The Time Has Come, I Think It Has, To Speak Of Many Things, Of All The Troubles That We've Had, Our Many Sufferings

I once had a speaking role in a college play. The play was a spoof put on in the student union before Christmas recess. I played Captain Hook. I only had one line.

There were no other "Peter Pan" characters in the play. I'm not even sure what the play was about. Nevertheless, I got to say this line:

The Time Has Come, I Think It Has, To Speak Of Many Things

Of All The Troubles That We've Had, Our Many Sufferings

I believe the line is an allusion to a line in "Alice In Wonderland".

So, here I am opening this post with the only line I ever got to speak on stage. It could have been in 1964. It's an appropriate opening because I intend to speak of many things and many sufferings and I'm gonna start with this guy waiting in the wings.

During the 1992 elections, we were registered Democrats living in New Hampshire. What fun - not! We were subjected to a non-stop barrage of telephone calls from people taking political polls.

Yep, New Hampshire was "first in the nation" in terms of presidential primaries. I would have preferred us being first in the nation in terms of minding your own business.

On a Sunday night after 10 p.m., I got a call from a Democratic pollster who wanted to know who I was going to vote for in the primaries. Without hesitation, I answered Reggie Jackson.

This caught the young man who was polling me off guard. From the smarmy tone of his voice I could tell he was upset having to talk to a yokel. After a pause he said, "You mean Jessie Jackson". It wasn't a question, it was a statement.

I responded with a clear "no" and he responded with an angry "Reggie Jackson is a baseball player, you mean Jessie Jackson". I said I knew who Jessie Jackson was, but I was voting for Reggie Jackson. I told him all black people didn't look alike to me and I could easily distinguish between the two and I knew who I was voting for.

This guy was clearly determined to complete his poll and pressed on. He said, "Why are you voting for a baseball player to be the Democratic candidate for President?" I responded, "I want someone who'll hit a home run for our country". That did it. This guy was angry with me and he had no desire to hide it.

He admonished me. He said, "This is serious and you are making a mockery of it." I told him that it was late on a Sunday night and that he was lucky I couldn't reach through the phone.

Truth be told, I wasn't a fan of Bill Clinton. I voted for him during the elections, but he was too much of a yuppie for me - same for Hillary.

Bill was a new kind of Democrat. He was a member of the Democratic Leadership Council (DLC). He was a charter member I believe.

While Bill was President, the Gramm-Leach-Bliley Act, which repealed the Glass-Steagall Act was passed. He also signed the Commodity Futures Modernization Act and rewrote the Commodity Futures Modernization Act. So what - right?

I'll go out on a limb here and say those three things helped bring about the financial crisis we saw under George W. Bush's tenure. You know the one that left us on the precipice starring into another Great Depression.

Clinton didn't cause Bush's Great Recession, he just approved legislation that made it all possible. Bush and the Neo-Cons and the Republicans in Congress went wild. Ya'll remember K Street and the Iraq War don't cha?

We should all be eternally grateful to President Obama for pulling our collective asses out of the fire, restoring our economy, and saving our major industries. Don't take my word for it, ask a shark.

Bill Clinton, yes, I voted for him twice, also may have contributed to George W. Bush winning the 2000 election. Call me crazy. I think his behavior was a major factor in Bush's win.

Let's agree to disagree on that if you find it too hard to swallow. Let's just take note of one other thing. The Koch brothers were contributors to the Democratic Leadership Council (DLC).

It's easy to see Donald Trump and the Republican Congress for what they are. They are basically a criminal and treasonous conspiracy that has taken over our government and turned our country into a kelptocracy.

Faced with that, the choices in 2018 and 2020 were/are easy. We must vote for every Democrat on the ticket. We must vote the crooks out. Voting for anybody but the Democrats on the ballot is voting for the Republicans and Trump. Vote blue no matter who.

The thing is that the overwhelming abuses of Trump and the Republicans have caused us to forget. We are in shock. Lawlessness has become the new law in our country.

The task before us is clear. However, the Democrats are no angels. They are politicians as well. We need to be able to call them out and hold them responsible even when we are pledging to vote only for them in 2020.

Yeah, I made that pollster crazy too. So here's the deal, we gave the Democrats back control of the House in 2018. I don't know about you, but I voted straight Democrat to stop Trump. We can't just storm the castle. We are a Republic after all.

Mueller handed in his report months ago. I was content to wait for that to happen and let the House Democrats wait as well. I am no longer content to wait and that's all we are being told by the House Democrats - by Nancy Pelosi to be precise.

To be specific, the House must move to hold Trump accountable. They must start Impeachment Hearings. They're not, and all of the reasons being offered for delaying are bullshit.

I'm a Democrat. I'm a Democrat with his eyes open. I don't fall in lockstep with any party. I don't trust politicians. I do what I can to hold any and all politicians accountable - even the ones I vote for.

If there are no good reasons for preventing and/or delaying Impeachment now, then we are left to consider the bad ones. I suspect the bad ones are much like the reasons Jeffrey Epstein was basically let off with a slap on the wrist.

Jeffrey Epstein was not fully prosecuted because his clients included rich and powerful people from around the world. It was not just Trump and Republicans using Epstein's services. There were plenty of prominent Democrats to go around. Epstein's plea deal was a complete and total travesty of justice.

Not Impeaching Trump begs the question. Who's got what on who? Who's Pelosi covering for/protecting? On May 31st, Pelosi appeared on Jimmy Kimmel's show and said, "I probably have a better idea as to what the president has to be held accountable for than anyone."

