WWJD - Trump Crosses The Potomac - Everyone In Denial As Republic Evaporates Into Fascism

WWJD? It wasn't that long ago that these bracelets were all over the place. They were considered de rigueur among many Christians. WWJD = What Would Jesus Do?

Evangelical Christian's have proven that they don't have a clue as to what Jesus would do. In fact, they seem to have everything backwards - the exact opposite of what Jesus would do.

Today I'm asking WWJD. "What Would John Do?" John was first and foremost a patriot. He believed in our country and he always put country over politics - always. That's his POW bracelet above. He was a POW during the Vietnam War. He was seriously wounded, captured, tortured and spent 5+ years in the Hanoi Hilton.

John McCain died on August 25, 2018. Politically John and I were on different ends of the spectrum. He was a "conservative", I consider myself an independent, but I have almost always voted for the Democrats - not that I always agreed with the Democrats - I just most always disagreed with the Republicans. I even registered as a Democrat so I could vote in the primaries.

So what? So this - John was the Senator I trusted most when it came to putting our country first. The Republicans referred to him as a "maverick". Maverick is the polite word for MF - mother f**ker. John's last speech in the Senate is a must watch. I'm serious, watch the speech now. Just click on the link below.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aS8K90zFgUE

The above picture of John tells the story. He didn't let dying get in the way of fulfilling his oath of office. He showed up in the Senate to vote - to make his voice heard - to not sit idly by while our country descended into fascism. John supported the Mueller investigation. Hell, he did all he could to make sure Russian interference in the 2016 election was fully investigated.

Donald Trump has done everything he could to prevent Mueller's investigation from proceeding. He fired Sally Yates, the acting Attorney General. He fired FBI Director James Comey.

When Jeff Sessions, the man Trump appointed as Attorney General recused himself in regards to the investigation into Russian election interference, Trump went "bat shit crazy" - 'bat shit crazy" was an expression Lindsey Graham used to refer to the Republican Party.

When Sessions recused himself, Deputy Attorney General Rod Rosenstein, appointed Robert Mueller as Special Counsel and empowered him to do an investigation. Rosenstein also oversaw Mueller.

Trump should have been impeached shortly after he took the oath of office. In fact, there are so many, many things that Trump should have been impeached over. He certainly should have been impeached when he fired Yates and again when he fired Comey. Firing Justice Department officials is exactly what led to the Watergate Hearings and the resignation of Richard Nixon. Nixon resigned after he was impeached.

When Nixon fired Attorney General Elliot Richardson and Deputy Attorney General William Ruckleshaus after they both refused to fire Special Watergate Prosecutor Archibald Cox, he got Solicitor General Robert Bork to fire Cox. This was referred to as the "Saturday Night Massacre". It brought immediate bi-partisan action. It was unquestionably an "obstruction of justice'.

All that happened when we had both a Democratic Party and a Republican Party. It happened in a time when loyalty to country was still taken seriously in our Congress.

It happened before the Koch brothers funded the Tea Party to wreak havoc within the Republican Party. It happened before the Koch brothers bought the Republican Party and turned it into their own private lobbying organization.

In fairness to the Kochs, they did not want Donald Trump to be the Republican Candidate in 2016. Putin wanted Trump. Putin was smarter and better organized than the Kochs. Putin was not a rich kid who inherited a fortune. Putin helped Trump get elected.

Putin is a ruthless dictator who kills anybody who gets in his way. He heads up a kleptocracy. He is idolized by Trump. John McCain blasted Trump for congratulating Putin for winning a rigged election in Russia.

This year, November 6th was election day. On November 7th, it was clear that the Democrats had won back the house in spite of all the Republican efforts to suppress the vote. They won several gubernatorial elections as well. It was a blue wave as predicted.

Of course the naysayers were out in force claiming that the Democrats lost the Senate. No, the Republicans lost the House. The Democrats had neither the House nor the Senate and now they have the House. The House is where impeachment happens.

Donald Trump cannot afford to let Mueller finish his investigation. He also cannot afford to let the Democrats take control of the House. So, on November 7th, Donald held a bizarre press conference. He rambled as usual, but he also appeared sluggish and subdued. He appeared drugged.

So Donald rambled and lied. He said he was happy to have an opportunity to work with Democrats and that the Democrats taking the House was a good thing because it would lead to bi-partisan legislation. He then threatened to unleash "his" Senate on the Democrats if the House investigated him. Trump also attacked the press and orchestrated an encounter between Jim Acosta from CNN and a White House aide.

Donny's press conference was indeed a "bat shit crazy" event. After the event he fired Jeff Sessions, removed Rod Rosenstein from overseeing the Mueller investigation and appointed Matthew Whitaker as Acting Attorney General and overseer of the Mueller investigation. For good measure, he ordered the revocation of Acosta's White House Press privileges.

