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ONCE AGAIN, ACCOMPLICES TO OUR OWN DESTRUCTION: PART FIVE (OF SEVEN)

In Bureaucracy, History, Law, Law Enforcement, Medical, Politics, Social commentary on February 4, 2026 at 12:10 am

Throughout 2024, Democrats expected to receive support from their traditional allies—such as blacks and Hispanics. But that didn’t happen.   

During the eight-year tenure of Barack Obama, America’s first black President, Donald Trump attacked him as a foreign-born citizen who was thus ineligible for that office.

Trump also had a history of supporting—and being supported by—racist white groups like the Proud Boys and the Oath Keepers.

Nevertheless, blacks deserted Vice President Kamala Harris in droves. About three in 10 back men under age 45 went for Trump, roughly double the share he got in 2020. A clear majority of young black voters described the economy as “not so good” or “poor,” compared with about half of older black voters.

Despite Trump’s demands for “mass deportations,” numerous Hispanics, when interviewed, said they didn’t feel threatened. They felt certain that Trump would deport “only the bad people.”

Young Latinos, particularly young Latino men, were more supportive of Trump than in 2020. Roughly half of young Latino men voted for Harris, compared with about six in 10 who went for Trump.

Majorities of black and Latino voters said the economy was in bad shape. They wanted a bigger paycheck. And they were willing to re-elect a man who despised them in hopes of getting it.

Muslims—especially those living in Dearborn, Michigan—made their own contribution to Trump’s re-election: They played a losing blackmail game with the Biden administration.

On October 7, 2023, under the cover of thousands of rockets fired from Gaza, Hamas terrorists slaughtered an estimated 1,139 men, women and children in Israeli streets, houses, kibbutz communities and at a rave music festival.

About 250 others were kidnapped and taken into Gaza. Israel responded by declaring a state of war—pounding Gaza with bombs, missiles. tanks and soldiers. 

Why Hamas and Israel reached this moment now — and what comes next | WBUR

Palestinians celebrating the attack on Israel

Terrorism-sympathizing Islamics—especially in Michigan—demanded that the Biden administration stop sending military equipment to Israel—and force Israelis to stop their military campaign to free the hostages. They threatened: “If you don’t do what we want, we won’t vote for Kamala Harris.

Biden and Harris rejected their demands—and Islamics voted for Trump or didn’t vote at all.

The result: A reelected Trump launched an aggressive campaign to restrict immigration from Islamic nations and deport Islamic immigrants accused of sympathizing with Hamas.

Ignorance of and/or contempt for history played a major role in reelecting Trump. 

“Low information voters” is a euphemism for people dangerously ignorant of and/or indifferent to the issues affecting their lives.

After World War II ended in 1945, the United States proved a force for worldwide stability. Its “nuclear umbrella” prevented a Russian takeover of Europe and a Chinese takeover of Asia.

But voters ignored Trump’s “bromance” with Communist dictators Vladimir Putin (Russia), Xi Jinping (China) and Kim Jong-Un (North Korea). They also ignored his proven disdain for the leaders of democratic nations—such as Canada and Great Britain. 

A strong isolationist sentiment motivated many of these voters—the belief that the United States didn’t need alliances with other nations, especially European ones. They ignored—or were ignorant of—that the defeat of Nazi Germany had required the unlikely alliance of the United States, Great Britain and the Soviet Union. 

Also ignored—deliberately or through ignorance—the vital role the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) had played since World War II in maintaining peace throughout Europe—and deterring the Soviet Union from aggression.

Many Right-wing voters believe that the United States had been too active in international affairs since the end of World War II and had gotten little or nothing in return.

Nihilists made their own significant contribution to Trump’s return to power. 

On August 21, 2025, conservative New York Times columnist David Brooks outlined the fundamental change that had occurred in conservatism since 1983: 

“When I was emerging from college, we conservatives thought we were conserving something — a group of cultural, intellectual and political traditions — from the postmodern assault.

