July 4th, 2026

On this anniversary of our country's independence, we find the "United" part of our "United States of America" under severe strain. But I am not letting that stop me from celebrating the achievements of and possibilities inherent in our country.

I resent how conservatives invented and have actively promoted the lie that anyone who supports progressive, liberal, optimistic ideas about our country are "haters" of the USA. They hold up this ridiculous idea that they and they alone can feel any sense of pride in their nation--and then turn around and behave and vote like people who are anything but supportive of the nation and its citizens. For this reason, and as a proud Liberal, I am heartily celebrating our Independence Day, our country, and the concept of actual, real Democracy.

When over two and a half centuries ago, a band of patriots gathered in Philadelphia to declare that "all men are created equal," they intended for this country to be different from the others, to be better, to be always striving toward a more perfect union. It is why they made the Constitution a living document, able to be revised, changed, improved upon, thus improving the lives of everyone living in these United States. It is our true purpose, our original ideal to continually improve the quality of life for Americans--all Americans--no matter their race, sex, age, physical ability, religion, ethnicity, and sexual or gender identity.

And July 4th is a celebration of that, a Celebration of Possibility, a celebration of the idea that we can continually improve upon our morals, our laws, our procedures, our attitudes. We continually strive toward those possibilities which include instead of exclude, which right what has been wrong, which bring more people into our national fabric, elevating and enriching life in this country. That is why it is particularly distressing and brings a very specific anguish to see these ideals, this leap toward possibilities of greatness that is part of our Constitution and of Democracy itself eroded, attacked, and mocked by the current government, conservatives, and the right wing ... and more shockingly, by a large section of our own fellow citizens who support the viciousness and hatred. Their support demonstrates that only cruelty with a perverse need to punish, and not the health and future of the United States and the well-being of its citizens is their goal.

Today I am choosing to celebrate the good this country has been and done but also the possibilities of change, of improvement, of an ever-strengthening yearning toward a more perfect union, and the idea that we can protect what this country stands for. Please vote to honor these ideals in the 2026 mid-term elections--we must have a President and not a King or despot--to ensure that we live up to the promise of making life for all citizens--ALL CITIZENS--better. We haven't yet and we need to, finally, fulfill that promise. And taking back at least one of the branches of government will help us in reclaiming our country, our Democracy, and our standing in the world.

I love my country, I was born here, it is my home, and I have no intention of leaving. I am of an age when my American History and Civics classes in high school and college were not sanitized, and I understand the good and the bad in our past as well as present. Did the United States make mistakes? Yes. Is the nation as a whole perfect? Not yet. Are we the best version of ourselves? We are working on it and many of us who believe in the promise of the United States are striving, earnestly, with a clear vision. I like to think I am one of those people and because of that, I have no intention of handing my home over to the current administration and its supporters who are toiling to turn it into an authoritarian, theocratic, fascistic regime.

Here is the sonnet "The New Colossus" by poet Emma Lazarus which serves as the inscription at the base of the Statue of Liberty, a gift from France, our valuable ally. The inscription affirms the ideal of inclusiveness and the United States as a beacon of hope, comfort, and stability for anyone who seeks it.

Not like the brazen giant of Greek fame,

With conquering limbs astride from land to land;

Here at our sea-washed, sunset gates shall stand

A mighty woman with a torch, whose flame

Is the imprisoned lightning, and her name

Mother of Exiles. From her beacon-hand

Glows world-wide welcome; her mild eyes command

The air-bridged harbor that twin cities frame.

"Keep, ancient lands, your storied pomp!" cries she

With silent lips. "Give me your tired, your poor,

Your huddled masses yearning to breathe free,

The wretched refuse of your teeming shore.

Send these, the homeless, tempest-tost to me,

I lift my lamp beside the golden door!"

