Posts Tagged ‘TEXAS’
2020 PRESIDENTIAL ELECTION, 9/11 COMMISSION, ABC NEWS, ALTERNET, AMERICABLOG, ANDREW CLYDE, AP, ARIZONA, ATTORNEYS GENERAL, BABY BOOMER RESISTANCE, BEN SASSE, BLOOMBERG, BRAD RAFFENSPERGER, BRIAN KEMP, BRIAN SICKNICK, BUZZFEED, CBS NEWS, CHRIS MURPHY, CIA, CNN, CROOKS AND LIARS, DAILY KOZ, DAVID BROOKS, DEMOCRATS, DONALD TRUMP, ELECTORAL COLLEGE, FACEBOOK, FBI, FIVETHIRTYEIGHT, FOX NEWS, GEORGIA, HARPER’S MAGAZINE, HUFFINGTON POST, JODY HICE, JOSEPH BIDEN, jOSH HAWLEY, JUSTICE DEPARTMENT, KASIE HUNT, KEN PAXTON, KEVIN MCCARTHY, LIZ CHENEY, MANU RAJU, MEDIA MATTERS, MENNESOTA, METROPOLITAN POLICE DEPARTMENT, MICHAAL FANONE, MICHIGAN, MIKE PENCE, MITT ROMNEY, MOTHER JONES, MOVEON, MSNBC, NANCY PELOSI, NBC NEWS, NEVADA, NEWSWEEK, NPR, OSAMA BIN LADEN, PAUL GOSAR, PBS NEWSHOUR, PENNSYLVANIA, POLITICO, POLITICUSUSA, RAW STORY, REPUBLICANS, REUTERS, ROBERT CONTEE, RON JOHNSON, SALON, SEATTLE TIMES, SEPTEMBER 11 2001 ATTACKS, SLATE, SUPREME COURT, TALKING POINTS MEMO, TEXAS, THE ATLANTIC, THE CHICAGO SUN-TIMES, THE CHICAGO TRIBUNE, THE DAILY BEAST, THE DAILY BLOG, THE GUARDIAN, THE HILL, THE HUFFINGTON POST, THE LOS ANGELES TIMES, THE NATION, THE NEW REPUBLIC, THE NEW YORK TIMES, THE PENTAGON, THE VILLAGE VOICE, THE WASHINGTON POST, THINKPROGRESS, TIME, TRUTHDIG, TRUTHOUT, TWITTER, TWO POLITICAL JUNKIES, U.S. NEWS & WORLD REPORT, UNITED STATES CAPITOL BUILDING, UNITED STATES HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES, UNITED STATES SENATE, UPI, USA TODAY, VOTER FRAUD, WASHINGTON WEEK, WISCONSIN, WONKETTE, WORLD TRADE CENTER, YAMICHE ALCINDOR
In Bureaucracy, History, Law, Law Enforcement, Politics, Social commentary on May 17, 2021 at 12:53 am
On the May 14 edition of The PBS Newshour, New York Times conservative columnist David Brooks pointed out the dilemma now facing the Republican party:
“If you look at the latest Gallup poll, Trump’s approval rating dropped 10% over the last little while, so he’s down to 39%.
“We learned, in the course of the whole Cheney thing [the ousting of Republican Wyoming Representative Liz Cheney as conference chair] that the Republican party officials were hiding from their members poll data showing how much Trump was dragging them down in certain battleground districts.
“So they are chained to a person who is fading and is dropping in popularity, and—but they can’t criticize him. So that’s called being in a pickle.”
Which brings us to why Republicans are refusing to participate in a bipartisan investigation of the January 6 attack on the United States Capitol Building.
First, some necessary background:
On November 3, 2020, 81,255,933 Democratic voters elected former Vice President Joseph Biden the 46th President of the United States.
President Donald J. Trump, running for a second term, got 74,196,153 votes.
Yet for more than two months, Trump refused to concede, insisting that he won—and repeatedly claiming falsely that he was the victim of massive vote fraud.
Immediately after the election, Trump ordered his attorneys to file lawsuits to overturn the election results, charging electoral fraud.
From November 3 to December 14, Trump and his allies lost 59 times in court, either withdrawing cases or having them dismissed by Federal and state judges.
Donald Trump
On November 19, losing in the courts, Trump invited two Republican legislative leaders from Michigan to the White House. The reason: To persuade them to stop the state from certifying the vote.
The Michigan legislators said they would follow the law.
On December 5, Trump called Georgia Governor Brian Kemp and asked him to call a special legislative session and convince state legislators to select their own electors that would support him, thus overturning Biden’s win.
Kemp refused, saying he lacked the authority to do so.
Brian Kemp
Representative Mike Kelly (R-PA), a Trump ally, argued that Pennsylvania’s 2.5 million mail-in were unconstitutional.
On December 8, the Supreme Court refused to hear Kelly’s bid to reverse Pennsylvania’s certification of Biden’s victory.
Although Trump had appointed three of the Court’s Justices, not one of them dissented.
On December 10, the Supreme Court refused to let a Texas lawsuit overturn the results in four battleground states: Georgia, Michigan, Pennsylvania and Wisconsin.
“Texas has not demonstrated a judicially cognizable interest in the manner in which another state conducts its elections,” the court said without further comment. It dismissed all other related claims as moot.
The request for their overturning came in a lawsuit brought by Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton. A Trump ally, Paxton has been indicted on felony securities fraud charges.
Seventeen Republican state Attorney Generals—and 126 Republican members of Congress—supported the lawsuit. They feared Trump’s fanatical base would “primary” them if they didn’t publicly declare their loyalty—to a man they knew was slated to leave office within two months.
The Supreme Court
Then, on December 30, Missouri Republican Senator Josh Hawley announced that, on January 6, 2021, he would object to the certification of some states’ Electoral College results. As many as 140 House Republicans and 25 from the Senate stood to join him.
This would have forced Republicans to:
- Vote to reject Trump’s unsubstantiated claims of massive voter fraud; or
- Disenfranchise millions of voters who had voted for Biden.
“Josh Hawley and anyone who supports his effort are engaged in the attempted overthrow of democracy,” Democratic Connecticut Senator Chris Murphy said.
“There is no evidence that there was any fraud. Senator Hawley apparently believes that if a Democrat wins the presidential race, it must be illegitimate by definition, even absent any actual evidence of misbehavior.”
Nebraska Republican Senator Ben Sasse bluntly offered the reason for this effort: ‘”We have a bunch of ambitious politicians who think there’s a quick way to tap into the president’s populist base without doing any real, long-term damage. But they’re wrong—and this issue is bigger than anyone’s personal ambitions.”
Having lost in 59 court cases to overturn the election results, Trump opted for some old-fashioned arm-twisting.
On January 2, 2021, he called the office of Georgia Secretary of State Brad Raffensperger. The reason: To pressure him to “find” enough votes to overturn former Vice President Joe Biden’s win in the state’s presidential election.
“All I want to do is this. I just want to find 11,780 votes, which is one more than we have, because we won the state,” Trump lied.
He even threatened Raffensperger with criminal prosecuted if he did not change the vote count in Trump’s favor: “That’s a criminal offense. And you can’t let that happen.”
Raffensperger insisted there hadn’t been any voter fraud—and refused to change the official results.
By January 6, 2021, Trump had almost run out of options for illegally staying in power for the next four years.
That day, the United States Senate, with Vice President Mike Pence presiding, would certify states’ Electoral College results of that election.
That morning, Trump urged Pence to flip the results of the election to give him a win.
ABC NEWS, ALTERNET, AMERICABLOG, ANTHONY FAUCI, AP, BABY BOOMER RESISTANCE, BLOOMBERG, BUZZFEED, CBS NEWS, CENTERS FOR DISEASE CONTROL AND PREVENTION (CDC), CHRISTMAS, CNN, CORONAVIRUS, COVID-19, CROOKS AND LIARS, DAILY KOZ, DEMOCRATS, DONALD TRUMP, DRUDGE REPORT, FACEBOOK, FIVETHIRTYEIGHT, FLORIDA, FOX NEWS NETWORK, GRETCHEN WHITMER, HANUKKAH, HARPER’S MAGAZINE, HUFFINGTON POST, JANE CASTOR, KANSAS CITY CHIEFS, KRISTI NOEM, MASKS, MAY DAY, MEDIA MATTERS, MICHIGAN, MINNESOTA, MOTHER JONES, MOVEON, MSNBC, NBC NEWS, NEW YEAR'S DAY, NEWSWEEK, NPR, PBS NEWSHOUR, POLITICO, POLITICUSUSA, RAW STORY, REPUBLICANS, REUTERS, SALON, SEATTLE TIMES, SLATE, SOCIAL DISTANCING, SOUTH DAKOTA, STAY-AT-HOME ORDERS, SUPER BOWL, TALKING POINTS MEMO, TAMPA, TAMPA BAY BUCCANEERS, TAMPA BAY TIMES, TAMPA POLICE DEPARTMENT, TEXAS, THANKSGIVING, THE ATLANTIC, THE CHICAGO SUN-TIMES, THE CHICAGO TRIBUNE, THE DAILY BEAST, THE DAILY BLOG, THE GUARDIAN, THE HILL, THE HUFFINGTON POST, THE LOS ANGELES TIMES, THE NATION, THE NEW REPUBLIC, THE NEW YORK TIMES, THE VILLAGE VOICE, THE WASHINGTON POST, THINKPROGRESS, TIME, TRUTHDIG, TRUTHOUT, TULSA, TWITTER, TWO POLITICAL JUNKIES, U.S. NEWS & WORLD REPORT, UPI, USA TODAY, VIRGUINA, WONKETTE, WUHAN
In Bureaucracy, History, Law, Law Enforcement, Medical, Politics, Social commentary on February 11, 2021 at 12:15 am
In the midst of the COVID-19 pandemic, President Donald Trump scheduled his first 2020 re-election rally in Tulsa, Oklahoma on June 20.
