The Trump Led Insurrection of 2021

The entirety of the U.S. Constitution’s First Amendment reads as follows:

“Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof; or abridging the freedom of speech, or of the press; or the right of the people peaceably to assemble, and to petition the government for a redress of grievances.”

This single sentence is often used to justify or otherwise support all kinds of objections and actions on behalf of individuals. However, on its face, this amendment only states what the Government cannot do. It does not address the limits placed on individuals, corporations, media, or free press.

If Twitter cancels your account – it is NOT protected by the first amendment. Just because you are free to say whatever you want, does not mean anyone is obligated to publish or reference it.

If a social media publisher wants to promote hate, false conspiracies or civil disobedience, there is no law that says internet providers must carry the content. And any call to violence can completely nullify the first amendment protections for the individual as well. Such calls could also endanger the content provider as a coconspirator.

In January of 2021, a sitting U.S. President incited a large group of followers (peacefully assembled at that point) in a D.C. rally with lies asserting the 2020 elections that removed him from office were not free and fair elections. He told them to march to the Capital building to affect the outcome of the proceedings there (Congress was in the process of validating the electoral collage results that would place Joe Biden in the Presidency). They did as they were instructed.

A significant faction of those assembled were carrying confederate flags, Nazi signs, battle flags; wearing protective gear, war paint, costumes, with some sporting zip-tie restraints for use on – who knows. The crowd – feeling justified by a sitting president - stormed the capital while congress was in session and killed a police officer, damaged & stole property, broke windows, smashed furnishings, threatened the lives of law makers and the Vice President, and occupied offices and chambers of lawmakers. The lawmakers themselves were escorted to safe rooms and guarded by a small contingent of Capital Police and secret service personnel.

During the hours-long siege Capital security attempted to get National Guard and other reinforcements to expel the invaders. But requests were denied or ignored by the Trump administration.

Four people died before security could be restored. A second police officer died from injuries days later. A mostly white mob, few arrests were made. Those that were arrested, were arrested on misdemeanor charges. Several photos were circulated of some Capital Police officers smiling and taking pictures with the insurgents prior to violence breaking out.

In stark contrast to peaceful Blank Lives Matter protests in 2020 that Trump ordered dispersed by military force (that included Blackhawk helicopters and tear gas), the Capital siege was a stark reminder of the White privilege that persists and stains this nation.

While vile and treacherous, the storming of the Capital is not the real story here. It is a symptom rather than a cause. While bringing the mob leaders of this action to justice is a priority for law enforcement nationwide, the real burden of fixing this so it does not happen again, is in the hands of We The People.  

The real leaders of this abomination were NOT Trump or his family, it was the congressional representatives and senators that perpetrated, and gave legitimacy to, Trump’s lies about the election. They had the power to shut him down in November of 2020 by disavowing his paranoid delusions of widespread election fraud. They did not. They sat silent, or, as in the case of several GOP leaders, actively supported Trump’s lies and deceit.

Long after dozens of investigations, lawsuits, recounts, local audits, and electoral certifications – the election results in all the states that Trump objected to were upheld. This was the opportunity that the GOP leaders missed. So enamored by Trump’s effect on his white nationalist base following, these legislators could not free themselves from their own self-interest long enough to do what was right for America.

A list of those that supported claims that this was the first election in American history that was not fair and free, follows. They all need to lose their appointments. To be voted out of office if they cannot be expelled by the GOP altogether. To make matters worse, these legislators sided with Trump AFTER the Capital riot was quelled:

Republican Senators who supported Trump’s lies & claims of unfair election:

Ted Cruz (TX)
Josh Hawley (MO)
Cindy Hyde-Smith (MS)
Cynthia Lummis (WY)
John Kennedy (LA)
Roger Marshall (KS)
Rick Scott (FL)
Tommy Tuberville (AL)

Republican House Representatives who supported Trump’s lies & claims of unfair election:

