What’s REALLY In The Mueller Report?

OK, so the Mueller Report is finally completed.  Will we see it?  Will Congress?  Or are we supposed to just take the word of an extreme right-wing political hack expressly placed into office by tRump to protect himself? “Coverup General” Barr “auditioned” for the roll by stating on record that a President could not, by definition, obstruct justice.  Because he IS the law?  What?  Nixon said something similar, and we know how that worked out.

At least 16 members of the tRump campaign have had over 100 contacts with at least one  hostile government who has hacked into our voting machines, electric grid, and voter rolls: Russia.  Mueller’s investigation led to the indictments of 34 people thus far, including eight Americans affiliated with the tRump campaign or administration, and three Russian companies.

And, with the Mercer family’s Cambridge Analytica sharing the most confidential and prized stolen Facebook data and polling information with the Russians — so the Russians could maximize their influence and install tRump — we can suspect that he was placed into our White House as an asset.  Yet, magically, Barr says “no collusion”.

Why Putin Wanted to Elect Trump

Hidden beneath all the chaos of the first three weeks of the Trump administration — the  questionably legal Executive Orders, the inept wording and rollout of the Muslim ban, the tweet ravings against actors and department stores, the insults against our intelligence community and our allies, the provocation of China, the assault on our environment,  and the laughable outright lies uttered by spokespeople — there continues the quietly rowing scandal of the Trump team’s close ties with Russia.

We can presently recognize several reasons why Putin wanted Trump as US President, but since the Director of the CIA has been replaced with a Trump loyalist, the investigation has probably officially been stopped and silenced.   However, many in the intelligence community do not trust the Trump administration because of their many ties to Russia,  and these agencies are providing the United States media information via internal leaks which may help us save democracy.  

17 different intelligence agencies have confirmed that Russia manipulated our election to place Trump in the White House.  But why?

Our first rule always applies: Follow The Money.

But let’s dig deeper…initially, there appear to be three reasons: Territory, Oil Money & Sanctions, and Influence over & Disruption of the United States.

So for now, lets start by taking a brief look at the backstory of the USSR and it’s empire.

Trump Now Needs An Attack On US Soil

Donald Trump, a man who lost the popular vote by nearly 3 MILLION voters and yet has been installed in the White House, is a very unpopular person, both in the United States and world-wide.  There are huge protests at his radical executive orders,  massive resistance to his fringe far-right ideology, and challenges to his lies and policies in the public and in the courts.  This man is desperate to “win” rather than govern.  And he needs something to help him “win”.

Donald Trump needs a distraction, a way to unite people behind him, and a way to consolidate his power.  Donald Trump and the GOP NEED a terrorist attack on the United States.

Increasingly, more people are echoing the fear that this administration will orchestrate ( or allow) some type of “terrorist attack”.  We all certainly hope one does not happen; innocent people should not pay the ultimate price in an authoritarian regime’s grab for power.   There are known steps usually taken by authoritarian and fascist regimes to maximize their control in  any “event.”  So before such an event happens, we need to communicate these to as many people as we can:

• Be ready for the administration to call for arrest or internment of  certain people.
• Be aware of manipulation. Don’t fall for their political theater and hyper-patriotic rhetoric.
• Do your best to think critically and rationally. They’ll be counting on people to be frightened and angry.
• We’re going to need to stand together in unity.  The administration will try to divide us and turn us against one another.  Don’t let them.  We’ll need to be skeptical, caring, and level headed… and #Resist the power grab that would follow such an attack.

What benefit would this administration get from an attack?

The History Behind the 2016 Coup

Sometimes it’s challenging to decide where to start with a Backstory.  History’s threads weave through a lot of current events.  But the coup of November 2016 has a somewhat clear place to start.  Let’s look at a bit of history for the backstory.

In 1933, wealthy right-wing  corporatists conspired to execute a coup and oust FDR, disliking his New Deal policies of helping the poor, ending child labor – and his decision to stop using the US Military to support oppressive corporations like United Fruit in the third world.

