Why the US Public has to wake up as to Trump's assault upon Democracy, and why it matters if it does not: i.e. collapse of competence in government
The Washington Post: This is how democracy dies — in full view of a public that couldn’t care less .. And I am going to give a very good reason for the Public to care, namely the collapse of MINIMUM standards of competence in government is
First the article itself. And I will follow up with the incompetence Tsunami which threatens the existence of the United States
Now for the indifference of the Public
This is how democracy dies — in full view of a public that couldn’t care less
Trump assaults the rule of law — and the public yawns.
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This is how democracy dies — in full view of a public that couldn’t care less
By Max Boot
Columnist
Feb. 15, 2020 at 7:00 a.m. EST
The French philosopher Montesquieu wrote in 1748: “The tyranny of a prince in an oligarchy is not so dangerous to the public welfare as the apathy of a citizen in a democracy.” We are seeing his warning vindicated. President Trump is increasingly acting as a tyrannical (and erratic) prince. And yet much of the public is so inured to his misconduct that his latest assaults on the rule of law are met with a collective shrug. Public passivity is Trump’s secret weapon as he pursues his authoritarian agenda. “I have the right to do whatever I want,” he says, and the lack of pushback seems to confirm it.
So much bad has happened since Trump was unjustly acquitted by the Senate of two articles of impeachment on Feb. 5 that it’s hard to keep it all straight.
Trump fired Ambassador to the European Union Gordon Sondland and Army Lt. Col. Alexander Vindman for complying with a congressional subpoena and providing truthful testimony about Trump’s attempts to extort Ukraine into aiding him politically. Also ousted was Vindman’s brother, who did not testify. This sends a mob-like message: If you turn stool pigeon, your family gets it, too.
Trump’s ongoing quest for retribution has also claimed Jessie K. Liu, who was abruptly removed as U.S. attorney for the District of Columbia and replaced by a close aide to Attorney General William P. Barr after prosecuting Trump loyalists, including Michael Flynn and Roger Stone. Now Liu’s nomination to a senior Treasury Department position has been withdrawn. Next on the chopping block may be Elaine McCusker, the Pentagon official who tried to tell the Office of Management and Budget that Trump had no right to withhold aid to Ukraine. The New York Post reported that her nomination to be Pentagon comptroller will be withdrawn. (McCusker denies the report.)
While punishing those who dared to tell the truth, Trump is protecting those who assist his coverup. He inveighed against the request of federal prosecutors, following normal sentencing guidelines, to give Stone a seven- to nine-year prison sentence for witness tampering and lying to Congress. Trump also attacked the judge overseeing Stone’s case and the forewoman of the jury that convicted him. The Justice Department then asked for a reduced sentence. Four prosecutors resigned from the case in protest, and one quit the Justice Department.
Even Barr was driven to denounce Trump’s public interference in the legal system, saying that the president’s tweets “make it impossible for me to do my job and to assure the courts and the prosecutors and the department that we’re doing our work with integrity.” In response, Trump asserted that he has the “legal right” to determine who gets prosecuted — technically true but hardly in keeping with American tradition.
Barr’s protests ring hollow given how eager he has been to subvert his own department on Trump’s behalf — for example, by mischaracterizing the findings of special counsel Robert S. Mueller III. Barr has appointed one prosecutor to review Flynn’s conviction and another to investigate the FBI and CIA personnel who uncovered the Russian plot to elect Trump in 2016. The New York Times reports that the latter prosecutor, John H. Durham, has raised alarm in the intelligence community by appearing to pursue a theory, popular among right-wing conspiracy mongers, “that the C.I.A., under its former director John O. Brennan, had a preconceived notion about Russia or was trying to get to a particular result.”
Anxiety about attempts to politicize justice will only grow because of a Post report that Trump was furious that the Justice Department did not file charges against former FBI director James B. Comey and former FBI deputy director Andrew McCabe — even though there is no evidence that either of these men broke any laws. After learning that his enemies were not being indicted, The Post reports, “Trump has become more insistent that Durham finish his work soon,” because he “wants to be able to use whatever Durham finds as a cudgel in his reelection campaign.”
As Justice Department veteran David Laufman writes, “We are now truly at a break-glass-in-case-of-fire moment for the Justice Dept.” But does anyone give a damn? Democratic lawmakers are, to be sure, perturbed, but it’s easy (if unfair) to write off their outrage as mere partisanship. Republican members of Congress, as usual, either have nothing to say or offer ineffectual expressions of “concern.”
