There Was Once a Man Who Scammed the Entire Nation

Republican U.S. presidential candidate Donald Trump makes a face as he and his wife Melania and members of their family leave the stage at his caucus night rally in Des Moines, Iowa February 1, 2016. REUTERS/Scott Morgan

You may now kiss my ass; for I very successfully scampaigned the entire nation, from “the idiots in Iowa” to the “Mexicans that rape our women”.

Yeah, OK!  You did indeed; and much, much more.

You know?  Most human beings view the world with extraordinarily limited information with which to define our own perspectives – sound bites from television media outlets, written media outlets, and even blogs, etc.

We assimilate that information with a very thick set of rose-colored, hegemonic lenses; taking shallow, narrow-minded clips here and there, based solely upon the views we are most comfortable with; those views being embedded by decades of influence, indifference, and socio-economic backgrounds.  We then repeat that information, not as it is in reality, but how we wish that information to be viewed.

Sadly, it’s a very negative human trait.  I am human, therefore, I do the same.  Although I desperately try to avoid that pitfall, I do it just like you and every other human being.

We embody yet another human trait that has the ability to create dire consequences; that which is imprinted onto our very DNA – to belong to a group for the safety the numbers provide.

Almost all animals behave in this manner; humans have been doing so since before we were even humans.

That ever present psychological need has served us well in survival mode.  It is such a powerful character trait, it’s literally imbedded in our DNA.  Psychologists have often referred to it as the need to belong and it’s referenced in “Maslow’s Hierarchy of Needs”, as important as shelter and food.  It offers comfort, protection, commonality, and safety.

Virtually every human experiences this need for group association.  Yet; most are not even aware it exists.

Yep!  You’ve got yourself some good ol’ team spirit going on right in that skull of yours every day of your life; indeed, every minute of your life, and it is quite literally impossible to ignore.

Think doubt it; when we were kids, we cheered for our elementary school and jeered the others.  The same character trait follows us throughout our entire life: we obsessively cheer for our high school; our college; the sports teams of our choice; the community, state and nation in which we live.  And if anyone attempts to “harm” or “berate” that team, our reactions are most often harsh and sometimes, even violent.

Sadly in my own hegemonic perspective, the forty-fifth President of the United States, Donald Trump; a stranger than strange human being; a man with an extraordinarily frightening ability to become a world-class despot; has been elected by “your team” (please note; I did not say OUR team, for  I am seriously jeering someone else’s team at this moment, and for very good reason).

For the second time in under twenty years, our president elect won by a majority Electoral votes, but lost the popular vote; this time, by drastic numbers – losing the popular vote by almost three million votes.

Although it may bother some, this, in and of itself, is nowhere near as disturbing as the end results.

Someone else’s “team” has accomplished something more startling and worrisome than anything I’ve ever witnessed in 65 years of politics; electing a despotic, narcissistic, racist, demagogue to the office of President of the United States; the man the Electors are scheduled to cast their votes for by the end of the day on December 19, 2016. And, if they do so, as in the past, simply rubber-stamping the Republican Party’s selection, they do indeed need to be dismantled, for they will continue to be as useless a lips on a chicken.

Despite what many think, the Electors are NOT required to support the partisan’s choices. In fact, doing so defies the very purpose the Founding Fathers were thinking when they created the Electoral College.

“What?” you ask.  The Electors must vote their party’s choice”.

Sorry – that’s a myth, and a very common misunderstanding of their purpose.  The common myth that Electors MUST vote for the party’s choice is inaccurate as hell.  Remember this as you read beyond the fact that the Electoral College system was developed by the Founding Fathers before partisan politics had even been considered; more than a decade before the first political parties even existed.

Fact; the Electoral College was developed by the Constitutional Convention in 1787, before the Constitution, of which the Electoral College process is a part, was even ratified in 1788.

And, for further destruction of the myth; the first political parties didn’t even begin to sprout their ugly twigs until 1796 when the “Federalist Party”, given birth by Alexander Hamilton and the “Jeffersonian Democratic-Republican Party” birthed by Thomas Jefferson and James Madison, began their first journey into partisan politics.

The reason for the Electors?

Many; but the primary concern of the Founding Fathers, who actually believed voting for the nation’s politicians was too important for commoners like you and me, AND given what the new nation had just experienced, the American Revolution, they were extremely concerned that foreign influence in future elections could return the nation to the distasteful habits of one-time Mother England.  So; they developed the Electoral College to ensure that, in the event any foreign influence interfered with our elections, the Electors could override the effort.

