Tag: Trump

Why Won’t People Learn from History?

by inmanb17cedcb09, posted in Bi+/LGBTQ Issues, Current Events, History

June 11, 2024

   Why won’t people learn from history? I’d truly like to know because time and time again, humanity continues to make the same mistakes over and over and over again. Disturbingly, we can see it blatantly happening once more before our own eyes.
   Why?
   Perhaps some of you are wondering what I’m talking about. Well, let me tell you. History is full of dictators who manipulated, lied, and generally did whatever they thought necessary to get masses of people to support them in their quest for power and dominance. And once in power, they would do everything they could to keep it. Want an example? Here you go.
   Adolf Hitler is one. We look back on him now with obvious disgust at how horrible he was, but many people seem to overlook the fact that he got elected to power in the 1930s. He took advantage of people’s prejudices in addition to German dissatisfaction with things like the reparations required by the Allies after World War I and the economic hardships brought on by the Great Depression to gain support from the masses who then elected him and the Nazi party to power. And what’s even more disturbing is that if you pay attention to what he said in the 1920s and ‘30s, huge alarm bells should have been going off in people’s minds as his hatred of all things Jewish as well as his megalomania were plain for all to see. Yet, millions of Germans happily supported him electing him into power. And despite all the horrible things he did and the ruin he brought to Germany, as late as 1945 when Allied forces were crushing German resistance and overrunning the country from multiple directions, there were still many who thought that Hitler must have some secret weapon or strategy that would turn the tide of the war.
   Now, let’s take a look at what’s been going on in the 21st century here in the United States. Donald Trump is not Adolf Hitler, but there are some very disturbing similarities. He uses authoritarian tactics to try to get what he wants, even when they are clearly undemocratic in nature. We know for a fact the severe degree that Trump lies in order to gain support from people, and we’ve also seen how millions of Americans continue to blindly follow him no matter what he says or does. In some ways, it’s like we’re watching history repeat itself yet again in tragic ways.  Many around this country are promoting book bans, a dangerous trend that was promoted by the Nazis. A lot of Trump’s Republicans are trying to take rights away from LGBTQ people, another example that is reminiscent of the type of things the Nazis would do. The United States has already been through four years of a Trump Administration. We’ve seen how much he deceives, exaggerates, and flat out lies to people for his own personal quest for power, dominance, and adoration. Look at the 2020 election, one that he clearly lost. Yet he continues to this day to spread outrageous lies claiming that he somehow won even though he absolutely lost. And he has tens of millions of Americans believing these lies and actively supporting him no matter what he does. We all saw on national television how Trump instigated the riotous assault on the United States Capitol Building, yet millions of Americans continue to back him. Trump is saying very clearly how he will take revenge on his political opponents if he gets back in office. Another tactic dictators have used for thousands of years. He’s also describing how he plans to get rid of many Federal  Government career civil servants, who have faithfully served under multiple administrations of both parties, in order to replace them with his cronies. Ukraine is a democratic nation fighting for its life against Vladimir Putin’s brutal invasion of conquest, yet Trump wants to obstruct vital American aid to Ukraine. On top of that, he has repeatedly undermined NATO, an alliance which is vital to keeping authoritarian thugs like Putin in check. Frankly, we’ve seen repeatedly how Trump likes authoritarian leaders. We saw on national television how as President, he believed Putin over US Intelligence. And despite all this, the Republican Party is overwhelmingly supporting Trump’s quest to become president again.
   So yes, history is in the process of repeating itself.
   Why won’t people learn from the past? Why won’t they strive not to repeat the mistakes societies have made throughout history?
   Why?
   I wish I had an answer. The one thing I can say is that for those of us who see the disaster unfolding before us, we must speak up, speak out, make our voices heard, and vote! We must fight for our democratic values and freedoms like we never have before because they are truly in jeopardy now. It’s not too late to defend democracy. But people must take action speaking out and voting in order for this nation to stay free.

