MUST READ.  LONG, BUT MUST READ.

The Atlantic is reporting that the Trump campaign has been conspiring for MONTHS to steal the election, no matter what the will of the voters.  The plan is much like we’ve talked about before, but even worse. Trump’s nonsense is now starting actually make sense; his continuous ranting about mail in voter fraud has been a signal for loyalists to vote in person, because millions of mail in ballots will be declared fraudulent, justifying his refusal to concede an election he’ll clearly lose.  Trump has been coordinating with Republican lawyers and legislatures in the battleground states to ignore the popular vote (citing said alleged fraud) and appoint electors to vote for Trump no matter the actual vote in those states.

This report is bone chilling, but connects all the dots.  Michael Cohen was right; Trump will never leave office willingly, and is depending on corrupt politicians in the battleground states to violate their oaths to the Constitution and the people to keep him in office.

Spread this far and wide.

Seven of Ken Paxton’s senior staff sent a letter to the director of human resources of their agency accusing him of taking bribes, improper influence, abuse of office, and other potential crimes.  The Austin American Statesman obtained a copy of the letter today.  The staffers state they’ve already provided evidence to law enforcement.

In true form, Paxton denied the allegations and then threatened the staffers with prosecution.  This should be entertaining.

Trump has announced that all Medicare recipients with be receiving $200 cash cards to “buy their prescriptions”.  It’s yet another brazen example of Trump’s mafia tactics, this time trying to buy votes from seniors.  AND, it’s yet another subversion of the rule of law and use of taxpayer money to personally  benefit himself.  How’s he doing it?  He’s using a provision in the Social Security Act that allows agencies and even the private sector to test programs to improve Medicare.  That provision is NOT intended to just give away money to buy votes.  This provision allows for demonstrations of new programs, but requires extensive review and approval; as well such demonstrations are supposed to be revenue neutral.  In bypassing the law, the administration is waving away questions saying that his executive order on prescription drugs (which doesn’t actually do anything) magically makes this $6.6 billion vote buying scheme “revenue neutral”.

The lawless Trump corruption train continues barreling towards the abyss as this latest brazen attempt to rig the election in his favor with him shouting from stages all over the country that it’s actually Democrats doing the rigging.

I’m so tired.

The Washington Post started releasing audio tapes of 17 interviews Bob Woodward held with Trump since last December.  They are blockbuster, including Trump actually admitting ON TAPE that he lied to the American people about the severity of the Coronavirus pandemic for months.

Woodward’s book also quotes Trump as saying of US military leadership, “my fucking generals are a bunch of pussies”. They care more about their alliances than they do about trade deals.”

In other news, Brian Murphy, a senior career DHS staffer, filed a whistleblower complaint against senior current and former DHS political appointees, former DHS Secretary Nielsen, Chad Wolf, who is serving as acting DHS secretary; and Ken Cuccinelli, the deputy DHS secretary. The complaint details orders from said appointees for DHS to lie to congress and downplay Russian interference and other foreign threats that would “make Trump look bad.”

To add insult to injury, today Trump named right wing nut bags Ted Cruz and Tom Cotton to his list of potential Supreme Court nominees.  No shit.

Yesterday, Bill Barr’s Justice Department announced that it was taking over the defense for Trump against E. Jean Carroll’s defamation case against him in relation to her charge of a 1990’s rape she alleged.  The Justice Department has claimed that Trump calling Carroll a liar was within the boundaries of his official duties as president.  No shit.

Lastly, the House Oversight Committee has announced the beginning of an investigation into Postmaster General Louis DeJoy into an illegal reimbursement scheme that paid his executives back for making contributions to Trump and other Republicans, a felony.

Happy Wednesday!

Trump’s tsunami of bullshit dragged on for over an hour last night, illegally staged at the White House Coronafest of loyalists and GOP congressional invertebrates.  During his narcissistic tirade Trump repeated one of his favorite whoppers – that he created the “greatest economy in history” and that last month the US added 9 million jobs, “the most ever added in history”.  The tiny detail he omitted is that we’re still down 12 million jobs lost since, asleep at the switch, he allowed COVID-19 to paralyze the economy, costing trillions of dollars, millions of lost jobs, and wiping out the savings of millions of Americans.

Trump is the biggest bullshitter in the history of the presidency.  Hell, he’s the Mozart of Bullshit.  I’m pretty sick of it and how his sycophants swallow said bullshit as if it’s apple pie with Blue Bell. Let’s hit these lies head on.  The following charts are 25 years of key economic measures.  First, GDP growth:

Average GDP growth tends to run 2% to 3% per year.  That continued during the entire Trump infestation, with no material changes up until this year. There are two notable aberrations in the rate, one the Great Recession in 2008 at the end of the GWB administration, and, of course, this year where Trump’s incompetence has driven the economy into the ditch and will probably finish down 14%, the worst economic performance in modern US history.  This is what happens when you have a lunatic at the helm of the US government.

Second, wage and salary growth:

Wages and salaries follow a similar pattern general rising and falling with the economy.  The same aberrations are apparent here, with no abnormally high growth rate during the first 3 years of the Trump infestation.

Third, unemployment rate:

Unemployment, up until Trump’s massive 2020 failure, continued to follow the same trajectory established during the Obama administration as the economy recovered from the Great Recession.  You can see the explosion in unemployment rate this year.

Lastly, the S&P 500 Index:

There is one measure where Trump is correct – the stock market.  With the Fed pumping in trillions of dollars into the economy by buying US debt, it is propping up stocks.  Combine that with Trump’s massive tax cut in 2017, and there is clearly a winning class in this economy, and we know which one that is.

So, I’m here to call Trump’s bullshit, bullshit.  He has fabricated from whole cloth a booming economy and prosperity which simply doesn’t exist in any form.  Add this to Trump’s massive failures in public health, diplomacy, trade, environment, and social justice and it’s impossible for anyone only marginally objective to call Trump qualified for another term.

The takeover of the GOP is complete. The Republican Party capitulated to Trump in toto today, declining to even propose or vote on a platform, the first time in history.  While struggling to stay vertical with no spinal columns, the rules committee issued a statement, courageously stating –