During the Inaugural Prayer service at Washington’s National Cathedral, Episcopal Bishop Mariann Budde looked Donald Trump directly in the eye and asked him “ to have mercy” on people who are scared. She particularly mentioned the LGBTQ community, transgendered children, and immigrants. The transcript of her sermon can be found here.
Trump was stunned and fired back an angry, childish response to her, as he does every time someone says something he doesn’t like. Naturally, Trump-world exploded, attacking the Bishop with derogatory names and, in some cases, even death threats. Republicans referred to her as “a so-called bishop” of a “so-called church” in their typical hypocritical Christian fashion.
Bishop Budde has become somewhat of a hero for having the courage to stand up to the malevolent Trump, something that very few males in Congress or any other “religious leader dared to do. But this isn’t the first time Bishop Budde has stood up against hate and shown what a real Christian is all about.
Do you remember Matthew Sheppard, the teenager who was beaten, tortured, and left to die on a barbed wire fence near Laramie, Wyoming, in October of 1998? He died as a result of the attack. He was murdered because he was gay. You can read Matthew’s story in The Guardian.
After Matthew’s death, he was never given a final resting place, as his family feared it would face desecration by hate groups. Ten years after his death, Bishop Budde granted Matthew’s parent’s request to have his ashes interred at Washington’s National Cathedral, where he now lies in peace, finally.
Bishop Budde is truly an American and Christian hero whose faith and love for humanity should be exemplified. If you have ever asked, “What would Jesus do”? Your answer would be, as Bishop Budde has done.
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Like many Americans, I was shocked when Trump won the election, But what shocked me even more was the reaction of the Democrats. There were no lawsuits, no investigations, and no questions asked. They waived the white flag, rolled over, and gave up.
Since then, there have been some issues regarding the election that have called into question the validity of the election. During the campaign, people remember Trump telling his supporters he did not need their votes. Did he know something we didn’t? Two days ago, Trump made this odd statement about Musk, “He knows those computers better than anybody all those computers those vote counting computers”. Trump was thanking Musk for his help in winning Pennsylvania. The video may be viewed here.
I’m not saying the election was rigged, but I am wondering what would happen if it was. What would happen if there was sound, irrefutable truth that Musk tampered with the voting machines to change the votes in favor of Trump? And what would happen if there was indisputable evidence that this was done at the direction of Trump and his campaign staff? What if it could be proven that Trump was never shot in that supposed assassination attempt where the alleged shooter was killed and that Trump orchestrated the entire incident?
Sure, everyone would say impeach him. That wouldn’t work. The Republicans in the Senate blocked an impeachment in his first term. This time, his MAGA Republicans control both the Senate and the House of Representatives.
So, how about the Department of Justice and the judicial system investigating, charging, and indicting him? That won’t work because Trump will have his hand-picked Attorney General, who has pledged loyalty to him, block any such actions. The last refuge of hope would be the Supreme Court. But we are in this position today because SCOTUS allowed a person who planned an insurrection to run for office and then granted him almost complete immunity.
If, by some miracle, Trump was impeached and removed from office, we will still be left with an autocratic style of government. Every single person in the line of accession to the presidency has been hand-picked for their loyalty to Trump. The entire Trump regime, the Supreme Court, and numerous Congressional Republicans would have to be impeached, removed from office, and imprisoned. It will never happen.
We will never get to a point where, if there were abundant damaging evidence against Trump and Musk, the public would never know. Fox News, the official propaganda arm of the Trump syndicate, would never allow anything negative about Trump to be reported. The major cable and network news organizations are under the control of wealthy Trump supporters, and they would never jeopardize their relationship with Trump.
The Constitution has no provision for dealing with an entirely corrupt and treasonous government. Our Founding Fathers never in their wildest imaginations could have envisioned such a dangerous and disastrous situation.
I do not hold out much hope that Trump or anyone in his Reich will allow another fair presidential election. Otherwise, we are doomed. I hope I am wrong.
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Here we are on day two of the Trump oligarchy, which is actually the first full day since his anointing. He didn’t wait for today to start his reign of terror, though. Yesterday, he began firing off executive orders like he was ordering Big Macs at McDonalds.
For all his followers who are on Medicare and Medicaid and have difficulty affording their prescription drugs, you must be thrilled. When Biden lowered the cost of insulin and other prescription drugs for people on Medicare and Medicaid, you were excited, but you didn’t give Biden credit for helping you. No, instead, you believed Trump’s lies promising you better healthcare. Yesterday, Trump rescinded Biden’s order. You now have lost your prescription drug savings so Trump could put more money in the pockets of his big pharma buddies.
