Reply Part V to a post from 4/28 [FN1] begins w/reference to a more recent post [FN2, 2a] by 4/28 mentioned in my last blog. 4/28 notes: “So much anti-America self sabotage going on in this country it's truly treasonous. ...” That’s a bit of a reach. “Treason” is a crime 1/19

that the Constitution both defines [FN3] and sets a standard of proof for. [FN4] Contrary to what some believe, “treason” can be committed without formal state of war. [FN5] That is important when someone like…

Hello again and welcome to this 4th segment of my reply to a post from 4/28. [FN1] 4/28 issued a “challenge to any Democrat” to explain how any of a list of statements “makes sense.” A couple of preliminary considerations are important before I continue my reply. [FN2] 1/22

A) 4/28 drafted the statements in a confrontational way. E.g., in the last reply, I noted 2nd part of #9 “is blatantly racist”: [FN3] “any illiterate gang member or terrorist who jumps the southern fence.” That…

This is the 3rd installment of my reply to a “challenge to any Democrat” to explain “how any of this makes sense.” [FN1] The 4/28 challenge consists of 18 unnumbered points [FN2] & I have replied to points 1-6. [FN3] Too often, such vitriol has gone unaddressed. 1/14

4/28 has not marred the post’s free flow of vitriol w/pesky documentation. Many on the far right believe that bluster alone can “win” arguments. I believe these issues need to be addressed & are vital to our…

This is Part 2 of my acceptance of/reply to, a “challenge to any Democrat” to explain “how any of this makes sense without TDS tendencies.” [FN1] What followed were 18 unnumbered points. I’ve addressed 1-3. Before I continue, I need to address a couple of things. 1/13

A) The challenge is “to any Democrat.” I requested a Democratic Party ballot in the most recent 2 primaries & worked at the polls in the 3/17/24, primary election as a Democrat.

B) In my replies to #1-3, I made…

The internet hijacked how we get info. What today are called “legacy media” never were perfect, but they adhered to journalistic standards. Stories were based upon facts. A fact, if disputed, had to be validated by at least two independent sources. 1/19

On 4/28/26, “Mark Schmitz” [FN1] posted a “challenge to any Democrat....Explain how any of this makes sense without TDS tendencies... and when you realize you can't please explain how you can support it?” I thought it spiffy to accept…

The short, dismissive “Nobody would do that!” is inapplicable to our reality. In 2023, if someone had suggested that a 2nd term for trump would mean the WH East Wing razed, a knock-off of the Arc de Triomphe planned, or our military attacking other countries on whims. 1/9

“Nobody would do that!” In “1984" and “Fahrenheit 451,” the masses are lied to and used, but still allowed to exist. Individuals are snuffed, but the societies depicted still “need” people. The “need” might soon be,…

In November, Alabama voters will decide whether to amend that State’s constitution to “require all public schools to broadcast” or have performed “the first stanza of the Star-Spangled Banner at least once per week.” [FN1] I say make that all 4 stanzas, especially stanza #3: 1/11

“No refuge could save the hireling and slave/From the terror of flight or the gloom of the grave.” [FN2] As a weekly rite, singing/performing four stanzas of a relatively short song should not be a factor.…

On Alabama voters’ ballots will be amendments to the State’s constitution to “require all public schools to broadcast or arrange for” performance of “the first stanza of the Star-Spangled Banner at least once per week.” [FN1] Kids in Alabama public schools won’t be taught history. 1/9

The Constitution took effect 3/4/1789. [FN2] “The Star Spangled Banner” was written about the British bombardment of Baltimore on 9/13-14/1814 [FN3] in four stanzas by Francis Scott Key. [FN4] The third…

EVERYONE, PLEASE READ THIS. Iran became a military ally of China in 2021 and of Russia last year. [FN1] Military allies assist each other, especially when one ally is attacked. Imposition of blockade is an act of war. [FN2] In 1914, treaties of mutual aid led to WW1. [FN3] 1/10

We have more recent experience in coming close to nuclear war. In October 1962, Pres Kennedy was told the U.S.S.R. was placing missiles in Cuba. [FN4] On October 22, Pres Kennedy announced a strict quarantine…

Pres Kennedy had read “The Guns of August,” Tuchman’s the Pulitzer-winning account of how European leaders bungled the World into war in 1914, shortly before the U.S. learned the Soviet Union was building launch sites for missiles in Cuba. [FN1] To paraphrase JFK: 1/9

“I will not bungle our way into war as did Europe.” A president reading works of history to guide our country seems silly today. I mean literally today. The header on Thom Hartmann’s blog today stopped me. [FN2] Hartmann…