Because Trump fired Sessions, he cannot legally appoint Mathew as Acting Attorney General. Mathew is also on record numerous times trashing Mueller and his investigation. Mathew is both biased and lacks the experience to be Attorney General.


https://www.cnn.com/videos/politics/2018/11/08/new-attorney-general-matthew-whitaker-replaces-jeff-sessions-lc-orig.cnn


Mathew was even involved with World Patent Marketing, a company that was fined heavily by the Federal Trade Commission for unethical behavior. It was also barred from doing future promotions.

White House Press Secretary Sarah Huckabee Sanders put out a doctored video tape trying to prove that Acosta physically abused the White House aide, but that got blown to pieces when a complete tape came out showing the aide pushing Acosta.

On March 18th Senator Lindsey Graham and other Republicans warned Trump that interfering with Mueller "would be the beginning of the end of his presidency." So far the Republicans in Congress have done nothing.


https://theweek.com/speedreads/761675/lindsey-graham-warns-trump-that-firing-mueller-beginning-end-presidency


Yesterday Donald Trump followed in the footsteps of Julius Caesar who crossed the Rubicon and took control of Rome. Trump has literally taken over the government and is threatening lawmakers and journalists alike.

This is nothing short of a coup d'etat. Trump has done away with the rule of law. He is flaunting his illegality. Every day this goes unchecked diminishes our ability to recover from it. This is nothing new.

Many people disagree with me on this. They point out that Trump is terrified and acting irrationally. I agree. They say that Mueller knows what he is doing. I agree. They say Trump will not succeed. I disagree. He has already succeeded. We are in the biggest Constitutional crisis since the Civil War.

Trump has done the equivalent of firing of Fort Sumter only this time nobody is firing back.

If your country is attacked and you sit passively by and ignore it, your country is no longer your country. Anybody not calling for immediate action is enabling the coup. Somehow, I don't think John would have sat still for this. I think John would be calling it what it is and demanding Congress take action.

Trump is Putin's boy. Congress belongs to the Kochs. If November 6th proved anything, it proved that we can take our country back legally. Once the rule of law is abandoned, we own nothing, we have nothing, the rule of law can no longer protect us.

You either stand up to fascism or you spend your life cowering in fear. Trump knows that under the rule of law he and his family will be held accountable for all their crimes and misdemeanors. He is not about to let that happen. He is most dangerous at this moment.

We need to press our members of Congress to take action. Call them. Visit their offices. Don't stop. Under our Constitution the protection of our Republic rests solely in the hands of Congress in this circumstance. They must act.

Holy Moly!

My Book List - Making Sense Of Our Government Under Trump

This is a list of books I’ve read and recommend to anyone who wants to get a better understanding of government and political processes. It could be much longer. I read the first four years ago. The rest I have read in the last year or so.

The first three are novels. They are classics and they all relate to government. The rest are non-fiction.

The fourth is an excellent account of how one can get lost ethically while working within an administration.

The fifth is an insider’s account of how our government functioned after World War II.

The sixth is insightful in understanding how our economy survived the Great Recession of 2008.

The seventh documents how wealth has evolved and been accumulated.

The eighth and ninth document what has been going on within the Trump White House.

Ten and eleven are about the evolution of our politics and the forces behind that going back to 1959.

Twelve and thirteen are excellent accounts of Trump’s impact on the FBI and Intelligence Community.

Fourteen through seventeen document how Russia evolved since the fall of the Soviet Union and how it has been corrupting our politicians and interfering with our electoral processes.

Eighteen through 20 give insight into what fascism is and how it evolves.

1. Brave New World by Aldus Huxley

2. Lord Of The Flies by William Golding

3. 1984 by George Orwell

4. Blind Ambition by James W. Dean

5. Friendly Fascism by Bertram Gross
6.The Only Game In Town by Mohamed A. El-Erian
7.Plutocrats by Chrystia Freeland

8. Fire And Fury by Michael Wolff
9. Fear by Bob Woodward
10. Democracy In Chains by Nancy MacLean.
11. Dark Money by Jane Mayer
12. A Higher Loyalty by James Comey
13. Facts And Fears by James R. Clapper
14. Red Notice by Bill Browder
15. Russian Roulette by Michael Isikoff and David Corn
16. Collusion by Luke Harding
17. House Of Trump – House Of Putin by Craig Unger
18. On Tyranny by Timothy Snyder

19. How Democracies Die by Steven Levitsky and Daniel Ziblatt

20. Fascism A Warning by Madeline Albright

Compiled by Brendan Buschi. If you have questions or comments you can email me at bfbuschi@gmail.com

Holy Moly!