July 4th, 2025

On this anniversary of our country's independence, we find ourselves in a frightening situation. Our democracy has been hijacked--temporarily--by an administration that has established itself as an authoritarian regime. It aspires to a kind of behavior against which this country has fought, in many wars and in many places. We have all seen the intended chaos, the attacks on the United States Constitution, the abductions of thousands who have committed no crime, the arrogant disregard for laws, the petty scheming and plotting and assaults to silence by any means anyone who tries to maintain a sense of lawfulness and humanity, and the deliberate cruelty inflicted on non-citizens and citizens alike which will result in actual death. The U.S. Flag Code says an inverted flag should only be used "as a signal of dire distress in instances of extreme danger to life or property," and we are truly in that very distress with lives on the line. But I say we are hijacked temporarily because I believe we have been a Democracy for far too long for us to turn into some third-world country whose government has always been shaky, suffering coup after coup. It is going to be harder than the current administration thinks.

So it is at this time in particular that we need to celebrate our Independence Day, our country, and the concept of actual, real Democracy. When nearly two and a half centuries ago, a band of patriots gathered in Philadelphia to declare that "all men are created equal," they intended for this country to be different form the others, to be better, to be always striving toward a more perfect union. It is why they made the Constitution a living document, able to be revised, changed, improved upon, thus improving the lives of everyone living in these United States. It is our true purpose, our original ideal to continually improve the quality of life for Americans--all Americans--no matter their race, sex, age, physical ability, religion, and sexual or gender identity. And July 4th is a celebration of that, a Celebration of Possibility, a celebration of the idea that we can continually improve upon our morals, our laws, our procedures, our attitudes. We continually strive toward those possibilities which include instead of exclude, which right what has been wrong, which bring more people into our national fabric, elevating and enriching life in this country. That is why it is particularly distressing and brings a very specific anguish to see these ideals, this leap toward possibilities of greatness that is part of our Constitution and of Democracy itself eroded, attacked, and mocked by the current government, conservatives, and the right wing and more shockingly, by a large section of our own fellow citizens who support the viciousness and hatred, demonstrating that only cruelty with a perverse need to punish and not the health and future of the United States and the well-being of its citizens is their point.

Today I am choosing to celebrate the possibilities of change, of improvement, of an ever-strengthening yearning toward a more perfect union, and the idea that we can protect what this country stands for. Please vote to honor these ideals in the 2026 mid-term elections--we must have a President and not a King or despot--and to ensure that we live up to the promise of making life for all citizens--ALL CITIZENS--better. We haven't yet and we need to, finally, fulfill that promise. And taking back at least one of the branches of government will help us in reclaiming our country, our Democracy, and our standing in the world. I love my country, I was born here, it is my home, and I have no intention of leaving or handing it over to the current administration and its supporters who want to turn it into an authoritarian fascist hell.

Here is the sonnet "The New Colossus" by poet Emma Lazarus which serves as the inscription at the base of the Statue of Liberty, a gift from France, our valuable ally. The inscription affirms the ideal of inclusiveness and the United States as a beacon of hope, comfort, and stability for anyone who seeks it.

Not like the brazen giant of Greek fame,

With conquering limbs astride from land to land;

Here at our sea-washed, sunset gates shall stand

A mighty woman with a torch, whose flame

Is the imprisoned lightning, and her name

Mother of Exiles. From her beacon-hand

Glows world-wide welcome; her mild eyes command

The air-bridged harbor that twin cities frame.

"Keep, ancient lands, your storied pomp!" cries she

With silent lips. "Give me your tired, your poor,

Your huddled masses yearning to breathe free,

The wretched refuse of your teeming shore.

Send these, the homeless, tempest-tost to me,

I lift my lamp beside the golden door!"

The Ten Happiest Cities in the United States 2025

WalletHub, a personal finance company, has unveiled its latest rankings of the happiest cities in the United States. These rankings were derived from an analysis of 29 distinct happiness metrics, ranging from depression rates to income growth and the average amount of leisure time enjoyed daily. Each of these metrics was evaluated on a scale of 100 points, with a perfect score of 100 indicating the highest level of happiness. I find it fascinating that a full FIVE cities on this list are in California, three of them specifically in Northern California!