The Tulsa event was followed by another indoor rally in Phoenix on June 23. “Students for Trump” featured a packed crowd, with almost no one wearing masks.
Then, to celebrate Independence Day, Trump scheduled yet another rally at Mount Rushmore, in Keystone, South Dakota, on July 3.
Although health experts expressed fears about a large gathering during the Coronavirus pandemic, South Dakota’s Republican Governor Kristi Noem said people would “not be social distancing” during the celebration:
“In South Dakota, we’ve told people to focus on personal responsibility….Those who want to come and join us, we’ll be giving out free face masks, if they choose to wear one. But we won’t be social distancing.”
Kristi Noem
Meanwhile, more than 135,000 Americans had died of the virus.
And on June 30, Dr. Anthony Fauci, director of the U.S. National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, testified before the U.S. Senate: “We are now having 40-plus thousand new cases a day. I would not be surprised if we go up to 100,000 a day if this does not turn around.”
Fauci warned that the infection surge across the South and West “puts the entire country at risk.” Much of that increase was being fueled by young adults testing positive for COVID-19.
With the end of summer came fall.
Normally this would have meant the return of millions of children to school. But COVID-19 had already closed most of the nation’s schools—at elementary, junior high and high school levels.
Having their children constantly underfoot for most of the year no doubt grated on the nerves of many parents. But the closure of schools also prevented many infections—to students, teachers and the families of both.
That advantage, however, was quickly offset by the succession of holidays that come with the fall—Labor Day, Halloween, Veterans Day, Christmas/Hanukkah, New Year’s Day.
A December 19 story in Business Insider carried the attention-catching headline: “The Thanksgiving Surge in Coronavirus Deaths is Here. It’s ‘Horrifically Awful,’ a Hospital Chaplain Said.”
To sum up its contents:
- More than 47,000 Americans had died from COVID-19 since Thanksgiving.
- COVID-19 was now the country’s leading cause of death.
- It was just the beginning of the effects of Thanksgiving travel and gatherings.
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) begged Americans to forego traveling for Thanksgiving. But at least 55 million Americans ignored that warning. Their selfish, egotistical mantra—“I want to be with my family!”—overrode their supposed concern for the lives of their relatives.
As a result, untold numbers of those families would not again be sharing Thanksgiving—or anything else.
And Dr. Fauci warned: The Christmas season would pose an even greater threat.
People would gather not just for Christmas Eve or Christmas Day, but for New Year’s Eve and New Year’s Day—not to mention any parties held in-between those dates.
Anthony Fauci
The virus spreads faster indoors, where large numbers of people don’t wear masks, pack closely together, and talk or laugh loudly, thus spreading the droplets across a room.
December brought the United States over 77,400 COVID-19 deaths.
Within a year, by January 1, 2021, the virus had killed more than 350,000 Americans.
And then, to top it off, came the Super Bowl on February 7.
Once again, Fauci advised people to avoid crowds and parties: Enjoy the Super Bowl only with members of your immediate family.
And Tampa Mayor Jane Castor ordered people to wear masks in popular outdoor areas during Super Bowl week.
She estimated that tens of thousands of people crowded the streets of Ybor City after midnight, early Sunday morning. People were packed shoulder-to-shoulder in the middle of the street.
Seventh Avenue has drawn crowds since the outbreak of the pandemic nearly a year ago, reaching a crescendo on New Year’s Eve. But Super Bowl eve trumped that, said Tampa Bay Times photographer Luis Santana. And, once again, masses of Americans—especially in Tampa, Florida—behaved as if Coronavirus never existed.
Bars and restaurants were crammed with revelers celebrating the victory of the Tampa Bay Buccaneers over the Kansas City Chiefs. Many of them wore masks—but many others didn’t.
There was plenty of drinking—which causes people to lower their guard against deadly enemies like COVID-19. And with this came plenty of loud talk and cheering—which hurtle COVID-19 droplets across a room.
When Mayor Castor announced her “mask-up” order, she said that police might issue fines of up to $450 for repeat offenders.
Police chief Brian Dugan said he didn’t want his officers to become “mask police,” adding, “We’re hoping people will just kind of work with us when it comes to the mask compliance.”
The police department expressed its disappointment with the behavior of Tampa citizens.
One year after the coming of Coronavirus, masks and hand sanitizers are now widely available. Vaccines are finally becoming available.
But without the full cooperation of millions, eradicating COVID-19 will take far longer—and take a great many more thousands of lives.
ABC NEWS, ALTERNET, AMERICABLOG, ANTHONY FAUCI, AP, BABY BOOMER RESISTANCE, BLOOMBERG, BUZZFEED, CBS NEWS, CENTERS FOR DISEASE CONTROL AND PREVENTION (CDC), CHRISTMAS, CNN, CORONAVIRUS, COVID-19, CROOKS AND LIARS, DAILY KOZ, DEMOCRATS, DONALD TRUMP, DRUDGE REPORT, FACEBOOK, FIVETHIRTYEIGHT, FLORIDA, FOX NEWS NETWORK, GRETCHEN WHITMER, HANUKKAH, HARPER’S MAGAZINE, HUFFINGTON POST, JANE CASTOR, KANSAS CITY CHIEFS, KRISTI NOEM, MASKS, MAY DAY, MEDIA MATTERS, MICHIGAN, MINNESOTA, MOTHER JONES, MOVEON, MSNBC, NBC NEWS, NEW YEAR'S DAY, NEWSWEEK, NPR, PBS NEWSHOUR, POLITICO, POLITICUSUSA, RAW STORY, REPUBLICANS, REUTERS, SALON, SEATTLE TIMES, SLATE, SOCIAL DISTANCING, SOUTH DAKOTA, STAY-AT-HOME ORDERS, SUPER BOWL, TALKING POINTS MEMO, TAMPA, TAMPA BAY BUCCANEERS, TAMPA BAY TIMES, TAMPA POLICE DEPARTMENT, TEXAS, THANKSGIVING, THE ATLANTIC, THE CHICAGO SUN-TIMES, THE CHICAGO TRIBUNE, THE DAILY BEAST, THE DAILY BLOG, THE GUARDIAN, THE HILL, THE HUFFINGTON POST, THE LOS ANGELES TIMES, THE NATION, THE NEW REPUBLIC, THE NEW YORK TIMES, THE VILLAGE VOICE, THE WASHINGTON POST, THINKPROGRESS, TIME, TRUTHDIG, TRUTHOUT, TULSA, TWITTER, TWO POLITICAL JUNKIES, U.S. NEWS & WORLD REPORT, UPI, USA TODAY, VIRGUINA, WONKETTE, WUHAN
In Bureaucracy, History, Law, Law Enforcement, Medical, Politics, Social commentary on February 10, 2021 at 12:08 am
Snatching Defeat From the Jaws of Victory could well serve as the title for a future book on Coronavirus—and the incredibly self-destructive ways Americans have responded to it.
The virus first appeared in Wuhan, China, in December, 2019. Its first reported victim became ill on December 1.
By December 31, the outbreak was traced to a novel strain of Coronavirus.
Coronaviruses are a group of viruses that affect birds and mammals. In humans, Coronaviruses can cause pneumonia and may cause bronchitis.
On January 19, 2020, the first Coronavirus case appeared in the United States.
Coronavirus
On February 29, the first American died of Coronavirus.
From January to early March, 2020, President Donald J. Trump and his allies within the Republican party and Fox News Network repeatedly assured Americans they had nothing to fear.
Typical of these false reassurances was Trump’s statement on March 10: “It will go away. Just stay calm. It will go away.”
But the virus didn’t.
With the Federal Government refusing to take action, states began doing so.
From March 1 to May 31, 42 states and territories issued mandatory stay-at-home orders. Those citizens who were forced to venture out were advised to wear face masks and keep a distance of six feet between themselves and others.
On April 3, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) recommended that people wear non-medical face masks in public to reduce transmission of COVID-19.
Yet President Trump saw the stay-at-home orders as a two-fold threat to himself—and openly encouraged defiance of those orders.
- He couldn’t return to his hate-filled rallies until these were lifted; and
- The stock market wouldn’t start soaring again so long as the country was “locked down.”
Without his Nuremberg-style rallies and a roaring stock market, Trump faced the danger of being a one-term President.
On April 17, he issued a series of tweets to his supporters, encouraging them to defy the law:
“LIBERATE MINNESOTA!”
“LIBERATE MICHIGAN!”
“LIBERATE VIRGINIA, and save your great 2nd Amendment. It is under siege!”
Michigan, Minnesota and Virginia all had Democratic governors. They had urged their residents to stay indoors, wear masks when they ventured outside, and keep a six-feet distance between themselves and others.
As a result, those governors—especially Michigan’s Gretchen Whitmer—were being targeted for abuse and even death threats. And their states were facing disruptive protests by large numbers of Right-wingers standing close together, with few of them wearing masks. The protesters claimed their rights were being infringed upon.