How Will Trump’s Felony Convictions Affect Voters?

by inmanb17cedcb09, posted in Current Events, Social Issues

5-31-24
   Donald Trump has been convicted of 34 felonies. He is a criminal by any definition. In addition, we also know that he is an habitual liar, has authoritarian tendencies, and is more than willing to undermine America’s democratic values for his own personal benefit and quest for power. Millions and millions of Republicans have continued to blindly follow Trump despite the clear evidence of how dangerous and unqualified he truly is. Now, the question is how will his felony convictions affect voters’ decisions.
   One thing that is extremely obvious is that if Trump was a Democrat, Democratic voters would have rejected him a long time ago. Don’t believe me? Consider Al Franken, the popular comedian who became a Democratic Senator. When photos emerged that had been taken years before showing him on a USO tour pretending to touch a sleeping female colleague’s breasts, Democrats turned on him very quickly which resulted in his resignation. What he did in the photos was clearly inappropriate, but it does not appear that he actually touched the woman. He was pretending to as a joke. While in particularly poor taste, it pales in comparison to things Trump has said, done, been accused of, and now convicted of, yet Republicans continue to blindly follow Trump. Here’s another example of what I’m talking about. Former Governor Andrew Cuomo of New York was a very popular Democrat that many Americans turned to for leadership during the COVID Pandemic. It seemed that his political future was quite promising. But after allegations of sexual misconduct came to light, Democrats rejected him very quickly. High ranking Democratic leaders even recommended an investigation of him. His political career was over.
   Most Republicans have continued to blindly follow Trump despite everything he has said and done. The truth is, most Republicans have shown themselves as much more likely to be blind followers as compared to Democrats. The way millions and millions of Republicans continue to blindly follow Donald Trump is overwhelming proof of this. So it leaves the question: how will the fact that Donald Trump is now a convicted felon affect how people vote in the November election? The scary and extremely dangerous fact is that the vast majority of his core followers are going to believe Trump’s lies and vote for him in overwhelming numbers. Even though Trump has been convicted of 34 felonies by a jury of 12 ordinary Americans (who had been agreed upon by both the Prosecutor and the Defense), MAGA supporters will devotedly believe Trump’s lies making ridiculous, outrageous conspiracy claims and other nonsense.
   The big question will be if and how Trump’s convictions affect Independents and other swing voters. How many of them will think twice about voting for Trump? How many of those who were leaning towards voting for Trump will now reconsider that possibility? At this point, nobody knows. The United States is in uncharted waters. An American President, or former President, has never been convicted of a felony before. Plus, we are dealing with a severely divided nation politically and an authoritarian style leader whose mass of hard core supporters have proven themselves to be blind followers.
   Troubling and scary times indeed.
   It’s that much more reason why those of us who see how dangerous Trump is need to get out and vote against him in overwhelming numbers. We also need to be smart about our vote because like it or not, the next president will be Trump or Biden. That is reality. It’s also why we must get out and vote for Joe Biden in overwhelming numbers, even those of us who have legitimate concerns about Biden, because voting for a third party candidate, who has zero chance of winning, or not voting at all is helping Donald Trump. That is cold, hard reality. And this country cannot afford another 4 years of Donald Trump in the White House, especially now that he’s a bitter, convicted felon.