10 HAPPIEST CITIES

1. Fremont, Calif.
2. San Jose, Calif.
3. Irvine, Calif.
4. Sioux Falls, S.D.
5. Overland Park, Kans.
6. Lincoln, Neb.
7. Madison, Wis.
8. Scottsdale, Ariz.
9. San Francisco, Calif.
10. Huntington Beach, Calif.

To figure out how each city compared, WalletHub drew upon their own research and data from the U.S. government, as well as several studies on happiness. They then used the following metrics to score the cities:

Emotional and physical well-being

• Life-satisfaction index
• Depression rate
• Suicide rate
• Adequate sleep rate
• Physical health index, which measures the percentage of adults reporting good or better health.
• Sports participation rate
• Share of people aged 12 or older who used marijuana in the past month
• Retail opioid prescriptions dispensed per 100 persons
• Share of adults with mental health not good, which measures the percentage of adults with 14 or more mentally unhealthy days reported in the past month.
• Life expectancy
• Food insecurity rate

Income and employment

• Income-growth rate
• Share of households with annual incomes above $75,000
• Poverty rate
• Job satisfaction
• 4+ star job opportunities per total people in the labor force, which measures the number of job opportunities at 4+ star rated companies on Glasssdoor.com per the total people in the labor force
• Job security, measuring the probability of unemployment
• Unemployment rate
• Underemployment rate
• Bankruptcy rate
• Weekly work hours
• Commute time

Community and environment

• WalletHub’s “Most Caring Cities” Ranking
• Separation and divorce rate
• Hate-crime incidents per capita
• Ideal weather, using data from WalletHub’s “Cities with the Best & Worst Weather” ranking.
• Acres of parkland per 1,000 residents
• Average leisure time spent per day
• Well-being “community” index score (Note: This metric refers to the “Community” section of the Sharecare Well-Being Index, which refers to “liking where you live, feeling safe and having pride in your community.”)

Link to original article in Fortune magazine:
https://fortune.com/well/article/happiest-cities-in-america-2025/

WINNER!

And the clear winner from last night is Kamala Harris. Her opponent only displayed his typical childish petulance and rambling incoherence.

Since I am a California resident, I have had the pleasure of voting for Kamala Harris several times already--in primaries and elections for both State Attorney General and State Senator--and I will have great pleasure voting for her again.

https://kamalaharris.com/

MADAME PRESIDENT

VOTE HARRIS WALZ!

https://kamalaharris.com/

Freedom 2024

Pete: "I believe in a better politics, one that finds us at our most decent and open and brave. The kind of politics that Kamala Harris and Tim Walz are offering. And as you have felt these many days, that kind of politics also just feels better to be part of. There is joy in it as well as power."

Oprah says, "Freedom isn't free. America is an ongoing project, it requires commitment, it requires being open to the hard work and the heart work of democracy. And every now and then it requires standing up to life's bullies."

And this from our next Vice President, Tim Walz: "When we Democrats talk about freedom, we mean the freedom to make a better life for yourself and the people that you love. Freedom to make your own healthcare decisions. And yeah, your kids' freedom to go to school without worrying about being shot dead in the hall."

VOTE HARRIS WALZ!

https://kamalaharris.com/

Do something! VOTE!

Do something!

VOTE!

VOTE HARRIS WALZ!

https://kamalaharris.com/

We Fight, We Win. For The People. For Our Future.

We're not just electing a President, we are uplifting our nation.

"We are moving forward!"

"LOCK HIM UP!"

"The lie and the logic of January 6th is a sickness. It is a kind of cancer...Donald Trump is a plague on the American conscience."

THANK YOU, JOE!

VOTE HARRIS WALZ!

https://kamalaharris.com/

Pete Supports Kamala

https://www.instagram.com/pete.buttigieg
https://www.wintheera.com/

Happy Independence Day 2024: A Celebration of True Democracy

For those readers with me in the United States, Happy 4th of July. Although things are better than they were  from 2017 to 2021, Democracy itself and our country are still under attack from the inside by hostile forces from the right, with their unrelenting, baffling desire to destroy the principles of Humanism. Our upcoming Presidential election is a tremendous source of anxiety for those of us who want the principles of Democracy to prevail. It is our wish and hope that someone from the Democratic party wins the election. If not, I truly fear for our future and our literal physical safety.

