Donald Trump is Easily Manipulated: Putin Will Love Him

Just a quick post this afternoon as I'm thinking about how easy it is to upset or control Donald Trump's ego. We see it every single day. What does Vladimir Putin and the KGB have in mind after he is inaugurated? I can't help but imagine that they have a game plan in mind for getting information and support out of him. I would have a plan if I were them...

I have no doubt that Putin has plans to schmooze Donald Trump into believing that they are bros; what will happen then? Who knows how much information, shared power, and dollars he will get out of the US of A.

Not to mention my 100% expectation that the dynamics of the war with Ukraine will change dramatically. We're already seeing an increase in violence and aggression from Putin in the war, forcing our hand to up the aggression from our side, Biden's side. This conflict will change dramatically soon...

Listen, I don't have more information than your general news viewer, but I have no doubts that Donald Trump will throw his, OUR, considerable military might behind Putin in 58 days, Inauguration Day. Things will change. And he will put our country into jeopardy with this alliance.

And it is THIS DYNAMIC that scares me more than just about anything else to do with him.

I'm fully disgusted with his ego and with the way he is easy to manipulate...
Donald Trump, Fool in Charge.

Your thoughts?

My Trumper Friend

Today I was talking with a friend who supports and who voted for Trump. We were talking about the vast space in between the left and the right, the DMZ, if you will. Would either of us be willing to reach across the DMZ aisle for any specific issues.

She surprised me by saying that she would reach across the aisle for an issue that is near and dear to my heart, women's health care rights! And she is my second Trumper friend who has said this to me. I find it particularly interesting because this is such a foundational
conservative issue that the "moral majority" bases its legs on.

She then said something that I knew I had to post here.
"I'm not against voting for a female president..as long as she was someone like FDR's wife."

I replied, "Your bar is so high for a female candidate that she has to be
equivalent to Eleanor Roosevelt but you will go ground low for a male candidate?"

That ended the conversation.
Sadly.

I'm an Enemy of Donald Trump

President-elect Trump has told us repeatedly and in many ways that he will come after his enemies and detractors.

I'm not afraid! Come after me!

I know that he means Nancy Polosi and other high-level Liberals, but I want to be included in the sweep! I would be proud.

The Death of the Department of Education will mean the Death of our Nation as we know it

 

Donald Trump plans on canning the Department of Education and "taking it to the states". Is this all his plan for saving federal dollars? If so, it's a costly national mistake.

Let's look at what the Department of Education brings to the table...and all of these ideas and thoughts are from the top of my head after a conversation with my sister, a public school teacher in a state with lots of poverty. Lots of poverty, just like the entire southeastern part of our country: Trump Country.

The Department of Education provides for breakfasts and lunches for some ridiculously large number of children, many of whom get the majority of their caloric intake at school. What will those children eat? What will they eat?

The Department of Education provides for schools, school buses, and staff in rural parts of the country. Often the only schools around for miles. Where will these children go to school after the schools have to close down due to an inability to fiscally keep them open? Who can afford private/parochial schools or who can homeschool?
MANY SCHOOLS WILL HAVE TO CLOSE.

The Department of Education provides for Pre-K programs. Will children have to wait until they are 5 or 6 before getting services? What about reading and writing and colors and numbers? If the students even live in counties that can afford to keep their schools open.

The Department of Education provides for after school programs. What about those children whose parents work and need this after school care? People will literally be unable to work if they have children of school age. Unemployment and underemployment will become a national problem again. Increasing poverty. A vicious circle.

The Department of Education provides for extra curricular programming that meets after school hours. None will exist.

The Department of Education provides for 405 plans and for Individual Education Programs, IEPs, for students who need a little extra so that they can thrive in schools. Children WILL be left behind!

The Department of Education provides for special programming during the day. Where will children get the extra services and care that they need? How many children will be left behind? What about the social workers, psychologists, speech and hearing coaches, nurses, mental health, wellness services, and other specialists providing care to our children? What will happen to these kids when they are even further left behind?

The Department of Education provides FAFSA services so that students with financial need can access grants and loans for college. That would be GONE.

The Department of Education ensures equal access to education for homeless children under the McKinney-Vento Act. Yes, children with no home can get services at school without barriers. And some economically disadvantaged students can find funds through this act.

The Department of Education provides for teacher education and continuing education hours, parental training programs, ESL or English as a Second Language programs, school engagement and attendance programs, Title IX programming and services, disability programs, special needs programming and activities, literacy programs, Parent/Teacher events, sports, clubs, protection against gun violence, and so much more. GONE. Gone.

"Taking it to the states" indeed.
Most states will never be able to provide needed services to all of their students.

The Department of Education is ESSENTIAL.

Your Thoughts?

SCAPEGOATING the UNIVERSITIES

Donald Trump has another scapegoat for all of our problems besides immigrants: Higher Education.
I saw a speech he made where he blamed the radical liberal left for being in opposition to the agenda of the right. And I can't say that he is wrong. Many professors are, in fact, liberal. But more importantly, learning critical thought and critical reading skills can disassemble conservative values and ideas in university students.

He's not the first conservative to claim this. It has been a rallying call for decades. Universities are anathema to black and white thinking as well as to the right's projects. And the universities are blamed for instilling critical thought into their students, like that is a bad thing.

Here is a quote I found on MSNBC:

 During the campaign, Trump released a video laying out his plan to “reclaim our once-great educational institutions from the radical left.” He promised to use the “secret weapon” of accreditation, punishing schools that don’t follow his instructions by stripping them of the certification without which they might not survive. “I will fire the radical left accreditors that have allowed our colleges to become dominated by Marxist maniacs and lunatics,” he said, and replace them with Trump-approved accreditors who will bring a more MAGA-friendly approach to higher education. 