Proof Many Americans Can Be Blind Followers

by inmanb17cedcb09, posted in Current Events, Social Issues

4-13-24
   Ever hear of the Milgram Experiment?
   It was a study conducted in the 1960s at Yale University by psychologist Stanley Milgram. The purpose was to see how far people would go in obeying an authority figure, and it’s results were truly frightening, more so when considering the ramifications we’re seeing today. The proof is happening right before our eyes in how millions of Americans are blindly and devotedly following authority figures such as Donald Trump and others no matter how outrageous, dangerous, or despicable their actions and lies.
   Let me explain.
   Participants were selected via an ad that was put out in a newspaper looking for volunteers to be part of a study that involved learning. They were all men between the ages of 20 and 50 whose jobs ranged from unskilled labor to professional. They did not know that the real purpose of the experiment was to see how obedient they would be to an authority figure.
   The set up was as follows.
   There was an experimenter who would wear a white lab coat and two other individuals. One of these was the volunteer and the other was actually working for Stanley Milgram but was pretending to be a volunteer. These two individuals drew straws to decide who would be the teacher and who would be the learner (this was rigged so that the volunteer would always be the teacher). The volunteer was told that the learner would be given word pairs to remember. As the teacher, he would then be expected to say a word to which the learner was supposed to choose the correct match out of four choices. When the learner made a mistake, the volunteer was to administer an electric shock. Furthermore, every time the learner made a mistake, the shock would increase by 15 volts. There were two rooms that were connected via microphone. In one was the experimenter and the volunteer (the teacher) while in the other room was the learner. The experimenter was sitting at a desk wearing his white lab coat, and the volunteer was at another desk that had the device which he believed would deliver the shocks to the learner. The first switch said 15 volts, and each of the following switches increased by 15 so that the last switch said 450 volts. The volunteer had been told that each switch would send a shock of electricity to the learner whom the volunteer believed was sitting in a chair with electrodes attached. In reality, the learner had no such electrodes.
   Once a session started, the learner purposely made lots of mistakes and had a prearranged script that he would use as the voltage increased. If the volunteer questioned the experimenter about what he was doing, the experimenter would prod him to continue up to 4 times.
   Prod 1: Please continue.
   Prod 2: The experiment requires you to continue.
   Prod 3: It is absolutely essential that you continue.
   Prod 4: You have no other choice but to continue.
   At 75 volts, the learner would start the scream in pain. From 150 to 330 volts, the learner would protest with increasing intensity and complain of his heart bothering him. At 330 volts, the learner would refuse to go on, and after 330, he would go silent.
   The results were beyond disturbing. All the volunteers continued up to 300 volts, and 65% of them went all the way to 450 volts. Think about that. After the learner went silent, the volunteers would have no idea whether the learner was unconscious or possibly even dead, yet 65% of the participants continued asking questions and inflicting shocks up until the maximum 450 because the authority figure in the form of the experimenter told them to.
   Think about that. I mean really think about it. When you combine the strong tendency many people have to follow authority figures with devotion that has gone too far, this easily leads people to go along with and contribute to distortions, misinformation, and wrongdoings to a dangerous degree. Authoritarian leaders have relied on this behavior throughout history, often adding fear into the mix as well.
   In the United States today, Donald Trump is an example of someone using these types of tactics in his quest to gain and hold as much power as he can get away with. Many people have shown a willingness to an extreme degree to follow his authority, even when he is clearly and outrageously in the wrong. The evidence that Trump lost the 2020 election is beyond overwhelming. He lost fair and square. Yet millions of Americans and numerous Republican politicians continue to go along with and even spread Trump’s lies about the outcome. Republicans are even pushing for new laws based on these blatant lies. A number of individuals who were in the mob that stormed the United States Capitol Building on January 6th, 2021 have openly said they did so because they believed Donald Trump wanted them to. While Trump doesn’t use fear to the degree that people like Joseph Stalin did, he does use use it, like when trying to make his followers afraid of immigrants and of those who disagree with him politically. Many Republican politicians continue going along with Trump no matter what. Some are true devoted followers while others do so because they fear Trump will turn on them and get his blind followers to vote them out of office.
   It’s scary seeing this behavior going on in the 21st century, but it absolutely is.
   People need to open their minds and think for themselves. They should get information from a variety of different, independent, reputable sources and not just from those that tell them what they want to hear. People should strive to learn about what a leader is really trying to do so that they can then make informed decisions about whether they agree with that individual or not.
   People need to quit blindly following others because our democracy and decency as a society depend on it!