And the public? I don’t see massive marches in the streets. I don’t see people flooding their members of Congress with calls and emails. I don’t see the outrage that is warranted — and necessary. I see passivity, resignation and acquiescence from a distracted electorate that has come to accept Trump’s aberrant behavior as the norm.
A recent Gallup poll found that Trump’s approval rating among Republicans — the supposed law-and-order party — is at a record-high 94 percent. His support in the country as a whole is only 43.4 percent in the FiveThirtyEight average, but he is still well positioned to win reelection, because most people seem to care a lot more about the strength of the stock market than about the strength of our democracy. This is how democracies die — not in darkness but in full view of a public that couldn’t care less.
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Now, lets get to the incompetence, and it is staggering. Here is exhibit A, below
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TRUMP'S BORDER WALL IS A WASTE OF MONEY. HERE IS PROOF, AS TO A 99 PESOS CHEAP TOOL TO BEAT IT
- Published on February 15, 2020
Billions of USD are being stolen from the American military by Trump to fund a useless construction. But it is worse than that. Here is how the entire structure is worse than useless
Trump backed contractors are stealing us blind for an idiot monument to corruption but it is worse than that. i.e. the Smugglers are actually able to get in for about 99 pesos a go at the wall. It is time to end this entire enterprise
https://www.rawstory.com/2020/02/ingenious-trick-defeats-trumps-expensive-border-wall-and-costs-only-99-pesos/
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Ingenious trick defeats Trump’s expensive border wall — and costs only 99 pesos
Published 11 hours ago on February 14, 2020
By Bob Brigham
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Lets wrap our heads about this, say we have 20 billion USD spent upon this useless monument to Trump's vanity and it is rendered useless due to what is mentioned above.
The wall construction is being paid for by stealing from the US MILITARY
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Trump administration diverts $3.8 billion in military combat funds for border wall
BY CAMILO MONTOYA-GALVEZ
UPDATED ON: FEBRUARY 13, 2020 / 10:04 PM / CBS NEWS
Washington — The Trump administration on Thursday announced it plans to make yet another multi-billion-dollar transfer of Pentagon funds to finance the construction of barriers along the U.S.-Mexico border, tapping into money originally allocated for military weapons and hardware.
By diverting $3.8 billion Department of Defense funds, officials hope to erect 177 miles of border barriers and help President Trump fulfill one of his signature campaign promises. Although the administration has already transferred billions of dollars over the past two years toward border wall construction, Thursday's plans are the first that involve the transfer of funds for military combat equipment.
According to a notification to Congress obtained by CBS News, the $3.8 billion in funding will be funneled to help the Department of Homeland Security curtail drug smuggling by constructing barriers, roads and lights along the U.S. southern border. The transfer stemmed from a request by the Department of Homeland Security last month which Secretary of Defense Mark Esper approved.
The administration has already diverted billions of dollars from various government funds, including money for military construction projects and counter drug initiatives, to fund border barrier construction.
Democrats quickly denounced Thursday's announcement.
"Once again, President Trump's obsession over his border wall and fulfilling a campaign promise comes at the expense of our national security," Mississippi Congressman Bennie G. Thompson said in a statement. "The Pentagon is not a piggy bank to help the President win reelection."
The American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU), one of the administration's top foes in court, said it would sue to try to stop the transfer.
"Not one court has given his unlawful power grab the stamp of approval. We'll be back in court to block these additional, unauthorized transfers," ACLU attorney Dror Ladin said in a statement.
David Martin contributed reporting.
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That stolen money from the US military does NOT help our operational readiness.
Next the incompetence Tsunami, in general
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Nash column: Trump administration sets new low with incompetence
- PAT NASH Columnist Aug 23, 2019 0
President Donald Trump and his Republican enablers in Congress make it more obvious every day that they lack morals, courage, compassion and the capability to govern with integrity. It’s time Americans start asking them questions.
Why does Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell refuse to allow bills that would ensure fair elections to come to the floor of the Senate? Is he afraid if the elections were fair that his party would be voted out? And why won’t he let the Senate vote on a bill that would require universal background checks for gun purchasers when the vast majority of Americans support it? Is the money he and some of his pals get from the NRA more important than saving lives?
Then, while more American farmers are going bankrupt than ever before — and some of them have committed suicide — why did Trump’s Secretary of Agriculture Sonny Perdue imply to the audience at Minnesota’s Farm Fest that they’re whiners?
How else can you interpret this joke he told? “What do you call two farmers in a basement? A whine cellar.” And then he pounded the table and laughed. At first the audience, made up of farmers, didn’t know how to react. Then they booed.