On 4/9/26, flotus [FN1] stated: “The lies linking we with the disgraceful Jeffrey Epstein need to end today.” [FN2] She has an office in the White House and spoke of a matter, “Epstein”, that is of public concern, [FN3] based on her personal knowledge. [FN4] 1/14

1) The “mean-spirited attempts to defame my reputation.” [FN5] If a remark “involves a matter of public concern, the plaintiff is constitutionally required to prove both the statement’s falsity and the defendant’s fault.”…

An unfortunate side effect of having positive moral values w/o critical thinking skills is best illustrated by the reaction many had yesterday to the statement that trump’s current spouse gave from the White House. No one bothered to search for a deeper meaning. 1/6

Fortunately, my Deep State Decoder Ring/Bottle Cap Opener/Roach Clip was close at, but not on my, hand. It had started to glow when the TV switched from the Sumo Mud Wrestling Big Truck Finals to the aforementioned…

You don’t know me.

We take things for granted. Founders did not: a standing army was debated. Oceans “situated [us] at a great distance from” warring nations. [FN1] Wars did not gouge thousand-mile scars across our soil, as trenches did to France in WW1. 1/13

The Framers of the Constitution [FN2] were suspicious of people who held, or sought, political power and so created checks and balances to stop such people from seizing power and to check the exercise of such power. [FN3]…

“A whole civilization will die tonight, never to be brought back again.” trump’s words today & he is right. Putin hates the U.S., owns trump, and wants our to civilization die. An added bennie: Russia is making a lot more money for oil Russia sells. 1/5

In interviews of random people in the U.S., a common comment is “trump has to do something or else Iran will get nukes.” THE CONSTITUTION DOES NOT ALLOW A PRESIDENT THAT POWER. 2/5

We used to learn such things in civics, but…

What was the United States response to a dictator’s threat to kill millions in another country?

No dictator has been so stupid as to make such a threat.

Today, trump threatened to blow "everything up" if Iran won't make a deal. [FN1] 1/9

He’s threatened to blow them “back to the Stone Age, where they belong.” That means war crimes. For those of you who voted for the [expletive] [FN2] and see no problems, or are willing “to talk” read no farther. The time to talk was in the…

In 1974, as Pres Nixon’s resignation became inevitable, his behaviors [FN1] escalated. Sec’y of Defense James Schlesinger warned military leaders if “Nixon issued a nuclear launch order” they “should check with him or Secretary of State Henry Kissinger before executing it.” [FN2] 1/10

Nixon was complex and, at times, mentally “off,” [FN3] but none of Nixon’s professors ever said Nixon was “the dumbest goddamn student I ever had.” [FN4] So here are reasons we should be scared about one…

The United States, the Soviet Union, Great Britain and France, at the end of WW2, tried former leaders of government and the military of Nazi Germany and the Empire of Japan for war crimes. [FN1] Two defenses of the defendants are of note. 1/12

1) No such crimes existed. Prosecutions had no “appropriate body of international law” Japan’s leaders stood trial for “wholesale destruction of human lives, not alone on the field of battle” but in “homes, hospitals, and orphanages.” [FN2]…

From their comments about NoKings 3.0, maga seem oblivious to “NoKings” as a title given to protests that oppose anyone, most notably trump, imposing a monarchy on this country. One of our founding documents is the Declaration of Independence. Its Grievances against 1/11

King George III parallel trump’s transgressions today. [FN1] The Declaration lists the “repeated Injuries and Usurpations, all having in direct Object the Establishment of an absolute Tyranny over these States. To…

Tomorrow the coterie of racists and imbeciles who remain loyal to the racist imbecile occupant of the Oval Office will have another chance to chip away at the framework in the Constitution put in place to end, and address the ravages, of slavery. Citizenship is at issue. 1/11

In trump v Barbara, the Roberts Court [FN1] will hear argument: whether children born on U.S. soil are citizens by birthright and under the clear wording of the 14th Amendment [FN2] A lot of history was set forth…

NoKings 3.0 w/a “Revolutionary-era call against” trump as would-be king “had the broadest geographic reach of any single-day protest” in the U.S. in more than a half-century. [FN1] “The flagship rally” at Minnesota’s State Capitol drew > 200k. [FN2] Total numbers 1/11

“might turn out to be the largest combined single-day protest in U.S. history.” [FN3] Protesters exercised rights protected by the 1st Amendment. [FN4] Political speech is afforded the greatest protections. [FN5]…