An Uncivil War: This Ain’t like Vietnam War Protests

 

Alabama Pro-Segregation Rally

Vietnam War Protest

White Christian nationalists in Charlottesville

BLM movement

 Charlie Krik Rally              

              

An Uncivil War: This Ain’t like Vietnam War Protests

American dumbs down and turns on itself

The protests of the late 1960s and early 1970s against American involvement in the civil war in Vietnam – a communist north battling a pro-American corrupt south – was the beginning of the question about the staunch American belief of the domino theory and the US’ need to throw American bodies in an effort to stop the spread of “communism.” Like a row of falling dominoes, the reasoning stated, if you don’t erase communism where it appears, it will take down nation after nation. But it was as much a confrontation between younger Americans, now questioning the government’s stated goals, against older Americans raised in the red scare “duck and cover” era where containing Communist Russia and China nuclear power was their focus. Over time, “socialism” – misdefined and misused – became a meme that ultimately was lost in an ill-defined sea of lables, with the right’s embracing a litany of memes from “radical leftists,” “invasion of violent alien criminals,” “wokism,” the “enemy,” and “only I can fix it.”

As we face the unforgivable assassination of 31-year-old wildly successful white Christian nationalist, Charlie Kirk, who was able to steer vast cadres of the rising younger generation into what he perceived was a MAGA destination controlled by his messianic mission. Unafraid openly to debate his foes, Kirk became the single most important connection between Trump and young voters. But until Trump’s assumption to the presidency in 2017, Kirk was a passionate “never Trumper.” As one of his young recruits, Caroline Stout recalls, Kirk’s shift to back Trump was a betrayal to some, but it represented an opportunistic path to growth and power. Kirk capitalized brilliantly on the Zeitgeist of that slice of the nation.

Even as the nation was unequivocally tethered, economically and politically, to the rest of the world, the notion of American isolationism exploded as the Trump’s “America First” mantra that introduced a notion is isolationism and the “possible” erasure of history to return the country to its rewritten glorious past, represented by the “vision” of the 1950s and 60s, hardly a time of American glory. But time erases the tough time of transition. A rich post-WII America began to address civil and voting rights. It was sometimes violent, confusing, but even the leaders of retaining segregation, like Alabama Governor George Wallace – later a presidential candidate who survived an assassination attempt – wound up become a champion of expanding civil and voting rights to Black voters. That has changed.

The Vietnam War protests may have embraced racism, but the heart and soul of that movement lay on college campuses across the nation. There was no campaign against education, science or academic elites. Corporations were charged with feeding the revenue-producing war, their rampant pollution and pushing tobacco and pretending it was not toxic. But whatever was happening, the optimistic Democratic days of Clinton came crashing down on 9/11/2001 during the Bush administration, Republicans borrowed money to support the resulting wars while lowering taxes to support the rich (which was anchored in the profoundly false narrative of “incent the job creators). Deficits soared, and still the nation prospered.

But Democrats ignored workers and embraced globalism. Republicans veered into conservative, religious voters, supporting every major evangelical platform they could (anti-gay, anti-abortion, blind patriotism and increasing anti-liberal) as long as tax cuts and deregulation were advanced. Universities, the source of most of the new technology that did create jobs, were lambasted as out-of-touch left-leaning houses of indoctrination. Workers joined evangelicals as the GOP sprouted Tea Party-to-MAGA values… and the underlying enemy was a “culture” that needed to die, because it was fostering a Godless nation lost in global commerce proselytizing world that minimized and “replaced” white Christian national values with unpatriotic multiculturalism that was destroying America.

What Americans believed, read, thought, watched, and practiced had to be redirected if America were to survive. Social media spread the word… and repealed facts and educated elites by any means possible. This wasn’t a movement against an unjust foreign war; it was a fight to reinvent American culture into one, uniform, acceptable mold, ordained by God, inevitable and unstoppable. Though this perspective represented a sizeable faction, it was a minority view. With its roots in a system of government generated in a young nation that was 95% agricultural and rural at inception, this minority was given disproportionate representation in Congress, and the rest was driven by religious zeal against most of the population that was largely uninvolved.

Parallel with this movement was a steady decline in math and reading scores, as the rest of the world was going otherwise, to our lowest recorded level in decades. Elites and science were vilified, and the value of college eroded: “Americans are increasingly skeptical about the value and cost of college, with most saying they feel the US higher education system is headed in the ‘wrong direction,’ according to a [recent] poll… Overall, only 36% of adults say they have a “great deal” or “quite a lot” of confidence in higher education, according to the report released Monday by Gallup and the Lumina Foundation. That confidence level has declined steadily from 57% in 2015.

Some of the same opinions have been reflected in declining enrollment as colleges contend with the effects of the student debt crisis, concerns about the high cost of tuition and political debates over how they teach about race and other topics… The dimming view of whether college is worth the time and money cuts across all demographics — including gender, age and political affiliation. Among Republicans, the number of respondents with high confidence in higher education has dropped 36 percentage points over the last decade — far more than it dropped for Democrats or independents…

“The June 2024 [Gallup and the Lumina Foundation] survey’s overall finding — that 36% of adults feel strong confidence in higher education — is unchanged from the year before. But what concerns researchers is shifting opinion on the bottom end, with fewer Americans saying they have “some” confidence and more reporting ‘very little’ and ‘none.’ This year’s [2024] findings show almost as many people have little or no confidence, 32%, as those with high confidence.

“Experts say fewer college graduates could worsen labor shortages in fields from health care to information technology. For those who forgo college, it often means lower lifetime earnings — 75% less compared with those who get bachelor’s degrees, according to Georgetown University’s Center on Education and the Workforce. And during an economic downturn, those without degrees are more likely to lose jobs.” CNN.com, September 15th.

This powerful demographic segment believes strong leadership, not limited by “archaic” laws, it necessary to right this ship. They must rewrite history, purge culture and science that contradict this vector, and control each and every one of us in thought, culture and body. That is the huge change from past, much more narrowly focused protest movements… and is completely antithetical to true democracy. The growth of artificial intelligence increases the level of fear and desperation. What’s next? The possible answers terrify me.

I’m Peter Dekom, and unless and until each and every American selects a hate/anger off-ramp, this uncivil war will undo America to the delight of China, Russia, Iran and N Korea.

Is Trump a President for All Americans?

