What's the Bar for Being Crazy in America Today?

In past decades it was easy to tell who was crazy. The mentally challenged people in the past wandered the nation's wastelands like outcasts in the 19th and 20th century.

Those unfortunates were easy to spot on the streets because they were doing crazy things like walking around naked and talking to themselves out loud.

But since we've entered the 21st century where crazy people have mainstreamed into politics, the media, and all aspect of our lives, it becomes a challenge to tell who is bat-shit crazy or walking the line of sanity and ideology. 

I'll be blunt here. The Republican party looks like a 19th and 20th century insane asylum where the inmates have taken over.

Right-wing lunatics have infiltrated state and federal governments. 

Their biggest achievement was getting a full-blown narcissistic sociopath elected for president.

One of many crazy media luminaries, Mike Lindell, capsulates the true meaning of insanity. I'm not exaggerating. 

Last week he announced that he was going to drive a truck full of 10,000 pillows for the right-wing activists squatting in Ontario, Canada.

What happened?

The truck, and Mr. Pillow Guy, weren't allowed to enter Canada. Authorities turned his crazy ass around and said go back to where you came from.

A Trump devotee, Mike didn't let that bother him, however. Reality seldom does. So, the next thing he announces he's going to parachute pillows (!) into the protestor's encampments.

As of this writing no pillows have fallen out of the Canadian skies like a twisted Berlin airlift for the protestors comfort.

I'm going to go as far to say that if he flies an unauthorized plane into Canadian airspace he won't be warmly greeted.

But no worry of that happening. Like his election lies, everything Mike's spewed has been discredited and laughed at. By sane people.

Republican lawmakers and activists like to prop him up because he creates chaos and is a great messenger for their apocalyptic agenda.

As we witness Republican lawmakers debasing themselves and their offices, it's important to realize how being crazy has cemented their base.

With people like Marjorie Taylor Greene, Lauren Boebert, Gym Jordan, Paul Gosar, Josh Hawley, and Ron Johnson as standard-bearers the party of Trump has raised the bar on being crazy by ignoring reality and truth-telling.

Where crazy people once wandered the streets practically unnoticed, they now march down streets proudly pushing lies for a twice-impeached president.

Fear of Transparency: GOP State Lawmakers Restricting Reporters Access

If there's one thing the Republican party hates... its transparency.

After the GOP became the party of Trump its efforts have been geared to suppress voters and reporter's access to their meetings. 

A disturbing trend has surfaced where Republican lawmakers in several states are scaling back access to government business.

The reason is simple. Members of the GOP want to dodge the press and any accountability for their actions.

As the pandemic eases up and the public returns to the corridors of state capitols, new rules approved in Iowa last month and in Utah this week critically limit reporters' access to lawmakers.

These rule changes limit when journalists can work on the floor of the legislature where lawmakers sit, making it easier for elected officials to avoid interacting with the press.

The rule changes are a canary in a coal mine. This new trend to obstruct transparency at the state levels is part of a greater plan to transform our democracy into authoritarian government.

By placing these new restrictions it's obvious they have something to hide, or that leadership is taking unwarranted and unnecessary retaliation against reporters who could expose their corruption.

This new tactic of suppression comes in an environment of increasing attacks on the media and parallel new restrictions placed on journalists covering protests and courtroom proceedings.

Behind Trump's Big Lie, the Republican party has descended into fascism at an alarming rate.

Lies wither under the light of transparency and truth. That's why it's important to reveal the anti-American effort to take our republic down.

"Sunlight is the best disinfectant." - William O. Douglas

New Platform for Domestic Terrorists Hoped to Launch on President's Day

What do you call someone who is actively trying to disable Democracy?

A domestic terrorist. That's easy enough to understand. 

So why is Trump, and his minions who are actively sabotaging our electoral system, getting away with it?

The short answer is these domestic terrorists have carved out alternate reality platforms that attract the very worst of truth deniers to a bubble where their fever dreams could come true.

