Posted in2020 election Donald Trump

Here’s the PowerPoint Mark Meadows turned over to Jan. 6 committee

It took me a while to find it, but I finally located a file of the 36-slide PowerPoint presentation dated January 5, 2021 that Mark Meadows turned over to the House committee investigating the January 6 attack on the nation's capitol. Here's a PDF file of the presentation:Download Mark Meadows Power Point There's so much craziness in the PowerPoint, it's tempting to not take it seriously. But the presentation found its way into the White House, and it echoes talking points put forward by both Trump acolytes and Trump himself. This is an excerpt from a Washington Post story, "The…
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Posted in2020 election Donald Trump Oregon politics

Police officers undo GOP lies about January 6 insurrection

Deeply moving. Inspiring. Gripping.  Those words don't begin to describe the testimony four police officers gave today about the Capitol insurrection by Trump supporters who believed the Big Lie that Joe Biden didn't win the presidential election. Their honesty and bravery put into stark contrast the lies and cowardice almost all Congressional Republicans have been displaying since they decided it was more important to kiss the ass of Donald Trump than stand up for our democracy, which rests on the foundation of a peaceful transfer of power after free and fair elections. But it isn't just Republicans in Washington D.C.…
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Posted in2020 election Donald Trump Joe Biden

63% of Republicans believe Biden won because of voter fraud

Today is the six month anniversary of the January 6 insurrection at the nation's capitol where Trump supporters tried to overturn Biden's free and fair election as president of the United States. Chris Hayes marked the occasion on his MSNBC show by discussing with guests the upcoming special House committee that will investigate the insurrection, and the continuing Republican inability to recognize a simple truth. Biden won the election fair and square.  No reasonable person doubts this. The Trump campaign filed about sixty lawsuits challenging the counting of votes in a number of swing states. They lost all but one,…
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Posted inDonald Trump National politics

Republicans should support Rep. Kinzinger’s Country First movement

Are you a Republican or a conservative-leaning independent? If so, are you fed up with how the GOP has become so closely tied to Trump, it has lost its way to such an extent it now embraces crazy conspiracy theories such as that Biden's victory didn't happen via a free and fair election? A "yes" answer, or even a "maybe," should cause you to check out Representative Adam Kinzinger's newly unveiled web site, Country First.  Kinzinger is an Illinois Congressman who was one of ten Republicans to vote for Trump's impeachment in the House of Representatives. I've seen him several…
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Posted in2020 election Donald Trump Joe Biden

After a Trump headache, Biden’s inauguration was my aspirin

I feel so much better today. My (metaphorical) four-year Trump headache has gone away, thanks to the healing power of watching Joe Biden being inaugurated.  It's such a relief to see truth and decency return to the White House. Also, normalcy.  Biden is going to be a great president, I'm confident of that. But even if he turns out to be only an average president, that's hugely better than the sorry excuse of a president Donald Trump was. Most Americans are going to find it easy to admire Biden's warmth, empathy, and concern for both our country and the world…
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Posted in2020 election Donald Trump National politics

Insurrection at Capitol today caused by the Cult of Trump

This is what happens when people fall under the spell of an authoritarian cult leader. A woman died today in the Capitol building after a mob incited by Trump stormed the building in an insurrection aimed at stopping Biden from being declared president-elect by Congress. Who is responsible for her death? Who is responsible for the first invasion of the Capitol since the War of 1812? Easy answers. -- Donald Trump, of course. He urged his cult members to march to the Capitol today. Trump deserves to be impeached for this act of sedition. -- Everybody who voted for Trump…
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Posted in2020 election Donald Trump Joe Biden