Robert Aderholt (AL) Rick Allen (GA) Jodey Arrington (TX) Brian Babin (TX) Jim Baird (IN) Jim Banks (IN) Cliff Bentz (OR) Jack Bergman (MI) Stephanie Bice (OK) Andy Biggs (AZ) Dan Bishop (NC) Lauren Boebert (CO) Mike Bost (IL) Mo Brooks (AL) Ted Budd (NC) Tim Burchett (TN) Michael Burgess (TX) Ken Calvert (CA) Kat Cammack (FL) Jerry Carl (AL) Buddy Carter (GA) John Carter (TX) Madison Cawthorn (NC) Steve Chabot (OH) Ben Cline (VA) Michael Cloud (TX) Andrew Clyde (GA) Tom Cole (OK) Rick Crawford (AR) Warren Davidson (OH) Scott DesJarlais (TN) Mario Diaz-Balart (FL) Byron Donalds (FL) Jeff Duncan (SC) Neal Dunn (FL) Ron Estes (KS) Pat Fallon (TX) Michelle Fischbach (MN) Scott Fitzgerald (WI) Chuck Fleischmann (TN) Virginia Foxx (NC) Scott Franklin (FL) Russ Fulcher (ID) Matt Gaetz (FL) Mike Garcia (CA) Bob Gibbs (OH)

Louie Gohmert (TX) Bob Good (VA) Lance Gooden (TX) Paul Gosar (AZ) Garret Graves (LA) Sam Graves (MO) Mark Green (TN) Marjorie Greene (GA) Morgan Griffith (VA) Michael Guest (MS) Jim Hagedorn (MN) Andy Harris (MD) Diana Harshbarger (TN) Vicky Hartzler (MO) Kevin Hern (OK) Yvette Herrell (NM) Jody Hice (GA) Clay Higgins (LA) Richard Hudson (NC) Darrell Issa (CA) Ronny Jackson (TX) Chris Jacobs (NY) Mike Johnson (LA) Bill Johnson (OH) Jim Jordan (OH) John Joyce (PA) Fred Keller (PA) Trent Kelly (MS) Mike Kelly (PA) David Kustoff (TN) Doug LaMalfa (CA) Doug Lamborn (CO) Jacob LaTurner (KS) Debbie Lesko (AZ) Billy Long (MO) Barry Loudermilk (GA) Frank Lucas (OK) Blaine Luetkemeyer (MO) Nicole Malliotakis (NY) Tracey Mann (KS) Brian Mast (FL) Kevin McCarthy (CA) Lisa McClain (MI) Daniel Meuser (PA) Mary Miller (IL) Carol Miller (WV)

Alex Mooney (WV) Barry Moore (AL) Markwayne Mullin (OK) Gregory Murphy (NC) Troy Nehls (TX) Ralph Norman (SC) Devin Nunes (CA) Jay Obernolte (CA) Burgess Owens (UT) Steven Palazzo (MS) Gary Palmer (AL) Greg Pence (IN) Scott Perry (PA) August Pfluger (TX) Bill Posey (FL) Guy Reschenthaler (PA) Tom Rice (SC) Mike Rogers (AL) Hal Rogers (KY) John Rose (TN) Matt Rosendale (MT) David Rouzer (NC) John Rutherford (FL) Steve Scalise (LA) David Schweikert (AZ) Pete Sessions (TX) Jason Smith (MO) Adrian Smith (NE) Lloyd Smucker (PA) Elise Stefanik (NY) Greg Steube (FL) Chris Stewart (UT) Glenn Thompson (PA) Tom Tiffany (WI) William Timmons (SC) Jefferson Van Drew (NJ) Beth Van Duyne (TX) Tim Walberg (MI) Jackie Walorski (IN) Randy Weber (TX) Daniel Webster (FL) Roger Williams (TX) Joe Wilson (SC) Rob Wittman (VA) Ron Wright (TX) Lee Zeldin (NY) Carlos Gimenez (FL)

 

 

A New Years Warning

Happy New Year to the USA. Goodbye to 2020 – and hello to the erosion of democracy.

2021 is here and every one of my predictions and assessments of Donald Trump have proven true. He is an autocrat in waiting, a cult figure, a liar, a fraud, and the greatest danger to democracy in America since Hitler and WW2.  

The danger is not from Trump himself. He’s just a delusional psychopath and pathological liar with fans. The danger comes from those that believe him to be the white savior of American freedoms. When actually - he is exactly the opposite.