Why is Intolerance Permeating Society so Badly?

by inmanb17cedcb09, posted in Bi+/LGBTQ Issues, Current Events, Social Issues

3-19-24
   Why is there so much intolerance, prejudice, and hate these days? Why? In terms of open-mindedness, tolerance, acceptance, and decency, unfortunately, it seems like society has gone backwards of late, and in addition to that being sad, it’s hurtful, dangerous, and can cause lives to be lost needlessly and tragically through attacks and suicides.
   People often fear what they don’t understand which in turn can feed intolerance, prejudice, and hate. Instead of learning about the subject of their fear and opening their minds, many people gravitate towards automatic assumptions, distrust, outdated views, false information, and narrow-mindedness. Making matters worse is how much of the population these days only seeks out information from places, sites, or people who share their ideas instead of utilizing a variety of different sources and viewpoints. They nestle themselves into an isolated, close-minded environment that will reinforce what they want to hear.
   Added to this cauldron of toxicity is how numerous political leaders (such as Donald Trump), organizations (such as some churches or news outlets), and others are exploiting, and at times even encouraging, people’s fears and intolerances in order to gain support in their quest for ever more power. When people who already have prejudiced views hear political leaders, ministers, or other organizations they respect spewing off hate, it emboldens these individuals to be more open about their own bigotry and even worsen it. And the greater the power these leaders or organizations have, the stronger their negative influences become.
   Want an example? Think about how Republican politicians are pushing anti-LGBTQ legislation around the country. It’s not a coincidence that upticks in violence aimed at LGBTQ people are also being seen, especially in states where such legislation has become law. Since Republican leaders are showing their prejudices against the LGBTQ Community with their rhetoric and actions, everyday people feel more emboldened to do so as well.
   These are scary times indeed. So what do we do about it?
   Living by example is one thing we can do, exhibiting kindness, decency, open-mindedness, and tolerance in our everyday lives. Speaking out and making our voices heard is also extremely important these days. We can do this in day to day interactions with people as well as by utilizing social media and websites. We need to stand against intolerance and bigotry while promoting open-mindedness, tolerance, and decency instead. We should educate others on issues they don’t understand and encourage them to seek out a variety of different sources for information as opposed to only listening to those that tell them what they want to hear. For news, they should should check out sources such as CNN, USA Today, the Washington Post, the Associated Press, the New York Times, NPR, the BBC, and others. Not just watch Fox News. We must vote against politicians who are promoting hate and elect in leaders who stand for decency and open-mindedness instead. We can also avoid organizations and businesses that push intolerance and patronize the ones promoting kindness instead. This can also hit them where it hurts: their pocketbooks!
   I’m not saying it will be easy, but we can battle against the wave of intolerance, prejudice, and hate infecting society today. It’s up to us.