Donald Trump
As a result of the shutdowns and the increased emphasis on social distancing and mask-wearing, COVID-19 rates dropped by mid-May.
According to a May 17 story in U.S. News & World Report:
“According to The New York Times, in New York state the figure has dropped over the last month, and case counts have also plunged in hard-hit Massachusetts and Rhode Island. Some states, including Vermont, Hawaii and Alaska, are seeing hardly any new cases at all, the newspaper said.”
Then came May Day—and after that, the start of summer.
On July 2, Vox published a story headlined: “A likely culprit in Covid-19 surges: People hell-bent on ignoring social distancing orders.”
“For months,” it opened, “it’s been clear that the world has separated into two camps: the rule followers, observant of social distancing and hopeful of quashing the pandemic; and the risk takers, who have been storming the nation’s beaches, bars, and burger joints in spite of the coronavirus—and public health efforts to curtail its spread.
“Some states, such as New York, have contained new cases, but others, including Texas and Arizona, brazenly reopened even as cases continued to rise, unleashing a torrent of pent-up partiers. Now, even as an illusion of normalcy has slowly returned, rates of infection are reaching new records, with cases surging in dozens of states….
“’They’re conducting themselves like it’s pre-Covid, and that’s not going to work anymore,’ Bruce Dart, director of the Tulsa Health Department, told the Washington Post. Younger people, he said, are ‘not social distancing, not wearing masks or paying attention to hand-washing.’ In one stunning case shortly after Memorial Day, a group of 16 friends all tested positive for the virus after visiting a newly reopened bar in Florida.”
As if this wasn’t bad enough, Trump scheduled his first 2020 re-election rally in Tulsa, Oklahoma.
It was held on June 20 at the BOK Center. Scientists had learned that Coronavirus is more likely to be transmitted indoors than outdoors, when masses of people are packed together, and when people are loudly talking—or, worse, shouting.
A Trump rally
Masks were available for those who wanted them, but Trump made it clear that his supporters shouldn’t wear masks, as a sign of support for him. Men and women were densely packed together, with none of them wearing masks.
The Trump campaign boasted that 100,000 people would turn up. To its embarrassment, fewer than 6,200 did. Even worse: At least eight event staff members, including two who were at the rally, later tested positive for COVID-19.
The Tulsa event was followed by another indoor rally in Phoenix on June 23. “Students for Trump” featured a packed crowd, with almost no one wearing masks.
ABC NEWS, ALAMO, ALIEN-SMUGGLING RINGS, ALTERNET, AMERICABLOG, AMNEXTY INTERNATIONAL, ANTONIO LOPEZ DE SANTA ANNA, AP, ARIZONA, BABY BOOMER RESISTANCE, BLOOMBERG, BUZZFEED, CALIFORNIA, CBS NEWS, CNN, COLORADO, CROOKS AND LIARS, DAILY KOZ, DAVID CROCKETT, DONALD TRUMP, DRUDGE REPORT, FACEBOOK, FIVETHIRTYEIGHT, GOLIAD MASSACRE, HARPER’S MAGAZINE, HUFFINGTON POST, illegal immigration, IMMIGRATIONS AND CUSTOMS ENFORCEMENT (ICE), JAMES BOWIE, JEFF SESSIONS, MEDIA MATTERS, MEXICAN WAR, MEXICO CITY, MOSES AUSTIN, MOTHER JONES, MOVEON, MSNBC, NBC NEWS, NEVADA, NEW MEXICO, NEWSWEEK, NPR, PBS NEWSHOUR, POLITICO, POLITICUSUSA, RAW STORY, REUTERS, SALON, SAM HOUSTON, SAN JACINTO, SEATTLE TIMES, SLATE, SLAVERY, STEPHEN AUSTIN, TALKING POINTS MEMO, TEXAS, THE ATLANTIC, THE CHICAGO SUN-TIMES, THE CHICAGO TRIBUNE, THE DAILY BEAST, THE DAILY BLOG, THE GUARDIAN, THE HILL, THE HUFFINGTON POST, THE LOS ANGELES TIMES, THE NATION, THE NEW REPUBLIC, THE NEW YORK TIMES, THE VILLAGE VOICE, THE WASHINGTON POST, THINKPROGRESS, THOMAS HOMAN, TIME, TRUTHDIG, TRUTHOUT, TWITTER, TWO POLITICAL JUNKIES, U.S. NEWS & WORLD REPORT, UNITED STATES DEPARTMENT OF JUSTICE, UNITED STATES HEALTH AND HUMAN SERVICES DEPARTMENT, UPI, USA TODAY, USA TODAY MEXICO, UTAH, WONKETTE
In Bureaucracy, History, Law, Law Enforcement, Military, Politics, Social commentary on February 9, 2021 at 12:04 am
On May 8, 2018, one year after Donald Trump became President, United States Attorney General Jeff Sessions announced that a “zero-tolerance” policy toward people illegally entering the United States might separate families while parents are prosecuted.
“We don’t want to separate families, but we don’t want families to come to the border illegally and attempt to enter into this country improperly,” Sessions said. “The parents are subject to prosecution while children may not be. So, if we do our duty and prosecute those cases, then children inevitably for a period of time might be in different conditions.”
Actually, the policy of family separations began a year before its public announcement.
Children who are separated from their parents would be put under supervision of the U.S. Health and Human Services Department, Sessions said.
Jeff Sessions
Thomas Homan, U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement’s acting director, backed up Sessions’ “get tough” policy change: “Every law enforcement agency in this country separates parents from children when they’re arrested for a crime. There is no new policy. This has always been the policy.”
So that policy went into effect. And it has generated widespread outrage from:
- Civil liberties organizations; and
- Those who believe the United States should not have—or enforce—its immigration laws.
“Criminalizing and stigmatizing parents who are only trying to keep their children from harm and give them a safe upbringing will cause untold damage to thousands of traumatized families who have already given up everything to flee terrible circumstances in their home countries,” said Erika Guevara-Rosas, Amnesty International’s Americas director.
In fact, alien-smugglers have increasingly used children as a wedge against American immigration laws. Their strategy: “Surely, Americans won’t arrest innocent children—or the adults who bring children with them.“
The Trump administration proved them wrong.
This is typical behavior for law enforcement agencies: When criminals devise new ways to defeat existing police measures, the police devise new ways to counter those methods.
Meanwhile, those who believe the United States should throw open its doors to everyone who wants to enter are missing—or ignoring—a vital historical lesson learned by Mexico.
Mexico knows even better than the United States the perils of unchecked illegal immigration.
In 1821, Moses Austin sought a grant from Mexico to settle Texas. After he died in 1821, his son, Stephen, won recognition of the grant by Mexico.
The Mexican government had been unable to persuade large numbers of its own citizens to move to Texas, owing largely to raiding by such fierce Indian tribes as the Comanches.
The government saw the Anglo settlement of Texas as its best hope to tame an otherwise untamable frontier.
Stephen Austin
Austin convinced numerous American settlers to move to Texas, and by 1825 he had brought the first 300 American families into the territory.
Throughout the 1820s, Austin helped ensure the introduction of slavery into Texas, even though, under Mexican law, this was illegal. Tensions developed between unchecked numbers of Anglo settlers flooding into Texas and the Mexican authorities in charge there.
(“GTT”—“Gone to Texas”—was often carved on cabin doors by debt-ridden settlers who decided to seek their fortune in Texas. And some of the most notorious criminals on the frontier—such as land swindler and knife-fighter James Bowie—joined them.)
James Bowie
Eventually, the irresistible force of unlimited Anglo illegal immigration rebelled against the immovable object of Mexican legal/military authority.
The result:
- The battle of the Alamo: From February 23 to March 6, 1836, about 200 rebellious Texans withstood a 13-day siege in a former San Antonio mission, only to be slaughtered to the last man by an army of 2,000 Mexican soldiers commanded by President (actually, dictator) Antonio Lopez de Santa Anna. Among the victims: James Bowie and former Congressman David Crockett.
- The massacre at Goliad: On March 27, 1836, 425-445 Texans captured after the battle of Coleto were shot en masse by Mexican soldiers.
- The battle of San Jacinto: On April 21, 1836, Texans led by General Sam Houston won a surprise Texas victory over Mexican forces who were caught in a mid-afternoon siesta. Santa Anna—who had fled—was captured the next day.
Mexico was forced to give up all rights to Texas—which, 10 years after winning its independence, became a state.
But ongoing conflicts between Mexico and the United States over Texas led to the Mexican war in 1846.
This, in turn, led to a series of devastating American victories over the Mexican army, and the capture of Mexico City itself.
Territory (in white) that Mexico lost after the Mexican War
Mexico suffered the humiliation of both military defeat and the loss of its land holdings within the American Southwest—which, up to 1848, it had controlled.
This territory later became the states of California, New Mexico, Utah, Nevada, Arizona, Texas, and western Colorado.
And the United States finally spread “from sea to shining sea.”
So Mexico knows what it’s doing when it unloads millions of its own citizens—and those of other Latin and Central American countries—on the United States.
Mexico, in short, is a textbook case of what happens to a country that is unable to enforce its own immigration laws.
