Author: Caveguy

Years ago, when I was in my 20’s, I met Bob Woodward. I was living in Washington, DC. And I was riding down a bike path that followed the Potomac River. Mr. Woodward was sitting on a bench. I stopped to rest and just started some small talk with him.

I did not know who he was, but he was kind enough to engage in a few minutes of conversation with me. I introduced myself by my first name and he told me his name was Bob. It was then that I had my first inkling as to who he was. I asked and he just said yes. I thanked him for the courage of his work. We then both went on our individual ways. I was left with the impression that he was not entirely comfortable being thanked for his reporting.

Nowadays, he is both the reporter and the celebrity. His latest book is based on a series of interviews he did with Donald Trump before Covid-19 was officially a pandemic. I do not need to fill in what was said during those interviews. By now, if you do not know, your head is in the sand too deep to hear anyway.

But, one thing Bob Woodward said resonated with me. I have said it, and so have several pundits over the years. Somehow, to hear it repeated from Bob Woodward gives it the gravitas it needs to maybe get some traction with the average American.

Donald Trump lies as a strategy. To him, a lie is just as good as the truth as long as it helps him reach whatever goal he has set. Plus, as we are all aware of by now, if you tell a lie enough times, people will see it as the truth.

It is a familiarity bias. He says it. Then other members of his administration say it. Soon enough, many Americans hear it and say, “I’ve heard that before somewhere. It must be true.”

The average American is not going to fact check the lie. By the time the press fact checks it, part of it has sunk in. This is especially true when you are prone to want to believe the lie. If the lie is just confirmation bias for you, why even fact check it in the first place?

This takes me back to my post yesterday on Americans being a generally uninformed electorate. Yes, it is work. Yes, sometimes it takes time. However, we will never fix our system if we allow this to continue.

Do not let any politician lie to you, whether it is strategic or just a “campaign promise.”

I sometimes try to remind people that Donald Trump is a symptom of a broken system. His end will not, in any way, end the problems we see on a daily basis. Trump is a master manipulator. He understands, probably better than 95% of the population, how to use the system for his own ends. It is how he has survived over an entire, decades long career of corruption.

But, that is business. What about government? People pin the fall of our government into its current abyss to Ronald Reagan. He sped up the process, but he was a symptom every bit as much as much as Trump.

The downfall of our political system, in reality, dates back to the time after WWII when the military industrial complex began taking over the halls of Congress and the Oval Office. We have been fighting, and funding, war in Latin America since the latter half of the 20^th century.

The government has spent billions of dollars propping up often corrupt governments that were considered friendly to American business interests. It is why Iran hates us today. We helped overthrow a democratically-elected government to install a brutal dictator who was friendly to our interests in the middle-east. When his government was overthrown, it cost us dearly.

Of course, our foreign policy has always been myopic, concentrating on the immediate win over any long-term solution. The problem today is that most Americans don’t know about any of this. Why? There are several reasons.

One reason is that we stopped teaching civics in school, replacing it with social studies. Civics is designed to create politically active citizens. It teaches us about how our system of government operates. But, a politically active, educated electorate is a problem for a government corrupted by the military-industrial complex. Our law makers thrive on an electorate that is uneducated enough to believe the pablum and bullshit that is being fed to us.

Another reason is something that many people overlook when it comes to the political landscape today. Watergate helped burn out our political fervor. Watergate is what helped stop us from paying attention to politics, which allowed the government to end civics education and begin the true corruption of the United States government. In fact, many polls since the 80’s have shown that Americans actually expect a certain amount of corruption in their politicians.

How do we fix this…

We have to do the near impossible. We need to fight the massive mental inertia we are currently feeling towards politics. How many times have you, or your friends, said “politics are hard,” or “politics are boring.” Congratulations. Your elected representatives love your type of American.

You have no interest in politics. Thus, you have no interest in watching for, and diminishing, the corruption that has given birth to the greatest transfer of wealth in world history. In fact, the corruption, and our lack of interest, has become so great that politicians no longer feel it necessary to hide their disreputable dealings.

The only way to stop this is to become educated as to the dealings of our elected representatives. We must educate ourselves in the civics of our federal, state, and local, governments. Most of all, we must become politically active enough to bring pressure to bear on those same representatives when we find them acting out of sorts.

It is no longer enough to just vote. We must educate ourselves on the issues and the candidates. In other words, we must do some work and research.

If we just blindly vote, the corruption remains. We fall into the trap of believing that all of “them” must go, but I will still vote for “my guy.” Well, if everyone feels that way, none of the corruption is eliminated. This is how Mitch McConnell has maintained decades of manipulation and corruption.

It is my opinion that Biden must win the Presidency. No, I do not believe he will bring about any serious change. Biden has one job. That is to bring us back to the broken equilibrium our government is accustomed to. His job is to bring back a level of democracy.

Once that is done, the real work, and the real fight, must begin.

The election interference continues.