So it is at this time in particular that we need to celebrate our Independence Day, our country, and the concept of Democracy. When nearly two and a half centuries ago, a band of patriots gathered in Philadelphia to declare that "all men are created equal," they intended for this country to be different form the others, to be better, to be always striving toward a more perfect union. It is why they made the Constitution a living document, able to be revised, changed, improved upon, thus improving the lives of everyone living in these United States. It is our true purpose, our original ideal to continually improve the quality of life for Americans--all Americans--no matter their race, sex, age, physical ability, religion, and sexual or gender identity. And July 4th is a celebration of that, a Celebration of Possibility, a celebration of the idea that we can continually improve upon our morals, our laws, our procedures, our attitudes. We continually strive toward those possibilities which include instead of exclude, which right what has been wrong, which bring more people into our national fabric, elevating and enriching life in this country. That is why it is particularly distressing and brings a very specific anguish to see these ideals, this leap toward possibilities of greatness that is part of our Constitution and of Democracy itself eroded, attacked, and mocked by conservatives and the right wing and more shockingly, by a large section of our own fellow citizens who support the viciousness and hatred, demonstrating that only cruelty and not the health and future of the United States is their point.

But today, let's choose to celebrate the possibilities of change, of improvement, of an ever-strengthening yearning toward a more perfect union. Please vote to honor these ideals in the next Presidential election--we must have a President and not a King or despot--and to ensure that we live up to the promise of making life for all citizens--ALL CITIZENS--better. We haven't yet and we need to, finally, fulfill that promise.

Here is the sonnet "The New Colossus" by poet Emma Lazarus which serves as the inscription at the base of the Statue of Liberty, a gift from France, our valuable ally. The inscription affirms the ideal of inclusiveness and the United States as a beacon of hope, comfort, and stability for anyone who seeks it.

Not like the brazen giant of Greek fame,

With conquering limbs astride from land to land;

Here at our sea-washed, sunset gates shall stand

A mighty woman with a torch, whose flame

Is the imprisoned lightning, and her name

Mother of Exiles. From her beacon-hand

Glows world-wide welcome; her mild eyes command

The air-bridged harbor that twin cities frame.

"Keep, ancient lands, your storied pomp!" cries she

With silent lips. "Give me your tired, your poor,

Your huddled masses yearning to breathe free,

The wretched refuse of your teeming shore.

Send these, the homeless, tempest-tost to me,

I lift my lamp beside the golden door!"

HAPPY 4TH OF JULY!

"America" by London Grammar

From their most recent release: "America" by London Grammar (previously here).

Lead singer Hannah Reid wrote the song. "Ironically I kind of wrote it as a goodbye to all the songs that I thought I wouldn’t write because I wasn’t sure if I was really cut out for the [music] industry or… my own personal American dream," Reid told Zane Lowe on Apple Music 1. "So I remember writing that song, it just came out so quickly and I was crying at the piano and then I thought, you know, I’m just going to play it to the boys, but I don’t think I can make another album again. And I played it to the boys and then, sure enough, they played me something."

And I hope that you find it, all that you need
I hope that you stay young and wild and free
You'll have America

And I hope that you're better than all of your friends
I hope that they hold you until the end
You can have America
Hmm, hmm, hmm, hmm, hmm

But all of our time chasing America
But she never had a home for me
All of our time chasing a dream
Hmm-hmm, hmm
A dream that meant nothing to me

And see where I found you, where they all lay
All of the greats, they are here to stay
Here in America

And I hope that you're finding all that you are
I hope that it sets you up high
In the heart of America
Hmm, hmm

But all of our time chasing America
But she never had a home for me
Hmm-hmm, hmm
All of our time chasing a dream
Hmm-hmm, hmm
A dream that meant nothing to me

And all the parties they fade
And yes, my looks, they'll go away
I'll just be left here in America
But she never had a home for me

https://www.londongrammar.com/

More Dead In Four Months Than Any Four Month Period IN HISTORY

https://twitter.com/RonaldKlain

"America" by Sufjan Stevens

"Don't do to me what you did to America..."

