Update no.1134

 Update from the Sunland

No.1134

2.10.23 – 8.10.23

Blog version:  http://heartlandupdate.blogspot.com/

 

To all,

 

The follow-up news items:

-- We finally have video of Trump at the defendants’ table with his attorneys at the opening of his New York State civil business fraud bench trial—New York v. Trump, et al [NYSCEF Index No. 452564/2022] [1080, 1127, 1133]. Of course, being the malignant narcissist he is, [the person who shall no longer be named] decided to make a public statement before he entered the court room (nine minutes late, I might add), in which he verbally maligned the judge (who will hear the case as a bench trial, rather than a jury trial), the attorney general, and the judicial process. He attended the next two sessions and continued his mouthing off, which instigated the judge to issue a narrowly defined gag-order against Tiny. The judge has also admonished the defendants’ attorneys to stop their multiple delaying tactics. Tiny did not attend Friday’s session and departed New York for Mar-a-Lago to prepare for weekend campaigning. The trial is expected to take three months.

 

More history was made on Tuesday and not the good kind. At the instigation of Representative Matthew Louis ‘Matt’ Gaetz of Florida, the House voted on House Resolution 757 to remove Speaker of the House Kevin Owen McCarthy of California [House: 216-210-0-9(0)]. McCarthy made a deal with the devil to become speaker last January [1095], and the devil has extracted his pound of flesh. Eight MAGAt extremists voted with every single Democrat to overthrow McCarthy.

-- Andrew Steven ‘Andy’ Biggs of Arizona

-- Kenneth Robert Buck of Colorado

-- Timothy Floyd ‘Tim’ Burchett of Tennessee

-- Elijah James ‘Eli’ Crane of Arizona

-- Matthew Louis ‘Matt’ Gaetz of Florida

-- Robert George ‘Bob’ Good of Virginia

-- Nancy Ruth Mace of South Carolina

-- Matthew Martin ‘Matt’ Rosendale, Sr., of Montana

This action is the first time in history a speaker has been removed by essentially a vote of no confidence. McCarthy will go down in the history books as the third shortest speakership. The worst part is, now, the House is totally paralyzed until a new speaker can be determined. Interim Speaker Representative Patrick Timothy McHenry of North Carolina suspended the business of the House for one week until next Tuesday evening to reconsider the question of who will be speaker.  Thus, nothing is going to happen until this question is resolved—wasted time! McCarthy decided not to stand for speaker again and rumors hinted that he might resign from Congress all together. Two representatives threw their hat in the ring: Stephen Joseph ‘Steve’ Scalise of Louisiana and James Daniel ‘Jim’ Jordan of Ohio. So, Republicans closed the doors on their caucus in their effort to find a new speaker. And some Republicans want to expel Matt Gaetz from the Republican Conference and rightly so.

For a few moments, [the person who shall no longer be named] offered to help out his buddies in the House of Representatives by serving as speaker for a short time. Reality quickly sank in from somewhere. He eventually gave his “complete and total” endorsement to Jordan, which to me is the kiss of death.

After the humiliating dismissal of Speaker McCarthy, it is interesting to note that all of the former speakers forced out of office have been Republicans. That is a very telling reality, prima facia.

 

When questioned by reporters after he declared his candidacy to replace McCarthy as speaker, Jordon indicated his legislative priorities as speaker would be border security, crime, and inflation. Curious choices! Given all the matters facing the United States inside and outside the country, he chose those. Yes, they are issues that deserve congressional attention, but are they the top priorities?

I am getting more and more irritated with the MAGA bunch, and now especially Jim Jordon. When he says border security, he means build more U.S.-Mexico border wall—all 1,954 miles, as if that is the solution. He wants to close the border and let no one in. The wall is not and never will be the solution. While I concede that a border barrier is warranted in places to slow down the uncontrolled migration, the wall or any portion of the wall will never be effective without defense in depth provisions and comprehensive immigration reform. We need immigrants. We need temporary migrant labor. All of it needs proper regulation and control. The states, all of them, need to be partners in the process. We cannot tolerate uncontrolled and unregulated immigration no more so than any other country can absorb. Jim Jordan is a disaster as chairman of the House Judiciary Committee; he will be a far worse disaster if he should ever become speaker of the House. We do not vote for the speakership, but we can certainly let our representative in Congress know how we feel.

