TRUMP BODY SLAMS JEWS, CHOKES CNN, INCITES VIOLENCE...

There can be no debate about whether or not President Trump "caused" an anti-Semite to open fire and murder 11 Jews in a synagogue not far from where I grew up, in the only big city I knew as a child (we visited the Carnegie Museum, the Buhl Planetarium, saw the Pirates at Forbes Field, flew out of the airport on our long trips). Even if the bastard claimed he didn't like Trump and wasn't inspired by him, the links are easy to follow (see below).

There can be less doubt about whether he inspired the pipe bomber who targeted almost every one of Trump's enemies- in politics, in the media, and private persons. Because if you throw lit matches into a room with a number of cans in it, and a few of those cans contain gasoline, odds are good that one of them is going to ignite.

No, the debate has to be about how best to remove that president from his office, and how to do it in such a fashion as to chasten his would be successors who would otherwise engage in incendiary race baiting, xenophobic, bigoted demagoguery- either because that's who they are (Trump), or because they are intelligent but deeply flawed and cynical (i.e., Ted Cruz) and think it's a winning strategy.

I don't want straight impeachment as my first choice, unless it is preceded by indictment and a pending trial that can end in a conviction or a guilty plea or a deal that includes resignation. I want Trump to actually serve prison time for any crimes for which he can be lawfully convicted.

Because until we strongly uphold the principle that no one is above the law (and I blame Barack Obama for whiffing on that opportunity when it was handed to him January 20, 2009, when he declined to prosecute his predecessor and others in the Bush administration for kidnapping, torture, and murder), we won't have a Constitutional Democratic Republic.

Until we recognize that the media have a responsibility which goes beyond "he said, she said" or "both sides" or the absurd calls for "bipartisanship" (Them: "we want to take 20 million off health insurance, causing 10,000 deaths annually"- the bipartisan solution: we'll meet you half way: "how about only taking 10 million off, causing 5,000 deaths annually?" How's that for a "bipartisan compromise?"), until the media start reporting the obvious truth (John McCain did not "defeat President Trump" when he put thumbs down on a straight repeal of the Affordable Care Act- he saved thousands of lives of people who would have been denied health insurance by the "skinny repeal" that never had a "replace"), we're going to be stuck in this quagmire.

So when someone like Trump says "put armed guards in the Temple" as a solution- just ask him how many mass shootings there were in Australia, which has had none since they legislated sensible gun control after their last one more than 20 years ago? Then report on the number of mass shooting deaths the last 20 years in every other civilized country that has gun control (none). Put that front and center when running his remarks. When he says "we need the death penalty" ask him how that deters the mass shooters killed at the scene or who immediately suicide? Then report the impact on the murder rate in states that have the death penalty (higher) than those that don't.

And when the president and his cult followers continuously attack George Soros, a Hungarian Jew who survived the Holocaust, immediately ask him (or them): "Other than being a Jew- what has George Soros actually DONE that offends you?" None of this delusional right wing bullshit that he "funded the Caravan" and other absurd accusations leveled at Mr. Soros in recent years: demand proof of everything. And when they can't produce it? Tell them that they are either anti-Semites or seeking the support of anti-Semites.

Then report how the right wing attacks by Trump and Fox et al. on Soros were a basis for a pipe bomb being mailed to him and a mass shooting in a Pittsburgh synagogue and the rise in white wing anti-Semitism. And do point out, media, Trump's support for nationalist figures in other countries who are more openly anti-Semitic and whose nationalist (yes, it is a dirty word, Mr. Trump!) don't have to bother to use code words or to attack straw men like Mr. Soros.

What do we do, we ask? Vote for Democrats, because until they control both houses of Congress, you won't have any gun control legislation, sensible or not. Call out anybody who uses code words or who attacks prominent liberals but who can't actually explain what they are attacking (like the recent post about conservatives who complained that they "suffered" under 8 years of Barack Obama, while listing all of the significant economic and foreign policy successes (and he got Bin Ladin) of his tenure). Don't let anybody in the media get away from calling somebody a "conservative" without asking: "conserve what? For whom? White power? Wealth for the rich? The ability to poison the environment or deprive employees of the right to organize or have decent health insurance?"