Really? What about Mueller? On May 29th in a live press conference, Mueller said, If we had had confidence that the President clearly did not commit a crime, we would have said so." He also said, "... the Constitution requires a process other than the criminal justice system to formally accuse a sitting President of wrongdoing."

I trust and respect Robert Mueller. I am reading the Mueller Report and I am doing so ever so slowly, I think Mueller is a genius. He managed to get the equivalent of a fully documented manuscript out of a concentration camp even after a new commandant was brought in to kill him.

I no longer trust Nancy Pelosi. I am angry at her and I am angry at others who have not stood up to her. They need to stop lending credibility to her nonsense by acquiescing to her demands to forestall Impeachment.

There are certainly many things that have left us wondering.Why did Justice Kennedy suddenly resign his seat on the Supreme Court?

Why isn't Richard Neal, Chairman of the House Ways and Means committee asking New York State for Trumps tax returns? He says he doesn't want to allow Trump to say he's on a "fishing expedition". WTF?

Oh yeah, a new story just came out. Apparently the Kochs are considering donating to Democrats in the 2020 elections.

The time to speak is now. Trump must be Impeached now. We need to take our country back.

Holy Moly!

Rediscovering Tyranny Before We Are Living Under It

Timothy Snyder is the Levin Professor of History at Yale. He's written several books. Up until a month ago I didn't even know he existed.

About a month ago is when Nick suggested I read "On Tyranny" by Timothy Snyder. Nick has just finished his first year of law school. He is the grandson of one of my oldest friends. We talk about once a week via telephone. He has a smartphone. I have a flip phone.

A conversation I had with Nick almost a year ago served as inspiration for one of my blog posts. If you are inclined, I've provided a link.


http://brendanbuschi.blogspot.com/2017/06/what-would-trump-have-to-do-grandpa.html


Nick carries around a pocket sized U.S. Constitution with him. He's wanted to be a lawyer since forever and he could end up being a member of the Supremes someday if our Republic survives.

A month ago I had at least 5 unread books on my night table. Somehow, no matter how much I read, I invariably have at least 5 unread books on my night table.

That's not actually my night table, but it's what I see when I look at my night table. Thing is - I failed to write down the title and decided to rely on my laser sharp memory.

Last week I posted a comment on a Twitter post by Chris Lutolf. He replied and suggested I read "On Tyranny". I was on my computer, so I checked it out on Amazon and ordered it. It was only $6.39. (What a deal.) It arrived 2 days later and it took me about an hour all toll to read. I read it over 2 days.

"On Tyranny" is an excellent book. When I finished it, I immediately called Nick and recommended that he read it. At first he thought I might be setting him up, but then he realized I wasn't. Sometimes I like to mess with him.

In a situation like this, I always plead my age. I'm 72. Ha! Ha! The short story here is that I urged him to carry it (it too is pocket sized) along with his pocket U.S. Constitution and read from it daily - use it for meditation.

I often recommend "Friendly Fascism" by Bertram Gosss to people. It's not a book you can read in a day - at least I couldn't. It was written in 1980, but it's what I would call a foundation book. If you want to understand our Republic it's excellent.

If you've never read "Stick and Rudder" by Wolfgang Langewiesche, I recommend that as well. It has nothing to do with politics. "Stick and Rudder" is about flying. It was written in 1944. It is still relevant. It too is what I would call a foundation book. I was so impressed with "Stick and Rudder", I suggested it be added to every high school student's reading list. I mention this because that is exactly what Chris Lutolf said about "On Tyranny".

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

The link above will take you to a video of Timothy Snyder talking about the Mueller Investigation. It is excellent and it gives you a feel for Timothy.

The picture above is of Robert Mueller as a young man. He is a Vietnam War veteran. He graduated from Princeton in 1966. In 1968 he enlisted in the U.S. Marines and was sent to Vietnam. After the war he went to UVA and in 1973, he got his JD.

In 2001, Mueller was unanimously confirmed as Director of the FBI by the U.S. Senate. He left the FBI in 2013 and in 2017 he was recruited as Special Counsel to investigate Russian interference in our 2016 election.

It's not an exaggeration to suggest that Robert Mueller is a modern day Atlas. He literally has the fate of our Republic and possibly the world on his shoulders. I doubt he forgets anything. Nothing gets passed him.

Donald Trump attacks Mueller almost daily. He trashes Mueller, the investigation, the FBI, our IC community and the press in a seemingly unending barrage of invective, lies and hate. Several Republican members of Congress and lots of right wing media folks join in those attacks.

Trump's supporters do not care about facts. Their morality seems to be whatever Donald Trump decides and that changes on a regular basis - sometimes from moment to moment. They are a cult.

They have also been a mob at times. That seems to be happening more and more.

We've seen this all before. We know how this story ends. The question is will we allow it to happen here? Will fascism and tyranny be in our future?

We have now begun taking children from their parents. The parents are coming to our border seeking asylum from murder and violence in their countries, so naturally we arrest them. The children are housed in "detention centers". Over 2,000 children have been taken to date. It must stop.

Trump and his criminal co-conspirators must be stopped. We need to protect Mueller and vote in the mid-terms. Until that time we need to put daily pressure on our House and Senate members to protect Mueller, protect the integrity of our elections, and stop the illegal and immoral actions committed by members of this administration and those they control. This is not what the immigrants I descended from had in mind when they came to America.

Meanwhile, Trump is pushing for a parade. Maybe he has earned one. Maybe we should watch as he and his minions are rounded up and paraded off to trial.

Holy Moly!