The analogy to Hitler is not entirely 'Fake News', as Trump would say. Hitler's followers too believed him to be the nationalist hero that many Trump supporters think him to be. And like Trump, Hitler was not all that smart nor was he all that well liked by those that came before him. Their power came not from their effective leadership, but the lack of it by their forbearers. From millionaires that see profit in Trump’s lack of integrity to politicians that seek power through his followers, Trump and Hitler have much in common.

At this moment in America, We The People have spoken. Voted out of office by nearly 10 million popular votes and a hundred electoral votes, Trump insists the election was rigged and he had actually won. He asserted massive fraud in states that he won in 2016, but he did not in 2020.

Given the overwhelming evidence to the contrary, and the lack of any evidence whatsoever of any election irregularities of note, his stance should be laughable. But the opposite is true. A significant cadre of Republican representatives and senators are demanding an audit of an obviously fair and free election. Even going as far as to object to the certification of the election itself by congress.   

This is a turning point in democracy. When the foundational pillars of freedom and patriotism are denied by the very people we elect to uphold the self evident truths of democracy, we are setting a precedence from which we may never recover.

Great democracies never just fail. They are eroded. Like the slow drip of water on a rock. Sooner or later the rock is sand if the erosion is not addressed. Integrity is the foundation of a democracy. When it is lost, corruption replaces leadership, quartzite becomes sandstone, and erosion is inevitable.

Remember this election. Teach about it in schools and universities. Decry it in the free press and social media. List names and dates. Be assertive in your analysis and bold in your warnings. Only if the vast majority of Americans are alarmed can the erosion be stopped. 

JWB

The curious case of Breonna Taylor.

While much of the racial unrest ongoing in America can be traced back to racial bias and use of force by some white law enforcement officers (LEO), the Louisville Breonna Taylor case is of a different elk. Breonna’s case highlights the other bias in American law enforcement – the presumption of guilt.

While the rule of law dictates an individual accused of a crime is to be treated as if innocent until proven guilty. An individual suspected of a crime is not often afforded the same assumption. Race is not as much a factor. It’s applied across the board.

The most glaring evidence of this is a legal instrument called the ‘no-knock’ warrant.  While its existence is warranted in cases where first-person evidence is overwhelming, it is not something that should be widely allowed. However, judges tend to listen to experienced detectives and LEO more often than question them. For instance, each of the five (5) no-knock warrants Louisville detectives received that fateful night had identical language seeking to justify no-knock entry: 

"These drug traffickers have a history of attempting to destroy evidence, have cameras on the location that compromise Detectives once an approach to the dwelling is made, and have a history of fleeing from law enforcement."

While compelling on its face, the fact of the matter was that not one statement in this justification was true of the Taylor residence.  She had no drug history at all. She had no cameras. She was never arrested or pursued by police in her life - out alone have a history of flight.

To make matters worse, police admitted they thought she was alone. The principle subject in the investigation, who had previously been seen at Breonna’s apartment, was already in custody. So 'flight' was starkly inconsistent with facts. This, in and of itself, should have made the no-knock request suspect - if not outright denied - by a judge. 

Effectively, the detectives in this case lied to the judge. The judge rubber stamped the common language in the request. And those lies and actions meant the death of Breonna Taylor.

While the system failed Breonna Taylor – her death rests as much with the other occupant of the apartment: Kenneth Walker – Breonna’s boyfriend.  And the evidence from the scene is quite troubling to someone who was trained in weapons and engaging non-combatants. 

A key concern is that plain clothes detectives – with no body cameras - were serving the warrant and were the first into the apartment. Walker fired his handgun at the first detective through the door. 

Breonna’s body had ten (10) gunshot wounds. Walker had not a scratch.

These facts alone suggest to me that the officers (still assuming Breonna was alone) thought she was firing – but the fire was actually coming from behind her in a narrow hallway. I believe it is quite possible, even probable, that Walker, intentionally or not, used Breonna as a human shield. Walker then hit the floor as soon as he realized his mistake. But it was too late for Breonna.

This incident goes way beyond any racial or political division. This is the starkest example I have witnessed of what is wrong with the American system of justice, our current gun laws and our ethos as a country.