 

In these troubled times contaminated to an even greater degree by the corrosive rhetoric of [the person who shall no longer be named], we see the former president and now twice impeached, four times indicted in multiple crimes, using the language of eugenics in his continuing efforts to stimulate the far-right element in our society. [The person who shall no longer be named] was interviewed by Raheem Kassam of The National Pulse. Kassam asked Tiny about his views on the immigration issue, and Tiny answered, “Nobody has any idea where these people are coming from, and we know they come from prisons. We know they come from mental institutions and insane asylums. We know they’re terrorists. Nobody has ever seen anything like we’re witnessing right now. It is a very sad thing for our country. It’s poisoning the blood of our country. It’s so bad, and people are coming in with disease. People are coming in with every possible thing that you could have.” [emphasis mine] Beyond the contradiction within his words, this statement of a few days ago is starkly reminiscent of Tiny’s “good people on both sides” rationale statement after the Charlottesville, white supremacist, nighttime, torch light, “Unite the Right” rally [13.8.2017].

Just to make the point in a clear, emphatic, and unequivocal manner, I offer a half dozen direct extraction quotations from Adolf Hitler’s Mein Kampf [18.7.1925]:

For a racially pure people which is conscious of its blood can never be enslaved by the Jew. In this world he will forever be master over bastards and bastards alone. And so he tries systematically to lower the racial level by a continuous poisoning of individuals.

 . . . 

The present State, for instance, may continue to exist in a mere mechanical form, but the poison of miscegenation permeating the national body brings about a cultural decadence which manifests itself already in various symptoms that are of a detrimental character.

. . . 

[T]he poison which has invaded the national body, especially since the Thirty Years' War, has destroyed the uniform constitution not only of our blood but also of our national soul.

. . . 

Though all human civilization has resulted exclusively from the creative activity of the individual, the principle that it is the mass which counts – through the decision of the majority – makes its appearance only in the administration of the national community especially in the higher grades; and from there downwards the poison gradually filters into all branches of national life, thus causing a veritable decomposition.

. . . 

All great cultures of the past perished only because the originally creative race died out from blood poisoning. [emphasis mine]

For those who have read Hitler’s words and know history, the language of eugenics so popular in the late 19^th and early 20^th centuries and especially within the Nazi German genocide is particularly reprehensible spewing from the mouth of any contemporary politician. Unfortunately, and regrettably, this is what we have come to expect from [the person who shall no longer be named]. I highly doubt whether Tiny has any clue of history, but he has learned how to stimulate the far-right element that has existed within our country since before its inception. He did not create this xenophobic attitude. He did figure out how to use elements to further his grift of the American people. It is one thing for a man like him to bilk millions of people out of their money to fund his gilded living, but giving him the power, authority, influence (and protection) of the presidency of the United States is monumentally different and far more serious.

It is important to note that as Hitler’s Mein Kampf roadmap to genocide was being published, the Ku Klux Klan conducted at 40,000 strong, white robed, march down Pennsylvania Avenue in Washington, DC [8.8.1925] in broad daylight. The forces that Tiny is using have been within our society for a very long time and are still present today. They were suppressed to a large extent until [the person who shall no longer be named] came along to channel those virulent forces for his masterful grift. He has conned millions of people, and his grift continues to this moment. 

We made a dreadful mistake in 2016. We cannot make a far worse mistake next year. The next time, if there ever is one, will be without any semblance of constraint. We cannot allow him to perpetuate his grift of the American people. Only We, the People, can stop him. Semper vigilantis! Semper paratus!

 

Then, at the end of the week and the beginning of the Jewish Yom Kippur holiday, Hamas decided to execute a broad, multi-pronged, coordinated attack on Israel, 50 years to the day after the last Yom Kippur attack on Israel. The attack also comes as a rumored U.S.-brokered accord between Saudi Arabia and Israel was close to being signed; the attack nixed that deal. Hamas has taken a marked different approach to this operation infiltrating shooters in the country and snatching Israeli citizens to take back into Gaza as hostages to complicate Israel’s inevitable counterattack. Israel quickly declared war on Hamas and the Gaza enclave. So far, the fight has been confined to Southern Israel and Gaza. Who knows how this will expand or last?

