Whitmer accuses Trump of “inciting domestic terrorism,” saying that he’s “complicit” in the plot to kidnap and execute her

By Mark | October 18, 2020

Yesterday, the FBI released the following video which appears to show several of the men involved in the recently thwarted plot to kidnap — and likely assassinate — Michigan Governor Gretchen Whitmer. The FBI, as you will recall, found the threat — which involved two former Marines — to be both serious and credible, arresting five of the men here in Ypsilanti, as they sought to purchase explosives, after having surveilled the Governor’s vacation home in northern Michigan. [The explosives were to have been used to blow up a highway overpass, distracting local law enforcement officers, while they tased, kidnaped, and “tried” Governor Whitmer for her imagined crimes.]

Donald Trump, who has yet to offer any words of support for our Governor or her family, was in Michigan yesterday, addressing his supporters at an airport near Muskegon. While there, he played down the seriousness of the planned attack, saying, “I guess they say she was threatened,” in a dismissive tone, and then encouraging his supporters as they chanted “lock her up” in response to his instance that Whitmer stop trying to slow the spread of COVID-19 and reopen the state… Here’s the video.

Our Governor, as you might imagine, did not appreciate having the President of the United States inciting this kind of violence. This morning, appearing on Meet the Press, the Governor said, “It’s incredibly disturbing that the President of the United States, ten days after a plot to kidnap, put me on trial and execute me … (is) inciting this kind of domestic terrorism.” “It is dangerous,” she added, “not just for me and my family, but for public servants everywhere.” [Whitmer had previously said that Trump was “complicit” in the plot, for his encouragement of armed domestic terrorism organizations in Michigan to “liberate” the state from her control.]

Trump’s daughter-in-law, Laura Trump, speaking on his behalf this morning on CNN, said that the President was just “having fun” at the Muskegon rally.

Please vote, everyone. This may be our last chance to save this republic of ours.

Posted in Civil Liberties, Michigan, Politics, Uncategorized | Tagged , , , , , , , , | 52 Comments

Dueling town halls: Mister Rogers vs. America’s crazy uncle

By Mark | October 15, 2020

When news broke that Donald Trump had contracted the deadly disease he’d been lying to the American people about these past six months, the members of the nonpartisan Commission on Presidential Debates, fearing that he might further spread the disease in a live event, proposed that the debate which had been scheduled for tonight be held virtually instead. Donald Trump refused to debate Joe Biden virtually, however, and the event was cancelled. Biden, shortly afterward, announced that he’d be holding a town hall event on ABC at the same time the debate would have taken place. Then, yesterday — a week after the Biden town hall was announced — Donald Trump announced that he’d be going head-to-head with Biden in a town hall of his own, airing on NBC at the exact same time. So, not only did Trump scuttle the debate, but he then went to NBC — the network that made him a reality television celebrity — and worked out a deal that would keep a good number of Americans from hearing what Biden, who had done everything right, and played by the rules, had to say. I didn’t watch either, but, given what I’m seeing now, it would seem that Trump, while he may have won the ratings battle by promising a spectacle, didn’t really gain any huge advantage. From what can tell, most everyone seems to be talking about one of two things right now… the fact that Joe Biden seemed humble, together, thoughtful, and, yes, dull by comparison, or that a belligerent Donald Trump refused to distance himself from Qanon… Here’s the video.

Biden, it would seem, talked a lot about treating people with dignity and using the presidency to heal the nation. [The best criticism that Trump campaign advisor Mercedes Schlapp could offer was that the Biden town hall felt like “an episode of Mister Rodgers Neighborhood.” Meanwhile, on NBC, Savannah Guthrie was likening Trump to “someone’s crazy uncle.”]

Trump, taking a different approach, used his time to defend his sharing of conspiracy theories on social media, and refuse to disavow a group that promotes the idea that Democrats are Satan-worshiping pedophiles. [note: A few days ago, Donald Trump shared a bizarre conspiracy theory about how Obama and Biden had assassinated the members of SEAL Team Six and faked the killing of Osama bin Laden.]

The choice, I think, is pretty clear.

Posted in Politics, Uncategorized | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | 142 Comments

It’s time to vote, Michigan! Let me know if I can help.

