Trump’s Stalingrad

Steps back a minute and look at one of the main course of events that brought Hitler to his knees. Most of his war efforts-invasions of other countries had been going smoothly with very few hiccups. He thought he and his mighty armies were invincible. He totally underestimated the fighting capability of the Soviet Army. In the end, when defeat was eminent and certain, he refused to accept the fact that the Russians were destroying his army. Hitler underestimated the power of the Russian army and the brutal Russian winters.

Hitler’s Generals told him, to continue fighting in Russia ,was a lost cause. He refused to believe them. As a result, hundreds of thousands German solders were killed and 25 divisions were lost.  One hundred and eighty thousand Germans were captured.

Fast forwards to today. Trump and his minions have denied and refuse to accept the strength of the Coronavirus 19 virus.  Trump has been strutting around with his chest stuck out bragging about how great America is doing. Despite warnings to the contrary from those in the know, he refuse to accept their conclusions and says, ”All is well. “ Despite warnings about the condition of the American economy, he says America is well on its way to overcoming the down turn in the economy and will recover by the end of 2020. According to reliable sources, untold number of Americans have died due to the outbreak of Coronavirus 19 virus. The number of deaths in America does not interest him, He sees it as collateral damage Trump’s inaction to information he received in January about an impending Pandemic virus outbreak in America defies logic.  Why did he refuse to take action, initially?

Hitler was obsessed with capturing Stalingrad, no matter the cost in human lives. Trump is obsessed with keeping good stock market numbers, low unemployment numbers and new jobs created, despite increasing loss of lives and illness. . Trump feels these are the numbers that count in America. He is determined to open up factories, beaches, bars, and houses of worship and other workplaces where many people work together in close quarters. Forgot one other number he is obsessed with- the number of people at his rallies.

 

How could we be so blind.

 

Research into the ascendancy of Adolph Hitler to power in Germany is a story ripe with all kind of twists and turns.  The same can be said about Donald Trump’s ascendancy to power in America.  At some point in Hitler’s rise to power, those charged with overseeing his office, accepted the fact that there was little they could do to keep him from becoming Fuhrer. They felt, however, that they had the power of oversight to keep him in line. Republican lawmakers felt the same about Trump. He could be taught to be presidential. As with Hitler, nothing was farther from the truth.

As with Hitler, those strategically placed to keep Trump in line, felt the same as German oversight folks-keep him boxed in and behaving in a predictable and orderly manner as spelled out by law and political norms. Of course, Trump is doing what Hitler did; he has slowly and systematically destroyed this imaginary box.  This box is now, for all practically purposes, neutralized and de-fanged. It has few teeth and little or no bark or bite.

This box Republicans speak of, consist of the Constitution, Congress, and the Courts.  Through hook and crook, Trump has virtually neutralized Congress and the Courts. In addition, he has made a mockery of the United States Constitution.

The avenue that eventually removed Hitler from power in Germany is not applicable in the Donald Trump and America’s situation. American voters are the way out of this quagmire.  Let us not forget those who brought Trump to power, nor forget those who continue to support him as he has gone about the business of methodically destroying America’s Democracy.  Lawmakers and businesses that support him must share a lot of the blame for what is taking place.  Those who turn a blind eye to what is taking place are not blameless. The courts, stacked with judges favorable to Trump must accept and share a lot of the blame for what is taking place.

America! Take off the blinders!

Believing as ancestors believed

Typical reasons Whites give for supporting anything that glorifies Southern Civil War Veterans  and Lawmakers.

Do not try to take away my right to believe what my ancestors fought and died defending.  I have a God given right to defend my heritage, no matter for what it really stood.

For starters, let us define the word heritage. Heritage means Inheritance, legacy, Birthright, Custom, Culture. When you hear people defending Statues, Military bases names, Street names, Cities and counties bearing the names of Confederate Solders and Confederate Statesmen, a question begs to be answered. Do these people understand what is the legacy of these people they so fiercely defend? Do they have a clue of the history of these folks they idolize? Do they have a clue what these folks were willing to do to protect, indeed defend what their ancestors felt was some kind of inborn right? The right to own another human being was assumed to be a God-given right.   Judging by monuments, Statues and other places of notoriety bearing the names of Southern Traitors, one would think the South won the war.  People hanging on to the legacy of the South after the South surrendered are saying, “ My ancestors may have lost the civil war, but we, the offspring’s of the folks still believe what they believed, what they fought to preserve. Some called it States Rights-The right to own a human being, among other things.

