Phoenix

 

My soul is in destruction.

There is so much to unpack about the loss of our national treasure, Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg.

She has reminded us that there is a better version of America. To say "icon" or "hero" is beyond inadequate. She was what was holding us together; she was the embodiment of a more perfect union. 

We are what we are today because of Justice Ginsburg.

Today we mourn, hearts burnt and busted. It feels like the world has come down around us.

But we cannot stay in the rubble long. We must push off the crossbeams, dust ourselves off, and get the hell back on our feet. We must rise up, just like she did, time and time again, for us. 

Justice Ginsburg was resilient; she was uncompromising; she did more. Now it's up to us.

This was her wish in how to be remembered:

"Someone who used whatever talent she had to do her work to the very best of her ability. And to help repair tears in her society, to make things a little better through the use of whatever ability she has. To do something, as my colleague David Souter would say, outside myself. ‘Cause I’ve gotten much more satisfaction for the things that I’ve done for which I was not paid."

Now let us use whatever talent we have to do some work to the very best of our ability. Let us channel Justice Ginsberg's energy, her resilience, her tenacity, and let us work hard toward a more perfect union. 

We must do more. If you've made 10 phone calls, make 10 more. If you've donated to a Democrat candidate, donate a little more. We have 45 days to save our democracy.

Our democracy depends on our participation. Please honor Justice Ruth Bader Ginsberg and ACT. The stakes have never been higher.

• Call your Senator and tell them to hold McConnell accountable and delay a SCOTUS confirmation until after the inauguration. Another easy way to contact your Senator is to use Resistbot. It works through text or Messenger to send faxes to your Members of Congress. 

• Call these vulnerable Republican Senators. Ask them to wait on a SCOTUS vote. Senators Susan Collins and Lisa Murkowski have already stated they support waiting until after the election for a vote. Call these others and pressure them as well:
• Mitt Romney - (202) 224-5251
• Martha McSally - (202) 224-2235
• Cory Gardner -  (202) 224-5941
• Chuck Grassley - (202) 224-3744

• Train for phone banking.

• This postcard writing campaign could use your help: Postcards to Voters. Be part of a grassroots movement to boost Democratic candidates in battleground districts! I've written postcards to voters in Florida to get out the vote; in support of Amy McGrath in her race against Mitch McConnell; in support of Cal Cunningham who has a good chance of winning a Senate seat in North Carolina; and in support of Dianne Mitsch Bush running for a congressional seat in Colorado.  

          If you're local, contact me. I'll give you postcards and stamps if you'll write them!

• Here's a letter-writing campaign: Vote Forward

• There are 13 chances to flip some Republican Senate seats. There are several seats that are especially vulnerable. Help these candidates out and maybe we can flip the Senate. This site will spread donations around to help Dem candidates who need it most: Get Mtich or Die Trying. My favorites to try to flip:
• John Hickenlooper in Colorado, challenging Cory Gardener's seat.
• Sarah Gideon in Maine, challenging Susan Collins.
• Amy McGrath in Kentucky, challenging Mitch McConnell.
• Mark Kelly challenging Martha McSally in Arizona.
• Steve Bullock challenging Steve Danes's seat in Montana.
• Theresa Greenfield in Iowa, challenging Joni Ernst. 

"So often in life, things that you regard as an impediment turn out to be great, good fortune." – Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg

Resist. Dissent.

What magic be here?

Clay Jones

What magic pixie dust did Bob Woodward sprinkle over SCROTUS to make him speak honestly – and coherently – over several telephone interviews?

Under what delusion did IMPOTUS believe that it would paint a rosy picture of him to speak to the journalist who, along with partner Carl Bernstein, brought down the Nixon presidency?

I know, I know, "bombshell" is so hackneyed since 2017. But oh my golly. This one starts fires.

He knew. He understood. In a moment of clarity for the 45th President* of the United States, he was absolutely crystal clear about the threat that COVID-19 represented to the citizens of the nation. He understood that this was a gravely deadly threat. He knew it early. He knew it, he understood it, and yet, he lied to us all, from Day 1. And his lies have cost nearly 200,000 lives in the last six months. 

This time, we don't have some anonymous Whitewash House source. We don't have a contrite former staff member. We don't have an estranged relative. We have the Odious One himself, in his own voice, on tape. 

Watch:

This POS purposefully "downplayed" the threat in order "not to induce panic." Instead, his actions induced complacency and willful ignorance, causing millions of people to contract the disease, countless citizens to be left with serious long-lasting health effects, and hundreds of thousands to lose their lives.

Today we mark the 19th anniversary of the September 11 attacks. It has been a custom to read aloud every name lost on that day. It takes over 3 hours to read the names of those who perished. If we were to name every American who died from COVID-19, it would take more than 8 days, reading 24 hours a day, to honor all 192,000 who have died so far. 

