TrumpStoleIt.org
When I was a little girl, I didn’t speak or understand the english language. I was born American, as were my parents, yet they spoke spanish at home. It was not until I started first grade in Elementary School that I was forced to learn english. This was a time when the teachers were still allowed to use corporal punishment. Speaking spanish was prohibited, so for us spanish speaking children who didn’t know how to communicate in english, we had a very difficult time and were subjected to swats on the open palm with a ruler on more occasions than we would have liked. But we were raised to respect our elders and take the punishment for breaking the rules. Our parents offered no comfort either because they felt that learning english and getting an education was the most important thing. We were to blame for breaking the rules. I am recalling this part of my life because I think it formed the basis for my respect for the law and why I eventually became an attorney, despite all the odds. It is why I become so angry when I see politicians and other powerful people of means, treat the law as something that doesn’t necessarily apply to them, or can be manipulated or ignored, or suffer no consequences because they have already greased the palms of the “right people” in power. That is why TrumpStoleIt.org is so powerful.
When I was also a little, my mother used to try to keep me in line by warning me about the “Bruja.” If I wasn’t a good little girl, the “Bruja” might come and take me away. The “Bruja” was a mythical creature that would take the form of a female and cry like a baby in the night to try to lure us out. I never saw one, but I knew they were evil. Most Americans refer to their childhood monsters as the bogeyman, but there are many versions. As I grew older, I realized that this was just a myth, but you never really outgrow your fear of the dark if we really want to be honest. In my mind, I had pictures of different “Brujas” or monsters that were very frightening. But not once, did it ever occur to me that real “Brujas” or monsters existed in the world. I know better now. There are many kinds of monsters in this world. My childhood monsters now have faces and names and too many of them belong to the Republican party and evil lies within.
Growing up as a poor Mexican-American in the 5o’s and 60’s, I became aware of the suffering, unfairness, discrimination around me. I saw it and had experiences of my own. That is why, certain memories are more vivid than others. As poor as my family was, I remember my mother answering a knock on the door in the middle of the night and now and then, making fried potatoes or heating up re-fried frijoles for burritos to make with her home-aide tortillas. She would make as many as needed, pour fresh brewed coffee into Mason quart jars and hand them over in large paper bags to thirsty and hungry undocumented immigrants. All strangers, all scared, all covered in dust and looking exhausted. Some on their way to California, others to different destinations to reach family members or friends. I never questioned her, I just accepted it as something you were expected to do. I was witnessed to the gratefulness and gratitude of these people, which my mother accepted quietly. It was different each time. A family with children would appear or mixed group of individuals with a child or two in tow or just a couple of men. All in desperate need of help and all with fear in their eyes when they would arrive at our door, but always a little alleviated when they left. It was especially these times that made me realize how lucky I was to be an American and to have what I had. I was more grateful for my parents, my siblings and that I had a warm bed to sleep in, clean clothes to wear even though I hated wearing my sister’s hand me downs. We never really went hungry. At times we ate Government cheese, peanut butter and drank powder milk to make ends meet, but we survived and we always had a roof over our heads.
Though we were poor by anyone’s standards, I was rich compared to the people who showed up on our doorstep. That is why the apathy and callousness of Republicans and others towards the suffering, unfairness and discrimination that still occurs angers me to this day and makes my heart break at the same time.
These late night visits didn’t happen all the time, but it happened during the years we lived at that location. It occurred to me later, when I was much older, that my house must have been a safe location for these immigrants. Somehow, the word must have spread that this was a safe place where they could be assured of a hot drink and a hot meal to accompany them further towards their destination. Whatever peoples’ opinions are on the issue of illegal immigration today, because this was a long time ago, I would still not hesitate to pour a fresh pot of coffee into a Mason jar and make a few warm burritos to hand out to any thirsty, hungry soul knocking on my door.
Ranchers, farmers and other businesses were dependent on migrant farm workers to plow, plant, hoe and pick their product. Cotton was big in Arizona hiring local hispanic and migrant farm workers. California relied mostly on migrant farm workers. I worked alongside these people in Arizona and California since age 12, but was raised in the fields watching my mother pick cotton.
These immigrants are no different than anyone else. They want what everybody wants, an opportunity to work and to give their children a better life. Back then, it was a matter of life and death for them. Mexico was a very poor country and there was no work. They were referred to as “Wetbacks”. A derogatory term to describe what they looked like after crossing the Rio Grande to get to this country. They had no social programs in Mexico to help them. They risked their own lives and the lives of their own children to come to America. You have to be pretty desperate to risk so much. Their choices were to die of poverty and starvation or risk coming to America for a chance at a better life. What choice would we make were we in the same position? I remember.