Meanwhile, in retaliation for Trump’s tariffs, China, our farmers’ biggest customer, has stopped buying all American agriculture products. China’s now buying them from Russia and other countries, which are very happy about that. It’s not like the economists didn’t warn Trump this would happen, but he thinks he knows more than anyone.
And since Trump took the U.S. out of the Iran Nuclear Deal, Iran announced it would increase the enrichment of uranium to any amount they want. Before, under the agreement, the U.S. and other countries could inspect their nuclear facilities to ensure they weren’t enriching it to the point of being viable for nuclear weapons. Even the United Nations agreed Iran had complied with the deal. No more. How is the world safer now?
Despite Trump’s “love affair” with North Korea’s murderous dictator Kim Jong Un, why is North Korea still testing missiles and taunting us? The entire world is laughing at our president’s lies and narcissism. But it’s not funny; it’s dangerous.
Why has the Trump administration loosened the rules that have protected endangered species? And why have they discouraged the use of renewable energy sources? Think about that.
Why is the U.S. deporting immigrants who are active members of the military and defending our country? And why are we detaining immigrants who are working at jobs Americans refuse to do?
Why does the president have time to tweet many times every day and watch Fox & Friends, but no time to read security and other important briefings?
Remember when he ranted during the 2016 campaign about President Barack Obama playing too much golf and saying if he were elected he wouldn’t have time to play golf because he’d be too busy?
On Aug. 14, NBC News reported that out of his 936 days in office, he’s spent 289 days at Trump properties; 221 of them at his golf properties. And in January of this year, at the request of members of Congress, the General Accounting Office reported, “GAO estimated that federal agencies incurred costs of about $13.6 million for the President’s four trips to Mar-a-Lago from Feb. 3 through March 5, 2017.” That’s $3.4 million per trip. By the time his first term ends, we’ll have spent more than $1 billion for him to play golf.
Overall, he’s already tripled the amount of time golfing and vacationing that President Obama did in his first term and twice as much as President George W. Bush.
Then again, who’s surprised that he lied?
His lies are too numerous to keep up with, but one of the latest was in Pennsylvania on Aug. 13, when he gave a speech to construction workers and took credit for the creation of Shell’s Petro Chemicals, a manufacturing facility in western Pennsylvania. Actually, the plan was announced in 2102 when Obama was president. Is there anyone left who can believe a word he says?
Remember when he promised he’d release his tax returns if he was elected? So why won’t he? What’s he afraid of? And why won’t he let any current or former members of his campaign and administration comply with Congressional subpoenas so they can be questioned under oath? Wouldn’t he want everything out in the open if he was innocent?
Finally, a few Republicans are starting to wake up. Some, along with former Massachusetts Gov. Bill Weld, are thinking of running against him in the Republican primary. At this point, even a dust bunny would be smarter, more honest and competent.
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Authoritarian regimes have a nasty track record of gathering a plethora of incompetent dunces to sing their master's praises, while leaving havoc behind them. In Hitler's Germany as an example, Albert Speer, Hitler's minister of war production in 1944 failed to essentially move German production away from dead in useless "wonder weapons" which squandered enormous sums while Germany was still only partly mobilized for war. I.e.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Military_production_during_World_War_II
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Production summaries 1939–1945[edit]
< Snip>
Go to Wikipedia
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The point is, that Speer was still NOT able to get Germany mobilized for all out war, and this was due to CORRUPTION in the NAZI party, in Germany. In 1942 when Germany lost Stalingrad , and in North Africa, when mobilization would have counted, Germany was still only incompletely producing enough for its military. And by 1944 when Speer doubled the percentage of military production, the percentage total was dwarfed by the UK mobilization and also the same in America and in the USSR.
We see the same rot in America right now, and the Border wall fiasco is a signpoint as to what is coming, and how the Trump spending priorities are weakening, not strengthening defenses against real strategic problems.
We are going there because Trump runs an Authoritarian regime, not a Democratic one.
As it is, extremely authoritarian regimes thrive off this corruption, partly to make the loss of freedom palatable for supporters of a dictatorship, and in the gimmies of useless border wall construction so easily by passed as mentioned in the article, we see the same loss of competence by the Trump Administration, with a Tsunami of Corruption taking place. This corruption is allowed to fester as a pay off of supporters of a corrupt hierarchy stamping out non corrupt venues of advancement in a dictatorship. In the matter affecting America, the ensuing loss of competence is so extreme that it threatens the survival of the nation and threatens to kill millions of Americans.
For that reason alone, Americans NEED to care and not fall asleep as Max Boot has said is currently happening
Andrew Beckwith, PhD