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demonKKKrat weaponization of government

friday, february 16th, 2024

Reading Matt Taibbi’s summary how the Democrats weaponized the government against Donald Trump, starting before the election of 2016 and proceeding right up to the present moment, I am reminded once again that the issue is not democracy but “Our Democracy™.”

[FULL TITLE: "Democratic Weaponization of Government and the Need for Decentralization."]

The Constitution aimed to limit the power and reach of government; its rival aims to make government triumph everywhere.

That is, the Democrats and their deep-state allies in the media and the myriad bureaucracies that actually run the country believe that democracy means “rule by Democrats”. As Taibbi puts it, “To ‘protect democracy,’ democracy is already being canceled. We just haven’t admitted the implications of this to ourselves yet”.

This is true. Hence the plethora of handwringing articles warning that Donald Trump is a “dictator”-in-waiting, a new Hitler, a refurbished Mussolini who, should he be reelected, will mobilize the military to impose his will on a hapless American populace. Taibbi quotes from a December 2023 “strategy memo” in which Biden’s puppeteers describe Trump as “an existential threat to democracy.”

It sounds absurd. It is absurd. But, as I and many others have pointed out, that is the story we are being asked to swallow. This is the logic:

Trump is a “threat to democracy.”

Ergo, we must use “any means necessary” to keep him off the ballot.

Otherwise, people might vote for him, and that would be “bad for democracy.”

In a time of universal deceit, telling the Truth is a revolutionary act.

The arrogance of this gambit is breathtaking. It assumes, with Liz Cheneyesque smugness, that ordinary people cannot be entrusted with so important a task as electing their leaders. Only anointed saviors like Liz Cheney can do that. But alongside the arrogance of the we-have-to-destroy-democracy-in-order-to-save-it mindset is the chilling revelation of the extremes to which the people in power are willing to go in order to preserve their prerogatives. They will, for example, censor any opinion they do not like as “malinformation,” i.e., an opinion that might be true but is not consistent with The Narrative. It all adds up to what I have called “the Sovietization of America.”

What, as Lenin famously asked, is to be done?

Nothing gets you in troble like the Truth.

I am not sure anything can be done. There is a good chance that Michael Anton is right. “They Can’t Let Him Back In,” he wrote in July 2022. “The people who really run the United States of America,” he noted, “have made it clear that they can’t and won’t, if they can help it, allow Donald Trump to be president again”.

Anton and Taibbi both outline some of the many things “they”—the agents of the deep state—will do, are in fact doing right now, to prevent this most awful of eventualities.

My crystal ball is cloudy. I do not know what is going to happen in November 2024. But let’s indulge in what Einstein calls a Gedankenexperiment. Let’s say Trump wins in November. Let’s say further that he somehow manages to evade his enemies and actually take office at noon on January 20, 2025. What should he do then?

Here is an incomplete list.

The overriding imperative, as I have argued before, must be to do everything possible to reduce the place of Washington in the metabolism of American political life. To this end, Trump should endeavor as far as possible to govern the country from outside of Washington. The first symbolic act should be to hold the inauguration someplace other than Washington. I do not insist that it be held in Mar-a-Lago, but why not?

As to specifics, on the first minute of the first day in office, Trump should take a page from Bill Clinton. He should fire every Democratic prosecutor. All of them. With immediate effect.

One of the first things the Clintons did was to fire the head of the IRS and put their own man in place. Trump should do the same. Ditto for the FBI. In 2017, Trump left Sally Yates, a left-wing Democrat, in effective charge of the DOJ. She was a disaster.

There are thousands of political appointments in the gift of the president. All Democrats and pajama-boy Republicans should be purged on day one by 12:02. All of them.

Washington is the headquarters of the enemy camp. It is not simply that it is overwhelmingly Democrat, though it is that. More important is the fact that it is a wholly owned subsidiary of the Party State. What do I mean by the Party State? I mean that hypertrophied faction that has gained control of the government of the country. It has a monopoly on virtually all the levers of power, cultural as well as political. It presides over a two-tier system of injustice in which its opponents are harassed, indicted, prosecuted, bankrupted, and jailed, even as malefactors in the protected party are quietly sent on their way with muted warnings or a gentle slap on the wrist.

In The Federalist, James Madison warned about the evils of faction. For most of its history, the United States escaped the worst abuses of that most toxic of political evils. Beginning perhaps with the advent of the ironically named “Great Society” in the mid-1960s, as Christopher Caldwell noted in his steely-eyed book The Age of Entitlement: America Since the 1960s, we have been living under a dual system. There is the Constitution, to which lip service is paid. Then there is what Caldwell calls the “rival” to the Constitution, the apparatus of entitlement. The Constitution aimed to limit the power and reach of government; its rival aims to make government triumph everywhere.

It took a while for this totalitarian system to mature and achieve full penetration. With initiatives like DEI, ceaseless, omnivorous surveillance, and the machinery of universal censorship, the Party State has come of age. It finally happened under the aegis of Barack Obama and is consolidating its hold on power further even now.

I read that thousands upon thousands of truckers, squadrons of police, and national and state guards from 27 states are headed to Texas to challenge the open border proclaimed by the Party State. Will that challenge loosen its grip on power? Would the reelection of Donald Trump? The former, after a little drama, will most likely be absorbed into the paralysis of bureaucratic non-action. Trump’s victory, assuming it comes about, will be Pyrrhic unless he battles the Leviathan head-on. To the extent that he remains a creature of Washington, however, he will fail.

A Day In The Life.

Up at 8a on Friday, I went thru my finger stick to check my BSL (Blood Sugar Level) and recorded it on my Diabetes 2 chart, made coffee and breakfast, took two 50mg Tramadol and a 300mg Gabapentin for various pains, fired-up the Win-7 Pentium HP desktop to let 32 million lines of code load, had a couple smokes in the semi-cool garage and checked the leftover errands list.

It was a dry, cool 36°, partly sunny morning, and the forecast is for low-60s tomorrow and Sunday, record-breaking (1949 records) weather at this time of year. I enjoyed cvoffee and a couple of Marlboros in the garage, tuned into the last hour of "Chris Stigall Show LIVE" (CS Show) from 6-9a, and then the "Chris Plante Show LIVE" (CP Show) 9-12noon, and finally to the Rob Carson Show LIVE (RC Show) 12-3p. No need to go to the New Eastern Farmers' Market this morning, as I had plenty of food in the 'fridge.

Today is the youngest you'll ever be, for the rest of your life.

My vision had cleared-up from yesterday's Opthamologist (MD) annual eye exam visit at 11a, with Sherry, and I felt relieved to "see" again. The flourescent yellow dye has *never* affected me for so long and badly. I must be "getting old", or something. I'd also calmed down from watching Shit-For-Brains Bidet's disastrous "presser" performance last night, in the WH Rotunda, at 8p. By 10:30a, I was making a 2nd carafe of Kona Hawaiian Reserve Coffee (Turkish Grind, natch), and opening the garage for some fresh, invigorating cold air. After the "CP Show", I did a couple errands and got back around 1:30p, for some lunch and to listen to the "RC Show". And of course, Rite Aid called with "Rxs ready for pick-up" after I'd gotten back from the errands. Natch.

I worked a short while on sorting and organizing the paperwork and receipts for the 2024 Taxes, but spent more time outside, in the Spring-like 58° weather, going for a walk around the CHCA Complex. With it staying lighter later; seems everyone is out doing some walking now. By dusk, temps were dropping into the 40s, I buttoned-up the condo, and had some dinner. Discovery's "Gold Rush" was on with new episodes, and I watched until midnight. Lights out.

Awake and up aty 8a on Saturday, to an overcast, Spring-like 46°, but with 1-3" of snow forecast for Tuesday morning -- just in time for my Dr's app't. Natch; I'll check the weather maps on Monday, and perhaps reschedule if it looks to be a bad storm.. Heat up, coffee made, and breakfast, I settled-in with 6 new podcasts from the "CS Show", on iHeart.com, until around noon. I left to get some errands done, and worked on the 2023 IRS Taxes paperwork, for a few hours in the afternoon. I have 3-of-5 1099 and Profit/Loss Statements, but am waiting for the 84pg Brokerage P&L Statement for 2023. Overcast all day, temps had climbed to 61°, but no records set.

I found the Michael Savage Channel on iHeart.com -- I used to listen to him daily back in the 90s, but not since I'd found several other Conservative broadcaster -- and listened for the rest of the afternoon. After a light dinner, I watched Discovery's "Expedition Unknown" and an old episode or two of "Gold Rush" until midnight, and quit for the night.

Sleeping-in until after 8a on Sunday, a balmy 44°, heavly-overcast and waiting for a Tuesday morning snowstorm, After the usual morning routines, I had my mental 'list' of Sunday chores and prep for the week ahead, to get done. I worked on the 2023 Tax prep paperwork for too majy hours, and took a 3hr snooze on the LR couch. Afte some dinner, I took out the recycle bin to the curb, watched History's "Ancient Aliens" Marathon until I fell asleep in one of the director's chairs, facing the 82" Samsung TV (mounted on the wall), woke-up at 2:15a and headed upstairs.

Up at 6:30a on Monday, from the noisy garbage truck coming thru the condo complex, Furnace and garage heater up and running, coffee made, smokes in the garage, I tuned into the "CS Show' until 9, then switched over to the "CP Show". After scanning selected website weather forcasts for the 1-2" or 4-6" of snow tomorrow morning, I called one of my Drs' office, and rescheduled my 11:30a app't tomorrow, to 1:15p opn Friday. I'll be tracking the coming Nor'Easter all day and evening, but since I'll get all errands done today and will stay-in tomorrow, it'll be of no immediate concern.

Then, this was posted everywhere...

★ WINTER STORM WARNING! ★
• ... WINTER STORM WARNING IN EFFECT FROM 2 AM TO 1 PM EST TUESDAY ...
• WHAT... Wet snow expected. Total snow accumulations of 2 -- 5 inches with the highest amounts near and north of the Turnpike. Winds gusting as high as 40 mph from the north to northwest late Tuesday morning and afternoon.
• WHERE... York, Lancaster, Adams Counties.
• From... 2 AM to 1 PM EST Tuesday.
• IMPACTS... Plan on slippery road conditions. The hazardous conditions could impact the morning commute.
• ADDITIONAL DETAILS... The expected storm track is farther south than previous forecasts. This will likely result in heavier snowfall for the area. The snow will be heaviest during the morning commute when snowfall rates could be over one inch per hour.
PRECAUTIONARY/PREPAREDNESS ACTIONS...
• The Pennsylvania Department of Transportation and Pennsylvania Turnpike Commission remind motorists to adjust speeds based on driving conditions as winter weather impacts will include snow covered roads and limited visibility.

After dinner, I checked the weather maps from 3 sources, and the coming storm didn't look that bad, until 11p, and it got much worse. Heh, I did it again -- fell asleep in the director's chair, in front of the wall-mounted, 82" Samsung QLED4 HD TV, and woke-up at 2;30a. Heavy rain. I seriously needed sleep.

Awake and up at just after 8a on Tuesday, it was snowing heavily and a guesstimate so far, would be 5-6". Just 31°, it was a wet, heavy snow, coating everything, bending trees over, sagging above ground power/phone lines, and coming down heavily. I made coffee, had a light breakfast, had some smokes in the warm garage, tuned into the "CS Show" until 9, and then the "CP Show" from 9-12. No wind, so the snow that had piled-up to 6"+ everywhere, began to blow loose and fall. By 10:30, the storm had passed to the east, skies had mostly cleared, the sun was out, temps had risen into the upper-30s, and the snow/ice were melting.

★ SPECIAL WEATHER STATEMENT ★
•... GUSTY NORTHWEST WINDS AND HEAVY SNOW STICKING TO TREE LIMBS COULD LEAD TO SCATTERED POWER OUTAGES THROUGH THIS AFTERNOON ...
• WHAT... Gusty northwest winds up to 30 mph combined with the weight of the several, to locally 8 to 12 inches of heavy wet snow that fell across the Susquehanna Valley and Western Poconos overnight and early today, could cause branches or whole trees to fall.
This could lead to downed power lines and power outages in some places.
The wind will gradually decrease tonight, and much of the snow will fall or melt from the tree limbs, reducing the threat for falling trees and branches. .
• WHERE... York, Lancaster, Adams Counties.
• UNTIL... 8 PM Tuesday evening.
• IMPACTS... Power and phone poles in above listed counties.

The sun was so bright reflecting off the snow, it nearly blinded me in my Office-Sunroom, so I took the afternoon off, after lunch, and grabbed 3hrs on the LR couch. By now, the huge storm system was impacting NJ-NYC and points Northeast; not our problem, anymore. No power or phone lines down, as of 2p, as temps hit 40°. I was crashing from the morning's caffeine, and hit the LR couch for 2hrs+. I woke-up to a cool condo and the sun going down, got the heat turned back up to 74°, as temps outside dropped into the low-30s.

I had dinner, watched the evening news on NEWSMAX, Motor Trend's "Iron Resurrection" until 10, switched to the news again, and bagged it for the day, at 11p.

Up at 5:30a on Wednesday, I fired-up the condo furnace and garage heater, made coffee, let the desktop load Win-7 code (32m+ lines!), and tuned into the "CS Show" for a 6a start. A cold 30° outside, the forecast was for some more mild weather thru the end of the month, with just occasional rain. I scanned the news headlines, and the several special election results weren't good for the feckless GOP. I have a bad feeling about 2024's upcoming GE (General Election): the demonKKKrats' "mail-in and early voting" (corruption) will win that election day for them, across the entire ballot, both nationally and locally. 2020 was just a mere "tune-up", and what's coming ion November will be immense fraud and corruption. Hope I'm wrong... but I don't think so

Fuck You, America!

While scanning the news and weather headlines, I see that both GOPers and demonKKKrats are calling the impeachment of the hate-America, leftist POS DHS Sec'y, Mayorkas Traitor, "absurd"? F•ck that shit -- charge, try, convict, sentence and HANG THE MOTHERF•CKER! America is thoroughly by 8-11 MILLION criminal, illegal alien INVADERS -- men of military age (18 - 49), from over 170 countries, who are planning multiple terrorist attacks leading to hundreds-of-thousands of American Citizens' deaths! EXECUTE THE TREASONOUS MAJORKAS FILTH! I'm so damned mad that I could spit blood!

I left at 12:30p to get a few errands done: p/u some Rxs at Rite Aid, get a carton of Marlboros and drive out to Flinchbaugh's Orchard & Farm Market; two done, but Flinchbaugh's is now on Winter Hours, and only open Thu-Fri-Sat, so I'll go back another day to get some of that amazing Bacon, Egg & Cheese Bread. I watched History's "American Pickers" Marathon, had dinner, and continued watching until midnight. Lights out.

Awake and up at 7a on Thursday, I did the usual routines, enjoyed the Kona Hawaiian Coffee wqith a couple of Marlboros in the garage, and some Rye toast w/ Philly Cream Cheese & lots of Kerrygold Pure Irish Butter. Mmmmmmmm, good stuff. After listening to the "CS Show" until 9, and the "CP Show" until noon, I worked on the piles of 2023 Tax Docs, until Sherry arrived at 1p. We walked for an hour at the nearby, humongous York Galleria, then drove east to nearby Flinchbaugh's, loaded up with goodies, and then back top my condo. After some nice hugs and kisses, Sherry left before dusk, I had some BBQ and olive pasta salad for dinner, watched the evening news and a SyFy Channel movie until 11, and bagged it for the night.

Tomorrow starts a new week here in the "Journal", it's a light week, with only a haircut app't and my cleaning lady, so Sherry and I will get some time together, life is good.

Diary of a Snow Shoveller.

December 8 -- 6:00 PM
It started to snow. The first snow of the season and the wife and I took our cocktails and sat for hours by the window watching the huge soft flakes drift down from heaven. It looked like a Grandma Moses Print. So romantic we felt like newlyweds again. I love snow!

December 9 -- We woke to a beautiful blanket of crystal white snow covering every inch of the landscape. What a fantastic sight! Can there be a lovelier place in the whole world? Moving here was the best idea I’ve ever had! Shoveled for the first time in years and felt like a boy again. I did both our driveway and the sidewalks. This afternoon the snowplow came along and covered up the sidewalks and closed in the driveway, so I got to shovel again. What a perfect life!

December 12 -- The sun has melted all our lovely snow. Such a disappointment! My neighbor tells me not to worry- we’ll definitely have a white Christmas. No snow on Christmas would be awful! Bob says we’ll have so much snow by the end of winter, that I’ll never want to see snow again I don’t think that’s possible. Bob is such a nice man, I’m glad he’s our neighbor.

December 14 -- Snow, lovely snow! 8 inches last night. The temperature dropped to -20. The cold makes everything sparkle so. The wind took my breath away, but I warmed up by shoveling the driveway and sidewalks. This is the life! The snowplow came back this afternoon and buried everything again. I didn’t realize I would have to do quite this much shoveling, but I’ll certainly get back in shape this way. I wish l wouldn’t huff and puff so.

December 15 -- 20 inches forecast. Sold my van and bought a 4x4 Blazer. Bought snow tires for the wife’s car and 2 extra shovels. Stocked the freezer. The wife wants a wood stove in case the electricity goes out. I think that’s silly. We aren’t in Alaska, after all.

December 16 -- Ice storm this morning. Fell on my ass on the ice in the driveway putting down salt. Hurt like hell. The wife laughed for an hour, which I think was very cruel.

December 17 -- Still way below freezing. Roads are too icy to go anywhere. Electricity was off for 5 hours. I had to pile the blankets on to stay warm. Nothing to do but stare at the wife and try not to irritate her. Guess I should’ve bought a wood stove, but won’t admit it to her. God I hate it when she’s right. I can’t believe I’m freezing to death in my own living room.

December 20 -- Electricity’s back on, but had another 14 inches of the damn stuff last night. More shoveling! Took all day. The damn snowplow came by twice. Tried to find a neighbor kid to shovel, but they said they’re too busy playing hockey. I think they’re lying. Called the only hardware store around to see about buying a snow blower and they’re out. Might have another shipment in March. I think they’re lying. Bob says I have to shovel or the city will have it done and bill me. I think he’s lying.

December 22 -- Bob was right about a white Christmas because 13 more inches of the white shit fell today, and it’s so cold, it probably won’t melt till August. Took me 45 minutes to get all dressed up to go out to shovel and then I had to piss. By the time I got undressed, pissed and dressed again. I was too tired to shovel. Tried to hire Bob who has a plow on his truck for the rest of the winter, but he says he’s too busy. I think the asshole is lying.

December 23 -- Only 2 inches of snow today And it warmed up to 0. The wife wanted me to decorate the front of the house this morning. What is she, nuts?!! Why didn’t she tell me to do that a month ago? She says she did but I think she’s lying.

December 24 -- 6 inches - Snow packed so hard by snowplow, l broke the shovel. Thought I was having a heart attack. If I ever catch the son of a bitch who drives that snow plow, I’ll drag him through the snow by his balls and beat him to death with my broken shovel. I know he hides around the corner and waits for me to finish shoveling and then he comes down the street at a 100 miles an hour and throws snow all over where I’ve just been! Tonight the wife wanted me to sing Christmas carols with her and open our presents, but I was too busy watching for the damn snowplow.

December 25 -- Merry freaking Christmas! 20 more inches of the damn slop tonight -Snowed in. The idea of shoveling makes my blood boil. God, I hate the snow! Then the snowplow driver came by asking for a donation and I hit him over the head with my shovel. The wife says I have a bad attitude. I think she’s an idiot. If I have to watch “It’s A Wonderful Life” one more time, I’m going to stuff her into the microwave.

December 26 -- Still snowed in. Why the hell did I ever move here? It was all HER idea. She’s really getting on my nerves.

December 27 -- Temperature dropped to -30 and the pipes froze; plumber came after 14 hours of waiting for him, he only charged me $1,400 to replace all my pipes.

December 28 -- Warmed up to above -20. Still snowed in. The BITCH is driving me crazy!!!

December 29 -- 10 more inches. Bob says I have to shovel the roof or it could cave in. That’s the silliest thing I ever heard. How dumb does he think I am?

December 30 -- Roof caved in. I beat up the snow plow driver, and now he is suing me for a million dollars, not only the beating I gave him, but also for trying to shove the broken snow shovel up his ass. The wife went home to her mother. Nine more inches predicted.

December 31 -- I set fire to what’s left of the house. No more shoveling.

January 8 -- Feel so good. I just love those little white pills they keep giving me. Why am I tied to the bed?

Republicans Would Rather Remain Beautiful Losers, Than Win.

Congressional Republicans are history’s most powerful court jesters. More concerned with earning momentary praise and social access from the people who hate them and their voters, they routinely refuse to deliver results for their constituents or capitalize on potential political wins.

Just look at House Republicans’ failed attempt at impeaching Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas due to three members siding with Democrats. Republicans walked away from doing something their voters desperately wanted done and fumbled what should have been an incredibly easy political win.

Much like the party’s refusal to take meaningful action in protecting the unborn, Republicans don’t want to impeach anybody. They want to puff their chest, grift donations, then capitulate at the last second so it looks like they fought a real fight.

When was the last time the GOP actually used the power given to it by voters to meaningfully advance a conservative agenda? The party’s only purpose is to marginally slow down the left as it completely conquers and remakes the nation.

But when it comes to needlessly expelling and endlessly denouncing their former colleague George Santos, Republicans clamored over each other to be the first in line to sabotage their already razor-thin margins.

Miss me yet? pic.twitter.com/sw4j7VcjJk
— George Santos (@MrSantosNY) February 6, 2024

“The GOP, in a nutshell, can’t govern,” Santos said while speaking to The Federalist about Republicans’ failed attempt at impeaching Mayorkas, “It doesn’t know how to.”

“The majority of Republicans live in abject horror trying to appease Democrats … they want to be accepted,” he said.

Defective Reps. Ken Buck of Colorado, Mike Gallagher of Wisconsin, and California’s Tom McClintock, each expressing concerns over Republicans’ use of impeachment for political purposes, evidently find greater value in clinging to the notion that the preservation of norms and procedures that have already been done away with will be rewarded.

Immigration is one of the public’s greatest concerns heading into the 2024 election. Given the ongoing invasion of violent multinational, fighting-aged males with no regard for the law; the elaborate non-profit patronage network that ships illegals across the country; and government sponsorship of migrants’ lifestyles while Americans continue to get squeezed by inflation, it makes a lot of sense.

But when an opportunity arrives to take a scalp and show voters they’re serious about addressing the border crisis, Republicans refuse to do so and allow Democrats to reclaim full control of the narrative.

By sabotaging their own efforts to impeach Mayorkas, Republicans will be forced to take further ownership of the border crisis. Impeaching Mayorkas would show voters they were serious about addressing the lawlessness at the southern border. But because they refused to impeach, the left has another cudgel to use against them when this should have been a unifying moment to hold the left to account.

The institutional bulwarks that caused these lawmakers to clutch their pearls haven’t mattered in years. If anything, their fecklessness likely ensures the further erosion of norms as people have yet another reason to doubt Republican competency and put Democrats back in control of Congress. But when was the last time Democrats — members of the party that actually does stuff — let the apparatuses of moderation get in the way of forcing their will?

“Democrats have already spun the issue. [Republicans] now own the migrant crisis,” Santos said, jesting that he “would have voted twice to impeach” if he could.

Unless the nature of Mayorkas’ impeachment articles somehow changes, thus mitigating the concerns of these members, or they’re somehow otherwise convinced to support the cause, it doesn’t matter that a second vote might occur next week. Even if Majority Leader Steve Scalise is present for a second vote, the numbers simply aren’t there. Republicans need more yeas than nays; a tie results in failure.

Had Republicans not expelled Santos, they would be able to overcome this issue, but they prioritized temporary accolades over meaningful results.

“Republicans are all talk,” Santos said, “The problem is that 70 percent of [Congress] is more focused on what dinner with what lobbyist they’re having than governing.” And he is absolutely correct.

The median Republican member is happy simply to dine with lobbyists and get a mention in the legacy press. They aren’t using the institutional and political mechanisms at their disposal to coerce behavior, effect change, or humble their enemies. They prioritize the former, assuming the latter will revoke their status as one of the swamp’s special people.

Just like abortion, health care, and spending, Republicans don’t want to actually deal with the border. They want to grandstand and fundraise off it and remain losers beautiful only to themselves.

Ball of Fun.

Their software library is full of classic games and tools, including a hidden gem from 1983 called Gumball, which is part of the Atari 8-Bit Family. To play, simply load the game on your browser and use your space bar to control the valves in the gumball machine. Your goal is to divert the flow of gumballs towards bins of corresponding colors while navigating through a maze and managing your time under the watchful eye of a strict supervisor who may sabotage your efforts. This game is filled with humor and surprises as you progress through different levels.