Coup attempt by GOP on January 6 is beyond disgusting

If you're a Republican who isn't planning to end your allegiance to the GOP, either you are unaware of the highly unpatriotic coup attempt being planned by your political party in Congress on January 6, or you're OK with this shameful effort to overthrow the lawful result of the 2020 presidential election in favor of a wanna-be authoritarian, Donald Trump. I'm hoping that the former is the case. Maybe you've been busy with Christmas and New Year celebrations and haven't paid much attention to the news. In that case, I'm sharing some Twitter tweets and a Washington Post opinion piece…
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Posted inDonald Trump Oregon politics

Armed right-wing protesters look foolish at Capitol today

There was a successful one-day special session of the Oregon Legislature today, where several Covid relief bills were passed. There also was a farcical protest by Patriot Prayer members and other right-wingers who were outraged about... something or other. Being asked to wear a mask? Not being allowed into the Capitol building, even though no members of the public were able to go inside during the special session? Angry that their Beloved Leader, Donald Trump, lost to Joe Biden? Who knows. These days it doesn't make sense to ask what right-wing wackos are protesting about, because even when they give…
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Posted inDonald Trump Salem Police Department

The Proud Boys hate group is coming to Salem — five times

This time of year we like to hear "Santa Claus is coming to town." Such is happening on December 25, but it looks like Salem also is going to be visited by the Proud Boys, who are much more naughty than nice. And not just once, but up to five times.  The Southern Poverty Law Center calls the Proud Boys a hate group. Here's a report on the upcoming visits to Salem of the Proud Boys, courtesy of an alert shared today by a local activist who goes by Concerned Citizen. I've boldfaced parts of the message to highlight the…
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Posted inCoronavirus Donald Trump

Lie of the Year is denial and deception about COVID-19

I agree with PolitiFact that the Lie of the Year is denial and deception about COVID-19. A runner-up must have been Trump's lie about the presidential election being fraudulent. Which means the President of the United States is at the heart of two massive lies that have caused great harm to our country, leaving aside the many thousands of lies that Trump has spewed every day before and after his inauguration in 2017. Here's an excerpt from PolitiFact's Lie of the Year story. President Donald J. Trump fueled confusion and conspiracies from the earliest days of the coronavirus pandemic. He…
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Posted in2020 election Donald Trump Joe Biden

Trump’s last-ditch attempt to steal the election is disgusting

Trump's final attempt to steal the presidential election from Biden is based on an absurd legal suit by the Attorney General of Texas that asks the Supreme Court to not accept the electoral votes from Wisconsin, Michigan, Pennsylvania, and Georgia that Biden won. There's essentially zero chance that the Supreme Court will agree to this, since the suit has no basis in either facts or the law . So Biden will be sworn in on January 20. That's the good news. But the bad news is that -- as shown in the tweets below -- attorneys general in 17 other…
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Posted in2020 election Donald Trump Joe Biden

Biden beat Trump by a lot in every part of Salem

lt's always a pleasure for me to get local presidential election results from a fellow political junkie. This person figures out how the candidates did in each ward of Salem. There are eight wards. Scroll down to see a map of them. In 2020 Joe Biden whipped Trump's ass (to use a non-political science term) in every ward, including Ward 4, South Salem, and Ward 8, West Salem -- which traditionally are the most conservative areas of Salem. Here's the results for Salem as a whole, plus Marion and Polk counties, and Oregon as a whole. The county-level results for…
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Posted in2020 election Donald Trump Joe Biden

Feeling bad, Trump voters? I’m here to help.

In the Peanuts comic strip, Lucy used to offer psychiatric help to Charlie Brown for 5 cents. Knowing how bad Trump voters must feel right now, I'm undercutting Lucy by offering my therapeutic advice for absolutely free.  l even have some qualifications, having earned a Master's Degree in Social Work back in 1973, a mere 47 years ago. Sure, after becoming a MSW I quickly decided that I wasn't all that social, so went into health services research and planning.  But somewhere in the recesses of my mind there's remnants of what I learned about counseling. So read on, Trump…
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Posted in2020 election Donald Trump Joe Biden

Trump ramps up effort to steal election from Biden

Donald Trump has crossed the line from lying about Biden not winning the election to actively trying to subvert the will of the voters. That's sedition, which is illegal. Here's the definition of sedition. That's exactly what Trump is trying to do. Incite his followers to overturn the lawful results of the election.  This is beyond outrageous. Trump is behaving like a third-world dictator, the only difference being that the United States, thankfully, still has enough judges who believe in the rule of law -- not Trumpism -- to stop this coup attempt. Journalists and other informed observers of Trump's…
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Posted in2020 election Donald Trump Joe Biden

What the hell is wrong with Trump voters?