Now that your prescription drug costs will remain high, you must be careful not to get sick. Don’t worry; Trump withdrew the US from the World Health Organization, so if there is another pandemic, you’re on your own, left only with bleach and heartworm medication. It must be comforting to hear Trump say he knows so much about health issues!
Yesterday, Trump also withdrew the US from the Paris Climate Agreement to protect his wealthy cronies in the oil industry. I’m sure this doesn’t mean anything to you MAGA supporters, who think the weather and the climate are the same thing. Maybe you’ll discover the difference when your home is blown away in a hurricane or left in ashes after a wildfire. But climate change is a hoax.
Thank God all of you Trump followers are straight, white Christians. Yesterday, he rolled back policies protecting gay and transgender rights and supporting equality and diversity. If your son or daughter loses their job or faces discrimination over their gender or sexual identity, you can proudly tell them you voted for that.
I doubt that any of you MAGA people have relatives who are children granted US citizenship through birthright citizenship because Trump is trying to eliminate that right. However, it will be next to impossible because it is a Constitutional Amendment. So forget about turning in your neighborhood children because they look Mexican.
These are just a few of Trump's executive orders issued on his first day as President. Wait until he places a 25% tariff on goods from Mexico and Canada! I’m sure you won’t have any problems paying 25% extra for your cars, fruits and vegetables, and beer. After all, your fearless leader said you weren’t better off with Biden.
This is only the beginning of Trump’s reign of terror, and there will be many, many more to come. Since he and wealthy white supremacist Christian nationalists have more in store to return the country to the days when the robber barons ruled and minorities existed in the shadows. For now, I will refrain from saying I told you so. I am sure you will get everything you deserve.
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Today, January 6, 2025, the House of Representatives certified Donald Trump as the winner of the 2024 presidential election. Unlike in 2024, when Trump refused to accept he lost the election to Joe Biden and organized and led an attack on Congress, there were no objections, no false slate of electors, no riotous mobs, and no one was killed or injured.
In the four years since Trump’s insurrection attempt, there have been many legal battles to hold Trump accountable for his treasonous acts, as well as other felonies he has committed. He was found guilty of fraud in one case and has been adjudicated a rapist in another, both state charges.
Trump has not been held accountable for his actions on January 6, 2021, or his mishandling and concealment of classified documents, which are more serious charges. It is doubtful he will ever be held accountable for any of his crimes.
A rogue, corrupt, far-right SCOTUS and an incompetent federal judge who sided with Trump during legal actions against him effectively shielded Trump from any serious legal actions. SCOTUS ruled that Trump was basically above the law and could not be prosecuted for any crimes committed in association with the duties of his office, even murder.
I must point out that five people died in connection with the January 6th insurrection, and no one has ever been held accountable. According to SCOTUS, even if there was irrefutable proof that Trump was responsible, he could not be prosecuted. He would get away with murder. He has previously bragged that he “could shoot someone on 5th Avenue and not lose any voters.” It turns out he was right.
We would never have gotten to this point in time if Attorney General Merrick Garland hadn’t been such a blatant coward and investigated not only Trump but the many sitting members of both the House and Senate who actively participated in the planning and execution of the insurrection. Even the wife of a Supreme Court Justice who financially supported the insurrectionists was allowed to evade any questioning.
The House Select Committee on the January 6 attack uncovered solid evidence against Trump and members of Congress but lacked the power to do anything. Those members of Congress with intimate knowledge of the insurrection refused to testify and ignored subpoenas issued to them. Garland and the Department of Justice did nothing.
Garland, the Justice Department, and even Biden were so afraid of being accused of being “political” that they allowed Trump, members of his administration, and numerous members of Congress to get away with treason and even murder.
Even though there were many inconsistencies in the 2024 election, Democrats chose not to investigate or litigate. I am not suggesting they should have acted like Trump and his supporters. They should have been more forceful in prosecutorial work long before today. Instead, they rolled over and waved the white flag. Once again, they brought a knife to a gunfight. I don’t expect much meaningful resistance from them in the next four years.
The attempt to take over the government began on January 6, 2021, and successfully ended on January 6, 2024, without a raised voice or a shot fired.