By the numbers – from the final toll to the decisions leading there:

1. Walker had a handgun – legally. He was never trained or certified in its use. 
2. Rather than employing SWAT trained personnel (that are trained to distinguish between unarmed bystanders and armed combatants) the police allowed plain clothes detectives to breach the scene.
3. No cameras - by the resident or the LEO - were in use.
4. The warrants issued were bogus. Details of the request were not only inaccurate; they may have been blatantly illegal in their lack of articulated facts with regard to Breonna Taylor. The Detective submitting the request is, in my estimation, responsible for all that followed.
5. The judge needs reprimand – if not outright disbarment - over her lack of scrutiny and her acceptance of the same exact language as justification for five (5) different warrants. Each without specific cause of action for each location.  
6. Detective’s assumption that Breonna Taylor was guilty (of ‘something’) – without any first-hand evidence – may be the leading indicator of racial bias in this tragedy.

All sides need to answer questions here. Would protesters be marching if Breonna were white? Would detectives seek a no-knock if she were white? Would Walker have fired his weapon if he were professionally trained? Would a SWAT team have reacted differently? What if there had been a different judge? 

Some questions are just that. Rhetorical. They are meant to cause concern. Promote change. They have no immediate answer.

However, unanswered, these questions can help reshape a justice system that is losing its foundation in the Rule of Law and the presumption of innocence. 

JWB

Update: Shortly after the incident, the Louisville Mayor moved to eliminate no-knock warrants, require all LEO to wear body cameras and approved a monetary settlement with Taylor’s family in the amount of twelve million dollars. Protests persist.

Ginsburg – Supreme Court Justice

Fiery & fair. Tough but prudent. The late Ruth Bader Ginsburg (1933-2020) once said "Measured motions seem to me right, in the main, for constitutional as well as common law adjudication. Doctrinal limbs too swiftly shaped, experience teaches, may prove unstable.”  

Such views made her: ”... a jurist who seeks to build cautiously on precedent rather than pushing the Constitution towards her own vision.” (Legal scholar Cass Sunstein).

This post is not an attempt to educate or pontificate on The Honorable Ms. Ginsburg, but more to call out the ‘unmeasured emotions’ of the latter day Republican Conservative movement.

In 2016, 269 days before the U.S. national election that would replace Barak Obama with Donald Trump, and 350 days before Trumps inauguration, Associate Justice Antonin Scalia died.  He was considered by many as a stalwart conservative. 

The U.S. Senate, the congressional body charged with ratifying the President’s Supreme Court nominee, refused to do so. For over a full year the court was eight justices instead of the prescribed nine.  

Justification for the Senate’s failure to do their job was blatantly obvious. Leadership had a lame duck President and the death of Scalia meant a liberal nominee was to be vetted in his place. Since they had no legal objection to any nominee put forward, they would lean instead on parliamentary politics.

If there was ever a sure way to dismantle a democracy it is turning the rule of law into a political yardstick. Justice Ginsburg knew his all to well and battled cancer that should have sidelined her years ago, just to see the wrongs of 2016 reversed. She lost that battle with 46 days left before the 2020 election.

In 2016 as the Republican Senate used political bully tactics, Ginsburg proclaimed “Senators refusing to vote on President Obama's nominee to the Supreme Court should recognize that a president is elected for four years not three.”

If there is any justice left in American politics, we will find a way to return the SCOTUS to a body of legal scholars that are charged with interpreting the Constitution of the United States and not a chamber of politicians making good on promises.

One such possible solution is contained in the two year NPR funded study on governance (Q2 2020) that recommends an 18 year term limit for Supreme Court Justices - that ensures each administration has at least one justice to replace in each 4 year tenure. That gives a more measured process for replacement and mitigates the long term political influence of 'stacking the court'. 

Whatever the solution, we must wrench control of the court from political interests and return its focus to preservation of the Rule of Law and upholding he Constitution of the United States.

In 2016 the will of the people, the House of Representatives, the President of the United States, and by the declaration of Justice Ginsburg, the Supreme court itself, was circumvented by one individual: The Senate Majority Leader.

This can never happen again.

JWB

The Case for Socialism

 Blasphemy! 