“But decades later, with the postmodern takeover fully institutionalized, [Right-wingers] don’t seem to think there’s anything to conserve. They are radical deconstructors….This is a key difference between old-style conservatism and Trumpism.

“But there’s another, even more radical reaction to [liberalism]: nihilism. You start with the premise that progressive ideas are false and then conclude that all ideas are false.

“Faith in God has been on the decline for decades; so has social trust, faith in one another; so has faith in a dependable career path. A recent Gallup poll showed that faith in major American institutions is now near its lowest point in the 46 years Gallup has been measuring these things. But the core of nihilism is even more acidic; it is the loss of faith in the values your culture tells you to believe in.”

Nothing better illustrated this nihilistic streak—and Trump’s willingness to play to it—than his promise, during the 2024 Presidential campaign, that he planned to decimate the American healthcare system: His Secretary of Health and Human Services would be Robert F. Kennedy, Jr. 

ONCE AGAIN, ACCOMPLICES TO OUR OWN DESTRUCTION: PART FOUR (OF SEVEN)

In Bureaucracy, History, Law, Law Enforcement, Politics, Social commentary on February 3, 2026 at 1:01 am

Even as an ex-President, Donald Trump continued to benefit from the routine cowardice of the Democratic party. 

While Congressional Republicans relentlessly investigated President Joe Biden and his family, Democrats refused to similarly investigate Trump’s family. 

Democrats never probed why Jared Kushner, Trump’s son-in-law and  former White House adviser, received $2 billion from Saudi Arabia’s Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman. The money came to Kushner’s private equity firm after Kushner left the White House in 2021. 

Jarred Kushner

Democrats also refused to investigate the Trump administration’s illegally seizing vitally-needed medical supplies in at least seven states during the COVID-19 pandemic.

The Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) did not publicly report the thefts, despite the outlay of millions of dollars of taxpayer money. Nor did the Trump administration explain how it decided which supplies to seize and where to reroute them.

Nor did FEMA inform states if they would receive the materials they ordered and paid for.

Interferon Plays Pivotal, Inflammatory Role in Severe COVID-19 Cases

COVID-19 virus

Americans willingly ignored Trump’s crimes because they were angry about surging numbers of illegal aliens pouring into the country. But the Biden administration refused—until its closing months—to dramatically address this issue.  

A Vox story, dated July 12, 2024, warned:  “According to Gallup,  2024 is the first time since 2005 that most of the public have wanted less immigration, and this year marks the largest share of Americans feeling resistant to immigration since 58 percent said so in 2001….”  

Six months later, on January 17, 2025, another Vox story offered: “What Democrats must learn from Biden’s disastrous immigration record.” 

It opened: “One of the main reasons Vice President Kamala Harris lost the election is the Biden administration’s record on immigration and the border — polls show it ranks up close with inflation among the top issues that drove swing voters to Trump.…”

From 2021 to 2023, the number of illegal aliens skyrocketed. Even blue states and cities complained they were overwhelmed. In December 2023, a record 250,000 illegal aliens tried to cross the border.

Illegal alien climbing over the border fence in Brownsville, Texas

Then, starting early in 2024, and continuing throughout the year, border arrivals plummeted—by more than 80%.

The reasons:

  1. The Biden administration got the Mexican government to launch an extensive crackdown on migrants passing through its territory to the United States. 
  2. Biden decreed that new unauthorized migrants would be ineligible for asylum if too many people were coming to the border. Essentially, this meant shutting down the asylum process.

Unfortunately for Harris, the downturn in illegal immigration came too late.

In times of economic uncertainty, hostility rises toward immigrants—especially those who are alien to a host country’s language and culture. This has proven true in Europe as well as the United States.

Americans blamed President Biden for inflationary price increases—especially for groceries such as eggs. And they believed Trump’s lies that he would immediately reverse those price increases.