Well, goddamn!! Does that sound familiar or what????

This is the easiest description to read, otherwise I’d send you to the “.gov page” and you’d be there for a week, just trying to find the information about the topic.

From The Washington Posts “Five Myths About the Electoral College”.

5. Electors must vote for the candidate who wins their state.

In theory, this is true. In practice, however, electors may vote for whomever they please, and on rare occasions, they do. In a tight election, such behavior might deny either candidate a majority of the electoral vote and throw the election into the House of Representatives.
For generations, pollsters have found that a clear majority of Americans support direct election of the president. The longer we cling to the electoral college, the longer we’ll have presidential campaigns that leave large numbers of voters feeling left out, along with a system that distorts the public’s preferences.

So, you and I aren’t the only ones who have a bit of distaste for the process, but in light of recent events, IF they follow their instructions as provided by those incredibly wise men almost exactly 240 years ago, we will avoid catastrophe.

Remember that little thing called “The Supremacy Clause and the Doctrine of Preemption”?

You should, if you don’t; it’s the very focal point of many outrageous “uprisings” including the recent events at a wildlife refuge in Oregon by a bunch of nut cases by the name of Bundy and the other event, fomented by the same people who tried to create a shootout with Federal authorities north of Las Vegas.

In essence, the Constitution of the United States is the Supreme Law of the land.  And the Electoral College is part of that very U.S. Constitution.  So; the states can write all the laws they wish, but if they are in contradiction to the Constitution, those laws are the same lips on a chicken.  And, the Electors cannot be punished for doing what the Constitution tells them to do.

In reality, they have another option – to refuse to allow the worst demagogue in the history of our nation into the office and take it to the House of Representatives as is required by the U.S. Constitution, if we’re to preserve what the nation’s Founding Fathers created and prevent precisely what they feared.

Although some states, heavily influenced by early modern partisanship, have enacted “laws” insisting that Electors behave as they’re told, not as they’re supposed to behave, those laws have exactly zero impact legally.  The specific political parties can certainly remove them, but; why would they do such a thing and openly oppose the very Constitution they’ve vowed to protect?

Yeah, yeah, yeah, I know; they already do it all the time.

Now, let me make it perfectly clear, my team is neither Republican nor Democrat; I’m a partisan outcast, registered as a “non-affiliated” voter in my state, or most commonly referred to as “independent”.

I do this for two very important reasons (at least important to me): the parties are NOT giving us qualified candidates who have the needs of US citizens in mind; and I firmly believe partisan politics, in its current state, is antithetical to democracy.

I’ll vote Democrat, Republican, Green party, Purple Party, or Independent.  But definitely NOT the “orange-man party.”

So, keep all this in mind as you read, for I guarantee you, that your first inclination, had I not forewarned you, would be saying “this is just another old Democrat fart pissing and moaning about the loss of the election to the Republicans.”

Sorry, another myth.

I know this for certain, for I’ve already engaged in conversation with many “conservatives” on various Websites since the election, trying to debate the catastrophic results this is going to present us with.

And, without exception, that is precisely what every one of those with whom I “spoke” said, along with volumes of juvenile expletives, long before they even bothered to question my reasons for not accepting the results of this “election.”

The truth of it is, neither Clinton, nor Trump could care less about my needs, or yours.  Neither of them could care less about the nation’s needs.

Rather; Hillary Clinton was looking for a chance to create a second Clinton legacy and hell, probably even another Clinton Presidential Library, while Donald Trump is looking to use the Oval office to advance his already massive financial empire.

Make no mistake about the validity, and the horrific consequences we need to be prepared for as a result, of the latter portion of that statement.

The nuts and bolts of this post.

The recent information we’re now receiving about Trump, post-election, is the same issues and behaviors I was concerned about from the beginning and throughout his “campaign”, many of which violate the Constitution and Federal laws.  Below are problems I saw then and see now, and why they are problems:

• President Elect Trump is determined to continue growing his financial power while he is in the Oval Office

• This not only violates the law, it is unconstitutional for an individual to use their political position to further their personal worth/wealth.  Trump’s sole attention must be devoted to governing the nation.

• Trump insists that the presidency is a part-time job and, in his own words, he will continue producing his absurdly silly reality show

• While he may not be required to (and it may even be virtually impossible due to the expanse of his empire) divest in order to remain impartial and impervious to outside influences, he certainly needs to create more distance than he seems intent upon doing.  I don’t believe for a second that this man will leave running the business in the hands of his children, not even his highly intelligent and seemingly capable daughter (yep, that one, the one he would like to date).  Trump is far too narcissistic to allow anyone but Donald to run his business empire.