Undemocratic, Closeminded Efforts By Republicans Threaten US Democracy

by inmanb17cedcb09, posted in Bi+/LGBTQ Issues, Current Events, Social Issues

October 30, 2022
   I’m going to begin this by telling you that I’m an Independent politically. I don’t belong to any political party.  That said, I’m also going to tell you that this country cannot afford Republican control over governments at any level. Why, you ask? Well, let me tell you.
   In many ways, the Republican Party is now the party of Trump, a party that is willingly following a narcissistic, lying authoritarian figure. Despite the fact that overwhelming evidence shows the 2020 election was fair and that Joe Biden legitimately won, the majority of Republicans believe Trump’s lies instead. And a significant percentage are actively promoting those lies. Many Republicans have gone so far as to push for laws and policies that are clearly undemocratic. Want some examples? Here you go: In several states, Republicans have proposed bills that would allow state legislatures to overturn election results and allot electoral votes themselves, literally ignoring the will of the voters. There are also proposals by Republicans that would make it very difficult for election officials to deal with partisan poll watchers who are intimidating and interfering with voters and election workers. Republicans in numerous states are also trying to get Trump following election deniers into positions (like secretary of state) where they would oversee future elections, thus increasing their ability to interfere with (and possibly overturn) legitimate election results they don’t like. These are not exaggerations. Republicans around the nation are also trying to make voting more difficult because they are afraid high voter turnout may increase the chances of Democrats winning. Tactics include things like making voter registration much more difficult, enacting stricter voter ID laws, and trying to limit or eliminate early voting as well as mail in voting. What’s especially disturbing is how these efforts are particularly targeting people (such as African Americans) who are more likely to vote for Democrats. Again, I’m not exaggerating here. I wish I was, but I’m not. This is really happening.
   Also consider this. The Jan 6th, 2021 assault on the US Capitol Building was a terrible event that was caused by outrageous, dangerous, false rhetoric being spread by numerous people. Whatever one’s political beliefs, understanding what happened and why it happened is vitally important. Yet most Republicans oppose Congress investigating the events and are continuing to blindly follow the dangerous rhetoric that led to the assault in the first place.
   Want some more examples of why we can’t afford Republican control over governments these days? Here you go. Republicans are actively attacking female reproductive rights despite the fact that most Americans are pro choice. Some Republicans even want to ban abortion nationwide. Around the country, Republicans are also pushing for very anti-LGBTQ policies and laws that blatantly discriminate against Queer people. The “don’t say gay” laws being promoted in states around the country are examples of this. Such laws are targeting LGBTQ youth, individuals who already have to deal with far too much intolerance and prejudice from others. Many LGBTQ minors live in homes where they face discrimination from their own parents. This is why it’s common for many Queer students to turn to teachers and school counselors for support and help. But this important resource is being taken away from many due to “don’t say gay” laws. With these laws, many teachers and counselors will be unable or too afraid to help. This in turn will increase the suicide rates of LGBTQ youth.
   The behavior of much of the Republican Party is the sort of thing that leads to authoritarianism and even full blown dictatorships. History is full of examples. Look at what happened in Germany during the 1920s and 30s when people chose to ignore facts, evidence, and even decency in order to blindly follow a brutal, narcissistic dictator instead.
   Whatever your political beliefs or party affiliation, people need to speak out against the lies spread by Trump and others. It’s time to stand up for democracy, honesty, decency, tolerance, kindness, open-mindedness, and the United States Constitution. We must vote in elected officials who do the same because if people don’t, future historians may look back on this time as the beginning of the end of American democracy.

Much Of The Republican Party Is Going Down A Dark, Undemocratic Path

by inmanb17cedcb09, posted in Current Events

   Liz Cheney’s defeat in the Wyoming Republican primary is yet another example of the dark, undemocratic path much of the Republican Party is going down. And what’s worse is that this trend is threatening American democracy itself.
   In terms of policy and how she voted in Congress, Liz Cheney and I would disagree on a great many things, but I admire the fact she put defending American democracy and the United States Constitution above her political career or loyalty to a political party. She is one of the few Republicans willing to stand up to Trump and fight back against his lies and threats to our democratic values. She realizes the importance of democracy and the Constitution. So the fact that Republicans in Wyoming would vote so strongly against her reveals yet again how dark and twisted much of the Republican Party has become.
   In many ways, the Republican Party is now the party of Trump, a party that is willingly following a narcissistic, lying authoritarian figure. Despite the fact that overwhelming evidence shows the 2020 election was fair and that Joe Biden legitimately won, the majority of Republicans believe Trump’s lies instead. And a significant percentage are actively promoting those lies. Many Republicans have gone so far as to push for laws and policies that are clearly undemocratic. Want some examples? Here you go: In several states, Republicans have proposed bills that would allow state legislatures to overturn election results and allot electoral votes themselves, literally ignoring the will of the voters. There are also proposals by Republicans that would make it very difficult for election officials to deal with partisan poll watchers who are intimidating and interfering with voters and election workers. Republicans in numerous states are also trying to get Trump following election deniers into positions (like secretary of state) where they would oversee future elections, thus increasing their ability to interfere with (and possibly overturn) legitimate election results they don’t like. These are not exaggerations. Mail in voting is another target Republicans are aiming at despite the fact that it has been shown to be very secure and effective. The blunt reality is that Republicans are going after it because Democrats were the main ones who used mail in voting in the 2020 election. Again, I’m not exaggerating here. I wish I was, but I’m not. This is really happening.
   Much of the Republican Party is actively threatening American democracy, and this is a big reason why we can’t afford Republican control over governments (at any level) these days.
   Whatever your political beliefs or party affiliation, people need to speak out against the lies spread by Trump and others. It’s time to stand up for democracy and the United States Constitution and vote in elected officials who do the same because if people don’t, future historians may look back on this time as the beginning of the end of American democracy.