What could he POSSIBLY mean by MAGA-friendly approach to higher education? I honestly don't know, but it will definitely not mean higher standards and critical thinking. 

What does he mean by Trump-approved accreditors? I don't know, but it will not mean higher qualifications, higher standards, or well-educated staff. And hasn't he already dabbled in unsuccessful higher education?

What do YOU think?

AAAAnd Gaetz is Out. But New Authoritarian Gift for Trump is IN

 

From MSNBC:

The House passed H.R. 9495 on Thursday in a 219-184 vote. If passed by the Senate and signed into law, the measure would give the Trump administration the authority to strip the tax-exempt status of nonprofits it considers "terrorist supporting organizations."

 

Now In Dangerous Territory:
PBS, Planned Parenthood, ACLU, News Outfits, Universities, reproductive health, Amnesty International, OxFam America, LGBTQ+ organizations, environmental groups, immigrant rights, educational organizations...over 300 organizations.

HR 9495 effing passed in the House. Now on to the Senate.
Donald Trump has gone on record as being against "left leaning, liberal" organizations like civil rights groups, environmental groups, and human rights groups among many others. Because OF COURSE he would be against these things. He's a criminal and a con man and he benefits from uninformed human beings.

This newest authoritarian gift to Donald Trump may allow him to strip tax-exempt status of nonprofits from anyone he considers foes or "terrorist supporting organizations". And his range is broad. And the bill is wide and easy to abuse. And Trump and his cronies are CRIMINAL at using loopholes. He WILL use it to create havoc indiscriminately in all of these lofty places and we can only sit and watch. 

CONTACT YOUR SENATORS!!!

Your Thoughts on this?

 

 

UnEthical President-Elect Trump, Egregious Corruption Already in Gaetz Case

Today was the meeting of the Ethical Committee of the House on Matt Gaetz's sexual behaviors and such. If you're watching the news at all you know that the committee came up five to five with no resolution to the matter. They plan on revisiting it in December.

Did you hear what the president-elect said to those in the committee?  "...If you are on the wrong side of the vote, you are buying yourself a primary. That is all. And there's guy named Elon Musk who is going to finance it." 

Threats to the Republicans on the ethics committee. Threats to any Republican who threatens to block the nominees for his cabinet. Threats to his own party members to give blind fealty to Trump with regards to a sex criminal.

Is there any irony at all that an ethical probe is being blocked and tampered with in a most unethical way? Welcome to what that administration will be like.

 He's not even in office yet.

 Your Thoughts? 

Help the ACLU Help You

Help us build our power: Share the action by forwarding the email below to your friends, or by sharing this link: aclu.org/dissent. Thank you, The ACLU Team --------- Hi friend, There is a bill in Congress that would threaten free speech under the guise of national security. It's a clear reaction to pro-Palestinian protests – and would give the government power to stifle free speech of organizations they don't agree with and target disfavored groups. This authority could even be used to pressure universities to shut down student protests or activist groups. We can't let this bill pass. That's why I just joined the ACLU in sending an email to our representatives, demanding that they vote no on this harmful bill. Will you join me now and send a message to protect free speech? Thanks.

Clumsy but Fervent

I'm clumsy, yes. Awkward, yes. Uninformed, yes.

But I'm ready to learn and I'm willing.
Will you learn along with me?
Let's share our learning curve. I will share mine here. There is so much to learn. I believe that this is the most important thing we can do. I'm desperate for actions that I can take in this movement so please share with me! I'd also like to see your thoughts and comments about my writing. My energy is high and I will continue to inform myself and to share with you!

Years of Preparation: Trump in Office

He's no less of a pawn than the next guy.
Republicans through the Evangelical Right have been working on getting to this exact place for over forty years. Have you seen the streaming show called "Bad Faith"? It will scare the living hell out of you because it shows just how long this point of power has been in play. They have been working aggressively to get to this point for over forty years, including getting the churches behind their agendas and their voting bents, getting a Conservative Supreme Court, having majorities in the House and in the Senate, and having someone in the executive branch who is capable of conning a majority of people in the country.

Yes, they have been getting to this exact point for many years and now, here we are. MAGA

The documentary mentioned above is fully titled: Bad Faith: Christian Nationalism's Unholy War on Democracy. Please, inform yourself; watch the show.

Why do I begin this post with the statement that he is no less of a pawn than the next guy?
Because he was chosen by the Republican elite for his star power and for his ability to con followers into sycophantic, slavering fans. That's all. He did not come up with the policies or far right Project 2025. Others did. He's merely their pawn. He's the pawn of the Heritage Foundation.

I know it sounds sickening to say that, but the truth is that he's nothing without their backing and their agenda. He's no more Christian than...I am.

And who is THEY?
According to a Politico article, it goes back before Roe, though most people assume and claim that it started with Roe vs Wade and the Christian backlash to that case. Yes, Folks, it was Brown vs. the Board of Education of 1954. The Evangelical Right is racist in origin. Read the link. Always inform yourself more!

And how did the Evangelicals create such a powerful voting bloc? This incredibly formidable and difficult-to-outvote wave? Read more about Paul Weyrich and his "moral majority" movement. It is far too complicated and long-reaching for me to do justice to the growth of the Right.

But it should frighten you. Because what they did right was to politicize their religious fervor starting way back in the 1970's, and to continue that groundswell for decades. That is why the movement is gargantuan now in 2024, this marriage of religion and politics and business.

It will take years to dismantle the brainwashing and political power of the "moral majority".

What do you think?

Want to learn more along with me?
HOMEWORK:  Watch Bad Faith.
                             Read up on Paul Weyrich and Jerry Falwell
                             Read up on Heritage Foundation, founded 1973