I remember working alongside these immigrants under the hot Arizona sun in the cotton fields, dressed head to toe for protection against the sun, plowing weeds row after row from early dawn for 10 hours daily with only half-hour lunch breaks. I was not concerned with their country of origin or whether they were here legally. I was only concerned with getting through the day, getting some rest to be able to get through work the next day, as were they. It was hard working cotton, but not as hard working picking lettuce or tomatoes. Anything that involved bending was the worst. If I had a hard time, I can only imagine how difficult it was for my mother, or my father who would would join us during his vacation breaks from his regular job as a ranch hand, or the more elderly who were always out in the fields working just as hard. Peaches made you itch.
That is why I have such resentment for Republicans or anyone who is not willing to give these hard working humans the proper respect, empathy, and some appreciation. They think the food they buy at the grocery stores just magically appears. It doesn’t. I would love all of them to spend one day in the fields doing what these immigrant farm workers do. I doubt they would last an hour, or less, under the same harsh conditions. In fact, I had the privilege of watching 3 young white males come to work in the cotton fields one morning. Two of the young men took off their shirts about mid-morning. Before lunch break, they left and never returned. We knew they were in trouble as soon as they took their shirts off. Temperatures are even hotter today, yet they are still out there every year making sure your grocery store shelves are filled.
Fact: Undocumented immigrants contribute more to the American economy than they take and illegal crossings are at the lowest levels in decades. American businesses would be hard pressed to survive without immigrant labor.
Alternative facts: Republicans have long pushed the myth that immigrants are bad for this country, bad for the economy and take jobs away from Americans. Propaganda that has served them well, especially in this recent election. They have butted heads with American businesses and the Chamber of Commerce on their stance on immigration. Their refusal to pass a comprehensive immigration bill has given rise to much consternation in the business community. If all immigrants were to be deported tomorrow, the American economy would take a dive. Shortages in food supplies would occur. Services in a multitude of trades would be in dire straits, businesses would be at risk of closing. Many would. Undocumented immigrants contribute billions to social security, benefits they will never receive and they contribute billions more in taxes. The consequences were they to disappear from our society would be disastrous. That is why, I believe, Republicans would never allow the mass deportation of undocumented immigrants who are working and living here and contributing to society. But, they are a wedge issue used only to get their base ginned up. Republicans are the monsters we have to defeat, and we cannot normalize them no more than we can normalize Trump.
Which brings me to my one true belief: Knowledge is Power!
TrumpStoleIt.org
We keep hearing the following questions: Where did the Democrats go wrong? Why is it that the Republicans now control the majority of the States Governorships and legislators? How did the pollsters get the election so wrong? (Actually, the national polls were right) Why did Hillary lose the black vote? (she didn’t-it was stolen) Did Hillary's loss prove she never should have been the nominee? All the answers to these questions that have been raised in Daily Kos over these many months since the election are pretty much answered in the foregoing brilliant film. A film that needs to be seen by every American in this country. #FactsMatter
TrumpStoleIt,org is eye opening for those who weren’t aware of how deep the Republican’s deception went. It digs deep behind the movers and shakers and oligarchs behind voter suppression laws, how long it has been happening and who has been financing this corrupt program and why. It also delves into other areas: illegal activities involving poisoning and polluting our environment and how money influenced and prevented prosecutions, illegal campaign funding to right wing organizations that helped weaken Democrats and Democratic party, and how vulture capitalism helped cannibalize Detroit’s auto industry and jobs, etc.. But it also puts a spotlight on environmental, economic and personal harm on the poor when they are the victims of vulture capitalists’ greed around the globe. Republicans are the instrument or tool used by oligarchs to maintain their power and wealth without fear of consequences, no matter the laws they defile or the human carnage they leave behind in their quest for more. All this is revealed in the film, but I would rather not give away any more spoiler alerts.
We need to do our damnedest to expose these illegal gains and activities by Republicans to as many Americans as possible asap. Time is of the essence. Our very own democracy is at risk. They need to know that the GOP is a danger to us all. The party leadership is corrupt at its’ core. I cannot state that all Republican office holders are complicit in voter suppression, but I find it very hard to believe that no Republican has spoken out against voter suppression laws to date since they claim to love the Constitution so much. Don’t any of them have the guts to stand up for what is just plain right and fair? Are they really that scared of the Democrats that they have to cheat, lie and steal votes to win elections?