The very people who demand a public place for the Southern Military and Southern office holders names and statues during the civil war continue to see them as patriots. They see them fighting for a just cause. How can these traitors be views as patriots?

Henry Steele put it in perspective in writing in 1954. He opined about who are the really disloyal.

Who are the disloyal?  Those who inflame racial hatreds, who sow religious and class dissensions. Those who subvert the Constitution by violating the freedom of the ballot box. Those who make a mockery of majority rule by the rule of the filibuster. Those who impair democracy by denying equal educational facilities. Those who frustrate justice by lynch laws or by making a farce of jury trials.  Those who deny freedom of speech and of the press and of assembly.  Those who demand special favors against the interest of the commonwealth.  Those who regard public office merely as a source of private gain.  Those who would exalt the military over the civil. Those who for selfish and private purposes stir up national antagonism and expose the world to the ruin of war.

Think about this. Many people, today, 401 yrs. since the introduction of slavery into America, still believe what their ancestors believed. One hundred and sixty five years later, (after slavery ended) many of these same folks continue to hang on to the beliefs of their ancestors. What takes place in America should be very clear to anyone paying the lest bit of attention .  One thing is very clear and troubling. Very little has changed in how millions of Whites view Blacks in America. To these millions, Blacks have not earned equal rights to life, liberty, and justice and the pursuit of happiness.

Forgotten Promises

How did Trump do it.

Scholars continue to wonder how Trump came to power. All they have to do is look at Hitler’s rise to power.  Simply put, he appealed to the emotions of a people.  He took advantage of a people seeking a change from the present. This is why he castigated Obama every chance he got when he was running for office. He continues these attacks since becoming President. He is bound and determined to convince his followers/supporters that every policy decision the Obama Administration made was bad for America. He painted himself as a picture of a Master Fixer, and quick as one could blink an eye, all ills plaguing America would be resolved/taken care of.  Of course, using Hitler tactics, he is very vague in the policies he intends initiating to bring his promises to fulfillment/completion.  As with Hitler, Trump knows to whom he has to appeal.  He knows fully well that there are a significant number of Americans who are easily led. Through the power of persuasion and an appeal to their innermost feelings, he can convince them to accept anything he says as logical, no matter how illogical and untruthful. Trump knows as Hitler did that propaganda must be popular and it intellectual level must be adjusted to the most limited intelligence of those it is addressed to.   

Why do you think Trump continually rant about the Deep State? He is talking about what he sees as the existing Government-a government that he is, according to his followers, ordained to bring down and replace it with some vague idealist form of Governing.  Overthrowing the government, using tactics utilized by Hitler and the Third Reich, is this way Trump goes about things. Creating distrust, anger, class warfare, racism, and unreal-ism is what he does best.  As with Hitler, Trump, utilizing a very effective propaganda machine that drilled into the minds of a people so much mistrust of the government, that they were willing to see changes, any kind of changes, good or bad.  Trump has sown a seed of distrust of the Press, of the Courts and judges, of Congress etc. At this point, his followers’ are brainwashed to the point that they think he is the only one they can trust-that he has all of the answers to all their questions. Trump’s response to the Stock Market ebbs and flows is an indication of how far he is removed from reality. He struts when the market goes up; taking a bow. When it goes down, he says he had nothing to do with it, and everyone and everything else is to blame.

All of the predictions made about Trump during the Republican Debates are coming true. All of the predictions made about Trump during Hillary Clinton’s debate with Trump is coming true. What more evidence does America need to see- to understand that Trump is unfit to Govern America?