According to a December 20, 2024 article—“Why are groceries so expensive? What you need to know”—by the Center for Science in the Public Interest:

“Since January 2019, food prices have risen nearly 30 percent in the US, leaving many households struggling to afford groceries.”

Among the issues responsible for this:

  • COVID-19: Caused worldwide disruptions in supply chains.
  • Transportation costs and fuel prices: Fuel costs are directly tied to how much retailers charge for groceries and other goods.
  • Animal diseases, weather events, crop failures: When bird flu (H5N1) first struck the U.S. in 2022, eggs were priced at around $2 per dozen. They peaked at $4.82/dozen in January, 2023, and in December, 2024—following the infection of over 123 million chickens—prices fell to about $4.15/dozen.
  • Global conflict: In February, 2022, Russia invaded Ukraine, which exports wheat, corn and agricultural fertilizer, among other products. Russia has tried to strangle Ukraine’s exports by attacking the nation’s agricultural centers.

No President—including Biden and Trump—can control such events. Unfortunately, every Presidential candidate virtually promises to be Superman. And voters repeatedly fall victim to this absurdity.

Trump benefitted from the Politically Incorrect truth that misogynistic Americans don’t want a woman President.

American voters proved that in 2016 when former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton ran for President—and lost to Trump in the Electoral College by a count of 227 to 304. 

And Hillary had an advantage that Vice President Kamala Harris lacked: Hillary was white.

Official vice presidential portrait. Head shot of Harris smiling, wearing an American flag lapel pin and pearl earrings, and dressed formally.

Kamala Harris

England has elected a female Prime Minister: Margaret Thatcher. And Mexico—notorious for the machismo of its men—has elected a woman President: Claudia Sheinbaum Pardo. But in the United States, electing a woman chief executive is unthinkable to most American men.

Machismo played a major role in Trump’s popularity, especially among Hispanics.

Roughly six in 10 men described Trump as a strong leader, compared with 43% who said that in 2020. About half of Hispanic women said Trump was a strong leader, up from 37%.

This despite Trump’s past derogatory comments about Hispanics (“When Mexico sends its people, they’re not sending their best….They’re bringing drugs. They’re bringing crime. They’re rapists. And some, I assume, are good people”).

And despite a sea of “MASS DEPORTATION NOW” signs at the 2024 Republican National Convention 

More than any other group, Hispanics would face the full fury of Trump’s campaign to deport at least one million illegal aliens each year.

ONCE AGAIN, ACCOMPLICES TO OUR OWN DESTRUCTION: PART THREEE (OF SEVEN)

In Bureaucracy, History, Law, Law Enforcement, Politics, Social commentary on February 2, 2026 at 12:10 am

On January 13, 2021, Donald Trump was impeached for the second time for “incitement of insurrection”—inciting the January 6, 2021 attack on the United States Capitol.  

The reason: To try to stop the counting of Electoral College votes, which he knew would prove that former Vice President Joseph Biden had won the 2020 Presidential election.

The evidence against Trump was overwhelming—including video of his inciting a mob of his followers to storm the Capitol Building.

But Republican Senators again acquitted Trump on February 13, 2021—choosing ambition over patriotism.

Had they done so, he could not have again been a candidate for President. 

Related image

Donald Trump

Even after Joseph Biden took the oath of office as President, his Justice Department treated Trump with a deference never shown any other criminal defendant. 

Only on November 18, 2022—a year and a half after becoming Attorney General—did Merrick Garland appoint Jack Smith Independent Counsel to investigate Donald Trump’s role for: 

  1. Inciting the January 6 attack on Congress; and
  2. Illegally seizing and storing highly classified government documents at his Mar-a-Lago estate in Palm Beach, Florida.

This gave Trump time to play his “deny and delay” game. Had he been prosecuted and convicted before the November 5 Presidential election, the results might well have been different.

