But unlike the first time around, even his staunchest Republican allies might then open their eyes and realize they'd hitched their wagon to a crash-prone horse, and America would be rid of Donald Trump once and for all.

That's the best case scenario. There is also a worst case scenario, which we've alluded to above. In the end, the choice is ours. But we should know what is at stake and act accordingly.

August 16, 2023

From our Department of Most Popular Reruns:

On Monday evening, former president Donald ("I did everything right!") Trump was named with 18 co-defendants in a 41-count criminal indictment in Georgia charging them with engaging in a conspiracy to overturn the results of the 2020 presidential election in that state. The indictment was set forth under the state's RICO (Racketeer Influenced and Corrupt Organizations) Act, which basically means operating a criminal enterprise. It was approved by a 23-member grand jury acting on evidence presented by state officials, and was made public by Fulton County district attorney Fani Willis who spent more than two and one-half years building a criminal case against Trump.

Trump faces 13 felony counts: racketeering (violation of the RICO Act); three counts of solicitation of violation of oath by a public officer; conspiracy to commit impersonating a public officer; two counts conspiracy to commit forgery in the first degree; two counts of conspiracy to commit false statements and writings; conspiracy to commit filing false documents; filing false documents; and two counts of false statements and writings.

Bad as that may sound, it means almost nothing to legions of Trump supporters, most of whom continue to believe that he has done nothing wrong and is being persecuted by the Biden administration solely for political reasons, even though the evidence against him seems clear as the orange on his face.

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