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It’s no secret that multi-billionaire Elon Musk bought the presidency and has allowed billionaire Donald Trump to merely act as President. As of this writing, every cabinet member of the new administration is at least a millionaire. Trump received overwhelming support from those Americans in MAGA who considered him one of their own who supported their interests.
Surprise! You’ve been had!
Trump has named Elon Musk and Vivek Ramaswamy to be the heads of a new agency that will oversee government spending. According to Rolling Stone Musk has announced one of their top priorities is to cut Social Security and Medicare, so Trump will be able to give his promised tax cuts for millionaires.
For all of you MAGA members who voted for Trump because he understood your needs, now you know he may have understood your needs, but he doesn’t care. It looks like you’ll never get that invitation to Mar-a-Lago.
Have you ever wondered how much one billion dollars is? If you had a billion dollars and you spent $1000 each day, it would take 2,740 years before you went broke,
Now, let’s look at how much Elon Musk is worth. Musk is worth 449.5 billion dollars! He could never be able to spend his fortune. But he could make life better for millions of poor and suffering people all over the world. Unfortunately, that is not how Elon Musk is wired.
I think if most people had a million dollars, they would spend a lot on themselves, but they would spend much of the money helping others. It’s hard for me to comprehend how a person is so greedy that he is willing to make others suffer so he can acquire more wealth. But I guess that’s just me.
Millions of people voted against their best interests in the last elections, believing a con man would give them a better life. They voted for a man because he hated the same people they did. But what they didn’t know was that he hated them too.
We may be in for four years of economic distress while the ultra-wealthy pillage the Treasury and force us into poverty. We can only hope our billionaire masters will not have taken away our right to vote. But, I am not sure many Americans will have learned their lesson if there is another election.
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At three o’clock in the morning, most sane people are sleeping, but not Donald Trump. The pathological narcissist cannot forget that someone would dare criticize him or attempt to hold him accountable for the crimes he has committed. It was at this time, in the middle of the night, that Trump chose to threaten Liz Cheney for her part in uncovering the truth behind the January 6th insurrection.
Throughout Trump’s campaign, he emphasized his desire for retribution on his perceived enemies more than what he would do for the country. He has continued to promise that his political opponents, the media, those public officials who dared to prosecute him for his crimes, and anyone who criticized him would face justice under his Justice Department. He had even called for military tribunals to carry out his revenge,
Anyone who is this obsessed with taking revenge on his perceived enemies is not a sane person. Such a person should never be in a position of power or authority. But sadly, he will be the next President in a month. Thanks to a fascist Supreme Court, he will yield almost unlimited power over everyone, including those who criticize him. He can even order his political opponents to be killed as long as he does so as one of his official duties.
Former GOP Congresswoman Liz Cheney has been at the top of his list ever since she began investigating Trump for his part in fomenting the January 6th insurrection as Vice Chairman of the January 6 select committee of the House.
She further stoked his hatred for her as she publicly supported and campaigned for Kamala Harris in the election. He has previously called for a televised military tribunal to prosecute Cheney for treason. Last year, Trump suggested that the former Chairman of the Joint Chiefs, General Mark Milley, be executed for meeting with his Chinese counterpart.
Cheney is arguably at the top of Trump’s hit list for his next administration, but there are others who Trump has promised to “bring to justice.” Among them are Kamala Harris, Joe Biden and his family, Barack and Michelle Obama, New York’s AG Letitia James, and the list goes on.
Trump has already started his revenge on the media with lawsuits against ABC News. The major media outlets are bending over backward to kiss up to Trump, as he has promised lawsuits against them or revoking their broadcast licenses. The First Amendment is definitely in big trouble, and it doesn’t appear that the media is willing to fight for their rights.
If anyone had doubts that Trump was kidding, all they have to do is look at the sycophants he has nominated for his Cabinet positions. Not one of them possesses any qualifications except for blind loyalty to Trump and their determination to assist Trump in his reign of retribution.
In a normal democracy, one would think Trump could carry out the revengeful prosecution of his enemies with an effective judicial system in place. However, with the highest court in the land aiding and abetting Trump’s fascist behavior, there may be no way of preventing Trump from carrying out his revenge.
How far will he go? Will he seek jail time for his detractors? Or, God forbid, will he execute them, as he has suggested? The only people who can stop him are the GOP members of Congress, who so far have signaled they are willing to follow him in lockstep. We’re in for another Inquisition!