Yes, I know. My parents are spinning in their graves.  As most of my conservative friends are penning a stinging rebuke as they read this - I ask only that you read first and react later:

I recently did a study on a combination of global social measurements of social 'well being'. Among the measurements were:

1. Life
2. Liberty
3. The pursuit of happiness

One would expect that the nation that coined these truths to be self evident would rank among the world's best. Not even close.

I also added one additional category: Educational excellence.

Below you will see the results of my study. Each graphic is authentic and the sources are the most authoritative & respected I could find. In each graphic I chose the same number of countries to illustrate: The top 25 in each category. Due to the limited space in the blog text area, you may need to enlarge (ctrl+) or expand to get a clear rendering. 

LIFE:

The annual Quality of Life report [1] is widely used by scholars and political scientists. It factors 30 categories in the index. 

Top honors go to Australia. The U.S. is NOT Listed in the top 25.

The take-away for this score, is that Quality of life is pretty subjective, and it can be influenced by the size of the country as much as social policy. For instance countries like Marcao, Malta, Cyprus, Switzerland, and city states such as Hong Kong (no longer a country unto itself) and Singapore are prevalent in this list.

I also notice high scores in categories of Security, Rights and Stability in the top 25.

LIBERTY:

The Human Freedom index [2] is compiled by the renowned Cato Institute and it also a source of factual consideration for Political Scientists and Academia.  With New Zealand #1, the U.S. ranked 15th. 

You see a few rankings duplicated (11,15) because the aggregate score was a virtual tie for the ranking.

Again smaller countries and those with progressive governments dominate the top 10.

HAPPINESS:

While understanding that 'happiness' is probably the most subjective of the measurements, when all people of all countries are asked the same questions in the same way - it is as much reality as it is perception. Here the annual World Happiness report [3] finds Finland at #1 while the U.S. Ranks 18th.

EDUCATION:

I admit cheating on this graphic. I pulled the top 26 countries rather than the top 25 - so I could include the U.S. at # 26 in the Education Rankings report [4].

While China continues to outshine in education due to their communist doctrine, they are not high on any other measure.  Also, the data coming out of China & Hong Kong has always been suspect as it is subject to government censorship. Therefore, I consider their education score to be an outlier in this study.

CONCLUSIONS

What struck me most is which countries are in consistently in the top 10.  I chose a few at random, but found a striking similarity: They were all Democratic Socialist in nature - or a progressive form of democracy. Many Scandinavian countries are consistently in the top 10. I wondered: What makes them so special?

I concentrated on democratic countries with a free market economy [4] (aka Capitalist). A few examples show consistent excellence in governing in each of the four categories:

Finland: Tops in education among democracies, Finland is also #1 in the Happiness Index; #8 in the Freedom Index; and #23 in the Quality of Life index. 

Finland, like other Scandinavian countries, has a comprehensive social safety net that helps ensure that people have what they need to live productive, healthy, and happy lives. If your definition of socialism is individuals and businesses paying high taxes to ensure that wealth is being distributed equitably across the population, then yes, Finland is socialist.

However, Finland runs on a free-market economy, something that is contrary to how many people perceive socialism. If your definition of socialism is heavy government regulation of business, then no, Finland is not socialist. In fact, government regulations are so low that Finland does not even have a minimum wage.

The best way to look at Finland’s economy and politics may be to see it as a blend of capitalism and socialism. Some people refer to this as “compassionate capitalism,” meaning that markets can run freely, with minimal government regulation and interference; the role of the government is to ensure social welfare by providing generous benefits to the population through the revenue generated by taxes. Those benefits include free schools, including college, for all students and generous maternity and paternity leave for new parents. 

Unlike in the U.S. where the government tries to protect social wealth as much as, if not more than, social welfare.

Switzerland: #11 in education among democracies, #3 on the Happiness Index, #2 on the Freedom Index, and #5 on the Quality of Life index, Switzerland is another successful democratic socialist country.

Switzerland’s economy is almost entirely made up of small- and medium-sized businesses because its government promotes policies that are very friendly to entrepreneurship. The education model in Switzerland is also very friendly to businesses, as students are required to gain job training as part of their academic education. It also has relatively low taxes – the average tax rate for individuals is less than 9%, significantly less than in the United States, and even less than countries that are generally classified as socialist.