2020 PRESIDENTIAL ELECTION, ABC NEWS, ALTERNET, AMERICABLOG, AP, ARIZONA, ATTORNEYS GENERAL, BABY BOOMER RESISTANCE, BEN SASSE, BLOOMBERG, BRAD RAFFENSPERGER, BRIAN KEMP, BUZZFEED, CBS NEWS, CHRIS MURPHY, CNN, CROOKS AND LIARS, DAILY KOZ, DEMOCRATS, DONALD TRUMP, DRUDGE REPORT, ELECTORAL COLLEGE, FACEBOOK, FIVETHIRTYEIGHT, GEORGIA, HARPER’S MAGAZINE, HUFFINGTON POST, JOSEPH BIDEN, jOSH HAWLEY, JOSH SHAPIRO, KEN PAXTON, MEDIA MATTERS, MENNESOTA, MICHIGAN, MIKE PENCE, MOTHER JONES, MOVEON, MSNBC, NANCY PELOSI, NBC NEWS, NEVADA, NEWSWEEK, NPR, PAT A. CIPOLLONE, PBS NEWSHOUR, PENNSYLVANIA, POLITICO, POLITICUSUSA, RAW STORY, REPUBLICANS, REUTERS, SALON, SEATTLE TIMES, SLATE, SUPREME COURT, TALKING POINTS MEMO, TEXAS, THE ATLANTIC, THE CHICAGO SUN-TIMES, THE CHICAGO TRIBUNE, THE DAILY BEAST, THE DAILY BLOG, THE GUARDIAN, THE HILL, THE HUFFINGTON POST, THE LOS ANGELES TIMES, THE NATION, THE NEW REPUBLIC, THE NEW YORK TIMES, THE VILLAGE VOICE, THE WASHINGTON POST, THINKPROGRESS, TIME, TRUTHDIG, TRUTHOUT, TWITTER, TWO POLITICAL JUNKIES, U.S. NEWS & WORLD REPORT, UNITED STATES HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES, UNITED STATES SENATE, UPI, USA TODAY, VOTER FRAUD, WISCONSIN, WONKETTE
In Bureaucracy, History, Law, Law Enforcement, Politics, Social commentary on January 13, 2021 at 12:56 am
By January 6, 2021, President Donald J. Trump had almost run out of options for illegally staying in power for the next four years.
On November 3, 2020, Joseph Biden had been elected the nation’s 46th President over Trump.
On January 6, the United States Senate, with Vice President Mike Pence presiding, would certify states’ Electoral College results of that election.
That morning, Trump urged Pence to flip the results of the election to give him a win.
Pence replied that he lacked the power to overturn those results.
But as Pence went off to the Capitol Building housing the Senate and House of Representatives, Trump had one last card to play.
Mike Pence
For weeks Trump had ordered his legions of Right-wing Stormtrumpers to descend on Washington, D.C. on January 6.
On December 20, he had tweeted: “Statistically impossible to have lost the 2020 Election. Big protest in DC on January 6th. Be there, will be wild!”
In tweets, he promoted the rally again on December 27 and 30, and January 1.
On January 6, Trump appeared at the Ellipse, a 52-acre park south of the White House fence and north of Constitution Avenue and the National Mall in Washington, D.C.
A stage had been set up for him to address tens of thousands of his supporters, who eagerly awaited him.
Trump ordered them to march on the Capitol building to express their anger at the voting process and to intimidate their elected officials to reject the results.
Donald Trump addresses his Stormtrumpers
“All of us here today do not want to see our election victory stolen by a bold and radical left Democrats which is what they are doing and stolen by the fake news media.
“Our country has had enough. We will not take it anymore, and that is what this is all about. And to use a favorite term that all of you people really came up with, we will stop the steal….
“Republicans are constantly fighting like a boxer with his hands tied behind his back….And we’re going to have to fight much harder….
“And after this, we’re going to walk down and I’ll be there with you. We’re going to walk down to the Capitol. And we’re going to cheer on our brave Senators and Congressmen and women and we’re probably not going to be cheering so much for some of them.
“Because you’ll never take back our country with weakness. You have to show strength and you have to be strong. We have come to demand that Congress do the right thing and only count the electors who have been lawfully slated.”
The Stormtrumpers marched to the United States Capitol—and quickly brushed aside Capitol Police, who made little effort to arrest or shoot them.
Capitol Police facing off with Stormtrumpers
- One attacker was shot as protesters forced their way toward the House Chamber where members of Congress were sheltering in place.
- Members of the mob attacked police with chemical agents or lead pipes.
- A Capitol Hill police officer was knocked off his feet, dragged into the mob surging toward the building, and beaten with the pole of an American flag.
Several rioters carried plastic handcuffs, possibly intending to take hostages.- Others carried treasonous Confederate flags.
- Shouts of “Hang Pence!” often rang out.
- Improvised explosive devices were found in several locations in Washington, D.C.
- Many of the lawmakers’ office buildings were occupied and vandalized—including that of House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, a favorite Right-wing target.
Stormtrumpers inside the Capitol Building
More than three hours passed before police—using riot gear, shields and batons—retook control of the Capitol.
And Trump? After giving his inflammatory speech, he returned to the White House—to watch his handiwork on television. He initially rebuffed requests to mobilize the National Guard.
This required intervention by Pat A. Cipollone, the White House Counsel, among other officials.
While the rioting was still erupting, Trump posted a video on Twitter: “I know you’re hurt. We had an election that was stolen from us….But you have to go home now. We have to have peace. We have to have law and order….So go home. We love you. You’re very special.”
Hours later, in a video he released to social media, Trump described his “very special” followers in utterly different terms:
Donald Trump
“I’d like to begin by addressing the heinous attack on the United States Capitol. Like all Americans I am outraged by the violence, lawlessness and mayhem.
“I immediately deployed the National Guard and federal law enforcement to secure the building and expel the intruders. America is and must always be a nation of law and order.
“To demonstrators who infiltrated the Capitol: you have defiled the seat of American democracy. To those who engage in the acts of violence and destruction: you do not represent our country. And to those who broke the law: you will pay.”
In fact:
- Trump waited six hours to deploy the National Guard.
- He spent most of the day watching his unleashed mob attack the Capitol—and rage-tweeting against Pence.
- He was “delighted” at the attack—and surprised others weren’t, an angry Republican Nebraska Senator Ben Sasse said later.
- His administration was closing with the same contempt for law and democracy that had characterized it from its outset.
2020 PRESIDENTIAL ELECTION, ABC NEWS, ALTERNET, AMERICABLOG, AP, ARIZONA, ATTORNEYS GENERAL, BABY BOOMER RESISTANCE, BEN SASSE, BLOOMBERG, BRAD RAFFENSPERGER, BRIAN KEMP, BUZZFEED, CBS NEWS, CHRIS MURPHY, CNN, CROOKS AND LIARS, DAILY KOZ, DEMOCRATS, DONALD TRUMP, DRUDGE REPORT, ELECTORAL COLLEGE, FACEBOOK, FIVETHIRTYEIGHT, GEORGIA, HARPER’S MAGAZINE, HUFFINGTON POST, JOSEPH BIDEN, jOSH HAWLEY, JOSH SHAPIRO, KEN PAXTON, MEDIA MATTERS, MENNESOTA, MICHIGAN, MIKE PENCE, MOTHER JONES, MOVEON, MSNBC, NANCY PELOSI, NBC NEWS, NEVADA, NEWSWEEK, NPR, PAT A. CIPOLLONE, PBS NEWSHOUR, PENNSYLVANIA, POLITICO, POLITICUSUSA, RAW STORY, REPUBLICANS, REUTERS, SALON, SEATTLE TIMES, SLATE, SUPREME COURT, TALKING POINTS MEMO, TEXAS, THE ATLANTIC, THE CHICAGO SUN-TIMES, THE CHICAGO TRIBUNE, THE DAILY BEAST, THE DAILY BLOG, THE GUARDIAN, THE HILL, THE HUFFINGTON POST, THE LOS ANGELES TIMES, THE NATION, THE NEW REPUBLIC, THE NEW YORK TIMES, THE VILLAGE VOICE, THE WASHINGTON POST, THINKPROGRESS, TIME, TRUTHDIG, TRUTHOUT, TWITTER, TWO POLITICAL JUNKIES, U.S. NEWS & WORLD REPORT, UNITED STATES HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES, UNITED STATES SENATE, UPI, USA TODAY, VOTER FRAUD, WISCONSIN, WONKETTE
In Bureaucracy, History, Law, Law Enforcement, Politics, Social commentary on January 12, 2021 at 12:20 am
On November 3, 2020, 81,255,933 Democratic voters elected former Vice President Joseph Biden the 46th President of the United States.
President Donald J. Trump, running for a second term, got 74,196,153 votes.
Yet more than two months after the election, Trump refuses to concede, insisting that he won—and repeatedly claiming falsely that he is the victim of massive vote fraud.
Immediately after the election, Trump ordered his attorneys to file lawsuits to overturn the election results, charging electoral fraud.
Throughout November and December, cases were filed in Wisconsin, Arizona, Nevada, Michigan, Minnesota and Georgia challenging the election results. None were supported by evidence of fraud—as even Trump’s lawyers admitted when questioned by judges.
On November 13, nine cases attacking President-Elect Joe Biden’s win in key states were denied or dropped. A law firm challenging the vote count in Pennsylvania withdrew from the effort.
By November 21, more than 30 cases were withdrawn by Trump’s attorneys or dismissed by Federal judges—some of them appointed by Trump himself.