• Trump has immense worldwide financial holdings that can and WILL present security issues

• Maintaining financial ties to foreign interests is a direct conflict of interest and raises serious security issues for the US, for a president can easily make global decisions based solely upon those foreign interests.  There are already issues arising before he even takes office.  A recent hint of an article being prepared by Newsweek gives us a terrifying glimpse at this reality.  Turkish business connections are already attempting to turn the screws on the US to turn over the Turkish Imam, or lose the “Trump Tower” business connections in that country.  And Turkey is “an ally”.  Imagine what a nation such as China, where much of his, and his daughter’s, clothing products are made.  And Russia, who has very strong connections with Exxon oil tycoon Rex Tillerson.  I am certain Putin will use that to his advantage and if you aren’t, you aren’t wearing rose-colored lenses, you’re wearing total blackout-blinders

• Before he’s even been inaugurated, he’s disrupting US relationships with foreign governments, all of which are stunned at his behavior.

• Though it’s nothing unusual for President Elects to receive congratulatory phone calls, Trump is aggressively pursuing personal agenda with foreign nations via those and other calls.  His entire campaign was filled with negative remarks about China, and Trump would have the ability as President to start trade wars.  This, he has all but sworn to do with China.  If he lives up to his promise, he will indeed begin a trade war by substantially increasing tariffs on imported goods.  The really frightening concern about trade wars, is trade wars are notorious for turning into military conflicts, and here we have Trump calling for Japan and Saudi Arabia to develop nuclear weapons before he starts those trade wars

• He is an extreme bigot, racist, and misogynist, which includes a little known federal law suit by a woman who says she was raped by Donald Trump and Jeffery Epstein. The woman, who is keeping her name private to avoid reprisals from Trump supporters, is quite believable and has been attempting to file this complaint long before Trump began his presidential campaign, so no team can claim this is a ploy to keep him out of the Oval Office

• Speaking of reprisals; reminiscent of the Joseph McCarthy era’s “blacklisting”, Donald Trump continues to ask for the names of those who oppose him, scientists and those who work to seek solutions to global climate change

• His extreme id (that’s “id”, not ID complex gives us insight into a man who has a serious mental imbalance as he incessantly launches petty, juvenile attacks against people with whom he disagrees including; senator John McCain; parents of fallen war hero Human Khan; and his never-ending “twitter” tirades.

• He’s filling his cabinet with so many generals, one would think he was assembling a military (is he?), one of which, his choice for Secretary of Defense, General James Mattis, will be in violation of Federal Law: 10 U.S. Code § 113 – Secretary of Defense the moment Trump and his cabinet take office.  I see nothing wrong with Mattis, or any of the other generals, in fact they all seem to be outstanding individuals, but there is also a danger Trump is too self-indulging to even think about, and that is; what the hell will happen if all these generals become disenchanted with Trumps governing?  A coup is NOT impossible in this country

• His actions will threaten the financial stability of the nation.  His behavior so closely resembles the behavior of the likes of Joseph McCarthy, Adolph Hitler, and Joseph Stalin, one must consider the serious ramifications of a Trump White House.  Will this megalomaniac behave as a President?  Will he even behave as a rational human being?  From the things I’ve read, and witnessed Trump himself do and say, I am certain the answer to those questions is a resounding NO!

These and his endless, oddly disconnected rants and comments go far beyond unacceptable behavior; they defy all acceptable norms of adulthood, much less presidential decorum.  They range from the most absurd statements I’ve heard a sane, mature adult make “I know more about ISIS than the generals do” and “I get my foreign intelligence from watching the news” to offensive and degrading remarks that give us a glance into his true abhorrent self and his attitude towards others; in particular women.

Oh yeah, and the Mexican-Americans, the African-Americans, the stupid people in Iowa, the Scots, hell, even the rest of our team America.

Muslims? No doubt about his bigotry there. In fact; for all you Christians, I don’t think Trump is particularly religious, so don’t be too smug about not being singled out just yet!!!

I suppose, in a very odd twist, we are indeed all on one team in this circumstance, for one thing’s for certain, he abhors virtually everyone other than himself, the one person he really loves.

Now, here teammate (or not).  If you can read these quotes and still have a desire to see this man in the White House, I say you have a serious “id” issue yourself.  These range from utterly childish fabrications (such as the first one below), to senseless ramblings similar to those of a rambling ninety-year old with Alzheimer’s.