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A few days ago, I was in the Department of Motor Vehicles tending to some unfinished business when the clerk asked me if I was registered to vote. I told her I was. I noticed a sign saying you can register to vote or change your registration online. At first, I didn’t think anything of it, so I ignored it.
But later, while driving home, I began thinking of maybe changing my registration. I have been a registered Democrat since I was 18 and never considered changing that. My parents and all my family members were part of the working middle class and never once thought of becoming a Republican, much less voting for one.
I had friends who were Republican and felt the same way about their party. But we were still friends. Politics were hardly ever mentioned once every election was over, except sometimes when applying for a job when being a Republican assured your success. I’m sure there were places where being a Democrat assured others job success.
I have always been told that anyone could grow up to be President, but I never believed it. If you want to be elected, you must be rich, come from a wealthy family, and have very wealthy connections. Today, even a convicted felon can be elected, but he must still be rich.
I began thinking of the 2016 election and how hard the Republicans fought to change the results, even though they knew they lost. Then I thought of this past election, where Trump won by a very narrow margin. There were many irregularities and discrepancies in vote counts, yet the Democrats laid down and rolled over. There were no challenges. What the hell is wrong with them?
Our presidential elections have never been democratic, thanks to the racist antiquated Electoral College. It has been years since the majority of American people have elected the President.
This was the first year a billionaire, lock, stock, and barrel purchased the Presidency. Millionaires have been bankrolling presidential candidates for years. Once elected, the candidates serve their donors, not the citizens.
No other country in the world has political campaigns lasting months and even years. No other country spends billions of dollars on every campaign. This incoming administration will consist of billionaires and millionaires dedicated to serving their own interests and those of other wealthy businessmen. We will officially be an oligarchy.
Should I change my registration? The answer is, what’s the use? I am a non-religious, retired, white, middle-class, gay man married to a male immigrant. Who represents my interests? There is no way in hell Republicans do. Some want to invalidate my marriage, take away my rights, deport my husband, decrease my Medicare and Social Security, and force Christian nationalism on me.
The reason why I have always supported the Democratic Party is because I believed they would protect me and defend my rights. For many years, they have done just that. But lately, it seems they are afraid to anger Trump and his extreme right-wing supporters. They have missed many opportunities to codify LGBTQ rights, as well as women’s reproductive rights. They wanted to wait for bipartisan support from the very people who have declared their intentions to destroy both LGBTQ and women’s rights.
They appeared to have lost their collective spines in the past four years. Under the leadership of AG Merrick Garland, they have failed to hold accountable Trump and the members of Congress who attempted a coup on January 6th, 2021. Now, the coup has almost been completed.
In deciding the Democratic Party leadership for the next Congress, the Party has shown they have not learned anything from their recent loss. They are still going with the same old, white, sickly male Democrats instead of handing the party over to the younger generation.
I have lost faith in the Democratic Party and have no faith in the Republican Party, so what do I do? The only option is to become an Independent. But, really, what good is that? Big-money donors will still support and elect either a Democrat or a Republican.
What we need is an effective and popular alternative party or parties. But that will never happen because everyone is pathologically attached to the party they now belong to. Wealthy donors will never allow a third party to exist, especially if it has the support of the poor and middle class.
Political parties are becoming a thing of the past. The grassroots members of the party are no longer of any importance. Their votes won’t matter anymore. During the last campaign, Trump even admitted that he did not need people’s votes. They can be bought or technologically manipulated.
I won’t bother to change my registration because it will make no difference in my future. I can only hope there are some politicians of either party who have the courage to take our country from the oligarchs and give it back to the people. It’s “We the People”, not “We the Wealthy.”
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I remember seeing a lot of old guys walking around Walmart and Lowe’s proudly wearing their red MAGA hats. I remember hearing them talking together about how Trump will take better care of veterans and retirees instead of Biden giving all the money to illegal immigrants. Occasionally, I heard them say they’d never vote for a woman, especially a Black woman. I’ve heard a few oldsters say, “We’ve already had a Black President; we don’t need another one.”
Well, they didn’t get another Black president or a woman. They got what they wanted: an old White male racist, just like them. By voting their racism, they got a hell of a lot more than what they wanted.
Two programs every senior citizen over the age of 65 depends on to survive are Medicare and Social Security. During Trump’s first term in office, he attempted to change both programs in ways that would be devastating to senior citizens. Thanks to the Democrats in Congress, Trump didn’t succeed.