Ultimately, from November 3 to December 14, Trump and his allies lost 59 times in court, either withdrawing cases or having them dismissed by Federal and state judges.
Donald Trump
On November 19, losing in the courts, Trump invited two Republican legislative leaders from Michigan to the White House. The reason: To persuade them to stop the state from certifying the vote.
The Michigan legislators said they would follow the law.
On December 5, Trump called Georgia Governor Brian Kemp and asked him to call a special legislative session and convince state legislators to select their own electors that would support him, thus overturning Biden’s win.
Kemp refused, saying he lacked the authority to do so.
Brian Kemp
On December 8, the Supreme Court refused to hear Trump’s bid to reverse Pennsylvania’s certification of Biden’s victory. Representative Mike Kelly (R-PA), a Trump ally, argued that the state’s 2.5 million mail-in were unconstitutional.
The Court’s order read, “The application for injunctive relief presented to Justice [Samuel] Alito and by him referred to the Court is denied.”
Although Trump had appointed three of the Court’s Justices, not one of them dissented.
On December 10, the Supreme Court refused to let a Texas lawsuit overturn the results in four battleground states: Georgia, Michigan, Pennsylvania and Wisconsin.
“Texas has not demonstrated a judicially cognizable interest in the manner in which another state conducts its elections,” the court said without further comment. It dismissed all other related claims as moot.
The request for their overturning came in a lawsuit brought by Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton. A Trump ally, Paxton has been indicted on felony securities fraud charges.
Seventeen Republican state Attorney Generals—and 126 Republican members of Congress—supported the lawsuit. They feared Trump’s fanatical base would “primary” them if they didn’t publicly declare their loyalty—to a man they knew was slated to leave office within two months.
The Supreme Court
Had the Court acted on Paxton’s request, the results for democracy would have been catastrophic.
“Texas seeks to invalidate elections in four states for yielding results with which it disagrees,” Pennsylvania Attorney General Josh Shapiro told the justices in legal papers. “Its request for this court to exercise its original jurisdiction and then anoint Texas’s preferred candidate for president is legally indefensible and is an affront to principles of constitutional democracy.”
Then, on December 30, Missouri Republican Senator Josh Hawley announced that, on January 6, 2021, he would object to the certification of some states’ Electoral College results. As many as 140 House Republicans and 25 from the Senate could join him.
This would force Republicans to:
- Vote to reject Trump’s unsubstantiated claims of massive voter fraud; or
- Disenfranchise millions of voters who had voted for Biden.
“Josh Hawley and anyone who supports his effort are engaged in the attempted overthrow of democracy,” Democratic Connecticut Senator Chris Murphy said.
“There is no evidence that there was any fraud. Senator Hawley apparently believes that if a Democrat wins the presidential race, it must be illegitimate by definition, even absent any actual evidence of misbehavior.”
Nebraska Republican Senator Ben Sasse bluntly offered the reason for this effort: ‘”We have a bunch of ambitious politicians who think there’s a quick way to tap into the president’s populist base without doing any real, long-term damage. But they’re wrong—and this issue is bigger than anyone’s personal ambitions.”
Having lost in 59 court cases to overturn the election results, Trump opted for some old-fashioned arm-twisting.
On January 2, 2021, he called the office of Georgia Secretary of State Brad Raffensperger. The reason: To pressure him to “find” enough votes to overturn former Vice President Joe Biden’s win in the state’s presidential election.
“All I want to do is this. I just want to find 11,780 votes, which is one more than we have, because we won the state,” Trump lied.
He even threatened Raffensperger with criminal prosecuted if he did not change the vote count in Trump’s favor: “That’s a criminal offense. And you can’t let that happen.”
Raffensperger insisted there hadn’t been any voter fraud—and refused to change the official results.
2020 PRESIDENTIAL CAMPAIGN, ABC NEWS, ALTERNET, AMERICABLOG, AP, BABY BOOMER RESISTANCE, BARACK OBAMA, BLOOMBERG, BRIAN KEMP, BUZZFEED, CBS NEWS, CNN, COVID-19, CROOKS AND LIARS, DAILY KOZ, DONALD TRUMP, DRUDGE REPORT, ELECTORAL COLLEGE, FACEBOOK, FIVETHIRTYEIGHT, GEORGE STEPHANOPOULOS, GEORGIA, HARPER’S MAGAZINE, HUFFINGTON POST, JOE BIDEN, JOSH SHAPIRO, KEN PAXTON, MEDIA MATTERS, MICHIGAN, MIKE KELLY, MIKE PENCE, MITCH MCCONNELL, MOTHER JONES, MOVEON, MSNBC, NBC NEWS, NEWSWEEK, NPR, PBS NEWSHOUR, PENNSYLVANIA, POLITICO, POLITICUSUSA, RAW STORY, REINCE PRIEBUS, REUTERS, ROY BLUNT, SALON, SEATTLE TIMES, SLATE, TALKING POINTS MEMO, TEXAS, THE ATLANTIC, THE CHICAGO SUN-TIMES, THE CHICAGO TRIBUNE, THE DAILY BEAST, THE DAILY BLOG, THE GUARDIAN, THE HILL, THE HUFFINGTON POST, THE LOS ANGELES TIMES, THE NATION, THE NEW REPUBLIC, THE NEW YORK TIMES, THE VILLAGE VOICE, THE WASHINGTON POST, THINKPROGRESS, THIS WEEK, TIME, TREASON, TRUMP TOWER MEETING, TRUTHDIG, TRUTHOUT, TWITTER, TWO POLITICAL JUNKIES, U.S. NEWS & WORLD REPORT, UNITED STATES SUPREME COURT, UPI, USA TODAY, WISCONSIN, WONKETTE
In Bureaucracy, History, Politics, Social commentary on December 16, 2020 at 12:15 am
On December 8 and 10, the United States Supreme Court refused to hear two cases brought by supporters of President Donald Trump to overturn the results of the 2020 Presidential election.
In the first case, Representative Mike Kelly (R-PA), a Trump ally, argued that Pennsylvania’s 2.5 million mail-in ballots were unconstitutional—and should be invalidated
In the second case, Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton sought to overturn the results in four battleground states: Georgia, Michigan, Pennsylvania and Wisconsin. Even worse: Seventeen Republican state Attorney Generals—and 126 Republican members of Congress—rushed to support the case.
The reason: They feared Trump’s fanatical base would turn them out of office if they didn’t.
The Supreme Court
Had the Court acted on either request, the results for democracy would have been catastrophic.
For the first time in American history, a President who falsely accused his victorious rival of fraud would have invalidated the votes of 80 million Americans.
Meanwhile, as Trump continues to deny the reality of Joe Biden’s win and seek ways to overturn it, a deadly pandemic rages throughout the United States.
By December 16, 16.8 million Americans have been infected with COVID-19—and 304,000 have died.
Many of these infections and deaths resulted from millions of Americans’ insistence on spending Thanksgiving with their families. And with the Christmas, Hanukkah and New Year’s celebrations fast approaching, medical experts fear there will be even greater numbers of casualties.
So what is Trump concentrating his time on during his final weeks in office?
Two things:
- Desperately trying to overturn the results of the 2020 election; and
- Taking credit for the arrival of COVID-19 vaccines.
Donald Trump
The first one should have been grounds for his immediate removal from office. And the second should earn him everlasting contempt.
No other President has ever:
- Tried to muscle governors to override the voters of their states.
- Repeatedly spread a lie that his opponent had won by “stealing” the election.
- Demanded that the Supreme Court hear—and act—on frivolous, lie-filled lawsuits challenging the results of the election.
As for the plague, he:
- Spent most of the year ignoring the plague, and then denying it.
- Refused to wear a mask and made its wearing a political act rather than simply the best available means to stay safe.
- Turned his frenzied campaign rallies into “superspreader” events: Masses of mask-less men and women crammed into indoor stadiums, shouting vigorously—then taking the virus with them all over the country.
- Did nothing to bring rival factions in Congress together to fashion a relief bill for millions of Americans made unemployed and hungry by Coronavirus.
* * * * *
Too many people have labeled the actions of Donald Trump and his political accomplices as “insanity.”
On the contrary: It was—literally—an attempted Republican coup.
Never before in United States history has a President—or a political party—made such a blatant and unconstitutional effort to overthrow the will of the electorate.
The sheer hypocrisy of it would be stunning—if Republicans didn’t ordinarily hold to a double-standard: One that applies exclusively to its own members and another for its opponents.
For example:
During the 2016 Presidential race, members of Trump’s campaign met with Russian Intelligence agents on several occasions.
The most infamous of these meetings occurred on July 9, 2016. High-ranking representatives of Trump met at Trump Tower with at least two lobbyists with ties to Russian dictator Vladimir Putin.
Reince Priebus, the incoming White House Chief of Staff for newly-elected Trump, was outraged that many Americans believed that the Russians had helped elect him. He demanded that outgoing President Barack Obama vouch for Trump’s legitimacy.
“I think President Obama should step up,” Priebus said on January 15, 2017, on ABC’s “This Week.”
“This Week” host George Stephanopoulos replied that Trump had questioned Obama’s legitimacy as an American citizen until almost the end of the 2016 Presidential race.
“But look, George, that’s not the point!” Priebus said, visibly agitated. “The point is not where Barack Obama was born! The point is that we’ve got congressmen on the Democratic side of the aisle that are questioning the legitimacy of President-elect Trump.”