By Mark | October 15, 2020

I read something yesterday that struck me. The Atlantic’s David Frum, commenting about how difficult it is for some people in the United States to vote, said, “It’s not easy to design a voting system that creates 11 hour lines.” “Generating delays like this,” he went on, “(requires) careful planning and sustained commitment.” And he’s absolutely right. It’s not just a coincidence that, in Georgia today, it’s taking people in the affluent, majority-white community of Buckhead 15 minutes to vote, whereas it’s taking voters of color in South Cobb up to five hours. It’s very much by design.

People in other so-called advanced societies don’t have to wait 11 hours in line, like they’re doing right now in Austin, Texas to cast their ballots. That’s not just something that happens in functioning democracies. No, it takes work to see something like that accomplished. From the incredibly long lines in predominantly African American communities in Georgia, to the absolute cluster fuck we’re seeing in Texas right now, where the Republican Governor Greg Abbott has instituted a rule that there could be only one ballot drop box per county, it’s painfully obvious that significant efforts are being made to deter people — especially people without the means to invest a full day in voting — from voting early.

We, of course, knew that this was going to happen. When the Supreme Court moved to gut the Voting Rights Act in 2013, we knew what the Republican game plan was going to be. We knew that polling places in minority communities were going to close, leading to longer lines, making it increasingly difficult for working people to cast their ballots… Finding new ways to stop people from voting is, after all, the most expedient way for a minority party can remain in power. Sure, they can lie and fear-monger for a while, and they can gerrymander their way through a few elections, but eventually they have to stop those who are against them for voting.

Here, if you want to see what this looks like in practice in Donald Trump’s America, is a scene from Texas yesterday.

The good new is, it doesn’t seem to be deterring the American people, who appear to be voting in record numbers. It’s being reported that approximately three million new voters have registered in Texas since 2016, and over 120,000 voters in Georgia cast their ballots on the first day of early voting alone. People, it would seem, are willing to invest the time and effort to ensure that Donald Trump is defeated come Election Day.

Thankfully, absentee voting here in Michigan is relatively easy. [We no longer have a Republican Governor or Secretary of State, after all.] I believe there are three ballot drop boxes here in Ypsilanti alone, like the one shown at the top of this post, which is just behind City Hall. I cast my ballot here today… I didn’t want to. I love voting in-person, on Election Day. I thought, however, that I’d better request my absentee ballot, and get it in early, so that I knew it would be counted. I wasn’t really afraid of standing in line on November 3, and being exposed to COVID at my local polling place. I was more concerned that something might happen between now and Election Day to keep me from the polls, and I wanted to be sure that didn’t happen. I wanted to be absolutely sure that I’d be able to cast my ballot for Joe Biden, and against Donald Trump.

If, like me, you’re here in Michigan, and you’d like to vote early, before the desperate lies of the Trump campaign begin to intensify, there’s still time to request a ballot from the Michigan Department of State. Just follow this link to start the process. And send me an email if you get stuck, need help, etc. [You can also find help through the Washtenaw Dems and the Biden-Harris 2020 campaign.]

I don’t ask very much of you, but please, if you haven’t already, request your ballot today and vote. And be sure that you encourage everyone you know to do the same. It’s critically import that we vote, especially here in the very progressive city of Ypsilanti, as we need to offset the pro-Trump votes elsewhere in the state. [The state is suggesting that, if you’re requesting a ballot through their online portal, you do so by October 19. After that, they’re suggesting that you request one in person at your local city or township clerk’s office.] And, again, if you need any help at all navigating this, just let me know. I’m happy to help.

Posted in Michigan, Politics, Uncategorized | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | 343 Comments

A few days after calling America’s senior citizens his “favorite people,” Donald Trump mocks the elderly

By Mark | October 13, 2020

With Joe Biden leading Donald Trump among seniors by more than 20 points in the polls, the President of the United States did something both bold and desperate last week, releasing a bizarre green screen video of himself promising those over 65 that, if he were to be reelected, he would give them all access to the COVID-19 “cure” free-of-charge… something which, he said, Joe Biden would never do. [note: There is no COVID-19 cure.] At the time, Donald Trump told America’s senior citizens that he was going to do this because they were his “favorite people in the world.” Well, today he was back to mocking them, reminding us all once again why it is that Biden is beating him by more than 20 points with America’s senior citizens.

