Holy hell, it’s been a week and it’s only Monday. Things are so dark from my vantage point that it seems like a moment of grave concern. Nay, alarm. It’s five minutes to Midnight, but we may not have all of the five minutes to act.
The news story that broke late last week about the extrajudicial kidnapping by secret police set loose unsolicited in Oregon should scare the shit out of us. Especially with the other shoe almost instantly dropping that they are sending some to Chicago now. And if you’re not scared you’re listening too much to statements like this:
"As best as I can tell, this is an effort — a last gasp effort — by a failed president with sagging polling data, who's trying to look strong for his base...He's actually using the federal police function in support of his candidacy."
What candidacy? He doesn’t have any time left in the day with all his terrorism.
That is from Mayor Ted Wheeler NPR's in this linked article. Please do not mistake this as heaping on the criticism towards Mayor Wheeler, he’s got enough on his plate — like Trump’s goon squads that refuse to leave!
No, this is just one example of a dangerously hubristic attitude towards what is happening right now in our country. I keep hearing different version of it: that it’s a distraction from the Corona-death-spiral is currently the stance of The New York Times editorial board. Granted, they call it “wreckless” and “dangerous.” Great, thanks for the 411, NY Times. Where is the call to action? What can Americans — including Congress — do about it right now?
The dominoes are dropping so damn fast. AG Barr — his henchman — is so corrupt he’s positively Trump’s executioner (literally in other recent news about how federal executions are back and coming at us so fast.)
This news, combined with these other recent pieces:
— the USPS deliveries of our election ballots may not be safe from disruption or tampering.
— The CDC-data darkness.
— The polling data showing Biden way ahead this early. Probably the cause of my deep anxiety when I hear this:
— Nancy Pelosi’s quick witticism about Trump leaving whether he needs to be “fumigated out” of office.
All of this leads to my question: why is everyone (overwhelmingly) so damn sure Americans are going to be guaranteed free and fair elections at this point and time?
We have three and half months to go and Trump is going full Nazi with another one appointed in a very powerful position. The White House is crawling with Nazis. (Yes, yes, I know. I really want to go back in time and tell Mike Godwin to shut his pie-hole before that one.) Aren’t there still people alive that remember how this happened? We are not on a good trajectory towards a guaranteed free and fair election in November.
The way I see it is that The House is going to have to immediately start an Impeachment proceeding on Barr. Then they need to do all they can to protect the post office. Let the GOP try to use ads against you that end airing like: “too many investigations in an election year when they should be working for you!” (Yay, free advertising.)
Any real public law lawyers, if you’re reading this, I’d like to know what they can do (not based on the political rules of the past, but the real constitution powers they still possess right now.)
And please, anyone reading this, if you haven’t already, please call your Reps in The House; and your Senators no matter what the party and ask them what they are going to do about this totalitarian, dictatorial, whatever-synonym-you-prefer action from the Trump Administration. And please (with apology to the Democratic-political gods for every negative blog I ever wrote against Obama and Pelosi’s political actions) if you’re listening: let Pelosi’s office be righteously outraged very publicly instead of vocally hubristic.
I am scared. But it’s still not too late. Let’s all come together right now and save our republic.
www.senate.gov/…
www.house.gov/…
www.cnet.com/…
Any other helpful links to protest and action? Please contribute.
"I have said this before, and I will say it again: the vote is precious. It is almost sacred. It is the most powerful non-violent tool we have in a democracy."
-Rep John Lewis