Roger Stone has called for Trump to declare martial law to seize power should he lose the election in November. He has stated that, regardless of the votes, the election will only be legitimate if Trump is declared the winner.

Stone has claimed that there is an ongoing coup against Donald Trump. As well, any mail-in voting would be illegitimate and early voting is already corrupted. Stone has called for federal law enforcement authorities to seize early vote ballots and to prevent certain people (read: Democrats) from voting at all. Following these actions, Stone wants Trump’s political enemies to be arrested, including CEO’s of various social media outlets.

Beyond this, Michael Caputo, the communications director for the Department of Health and Human Services, has called for Trump supporters to arm themselves ahead of the November election. He stated that when Trump refuses to stand down at the inauguration, the shooting should begin. Of course, neither has provided any evidence to back up claims of Democratic coups.

On the contrary, this is a clear cut case of both men calling for armed insurrection against the government of the United States. This is nothing less than a call to arms to overthrow democracy and establish a Fascist government run by Donald Trump, not as President, but as dictator-for-life. Oh, he will still call himself President to give the illusion of what would be our former republic, but the reality would be far different.

Freedom of speech would be a thing of the past. I have no doubt that Trump would still want elections. After all, he needs to feel like he has won something. However, those elections will be fully controlled, and dictated, by his administration of Fascist followers.

As much as I hate to say this, and this is not the first time I have said it, no matter the outcome of the election, there will be bloodshed and, very possibly, civil war.

Most of the time, there is so much going on in the world that I have to think about what I want to write for the day. Today is one of those days. Do I write about something Trump said or did? Do I write about inmate firefighters in California? We are living in a dystopian present, so the fodder is deep and wide.

In the end, I chose to write about Trump. In this case, it is because people need to be reminded that he is a danger to our democracy and the Constitution. Trump is most certainly not the stable genius he claims to be, but he is a very skilled manipulator. A lifetime of practice has taught him how to take advantage of the fears and anger of other people.

As the saying goes, when someone tells you who they are, believe them. Trump has, time and time again, told us who he was. Yet, a good chunk of the nation just doesn’t want to listen.

As long as I can remember during his Presidency, he has made it clear that the Constitution is a barrier to his plans. One of these plans is to stay in the White House for the rest of his life. In fact, if he wants to stay out of jail, he really has no choice.

Trump is the subject of several federal and state investigations. DOJ guidelines don’t allow for a sitting President to be prosecuted while in office. While we claim no one us above the law, this essentially makes the President above the law while he is in office. There is no provision to ‘stop the clock’ on any statutes of limitation for crimes that may have been committed by the President either prior to assuming office or while in office. Yes, there is a provision for impeachment, but we know how that works as long as Congress is willing to cover for the occupant of the Oval Office.

Some say that, should Trump lose the election, he would just resign and let Pence pardon him. There is a flaw to this logic. A Presidential pardon only covers federal charges. Trump would still have to face state charges in New York. The penalties for some of those charges would place Trump in jail for the rest of his natural life. We all know he would not brook this.

We really need to stop treating this next election like it will be normal. Trump is already cheating. He has hobbled the USPS because he assumes that will cut down on Democratic votes. He has spent the entire pandemic calling it a hoax. His base will vote in person no matter what. Trump is betting that, if Dems have to vote in person, it will prevent a lot of people from voting.

He has been regularly exclaiming that, if he loses, the vote is rigged. This is nothing new. This is a play from his 2016 campaign. He couldn’t even accept a victory there because he did not win the popular vote. To him, this is a loss.

Trump expects to lose this election. He is ramping up his base to riot should/when that happens. Whether he wins or loses, this will not end well for the United States. He has pushed past every democratic and Constitutional boundary that he has found in his path. Imagine what he will do when he no longer feels he has to pretend he cares about the country?

When Colin Kaepernick knelt during the National Anthem to protest police brutality against African-Americans, the right screamed bloody murder. They claimed that he was disrespecting the military and the flag and that he needed to apologize to the nation. He, rightfully so, refused.

More and more players began to kneel. Donald Trump decided to get involved and called for owners to fire any player that knelt to protest police brutality against African-Americans. The right stepped up their campaign to re-brand the protests as something against the military, and by extension, the flag.

Eventually, the Black Lives Matter movement ramped up these protests against police brutality against African-Americans, and rightfully so. The right began howling that they were not protesting properly. The right said that BLM needed to protest peacefully. They forget that Kaepernick started with a peaceful protest and they condemned it.

In fact, Kaepernick started kneeling at the suggestion of a military veteran. Kneeling is a sign of supplication. Kaepernick was supplicating himself to a nation that just wanted him to go away. He still has yet to be given a chance to return to the NFL because of his protest.

On Sept. 10^Th, the Houston Texans played the Kansas City Chiefs, in Kansas City. To show the right that they were willing to meet them halfway, to assuage their complaints, no one knelt during the anthem. Instead, the players locked arms afterwards for a moment of unity.

They were met with boos from the crowd. The boos continued until the moment of unity ended. At that, the crowd started cheering.