"America" by Sufjan Stevens. Capturing the anxiety and apocalypse of our situation right now.

Is it love you’re after?
A sign of the flood or one more disaster
Don’t do to me what you did to America
Don’t do to me what you did to America

I have loved you, I have grieved
I’m ashamed to admit I no longer believe
I have loved you, I received
I have traded my lifeFor a picture of the scenery
Don’t do to me what you did to America
Don’t do to me what you did to America

I give it all up in laughter
The sign of the cross awaiting disaster
The dove flew to me like a vision of paranoia
The dove flew to me like a vision of paranoia

I have loved you like a dream
I have kissed your lips like a Judas in heat
I have worshipped, I believed
I have broke your bread for a splendor of machinery
Don’t look at me like I’m acting hysterical
Don’t look at me like I’m acting hysterical

I have worshipped, I have cried
I have put my hands in the wounds on your side
I have tasted of your blood
I have choked on the waters, I abated the flood
I am broken, I am beat
But I will find my way like a Judas in heat
I am fortune, I am free
I’m like a fever of light in the land of opportunity

Don’t do to me what you did to America
Don’t do to me what you do to yourself
Don’t do to me what you did to America
Don’t do to me what you do to yourself
Don’t do to me what you did to America
Don’t do to me what you do to yourself
Don’t do to me what you did to America
Don’t do to me what you do to yourself

https://sufjan.com/

The Poetry of Rock n' Roll: "America"

In honor of National Poetry Month, once a week I will be featuring lyrics of rock n' roll or pop songs that also double as exquisite poetry.

To begin with, let's examine a piece by a prolific songwriter. Paul Simon wrote this song "America" for him and his partner Art Garfunkel to sing on their 1968 concept album "Bookends." Rock journalist Bud Scoppa said, "the record is a meditation on the passage of life and the psychological impact of life's irreversible, ever-accumulating losses". The stunning song cycle also describes the life and death of the romantic ideal of the American Dream and this song addresses that theme with brevity and grace. There was a tremendous amount of social change and dissatisfaction at that time (the Black Panthers formed two years earlier, the Summer of Love was happening, the Altamont riots happened the following year, and the Kent State Shootings would happen two years later), a groundswell of young people questioning a rather empty way of life they were simply expected to inherit and follow, and be quiet about it.

As usual, I am presenting this song (and all songs this month) with lyrics only since that is what I am focusing on. But this is a song where the music--a gentle and naïve melody, and a quirky arrangement that is playful but world-weary--is necessary to get the complete picture. Do Google it and give it a listen.

America
by Paul Simon

"Let us be lovers, we'll marry our fortunes together
I've got some real estate here in my bag"
So we bought a pack of cigarettes and Mrs. Wagner pies
And we walked off to look for America

"Cathy," I said as we boarded a Greyhound in Pittsburgh,
"Michigan seems like a dream to me now
It took me four days to hitchhike from Saginaw
I've gone to look for America"

Laughing on the bus, playing games with the faces
She said the man in the gabardine suit was a spy
I said, be careful, his bowtie is really a camera

"Toss me a cigarette, I think there's one in my raincoat"
"We smoked the last one an hour ago"
So I looked at the scenery
She read her magazine
And the moon rose over an open field

"Cathy, I'm lost," I said though I knew she was sleeping
"And I'm empty and aching and I don't know why"
Counting the cars on the New Jersey Turnpike
They've all come to look for America
All come to look for America
All come to look for America

http://www.paulsimon.com/

Still Resisting

"History Is Watching" and "The Time Is Now" posters available from Studio Number One
http://www.studionumberone.com/

"Reject Misinformation" and "Embrace Humanity" images from Make America Smart Again
http://www.dumbisovermasa.com/

VICTORY!

Democrats took control of the House!
Now we can stop, stymie, and halt the Monster-in-Chief's fascism
and start work to restore a sane and ethical government!