https://www.usatoday.com/story/news/politics/2022/05/19/voter-subversion-trump-republicans-push-laws-change-elections/9824186002/

Much of the Republican Party is on a Dark, Twisted Path

by inmanb17cedcb09, posted in Current Events

August 17, 2022
   Liz Cheney’s defeat in the Wyoming Republican primary is yet another example of the dark, undemocratic path much of the Republican Party is going down. And what’s worse is that this trend is threatening American democracy itself.
   In terms of policy and how she voted in Congress, Liz Cheney and I would disagree on a great many things, but I admire the fact she has put defending American democracy and the United States Constitution above her political career and loyalty to a political party. She is one of the few Republicans willing to stand up to Trump and fight back against his lies and threats to our democratic values. She realizes the importance of democracy and the Constitution. So the fact that Republicans in Wyoming would vote so strongly against her reveals yet again how dark and twisted so much of the Republican Party has become.
   In many ways, the Republican Party is now the party of Trump, a party that is willingly following a narcissistic, lying authoritarian figure. Despite the fact that overwhelming evidence shows the 2020 election was fair and that Joe Biden legitimately won, the majority of Republicans believe Trump’s lies instead. And many are actively promoting those lies. Republicans in multiple states are pushing for laws that would make voting more difficult for many Americans, and it’s no coincidence that those being targeted are usually individuals who vote for Democrats. This is no exaggeration. Mail in voting has been shown to be quite secure and effective, yet Republicans are going after it because Democrats are the main ones who used it in the last election. Republicans are also trying to put Trump followers in official positions where they could interfere with state election results. Some are even pushing for policies where Republican controlled legislatures would be able to overturn election results if they didn’t like the way the population voted. Again, I’m not exaggerating here. I wish I was exaggerating, but I’m not. This is really happening.
   Whatever your political beliefs or party affiliation, people need to speak out against the lies spread by Trump and others. It’s time to stand up for democracy and the United States Constitution and vote in elected officials who do the same because if people don’t, future historians may look back on this time as the beginning of the end of American democracy.

