Unless and until all Republicans first acknowledge, then repudiate the insurrection — there is no legitimate claim for them to be a viable political party in this country. They must proclaim that Biden won & Trump lost the election, a fair & square contest. Republicans must declare that the red hat MAGA terrorists who tried to overthrow our government & murder the vice president were not & are not patriots. Republicans must reject the BIG LIE that the election was stolen from them. Key point: the Republican Senators who voted to acquit Trump in the impeachment trials FAILED our country, let our people down, put their lame-ass party above our Constitution, & abandoned our democracy. There is no middle ground on this. Republicans must choose the United States of America over Donald Trump, would-be dictator — today & every single day, from now on. #TruthANDconsequences
It’s Dumb for the GOP to double down on Donald
There’s no need for anyone in the GOP to bow down to Donald Trump. He lost. He’s a loser. He barely squeaked in (thanks to voter suppression, cheating, Putin, & Comey) in November 2016. Trump lost the popular vote by three million. Trump took the oath of office, but failed to take it seriously.
How was the one & only, ages long, four-year term of The Donald as the forty-fifth president? It was a failure by any measure. All that the phony populist accomplished was a huge tax cut to benefit fat cats & put our treasury in the hole. Fox News constantly fails to tell it like it is.
Republicans lost their majority in the House in November 2018. All this was before COVID-19. I doubt I have to dwell on the abject failure of Trump to deal with the coronavirus. Those of us who lived through 2020 will never forget it. Trump let the economy go right into the toilet.
24/7 racism. Funny business on the phone with the hapless president of Ukraine. First impeachment. Obsessively attempting to undermine whatever pathetic healthcare people had. Failure to tell the truth. Failure to govern. Failure to act with basic civility. Failure to acknowledge that Black Lives Matter.
Along comes Joe Biden. Trump runs on a platform which stated that voters didn’t witness the 2020 train wreck that no one could look away from. Who are you gonna believe, Sean Hannity or your lyin’ eyes? Trump & DeJoy tried to disrupt the post office from delivering the god-damn mail.
Voting. Early voting. In person voting. Absentee voting. Actual Black Americans exercising their right to cast ballots. Trump never had even close to fifty percent of the public behind him. How can you win without the people behind you? Joe Biden won. Biden-Harris rocked the electoral college. Democrats swept the popular vote.
Trump’s strategy. Lie and deny, then lie some more. Assemble a racist mob to attempt to overthrow the U.S. government. Did we all not see (NAZI) that on January 6th? The stormers stormed. Hell-raisers brought hell to the Capitol. Conspiracy wingnuts and Prowd Boyz tried a take-over. Live on TV. So-called patriots openly commit treason. Pence barely escapes from a murderous mob.
Second Impeachment. Will we ever get rid of fucking Donald Trump? Well, Biden’s in the White House now, thank God! Trump is the Republicans’ problem now. McConnell and McCarthy might have dealt with Trump decisively, but no such luck. Liz Cheney tried, and earned death threats. Trump headed back to Florida to cheat at golf.
Which brings us to today. Wherefore, democracy?
unstoppable . . . ? !
The unabashed, unconstrained, unencumbered-by-morals-or-ethics, chickenshit tRump maladministration rolls ahead, day by day, with its plans and actions that undermine our U.S. democracy. Mitch McConnell won’t stop the tRump steamroller, that gargantuan monolithic force of death, destruction, fascism, and finality. William Barr oils the gears of the deadly, racist DonutRump steamroller, keeping it plowing forward: hourly, daily, engulfing our civil rights, claiming our loved ones’ lives.
The Hitler/Manson/tRump rolling death machine is now squashing and flattening our U.S. Mail delivery service. We, the Citizen/Voters, depend on getting our mail. Look at what it took to stop Hitler. A world war. Remember who stopped Charles Manson? Legendary Los Angeles prosecutor, Vincent Bugliosi. What will it take to STOP DonutRump? Can we-the-people form a human wedge and divert the corrupt, fascist tRumpDeathRoller into a fucking ditch — before it’s too late?!
The Cure for the Virus
The U.S. is not supposed to have a Hitler. Now is the time for us to get rid of Donald J. “Charles Manson” Trump — once and for all. That defective murdering ranting lying racist incompetent corrupt sleazy weak treasonous cowardly self-loathing nation-destroying son-of-a-bitch GOTTA GO.
With Biden and Harris we can return to sanity. Restore our country’s soul and its economy. Tamp down the coronavirus. Extinguish it. Use a massive scouring pad to scrub out the stain of tRump corruption. Prosecute the guilty. Appoint qualified women and men for a change. No rapists.
All of America’s dogs will, post-tRump, finally be able to uncover their sensitive ears — no more dog whistles. Burn Confederate flags. Remember our racist history, so it never rears its ugly comb-over again.