And here in California, the state that leads the way for the rest of the United States on so many issues and ideas--and we have the largest economy of any state in the union, rivaling entire countries--we elected an exclusive roster of Democrats to helm us. I am proud to live here in a state that values human rights, a state that has strict gun laws, a state that values the planet. And we elected Ricardo Lara, an out gay Latino as our Insurance Commissioner. Couldn't be prouder!

In two months...

...we can take our country back. In the United States, we are fast approaching the most important mid-term election in our history.

If you have never voted or have "never been into politics," now is the time. Please understand that the personal is political. Please do not fall for the conservative lie that your vote does not count. If it didn't you wouldn't have Republicans trying to suppress it, you wouldn't have billionaires trying to buy it, and Russians wouldn't be attempting to infiltrate and destroy it. Voting gives you the power to shape your life in this country.

If you are planning to vote, please make sure you are still registered and eligible to vote, and have not been part of the draconian, Republican-led voter roll purges that have taken place in districts around the nation.

Most mid-term elections take place on November 6, 2018. Please use your vote to defeat this slow-moving Fascist coup taking place in this current Congress and Presidency.

Sources for the above information:
http://time.com/373/congress-is-now-mostly-a-millionaires-club/
http://time.com/money/5023038/millionaire-population-united-states-world/
https://fas.org/sgp/crs/misc/R44762.pdf
https://www.worldpress.org/article.cfm/current-members-of-the-house-of-representatives
https://www.yesmagazine.org/for-teachers/curriculum/infographic-does-congress-look-like-america

Happy Labor Day 2017

Happy Labor Day to all in the United States. This is a holiday that recognizes and honors the American labor movement of the late 19th century and the contributions that workers have made to the strength, prosperity, laws, and well-being of the country.

I believe in the power of labor and work. I believe in the dignity of labor and work. I believe in the power of unions to protect workers from abuse by companies and corporations. Now more than ever in this current political climate, I believe all of these things. I believe in the sense of fairness toward which the human spirit strives. Happy Labor Day.

Trump’s rally rhetoric is going to get somebody killed by Eugene Robinson

Regular readers know that this blog is dedicated to endeavors not necessarily of a political nature, but sometimes I simply must post something because it is too important not to. And Eugene Robinson's words are of the utmost importance. We in the United States are in a serious crisis, one that is literally about the future of Democracy and the fate of the country itself. The Republicans have played a long game and we are witnessing the catastrophic end result. We MUST get out to vote to reverse the damage that's been done...I live in a blue state and while I am certainly voting in the midterms, I am not worried about the results. California is after all, a leader in social issues and as of May 2018, is now the FIFTH largest economy in the world, surpassing the entire United Kingdom. But the rest of the country is a grave concern. If you are anywhere in or near a red state, please try to convince as many humanists and progressives and people with sense to get out and vote in the midterm elections. We must stop this terrifying wave of fascism, nationalism, and isolationism. I don't think it is an exaggeration to say that it is the single most important election in the history of this country.

Trump’s rally rhetoric is going to get somebody killed
GOP bets its future on Trump’s megalomania

By Eugene Robinson
The Washington Post

Everything you need to know about today’s Republican Party is summed up by a photo from President Trump’s political rally in Ohio on Saturday. Two men in the crowd look defiantly at the camera, proudly displaying the slogan on their matching Tshirts: “I’d Rather Be A Russian Than A Democrat.”

The sound you hear is the GOP presidents of the Cold War era — Eisenhower, Nixon, Ford and Reagan — whirring like turbines in their graves.

This is the state of derangement to which Trump has brought a once-great political party. Anyone tempted to dismiss these cult-of-personality rallies as freakish sideshows should keep in mind one sobering fact: An astounding 89 percent of Republicans approve of Trump’s performance as president, according to Gallup. The GOP has lost its mind.

The Republican Party used to believe in fiscal discipline and worry about the mounting national debt; Trump has blown a trillion-dollar hole in the budget. The party used to believe in free trade; Trump is imposing tariffs left and right, including on our closest allies. The party used to believe in free markets; Trump clumsily tries to pick winners and losers, hectors the independent Federal Reserve board and uses his Twitter feed to attack individual companies for political reasons.