Here was Texas—which boasts constantly of its sovereignty—trying to impose its Fascistic will on four other equally sovereign states.
And why? Because the voters in those states dared to pick a candidate Texans didn’t like.
Had New York or California tried to impose its will on Texas, the howls of Texan outrage would have resounded across the nation.
The United States has—momentarily—escaped tyranny imposed by a totally corrupt executive branch and a totally cowardly legislative one.
Every one of the 17 Republican state Attorney Generals—and the 126 Republican members of Congress—has betrayed their oath to “support and defend the Constitution of the United States.”
And they have done so for the basest of reasons: Because they want to be re-elected to their current office or elected to an even higher one. And they fear they won’t be if Trump—like a Mafia capo—puts the “X” on them.
This wasn’t simply “Profiles Without Courage.” It was “Profiles in Treason.”
2020 PRESIDENTIAL CAMPAIGN, ABC NEWS, ALTERNET, AMERICABLOG, AP, BABY BOOMER RESISTANCE, BARACK OBAMA, BLOOMBERG, BRIAN KEMP, BUZZFEED, CBS NEWS, CNN, COVID-19, CROOKS AND LIARS, DAILY KOZ, DONALD TRUMP, DRUDGE REPORT, ELECTORAL COLLEGE, FACEBOOK, FIVETHIRTYEIGHT, GEORGE STEPHANOPOULOS, GEORGIA, HARPER’S MAGAZINE, HUFFINGTON POST, JOE BIDEN, JOSH SHAPIRO, KEN PAXTON, MEDIA MATTERS, MICHIGAN, MIKE KELLY, MIKE PENCE, MITCH MCCONNELL, MOTHER JONES, MOVEON, MSNBC, NBC NEWS, NEWSWEEK, NPR, PBS NEWSHOUR, PENNSYLVANIA, POLITICO, POLITICUSUSA, RAW STORY, REINCE PRIEBUS, REUTERS, ROY BLUNT, SALON, SEATTLE TIMES, SLATE, TALKING POINTS MEMO, TEXAS, THE ATLANTIC, THE CHICAGO SUN-TIMES, THE CHICAGO TRIBUNE, THE DAILY BEAST, THE DAILY BLOG, THE GUARDIAN, THE HILL, THE HUFFINGTON POST, THE LOS ANGELES TIMES, THE NATION, THE NEW REPUBLIC, THE NEW YORK TIMES, THE VILLAGE VOICE, THE WASHINGTON POST, THINKPROGRESS, THIS WEEK, TIME, TREASON, TRUMP TOWER MEETING, TRUTHDIG, TRUTHOUT, TWITTER, TWO POLITICAL JUNKIES, U.S. NEWS & WORLD REPORT, UNITED STATES SUPREME COURT, UPI, USA TODAY, WISCONSIN, WONKETTE
In Bureaucracy, History, Law, Law Enforcement, Politics, Social commentary on December 15, 2020 at 12:11 am
On November 3, Joe Biden became President-elect of the United States by winning 81,283,495 votes, or 51.4% of the vote, compared to 74,223,755 votes, or 46.9% of the vote cast for President Donald Trump.
In the Electoral College—which actually determines the winner—the results were even more stunning: 306 votes for Biden, compared with 232 for Trump. It takes 270 votes to be declared the victor.
From the moment Biden was declared the winner, Trump set out to overturn that verdict.
Joe Biden
Trump refused to accept that verdict.
Speaking from the White House in the early hours of November 4, Trump sounded like a petulant child whose planned outing has been suddenly called off:
“We were getting ready for a big celebration, we were winning everything and all of a sudden it was just called off. The results tonight have been phenomenal…I mean literally we were just all set to get outside and just celebrate something that was so beautiful, so good, such a vote such a success.”
For the first time in American history, a President demanded a halt to the counting of votes while the outcome of an election hung in doubt.
States ignored his demand and kept counting.
Next, Trump ordered his attorneys to file lawsuits to overturn the election results, charging electoral fraud. Specifically:
- Illegal aliens had been allowed to vote.
- Trump ballots were systematically destroyed.
- A sinister computer program turned Trump votes into Biden ones.
Throughout November and December, cases were filed in Wisconsin, Arizona, Nevada, Michigan, Minnesota and Georgia challenging the election results. None were supported by evidence of fraud—as even Trump’s lawyers admitted when questioned by judges.
On November 13, nine cases meant to attack President-Elect Joe Biden’s win in key states were denied or dropped. A law firm challenging the vote count in Pennsylvania withdrew from the effort.
In Michigan, Trump’s attorneys dropped their federal suit to block the certification of Detroit-area ballots.
By November 21, more than 30 cases were withdrawn by Trump’s attorneys or dismissed by Federal judges—some of them appointed by Trump himself.
Ultimately, from November 3 to December 14, Trump and his allies lost 59 times in court, either withdrawing cases or having them dismissed by Federal and state judges.
Donald Trump
On November 19, losing in the courts, Trump invited two Republican legislative leaders from Michigan to the White House. The reason: To persuade them to stop the state from certifying the vote.
The Michigan legislators said they would follow the law.
On December 5, Trump called Georgia Governor Brian Kemp and asked him to call a special legislative session and convince state legislators to select their own electors that would support him, thus overturning Biden’s win.
Kemp refused, saying he lacked the authority to do so.
On December 8, the Supreme Court refused to hear Trump’s bid to reverse Pennsylvania’s certification of Biden’s victory. Representative Mike Kelly (R-PA), a Trump ally, argued that the state’s 2.5 million mail-in were unconstitutional.
The Court’s order read, “The application for injunctive relief presented to Justice [Samuel] Alito and by him referred to the Court is denied.”
Although Trump had appointed three of the Court’s Justices, not one of them dissented.
On December 10, the Supreme Court refused to let a Texas lawsuit overturn the results in four battleground states: Georgia, Michigan, Pennsylvania and Wisconsin.
The majority of their votes—cast for Biden—were critical to Trump’s defeat.
“Texas has not demonstrated a judicially cognizable interest in the manner in which another state conducts its elections,” the court said without further comment. It dismissed all other related claims as moot.
The request for their overturning came in a lawsuit brought by Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton. A Trump ally, Paxton has been indicted on felony securities fraud charges. He may be seeking a Presidential pardon as reward for his effort.
Seventeen Republican state Attorney Generals—and 126 Republican members of Congress—supported the lawsuit. They feared Trump’s fanatical base would “primary” them if they didn’t publicly declare their loyalty—to a man they knew was slated to leave office within two months.
Had the Court acted on Paxton’s request, the results for democracy would have been catastrophic.
“Texas seeks to invalidate elections in four states for yielding results with which it disagrees,” Pennsylvania Attorney General Josh Shapiro told the justices in legal papers. “Its request for this court to exercise its original jurisdiction and then anoint Texas’s preferred candidate for president is legally indefensible and is an affront to principles of constitutional democracy.”
Meanwhile, top Republicans—such as Vice President Mike Pence, Missouri United States Senator Roy Blunt and Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell—refused to congratulate Biden as the winner.
Mitch McConnell
In fact, the vast majority of House and Senate Republicans refuse to publicly acknowledge Biden as President-Elect of the United States. The reason: They are still in thrall to Trump’s fanatical base.
They fear that if they break with the soon-to-be-ex-President, they will be voted out of office at the next election—and lose their cozy positions and the power and perks that come with them.
2016 PRESIDENTIAL CAMPAIGN, ABC NEWS, ADOLF HITLER, ALTERNET, AMERICABLOG, ANTHONY FAUCI, AP, BABY BOOMER RESISTANCE, BLOOMBERG, BUZZFEED, CBS NEWS, CLIMATE CHANGE, CNN, CORONAVIRUS, CORONAVIRUS PARTIES, COVID-19, CROOKS AND LIARS, DAILY KOZ, DONALD TRUMP, DRUDGE RETORT, FACEBOOK, FIVETHIRTYEIGHT, HARPER’S MAGAZINE, HOAX, HOUE OF REPRESENTATIVES, IMPEACHMENT, JANE APPLBY, MARGARET LEVI, MEDIA MATTERS, METHODIST HOSPITAL, MOTHER JONES, MOVEON, MSNBC, NAZI GERMANY, NBC NEWS, NEWSWEEK, NPR, PBS NEWSHOUR, POLITICO, POLITICUSUSA, RAW STORY, REUTERS, RUSIA, RUSSIAN INTELLIGENCE AGENTS, SALON, SEATTLE TIMES, SLATE, STANFORD UNIVERSITY, TALKING POINTS MEMO, TEXAS, THE ATLANTIC, THE CHICAGO SUN-TIMES, THE CHICAGO TRIBUNE, THE DAILY BEAST, THE DAILY BLOG, THE GUARDIAN, THE HILL, THE HUFFINGTON POST, THE LOS ANGELES TIMES, THE NATION, THE NEW REPUBLIC, THE NEW YORK TIMES, THE VILLAGE VOICE, THE WASHINGTON POST, THINKPROGRESS, TIME, TRUTHDIG, TRUTHOUT, TWITTER, TWO POLITICAL JUNKIES, U.S. NEWS & WORLD REPORT, UPI, USA TODAY, WONKETTE, WORLD WAR ii
In Bureaucracy, History, Medical, Politics, Social commentary on October 22, 2020 at 12:06 am
Well, come on all of you Right-wing men
Donald Trump needs your help again.