Is Trump a President for All Americans?

“I’ll tell you something that’s going to get me in trouble, but I couldn’t care less… the radicals on the left are the problem… The radicals on the right, oftentimes, are radical because they don’t want to see crime… They don’t want to see crime. … They’re saying, ‘We don’t want these people coming in. We don’t want you burning our shopping centers. We don’t want you shooting our people in the middle of the street’… [T]he radicals on the left are the problem… they’re vicious, and they’re horrible, and they’re politically savvy.” 

Donald Trump, September 12th on Fox & Friends

“[Self-made US billionaire] George Soros, and his wonderful Radical Left son, should be charged with RICO because of their support of Violent Protests, and much more, all throughout the United States of America… We’re not going to allow these lunatics to rip apart America any more, never giving it so much as a chance to ‘BREATHE,’ and be FREE. Soros, and his group of psychopaths, have caused great damage to our Country! That includes his Crazy, West Coast friends.” 

Trump, NBC News, September 13th

“One thing I say is we have to have quick trials. I call it quick trials. Because in China, they do have quick trials, you know?... [We] should have a trial the following day, as far as I’m concerned.” 

Trump said on “Fox & Friends.”

“You probe with bayonets: if you find mush, you push. If you find steel, you withdraw.” 

Vladimir Ilich Lenin

Even as Trump tries to explain his logic, there are way too many flies in that ointment. Once you get into the verbiage of Trump’s patterns of expression, the meanings become clear. “Radicals on the left” generally means anyone who disagrees with his position, which includes Democratic members of Congress, governors, state legislators, candidates, major creative artists and media professionals, company CEOs and investors, and even some of his own followers if they are stupid enough to disagree with him. “Woke” is any belief or practice Trump or MAGA does not like.

He governs with a commitment to vengeance and retaliation against anyone who opposes anything he embraces. Even his own followers, who often are required to do penance at any missteps they have taken. Since so many economic advantages, government contracts and exemptions from his new tariffs (if sustained) are determined personally by Trump, the President has used this neo-American kleptocracy to make him vastly richer and clearly a man who cannot see the constitutional limits around him. How do Americans feel about all this? A September 11th summary of a recent Reuters/Ipsos Poll is presented in the Palm Beach Post:

The Reuters/Ipsos poll found just 16% of Americans overall - including 2% of Democrats and 34% of Republicans - thought it would be good for the president to have power to set interest rates and tell companies where to manufacture products.

Trump’s overall approval rating remains stable at 42%, according to the poll, with nine in 10 Republicans supporting him…. “Even if citizens have concerns about urban crime or economic performance, they don’t view either issue as currently in a state of unprecedented crisis requiring unprecedented measures to resolve,” Boston College's Hopkins said.

“And while Trump certainly has a set of personal admirers who would happily grant him whatever powers he might seek, there are also many Republican voters who supported Trump in the last three elections but who don’t agree that he should be allowed to operate without limits.”

U.S. voters overwhelmingly want their president to respect the authority of federal courts, with nine in 10 Democrats and seven in 10 Republicans saying the president should abide by judicial rulings even if he disagrees with them.

Still, Republicans are more inclined to give Trump a free hand… Asked if they were willing to give up some checks and balances in the U.S. democratic system to have a government that can take action faster, 39% of Republicans said they would take that offer, compared to 45% who rejected it. Only 17% of independents - and the same share of Democrats - liked the idea.

At the same time, voters of both parties are increasingly less likely to view the U.S. as exceptional… Some 29% of people in the latest Reuters/Ipsos poll agreed with a statement that "America is the greatest country in the world," down from 38% in a Reuters/Ipsos poll conducted in November 2017, during Trump's first term in office… The share of Democrats who agreed fell to 12% from 26% and among Republicans the share dropped to 55% from 59%.

The poll, which was conducted online and nationwide, gathered responses from 1,084 U.S. adults. It had a margin of error of 3 percentage points for all respondents, and between 5 and 6 points for Republicans, Democrats and independents.

Trump invites foreign investment in the United States, but when they verifiably cannot find qualified workers here, you get this with one of our staunchest allies in Asia, S. Korea. U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement conducted a major raid on an on a Hyundai electric vehicle battery plant under construction in Ellabell, Georgia. Nearly 500 workers, including over 300 South Korean nationals, who were detained for visa and immigration violation, and then flown back to Seoul. Meanwhile, tariffs are sending prices here soaring and punishing businesses at all levels, but particularly small businesses and farmers who do not have huge capital reserves.

Through a combination of raw, unchecked force, applying bully tactics that have worked for autocrats forever, inflicting retribution powerfully and instantly against anyone who dares to oppose him, he has cowed the Republicans in Congress to do his bidding without deviation or hesitation, even when it seriously undermines their own constituents, threatening judges and dismissing administration executives at even the slightest hint of challenging him. All new federal appointees are vetted for loyalty to Trump above all else. Issuing executive orders at rate that is over eight times more than any recent president, Trump uses his not-so-secret weapon: speed.

He signs an executive order, one that causes massive disruption instantly, implements that order at warp speed as widely as he can, and when the US Supreme Court is asked to stop obviously very legitimate lower court determinations of Trump’s excess, his Kangaroo Kaptive Judges reverse the lower court ruling and issue a shadow docket Trump-favorable stay… leaving the damage and devastation of those executive orders to continue to wreak havoc pen, unless and until the Court hears the full case, potentially a year or more later. Trump’s ICE recruits are becoming his secret police, sending fear way beyond undocumented residents.

With the schism of the assassination of Charlie Kirk exploding into an open American wound, Trump used this as a deflection and distraction from his obvious Epstein cover-up, to incite, to raise the level of anger, and to demonize… in effect begging for the right to rise and extinguish the “radical left” once and for all… however much it takes. The Capitol insurrection times thousand. In Brazil, they arrest and try leaders willing to incite at this level, convict them with long looming prison sentences. In America, we reelect them and give them even more power.

I’m Peter Dekom, and if Trump succeeds in his quest for absolute and permanent power for himself and his cronies, what will you do… and how will you ever explain this to your children and grandchildren….?

Will Trump Ever Stop Outsourcing Domestic & Foreign Policy to War Criminals and Autocrats

 

Will Trump Ever Stop Outsourcing Domestic & Foreign Policy to War Criminals and Autocrats?