At a November 2015 rally, for example, Donald Trump stated that he watched the Twin Towers come down in Jersey City, NJ, and that thousands of Muslims there cheered what was occurring:

“There were people that were cheering on the other side of New Jersey, where you have large Arab populations,” he told the crowd. “They were cheering as the World Trade Center came down.”

During a March 2006 appearance on “The View” with his daughter Ivanka, Donald Trump was asked how he would react if Playboy magazine were to ever feature Ivanka’s picture on its cover. Mr. Trump responded:

“I don’t think Ivanka would do that inside the magazine. Although she does have a very nice figure. I’ve said that if Ivanka weren’t my daughter, perhaps I would be dating her.”

At a December 2015 rally in Charleston, South Carolina, just a few days after the San Bernardino shooting, Trump told thousands of supporters:

“Donald J. Trump is calling for a complete and total shutdown of Muslims entering the United States until our country’s representatives can figure out what the hell is going on.

In his book, “Trump: The Art of the Comeback,” Donald Trump pontificated on women:

“Women have one of the great acts of all time. The smart ones act very feminine and needy, but inside they are real killers. The person who came up with the expression ‘the weaker sex’ was either very naive or had to be kidding. I have seen women manipulate men with just a twitch of their eye — or perhaps another body part.”

In April 2015, after Baltimore erupted in protests regarding Freddie Gray’s death in police custody, Donald Trump took to Twitter blaming President Obama for the violence there.

“Our great African-American President hasn’t exactly had a positive impact on the thugs who are so happily and openly destroying Baltimore.”

In a 1991 interview with Esquire, Donald Trump suggested that sexy girlfriends are the antidotes to bad press:

“You know, it doesn’t really matter what they write as long as you’ve got a young and beautiful piece of ass.”

During his candidacy announcement speech in June 2015, Donald Trump first proposed the idea of building a wall along America’s southern border, adding that, due to his real estate experience, he was uniquely qualified for the job:

“When Mexico sends its people, they’re not sending the best. They’re sending people that have lots of problems and they’re bringing those problems. They’re bringing drugs, they’re bringing crime. They’re rapists and some, I assume, are good people, but I speak to border guards and they’re telling us what we’re getting.”

On October 28, 2012, he tweeted this about Grammy, Emmy and Golden Globe Award winner Bette Midler:

“While @BetteMidler is an extremely unattractive woman, I refuse to say that because I always insist on being politically correct.”

In his 1990 book, “Trump: Surviving at the Top,” Donald Trump addressed his dating track record:

“I’ve never had any trouble in bed, but if I’d had affairs with half the starlets and female athletes the newspapers linked me with, I’d have no time to breathe.”

In February 2016, while delivering a victory speech following the Nevada caucuses, Donald Trump proclaimed his love for the various demographics that led him to victory:

As part of that list, he exclaimed, “I love the poorly educated.”

During a July 2015 campaign event at the Family Leadership Summit in Ames, Iowa, Donald Trump took on Senator John McCain’s reputation as a war hero:

“He’s not a war hero,” Trump explained, shocking the event’s moderator. “He was a war hero because he was captured. I like people who weren’t captured.”

In his 2004 book, “Trump: How to Get Rich,” Donald Trump wrote:

“All of the women on The Apprentice flirted with me – consciously or unconsciously. That’s to be expected.”

In an August 2015 interview with the New York Times, Donald Trump commented on supermodel Heidi Klum, who had just turned 42:

“Heidi Klum. Sadly, she’s no longer a 10.”

During the CNN GOP debate in September 2015, moderator Jake Tapper asked Dr. Ben Carson if he believes that vaccines can cause autism. He does not. When the question was asked of Donald Trump, however, he responded:

“I am totally in favor of vaccines. But I want smaller doses over a longer period of time. Same exact amount, but you take this little beautiful baby, and you pump–I mean, it looks just like it’s meant for a horse, not for a child, and we’ve had so many instances, people that work for me. … [in which] a child, a beautiful child went to have the vaccine, and came back and a week later had a tremendous fever, got very, very sick, now is autistic.”

On May 8, 2013, Donald Trump took to Twitter to explain his superiority to “the haters,” writing:

“Sorry losers and haters, but my I.Q. is one of the highest -and you all know it! Please don’t feel so stupid or insecure, it’s not your fault.”