He’s got himself in a terrible jam
He’s spread a virus throughout the land.
So throw off those masks, give a big cheer
Your Coronavirus-in-Chief is here!
“I think I made a mistake. I thought this was a hoax, but it’s not.”
So spoke a 30-year-old patient who died at Methodist Hospital in San Antonio, Texas. His last words came after attending a so-called “COVID party,” according to the hospital.
Methodist Hospital
According to Dr. Jane Appleby, chief medical officer for Methodist Hospital and Methodist Children’s Hospital: “Someone will be diagnosed with the disease, and they’ll have a party to invite their friends over to see if they can beat the disease.
“One of the things that was heart-wrenching that he said to his nurse was, ‘You know, I think I made a mistake.’ And this young man went to a COVID party.. He didn’t really believe. He thought the disease was a hoax. He thought he was young and invincible and wouldn’t get affected by the disease.”
And it’s one-two-three
What are they dyin’ for?
Don’t ask em’, they don’t give a damn
Right here in COVID-land.
And it’s five-six-seven
Open up those graveyard gates
Well, there ain’t no time to wonder why
Whoopee! They’re all going to die.
It’s understandable that this patient believed COVID-19 was a hoax. He was, after all, from Texas, which overwhelmingly gave its votes to Donald J. Trump in 2016.
And it was President Trump who infamously said, on February 28: “Now the Democrats are politicizing the Coronavirus….We did one of the great jobs….One of my people came up to me and said, ‘Mr. President, they tried to beat you on Russia, Russia, Russia’….They couldn’t do it. They tried the impeachment hoax….It’s all turning, they lost….And this is their new hoax.”
“Hoax” is one of Trump’s favorite words.
He called the well-documented ties between Russian Intelligence agents and his 2016 Presidential campaign “a hoax.”
Ditto for the efforts of the House of Representatives to remove him for trying to extort Ukraine into smearing former Vice President Joe Biden: “The impeachment hoax.”
Climate change, for Trump, is “an expensive hoax.”
Donald Trump
“Trump is trying to undermine the trustworthiness of any source but himself,” said Margaret Levi, professor of political science at Stanford University. “The point is to make himself the only credible authority, to be fully trusted as a ‘war-time’ president.”
Well, grifters and traitors throughout the land
Pack yourselves off to COVID-land.
Don’t be shy, don’t hesitate
Satan is ready, so don’t make ‘em wait.
Just be glad that Donald Trump’s your man
As you’re dyin’ off as fast as you can.
By July 11, there were 8,332 new confirmed Coronavirus cases in Texas, according to a New York Times database. More than 886,000 cases and more than 17,739 deaths have been recorded in Texas so far.
Nationwide, COVID-19 has infected 8.7 million Americans and killed 222,000.
Yet for those attending the Coronavirus party, such facts meant nothing compared to the assurances of Donald Trump—a proven serial liar—that there was nothing to fear.
“People will come in[to the hospital] initially, and they don’t look so bad,” said Appleby. “They don’t look really sick. But when you check their oxygen levels and their lab tests, they’re really sicker than they appear on the surface.”
Among the COVID-19 danger signs to look for, advised Appleby: If you’re not feeling well, have a high fever, cough and severe muscle aches.
Well, come on Republicans, let’s move fast,
Your big chance is here at last.
It doesn’t matter that Trump is Red
As he walks on the bodies of Americans dead.
Just be sure Vlad Putin knows your name
Treason’s just a part of your game.
Meanwhile, Trump is trying to discredit Dr. Anthony Fauci, the country’s leading infectious disease expert.
The reason: Fauci has not hesitated to warn about the dangers of COVID-19—and the failures of the Federal Government to effectively control it.
Anthony Fauci
Trump sees the virus not as a danger to Americans but to his chances for re-election. Among his “efforts” to “deal” with it:
- Denying the dangers of the virus
- Lying about the extent of its spread
- Pitting states against each other for scarce medical supplies
- Seizing medical supplies ordered by states
- Demanding an end to governors’ “stay-at-home” orders so the country can “reopen”—before proper safeguards can be installed.
For tyrants, truth is always the most dangerous enemy.
As World War II went increasingly against Nazi Germany, those who dared to say “The war is lost” were strung up with piano wire—often on lamp posts, as a warning to others.
Trump would clearly like to employ the same “solution” to those who dare to disagree with him.
And it’s one-two-three
What are they dyin’ for?
Don’t ask em’, they don’t give a damn
Right here in COVID-land.
And it’s five-six-seven
Open up those graveyard gates
Well, there ain’t no time to wonder why
Whoopee! They’re all going to die.
2016 PRESIDENTIAL CAMPAIGN, ABC NEWS, ADOLF HITLER, ALTERNET, AMERICABLOG, ANTHONY FAUCI, AP, BABY BOOMER RESISTANCE, BLOOMBERG, BUZZFEED, CBS NEWS, CLIMATE CHANGE, CNN, CORONAVIRUS, CORONAVIRUS PARTIES, COVID-19, CROOKS AND LIARS, DAILY KOZ, DONALD TRUMP, DRUDGE RETORT, FACEBOOK, FIVETHIRTYEIGHT, HARPER’S MAGAZINE, HOAX, HOUE OF REPRESENTATIVES, IMPEACHMENT, JANE APPLBY, MARGARET LEVI, MEDIA MATTERS, METHODIST HOSPITAL, MOTHER JONES, MOVEON, MSNBC, NAZI GERMANY, NBC NEWS, NEWSWEEK, NPR, PBS NEWSHOUR, POLITICO, POLITICUSUSA, RAW STORY, REUTERS, RUSIA, RUSSIAN INTELLIGENCE AGENTS, SALON, SEATTLE TIMES, SLATE, STANFORD UNIVERSITY, TALKING POINTS MEMO, TEXAS, THE ATLANTIC, THE CHICAGO SUN-TIMES, THE CHICAGO TRIBUNE, THE DAILY BEAST, THE DAILY BLOG, THE GUARDIAN, THE HILL, THE HUFFINGTON POST, THE LOS ANGELES TIMES, THE NATION, THE NEW REPUBLIC, THE NEW YORK TIMES, THE VILLAGE VOICE, THE WASHINGTON POST, THINKPROGRESS, TIME, TRUTHDIG, TRUTHOUT, TWITTER, TWO POLITICAL JUNKIES, U.S. NEWS & WORLD REPORT, UPI, USA TODAY, WONKETTE, WORLD WAR ii
In Bureaucracy, History, Medical, Politics, Social commentary on July 13, 2020 at 1:26 am
Well, come on all of you Right-wing men
Donald Trump needs your help again.
He’s got himself in a terrible jam
He’s spread a virus throughout the land.
So throw off those masks, give a big cheer
Your Coronavirus-in-Chief is here!
“I think I made a mistake. I thought this was a hoax, but it’s not.”
So spoke a 30-year-old patient who died at Methodist Hospital in San Antonio, Texas. His last words came after attending a so-called “COVID party,” according to the hospital.
Methodist Hospital in San Antoioo
According to Dr. Jane Appleby, chief medical officer for Methodist Hospital and Methodist Children’s Hospital: “Someone will be diagnosed with the disease, and they’ll have a party to invite their friends over to see if they can beat the disease.
“One of the things that was heart-wrenching that he said to his nurse was, ‘You know, I think I made a mistake.’ And this young man went to a COVID party.. He didn’t really believe. He thought the disease was a hoax. He thought he was young and invincible and wouldn’t get affected by the disease.”
And it’s one-two-three
What are they dyin’ for?
Don’t ask em’, they don’t give a damn
Right here in COVID-land.
And it’s five-six-seven
Open up those graveyard gates
Well, there ain’t no time to wonder why
Whoopee! They’re all going to die.
It’s understandable that this patient believed COVID-19 was a hoax. He was, after all, from Texas, which overwhelmingly gave its votes to Donald J. Trump in 2016.
And it was President Trump who infamously said, on February 28: “Now the Democrats are politicizing the Coronavirus….We did one of the great jobs….One of my people came up to me and said, ‘Mr. President, they tried to beat you on Russia, Russia, Russia’….They couldn’t do it. They tried the impeachment hoax….It’s all turning, they lost….And this is their new hoax.”
“Hoax” is one of Trump’s favorite words.
He called the well-documented ties between Russian Intelligence agents and his 2016 Presidential campaign “a hoax.”
Ditto for the efforts of the House of Representatives to remove him for trying to extort Ukraine into smearing former Vice President Joe Biden: “The impeachment hoax.”
Climate change, for Trump, is “an expensive hoax.”
Donald Trump
“Trump is trying to undermine the trustworthiness of any source but himself,” said Margaret Levi, professor of political science at Stanford University. “The point is to make himself the only credible authority, to be fully trusted as a ‘war-time’ president.”
And in the case of the anonymous San Antonio patient—and untold numbers of his other supporters—he has succeeded brilliantly. To their misfortune.
Well, grifters and traitors throughout the land
Pack yourselves off to COVID-land.
Don’t be shy, don’t hesitate
Satan is ready, so don’t make ‘em wait.
Just be glad that Donald Trump’s your man
As you’re dyin’ off as fast as you can.
By July 11, there were 8,332 new confirmed Coronavirus cases in Texas, according to a New York Times database. More than 258,000 cases and more than 3,200 deaths have been recorded in Texas so far.