The GOP used to champion American ideals of freedom and justice throughout the world.

Trump gives the back of his hand to the post-war alliance of Western democracies, and has nothing but praise for autocratic rulers who abuse human rights in countries such as Saudi Arabia, Egypt, the Philippines — and, of course, Russia.

Previous Republican presidents have complained about press coverage. Trump calls the news media “the Enemy of the People,” a phrase that bloodsoaked totalitarian regimes have used to justify assassinations and purges. Don’t be comforted by GOP apologists who say Trump is just using overthe- top rhetoric and doesn’t really mean it. As recently as Sunday, he tweeted that “The Fake News hates me saying that they are the Enemy of the People because they know it’s TRUE.” He called the media “very dangerous and sick!”

On Friday, a C-SPAN caller who identified himself as “Don from State College, Pennsylvania” threatened that “I’m going to shoot” CNN hosts Brian Stelter and Don Lemon. Words have consequences: Trump’s unhinged rhetoric is going to get somebody killed.

If you ask House Speaker Paul Ryan or Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell, they will of course disavow such sentiments. And then, la-di-da, they’ll go back to pretending this is a normal presidency rather than a runaway train.

Brace yourselves, because it’s all going to get worse.

It doesn’t take a degree in psychology to see that Trump is increasingly frantic about special counsel Robert Mueller’s investigation into Russian meddling in the 2016 election. On Sunday, shortly after the “Enemy of the People” tweet, Trump added this: “Fake News reporting, a complete fabrication, that I am concerned about the meeting my wonderful son, Donald, had in Trump Tower. This was a meeting to get information on an opponent, totally legal and done all the time in politics — and it went nowhere. I did not know about it!”

How much lying can you pack into one tweet? It was a meeting to get dirt on Hillary Clinton from emissaries of the Russian government. It is not at all clear that it was legal. It is not the sort of thing ever done in politics. We don’t know whether it “went anywhere.” And it sure seems unlikely that Trump’s son, son-in-law and campaign chairman would have such a meeting without ever mentioning it to Trump — who, when the meeting was revealed, personally dictated a false statement designed to obscure its real purpose.

It is safe to surmise that Trump feels the walls closing in. And if Democrats seize control of the House in November, he will face a lineup of committee chairmen, armed with subpoena power, who are determined to do their constitutional duty of holding the administration accountable.

So Trump reportedly plans to spend as much time as possible on the campaign trail, desperately trying to stoke enough fear, resentment and anger among the GOP base to produce a big turnout that saves the House majority. What a surprise: Trump intends to make the election all about Trump.

It worked for those guys in the photo, the ones who’d rather be Russians than Democrats.

The Republican Party has betrayed all of its history, all of its hallowed ideals, and bet its future on the corrosive power of Trump’s scorched-earth megalomania. GOP candidates richly deserve to lose.

Link to original article:
https://www.washingtonpost.com/opinions/trumps-rally-rhetoric-is-going-to-get-somebody-killed/2018/08/06/d3bccad8-99ac-11e8-b60b-1c897f17e185_story.html?utm_term=.b8a8dbbe99af

"Trump's sustained attacks on American rights" by Joan Biskupic

Trump's sustained attacks on American rights
Analysis by Joan Biskupic, CNN legal analyst & Supreme Court biographer

Updated 2:15 PM ET, Sat May 26, 2018

(CNN)Two years ago Sunday, then-presidential candidate Donald Trump derided US District Court Judge Gonzalo Curiel, hearing a lawsuit against Trump University, for his "Mexican" heritage and complained of being "railroaded" by the legal system.

It was shocking, Democrats and Republicans alike condemned Trump's racially intemperate criticism of the Indiana-born judge.

Turns out, it was nothing.

Over the past 24 months, Trump has scorned judges, derided the American court system, and trampled on all manner of constitutional principles. Trump has especially ridiculed due process of law, the bedrock against government's arbitrary denial of a person's life, liberty or property.

Critics warn that denunciations that once seemed so aberrational may be seeping into the American psyche and influencing how government operates.