In a May 2012 interview with Fox News’ Greta Van Susteren, Donald Trump addressed his Twitter feud with Cher by saying:

“Cher is somewhat of a loser. She’s lonely. She’s unhappy. She’s very miserable. And her sound-enhanced and computer-enhanced music doesn’t do it for me.””I’ve watched her over the years. I knew her a little bit. And you know, she reminds me of Rosie with slightly more talent, not much more talent, but slightly more talent.”

In his June 2015 candidacy announcement speech, Donald Trump told a cheering crowd of supporters:

“Our country is in serious trouble. We don’t have victories anymore. We used to have victories, but we don’t have them. When was the last time anybody saw us beating, let’s say China, in a trade deal? I beat China all the time. All the time.”

During an August 2015 CNN interview, shortly after the Fox News GOP debate, Donald Trump said of moderator Megyn Kelly:

“You could see there was blood coming out of her eyes. Blood coming out of her… wherever.”

During his candidacy announcement speech in June 2015, Donald Trump first proposed the idea of building a wall along America’s southern border, adding that, due to his real estate experience, he was uniquely qualified for the job:

“I will build a great wall — and nobody builds walls better than me, believe me –and I’ll build them very inexpensively. I will build a great, great wall on our southern border, and I will make Mexico pay for that wall. Mark my words.”

I will be first in line to say that virtually NO presidency has been problem-free, but this presidency in the planning stages is rife with immaturity, mental instability, racism, extreme exceptionalism, off the wall and incredibly lame remarks that should make anyone wonder about his thought processes, and worst of all, highly concerning comparabilities to other despotic regimes, both historical and current; regimes the United States should be opposing and preventing, not creating within our own borders – borders that this despot wants to wall off.

And this, an update as of Dec 14, From the "Hamilton Electors" (a rapidly growing group of dissenting Electors attempting to fulfill their Constitutional responsibility as was intended) in an open letter the all 538 Electors:

He has threatened the freedom of speech by condoning violence at public events, and suggesting criminal penalties and even revocation of citizenship to punish political expression;

He has threatened the freedom of press by vowing to revoke First Amendment protections for journalists;

He has threatened the freedom of religion by proposing to bar entry to the country and force the registration of members of certain faiths;

He has entangled himself with foreign interests through his personal business dealings, and refused to provide records of his taxes, which could allay suspicions;

He has indicated a willingness to condone torture, in contravention of the Constitution and our international treaties, which carry the force of law;

He is uncomfortably close to the regime of Russia, which has interfered in the election;

He has shown reckless disregard for diplomacy, communicating impulsively, in public forums, regarding matters of national security, and allowing personal emotions to interfere with reasoned judgment, calling into question his fitness as Commander-in-Chief of the Armed Forces and the nuclear capabilities of the United States;

He has, unlike every previous Commander-in-Chief, never served in any public position, whether elected or appointed, civilian or military, thereby bringing no experience or proven judgment on behalf of The People, or evidence of a character suited to high office.

Keith Olberman’s worries are absolutely valid, if the White House doesn’t release what they know about the “e-mail hacks” to the Electors – the very people who, if they behave as intended this time, can prevent Trump’s dismantling of our Constitution.

As you can see, these are not one of those one source “fake news” as many extremists childishly claim if any story is in disagreement with their perspective. This is one story after another and another and another, all of which add up to a despot who just hamstrung the political process in the U.S. as many Americans went to the polls, either asleep, or in their version of wonderland.  The various reports are gleaned from following the patterns of behavior, comments, and the total disregard for reality, truth and stability by a very unstable person.

If trump is not stopped, Congress will be willing participants in a change to the world none of the planet’s occupants, including you and me, will like.

The economic warfare Trump WILL inflict upon China, will most surely result in a China/Russia alliance, at which time, a trade war will not exist, for neither will most of the planet.

As an independent, I couldn’t care less about partisan politics.

Yet; I would personally be perfectly satisfied if another Republican is selected by the House of Representatives; ANYONE other than Trump, using the Oval Office as a stage for his megalomania and the expansion of the Trump empire; all while he sells the rest of the nation down the river.

For those of you who voted to end rule by corporate billionaires, you should look at who you elected and who he’s selecting for his cabinet positions. You may have had utopian dreams of releasing us from demagoguery, but this election has only saddled us all with a nightmare instead; a nightmare that is Demagoguery Hell.

And we’ll be damned lucky if we awake from that nightmare.

A note to the curious; I have supplied an unusual volume of links for reference, the purpose of which is to give those non-teammates a little more comfort in their wariness of “fake news”.  But, I’m betting that even that won’t prevent most.