WE are in Charge
I view the sentiment of social media users every few days just to look into the window they look out of. Most are looking through the windshield with serious needs; their parents have care needs they can’t provide, or they themselves don’t have insurance with three kids in tow and no serious job. Women in particular have lost jobs at alarming rates due to the ongoing pandemic that some still do not take seriously, and our former President pushed back with lie after lie to keep himself in money and feed his oversized ego. All this after a taped interview with Bob Woodward where he said the virus was very deadly. Passed through the air and even worse than a really bad flu. No kidding, we are nearing 600,000 deaths as of today.
People have been left out alone in a sea of corruption, self-dealing and false narratives, so I can see why they listened to a false prophet who told them he could fix everything; “easy”. He knew more than the generals, could balance the budget and get rid of our debt in one term. Well, it didn’t quite pan out as he had a budget shortfall over four years of 4.3 trillion and added 6.7 trillion to the debt before Covid and after accounting for any Obama action the bled over into Trumps administration. Biden’s term will likely show the added recession debt in his column when the budget office tallies at the end of his term.
On social media many are hooked into the lies and pass them around like beer at a BBQ. I want to ask them who told them the election was rigged, who told them the virus was a cold and who told them the democrats were to blame for everything evil along with the media, judges and law enforcement that Trump equally vilified? He told them, no one else. Sure, some on Fox parroted him because they too think he is going to make them rich. The proverbial bus is waiting for them too. There isn’t a Sam Hill one of them, including his own kids he will not throw under that bus. It is his MO, just like any other Mob boss…they hide behind the ones most faithful to them. The NFL cut off any negotiations with him in the ‘80’s because of his ties to the mob.
His missteps are a part of where we find ourselves, but don’t hold a candle to the not so subtle, intent to destroy our democracy/republic, apparently for personal gain. I venture Donald Trump is finally the best at one thing; he is the greatest con of all time. Point in case, he is no businessman, rather he has conned other businesses to believe his name branding will bring them fortunes. As well, a few U.S. Congressmen, some of whom are also street smart, believe his pied piper call or want what they believe he will lead them to. It is not the case. Donald Trump dodged the draft with bogus claims of “bone spurs” while your brothers, fathers, uncles and cousins died or were exposed to agent orange they are still dying from. The more mainstream Congressmen and women have seen deaths threats lobbed at them and their families by Trump faithful. We have a local public health person who has had those same threats…simply for doing her job to keep us safe. Good God!
Liz Cheney has supported more of Trumps’ policies than many Congressmen including the women who replaced her. She is shunned now by him for the simple reason she cares more for the country then supporting his charade. Trump has led by fear his entire term and what he is telling her is if people buck him, he will destroy them. The fringe of the Republican party will in turn threaten her, her family and her life going forward simply for telling the truth. AOC is being mocked right now for barricading an office door and hiding there among the pounding of fists on it and the vile screaming of a mob gone mad.
When Donald Trump campaigned 6 years ago he picked at Judges, Law Enforcement and Media, the 3 parts of our democracy by way of our Constitution that guarantee our freedom from Tierney. I said then he had eyes on dictatorship, and it is coming to fruition now. People forget already because of his constant gibberish; he admires Putin and Kim Jung Un both of whom would love to take over the world. We are supporting this?
The last tenet of democracy to destroy if you want to be an authoritarian are free elections and he has done a hell of a job of that. Why people are not catching on there is beyond me…in 2015 and 2016 he talked dozens of times about a rigged election. “The election is rigged, unless I win.” What did we not get about that or still don’t? Most folks do not know what happens to their ballot once cast and the short version of that is: folks trained in elections are an equal number of democrats and republicans who check in the ballots, verify signatures and run them through machines in manageable numbers. Machines that have been tested for accuracy before even the first ballot is run. These people who preform the duties in an arduous process are your friends and neighbors. They work carefully as dem beside pub day in and day out. The process is on camera as are the ballot boxes and drop off points. No one is allowed in the tally room unless there is counting going on and the camera is always on 24/7. You must sign in or out to enter or leave the room. The room is filled with ballots locked in boxes that are signed when opened and locked. These are stored temporarily under desks until all are done, audited and canvassed before being stored for several months or years in locked storage.
When the elections are complete an audit is done by people the parties choose and must be an equal number of dems and pubs. The parties often choose who actually works the elections as well. A percentage of ballots are chosen to ensure what the voter intended matches the recorded outcome. The states who are allowing election “audits” now at the direction of Donald Trump are not auditing the entire outcome, only the areas where dems normally win and only one race. The folks hired for hundreds of thousands of dollars are not schooled one whit in how to run an election and these states have each had at least two real audits done so far. The states are spending millions of dollars on something that is quite frankly BS. The elections have been certified. My guess is Trump is playing this on and on to kill time until he hopes he can get elected again without ever going to court for numerous tax fraud charges. Or he is hoping he can get a Supreme Court date to overturn the election and that just isn’t going to happen.
The bottom line is, election integrity was never better than it was in 2021 and to question that, allow for tampering of YOUR ballots and risking the loss or theft of ballots will be the death of our democratic society. The folks who stormed the capital building were intent on hanging our Vice President. Do people really find that appealing? Trump was called numerous times by the republican party’s minority leader of the house during the blood bath and he refused to stop the carnage. He could have.
We must decide whether we want a free democracy or live under a dictatorship? If you think your 2nd amendment is in danger now you only have to look at Russia, Venezuela, Turkey, Cuba or N. Korea to know that dictators do not want their citizens armed. Did we have a corrupt political environment before Trump? Yes. Can we do something about it? Yes. Vote, assuming you do not let him destroy that. Write your Congressmen and women. Exchange ideas with your friends and neighbors and for God’s sake stop viewing them as your enemy!
This country many of you rail on is YOUR responsibility, no one else’s. The ball is in your court, learn how to leverage your needs against the almighty dollar. Figure out how your government works. So many people have no idea what a bill is or how it gets to a Presidential signature. There are legitimate politicians, learn who they are. Learn what they are running on. Trump ran on a wall he never got done and he took our military money to fund what he tried to do. Just like the wall he requisitioned, which blew over in the desert wind, this democracy is only as good as we are at understanding the issues. It should be your most important goal, to maintain our democracy.