(Fade out to the lilting sounds of the classic novelty song … Spike Jones’ “Der Führer’s Face.”)
R.I.P. Bill Withers, 1938-2020
Thank you, Bill Withers — and, thank you, Wickersham’s Conscience (blog)! 🙂
Bill Withers, 2017 (Via NPR)
Sometimes in our lives we all have pain
We all have sorrow
But if we are wise
We know that there’s always tomorrow
Lean on me, when you’re not strong
And I’ll be your friend
I’ll help you carry on
For it won’t be long
‘Til I’m gonna need
Somebody to lean on
WC admires folks who can re-invent themselves. One of WC’s good friends was injured working at this blue collar job; he went back to school and found a very successful professional career. That’s an amazingly difficult process, to make yourself over. But WC’s friend brought it off.
Bill Withers reinvented himself many times over the course of a long life. Being an astonishingly gifted singer-songwriter was just a small part of it.
Withers was the youngest child of a coal miner in Slab Fork, West Virginia during the Great Depression. He re-invented…
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WARNING: May Contain Nuts
Check out the latest post fr. Wickersham’s Conscience – RE: DC allergy – (Blogger is in Idaho, by way of Alaska)
This product should come with a warning
WC is allergic to the Trump Administration. WC’s symptoms include raised blood pressure, nausea, reasoned anger and occasional despair. Based upon what WC reads on social media and responsible journalism, and sees on television, WC isn’t the only one who suffers this affliction. And WC’s symptoms may not be the worst.
So WC asks the Food and Drug Administration to do the decent thing and require a warning, just as they do for other products that contain allergens. At least until January 2021. Please.
socialism [noun]
Let’s take a look at the word, “socialism,” to see if there’s anything to be scared of here.
From Dictionary.com:
socialism [noun] –
a theory or system of social organization that advocates the vesting of the ownership and control of the means of production and distribution, of capital, land, etc., in the community as a whole.
There’s an emphasis on community, which sounds a lot like your local neighborhood.
Have you heard of any businesses or organizations that are organized as coöps?
Examples include REI, Co-Opportunity Natural Foods, Nationwide Mutual Insurance, Land O’Lakes, Dairy Farmers of America, CHS Inc., Associated Wholesale Grocers, Growmark Inc., and Ace Hardware.
Many, many more examples of successful coöperatives exist in other countries.
Having read this far, be honest: is there anything I’ve described that makes you quake in your boots with fear?
If not, please read on:
Expanding this form of social enterprise in the U.S. would have tremendous benefits, particularly conveying a real sense of ownership to working people and other stakeholders in the community & beyond.
No 5-year plans, no Red Army, no gulags. Just humble working folks sharing a bit more in the wealth & success they produce.
Our U.S. economy ought to be organized to work better & deliver more to men & women who, without fancy titles or advanced degrees, do the lion’s share of the labor that keeps the economic wheels turning every day.
If the capitalistic system has left you feeling deprived of a satisfying work life; earnings that keep you more than a step ahead of bill collectors; access to clean streets, streams, lakes, & air; and a sense that society will be there for you if & when you are ill or infirm — for all those reasons, perhaps we should open our minds to the possibility of something better.
A form of socialism that’s not yet been widely known in the U.S., democratic socialism, just might be the answer. It’s like community-based coöps, but on a somewhat larger scale.
What have we got to lose, other than massive pollution, workplace injuries, & pushy billionaires who never know when to quit?
Find out more at:
The Republican Show Trial of Donald Trump — Wickersham’s Conscience
From Wikipedia: A show trial is a public trial in which the judicial authorities have already determined the guilt, and/or innocence, of the defendant. The actual trial has as its only goal the presentation of both the accusation and the verdict to the public. There are characteristics of a show trial. Often, witnesses are not […]
via The Republican Show Trial of Donald Trump — Wickersham’s Conscience
Can any of us survive without the Big Five (of tech) ?
Notes on Kavanaugh: Would You Hire This Man?
#PerjuryDisqualifiesBK
Supreme Court nominee Brett M. Kavanaugh gives his opening statement to the Senate Judiciary Committee on Thursday. (Win McNamee/Getty Images)
A lot of folks don’t seem to understand the purpose of the Senate Judiciary Committee’s hearing on the nomination of Judge Kavanaugh. It’s not a trial. It’s nonsense to talk about “innocent until proven guilty” and “evidence.” Those are terms for a court or administrative law performance. They have little if anything to do with the issue on a judicial nomination.
This is a job interview.
This is a decision whether or not to hire a person to be a justice on the U.S. Supreme Court. Since it’s a lifetime appointment,1 you likely want to exercise a little bit of extra care in the hire decision, but basically it’s a decision whether or not to hire a person.
Most of us have been interviewed for a job. A lot…
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