For a man who takes credit for solving major global conflicts, his participation usually denied by the relevant combatants, Trump has been an abysmal failure at the conflicts where he probably could have effected a peaceful resolution, including Gaza and the Russian war on Ukraine (that “day one” promised settlement”). Instead, his actions and inactions have essentially prolonged both conflicts, as thousands continue to die unnecessarily. In fact, Trump has the greatest leverage of anyone to generate the desired cease fires. That he never uses that leverage against strongmen attackers, doesn’t make good on his “serious consequences” threats for those who do not comply with his ceasefire demands, Trump seems to have as much of a likelihood of a Nobel Peace Prize as my cat.

Trump August 15th summit with Vladimir Putin at Joint Base Elmendorf–Richardson in Anchorage, Alaska, is a classic example. Claiming he extracted serious concessions from the Russian President such that his threatened sanctions were not necessary, the succeeding weeks revealed that Putin had not budged a single inch on anything. Zippo. Trump was the clown prince of peace. Next, Trump threatened Europe that unless they all stopped buying oil from Russia, he would not support Europe’s own peace efforts, knowing that Hungary’s PM Viktor Orbán, with a Trump-like bromance with Putin, was not about to stop buying Russian fossil fuel. And sure, Trump was willing to alienate one of our most significant allies, India, for buying Russian oil, by slapping 50% tariffs on that nation, while not even making the tariff level for China rise a whit… even though China is the number one buyer of Russian oil.

Trump’s love and respect (envy?) for brutal dictators – his proclivity to favor “strongmen” over “democratic leaders” – creates a predictable result… every time. Trump has flipflopped like a fish out of water in dealing with Putin; the Russian President has not waivered an inch. Trump has excoriated Ukraine’s Zelenskyy and our European allies with very little of that hostility directed at Russia. As 19 Russian drones crossed into Poland, a NATO ally, Trump poo-pooed the findings of his EU/NATO leaders determining that these drone incursions were clearly intentional – testing Europe’s resolve. Trump has misstated more than once that Ukraine started the conflict, pushing Zelenskyy to make major concessions while liberally deeming Putin’s outrageous demands as “reasonable.”

Trump could join his European allies, who live in the same global neighborhood as does Moscow, bolstering a collective resolve in support of Ukraine. Trump could approve the sale of more longer-range missiles in addition to upgrading defensive systems needed by Ukraine, releasing the use of range limitations, but other than an occasion expression of disappointment or unhappiness at the indicted war criminal, Putin, Trump waivers and believes pledges of future economic relations are enough to force a ceasefire and a most lasting, fair solution. But his wish-washy resolve has only incented Putin to mount the most aggressive attack on Ukraine to date.

Indeed, Trump’s admiration of brutal strongmen, particularly an indicted war criminal (along with Hamas leadership) has given Isreal a cart blanche to Isreal to starve, bomb, shell and shoot

Gaza’s Palestinians, deny any potential for their own state and mount a new horrific decimation of Gaza city, as its population attempts to flee with nowhere to go. There are very few people in the Western world, including the United States, who would hold Hamas anything but brutal, immoral terrorists who initiated a hostage-taking, savage and unprovoked, murderous attack on innocent Israeli citizens near the border with Gaza. That needless slaughter, including violent rape and killing of children has no justification on any basis whatsoever.

But even as ordinary Palestinian civilians living in Gaza deeply resent the Hamas bully-soldiers in their midst, since that attack on October 7, 2023, Israel’s bombing, shelling and shooting retaliation of a Gaza, cutting off food and medical supplies, and destroying schools, hospitals and food distribution centers, has killed over an estimated 65 thousand people, a very small portion of which were Hama fighters, with thousands and thousand of children killed as well. The Israeli Defense Force always pointed to Hamas using those facilities, holding civilian Palestinians as human shields and using indiscriminate shelling to render 90% of the buildings in Gaza seriously damaged or destroyed. With no foreign journalists permitted by Israel, how would we know? The remaining Israeli hostages are held as Hamas’ lingering leverage to force a ceasefire.

The recent Israeli strike on a quiet residential district in Qatar where Hamas negotiators lived seemed to quell any hope of a negotiated ceasefire and seriously undermined US relations with a number of its regional Arab allies. Israel then mounted its greatest strike on Gaza City, pledging to level it to make it unusable. Hundreds of thousands of fleeing Gazans clogged roads in a desperate attempt to escape, but they literally had no place to go. As Israel’s only major ally on Earth, the United States remains the main source of weapons other than those made in Israel. So, anytime Israel makes a decision involving weapons, the US shares the blame. That most of the major European allies are slowly recognizing Palestine as an independent state, has not weakened Natanyahu’s control over Trump’s policy of letting Israel have its way with Gaza, notwithstanding an occasional statement of “disappointment” emanating from Trump.

Meanwhile, an “independent United Nations inquiry has concluded for the first time that Israel has committed genocide against Palestinians in Gaza and that the country’s top leaders have incited genocide, in what it described as the ‘most authoritative UN finding to date.... In a 72-page report released on Tuesday [9/16], the commission, which was set up by the UN Human Rights Council (HRC), found that Israel has ‘committed four genocidal acts’ in the enclave since October 7, 2023, when Hamas carried out deadly attacks on Israel and Israel launched its military campaign.” Associated Press, September 17th.

On September 18th: “The United States once again vetoed a U.N. Security Council resolution… that had demanded an immediate and permanent ceasefire in Gaza and the release of hostages after saying that the effort did not go far enough in condemning the militant group Hamas… All 14 other members of the United Nations’ most powerful body voted in favor of the resolution, which described the humanitarian situation in Gaza as ‘catastrophic’ and called on Israel to lift all restrictions on the aid delivery to the 2.1 million Palestinians in the territory.” LA Times, September 19th. This goes so far beyond Israel’s right to exist in peace and defend itself when attacked.

Even as most of my closest Jewish friends are increasingly passionately opposed to Israel’s extreme and unrelenting attack on innocent Palestinians, with children dying from starvation in droves every day, Donald Trump’s marching orders from Netanyahu and his powerful allies in the US, have pushed us into a further isolated global position as a rogue state. Trump adoration of strongmen, his open disdain for vulnerable and weak people, has resulted in the President of the United States literally outsourcing what we should be doing about the Russo-Ukraine War and our moral commitment to stop supply the weapons used to kill innocent Palestinians to strongmen Putin and Netanyahu, respectively.