As Trump campaigned for his second term, he promised to initiate these changes. But did these old fools listen and pay attention? Of course not. Even though Kamala Harris vowed to protect Medicare and Social Security, they didn’t believe her because she is a woman and she’s Black.
Now Trump has nominated one of the most unqualified people in the country to lead the Medicare and Medicaid Programs, Dr. Mehmet Oz. Dr. Oz was a successful surgeon who saw he could make more money by becoming a television huckster hawking medical misinformation and unproven supplements. His colleagues at Columbia University voted to remove him from the faculty of their College of Physicians and Surgeons.
Dr. Oz has voiced his support for privatizing Medicare, which could lead to higher costs for seniors and fewer options. Prescription drug prices will most likely increase, as the private insurance companies running the Medicare Advantage plans would have no competition.
Assisting Dr. Oz, will be Trump’s choice to lead Health and Human Services, the conspiracy theory nutjob, Robert F. Kennedy, Jr. Kennedy is a staunch opponent of vaccines and drug research. He supports the discontinuation of research into new drugs to treat cancer and other deadly diseases. He also supports eliminating the Food and Drug Administration, which protects the safety of our food supply and prescription drugs.
These old fools will not have to worry about their healthcare costs or lack of insurance because Kennedy and Oz’s plans for the future will most likely kill them. That’s an acceptable price to pay to make sure a Black woman never becomes President.
Regarding Social Security, no one knows what will happen to the program. Trump-backed Republicans favor raising the retirement age to 70 and cutting some benefits. According to the Republican Study Committee in the House, their 2025 budget sees social security benefits cuts affecting 3 in 4 Americans. Hey, but at least the old racist white guy is in charge!
I know that a majority of these old MAGA fools get their news from Fox News, so their ignorance is understandable, if not acceptable. But what gets my ire is the nation’s largest organization that purports to advocate for senior citizens, AARP, did not once warn seniors of the dangers of a Trump presidency. Instead, they asked its members to study the candidates’ views on Social Security and Medicare and make a wise choice. As if its member would actually do that!
Instead of pushing Life Insurance, Car Insurance, and its favorite Medicare Advantage plan, AARP chose not to take a stance in the most important election of their members’ lifetimes. They are nothing but cowards and wimps protecting their own financial interests.
As Trump continues to name his picks for his Cabinet, or as I will from here on call it, his “Wrecking Crew,” things will become worse for not only senior citizens but all Americans. The old adage proves to be true once again: “There’s no fool like an old fool.”
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In the past couple of weeks, Florida, the Carolinas, Georgia, and Tennessee have been devastated by two powerful hurricanes. Trump-supporting MAGA politicians have been quick to remind us that this devastation would not have occurred had Trump been President and was able to use his famous hurricane-averting Sharpie pen to steer the hurricane away from the US.
They also pointed out that the Biden administration has done nothing to assist the victims of the storms as FEMA monies were instead given to house illegal aliens. They observed that Biden had not been there to help in the recovery, recalling fondly how Trump tossed rolls of paper towels to the Puerto Rican victims of Hurricane Maria, smiled for his photo op, and left.
As a public service, Trump and his supporters are telling the victims they will receive no assistance from the government and not to believe any information coming from FEMA or state and local authorities. Instead, he has opened his home at Mar A Lago to those victims needing housing. He has already donated hundreds of millions of dollars of his own money to assist those who have lost everything.
As Hurricane Milton approached Florida, Republican members of Congress revealed shocking information regarding not only this storm but others that have hit states in the Southeast. They have confirmed that President Joe Biden and his government control the weather. Biden has the ability to form hurricanes and direct them toward heavily Republican areas of those states in the Southeast.
With the help of their top scientist, Marjorie Taylor Greene, they discovered that Biden had a machine to accomplish this activity. He has a weather-changing machine that can create hurricanes, tornadoes, and other environmental disasters. Global warming has nothing to do with the changes in the weather.
All Biden has to do is unlock this machine, which is secreted away in the White House basement, use his password to activate it, set the strength of the wind and the amount of rainfall to produce, and then aim it at the areas of each state with the highest population of Republican voters. Before he presses the “Start” button, he can determine how much money can be diverted from FEMA and other federal assistance programs and be given to illegal immigrants,
This revelation is undoubtedly an October Surprise and emphasizes the importance of returning Trump and his Sharpie back to the White House for the safety of Florida and other hurricane-prone states.
Image Created by Bing Image Creator. Joe Biden creating Hurricane Milton.
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