Republican Crap Detectors Destroyed

How easily the Fascist wing of the Republican Party hijacked, and indeed, took over the minds of millions of Americans, is a mystery. Nazi Propaganda Minister Goebbels, theorized about how to successfully utilize Propaganda to do just this.  How he arrived at this conclusion, to some folks, is still a mystery. What did he see in people and their behavior that suggested mind-manipulation would be effective?  Goebbels surmised that what was distinctive about the Nazis was “the ability to see into the soul of the people and to speak the language of the man in the street. Think for a moment, where Trump was most successful in his campaign for President of the United States. He went into the Corn and wheat fields. He went into the areas of closed factories, and said he would reopen them. He went into coal producing areas and promised a resurgence of the coal industry. Trump campaigned with the following message? “You are the forgotten working class. Your jobs were outsourced  overseas. Remaining jobs are being taken by immigrants”

Trump campaigned in select areas with one thing in mind. People in these areas could be easily manipulated and his rhetoric would not be questioned. He realized that all he had to do was keep broadcasting the rhetoric and messages that conservative talk radio and fox had been feeding their listeners a steady dosage of, for several years. All he had to do was stay on message. These outlets had trained their listeners to accept Trump and the Republican platform empty promises and lies, as factual.  Talk Radio and Fox disabled their audiences Crap Detectors by appealing to their feelings rather than their thoughts. Thinking in these quarters became a thing of the past.  Both outlets were able to convince their audience that they no longer had to think for themselves.  According to Goebbels, another core part of Nazi grand theory was the dethronement of reason and the celebration of emotion. Nazism felt rather than thought, and therefore the nature of its propaganda appeal was also to feeling rather than thinking. If you take a look at what takes place in a Trump rally, then go back and look at films of a Hitler  rally, one has to see how much they are alike-what appeals to their audiences. His message and Hitler elicits the same response of the crowd and mirrors each other. As with Goebbels and Hitler, Trump uses the same tactics. He knows how his followers really feel about racism. All he has to do is give them a platform to relieve this built-up passion. According to historian Neil Gregor, the principal objective of Nazi propaganda was “to absorb the individual into a mass of like-minded people, and the purpose of the ‘suggestion’ was not to deceive but to articulate that which the crowd already believed. As Trump Spokesperson Kelley Ann Conway said; there are alternate facts. This is the life that Trump lives. Unreality has become his and his supporters reality.

Look like bird does not make soup

Fascism

How Hitler conquered Germany

The Nazi propaganda machine exploited ordinary Germans by encouraging them to be co-producers of a false reality.  Written by Nicholas O’Shaughnessy.

Some of my thoughts mirrors those of this writer.

I, along with many so called thinkers often opine about the constant outpouring of lies and half-truths broadcasted over every available propaganda platform, 24 hours per day; especially those which appeal to those with Fascist leanings. Trump and his handlers learned a long time ago that their message did not have to appeal to the intellectual masses. Instead, aim it at the emotional and mental world of the easily influenced and poorly educated. The message does not have to be understood by thinkers.  The message must appeal and support the preconceived notion of those to whom it is aimed. In other words, an outlet for these emotions. Trying to understand what Trump is doing from an intellectual perspective is almost, if not, totally impossible. It just does not make sense!

If you go back and look at what Hitler and his folk’s messages were, and how they were disseminated to the masses, what Trump is doing becomes clearer. It mirrors what Hitler did. Repetition is the order of the day. No matter whether truthful or not, just keep saying the same thing every day. Those getting his messages out to the public, must be of the same mindset and attitude. Keep feeding them the same garbage, sooner or later they will learn to enjoy the taste.

Years ago, what the Republican propaganda machine is doing was once called Brainwashing-total repetitive, outpouring of ideas and messages. These messages are easily transmitted to even more people over the Internet. The airwaves are saturated with republican leaning ideas. This propaganda apparatus has penetrated the so-called Christian broadcasting networks; including Radio, Television, and the Internet. It appears to be especially acute in the Midwest. The repeated exposure to this propaganda is bound to have an effect on the thinking and reaction of many people.  Given time, many people become weaken by the persistence of the message, and eventually give in and accept the ideas being perpetuated.