And if anyone thinks this is good for either the American or Israeli people, the numbers, reported in the September 18th The Economist, might strongly suggest otherwise: “Our polling shows the mood is shifting sharply in America, not just among Democrats but also Republicans. A recent YouGov/Economist poll finds that 43% of Americans believe Israel is committing genocide in Gaza. In the past three years unfavourable views of Israel among Democrats over 50 rose by 23 percentage points. Among Republicans under 50, support is evenly divided, compared with 63% for Israel in 2022. If this loss of popular American support continues it will be catastrophic for a small country of 10m people in a hostile neighbourhood. Right now America is all that stands between Israel and pariah status. Optimists will call all of this scaremongering. We believe that view is dangerously complacent.” Trump does what he wants. But Gen Z is rising… and they will remember. But Trump really does not care: “The Trump administration has told Congress it plans to sell nearly $6 billion in weapons to Israel, a fresh surge of support for the U.S. ally as it faces increasing isolation over its war in Gaza.” LA Times, September 21st.

I’m Peter Dekom, and Trump’s proclivity to outsource key decisions to tyrants in obvious violation of our most basic moral code has done absolutely nothing to benefit us anywhere… and has pushed to many allies we need even farther away, with less respect for us than have ever had.

Our Uncivil War

Trump inviting followers to march  on the Capitol on 1/6/21  

 on the Capitol on 1/6/2                

Resulting attack on the Capitol

Militia at Michigan  Capitol trying to kidnap the governor (10/20)

   Military occupation of DC                                                            

Our Uncivil War

Toxic Labels that Divide Us Further, Preventing Reconciliation and Peace

“I’ve been shot at in Iraq, led convoys through deserts scarred by war and spent nearly five years of my life on operations in the Middle East. Through it all, what unsettled me in those places was the fragility of trust between armed patrols and the civilians around them — the uneasy sense that one spark could undo any tenuous stability. I never expected to feel that same fear, not for myself, but for our society, while riding the D.C. Metro.”

Command Army Sgt. Maj. Eric Chastain (Ret.) on the deployment of federalized Nat. Guardsmen in DC

“[W]hen the President does it, that means that it is not illegal, by definition.” 

 President Richard Nixon David Frost interview

“We’re dealing with a radical left group of lunatics, and they don’t play fair and they never did….

My administration will find each and every one of those who contributed to this atrocity and to other political violence, including the organizations that fund it and support it.” 

Trump before and after the Kirk assassination.

"Hate speech that crosses the line into threats of violence is NOT protected by the First Amendment. It's a crime… For far too long, we've watched the radical left normalize threats, call for assassinations, and cheer on political violence. That era is over." 

AG and Trump’s personal attorney, Pamela Bondi, in a 9/16 morning post on X.

“Many forms of Government have been tried, and will be tried in this world of sin and woe. No one pretends that democracy is perfect or all-wise. Indeed it has been said that democracy is the worst form of Government except for all those other forms that have been tried from time to time.…” Winston Churchil, November 11, 1947

Donald Trump takes great pride in his current focus on reducing “crime” in blue cities (some in red states where the governors support him), but it really depends on how you define “criminals.” If you describe those who invaded the Capitol on January 6th as “patriots” and pardon approximately one thousand convicted felons in that group – whose violence injured and killed Capitol police officers as members of Congress huddled in fear in their respective chambers, as the Secret Service whisked away Vice President Mike Pence who face a hanging mob – you get to play with words. Brazil’s “Trump of the Tropics,” ex-President Jair Bonsonaro, denied his lost election and likewise provoked violent attacks on government buildings, was tried and convicted for his “insurrection” and sentenced to 27 years and 3 months. Our response: we reelected the perp!

As much as I decry every act of political violence – from the failed effort to assassinate Trump to the successful assassination of Charlie Kirk – trying to pin all that on Democrats as leftist radicals is astonishingly misplaced. I’ve always maintained that folks, who rely on anecdotal evidence (vs accurate statistics) or who must wildly fabricate those statistics, are most likely perpetrators that merit extreme scrutiny. You can always find horrible anecdotes to support almost any position, and no one is saying, “we back criminals” (like murders, kidnappers, robbers and thieves, carjackers, thugs breaking into homes, etc.), but labeling your political opponents as “criminals” based on Trump’s wording and anecdotal evidence is sheer hypocrisy when you look at the “justified” violence and provocations perpetrated by the Trump administration on US citizens.

Fighting words, even if inaccurate, rile up those who believe them, amping up even more violence. And Trump knows that, even as he claims to be against political violence, while in the next sentence, blames it all on radical leftists (embracing all Democrats) with a promise to root them all out bring them to justice. What do we gain and what do we lose with such words and efforts? Indeed, individual liberty (“life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness”) and the need to prevent crime, especially where politicians simply define their political opponents as criminals, are indeed uncomfortable trade-offs. But we have made that balance work for centuries.

Our Founding Fathers believed that those elected to office would “men” of good character, and they assumed that such elected officials would thus protect the tenets of the US Constitution. How wrong they were, but we still keep trying to make the system work. And right now, the political right is hell-bent on controlling what we say, what we can read, what we think, what our governing religious beliefs should be, what medical facts should be (but aren’t), what media we are allowed to watch and even what history books and those institutions we have to remember the past are allowed to say, however accurate. Is that the “freedom” envisaged by our Founding Fathers? That was what King George III wanted, and what revolutionary Americans were willing to do to end.

When the President says local police find kinship with those military occupiers, he fails to mention that he defunded federal support for local cops and, in violation of the Posse Comitatus Act, shoved troops, untrained in police work, to invade cities that he did not carry in the last election. What an insult to the local cops. Our untrained National Guardsmen/cops can do a better job than you have. Is the FBI still that bastion of the best investigative police agency in the country? When inexperienced ideologue and Trump “yes man” Kash Patel pulled 20% of FBI field agents focused on complex criminal activities and pushed them into most inappropriate immigration enforcement… firing seasoned agents because they did their jobs when ordered in connection with Trump investigation before he was reelected, did that reaffirm FBI excellence? Where loyalty to Trump supersedes protecting the Constitution?