Millions Still Blindly Follow Trump No Matter How Wrong His Behavior Is

by inmanb17cedcb09, posted in Current Events

August 16, 2022
   Many people in this country need to take a good hard look at themselves with regards to why they continue to blindly follow Donald Trump no matter how wrong, inappropriate, undemocratic, or dangerous his statements and actions are. We’ve seen this pattern continuing for years now, and it’s beyond disturbing. It’s dangerous. I say dangerous because history has shown that when people blindly follow an authoritarian leader, dictatorship often is the result. Yet despite this, millions of Americans (in this case Republicans) continue down this dark path.
   Let’s consider the fact that the FBI, using a legal search warrant, removed 11 sets of classified documents from Trump’s possession at Mar-A-Lago. 3 of these were Confidential (which is the lowest level of classified). 3 were rated as Secret (which is the next step up), and 4 sets were Top Secret. The 11th set of documents was Top Secret/Sensitive Compartmented Information (TS/SCI). TS/SCI documents are so secret that they are supposed to only be accessed in specific, secured locations. Yet all of these documents were at Mar-A-Lago after Trump had left office. Why would he have documents such as these at his home. No former president is supposed to have such classified materials in their personal residences. What’s even more disturbing is that the federal government had been trying for months to get Trump to turn over classified materials he was not supposed to have, yet clearly Trump had not returned all of them. As to why he had these documents, Trump’s story has changed multiple times, which is suspicious in itself.
   According to the Presidential Records Act, when a president leaves office, documents (that “includes any documentary materials relating to the political activities of the President or members of the President’s staff, but only if such activities relate to or have a direct effect upon the carrying out of constitutional, statutory, or other official or ceremonial duties of the President,”) must be turned over to the National Archives because they belong to the United States government. Officials at the National Archives go through the documents to see what can be made public and what is classified. If a former president wants to display some records in their library, they must get permission from the National Archives to do so.
   Remember that the US government had been trying for months to get materials from Trump that he wasn’t supposed to have. The Department of Justice is still investigating the situation, so we don’t have all the answers at this time. But I find it extremely troubling that Trump had these classified documents (documents that it sure sounds like he was not supposed to have). There are reports that at least one of the document sets may have been in regards to nuclear weapons, and while this has not been confirmed, if true, would be beyond troubling. Because why would a former president have deeply classified documents with regards to nuclear weapons? Hopefully the DOJ’s investigation will supply us with some answers. And what makes the situation so much worse is how it’s just the latest in a long history of Trump’s lies, exaggerations, and inappropriate comments, actions, and behavior.
   Trump lost the 2020 election. The evidence for this is beyond overwhelming, yet Trump continues to spew out his outrageous claims and lies about it. It’s also clear that his false claims instigated the assault on the United States Capitol Building that occurred on January 6th, 2021. He repeatedly insulted our allies during his presidency, seriously weakened the NATO alliance, and even questioned the necessity for the alliance to exist at all. He mocked people with physical disabilities and grossly mishandled the COVID pandemic. And these are just a few examples of Trump’s inappropriate behavior.
   Yet despite all of this, millions of Americans continue to blindly follow Trump no matter what. They won’t admit when he is out of line and totally wrong. Blindly following a leader no matter what is exceedingly dangerous and undermines democracy. It’s the sort of behavior that dictators use to seize and hold power. History is full of examples. Yet millions of Republicans keep right on doing this.
   It’s scary.
   People need to open their minds and quit being blind followers. They need to get news and information from a variety of independent sources and learn different points of view. They need to think critically and independently.
   But will they do it?
That’s the big question.

Much Of The Republican Party Is Heading Down A Dangerous Path

by inmanb17cedcb09, posted in Current Events

Feb 7, 2022
   A significant amount of the Republican Party is heading down a dangerous, undemocratic, authoritarian style, and potentially violent path that is absolutely threatening American democracy. This may sound like an outrageous statement, but it is still unfortunately true. Quite scary indeed. But we cannot and should not ignore the dangers. Instead, we need to educate ourselves about what is happening and speak out. We should stand up for truth, justice, open-mindedness, kindness, thoughtfulness, fairness, and democracy.
   We have seen over and over how so many Republicans have followed Donald Trump no matter what, even when he is clearly in the wrong. The evidence is overwhelming that the 2020 election was free and fair and that Trump’s claims of widespread fraud are false. Every election will have isolated issues or problems. That is normal in a big election, but there was no widespread fraud here. Ballot counting rooms in every state had Republican, Democrat, and Independent observers monitoring the process and responding to questions that arose. There were also international observers from multiple countries watching things, and every state certified the election, because it was fair. The Trump campaign lost over 60 court cases where it tried to claim widespread fraud, and many of the judges who ruled against it were conservatives. The Trump campaign lost all these cases because it did not have the evidence to back up its outrageous claims. In other words, the 2020 election was free and fair with Biden legitimately winning and Trump legitimately losing. Yet Trump and others have continued spreading their false claims and lies about it, and what is disturbingly frightening is how millions of Americans believe these lies. The spreading of these false claims led to the violent Jan 6 assault on the US Capitol Building by Trump followers. But the danger to American democracy doesn’t end there.
   Donald Trump uses the willingness of millions of Americans to blindly follow him to enhance his power and control over much of the Republican Party in an authoritarian style way. He has many Republicans in elected positions bowing to him, even when a number of them know he is wrong, because they fear he will turn his followers against them and vote them out of office. A scary number of Republicans in elected positions appear willing to undermine democratic values in order to keep their jobs, and another disturbing facet is how some of these officials are true believers. Republicans in numerous states are fighting to pass laws that would make voting much more difficult for millions of Americans. They appear to be doing this to make Trump happy and to increase their chances of defeating Democrats in future elections because it’s no coincidence that these new laws often target people who are more likely to vote for Democrats.
   Recently, we saw how the Republican National Committee (RNC) officially censured Republican Representatives Cheney and Kinzinger just because of their participation in the Congressional Investigation of the violent Jan 6 attack on the Capitol Building. In this censure, they actually referred to the Jan 6 events as “legitimate political discourse.” Think about that for a minute. We all saw the violence of that day as Trump supporters literally assaulted the US Capitol Building. We could see members of Congress fearing for their lives and Capitol police being physically attacked because of lies being spread by Trump and others. The events of that day were not “legitimate political discourse,” yet that is how the RNC referred to it. At the same time, we have seen elected Republicans such as Marjorie Taylor Greene make numerous hateful, false, cruel statements without being censured by the Republican Party.
   Think about this. And these are just a few examples of the dangerous trend many Republicans are going down. 
   This is why we must educate ourselves and speak up. We should stand up for truth, open-mindedness, tolerance, kindness, thoughtfulness, fairness, justice, and democracy. And we have to get out there and vote for individuals who also have the courage to truly stand up and fight for these ideals as well.

