Saturday, December 31, 2016

Trump's Season of Treason



Trumpbots, have, since the inception of Trump’s campaign accused those who were less than enthusiastic or outright opposed to the septuagenarian degenerate and his candidacy were somehow…”unAmerican”. Since his “selection” by the Electoral College, those accusations have risen to the level of treason. This is, in large part due to their fundamental misunderstanding of the definition of treason. Treason is defined by Article III, Section 3 of the United States Constitution as follows:

Treason against the United States, shall consist only in levying War against them, or in adhering to their Enemies, giving them Aid and Comfort. No Person shall be convicted of Treason unless on the Testimony of two Witnesses to the same overt Act, or on Confession in open Court.

This is the definition of treason. It is not opposition to the candidacy of the most eminently unsuitable candidate for President this nation has ever seen…unless, of course, you count Ben Carson. Treason is not principled opposition to the presidency of a man seemingly bent on using that office to enrich himself, his family and his cronies.The man selected as POTUS, however, is flirting with treason.
As evidence of Russian interference in this election, interference which benefitted Donnie, he dismisses the evidence “as a ‘ridiculous’ political attack on the legitimacy of his election as president” (Shattuck, 2016), a legitimacy that will always be in question. With the release of the FBI/DHS report on Russian hacking and its influence on US politics, Donnie blandly replies “It’s time to move on to bigger and better things” (Wagner & Demirjian, 2016), as Putin chides the majority of Americans who voted for Clinton to “lose with dignity” (Filipov, 2016). Like the GOP lost with dignity in 2008 and 2012? 

The real question here, to the Trumpbots who think opposition to Trump’s presidency, and the kleptocracy he is creating, is treason should be “Which lies closer to treason? Principled opposition to an unfit POTUS? Or, that POTUS, his cronies and sycophants siding with a foreign power…Russia…in its meddling in the US elections?” The next question the Trumbots need to ask is of themselves, and these people are willing to believe the crazy shit about “Pizzagate” but not the assessment of America’s intelligence community, “How much meddling in US politics by Russia are you going to say is OK?” The Trumpbots need to answer these questions before they start throwing charges of “treason” and “anti-Americanism” and opponents of the coming train-wreck that will be the Trump administration.

References

Wednesday, December 21, 2016

The Betrayal of America



On Monday, December 19th, America embarked on a new, dark page of its history. On that day, the Electoral College cast its ballots, selecting Donald Trump as the next President of the United States. In doing so, the Electors betrayed the purpose of the College as outlined by Alexander Hamilton in the Federalist #68. He stated “sense of the people should operate in the choice” of whom they cast their ballots for. In this case the Electors failed, utterly, in this regard as Donald Trump lost the popular vote by more than 2.8 million votes. Secondly, according to Hamilton, the Electoral College existed to prevent those whose “Talents for low intrigue, and the little arts of popularity” would place this nation in jeopardy. Again, Electors failed utterly in this regard. The faithless electors were those who threw their lot in with Trump. In casting their ballots for Donald Trump, they betrayed this nation into the hands of a man, and the circle of racists, misogynists, homophobes, religious extremists, plutocrats surrounding him, that will use the office of President of the United States to loot the treasury while Americans die for lack of healthcare...our schools crumble...our environment turns into and open sewer...our infrastructure turns to dust. And the same people who created the financial crash of 2008 are given free reign o do whatever the hell they want while everyone who works for a living is reduced to serfdom. 

During his campaign, the GOP leadership flapped their hands in dismay at his hate mongering and outrageous behavior, but those at the top of the GOP food chain refused to denounce Trump for the dangerous demagogue that he is. And now, they obstruct efforts to a deeper investigation into the ties between Trump’s campaign and Russian hacking which benefited his campaign. As for Trump’s multiple conflicts of interest in his refusal to divest himself of his business holdings; as his children hold seats at his side in clear violation of anti-nepotism laws; as his sons sell access, through the Trump “foundation”, for millions of dollars…congressional GOP leadership will turn a blind eye. In their desperate desire to hold onto their political power the leaders of the Republican party at all levels will, if not participate, in the sacking of America, will do nothing to impede the efforts of Trump and his plutocrat butt-buddies as they pillage the Treasury at the expense of every person who works for a living. They are complicit int this betrayal.