Even hardcore supporters might have proved unwilling to vote for someone found guilty of inciting a riot and//or stealing highly classified documents.

Even while under multiple indictments, Trump was allowed to hurl insults and threats at Special Counsel Jack Smith and even Smith’s family.

One such post, published on Trump’s website, Truth Social, went: “Deranged Jack Smith, who is a sick puppet for A.G. Garland & Crooked Joe Biden, should be DEFUNDED & put out to rest. Republicans must get tough or the Dems will steal another Election. MAGA!” 

Laura Rozen on Twitter: "Jack Smith bio from the Hague court https://t.co/5iOsfwMSAa https://t.co/wAG6RmQ7N4" / Twitter

Jack Smith

By “A.G. Garland” Trump meant Attorney General Merrick Garland. By “put out to rest,” he meant that his followers should assassinate Smith. 

Not even Mafia bosses like Charles “Lucky” Luciano and Albert “The Executioner” Anastasia dared issue such threats.

By contrast: Jimmy Hoffa was president of the International Brotherhood of Teamsters. But that didn’t prevent Robert F. Kennedy’s Justice Department from indicting him for jury tampering—and convicting him on March 4, 1964. He was sentenced to eight years in prison and a $10,000 fine. 

No one in the Kennedy Justice Department said: “He’s the elected president of the Teamsters Union—so we can’t touch him.” Yet that is precisely how the Biden Justice Department repeatedly acted toward Trump—simply because, in 2016, he won a Presidential election.

In June, 2023, Trump was indicted for illegally seizing and storing hundreds of highly classified government documents at his Mar-a-Lago estate.

Aileen Cannon, a Trump appointee as Federal Judge of the United States District Court for the Southern District of Florida, presided over the case.

She repeatedly ruled in his favor and finally dismissed the case in July, 2024. claiming that Special Counsel Jack Smith’s appointment was unconstitutional. 

Aileen Cannon

Many legal experts, citing her handling of the civil case against Trump, called for her recusal from the case. Jack Smith could have requested her removal from the case but did not ask a Federal appeals court to do so.

MSNBC analyst Barbara McQuade told Newsweek that Smith likely refused to do so to “return public trust” to the Justice Department, which had been challenged in recent years.

Cannon’s kid-gloves treatment of Trump echoed that of the Right-wing judge who presided over Adolf Hitler’s trial in 1924 for trying to overthrow the government of Bavaria. 

Throughout his struggles to stay out of prison, Trump was aided by the unrelenting support of the Republican party.  

Republicans loudly and repeatedly claimed that Donald Trump was the legitimate winner of the 2020 Presidential election—despite overwhelming evidence that he wasn’t.

They also claimed that, by appointing Special Counsel Jack Smith to investigate Trump, the Democrats had weaponized Federal law enforcement.

They also fully supported Trump’s demand for the release of those who attacked the Capitol Building on January 6, 2021.

Republican Disc.svg

For example: Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene (R-GA) depicted these coup supporters as persecuted martyrs.

On March 24, 2022, members of the Republicans’ House Oversight Committee toured a Washington, D.C. jail where some of these defendants were held. “Their due process rights are being violated. And they have been mistreated and treated as political prisoners,” Greene told reporters after the tour.

Adolf Hitler similarly portrayed as martyrs the Nazis who tried to violently overthrow the government of Bavaria on November 9, 1923.

A March 2, 2020 Washington Monthly story concluded ominously:  “U.S. democracy wasn’t set up to deal with a president openly behaving like a James Bond villain while being protected by a political party behaving more like a mafia than a civic institution.” 

While Congressional Republicans relentlessly investigated President Joe Biden and his family, Democrats refused to similarly investigate Trump’s family.

The Republican House Oversight Committee opened its investigation into the Biden family on January 11, 2023. The investigation included the foreign business activities of Biden’s son, Hunter, and brother, James. 

By November 2023, the investigation had not found any evidence of wrongdoing by President Biden.