Look at the photographs of the “heroes “ pictured above. Some are most honorable, pressed into service in a role for which they were never intended to fulfil and for which they have not been trained. Others, unlike the vast majority of deported undocumented workers, are violent criminals anointed as “patriots” and “heroes” and thus excluded from Trump’s definition of “violent criminals.” Provocateurs are elevated to positions of power. Trump is heavily focused on recruiting his own private police force, lowering standards and increasing bonuses and pay levels, to entice the recruitment of a further 10,000 ICE agents. Is this the America we really want?

I’m Peter Dekom, and as long as we allow Trump to define who is a hero and who is a criminal, then perhaps he will be allowed to destroy our democracy, our system of checks and balances, with a simple and oft-repeated phrase, “only I can fix it.”

Trump’s Body Slam to the Rule of Law – Can American Democracy Survive?

Trump’s Body Slam to the Rule of Law – Can American Democracy Survive?

Advanced Weaponization the Department of Justice

@realDonaldTrump

Pam: I have reviewed over 30 statements and posts saying that, essentially, “same old story as last time, all talk, no action. Nothing is being done. What about Comey, Adam “Shifty” Schiff, Leticia??? They’re all guilty as hell, but nothing is going to be done.” Then we almost put in a Democrat supported U.S. Attorney, in Virginia, with a really bad Republican past. A Woke RINO, who was never going to do his job. That’s why two of the worst Dem Senators PUSHED him so hard. He even lied to the media and said he quit, and that we had no case. No, I fired him, and there is a GREAT CASE, and many lawyers, and legal pundits, say so. Lindsey Halligan is a really good lawyer, and likes you, a lot. We can’t delay any longer, it’s killing our reputation and credibility. They impeached me twice, and indicted me (5 times!), OVER NOTHING. JUSTICE MUST BE SERVED, NOW!!! President DJT 

Donald Trump’s post on his Truth Social platform, September 20th, 5 days before former FBI Director, James Comey was indicted

"My family and I have known for years that there are costs to standing up to Donald Trump, but we couldn't imagine ourselves living any other way. We will not live on our knees, and you shouldn't either… My heart is broken for the Department of Justice, but I have great confidence in the federal judicial system. I'm innocent, so let's have a trial and keep the faith." 

Comey’s reaction to his indictment, September 26th.

Five days after she was appointed to replace Trump’s earlier appointment as US Attorney for the Eastern District of Virginia, Erik Siebert, a former Miss Colorado beauty contest participant (she finished 4th) and insurance legal specialist, acting US Attorney Lindsey Halligan, found her way to the Grand Jury room where, unaccompanied by other lawyers from her new office, she convinced at least 12 of 23 grand jurors to indict former FBI director, James Comey, on two of three counts she presented: making a false statement and obstruction of a congressional proceeding.

Halligan had only handled three federal cases prior to her appointment, none of which involved a criminal prosecution. Acting on the investigatory opinion of his staff attorneys, Siebert had followed the ethical rule applied to all prosectors in US Attorneys’ offices: do not seek indictments with insufficient evidence to convict. When he refused to seek an indictment, Siebert, a staunch Republican, was fired/quit and replaced. Trump has since referred to Siebert as a “radical leftist.”

As Halligan secured that indictment, a number of attorneys in her office resigned, not surprisingly including Comey’s son-in-law. Even as Trump claimed in several interviews that he took no part in seeking this indictment, that AG Pam Bondi alone directed her US Attorney in Eastern Virgina to pursue the rather flimsy and virtually meritless case against Comey, Trump clearly pulled the levers…. and perhaps, as Trump himself said after the indictment, “There will be others.” Courts almost never dismiss criminal cases based on malicious and selective prosecution, but there never has been a case where such prosecution is so painfully obvious (see above quote), this is it. Comey has been directed to attend his arraignment on October 9th. Halligan is only an “acting” US Attorney, awaiting a tough Senate confirmation process for a full appointment.

Comey has never been anyone I believed in or supported. I am one of those who believes that by announcing that although there were questions of judgment, 11 days before the 2016 election, Comey took it upon himself to announce why the FBI was not pursing Hillary Clinton for inappropriate emails dealing with sensitive information that he stated were not worthy of criminal prosecution, Comey probably influenced the election of his future nemesis, Donald Trump, to the office of President of the United States. In the years following, until he was fired by Trump, Comey tried to restore a semblance of neutrality by following up investigations of Trump own potential criminal election violations and document handling malfeasance, which efforts were shut down when Trump was reelected in 2024.

But while the absurd revenge Comey indictment is itself an important story, it is only a symptom of the severe erosion of the intention of our democratic guardrails and constitutional protections. With a Trump stacked US Supreme Court and a GOP congressional contingent intimidated into blind “whatever Trump wants” loyalty, there is genuine question whether the United States is well into the transition into a rule by law autocracy. I believe we are facing a five-alarm firestorm.

One of my most important blogs – my August 16th Rule of Law vs Rule by Lawpost – examined what happens to political systems, evidenced in so many other countries, when guardrails, established to create equal protection under the law, fail. Democracies uniformly have such powerful guardrails; failing democracies and autocracies do not. Our Founding Fathers believed passionately in rule of law, firmly rejecting the autocratic demands of George III.

Forgive me for repeating the core of the “of vs by” law” determinants, but it worthwhile to have my earlier simple reference, in understanding how the United States has turned law from its intended function to protect equal justice, society itself, into prosecutors’ turning Trump’s campaign pledge, “I am your retribution,” into one-man rule… rule “by law.” As AG Pam Bondi and FBI head Kash Patel react to the indictment of James Comey, joined by rubber-stamp chorus of Republicans in Congress, hailing that federal prosecution as proving “no man is above the law,” the obvious reality is quite the opposite. So, I would like to repeat my earlier blog’s difference between rule of vs rule by law:

Who creates the laws, and their reference points and political, legal or cultural limitations determine rule of or by the law. A theocracy, like Iran, elevates Quranic law, as interpreted by Shia’s highest theologians above any laws created by human beings. Germany’s Nazi Party also had a legal system, but its laws were applied to amplify individual power and the party of the Fuhrer himself. When the law emanates from a single leader, one who cannot be contained by a judicial system, that is clearly rule by law. The LexisNexis Rule of Law Foundation determined that “rule of” requires examination of four core values, noting that “The stronger each of these components are, the greater the rule of law.