Don't let them get away with calling a Democrat a "socialist" (every attack ad against Stacey Abrams contains the word as an epithet) without asking them to define that word, explain what policies the Democrat proposes that fit the definition (expanding Medicaid and Medicare appear to be about it), then how that would hurt the people of that State or the country? Hold their feet to the fire when they say their bullshit: in debates, on Meet the Press, at press conferences, the camera blowbys outside the House or Senate chambers. Everywhere.

And never, never, never, forget. And never let the fucking, lying, bastards get away with it. Stand up to the bullies, always. That's what I've done my whole life and my whole career. It's actually very rewarding.

AFTER THE DELUGE: HOW TO GOVERN IN A POST REPUBLICAN WORLD

There are two places I do some of my best thinking. One is in the shower, and if I have an upcoming trial or hearing, sometimes my best ideas are created there. The other is on what used to be (and I hope will be again soon) my daily 3.4 mile walk to and around (twice!) Lake Loretta. Today, on my way to Lake Loretta, I pondered how best the Democrats should govern when (not if) they retake both houses of Congress and the Presidency. My first idea is that process matters more than substance, because without a fair process, nothing else is possible- or will last.

First idea is to reverse the effects of the Citizens United decision, super political action committees (PAC's), and "dark money," without doing any damage to the First Amendment's guarantee of freedom of speech. Because television is central to political campaigns and the millions of dollars poured into attack ads, my suggestion is that Congress should recognize that because the airwaves are owned by the public, and every station has to receive its license from the Federal Communications Commission (FCC), Congress should pass a law requiring that any political ad which attacks a candidate for political office (State or Federal) must first be previewed by the person being attacked, who will then be allowed to record a rebuttal which will be twice as long, will air immediately following every broadcast of the attack ad, free of charge, but will include as a speaker only the candidate being attacked. This idea is akin to the central concept of judo- turning the attacker's strength and momentum against him. This law in no way infringes on the First Amendment rights of the entity or person which airs the attack ad, but will so defang the attack- in fact, providing a positive boost to the attackee- as to make those ads useless.

Second idea is complete ban on all money contributions to candidates and all solicitation of campaign contributions, designating all of them as what they actually are- bribes. Instead, all federal elections will be publicly financed, and all candidates' ads on television and radio will run free of charge- because the public owns the airwaves- limited to a specific number, specific length of each ad, and a deadline before the election (say 90 days) when they can start running.

Third idea is an anti-trust type break up of any mass ownership of local broadcast stations, as the Sinclair Company is attempting to do. Local stations should be locally owned, and not owned by a few huge corporations which can mandate mass reading of political editorials and slant on how news is covered. https://www.seattletimes.com/entertainment/tv/turmoil-inside-komo-news-as-conservative-owner-sinclair-mandates-talking-points/

This can actually be accomplished rather easily, as local stations must periodically have their FCC broadcast licenses renewed every eight years, and the solution is to only renew licenses of locally owned stations, which will effectively force divestiture by the large corporations which otherwise will have a useless asset.

And this morning, I discovered that some great minds think alike, as I found from this essay in Washington Monthly by David Atkins: " Bipartisanship is Dead. Time for Democrats to Embrace Their Inner McConnell."
https://washingtonmonthly.com/2018/10/06/bipartisanship-is-dead-time-for-democrats-to-embrace-their-inner-mcconnell/

"Among these fixes would include but not be limited to:

1) Making election day a federal holiday, and perhaps moving it from Tuesday to a weekend.

2) Pushing a majority of states to sign onto the National Popular Vote compact.

2) Securing statehood for Washington DC and Puerto Rico, thereby securing representation for those citizens while limiting the overrepresentation of rural white conservative states in the Senate.

3) Limiting gerrymandering and voter suppression by states in whatever ways are constitutionally possible, including by pressing for non-partisan districting commissions, automatic voter registration, full vote by mail systems, paper ballots with paper trails and more.

4) Securing responsible immigration reform and a rapid pathway to citizenship.

5) Adding more justices to both the appellate courts and Supreme Court."