There are other more important things to talk about today, like the fact that Attorney General William Barr’s so-called “unmasking” probe into whether federal officials during the Obama administration had illegally requested the identities of individuals whose names had been redacted in intelligence reports concerning Russian election interference just concluded without finding any wrongdoing, much to the chagrin of conspiracy theorists everywhere. I thought it best to focus on this new tweet of Trump’s, though, as I suspect it might help shift a few more votes than a protracted discussion with our resident conspiracy theorists about how, despite what we learned today, they still think several Obama administration officials are headed to jail for violating the constitutional rights on Trump’s criminal associates like Michael Flynn. So, with that in mind, please be sure to share this with your elderly relatives who have yet to vote.

Posted in Politics, Uncategorized | Tagged , , , , , , , , , | 95 Comments

Does anyone believe Donald Trump when he says that “Republicans will be providing far better Healthcare than the Democrats, at a far lower cost”?

By Mark | October 13, 2020

Donald Trump, as you can see above, just tweeted out a promise that, “Republicans will be providing far better Healthcare than the Democrats, at a far lower cost.” If it sounds familiar, it’s because it’s something that he’s promised a near infinite number of times in the past. It started before the election in 2016, when Donald Trump promised the American people that, if he were elected, he’d give us “something terrific” to replace the Affordable Care Act. “You’re going to have such great health care, at a tiny fraction of the cost — and it’s going to be so easy,” he said, telling us that he’d sign it into law on his first day in office. That, of course, never happened.

Now in office for almost four years, Donald Tump has still to offer an alternative to Obamacare, let alone one that would provide “insurance for everybody,” like he has repeatedly promised over the course of his administration. Instead, his administration has done the opposite, seeking to undermine the Affordable Care Act at every turn, and strike down the protections for preexisting conditions afforded under Obama’s signature legislation, without offering anything to fill the void. And, as a result, millions of Americans have lost their health care since Trump took office.

Now, with a new election around the corner, it looks as though Donald Trump is back at it, telling people that a great new health care system is imminent. A few moths ago, in an interview with Chris Wallace on Fox News, Donald Trump promised that, by August 2nd, he’d have signed a “full and complete” health care plan into law. And, guess what? It never happened. We’ve yet to even see a draft of the “phenomenal” new plan he promised. And, today, he’s telling everyone yet again that it’s just round the corner, the same way, a few days ago, he told America’s seniors that, if they’d just reelect him, he’d be sharing the “cure” for COVID-19 with them completely free of charge.

I find it hard to believe that anyone — even the most diehard Trump supporter — believes him when he says, as he did today, that a wonderful new Republican health care plan is on the way. I can accept that some might have believed him, back before the 2016 election, when he promised that, if we elected him, he’d give us a plan that would “take care of everybody” on his first day in office. But I refuse to accept that anyone legitimately believes that Donald Trump has any intention to make good on that promise now, after four years without any sign of progress. I get that people don’t want to believe that they voted for a liar and a conman, but I refuse to accept that anyone actually believes him when he says that something is in the works. They may think, “Yeah, he’s lying, but they’re all liars, and at least he’s better than the America-hating socialist Joe Biden.” But I can’t accept that anyone really believes he’s feverishly working on a plan to guarantee that every American has access to quality health care… If you know of anyone who believes Donald Trump when he says that he’s diligently working on a plan that will cover all Americans for less money, please leave a comment. I’d love to hear about them.

Oh, and let’s not forget, if the Republicans really wanted to move on health care, there was absolutely nothing stopping them. When they care about something — like the Amy Coney Barrett Supreme Court nomination — they give it their all. The simple truth is, they don’t want to put forward a comprehensive national health care plan. During the first two years of the Trump presidency, they had control of the House, the Senate and the White House. They could have passed anything that they wanted. They passed tax cuts for the rich. That should tell you everything you need to know.

I hate the background music they’ve added here, but this video includes some of Trump’s past promises with regard to health care, in case you need to be reminded.

Posted in Health, Politics, Uncategorized | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , | 15 Comments

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