This week, Trump suggested immigrants at the border could be summarily deported without any hearing to determine if they deserved asylum or were US citizens wrongly apprehended. In a Fox News interview that aired on Thursday, Trump flatly deemed the system of immigration judges "corrupt" and said, "Whoever heard of a system where you put people through trials? Where do these judges come from?"

The administrative system, in fact, is part of Trump's executive branch, run by the Justice Department; the attorney general appoints immigration judges.

In the same interview, Trump responded to the NFL policy prohibiting kneeling during the "Star-Spangled Banner," with a message for players who refuse to stand for the anthem: "Maybe you shouldn't be in the country."

Such an attitude inflames controversy over league rules for players protesting racial injustice to intimations of government rejection of its citizens - for speaking out.

Due Process. Citizenship. Racial Equality. Trump's targets seem to merit none of these. It is not lost on Trump's detractors that he routinely takes aim at immigrants and racial minorities.

At the same time, the President expresses outrage over what happens to the men of his world.

When his former staff secretary Rob Porter was accused by two ex-wives of domestic violence, Trump emphasized in February to the news media, "He says he's innocent." Then in a tweet, Trump wrote: "Peoples lives are being shattered and destroyed by a mere allegation. Some are true and some are false. Some are old and some are new. There is no recovery for someone falsely accused - life and career are gone. Is there no such thing any longer as Due Process?"

In April, Trump referred to an FBI raid on the home and office of Trump's personal lawyer Michael Cohen, executing a court-approved subpoena, as "an attack on our country ... an attack on what we all stand for."

If Trump's norm-shattering derision of the courts and constitutional principles has only accelerated in the past two years, public responses appear more polarized. Opponents are overwhelmingly Democratic. Trump's approval rating among Republicans remains high.

There also may be fatigue. Trump is constant. His questioning Thursday of a legal process for people apprehended at the border drew scant public response.

Long before he was a candidate, Trump was known for complaints about the justice system and incendiary rhetoric. He railed against five black and Latino men accused (and wrongfully convicted) for a 1989 rape of a jogger in New York's Central Park. Trump bought full-page ads in New York newspapers proclaiming, "Bring Back The Death Penalty. Bring Back Our Police." Even after the men were exonerated, he suggested they were guilty.

The difference now, of course, is that he is America's top leader. So last fall, when he tweeted that an Uzbekistan man who was charged with killing eight pedestrians and bikers in New York City "SHOULD GET THE DEATH PENALTY," some law professors and analysts wondered if the President's comments would hurt the government's legal case.

Trump sets a tone for the whole country - a reality that spurred Republican op-ed columnist Michael Gerson, a former aide to President George W. Bush, to pen a scathing assessment earlier this month.

"Whatever else Trumpism may be," Gerson wrote in The Washington Post, "it is the systematic organization of resentment against outgroups. His record is rich in dehumanization. ... This is more than a disturbing pattern; it is an organizing political principle. And it has resulted in a series of radiating consequences."

As one of many examples, Gerson pointed to West Virginia GOP Senate candidate Don Blankenship's statement that Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell was creating jobs for "China people." (His wife, Elaine Chao, was born in Taiwan.)

"The Trump era is a renaissance of half-witted intolerance," Gerson concluded, urging Republican leaders to challenge Trump. (The President endorsed one of Blankenship's opponents and Blankenship lost the primary.)

If such protests from the right are rare, the left has tried to remain energized.

The stream of Trump rhetoric against due process "is exhausting, yet requires us to remain vigilant," said Vanita Gupta, president of the Leadership Conference on Civil and Human Rights.

Gupta said an overriding concern is that dehumanizing language and attacks on minorities influence administration policy "The daily hits to due process are real and it is dangerous for any of us to accept this as normal," she said.

Irrespective of how responses have evolved over the past two years, Trump has not deviated from his personal script.

As he declared in May 2016, when many of his comments were rallying fans and roiling critics, "You think I'm going to change? I'm not changing."

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https://www.cnn.com/2018/05/26/politics/trump-rights-due-process-curiel/index.html