The latest incursion against the real world is an app called Truth Social (talk about irony). It's a clone of Twitter, which the former twice-impeached president was kicked off of.

The platform is currently undergoing pre-launch testing with a goal of President's Day release - which by the way has already been pushed back to the end of March.

The Truth Social's page on Apple's App Store continues to display an expected official launch date of Feb. 21 even though they know better.

The new platform for domestic terrorists of all stripes has a disgraced Republican representative who left Congress to be the site's CEO - Devin Nunes.

Meanwhile, federal regulators are investigating Trump's new social media platform for securities violations.

No one involved in the launch responded when contacted by the mainstream press. The organizers are also being investigated about whether investors in the shady site were told about the probes when their capital was being solicited.

True to form, Trump is out to bilk people - including his loyal minions - by cashing in personally while using a new media platform to spread the Big Lie.

Regulators have noted that there's been serious violations of securities laws during the proposed merger of Digital World Acquistion Corp and Trump's new media company.

It's safe to say that why President's Day this year won't be violated by a disgraced loser announcing an authoritarian agenda. That's down the road.

Breaking News: Russia... 'Wait! There Goes a Squirrel!'

A satellite image shows new deployments and military equipment in Novoozernoye

For the last two weeks everyone in the world has been waiting for Russia to invade the Ukraine.

Recent reports have suggested that Russia could attack today. As of this writing (10:15 PST) the Russian's haven't crossed the border.

I'm going to stick my neck out here and say... no way. Not today. The buildup to this moment has been nothing more than a high stakes game for Putin.

Russian's leader has a long game going and while the world concentrates on defying an invasion, Putin's hammering economies across the globe and especially America's fragile economy with rising inflation.

In other words, Putin has diverted everyone's attention while economic damage is being done against the economies of America and its allies as they wait for his next move.

The USA is already feeling the pain today as oil prices bounced back to $95 a barrel. The US stock market also gave up sizeable gains from Tuesday, with the Dow falling 225 points, or 0.6%, and the Nasdaq losing 1%.

Russia may attack tomorrow. Or the next day. Anything could happen.

Is it crazy to think that Putin never really intended to invade the Ukraine with a massive army? A "Wait! There goes a squirrel" moment?

No.

Like I said, Putin plays a long game. Diversons can be on a grand scale as he moves troops around the world seeking to extend Russia's influence.

Rumors of war can be more effective than an actual physical invasion in international politics. Take a look at who is getting the worst of this deadly standoff.

It sure isn't Russia. 

Republicans are Cannibalizing Their Own in Shasta County

Two rifles are propped up near a "Recall Moty" sign in Clendenen's barber shop.

I have a friend from high school who lives in Shasta County, California, who sent me a local article about Republicans attacking their own.

Shasta County is small, and Republicans have outnumbered Democrats 2-1 for decades. But something sinister is happening there.

Traditional Republicans are being cannibalized by ultra-conservatives and a local militia. The rebels turned against the leadership of the party and are busy canceling them.

The rebels campaign began with recalling a longtime Republican supervisor and inserting one of their own which effectively gave them control of the five-man board.

But how? Where did the money come from? The answer is damning. From a wealthy alt-right donor in Connecticut, Reverge Anselmo.

What was his stake in a tiny California county? Why did he give the rebels so much money? No one knows for sure because Anselmo isn't talking after numerous requests from various press organizations.

The Republican that got ousted, Leonard Moty, who barely had $30,000 for his campaign didn't stand a chance against a war chest of $450,000. What followed was a firehose of attack ads on local television and in mailers.

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How One Small Town Fought Off A QAnon Invasion

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One of the leaders of the group to overthrow Moty, is Woody Clendenen whose barbershop has become a Defacto headquarters for the group. It's festooned with extremist rage, with rifles and ammo next to the barber chair and Let's Go Brandon flags on the walls.

He also has a couple of Confederate flags that he flies whenever he feels like it. 

Another of the instigators, Carlos Zapata, is a local militia member of the so-called California State Militia, a loosely organized band of armed para-military members. 