 

Comments and contributions from Update no.1133:

Comment to the Blog:

“Criminal organizations fall apart when insiders plead and testify. Think how quickly Watergate began to move when John Dean told the truth about Nixon. The civil fraud case appears open-and-shut. Civil actions don’t result in jail time, but this one has cost Tiny control of the Tower. That property is not only a status symbol, it’s probably his phallic symbol. Meanwhile, the Georgia RICO case is a criminal matter that could put Tiny behind bars.

“Remember that Tiny’s big lead is only in the primaries. If the Democrats run a credible candidate, they could win in a landslide. Other than that, 2024 might be the best opportunity since 1860 for a new party.

“Other than Speaker McCarthy, someone has suggested Hakeem Jeffries as a Speaker nominee. I bet Matt Gaetz would really get his panties in a bunch at that one. Word is Rep. Bowman pulled the fire alarm to get time to read the continuing resolution. Whatever.”

My response to the Blog:

Oh so true, and I sincerely hope and expect so in this case. Yes it does, but there is a twist. The defendants are claiming the value of any property is what someone is willing to pay for it, which is a highly subjective criterion. He is claiming that his name alone (his brand) adds substantial value to any property, thus the valuation. It is an interesting argument. Of note, in his findings and order of 26.September.2023, Judge Engoron has made it quite plain that he is using a more traditional valuation process than the self-valuation used by the defendants. You are also quite correct; the current New York case—New York v. Trump [NYSCEF Index No. 452564/2022]—is a civil case, not likely to result in prison time. If the chief defendant continues to mouth-off trying to intimidate anyone and anything associated with this case, he may well find himself in jail for contempt of court. The two federal cases plus the Georgia RICO case are criminal cases and prison time is most assuredly potential outcomes.

Oh, I remember that fact. I do agree with you. Him winning the Republican nomination is not winning the general election. Yet, winning the Republican nomination moves him closer to winning the general election, which brings the question of voter complacency. President Biden may not be the ideal candidate, but if Tiny is the Republican candidate, Biden is upright and breathing, he is infinitely better than Tiny; at least he acts like a proper president. You may well be correct since the independents and moderates are slightly larger than either major political party. But, the middle is by nature more malleable and shall I say flighty. The middle does not matter if they do not vote.

Oh my yes, a Democrat as speaker would definitely get Gaetz’s panties in a bunch; he would lose virtually all of his power & influence. Gaetz appears to continue down the path of a direct challenge, so the next few days and weeks will be interesting. Gaetz’s shenanigans will be Congress from doing the business of the nation. Yes, that is the reason Bowman is giving, but I do not buy it; that is such a juvenile action to avoid an algebra final examination. I read the resolution in a few hours.

 . . . Round two:

“One sentence in your reply stands out. ‘The middle does not matter if they do not vote.’ Yes, they do. Negative campaigning depresses turnout, and the Republicans’ skill often wins elections. That’s how we got into this mess. Let’s not dismiss majority rule so easily.”

 . . . my response to round two:

I will continue to argue that nothing matters unless we all vote. We cannot abdicate to a right-wing minority by our complacency, dissatisfaction, or apathy. Yes, Republicans have developed skills to maximize their influence over the voting process, e.g., the 2016 presidential election. They have refined those skills because they are a dwindling minority. I am not dismissing majority rule whatsoever, but it is majority rule of those who vote. When only a minority votes, it only takes a majority of that minority to pass laws, cut taxes, and spend treasury funds on their pet projects. We all must vote.

. . . Round three:

“Your reply assigns individual responsibility to non-voters for our collective well-being. Also, if your position prevails, we can kiss our republic goodbye.”

 . . . my response to round three:

OK, I’ll bite. How so? An expansion of your argument would be useful, and I am willing to listen.

 . . . Round four:

“Simple. As more and more people are discouraged from voting, the majority rule becomes ‘none of the above,’ but we don't have that choice in action. That whole individualistic, isolated outlook thus provides opportunities for the likes of Tiny to make use of individuals' fears.”