Their goal was to emulate the corporate fascism of Hitler and Mussolini that was happening in Europe at that time, instead of what was shaping up to become a liberal democracy.

General Smedley Butler

They approached Marine General Smedley Butler, the most highly respected Military officer in the US at the time,  for assistance — but they guessed wrong.  He remained loyal and gathered details, then, reported the treasonous conspirators.  The attempted coup, now often called The Wall Street Putsch,  failed.  There were some hearings, but, the House was reluctant to investigate such wealthy pillars of society.  In fact, being wealthy, the plotters were not held to account. (If you do a search for “FDR coup Gen Smedly Butler”online, you’ll find a large amount of information.) For the most factual read,  Here are transcripts of General Butler’s testimony and later interviews giving tons of detail.

Next time, a more subtle plot had to be devised.

Wealthy corporatists  came up with a devious plan, slowly building their control over government over several decades through electing conservative Republicans and “Blue Dog” Democrats.

Bernie says Hillary on worst day better than any GOP on best – The Supreme Court

Anyone who’s read this blog for any amount of time knows that I’m an enthusiastic Bernie supporter.

Bernie — plus a HUUUGE  turn-out for Progressives in the Senate and House  — could mean a GREAT change for the citizens of this country:

 

• Imagine an economy designed to actually serve the citizens instead of only the elite.
• Imagine FDR’s Second Bill of Rights becoming reality.
• Imagine getting money out of politics and having an actual democracy.
• Imagine the end of “too big to fail”, breaking up the big banks, and ending monopolies — especially that of our of our media institutions, so that the citizenry could have a chance to hear diverse opinions and values.
• Imagine single payer health care, freeing us all from the profiteering insurance, medical and pharmacy complexes.
• Imagine restoring our infrastructure, with the federal government creating good jobs as the CCC and other government programs that lifted our citizenry out of poverty in the 1930s.
• Imagine our country getting very serious about cleaning up our environment, tackling it like we did the race to land on the moon back in the 1960s.
• Imagine our taxes actually being spent on making ALL our lives better, creating more EQUALITY and SERVICES for ALL — instead of subsidizing multinational corporations, polluting corporations, Big-AG, and “defense” contractors.
• Imagine restoring the tax rate on the wealthy plutocrat/polluter class to what it was during Eisenhower, when the US economy created the biggest middle-class in history: with unions insuring good wages, good benefits, vacation and retirement for the workers who actually built this country.

Democratic Socialism and Un-Democratic US Oligarchs

Let’s talk a little bit about Democratic Socialism, such as found in Denmark, Switzerland, Iceland, Norway and Sweden.

Who doesn’t want a society that is based upon equality?

Who doesn’t want a society where each member is well educated and healthy?

Why do you think Democratic Socialist societies are alway — always– listed in the top Happiest Countries on Earth?  Every Year.

It is because the taxes they collectively pay are used to provide each member of their society with high quality health care, high quality education, and social services.

Christian Dominionists

UPDATE Feb 4 2017: With the recent election coup which placed Dominionist Mike Pence into the Vice Presidency, it is more urgent than ever to be aware of, and understand the goals of Christian Dominionism.

***ORIGINAL POST***

Christian Dominionism is a term that encompasses a variety of Christian conservative groups including:

• Moral Majority
• Christian Reconstructionism
• Christian Nationalism
• Quiverfull , The Gathering etc
• The Christian Right
• The Tea Party

Basing their ideas on a very literal version of the old testament bible, Domionists believe that the United States was founded as a “Christian Nation” — ignoring the Enlightenment period in which our country was founded, which centered upon reason as the primary source of authority, and the fact that “god” is not mentioned in the Constitution.  Their unifying goal is to end our secular democracy, and to substitute a “Biblical” Theocracy in its place.  And they’ve completely taken over the GOP.