I've been seeing post-election discussions where some say that Democrats need to do a better job of understanding those who voted for Donald Trump, a group that currently stands at 47% of the electorate, about 73,100,000 voters. OK. That's a laudable goal, so long as Republicans make an comparable effort to better understand those of us who voted for Joe Biden, 51% of the electorate, about 78,700,000 voters. Since I voted for Biden, I'll help Republicans out by sharing my current state of mind about the election. I'm really happy that Biden won. What concerns me is that more than 73…
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Posted in2020 election Donald Trump Joe Biden

Speak out about Trump’s attempt to steal the election

I'm an optimist. Usually. After Biden was declared the winner of the presidential election on November 7, I figured that it was time to relax, chill out, and watch the peaceful transition of power from Trump to Biden that would take place between then and Biden's inauguration on January 20, 2021. Sure, I knew that Trump wouldn't concede gracefully. Maybe not at all. No big deal, I thought. There's no way Trump could succeed in overturning the will of the voters.  But after looking at my Twitter feed this morning, and reading a bunch of "red alert" warnings from knowledgeable…
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Posted in2020 election Donald Trump Joe Biden

Trump may never concede, but Biden has whipped his ass

Last Tuesday was tough for progressives like me. Sure, I knew that mail-in ballots, largely from Democrats, were going to take a while to count, and in-person voting on election day would be dominated by Republicans. But knowing is one thing. Emotions are a whole other thing.  I worried that somehow Trump would pull out another close victory like he did in 2016. Wednesday I felt better as Trump's lead in battleground states began to shrink. Thursday, even better.  And today, Friday, I'm feeling damn fine!  Now starts the fun part -- basking in the warm glow of Biden's almost…
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Posted in2020 election Donald Trump Joe Biden

Why I’m feeling post-election progressive joy

Tuesday's election could have been better, but it also could have been a whole lot worse from my progressive point of view. So I'm feeling fine right now, for these reasons. Biden appears to have defeated Trump. This is the biggest contributor to my positive mood, since another four years of Trump would have thrown me into a serious depression. Last night I was anxious, but as I checked election results throughout today, I started feeling better and better. At the moment it looks like Biden has a good chance of winning Pennsylvania, Georgia, Arizona, and Nevada. Coupled with the…
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Posted in2020 election Donald Trump

Trump is out to steal the election, but he will fail

Next week, I hope and expect, Donald Trump will become a one-term president. Given how outrageously authoritarian Trump has been since he was inaugurated in January 2017, it's fitting -- though disturbing -- that currently he is trying to steal the election in a way that might work if he was the strongman of, say, Russia, but will fail big-time in our still democratic United States. Trump's scheme is described in an Axios piece today, "Trump's plan to declare premature victory." President Trump has told confidants he'll declare victory on Tuesday night if it looks like he's "ahead," according to…
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Posted in2020 election Donald Trump Joe Biden

My not-so-surprising presidential election prediction

With six days to go, it seems like the right time for me to make a presidential election prediction. Close enough to feel confident in the prediction, not so close as to be accused of waiting until the last moment when the pre-election cards have all been dealt face up. But I'm going farther, into a prediction of not only what will happen, but how the post-election period will go -- with a bang or a whimper? As a progressive, I understand why many in my political tribe are agonizing over all sorts of dire election possibilities. Some of this…
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