Many of our Republican legislators, State and Federal, were willing participants of this illegal scheme and are at this very minute, as I write this diary, actively participating in said activities. We are all watching it in real time. I have concluded, given everything that has happened since the election, Trump, with the support of the Republicans, or vice versa, are now in the second phase of their plan of a complete takeover of our democracy. It has already started.
Kelly Anne Conway made news when being interviewed by Chuck Todd recently when she coined the phrase “alternative facts” to explain Sean Spicer’s false description of Trump’s inauguration crowd. Trump lied throughout his entire campaign, yet, I kept hearing that he would become more “presidential” once he won the primary. That didn’t happen. We heard he would be more “presidential” once he won. Still waiting. By now, everyone realizes that Trump is Trump. He will continue to lie and live in his alternative reality world. How is he expected to make life and death decisions when he is clearly incapable of differentiating fact from fiction? A problem that even those close to him have probably already discussed. It is probably why they are trying really hard to control messaging and what the media has access to. They want to create an alternate reality.
Chairman of the Science Committee, Tex. Rep. Lamar Smith, recently stood on the well of the House and declared that if people wanted the unvarnished truth, they should listen to Trump and not the media. www.dailynews.com/… A guy who doesn’t believe in science, in charge of the science panel thinks Trump has the “unvarnshed truth.” Trump has lined up similar unqualified choices for some of his cabinet positions. It just keeps getting worse.
Fact: I recently learned that Voice of America (VOA) the longstanding U.S. government radio programming that is mainly used to combat propaganda around the world. It is now being aired here in America and was recently funded with $800 million. Until recently, it was run by a non-partisan Board of Governors who were all fired and replaced by two very young Trump campaign political operatives. See mediamatters.org/…
Alternative facts: Remember when Trump and the Republicans hammered Hillary Clinton over her lack of transparency during the campaign. Donald doesn’t need facts because he makes them up. Trump and the Republicans don’t want any transparency. They are at war with the media for a reason. They are determined to keep Americans ignorant. The more ignorant the better.
They forgot we are still here. There are more of us then there are of them. We liberals, Democrats, Progressives, Independents, Non-partisans, educated, uneducated, young, old, people from all walks of life may not be aware of everything they are up to, but we know evil, when we see it. We recognize injustice when we witness it. We also can smell rats when they are around and I, for one, smell many, many rats.
Republicans are now in total control of a State owned media outlet Voice of America. It can be used to spread their alternative propaganda in the U.S. and around the world. Their priority would no longer be to combat propaganda around the world that harms our interests or welfare. Their priority would be to put out their own “alternative facts” that helps their own political self-interests. The masses are to be kept ignorant and poor so they can remain powerful and rich.
Fact: Trump claims he will start an investigation into voter fraud because he believes that 2-3 million illegal aliens or people double voted against him. Republicans are urging him to drop this issue and put it behind him. After watching this film, I don’t blame them. They are afraid that they will be exposed for every illegal activity they have been engaged in to suppress the vote. Sean Spicer stated that Trump actually believed massive voter fraud occurred. Apparently, the Donald didn’t get the memo. Is “plausible deniability” involved or is he really that delusional? Could it be just pure vanity or a combination thereof?
The way I see it, this leaves the Republicans in a real bind if Trump doesn’t “drop it”. Democrats would be served well if they keep pushing Trump’s buttons on this issue. Starting a voter fraud investigation could lead to exposing how truly evil Republicans are. Republicans would be sweating bullets. The more bullets the better, as the NRA would say, only this time I think they would be against it too.
Alternative facts: Republicans have insisted that voter fraud is rampant and that is why they need voter ID laws. Yet, when Trump was raising the issue of the election being rigged because of voter fraud, Republicans were afraid that it would suppress Republican votes and came out claiming there was no evidence of rampant voter fraud. They have alternative facts to fit the need for the specific occasion. They don’t worry about their alternative facts being diametrically opposed to previous stated facts.
Fact: Trump signed an executive order giving the go-ahead for both Keystone XL and Dakota Pipeline to begin work immediately. These executive orders were done without consulting the State Department or other relevant departments. Apparently, Trump went ahead on his own with his usual smugness. He thought he was really sticking it to President Obama, who had previously said NO to the Keystone XL Pipeline.
What Trump didn’t know was that Keystone XL has a pending lawsuit for $15 billion against the U.S.. Trump didn’t bother to check with legal in State Department before issuing his executive order. It would appear that this order just may end up costing taxpayers a lot of money. It was a very extremely careless and possibly costly mistake.