Healthcare in Switzerland can be understood as somewhat socialist. A public insurer cannot turn anyone down for any reason, including a pre-existing condition. However, the insured individual, rather than the employer or the government, is required to pay the premiums. Education in Switzerland is free, and students who pursue an academic route, rather than a vocational one, are given free admission to universities.

Australia: #9 in education among democracies, #12 on the Happiness Index, #5 on the Freedom Index, and #1 on the Quality of Life index, Australia is a huge country - with a population of New York.  Most of Australians live in coastal cities and the center of the country is one big dry expanse. 

Australia is not considered socialist by most. Except for some U.S. conservatives that see the Australian form of Medicare for All as a socialist doctrine. Many believe that Australia's #1 performance in the Quality of Life index is a consequence of their national Medicare system.

And so...

I leave you with this: The data - a lot of data - indicates that a compassionate capitalist government that focuses on social policy rather than economic policy has the upper hand.  

Got better ideas? Let me know.

JWB

<><><>

[1] Quality of Life, World Data, extracted Sept 20, 2020, from https://www.worlddata.info/quality-of-life.php

[2] Civil Liberty and Freedom Report, Cato Institute, extracted Sept 20, 2020, from https://www.cato.org/human-freedom-index-new

[3] World Happiness Report, extracted Sept 20, 2020, from https://worldhappiness.report/ed/2020/ 

[4] Education Rankings by Country, World Population Review, retrieved Sept 20, 2020 from: https://worldpopulationreview.com/country-rankings/education-rankings-by-country

[5] Democratic Socialist Countries 2020 by Population, World Population Review, retrieved Sept 20, 2020 from: https://worldpopulationreview.com/country-rankings/democratic-socialist-countries#dataTable

The Social Dilemma | Official Trailer | Netflix

Please join me in watching this trailer and the subsequent documentary.

 

Vote 2020... Or die trying

With less than 80days until the 2020 election, arguably the most autocratic president in American history is setting the stage to contest the election results before the first vote is cast.

One of the key issues is Trump's insistence that mail-in voting is fraught with fraud. However, there is no evidence of wide ranging fraud in any official report or investigation by any state, local or federal authority. No media outlet has uncovered overt fraud on any scale that could affect the outcome of a national election.

A viral pandemic is sweeping the country and America is now the nation with the most cases and highest death toll per capita in the world. And it’s getting worse.

If I were a conspiracy nut, I’d say the President appears to be running the death toll up to keep Americans from voting – and tearing down the USPS to insure there is no recourse.

While I’m fairly sure it is just the President’s ineptitude that has brought us to this point, it is not beyond our ability – as Americans [not Republicans or Democrats or Libertarians or Independents, or Qanon,…) – to right the ship. By allowing early in-person voting in all states, we can counter the autocratic cult led by Trump that threatens to make our 2020 Presidential election look like a third world dumpster fire.

Here are the simple rules:

1. Only Registered voters can participate. Registration must require a valid photo ID and SSN that proves you are an American citizen. [This is already the case in most every state].
2. Polling stations must open at least 10 days, and not more than 30 days before the election. They must provide safe access (masks a Must) to multiple disinfected polling booths or kiosks.
3. There must be at least 10% of the total polling places open that will be open on election day. It is strongly encouraged that states offer polling jobs to those on unemployment due to Covid-19. The cost of this should be the burden of the federal government under provisions of COVID-19 relief.
4. All early voting polling places must be open on at least one weekend Saturday.  Sunday polling is optional by State.

I’m sure we will not get this done. But we should.

There are other benefits to this solution. One of which is the number of polling stations needed on election day could be drastically reduced - based on the number of registered voters that voted early.  Another is that we may know the local outcome of the election in many areas as soon as the polls close on election day. It's not unreasonable that we could find over 50% of the registered voters had cast their ballots prior to election day. 

Mail Voting:

Many states have laws that prevent counting any mail-in votes before election day. That seems to me to be extremely stupid. A few states have ONLY mail-in voting (Hawaii and Oregon come to mind) but they can report results quickly as they do not have election day counting restrictions.

If a qualified bonded vote counter (one or two per county would be all you need in most cases), with the proper technology to support them, could register each mail-in ballot as received to a secure isolated standalone computer server that is NOT connected to any network - fraud or manipulation would be effectively impossible. It's that simple.