To me, the importance of keeping as many of these people out of government right now is top priority, even over making a third-party protest vote.  Why?  Because these people are not only deranged, but they are dangerous religious zealots.

Those of us who believe in freedom, justice, and love… need to be aware of this movement, and share our knowledge with others.  Understanding their worldview can help us work against their goals.

Dominionism Defined: The belief that Christians are destined to take over and rule the world by taking “dominion” over the political process and reinstituting biblical law. Many perceive this as a campaign to use the United States military to create a global Christian Empire.

Think it can’t happen here?  Take a look at this graphic.  It shows a relatively secular, open society in pre-Ayatolla Iran 1970s.  Afghanistan had a similar open society before they, too, were overtaken by religious zealots.

Iranian College Students, late 1960s or early 1970s

These countries were NOT ALWAYS controlled by conservative fundamentalists.  Women had access to education and employment.  Then  their Religious Right  took over.

BEFORE:Iranian College Women Enjoying Education 

 

 

 

 

 

 

AFTER:Iranian Women No Education Allowed

 

 

 

 

 

 

Unimaginable as it is, we must now protect our society so that we can continue to evolve into a more just, fair society — or we may face a similar fate.  The most strict Domionists advocate biblical death penalties for a variety of “offenses”.

Iceland Sentences Corrupt Bankers to 74 Years in Prison

Why should we have a part of our society that is not being policed or without responsibility?

The above is a quote from the prosecutor in the case against the 26 bankers who were recently sentenced. As most people who’ve been paying attention know, it was market manipulation and deceitful credit ratings that caused the global financial crash, from which most countries have not yet recovered.

In the US, the banks were considered “too big to fail” and were, instead of being prosecuted, rewarded by being “bailed out” by the taxpayers.  And instead of being prosecuted, they have been allowed to get even bigger.

I’m Green and Yet I’m Voting Dem

If any political party could represent my views, it would be the Green Party.   I have admired Jill Stein and Cheri Honkala, and I would be proud to have them as President and Vice President.  The Green New Deal is a progressive, ethical, visionary platform.   In fact, I visited isidewith.com recently just for fun, and discovered – no surprise – I’m just a point short of 100% Green Party.

As I write this Ms Stein has just been released from jail.  She was arrested for taking food to activists at a protest of the deadly Keystone Pipeline.  She walks her talk.  (Some pundits have claimed that going to jail makes her “not a serious candidate”.  I suppose these pundits never heard of Nelson Mandala.)

But when I asked around, I confirmed my suspicion  that  in the US, outside of green/left circles, Green candidates are still largely unknown.  They don’t even have the promotion that Nadar did in 2000, so there’s no way the Green candidates are going to get even 2.7% of the national vote that Nadar did.  The corporatocracy definitely does NOT want progressive ideals to be offered to the American people.

Knowing that a Green or any other third party candidate won’t get elected on November 6th, I ask myself, “which of the two major parties is more likely to take a step towards addressing climate change?”  The answer is obvious.  The one that accepts SCIENCE – not the one who believes that dinosaurs took a joyride on Noah’s ark .

crazy email: “Whose (sp) Controlling Obama?” plus George Soros backstory

Once again, it’s crazy email time!  And once again, in the interest of honesty, I’m dissecting the BS, so YOU don’t have to.

Today’s email writer evidently confused the word “Who’s” with “Whose”, thus making the title seem a little more crazy than usual.  It’s a long one, so I won’t reprint it all here.

A good indicator of a BS email is when it is anonymous or is falsely attributed to a reputable source.  In this case, this email was attributed to reporter named Steve Kroft from “60 Minutes” – but a quick check with snopes showed that Kroft did not write any of this drivel.  Instead, a fanatic reich-wing blogger named Jim O’Neill wrote it back in 2009.

The email rants and raves about “socialism” and “marxism”, and then  demonizes wealthy philanthropist and democracy advocate George Soros… and claims that he is “controlling” Obama.

Because, come on, a black guy couldn’t become president without a white puppet master!