These complaints against the peaceful protests of men and women who have never felt the same love from the country they love, have never been about the military, or the flag. They are about a sense of entitlement felt by people who have benefited from their place in society practically since it began. These are people who expect POC’s to just accept the status quo that is, quite literally, killing them. For the right, these athletes are not allowed a voice in America. They have one job: to “step and fetch it” for the amusement of the crowd.

In other words, it has always been about the racism.

I would admonish those on the right to remember, and heed, the words of President John F. Kennedy: “Those who make peaceful revolution impossible will make violent revolution inevitable.”

I had other things I wanted to discuss today. I may still do it, but it is 9/11 and this is “topical.”

The US Treasury Dept. has siphoned off (read: stolen) almost $4 million from the FDNY World Trade Center Health Program. Reportedly, the stolen money is being used to pay off the Medicare debt of other NYC entities. The debt being paid off starts with fiscal year 2016. That means some people will try and pin this on the Obama administration, however, as we all know, payments from one year are made the next year. So, this would have begun during the Trump administration.

Regardless of what administration is doing this, it is an abomination to those men and women who ran into the danger on that fateful day. I have no doubt that those who blindly follow Trump will find a way to excuse his actions and find a way to blame Obama, claiming that this started at the end of his administration. It didn’t, but these people don’t seem to care about facts. That level of mental gymnastics are all too common to explain away the criminality of Trump’s actions.

Need I remind everyone that Trump bragged about having the tallest building in NYC after the twin Towers fell. This is not a man who cares about anyone but himself. Can someone please call Jon Stewart?

So, as long as we are talking about what Donald said to Bob Woodward about downplaying the virus, let’s talk about something else he said.

Donald Trump told Woodward that he did not feel he had any responsibility to understand the black experience in America. As a private citizen, Trump could get away with making that statement. It would still be quite an uncaring and glaringly shitty statement, but it would be his right.

However, as President of the United States of America, it is absolutely his responsibility to at least attempt to understand the experiences of every American he purports to represent. But, that is the rub, now isn’t it. Trump has spent his entire term in office making sure we all understand that the only Americans he supports are the ones who voted for him and continue to openly support him. All other Americans fall into the “them” category: us or them. I am one of the ubiquitous them.

Not only did Trump not feel any responsibility, but he also accused Woodward of having “drunk the Koolaid.” For those living under a rock, this is a reference to the Jonestown Massacre, where followers of Reverend Jim Jones were murdered/ committed suicide by drinking poisoned Koolaid (it was actually Flavor Aid). To quote the POTUS, “You really drank the Kool-Aid, didn’t you? Just listen to you. Wow. No, I don’t feel that at all.” His voice was described as mocking.

Trump admitted that there is institutional racism in the USA, but, went further by explaining that it is everywhere and is not as bad here. As well, he showed no inclination towards compassion for those who suffer from it, by stating that it is unfortunate that it impacts people’s lives. He then went back to his tired trope of feeling that, in his eyes, he has done more for the African-American community than any President since Lincoln. To emphasize his belief that life is transactional, he was upset at the lack of appreciation.

Trump then insulted the intelligence of his predecessor, Barack Obama.

Trump lives in a strange bubble of his own mind, which is then propped up by the toadies who surround him. It is time to pop that bubble.

According to Bob Woodward, Donald Trump was aware of how dangerous Covid-19 was as far back as January, yet continued to downplay its severity. In the beginning of Feb., Trump told Woodward that the virus was “deadly stuff,” yet later in Feb., he proclaimed the virus would disappear like a miracle.

From day one, Donald Trump has used this pandemic for some perceived political gain. Even with all the scientific evidence of how bad this could become, he encouraged his (sometimes armed) base to protest restrictions put in place to flatten the curve of exposure. Yet, he only seemed to encourage these protests in Democrat-run states.

Of course, it was not necessary to encourage disobedience in Republican bastions. Governors, like Ron DeSantis, of FL, and Greg Abbot, of TX, have proven all too ready to listen to, and do, whatever Trump wants them to do, even at the expense of their citizenry. At a time when other (Democratically-controlled) states were beginning to get a handle on their outbreaks, Florida and Texas became the virus hot spots of the United States, and the world.

Trump claims that he downplayed the virus because he was worried about panic sweeping across the country. Of course, we know that panic did sweep across the US because of the high death rate from the virus. As of this writing, 194,679 Americans have died from Covid-19.

For Donald Trump, this has never been about protecting the American people. This has always been about him, like everything he does in his life. The pandemic gave him ample fodder to divide the nation, at a time when the President of the United States of America should have been fostering togetherness. Of course, it is hard to unify a nation when you consider more than half of it to be your enemy.

Edit: So… This has been on my mind all day, and I have been watching commentary on it as well. It has been suggested, and I believe this theory, that when Trump said he did not want to cause panic, he was not thinking about the American people. Rather, he was thinking about the stock market. In other words, he was thinking about himself.