MY THOUGHT FOR TODAY: SOMETIMES IT SEEMS NOT EVEN SUPERMAN CAN SAVE US

I am so exhausted of hearing: “This isn’t who we are. This isn’t the America I know.” YES, IT IS AND ALWAYS HAS BEEN! Colonists stole native children from their families and carried out unimaginable acts of genocide to secure land. Confederate landowners built their wealth upon slavery. Jim Crow laws, the KKK, and redlining preserved a white supremacist caste system despite a Civil War won to settle the issue. We locked up Japanese Americans in concentration camps. We witnessed Sandy Hook and did nothing. And now, we are rounding up immigrants, not according to their status, but their language and skin color where a gestapo like rogue force is willing to kill anyone who opposes them with supposed complete immunity.

We have a president who, for his entire life, has chased legitimacy through illegitimate means. He is the combination of everything this country swears it isn’t but always has been. He possesses the sleaze of a conman, the cowardice of a draft dodger, the racism of a “klansman”, the sexism of a back-alley creep, the ignorance of a bar stool drunk, and the greed of a gluttonous hedge fund ghoul. His MAGA cult (it has always existed – this is just the modern confederacy) sees his arrogance as exceptionalism, his stupidity as common sense, his cruelty as toughness, his greed as exalted ambition and his corruption as worshipped gospel. He’s taken a 250-year-old democracy and treated it like his private property poisoning its culture, destroying institutions, ignoring the rule of law, purposefully turning Americans against Americans by dehumanizing opponents, and humiliating us on the world stage while severely weakening our alliances and global standing.

In “1984”, George Orwell taught us those who control the past, control the future. In the book, Winston Smith was employed at the Ministry of Truth where his job was to concoct lies, spread propaganda, manipulate history, and make sure the state’s version of reality was truth with no dissent. Indeed, those who do not learn from history are condemned to repeat its mistakes. And the Trump minions of Vought and Miller are the modern Ministry of Truth following a very unsettling game plan that worked so tragically, not just in the book, but in reality during the 1930s in Germany.

Lawrence Rees details this plan in his book, Nazi Mind. See if any of these actions ring a bell: (1) Spread conspiracy theories intent to gaslight the uninformed. (2) Create an atmosphere of us vs. them where political violence against the resistance is patriotic. (3) Aggression within and outside borders restores greatness. (4) Corrupt the youth. (5) Escalate racism creating an enemy within. (6) Ignore human and constitutional rights. (7) Gather the media, law offices, and big corporations under an irresistible tent of corruption with severe economic retaliation otherwise. 8. Stoke fear and chaos consistently declaring emergency powers to douse your own fires. (9) Be sure all voices of government preach the same poisoned version of “truth.” Even casual citizens can view multiple examples of this plan daily with their own eyes. The sick, broken, evil Stephen Miller and his cohorts: Kristi Noem, Pam Bondi, and Kash Patel have created a paramilitary force intent to incite violence in order to create a situation where Donald Trump can invoke the Insurrection Act. From there, they can suspend elections, suspend civil rights and liberties, and put our troops in legal/ethical jeopardy by politicizing the military against its own citizens. Besides the chaos and murder in Minneapolis, they are also seizing voter roles across the nation intent on a massive purge of non-Trump voters. As horrible as it sounds, I can just imagine they are foaming at the bit to have a crazed protester attack an ICE agent so they can lay down the hammer still thinking they can scare the public into submission and obedience.

The malignant narcissist “rewhites” history; completes corrupt deals with foreign leaders – I mean investors; fills his pockets with corrupt funds; notifies family and friends when to invest; demolishes the sanctity of the White House and other public edifices; sends his now billionaire son-in-law to Gaza, after allowing Netanyahu to bomb it into oblivion, to create a real estate Riviera; and just comes up with the stupidest desires like the Nobel Peace Prize, Venezuelan oil, and Greenland to usurp his perceived greatness and aggressive power over the rest of the world.

What a plan. And as each step gets bolder, the wussy Democratic leaders say: “it can’t get any worse – just hold on until the elections”. But then the hole gets deeper. He says something crazy and the mass media scoffs: “that’s just him spouting off”, only to find it happen without consequence. The UNITARY EXECUTIVE THEORY by the Heritage Foundation in Project 25 humming along with a rigged SCOTUS and compliant Congress. What’s next? Consolidation of all power to the Executive? The DOJ creating its own power of the law? Imprisonment of journalists and political foes? Control of who counts the votes? Refuse to certify the vote where he loses? The military, MAGA, and ICE physically preventing an inauguration? Well, by golly gosh, some of these outrageous actions are already happening and even worse statements flow from his disgusting mouth. BUT THAT’S JUST HIM SPOUTING OFF! Right?

ALL THE WHILE, THEY CONTINUE TO DEFY LAW AND WITHHOLD WHAT I BELIEVE TO BE THE ONE TRUE KRYPTONITE: THE EPSTEIN FILES. But Trump and the world’s oligarchs will make sure we never see them.

 

MY THOUGHT FOR TODAY: LO UNICO MAS PODEROSO QUE EL ODIO ES EL AMOR

Last night I witnessed one of the best, significant Super Bowl-halftime shows ever. It was joyful, celebratory, community-oriented all connected with earnest pride. It was stunning visual story telling (I didn’t understand a word, but it didn’t matter.) where every costume, every set piece, every guest, the music, and the choreography all combined to tell a vibrant story. The flavor was America. The community streets of Puerto Rico and New York are American. Sugar cane is American. Neighborhood barber shops are American. Different languages, different foods, and meeting people from different cultures is American. Acknowledging concerns like the Puerto Rican power crisis combined with inspirational messages that any child can succeed (Bad Bunny is a prime example.) provided a portrait of truth. But the utter joy, love, and connection reaching out for all of us was intentional and astounding.

Ah, but to have a halftime show in Spanish? THIS IS A CULTURAL CATASTROPHE? This is MAGA’s line in the sand? Powerful people exploiting children receive crickets? Abuse of power barely a murmur? People disappeared without due process? Unchecked authority murdering American citizens in the streets by masked agents? The attack on institutions destabilizing our democracy? Corruption in broad daylight by the president, his family, and supporters? Do any of us really know Elon really did? The weaponization of the DOJ and FBI against political foes? Congressional cowardice and self-interest? Project 23 connections to Hungary and Russia? The not so accidental financial instability caused by haphazard tariffs? How about outrage over racist language and dehumanizing imagery coming from our president targeting black leaders? Nope. But a halftime in Spanish about Puerto Rico? THAT DESERVES THEIR SELECTIVE OUTRAGE. Seems like the disgusting aim of the white supremacist RaHoWa cult has engulfed MAGA because they sure don’t care about the true dangers our nation endures.

Let me give you a short history of Puerto Rico. The island became a US territory in 1898 after the Spanish American War. In 1917, the Jones Shafroth Act passed giving all Puerto Ricans American citizenship. Now before you go praising that action, realize it was not accidental timing as immediately afterward, the draft for World War I took an exceptionally high rate per capita from, you guessed it, Puerto Rico. However, thousand upon thousands served with distinction. The country has gifted great soldiers, athletes, artists, teachers, and leaders who are woven into the fabric of our country. Puerto Rico and its people are American by law, by history, and by culture.

Thank you, Bad Bunny, for your tireless work and artistry and extending the boundaries of tradition, decency, and cultural diversity for a country that severely needs education.