Down with the King
Two hundred and forty-eight years ago today a vote was taken on the Lee Resolution.
It read:
These United Colonies are, and of right ought to be, free and Independent States, that they are absolved of all allegiance to the British Crown and that all connection between them and the state of Great Britain is and ought to be totally dissolved.
President Adams believed it would be July 2nd that would be celebrated by “succeeding generations as the great anniversary festival.” He imagined a day of fun, pomp and ceremony from one end of the country “forever more”.
The author of the Declaration of Independence, Thomas Jefferson, the man who succeeded Adams as president — after a tie election settled in the Congress — talked about the Fourth of July in his final letter.
He said:
For ourselves, let the annual return of this day forever refresh the recollections of these rights, and an undiminished devotion to them.
The two founding fathers had grown estranged and bitter from political differences. Jefferson defeated Adams and Adams became the first American President turned away from power by the American people. He left.
Today, there is a quote by President John Adams inscribed on the mantle of the fireplace in the State Dining Room at the White House. It reads:
I pray heaven to bestow the best of blessings on this house and all that shall hereafter inhabit it. May none but honest and wise men ever rule under its roof.
Before they died, the two men — friends, rivals, opponents and enemies — reconciled.
Both founding fathers died within hours of each other on July 4, 1826. Fifty years to the day of American Independence.
Two hundred and forty-eight years ago today, Americans overthrew the king, yet now face the prospect of an American Caesar being elected in 126 days.
Donald Trump will act without restraint, guardrails or any worries whatsoever about the legality of anything he does. From now on if the president does it then it is A-OK.
The Roberts Court has placed the American president beyond the reach of American law and any restraints whatsoever.
This is a moment of deep crisis for the republic because another enormous crack has appeared in our foundation. Donald Trump has obliterated the American people’s faith in fair elections, and the line between fantasy and reality is indistinguishable for scores of tens of millions of Americans.
Trumpism must be opposed.
Thus far, it has only rolled forward and stands today stronger than it has ever been as a political movement. A great tragedy is playing out in America today. We should remember what stands to be lost.
What the decimated Supreme Court did to us yesterday is F*cking horrific - Is anyone going to organize a massive protest? I’m 70 and just finished chemo and it’s not an undertaking for me, but we desperately need some groups who care about democracy enough to get us off our butts. Black Lives Matter was a good example of what should be happening now. We need to respond en masse to these farcical, newly created rules fit for a King that are unconstitutional led by a far right runaway Supreme Court. If we start holding protests, I for one, will drag myself there repeatedly, if it’s the last thing I do.
Assuming Biden remains the nominee, the most important thing he can do is "take the wind" out of Trump's "sails". And this is one way he can do that:
My opponent says he wants to be a dictator—but only for one day. Isn’t that kind of like a woman saying she wants to be pregnant—but only for one day?
Well, here’s my response: you want a dictator? You want someone who sends his militias into poor neighborhoods and shoots people someone said were dealing in drugs, like Duterte did in the Philippines? I can do that. You don’t have to vote for a guy who stiffed everyone who enrolled in his university, and then wound up having to lay out $25 million to compensate those people.
You want someone who pushes his critics out of 6th-floor windows, like Putin in Russia? I can do that. You don’t have to vote for a guy who was fined $2 million for taking in people’s money for his foundation and then spending it all on himself.
You want someone who throws his opponents out of helicopters, like Pinochet in Chile? I can do that. You don’t have to vote for a convicted rapist.
You want someone who builds concentration camps for illegal immigrants and then deports 11 million of them? I can do that—as long as you’re OK paying 20 dollars a pound for strawberries and grapes and tomatoes.
You want someone who tells you he’s going to build a wall, then doesn’t, and tells you Mexico will be paying for it, which they never would have? I can do that. You don’t have to vote for a guy who was sleeping with a porn star while his wife was nursing their baby.
You want someone who stiffs his contractors, or who makes their lives so miserable they settle for pennies on the dollar? I can do that. You don’t have to vote for a guy who was fined over 400 million dollars for defrauding the State of New York.
Look, I could go on and on like this, but you get the point:
If that’s what you want—a dictator—just so you might be able to pay 10 cents less for a dozen eggs and 20 cents less for a gallon of gas, then I can do that! You don’t have to vote for someone who has shown, his whole life, that he cares about one person and one person only—himself—even though he says he cares about you, says he’ll be your “retribution”—retribution for what: the Affordable Care Act, that has given millions of people health insurance they otherwise wouldn’t have; for the Infrastructure bill that’s rebuilding the roads you travel on, the bridges you cross; for bringing millions of manufacturing jobs back to America; for overseeing record low unemployment? Retribution for that?!
But OK: if that’s what you want, I can give it to you. Just let me know by November 5th.
Look, folks, I get it: you like to be entertained, and my opponent is far more entertaining than me. Heck, he was a reality TV star for 14 years; how you gonna top that?!
Just one question: with about 10,000 TV channels, and at least 50 different ways of getting entertained on the internet, isn’t there at least one other place you can go to for your entertainment the next 4 years? Does it have to be from the Oval Office every day?
And yes, I’m old. But my ideas aren’t; my policies aren’t. The people I surround myself with aren’t. When you vote for me, you’re voting for them—and, let’s be honest, you’re voting against a guy who surrounds himself with people who seem to spend a lot more time in court and in jail than they do building homes for our less-fortunate neighbors!
So, that’s your choice: if you want a dictator, I’m your guy! But if you want someone who cares about you, who has been working tirelessly for you, who cares about this country, then…I’m your guy!
Either way, just let me know by November 5th.