• Equality Under the Law - All people, businesses and governments are accountable, and the law applies to everyone in the same way, no matter who you are.
• Transparency of Law - Laws must be clear, precise, affordable and accessible while protecting fundamental human rights.
• Independent Judiciary - An independent judiciary ensures equality and fairness of law between people and public officials.
• Accessible Legal Remedy - There must be access to timely resolution in a court of law.

Trump’s policies in many areas are increasingly unpopular, very much casting doubt on his ability to hold a majority in both houses of Congress in the 2026 midterms, and avoid lame duck powerlessness. Gerrymandering and other voter manipulation are in full swing as a core target of Trump and his followers, who apparently believe that without such voting rigging, they are doomed to lose their tripartite control of all three branches of government. Our Article I (of the Constitution) legislative panel should be up for grabs in a free and fair election. The midterms just might the last hope of stopping the dark curtain of autocracy that has descended upon America. And the complete death of neutrality in the DOJ is unacceptable.

I’m Peter Dekom, and as Donald Trump decries Jimmy Kimmel’s “talent,” you only have to look at his political appointments across the board to assess what he truly considers competent “talent” to be.

Retribution, One-Man Rule and Fabrication Have Produced an American Police State

Retribution, One-Man Rule and Fabrication Have Produced an American Police State

“Pam: I have reviewed over 30 statements and posts saying that, essentially, ‘same old story as last time, all talk, no action. Nothing is being done. What about Comey, Adam ‘Shifty’ Schiff, Leticia??? They’re all guilty as hell, but nothing is going to be done… [referring the AG to former FBI Director James Comey, Sen. Adam Schiff of California, and New York Attorney General Letitia James]…We can’t delay any longer, it’s killing our reputation and credibility.”

Trump social media post, September 20th.

“[Charlie Krik] did not hate his opponents; he wanted the best for them… That’s where I disagreed with Charlie. I hate my opponents, and I don’t want the best for them. I’m sorry.” 

Trump at Kirk Memorial in Phoenix, September 20th.

“I have read someplace that the networks were 97% against me, again, 97% negative… They give me only bad publicity, press. I mean, they’re getting a license… I would think maybe their license should be taken away.” 

Trump, September 18th.

“President Trump ran directly at the legacy mainstream åmedia, and he smashed a facade that they’re the gatekeepers of truth… [The FCC is now] fully aligned with the agenda… Broadcast licenses are not sacred cows.” 

 Trump’s FCC Chair, Brendan Carr in several public statements.

“Where has all the leadership gone? If not for university presidents, law firm managing partners, and corporate chief executives standing up against bullies, who then will step up for the first amendment?” Ex-Disney CEO Michael Eisner at the removal of Jimmy Kimmel from ABC’s late-night schedule.

“President Trump has not convinced most Americans that there is an emergency in this country that requires greatly expanded presidential power to address” 

Boston College Political Scientist David Hopkins, September 21st

“Even if citizens have concerns about urban crime or economic performance, they don’t view either issue as currently in a state of unprecedented crisis requiring unprecedented measures [like troops in cities] to resolve.” 

Veteran Democratic Strategist Jesse Ferguson

It’s odd how China and the United States seem to be reversing their goals and political systems. Officially, the US government does not recognize “climate change” as relevant. Half the EV vehicles on earth are now made in China, as the Trump administration has halted the major alternative energy job growth market – an inane “drill, baby drill” mantra as even oil companies are scaling back – just as China is now leading the field. “The value of electric-vehicle, battery, solar, wind and other renewables projects that were delayed or canceled in the first half of the year, according to advocacy group E2. It’s one of the signs of how America has given up its effort to challenge China in the renewable-energy industries that increasingly power the global economy.” Wall Street Journal, News Fee, September 22nd.

In China, the Communist Party directly controls the military (not the government itself) and can overrule and mandate judicial outcomes and outcomes. Trump has admired the quickness, lack of due process guardrails, of the Chinese judicial system. Slowly, he has ended the notion of an independent judiciary, from his personal control of the Department of Justice, which he is now demanding prosecuted his political foes, to his strategic appointment of federal judges, from top to bottom, who have been vetted primarily on their loyalty to Trump and his political goals, vs their competency and neutrality. Federal prosecutors who do not deliver indictments against Trump declared political enemies are terminated, even where they simply cannot find the necessary evidence need to support that indictment.

For example, Trump fired (did he quit?) his nominee and acting US Attorney for the Eastern District of Virginia, Erik Siebert, who had informed the Department of Justice that he had insufficient evidence to pursue charges against NY State AG, Letticia James, and also raised concerns about a separate case against former FBI Director James Comey. He was immediately replaced with a White House insider with no prosecutorial experience, an insurance attorney, Lindsey Halligan. Trump’s appointment of ex-Fox News host, Jeanine Pirro, as US Attorney for the District of Columbia, following Trump’s directives to secure felony indictments against arrested anti-ICE protestors, has repeatedly failed to convince the necessary grand jury panels that a felony had been committed.

It is now well beyond a reasonable doubt that Trump has brought AG Pam Bondi and the entire DOJ under his direct control, evaporating the tradition of DOJ neutrality and separation from direct political control since it was established. The President has consistently slammed the Biden administration against censorship and “witch hunts,” and even in his inaugural speech, he pledged to “immediately stop all government censorship and bring back free speech to America.” No President in American history has imposed more consequences against those who have spoken against him or more weaponized the justice system than Trump. He went so far as to turn his purported eulogy of Charlie Kirk into a vitriolic hate speech that seemed to cross the line towards inciting and justifying political violence against all who opposed him. Even more directly than his January 6, 2021, speech at the Ellipse preceding the assault on the Capitol.

Trump’s war against media has exploded into the open, from frivolous lawsuits to hinting that unless they tow the line, the kinds of government approvals they seek from the SEC, FTC, FCC, etc. just might not happen. He’s taken down two late night network talk show hosts, CBS’ Stephen Colbert and ABC’s Jimmy Kimmel (but is ABC pushing back now?) and is aiming for more. Remember, a bully rarely stops after a success. Odd, but it’s straight from the autocrat’s playbook, to take out political comedy first as you assault free speech, as both Vladimir Putin and Hungary’s Viktor Orbán did at the inception of their transition to dictatorship. Trump has become that master of fabricating mythical numbers or gas lighting to convince his supporters?