He didn't simply downplay the threat of the virus, he actively negated the threat by calling it a hoax, by saying it was under control, by discouraging effective measures such as wearing face masks, by encouraging gatherings, by patting himself on the back for the "good job" he was doing. 

It's not only a complete and utter absence of leadership, it's morally abhorrent and, frankly, criminal. He betrayed the American people's trust knowingly, willfully, and selfishly, for he somehow thought that his actions would somehow help his re-election, even as he knowingly and willfully participated in the death of many of his own base.

Despicable.

Bob Woodward, thank you for crafting your journalistic magic and bringing back the curtain on this ugly, ugly human being. Perhaps by some miracle more will see him for the narcissistic, selfish, despicable, abhorrent pond scum he is and he will be summarily removed from our sight. 

In other bombshells this week, we learned from The Atlantic's editor-in-chief Jeffery Goldberg, that during a trip to France in 2018, marking the 100th anniversary of the battle at Belleau Wood, 45 refused to honor those lost in WWI because soldiers who die are "suckers" and "losers."

Other media outlets independently verified the story, including FAUX News's Jennifer Griffin, who reported on its veracity. King GertRUDE of course immediately called for her resignation. Doing her journalistic duty of searching for the truth? Off with her head! 

The revelation was not a surprise, as we have witnessed him disparage service members left and right, including Sen. John McCain, when he said, "I like people who weren't captured;" as well as casting aspersions on a Gold Star family, among many other insults against the military. 

And kneeling in front of the flag is disrespectful? 

I find it difficult to believe that even one decent human being still supports this person. I guess that's it, isn't it? His base has no decency. It's obvious that the common denominator is repugnancy. Entitlement. Xenophobia. Misogyny. Racism.

And in left-wing bombshells: Nancy Pelosi went to the hair salon! 

She was caught getting a verboten haircut! unmasked! in a San Francisco salon! blatantly disregarding state and local guidelines!

Yes, it was wrong to go get a haircut without a mask. I'll condemn that action. As a private citizen, she shouldn't have done that. As a congressional leader, she shouldn't have done that. But if going to the salon is her biggest scandal, I'll take it. Just please don't lump this behavior with the person who has raped, exploited, caged, lied, bombed, denied, colluded, attacked, diminished, shut down, stole, bullied, mocked, threatened, and demeaned. 

#RESIST

The lad doth protest too much, methinks.

Remember SCROTUS's unscheduled visit to Walter Reed hospital last November?

Apropos of nothing*, yesterday he tweeted, 

It never ends! Now they are trying to say that your favorite President, me, went to Walter Reed Medical Center, having suffered a series of mini-strokes. Never happened to THIS candidate - FAKE NEWS. Perhaps they are referring to another candidate from another Party!

— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) September 1, 2020

The tweet left people scratching their heads. An out-of-the-blue tweet about an incident 11 months ago. No one in the news media had recently suggested that he was suffering TIAs, transient ischemic attacks (aka "mini strokes"). Shortly after this tweet, the Whitewash House physician Dr. Sean Conley released a statement at IMPOTUS's request:

"I can confirm that President Trump has not experienced nor been evaluated for a cerebrovascular accident (stroke), transient ischemic attack (mini stroke), or any acute cardiovascular emergencies, as have been incorrectly reported in the media."

Protest much?

Well, perhaps no one in the media has speculated about his multiple TIAs, but I have!

You know I've written extensively about his speech and language symptoms, pointing to a neurological condition. 

Here is my blog post after that very same trip to Walter Reed. It outlines a lot of the disordered speech and language he exhibits. And it puts forth my speculation about that unscheduled trip to the hospital. I think he had a larger-than-normal TIA, went to the hospital, it cleared up, and he refused further work-up. 

The truth is he exhibits sudden transient dysarthria, paraphasias, confabulations, apraxic errors, disordered language, and empty speech. Something is terribly wrong. And he doth protest a whole hell of a lot.

I'm gonna start calling him King GertRUDE. 

Envisioning the American Dream. com

I acknowledge that professionals should not diagnose without examining the patient, so my speculation is just that. However, Speech-Language Pathologists use speech and language behaviors to help in diagnosis. There is a ton of data, well preserved, for this specimen. We train on analyzing recordings and videos. I can analyze his speech and language and describe its pathology. In the end, take what I say with a grain of salt, but just one. One little bitty grain.

*it turned out his out-of-the-blue tweet was in response to Bill Clinton's former press secretary Joe Lockhart's tweet asking the question, "Did Donald Trump have a stroke which he is hiding from the American public?" 45 characteristically stretched the point, defended earnestly, and splashed the issue all over the news cycle.