 . . . my response to round four:

Does not seem simple to me. From my perspective, it is rather cynical and dystopian. Yes, correct, such malaise is a near perfect environment for wannabe dictators like Tiny to prevail. We can rail against how bad that man is for the health and well-being of the Republic, but he may well be the last person standing. If he does, we will witness orders of magnitude greater dysfunction, disorder, and chaos than we do now or have in the past. It is the nature of the beast. It is up to us via our votes.

 . . . Round five:

“The simple part is that we're not going to ‘provide a more perfect Union,’ ‘promote the general Welfare’ or ‘secure the Blessings of Liberty to ourselves and our Posterity’ if we take the ‘every man for himself’ approach that ignores those who don't vote.”

 . . . my response to round five:

Interesting perspective. There is a fine line between ‘every man for himself’ and freedom of choice. In the lives of individuals, we are driven by quality-of-life factors, less so as issues move farther away from our homes and employment. I suppose a good many citizens do not and cannot connect their vote with quality-of-life issues, so the motivation to vote can ebb and flow by other stimulants. With that detachment, all sorts of other societal maladies arise. Yet, from my perspective, Tiny’s “poison the blood of our country” public statement is about as close to a Mein Kampf declaration as we are likely to get. He persists in his efforts to muster up the xenophobic, racist, isolationist elements within our society. Those forces are generational, and thus are not likely to pass soon. It took Hitler more than 10 years from the beerhall rebellion to him becoming “The Leader”—dictator for life. Tiny has not stopped. Now, we see one of his acolytes poised to become speaker of the House of Representatives—second in line of succession. I believe your point has always been, give people a reason to vote—a good worthy leader they can identify with. If I am correct, I would agree. The far right has apparently found that leader; now, they vote for him regardless of what he does because they believe, like 30% of the German people believed in 1933 (and that was enough). Perhaps if President Biden saw an inspirational leader behind him, e.g., Gavin Newsom, Pete Buttigieg, Gretchen Whitmer, whomever, he might step aside. For 2024, I suspect we are past the point of no-return.

 . . . Round six:

“I don’t see a conflict between inclusion and freedom of choice. Inclusion is not conformity. The spectrum for me is between ‘every person has sole responsibility for everything in his life’ and ‘let’s include everybody in society.’ Some people don’t want to participate as a part of the whole society; they fear otherness and/or they’re greedy.

“Gretchen Whitmer is a potential leader, and there are others. I doubt the Democrat National Committee wants that. Also, either of those two candidates could die or become disabled before the 2024 general election. There are other wild cards, too.”

 . . . my response to round six:

I do not either, but to the xenophobes of the far-right, they do see it that way. I am with you on inclusion and responsibility. However, as with everything, there are limits to what any nation can accept or tolerate. The episodes of masses of people some carrying and dragging children bum-rushing the border to overwhelm the Border Patrol is simply and absolutely unacceptable and intolerable. For that reason, I support President Biden’s decision to build an additional 20 miles of border wall to fill some gaps in the Texas stretch of border. I have never been a fan or supporter of the border wall as a solution to the border security problem; it is effective in slowing down uncontrolled border crossings; however, we must have complete immigration reform to include defense in depth, temporary worker controls, refugee vetting & regulation, and even visitor tracking process to prevent over-stays. I do not like the MAGA approach . . . too draconian and xenophobic. But I do not like the left open-arms approach either. We have been suffering this problem for decades and all that does is illuminate the destructiveness of tribal intransigence.

Yes, there are many other potential candidates, but at present, it is President Biden’s decision. I cannot see either of the other professed Democrat candidates as viable by any measure. Even Cornell West has abandoned the Green Party for an independent attempt, which will be more difficult without party support (infrastructure & organization).

 

Another contribution:

“I trust’s still daylight over there! thanks for the update. As predicted that one person whom I cannot mention is dominating our news currently and yes he does look a worried man. We’ll be following this for a long time henceforth.”

My reply:

Yes, indeed. I am afraid that man will dominate the news and thus the Update for next year plus . . . and longer if someone does not put him in prison. Some Republicans are making moves to wrest control of their party from Tiny’s tiny hands, but that is not yet an assured outcome. Saner minds are trying to break through. So, until he is imprisoned or dead, we must suffer the obscenity that his life represents.

 

My very best wishes to all.  Take care of yourselves and each other.

Cheers,

Cap                  :-)