Finally, Trump and his propaganda machine aligns exactly with that of the Third Reich. This is how Goebbels put it. “The mass mind was dull and sluggish, and for ideas to take root, they had to be constantly re-seeded: recognition, comprehension, retention, and conviction are different stages in the cognitive process, and repetition can facilitate them. It is important to remember, therefore, that what Nazi propaganda also offered was the dubious benefit of sensory exhaustion. The citizen was not a target to be persuaded so much as a victim to be conquered, ravished even. They wanted internal commitment, not just external compliance. The understanding of the intellectuals.¹⁸”Goebbels also said this”. It is true that we had only one thing to say, and we yelled and screamed and propagandized it again and again with a stubbornness that drove the ‘wise’ to desperation. We proclaimed it with such simplicity that they thought it absurd and almost childish. They did not understand that repetition is the precursor to success and simplicity is the key to the emotional and mental world of the masses. We wanted to appeal to the intuitive world of the great masses, not the understanding of the intellectuals.

Giving credit where credit is due

America was warned about the eventual Meltdown of the Stock Market during the rein of the Trump administration.  Of course, Trump and his supporters said nothing was further from the truth. Well here we are. Trump is not totally to blame for the meltdown. However he is responsible for creating false and unsustainable Stock Market numbers. Remember how he pressured Chairman Powell causing him to make unnecessary maneuvers and adjustments in the Federal Reserve?

Trumpsters, you gave Trump credit for the increase in the Stock Market. I agree, he should be given credit. Now, if he has that kind of control of the Stock Market, then it stands to reason that he be given the same consideration when the market is in decline. Please do not exonerate him from the decline of the Stock Market. If you give him credit for the sunshine, then give him credit for the thunderstorm. I watched as he gave indirect hints to his Wall Street buddies to buy or sell stock. He indicated he had made a great Trade deal with China. This was untrue, but it caused a surge in the Stock market. I am waiting for him to say something that will stabilize the market. This situation is exactly what many voters were afraid of. They knew he was ill-prepared to deal with issues of this sort. Didn’t many people say that there would be a meltdown of the Market? Well, here it is. He is ill-prepared, and is not surrounded with people who can guide him and America through some very troubling and uncertain times. Of course, Trump will do as he always do, deny any responsibility for the downward spiral of the Stock Market. Just wait, he will take credit as soon as the market heads in a different direction. More troubling is that his rabid supporters are unwilling to hold him responsible for the direction the Stock Market is currently headed, despite lauding over him, and suggesting his decisions were driving the market when it was posting daily record highs. Folks, stop being selective, when it comes to holding Trump responsible. Remember, he said he could do anything he wants to do as President. AG Barr and his Republican enablers agrees with him. I am sure he wants the market to head in a different direction. So Master Trump, speak the word! Say the magic words that will get you and your supporters that which they are breathlessly waiting for.

While America Slept

In 1940 John F. Kennedy wrote a book titled While England Slept.  In this book, Kennedy suggested England did not do enough to prevent WWII. He was of the opinion that England ignored the actions of Hitler until it was too late-too late to reel him in. So here we are in 2020 with the same situation. While America slept, the groundwork was laid for Trump to come to power.  The Groundwork was laid by Conservative Talk Radio. In 1988 a blowhard named Rush Limbaugh come on the scene with a show on AM radio.  At first, he seemed somewhat moderate in his political views. Most people thought he just had a good get-rich scheme to rip off his listeners and sponsors. This may have been true until his show was hijacked by hard-line Conservatives, with especially troubling racist tendencies and beliefs. Still America slept.

As with Hitler and his rise to power, Trump rose to power, because people did not take him seriously nor did they take his handlers seriously, until it was too late. While America slept, Limbaugh,  Boortz,  Savage, Levin, Gallagher, Ingram, Cunningham, Herman Cain, O’Reilly, and other blowhards were greasing the skids for Trump. Still America slept. Fox cable news showed up in 1996 and eventually became the prime conservative propaganda apparatus; thanks to Rupert Murdoch. Sean Hannity got  on board the Fox train in 2009; on board with O’Reilly to become a team of an outstanding Republican Propaganda apparatus. Still America slept. America never thought of what these folks had in mind; the unthinkable idea that an individual with the behavioral characteristics of Trump would be assisted in his effort to become President of the United States.   Still America slept.