Trump’s polling on the economy and on his tariffs shows his disapproval level rising way over 50%. “Reuters/Ipsos polling shows most Americans favor stricter limits on executive authority and oppose both military patrols in urban areas and direct control over corporate decisions. After taking control of the D.C. police and deploying National Guard troops, Trump has considered sending troops to other cities… A Reuters/Ipsos poll found only 32% of Americans support armed soldiers patrolling major cities. The backing is strongest among Republicans.” Kansas City Star, September 21st. His ICE recruitment for an additional 10,000 officers is creating a personal police force that eschews warrants (and probable cause) or even identifying themselves when they effect an arrest.

Because of that unpopularity, Trump depends on his rubber-stamp GOP control of Congress, with a majority very likely slipping to a distinct minority in the midterms, unless he can rig the vote. So, limiting likely Democratic voters from a meaningful voice at the polls is his major focus now, and his efforts seem to have the likely support of his right-wing Supreme Court. We are already under an autocratic form of government that the voters never approved. But the passion of that roughly 30% of MAGA Christian nationalists is a force to be reckoned with… facing the rest, a complacent electorate focused more on kitchen table issues than the loss of personal freedom or the rise of Trump’s selected billionaire power brokers who have been wildly successful in securing lucrative deals and exemptions under Trump’s direct efforts to benefit them.

Criminal standards for corrupt officials and corporate acts, protection of civil and worker rights and of the general public from environmental and greed-driven financial harm are gone. Tax cuts for the rich and an overall slash of federal benefits for everyone else have become the norm. And still, most of the general public seems unaware that their house is on fire. Oh, and what has happened to the Epstein debacle? Has the unforgiveable assassination of Charlie Trump finally given Trump the distraction he so desperately wanted?

I’m Peter Dekom, and as their nation burns its most sacred traditions, too many Americans are just playing their virtual “fiddles,” either from fear, misunderstanding or simply a habit of non-involvement.

Trump at the U.N.: Braggadocio, Mythology & Global Embarrassment on Steroids

Palestinian flag raised for the first time at the  United Nations NY headquarters in 2015.

  Wind power is everywhere in China

Trump at the U.N.: Braggadocio, Mythology & Global Embarrassment on Steroids

There was laughter at Donald Trump’s last speech before the U.N. General Assembly in 2019. No one could believe that Trump was anything but a fluke, a President mired in such scandal and oceans of right-wing falsehoods that he was at best a one-term mistake. There was international relief when he lost in 2020 and shock and dismay when a thoroughly disgraced Trump won in 2024. Let me summarize his September 23rd U.N. speech: me, me, me, me, me, me, me, me and me! But no one was laughing now. Instead, there was a pall over the crowd, a sickening acknowledgment that Trump’s vision, using the profound economic power the United States wields, was instilling fear and resignation among world leaders… the bully was not about to stop. There was a touch of smugness from the Chinese delegation, knowing that they were gaining traction with the rest of the world with every word Trump spoke.

As climate related disasters continued to escalate globally, particularly in the United States, Trump declared (noting: “I am always right”) that “climate change” was a hoax, and green energy was a “con job.” He failed to note that alternative energy was keeping even red, red, red (by gerrymandering) Texas powered with electricity. “On sunny and windy days, wind and solar energy often reaches over 60% of the real-time fuel mix. When this isn’t happening, ERCOT [Texas energy authority] must rely on thermal sources like liquified natural gas (LNG), coal, and nuclear energy.” Texas Legislative Study Group report.

Trump continued to admonish nations embracing alternative energy, particularly Chinese-made wind turbines, that they were condemning their nations to slow growth and failure. The future, he maintained, belonged to fossil fuels, particularly “beautiful clean coal,” even as there is no such thing. Sorry, but contrary to Trump’s statement, China has a great many wind-power facilities successfully in operation. Hurricanes, drought, flooding elsewhere and wildfires hung in their air, never mentioned by King Donny. Even as job growth in alternative energy was already eclipsing fossil fuel employment non-growth. His economic statistics about American success were littered with falsehoods and exaggeration.

He again took credit for settling seven wars and major conflicts, suggesting each alone was worthy of a Nobel Peace Prize, which produced a wave of eyerolls in the leaders in attendance… his claim denied by those nations where such settlements were reached. His proselytization that nations should contain and protect their borders – a growing reality among richer nations as global politics is showing a shift to the right – seemed to dismiss droughts where local farmers could no long grow food crops and conflicts that clearly Mr Trump unable to influence… people with no hope and no place to go. That damned climate change “hoax” again.

Trump’s touting freedoms in the United States, even as his administration was directing federal agencies and administrators to take down his opposition with criminal prosecutions, was bitter irony. His claim that Christianity was the most targeted faith on earth sent chills down American bodies who continue to oppose anything that smacks of a national religion. His executive order against an ideology, “antifa,” as if it were a genuine organized existing organization, was equally chilling. Since the “fa” in that word refers to “fascism,” it is hard to escape that such an order was in effect an attack on those who oppose fascism.

While his sympathy for the remaining Israeli hostages held by Hamas resonated, his support of Israel’s mega-destructive military decimation of Gaza fell on deaf and often angry ears. Over 80% of the member states in the General Assembly have recognized Palestine as an independent state, including Western allies like the UK, France, Luxembourg, Malta, Monaco, Andorra, Belgium, Canada, Australia and Portugal. But emphatically not the United States, which is universally viewed as the military enabler of this Israel effort, which many nations and U.N. agencies have labeled as “genocide.” Even as he denied visas to Palestinian delegates to this meeting of the General Assembly, perhaps Trump noted the Palestinian flag flying above that building, an official UN recognition of Palestinian statehood.

He chastised the United Nations as powerless and worthless, wasteful at every turn. He even attacked the cost of renovating the U.N. buildings in New York City, having lost a 2005 bid to be the contractor that was involved in desired upgrades. He smugly observed the serious cost overruns that would never have happened, he maintained, had he won that bid. He noted that the delegates were walking on terrazzo instead of the marble flooring that was in his bid. Wow, but it was a consistent “me, me, me” tirade.

