Madeleine Is Having Trouble Sleeping

I've finished reading, "Fascism: A Warning" by Madeleine Albright. The book is excellent. It’s both an academic’s historical presentation on fascism and a clear, personal warning that fascism is a real and present danger to us and the world at large - a wake up call.

Chapter 16 is titled “Bad Dreams”. It’s the point at which the book transitions from history into personal observation of what has happened in our country since the election of Donald Trump. The chapter is aptly named.

Madeleine is up front about the fact that the book was planned for quite some time and that its focus changed after Clinton lost the election – an event that she did not anticipate and never planned for.

I ordered the book when it first came out in April. When it arrived it went into my book queue and I did not get to it until June. Sadly, the rapidity of events that have taken place since its publication have already dated it quite a bit.

Had Madeleine waited a few more months before publishing it, Chapter 16 might have been titled “Nightmares” or “Night Terrors”.

The fact that 15 United States' Senators are spending the 4th of July in Moscow in meetings with Russian nationals is worrying me the most at the moment - that along with Trump's upcoming meeting with Putin in Russia later this month.

I’ve read so many books since the last election. The information is so voluminous and so emotionally overwhelming, I sometimes have trouble keeping it all straight. I don’t know how anyone manages to hold onto it all, but there are people who do and I cannot always understand what they are saying because I am not versed in the world or treason and spy craft and organized crime.

Leo Tolstoy’s “War And Peace” is a light read compared to keeping track of what is going on now. “War And Peace” might also be a good title for a book covering the last election and its evolution through today.

Fascism is not coming to America. It is here and it is entrenched in both the White House and Congress. We are in the post-coup phase.

The coup has yet to be finalized and that could happen on Election Day, November 6th.

If the Republicans are still in control of Congress on November 7th, the coup will be complete and we will not be able to reverse it anytime soon, if ever.

If we wake up to find out the Republicans have lost control on November 7th, we might find ourselves involved in a bloody coup. I do not suppose there will be a smooth transition to a Democratic Party controlled Congress.

Donald Trump has been dismantling our government and spreading chaos since he took and violated his oath of office on January 20th, 2017. McConnell, Ryan and the Senate and House Republicans have been supporting and enabling - “aiding and abetting” Trump all along.

While our government, alliances and trade agreements have been destroyed, Trump has been steadily desensitizing our citizenry and engaging in a campaign of lies and disinformation. He has been supported in his efforts by FOX News, Breitbart News, the NRA, right wing evangelicals, white supremacists and a never ending stream of right wing media personalities.

Trump has been relentlessly attacking our free press, the Justice Department, our intelligence agencies and Robert Mueller’s investigation. We are seeing more and more violence and brutality and outright atrocities – children being separated from their parents and housed in concentration camps – and the frequency and severity of these horrors is increasing.

Trump’s base appears to be holding. Hatred is encouraged and tolerated. Foreigners, minorities, women and the LGBT community are all being targeted.

The Trumps have been cashing in on all this. Our foreign policy is more a result of extortion rather than national interest. Trump is aligning with and praising totalitarian leaders. Kim Jong Un and Vladimir Putin are his newest pals.

We have abandoned the Paris Climate Agreement, the Trans-Pacific Partnership and the Iran Nuclear Deal. We are actively undermining NAFTA, NATO and the EU. Trade wars have begun and somehow Harley Davidson has become our newest enemy.

If the Republicans lose control of Congress, Trump will be impeached. If Mueller completes his investigation, Trump and his entire house of cards will come tumbling down.

That’s why November 7th is either D-Day or the end of the Republic. Be prepared for “Nightmare On Pennsylvania Avenue” opening nationwide this Fall.

Holy Moly!