The potential power of these media hosts was unthinkable when Limbaugh took to the national airwaves by storm in 1988. But over three decades, Conservative Talk Radio and FOX used the special bond they forged with their audiences to reshape the Republican Party in its current image. For millions of listeners, the change has been electrifying. For excommunicated moderates, this show hasn’t been entertaining in the least.  Still America slept.

During the 2016 Presidential campaign/debates, viewers and listeners heard and saw an individual (Trump) as some loudmouth that did not have a chance of being elected. Little did the masses know that this was exactly who Conservative Talk Radio and Fox Cable News had in mind when they unleashed their propaganda apparatus prior to 2016. Beating the drum in its  own way for the ascendance of Trump was the Salem Broadcasting System. This outlet showered its listeners with copious helpings of religious banter and propaganda, especially suited for Trump. Still America slept.

For a fleeting moment, millions of Americans thought the impeachment inquiry and trial would wake up America. Not so, I am afraid. So while America slept, Trump and the Republican Party cult, without an amendment, changed the United States Constitution. Sleep on folks, do not bother to wake up long enough to register, go to the polls and vote.

Trump is unfit to be President

Wonder who is Trump’s Theo Morell? Morell was Hitler’s personal doctor and he kept Hitler doped up on all kinds of drugs, especially during the last years of his  administration.  Morell kept this fact hidden from the German population. Who is Trump’s personal Doctor? To whom is he obligated to, besides Trump?  Is his personal doctor, in any way, obligated to make public, Trump’s medical condition-mental and physical? At what point is he obligated to tell the truth about Trump’s health; mental and physical?  To whom should he confide in regarding these urgent and obvious matters? Should Americans know the truth health of its President? America is back at the door of another impeachment inquiry. Obviously Trump is delusional and has lost touch with reality. No amount of drugs will make him fit for office.  Those who continue to support him, no matter his behavior, are suffering from a bit of the same disorder. Is, in fact, all lawmakers under the same obligations as the President when it comes to upholding the laws of this Nation? Presidents swear to Preserve, protect, and defend the Constitution of the United States. It is within congressional powers to remove him from office when it becomes plainly and painfully obvious that a President is unfit, physically and mentally to fulfill his oath to this Nation.  In fact, it is their duty to remove him from office utilizing their constitutional Authority. Failing to do so, they should be removed from office.

Stench in the White House

When I was just a boy growing up on a farm in Randolph County Alabama, I had hunting dogs. Every now and then, one of them would come back to the house reeking of skunk Urine. In other words, he had gotten too close to a skunk. Those of you who know anything about skunks, know you can recognize them by their stripes as well as their smell. This one dog I had tangled with a skunk more than once and the results were always the same. Lo and behold, we now have a skunk in the White House. He reeks of dishonesty, lying, disregard for the laws of this nation, common decency, racketeering and adherence to expected norms of the President of the United States. When he was campaigning for the office of President, his true colors and smell were laid bare,especially his propensity for taking liberty with the truth. Many of his competitors were aware of his character-flaws, and made light of them during the Republican Debates. Nothing has changed about Trump since the election, except he has become more bold in his disregard for common decency and the US constitution. One question begs to be answered- why have the same Republican Lawmakers who tried to get away from the Trump stench during the debates, suddenly decide they will stay close to him no matter how bad he stinks up the place? What does he offer that make this stench more tolerable and acceptable? These same lawmakers, go back into their States and districts, dripping in skunk juice picked up in the Trump atmosphere. Their supporters, hate this smell, but are willing to hold their nose and continue to follow the fellow with the Skunk stripes. You know, black and white. He is out there in plain sight, spraying this awful odor and proudly displaying his stripes. We now have most Republican Lawmakers, not only willing to put up with the stench, but proudly wearing the Black and White Stripes as well.