Zapata and Clendenen (who is also a militia member) wanted the county to return state and federal funds, so it would have freedom to defy the health orders (as in masking).

When the Board of Supervisors didn't respond to their threats at public meetings, the extremists took that as an act of war.

Zapata who became a viral video star for disrupting public meetings is not stopping with infecting just Shasta County. He has plans for a video-campaign called Red,White & Blueprint to take over other counties nationwide.

His template for alt-right wackos promises a 10-episode indoctrination on how to overthrow local government bodies. 

What's happened in Shasta County is just part of an overall campaign financed by ultra-conservative wealthy donors and dark money.

Extremist groups are threating to turn the nation into an authoritarian government. Their leader is a twice-impeached traitor who has divided the nation with the Big Lie.

God save America which is under siege.

Grifters Golden Age: It's Easier Now Than Ever to Scam People Through Fundraising

The 21st century has turned out to be a golden age for grifters and con artists.

Prior centuries had their famous grifters like the infamous Charles Ponzi, but their numbers weren't that high and most con artists historically suffered the consequences of their actions.

Thanks to the internet just about anyone can start a fake fundraiser that'll rake in some serious money.

It's been a grifter's paradise, especially for political grifters (most of Congress and radical political activists in the country today). 

When it comes to cheating people out of their money under false pretenses the former twice-impeached president is without rival.

Trump has been giving master classes in the Art of the Con to his minions for six years now.

Prior to sites like GoFundMe and the other spinoffs, fundraising scams were easier to bust. 

The quasi-legal world of fundraising websites has given a false legitimacy to ripping off gullible donors. Quasi-lawyers defending these websites are as common as fleas on a wild dog.

Recommended reading on the subject

Trump's Sleight of Hand: Shouting Fraud, Pocketing Donors' Cash for Future

How Trump's election scam is still making him money

It's not just politicians getting rich off of donors. Just about anyone can cheat their way to dollars.

To avoid being a victim check out these articles:

GoFundMe Scams: How to identify Fake Fundraisers

Protecting Yourself from Online Scams

Crowdfunding: A Cover for Money Laundering?

If you're a generous person who likes helping others you should do your due diligence before parting with your hard-earned cash. Here's some more tips from AARP.

The Book of Trump: How the Republican Party Ended Up Wandering in a Political Wilderness

The GOP has lost its way.

Like the Nation of Israel in the Bible, Republicans have been lured away from their core values by a false god.

Nationalistic Evangelicals are partly responsible for the rise of Trumpism. They and their alt-right cronies have preached from The Book of Trump for six years now.

By worshipping Trump - the golden idol with tiny hands - conservatives have tossed their core beliefs into the fires of hell. They chose to bow before his Trumpness and to espouse lies from the new gospel of Trump.

As the Republican Party proved in their last national gathering, reality has no place in their world. 

By calling the insurrection a legitimate form of protest and blessing the rioters, the once party of Lincoln has wandered into a political wilderness where there doesn't appear to be a way out.

As Trumpian acolytes continue to collect converts in every state, the message is clear, all hail the Master! We are now the Party of Trump.

Every staunch supporter must read - or listen to the right-wing media -from the Book of Trump (which features a lot of images for those who can't read).

These zealots employ violence like it's their sacred duty, which it is if they've chosen to join the cult.

It's up to the rest of Americans who believe in truth, the constitution, democracy, and freedom for all, to refute the Party of Trump every day.

One way to combat the Trump cult is by voting. Democrats and Independents need to turn out in record numbers for the midterm elections in November.

It's not going to be easy. History is against the party in power during midterm elections.

The Party of Trump is busy creating voter suppression laws in red states where the cult has taken control of governors and state legislative offices.

Knowing this the Democratic Party has to reach into the hinterlands and let people know they have a real agenda for America - unlike the revenge tour Trumpies are planning if they take back the House and/or Senate.

Please. Stand up for America and vote this fall for democracy.