Yet for those attending the Coronavirus party, such facts meant nothing compared to the assurances of Donald Trump—a proven serial liar—that there was nothing to fear.
“People will come into the hospital] initially, and they don’t look so bad,” said Appleby. “They don’t look really sick. But when you check their oxygen levels and their lab tests, they’re really sicker than they appear on the surface.”
Among the COVID-19 danger signs to look for, advised Appleby: If you’re not feeling well, have a high fever, cough and severe muscle aches.
Well, come on Republicans, let’s move fast,
Your big chance is here at last.
It doesn’t matter that Trump is Red
As he walks on the bodies of Americans dead.
Just be sure Vlad Putin knows your name
Treason’s just a part of your game.
Meanwhile, Trump is trying to discredit Dr. Anthony Fauci, the country’s leading infectious disease expert.
The reason: Fauci has not hesitated to warn about the dangers of COVID-19—and the failures of the Federal Government to effectively control it.
Anthony Fauci
Cmichel67, CC BY-SA 4.0 <https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0>, via Wikimedia Commons
Trump sees the virus not as a danger to Americans but to his chances for re-election. Among his “efforts” to “deal” with it:
- Denying the dangers of the virus
- Lying about the extent of its spread
- Pitting states against each other for scarce medical supplies
- Seizing medical supplies ordered by states
- Demanding an end to governors’ “stay-at-home” orders so the country can “reopen”—before proper safeguards can be installed.
For tyrants, truth is always the most dangerous enemy.
As World War II went increasingly against Nazi Germany, those who dared to say “The war is lost” were strung up with piano wire—often on lamp posts, as a warning to others.
Trump would clearly like to employ the same “solution” to those who dare to disagree with him.
And it’s one-two-three
What are they dyin’ for?
Don’t ask em’, they don’t give a damn
Right here in COVID-land.
And it’s five-six-seven
Open up those graveyard gates
Well, there ain’t no time to wonder why
Whoopee! They’re all going to die.
Bureaucracybuster's Blog 
2020 PRESIDENTIAL ELECTION, 9/11 COMMISSION, ABC NEWS, ALTERNET, AMERICABLOG, ANDREW CLYDE, AP, ARIZONA, ATTORNEYS GENERAL, BABY BOOMER RESISTANCE, BEN SASSE, BLOOMBERG, BRAD RAFFENSPERGER, BRIAN KEMP, BRIAN SICKNICK, BUZZFEED, CBS NEWS, CHRIS MURPHY, CIA, CNN, CROOKS AND LIARS, DAILY KOZ, DAVID BROOKS, DEMOCRATS, DONALD TRUMP, ELECTORAL COLLEGE, FACEBOOK, FBI, FIVETHIRTYEIGHT, FOX NEWS, GEORGIA, HARPER’S MAGAZINE, HUFFINGTON POST, JODY HICE, JOSEPH BIDEN, jOSH HAWLEY, JUSTICE DEPARTMENT, KASIE HUNT, KEN PAXTON, KEVIN MCCARTHY, LIZ CHENEY, MANU RAJU, MEDIA MATTERS, MENNESOTA, METROPOLITAN POLICE DEPARTMENT, MICHAAL FANONE, MICHIGAN, MIKE PENCE, MITT ROMNEY, MOTHER JONES, MOVEON, MSNBC, NANCY PELOSI, NBC NEWS, NEVADA, NEWSWEEK, NPR, OSAMA BIN LADEN, PAUL GOSAR, PBS NEWSHOUR, PENNSYLVANIA, POLITICO, POLITICUSUSA, RAW STORY, REPUBLICANS, REUTERS, ROBERT CONTEE, RON JOHNSON, SALON, SEATTLE TIMES, SEPTEMBER 11 2001 ATTACKS, SLATE, SUPREME COURT, TALKING POINTS MEMO, TEXAS, THE ATLANTIC, THE CHICAGO SUN-TIMES, THE CHICAGO TRIBUNE, THE DAILY BEAST, THE DAILY BLOG, THE GUARDIAN, THE HILL, THE HUFFINGTON POST, THE LOS ANGELES TIMES, THE NATION, THE NEW REPUBLIC, THE NEW YORK TIMES, THE PENTAGON, THE VILLAGE VOICE, THE WASHINGTON POST, THINKPROGRESS, TIME, TRUTHDIG, TRUTHOUT, TWITTER, TWO POLITICAL JUNKIES, U.S. NEWS & WORLD REPORT, UNITED STATES CAPITOL BUILDING, UNITED STATES HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES, UNITED STATES SENATE, UPI, USA TODAY, VOTER FRAUD, WASHINGTON WEEK, WISCONSIN, WONKETTE, WORLD TRADE CENTER, YAMICHE ALCINDOR
REPUBLICANS: 9/11 COMMISSION, YES; CAPITOL TREASON COMMISSION, NO: PART ONE (OF FOUR)
In Bureaucracy, History, Law, Law Enforcement, Politics, Social commentary on May 17, 2021 at 12:53 amOn the May 14 edition of The PBS Newshour, New York Times conservative columnist David Brooks pointed out the dilemma now facing the Republican party:
“If you look at the latest Gallup poll, Trump’s approval rating dropped 10% over the last little while, so he’s down to 39%.
“We learned, in the course of the whole Cheney thing [the ousting of Republican Wyoming Representative Liz Cheney as conference chair] that the Republican party officials were hiding from their members poll data showing how much Trump was dragging them down in certain battleground districts.
“So they are chained to a person who is fading and is dropping in popularity, and—but they can’t criticize him. So that’s called being in a pickle.”
Which brings us to why Republicans are refusing to participate in a bipartisan investigation of the January 6 attack on the United States Capitol Building.
First, some necessary background:
On November 3, 2020, 81,255,933 Democratic voters elected former Vice President Joseph Biden the 46th President of the United States.
President Donald J. Trump, running for a second term, got 74,196,153 votes.
Yet for more than two months, Trump refused to concede, insisting that he won—and repeatedly claiming falsely that he was the victim of massive vote fraud.
Immediately after the election, Trump ordered his attorneys to file lawsuits to overturn the election results, charging electoral fraud.
From November 3 to December 14, Trump and his allies lost 59 times in court, either withdrawing cases or having them dismissed by Federal and state judges.
Donald Trump
On November 19, losing in the courts, Trump invited two Republican legislative leaders from Michigan to the White House. The reason: To persuade them to stop the state from certifying the vote.
The Michigan legislators said they would follow the law.
On December 5, Trump called Georgia Governor Brian Kemp and asked him to call a special legislative session and convince state legislators to select their own electors that would support him, thus overturning Biden’s win.
Kemp refused, saying he lacked the authority to do so.
Brian Kemp
Representative Mike Kelly (R-PA), a Trump ally, argued that Pennsylvania’s 2.5 million mail-in were unconstitutional.
On December 8, the Supreme Court refused to hear Kelly’s bid to reverse Pennsylvania’s certification of Biden’s victory.
Although Trump had appointed three of the Court’s Justices, not one of them dissented.
On December 10, the Supreme Court refused to let a Texas lawsuit overturn the results in four battleground states: Georgia, Michigan, Pennsylvania and Wisconsin.
“Texas has not demonstrated a judicially cognizable interest in the manner in which another state conducts its elections,” the court said without further comment. It dismissed all other related claims as moot.
The request for their overturning came in a lawsuit brought by Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton. A Trump ally, Paxton has been indicted on felony securities fraud charges.
Seventeen Republican state Attorney Generals—and 126 Republican members of Congress—supported the lawsuit. They feared Trump’s fanatical base would “primary” them if they didn’t publicly declare their loyalty—to a man they knew was slated to leave office within two months.
The Supreme Court
Then, on December 30, Missouri Republican Senator Josh Hawley announced that, on January 6, 2021, he would object to the certification of some states’ Electoral College results. As many as 140 House Republicans and 25 from the Senate stood to join him.
This would have forced Republicans to:
“Josh Hawley and anyone who supports his effort are engaged in the attempted overthrow of democracy,” Democratic Connecticut Senator Chris Murphy said.
“There is no evidence that there was any fraud. Senator Hawley apparently believes that if a Democrat wins the presidential race, it must be illegitimate by definition, even absent any actual evidence of misbehavior.”
Nebraska Republican Senator Ben Sasse bluntly offered the reason for this effort: ‘”We have a bunch of ambitious politicians who think there’s a quick way to tap into the president’s populist base without doing any real, long-term damage. But they’re wrong—and this issue is bigger than anyone’s personal ambitions.”
Having lost in 59 court cases to overturn the election results, Trump opted for some old-fashioned arm-twisting.
On January 2, 2021, he called the office of Georgia Secretary of State Brad Raffensperger. The reason: To pressure him to “find” enough votes to overturn former Vice President Joe Biden’s win in the state’s presidential election.
“All I want to do is this. I just want to find 11,780 votes, which is one more than we have, because we won the state,” Trump lied.
He even threatened Raffensperger with criminal prosecuted if he did not change the vote count in Trump’s favor: “That’s a criminal offense. And you can’t let that happen.”
Raffensperger insisted there hadn’t been any voter fraud—and refused to change the official results.
By January 6, 2021, Trump had almost run out of options for illegally staying in power for the next four years.
That day, the United States Senate, with Vice President Mike Pence presiding, would certify states’ Electoral College results of that election.
That morning, Trump urged Pence to flip the results of the election to give him a win.
Share this: