Kemping Out in the Dark Woods of Georgia

Greg Palast likes the ready pun, and the clever turn-of-phrase.  Sometimes, the language gets a bit too cute.

But make no mistake about the seriousness of his message.  The election of 2016 was a huge heist.  The facts are all there to support the claim of theft.

And in 2018 it was Georgia Secretary of State Kemp who ran for governor while serving as the head of elections!  Again, the facts, ma'am, are at hand.

Palast's latest book (titled hubristically How Trump Stole 2020) is already a tour-de-force, and I am only in the early portion.

My advice is to get this book and be forewarned.  

Mark "URGENT": Greg Palast Has Investigated Election Theft in the Making

Internationally known investigative reporter Greg Palast, has -- through years of analysis -- uncovered a slew of under-handed election-stealing techniques used mostly by Republicans (and a few Democrats, as well).

But the shenanigans from Republican operatives this year appear to be rivaling any previous year.  The explosive Washington Post article on the subject in today's paper makes it urgent that Americans prepare for a contested election this fall overseen by a hyper-egoist in the White House, who has the power to stir up true mayhem, according to various experts.

While more information can be found at the web site shown above and below, I urge you to send this blog post to everyone on your e-mail list who would possibly be interested and supportive, both within our borders and without.  The health and welfare of all the world's citizens ultimately depend on getting the truth out. 

http://www.GregPalast.com

paperback revised and up-dated now available

Mary L. Trump: Donald Should Resign

Presidential niece, Mary Trump, said on CNN's "Cuomo Prime Time" that her uncle, Donald, should resign.  His presidency is not good for the country nor for Donald, she stated.  She further told host Chris Cuomo that it was her hope that the American people would no longer stand for this presidency.  She concluded her remarks on this subject by airing her wish that with Donald Trump's resignation the country could begin the difficult but necessary task of healing the divisions, one citizen for another.

Kudos to Ms. Trump.  And Americans do have a choice.  In coming days I hope to comment more on just what this choice is. 

Trump Deploys Secret Police

Rush Link —

https://www.salon.com/2020/07/17/theyre-kidnapping-people-trumps-secret-police-snatch-portland-protesters-into-unmarked-vans/

Greg Palast to Voters: Trump Is Not Your Fault

Rapid Post --  

America, you can stop hiding your face in shame: you are not guilty.
Trump didn’t win in 2016. And I’m not talking about Trump losing the popular vote. Trump lost the Electoral College. That is, he lost if you count all the votes burgled, jacked, swiped, shoplifted, purloined, filched, fiddled and snatched from citizens not of a whitish orange hue.
And unless we wise up, 2020 will be déjà vu all over again.
So opens my new book How Trump Stole 2020,...

-- from Palast's new book, publishing soon


HOW TRUMP STOLE 2020

The Great Johnstown Flood

Late in the nineteenth century an avalanche of water came roaring down the river toward Johnstown, Pennsylvania.  Unsuspecting citizens found themselves caught up in the nightmare event of their lives, and many did not survive.

Today we have a flood of information roaring at us twenty-four hours a day.  Fortunately, this avalanche of information can be somewhat controlled, but only partially, and barely.  This data flows and flows, often with various biases admixed. 

Through a judicious use of time, and a careful setting of priorities I have been able to keep this blog afloat for over fourteen years.  I plan to stay afloat awhile longer.  But in order to accomplish this, I feel a further refining and re-focusing is going to be necessary.  Just what the result will be I am not yet clear about.  It will help once the Covid situation is sorted out, and once the Presidency returns to normality. 

Until the time of  relative Nirvana I will attempt to slog on, joyously at times, with sorrow at others, but with pride at all times -- I hope.  I hope, too, that you the reader will be encouraged to stick around, to bring your own powers of observation.  May this make for clearer vision for us all. 

Facebook Avoids Facing the Music

Z U C K E D

Roger McNamee's new paperback edition -- revised and up-dated -- is a priceless look at, and into, the world of Facebook, and the other large Internet companies, including Google, Microsoft, and Amazon.

McNamee says that most users are not aware that much has changed since these companies came into existence, and that predominately the changes are for the worse, and are even dangerous.  I highly recommend this book to one and all.  This knowledge could save your freedom. 

Two Steps Forward, One Giant Step Backwards

Progress seems to come in fits and starts.  There are lurches forward, followed by a falling back.  At least this seems common. 

Looking through my high school yearbook from some years ago, I see several African-Americans in leadership roles.  I thought it would be good to share with you the names of some of these leaders and the leadership positions they filled.  The list includes both faculty, administration, and students. 

Our high school was quite diverse, with Caucasians, African-Americans, Hispanics, Italian-Americans, and others.  Few of us seemed to think about the nationalities of our fellows.  We were of a time rather far-removed from the early influxes of immigrants, or so we thought.  The few fights that occured were mostly within ethnic groups, not across them. 

What a story to be told!  America -- that great repository of learning and experience. 


Here are the African-American leaders from my high school:

Faculty

Mr. M. -- Boys' Physical Education, department head

Mrs. W. -- Business Education, department head


Sports Faculty Coaches

Coach M.  -- Varsity Football, Golf Team

Coach J. -- Varsity Basketball, Junior Varsity Football, Field Events

Coach G. -- Cross Country


Clubs

Mr. H --, Brotherhood co-sponsor

Mr. C. --  Distributive Cooperative Training, sponsor
 


Students

Miss Loretta. M. -- Junior Class President  

Miss Belinda W. -- Freshman Cheerleaders co-captain

Lauvenia B. -- Secretary, Girls' Athletic Association 

Greg. F., Parliamentarian, Sophomore Class


Administration

Mr. J. -- Dean



Other Ethnic --

Mrs. H. M. -- Foreign Language, department head 

Miss. G., Sr. D., Mrs. M. -- International Club 


and many others of various ethnic backgrounds in membership roles

Biden Campaign Said to Be Concerned About Fall Election Security

Coming Soon --

National TV News report today says the Biden campaign is increasingly worried about voter rights in the current campaign.  This concern was expressed long ago by this blog.

I'll have more on the specific concerns about the 2020 election soon.


For posts on this blog already published search especially for "Greg Palast" on my search function on this page. 

Days Difficult and Rich

The past days have been rich with news, profoundly difficult, yet somehow simultaneously hopeful. 

As for this writer, I have been at alternating times fascinated and sickened by events, as have many.  But today, fascination seems to be winning over horror, and this is a positive development.

As Joe Biden is said to be moving toward and FDR-style agenda, there is finally hope that the problem of police violence may be seriously addressed -- at least in Minnesota.  If these two developments constitute a trend, we can indeed by hopeful.

What stands in the way of this progress?  Two things, one an emotion, the other a group of people led by one very particular person.  The emotion is fear -- fear of difference, fear of the unknown, fear of loss of power and status.  These are the fears motivating the far right and Der Fuehrer.  The special person is the one I call OML -- Our Military Leader.   This is a moniker I created for this chief executive some few years ago.  Now, the meaning of this appellation is clearer and stronger than ever.  Guns stop people, but guns never stop ideas.  And ideas are what made America great in the first place.  So there is our hope. 

Do you feel it, too?   

Covid, Crisis, and Cogitation

Memorial Day 

The Covid-19 pandemic is turning out to be a time of deep reflection for some of us.  As cases begin to rise in more states, the decision to simply "open up," as it is being characterized, is beginning to be questioned.

It is true there are some areas which are experiencing a relatively low case of incidence of this virus so far.  And there are other locations in which numbers continue to decline.  (Your local newspaper or trusted online source should have further information about this.) 

But for other areas such as Arkansas and West Virginia, the recent increases in cases is alarming indeed. 

My overall advice is, first -- don't panic.  But do listen carefully to the authorities, especially the health authorities in your locale and state.  I suggest erring on the side of caution as necessary, since many government leaders are understandably eager to "re-open" for business and are in the process failing to meet the Center for Disease Control and Prevention guidelines.

With a sister who is an M.D. and a brother-in-law who is a physician and teacher of medical students at a state school, I am keeping up with the latest thinking as best I can.  This is a time to be calmly cautious and soberly judicious in one's actions.  This is all the more true in a time when rather large numbers of our fellow citizens seem not to understand the gravity of the situation, or even the basic facts. 

This Developing Life

Note to Readers:

The quantity of material available to an advocacy blogger these days is enormous.  And as time goes on, needs change both for readers and bloggers.

It happens that I have recently pre-filed to stand as a candidate for a political convention.  While this may or may not develop into a major time commitment, it does mean I have to prepare for a new role.

Since the election is still a little ways away, I will take the time to let you know how deeply frustrating the national picture in America is or can be.  If you are a regular reader you are well aware of the many challenges we face in the United States with a President who represents powerful monied interests in a way we have never really seen before.  Even the President himself is a wealthy dude.

The only good news is that Americans are finally beginning to wake up to the danger facing our democracy.  But with a media which is itself a very lucrative business, it is hard for the truth to get through.  And you can imagine, in a country as large and diverse as ours, what a problem this creates in and of itself.  For when the people don't get the clear and complete picture of what is really happening, it becomes next-to-impossible for them to react and act appropriately.

Fortunately, the feeling now is beginning to take hold:  something is very wrong, and not just with the danger of coronavirus, but with the economy.  If we can make clear to people that the problem with the economy is foundational, not just symptomatic, we will have taken a very large step forward. 

Standing Up for the Electoral College

Rush Link --

There is hardly anything in the Constitution harder to explain, or easier to misunderstand, than the Electoral College. And when a presidential election hands the palm to a candidate who comes in second in the popular vote but first in the Electoral College tally, something deep in our democratic viscera balks and asks why the Electoral College shouldn’t be dumped as a useless relic of 18th century white, gentry privilege. Actually, there have been only five occasions when a closely divided popular vote and the electoral vote have failed to point in the same direction. No matter. After last week’s results [the 2016 Presidential election], we’re hearing a litany of complaints: the Electoral College is undemocratic, the Electoral College is unnecessary, the Electoral College was invented to protect slavery — and the demand to push it down the memory hole. 

                                                                              -- excerpt from Gettysburg College paper


 And from time to time here I, too, have had occasion to stand up for the Electoral College as being something not to toss in the waste bin of history.  Having read about the Electoral College over the years it has seemed to me appropriate and necessary to defend something which sprang from good intentions.  The truth of the matter is the Electoral College has not functioned as envisioned since early in our nation's history.  However, the answer is not to eviscerate it further or to abolish it.

Please join me in perusing the document linked to below.  




In Defense of the Electoral College

Putting People First

"We have to put people before profits."

                                                                          -- Oakland, California mayor Libby Schaaf

"Putting people first."   This was one of the campaign slogans of Bill Clinton in the 1992 race for the Presidency.  Once in office, President Clinton found out just what kind of obstacle he was up against:   this was simply not how it was done in America, and he was told this by the powerful Wall Street interests who could back up any threat to pull the rug on the American people.

But here we are twenty-eight years later, and the same idea is being put forth by an American mayor of an important city.  I believe history will look back on this time as the beginning of the end of the profit system.  Such a big change will not happen all at once.  But, for now, it is refreshing to here such a statement from a U.S. mayor.


Source:  CNN, today