He falsely accused the London mayor, a Muslim, of trying to impose sharia law in that city. Even though his US poll numbers are plunging, he claimed he had his highest poll numbers now. He was inaccurately selective in noting, falsely, that US prices are falling overall. Washinton, DC was our “crime capital.” I could go on, but if you watched that U.N. speech, I suspect his descriptions of the United (?) States of America produced more than a few eyerolls across the country. All this after Trump had declared that since Democrats were unwilling to live with his budget extension proposal, the September 25th scheduled meeting with senior Democratic leaders was cancelled.

I’m Peter Dekom, and I am shocked and amazed that I now live in a non-constitutional dictatorship that was once the flagship of democracy, increasingly hated the world over, with a complacent voting constituency letting it all slide by, ignoring the lessons of history where such complacency destroyed entire governments without a shot being fired.

The Trump Double-Down: Repeating the Same Behavior

The Trump Double-Down: Repeating the Same Behavior

And Expecting a Different Result

It’s a pretty common behavior, one embraced by autocrats throughout the ages, but it stems from a messianic one-note leader, unbending, with enough followers to reinforce his (not too many women here) notion of self-importance. “I am right, and those who do not agree are wrong.” They are all labeled “enemies” and “unpatriotic,” to be dealt with accordingly. “Only I can fix it!” “[Insert name or category of people, often based on race, religion or ethnicity] need to be stopped [eliminated?]” When hard facts contradict that monotonic message, either the opposing message/fact is wildly incorrect, biased and/or manipulated or the messenger is to be demonized, marginalized, dismissed or to be eliminated on any number of fabricated grounds. “Alternative facts” (no such animal exists; a fact is just a fact) – where those with the accurate information are dismissed or ignored or often killed – give rise to simplistic explanations, the birthplace of mythology and toxic conspiracy theories.

Given the unsustainability of falsehoods, even with massive numbers of believers reinforced with religious zeal, it becomes critical to the survivability of the false prophet that contrary information be suppressed, with violence if necessary, and those transmitting that information be demonized or “eliminated.” No, folks, the Earth is not flat, and the Sun does not revolve around our planet, as most people once believed. Autocrat standard response: Any system of governance that permits the dissemination of contrary but factual information must be destroyed by any and all means possible. Informants, secret police operating under the direct control of the grandmaster are assigned to hotbeds of opposing voices. If such “police” are masked without any form of obvious identification, accountability for their actions has left the building. That the recently recruited “soldiers” (Guardsmen) from former Confederate strongholds (Civil War history), are occupying the Union capital at the invitation of the government, should trouble us all.

Let’s start with the economy. If TACO Trump could not read the obvious tea leaves – impose tariffs, stock market falls; reduce or remove tariffs, stock market rises – he continues to wreak havoc on financial well-being of the nation. Corporations cannot plan, consumer confidence is plunging, and experts agree, the economy-biting chickens are coming home to roost. Hugh Cameron, writing for the August 21st Newsweek, soft-pedals with this summary: “S&P Global Market Intelligence, the research and data arm of the credit-rating agency, found that filings by large public and private companies rose to 71 last month from 66 in June, marking the highest monthly tally since July 2020. So far in 2025, meanwhile, the total of 446 bankruptcy filings is the highest for this seven-month stretch since 2010.

“Experts told Newsweek that, when factoring in things like currency depreciation and corporate structures, statistics such as these are less alarming than they may initially appear. However, the notable increase in both business and personal bankruptcies in recent months has exacerbated existing concerns about the overall health of the U.S. economy… In its report, S&P Global cited the impact of high interest rates and ‘uncertainty’ created by tariffs; but the economy is also grappling with elevated inflation, a precarious labor market and other headwinds that have prompted some economists to warn of an impending recession.” The underlying reality, which includes severe labor shortages in construction and farming, small businesses struggling to survive and tariff-driven price increases are beginning to impact us all, is that the economy is nowhere near the promised land Trump described... and nobody really believes he can continue to blame Biden and Obama. Still, often as a political threat that doesn’t really matter a whit to most of us, new tariffs are rolling out.

One last, foreign policy example. That same double-down behavior result was evidenced by Trump’s embarrassing bent knee to Putin in Anchorage on August 15th, and his complete abandonment (read: Putin appeasement) of the President’s own ceasefire demands (or else “severe consequences” would be assessed on Putin’s Russia) following Trump’s subsequent White House meeting with European leaders and Ukraine’s Volodymyr Zelenskyy. Trump resumed his total, near worshipping treatment of the indicted war criminal, Vladimir Vladimirovich Putin, as if Trump’s many statements about stopping the murderous devastation or his “disappointment” in Putin’s intransigence and even that Putin seemed ready for a ceasefire, never happened. So, would Trump’s recent reverting to his earlier near perfect statement of support for Putin (the bromance) generate a different result from Trump’s earlier support of Putin?

Putin got the delay he wanted, he immediately amped up his attack on civilian targets in Ukraine, and even as Trump had suggested Putin would accept meaningful security guarantees for a peace agreement, as European leaders met internally to discuss how this might work, Moscow’s Foreign Minister, Sergey Lavrov, called this effort “a path to nowhere.” Lavrov believes that Russia needs to participate in the creation of the limitations, but we know Russia won’t accept much. Trump has already withdrawn the potential of adding US peacekeepers to the ground forces protecting a post-war Ukraine. Why does Russia, the serial breacher of its international treaties, get to dictate how we cover Ukraine’s post-war territorial security needs? Do we ask those arrested in this country about the quality of jail accommodation and the use of handcuffs? Why do we trust Russia for an effective containment strategy?

In the end, the one trick pony named Donald Trump has simply not delivered anywhere that matters. The economy is unraveling, Gaza has gotten much worse, and Putin is the only winner in the recent efforts to end the war in Ukraine. Trump’s lacky AG Pamela Bondi, is snail walking the promised big reveal, that document dump demanded by the congressional committee that subpoenaed those Jeffrey Epstein files, even as everybody now knows Trump’s name is all over those records. And since Trump’s momentary deflections and distractions in sending his red state police to blue states plus his effort to dial down the Russo-Ukraine war, have both failed, does Trump finally have to deal with that “deep state” pledge he made to his MAGA followers… or does he get yet another pass from cultish followers as democracy is squeezed out of our nation?

I’m Peter Dekom, and quoting from that old Joni Mitchell song (Big Yellow Taxi), “Don't it always seem to go…That you don't know what you've got... Till it's gone… They paved paradise… And put up a parking lot” right over that place where democracy once stood.