The Army Corp of Engineers decided to reject the Dakota Pipeline project. Unfortunately, this decision came after the pipeline bulldozed an ancient indian burial site that was only discovered when the land was razed. This was a foreseeable consequence because the Sioux Nation had forewarned of this possibility, but were ignored. The pipeline “will likely pass through and likely destroy Native burial sites and sacred places.” https://www.theatlantic.com/technology/archive/2016/09/dapl-dakota-sitting-rock-sioux/499178/
The pipeline would run along and under the Missouri River, which is their main water source. The battle continues and the Dakota Sioux Nation’s lawsuit is still pending. Haven’t our Native brothers and sisters suffered enough at the hands of greedy, evil government and businesses? We need to stand in solidarity because their cause is our cause. Natives rights are human rights.
This is not even our oil. It is the wrong direction for the environment and if we don’t make a stand against this, then when? We are running out of time people. Humanity is at stake. No more hiding your heads or leaving it for another day to ponder. We no longer have the luxury of time. We either stand up against the oil interests now or start digging our own graves and the graves of our grandchildren and future great-grandchildren. Future generations will be dying from one of many great pandemics occurring because of the hotter climate or from water and food shortages or war.
I wonder how many Republicans have interests in either pipeline, including Trump or other oil interests? Trump is already talking about keeping Iraq’s oil, which is putting our men and women in danger from our Iraqi allies as I write. Does having Exxon’s ex-CEO as Secretary of State have any connection to his going after oil?
Alternative facts: Trump and his mouth pieces are always bragging on how brilliant a business man he is. Some have referred to him as a “genius.” Trump himself can’t help referring to how “smart” he is and how he knows more than everyone else, believe him. After all, he did graduate from Wharton School of Business. Why would such a brilliant businessman execute such an order that exposes the U.S. government, thus taxpayers, to billions of dollars of liability without first checking with State Department’s legal staff? He wouldn’t. Trump lies about his brilliant business acumen too because he can.
He is not thoughtful, nor insightful, nor interested, nor concerned with anything or anyone other than how his actions make him look and feel at any moment, time or place. His vanity supersedes all else. Therefore, he is a danger to us all.
Fact: Trump promised his supporters and the American people he would repeal and replace Obamacare with something better and greater that provided the same protections the people have come to love under Obamacare.
Alternative facts: Republicans say they will repeal first and then work on the plan over time, but they will make sure the repeal will not take effect until the plan is ready. They have no plan but many plans they cannot agree on. They don’t want to tell you that they cannot fulfill Trump’s promises without leaving Obamacare intact. Something they are loathed to do. They don’t want to work with Democrats to allow negotiating with Pharma over prescriptions to lower costs. Something they have resisted to date. Their plans is to go back to individual State market based health insurance with some tax credits provided. This does nothing for poor people because they don’t have the money to pay for the high cost of insurance in the first place. Nor do they use the long form in filing their income taxes, where tax credits are deducted. It will leave millions uninsured and millions more losing coverage, including those under Medicaid.
Under Obamacare, pre-existing condition protection applies to everyone with health insurance, whether you have it through work, or bought it privately, or through Obamacare. It applies whether you had a lapse in insurance coverage too. The Republican plan would not guarantee pre-existing conditions. Without the mandate or the government subsidies, insurance companies could not afford to provide it. The Republicans’ pre-existing conditions would require insurance companies apply it only if there is no break in coverage after you lose your job, switch jobs or switch insurance companies. This is what the Republicans are not willing to tell you. The more uninsured, the more people will get sick and die and the less the government has to pay in benefits. The less taxes the rich have to pay, the more money they keep. Promise them jobs and better health care and deliver neither while somehow blaming it on immigrants, Democrats, Liberals, minorities, States, insurance companies, your grandmother, your grandfather, your dead aunt, your dead uncle, and your dog. I forgot, your dead cat may be to blame too.
Funny? Not really because somehow, Republicans always manage to get a large portion of their base to believe their bullshit.
Sorry if I overloaded you with too much information. I only scratched the surface and Trump has only been in office a week.
But remember, knowledge is power. It all starts with the facts. #FactsMatter. Without facts, we are rudderless. Nothing can function successfully without facts. I believe the American people have finally woken up. The American bear has been poked.
With all your help here at Daily Kos, Trump and the Republican party need to be exposed and stopped in their tracks. Knowledge is Power.
Please watch TrumpStoleIt.org Pass along on social media, Facebook, twitter, everywhere. You are the solution and truth always wins.
Note: A special thanks to Susan Lee Schwartz who posted the website for the film.
#FactsMatter