The betrayal of America will be complete with this dangerous axis of a White House occupied by an unstable President and his equally unstable inner circle; a Congress in the hands of willing participants in the destruction of the nation and, soon, a Supreme Court in the hands of right wing ideologues. In the face of this tide of corruption, moral bankruptcy and right wing ideology, the Constitution will soon be nothing but a fond memory.

America has been betrayed.

Sunday, December 18, 2016

Donald Trump's Kleptocratic Kakistocracy



Kleptocracy: government by those who seek chiefly status and personal gain at the expense of the governed
Kakistocracy: a state or country run by the worst, least qualified, or most unscrupulous citizens

            As I write, this on the eve of the Electoral Colleges vote…a vote that will likely confirm the election of Donald Trump to the Presidency of the United States, we see the septuagenarian degenerate creating a cabinet of people eminently unqualified for the positions he is appointing or nominating them to. His inner circle is occupied by racists, homophobes, misogynists, anti-Semites, Islamophobes, religious extremists and amoral plutocrats. Let’s take a look, shall we?

·       Secretary of State: Rex W. Tillerson: President and CEO of Exxon-Mobile, with extensive ties to Russia and Vladimir Putin. It is worth noting that Exxon-Mobile had to put the brakes on exploration and development of oilfields in the Russian Artic Circle in 2014. This as a result of US  sanctions against Russia for its incursions into Ukraine. This exploration and development could resume with “improved” relations with Russia, and represents a HUGE conflict of interest for the Nominee for Secretary of State.
·       Interior Secretary: Ryan Zinke: Representing Montana’s at-large congressional district for one term, Rep. Zinke has a 3% voting score with the League of Conservation Voters. Also of note, Oasis Petroleum was Zinke’s largest campaign contributor, and also has a stake in the Dakota Access Pipe Line.
·       Energy Secretary: Rick Perry: Ricky, in his 2011 presidential bid, couldn’t remember which three government departments he wanted to scrap, has been tapped to head one of those departments. Perry will be replacing nuclear physicist, Ernest Moniz. Ricky’s only real qualification for the position are his ties to the fossil fuel industry. His bachelor’s degree from Texas A&M was in “animal science”.
·       Treasury Secretary: Steven Mnuchin: A former Goldman-Sachs broker, Mnuchin is a cipher, having no previous public, political or organizational experience to speak of. His most recent accomplishments include buying Indy Mac from the FDIC, changing the name to “One West” and selling for a huge profit in 2015. He has also provided financial backing to the movie industry. He will likely support policies which will net billions of dollars in profits for hedge fund managers, like Trump supporter John Paulson.
·       Education Secretary: Betsy DeVos: Ms. DeVos is a Michigan billionaire and conservative activist who has spent millions in lobbying efforts directed at expanding school voucher plans which siphon tax dollars form public schools into the pockets of private education companies, all in the name of “school choice”. Ms. DeVos has no educational credentials or experience to speak of. In addition, there is the issue of “$5.3 million in fines imposed on her political action committee for campaign finance violations in Ohio eight years ago”, fines that have yet to be paid. Her only apparent qualification for the position appears to be the nearly $1.8 million Ms. DeVos and her family contributed to the Trump campaign.
·       Housing and Urban Development: Ben Carson: Does anything else really need to be said? Hell, even Carson admitted he’s not qualified for the job.

I could go on, but if you don’t get the point by now, you won’t. Trump is packing his cabinet and inner circle with a growing list of plutocrats, lobbyists, hate-mongers, extremists and the morally and ethically bankrupt. And I didn’t include the list of big money campaign contributors who are getting plum posts.

No, Trump is setting the stage for government corruption on a never before seen scale with the conflicts of interest surrounding his own financial empire and those of the future members of his administration. They will loot the treasury and leave everyone who actually works for a living holding the bag, and reduced to serfdom. Trump’s kleptocratic kakistocracy, soon to be squatting in the White House.



References