Scary Times For American Democracy

by inmanb17cedcb09, posted in Current Events

Jan 6, 2022
   1 year ago, an angry mob stormed the United States Capitol Building in an effort to stop Congress from performing it’s Constitutional duty of certifying the 2020 election. This was the first time such a terrible event has occurred in the United States history. And what is even more disturbing is how so many people, many of whom are Republicans, are trying to downplay the seriousness of the assault.
   Let’s make one thing perfectly clear: the 2020 presidential election was free and fair. Every single state, including those run by Republicans, certified the election because they found no evidence of widespread fraud. There were Republican, Democrat, and Independent observers in all the ballot counting rooms in all the states during the counting process. There were also international observers from multiple countries monitoring the election. And again, no evidence of widespread fraud was found. There have been numerous recounts and investigations into the election. For example, in Georgia, the official overseeing the election in that state was a Republican. After the Trump campaign made its claims of fraud, Georgia instituted serious investigations which included the Georgia Bureau of Investigation as well as the FBI, and no evidence of widespread fraud was found. The Trump campaign lost over 60 court cases where it was trying to push its claims of fraud, and many of the judges who ruled against Trump were conservatives themselves. The reason they ruled against Trump is because the Trump campaign had no legitimate evidence that would hold up in a court of law.
   Yet despite all this, Trump and many of his associates and followers continue to spread lies about the election claiming widespread fraud which in fact did not exist. There is strong evidence that it was these false claims that instigated the mob of Trump followers to riot and attack the US Capitol Building. And it is beyond disturbing and frankly dangerous the way Trump and many others continue to spread false claims of fraud when no widespread fraud actually occurred. It is undermining American democracy, and that is no exaggeration. Many people are losing faith in the electoral process due to these false claims still being spread. A growing number of Americans are saying they think violence against the government is acceptable. There are also Republicans in numerous states trying to pass laws that would make voting more difficult for millions of Americans, and they seem to be doing this in large part because of the false claims being spread by Trump and their willingness to bow to Trump’s demands. It is also deeply disturbing how many Republicans in Congress are trying to downplay the seriousness of the January 6th events these days. Some are even trying to rewrite what happened.
   This is why it is so vitally important to learn about the details, causes, and ramifications of the Jan 6th Capitol Building attack. We especially need to understand the causes since those are still simmering and festering in society today. Democracy is an amazing thing, but it is also a fragile thing. History has proven this many times.
   So we need to stay vigilant. We must stand for truth (whatever it may be) and democracy.