When the occupation of Minneapolis started nearly three weeks ago, I decided not to post about the situation, as everyone who reads this blog knows where I stand vis a vis Trump and his nightmare of an administration.

When Renee Good was murdered by an out of control ICE agent, with little regard for freedom and democracy, not to mention common decency, I again opted not to comment, even though it looks likely that her killer will not be punished or held to account in anyway.

I feel, however, that I must speak out about the brutal murder of Alex Pretti, a VA ICU nurse, who died while trying to help a woman who had been pushed to the ground by a mob of masked and armed ICE agents. These hooligans then turned on Pretti, wrestled him to the ground and shot him in cold blood. He had a gun, and a permit to carry it, but he never once threatened to use it. From the videos that I have seen it appears that Pretti was executed.

Lydia Polgreen of the NYT has called it an “extrajudicial execution by security forces. This is where we are: armed agents of the state killing civilians with an apparent belief in their total impunity.”

Yesterday, after Alex Pretti’s death, the son of a man Pretti had cared for at the VA hospital published a video of Pretti speaking at his father’s deathbed. “Today we remember that freedom is not free,” Pretti said. “We have to work at it, nurture it, protect it, and even sacrifice for it. May we never forget and always remember our brothers and sisters who have served so that we may enjoy the gift of freedom. So in this moment, we remember and give thanks for their dedication and selfless service to our nation in the cause of our freedom. In this solemn hour, we [give] them our honor, and our gratitude.”

I am grateful that the people of Minneapolis are out in the streets protesting this occupation, even in subzero weather. I am heartened that other smaller demonstrations throughout the country are happening as well. We can not let this violence become normal, and the Trump administration needs to be held accountable. I don’t think that it is trite or hackneyed to compare what’s happening in American cities like Minneapolis to Nazi Germany in the 1930s.

Yesterday, the White House posted a new version of the January 6th Insurrection, a complete rewrite of history. In this new version, the insurrectionists who attacked the U.S. Capitol on January 6, 2021 were patriots, and “President Trump took decisive action to pardon January 6 defendants who were unfairly targeted, overcharged, and used as political examples. They were not protected by the leaders who failed them.” 

In the election of November 2024, Donald Trump won the presidency and the Republicans captured both the House of Representatives and the Senate. They have the power to pass and enact new laws and to undo and repeal old laws and regulations; they do not, however, have the right to rewrite history, nor do they have the right to sacrifice and destroy our democracy.

After nearly a year of sending masked and armed troops into the peaceable streets of American cities, this administration now thinks that it can unilaterally undo 80 years of rules based peace and kidnap and extract a president of another independent nation. Without a doubt, Nicolas Maduro is an awful man who has killed many thousands of his own citizens and ruled Venezuela as a ruthless dictator, but there are international rules and organizations that are designed to deal with such actors. The Trump Administration did not seek allies to deal with this man in a lawful way, but instead decided to seize the moment in an incredible “macho” use of American armed forces. Clearly, this was not about narco drug trafficking but all about OIL. God knows we need to be pumping and burning ever more oil, pushing our climate ever closer to a complete collapse

America is now in the hands of a billionaire’s cabal which is content to allow Trump to do whatever he wants as long as they are unfettered in their pursuit to make themselves even more rich and powerful, while average Americans find the American dream slipping through their fingers.

I hope and pray that the foundations of our American Democracy are strong enough to resist and turn back this evil tide. America’s midterm elections are set to occur in a little more than 300 days from now–will they? I believe that this our only hope.

Yesterday, the Trump administration illegally invaded Venezuela and extracted the president of the country, Nicola Maduro, without consulting Congress, a clear violation of the War Powers Act.

This preemptive strike is no different than Putin’s unlawful invasion of Ukraine; we have lost the moral high ground. It has so far proven to be very difficult to convince Putin to withdraw from Ukraine and treat for peace to end this nearly four year war. The U.S. now certainly has no moral persuasion to try to convince Russia to do so. What will we do when Xi launches an attack on Taiwan?

ThIs administration is filled with sycophants, and the spectacle of watching Rubio and Hegseth praise the “dear leader” for his courage and vision in attacking Venezuela was nauseating, to say the least. The Supreme Court has given Trump a “get out of jail free card” but his henchmen will not enjoy such treatment.

We continue to treat our allies and friends worse than our enemies. At a press conference following the invasion and extraction, Trump warned Colombia’s president Gustavo Petro that he has to “watch his ass.” He continue by saying “Cuba is going to be something we’ll end up talking about,” and he further warned that “something will have to be done about Mexico.” “American dominance in the Western Hemisphere will never be questioned again.”

While Trump has the time and energy to launch a self-aggrandizing war, he continues to ignore affordability and inflation, the release of the Epstein files, and rising health care costs. I fear the Republican dominated Congress will do nothing to rebuke Trump, but we can only hope that the American people will. Meanwhile, our world is becoming dangerous every day.

Earlier today, President Trump posted on his social media the following:

“Rob Reiner, a tortured and struggling, but once very talented movie director and comedy star, has passed away, together with his wife, Michele, reportedly due to the anger he caused others through his massive, unyielding, and incurable affliction with a mind crippling disease known as TRUMP DERANGEMENT SYNDROME, sometimes referred to as TDS. He was known to have driven people CRAZY by his raging obsession of President Donald J. Trump, with his obvious paranoia reaching new heights as the Trump Administration surpassed all goals and expectations of greatness, and with the Golden Age of America upon us, perhaps like never before. May Rob and Michele rest in peace.”

This man is supposed to be the President of all of the people of the United States. One might hope that he, like most of his predecessors, might feel the need to act like a Comforter in Chief instead of a crazed and angry man, always intent on saying the absolute worst thing possible about people he dislikes, even when confronted by a tragic death.

I have struggled with this posting for a couple of weeks now, and I am still not totally comfortable with it. Our country is so divided, and I know that some readers don’t always agree with me. That’s totally OK, but I feel the need to share my concerns about our country and our democracy.

Donald Trump won the presidential election in November 2024; most commentators says that the number one reason people voted for him was their concern about the economy. Although he only won by a small plurality, he and his administration have often claimed to have a mandate, and he has certainly sought to govern as if he did, overturning norms and frequently ignoring the courts when they tell him he is acting illegally.

The president manages to dominate the news; I was just looking at the NYT online on my phone. As I scrolled through the top 15 headlines, he was mentioned in 12 of them and seldom in a good light: tariffs, ICE raids, Ukraine, and the economy just to name a few.

My biggest concern is what I see as an assault on our democratic norms. The president has sent national guard troops and ICE agents to Democrat run cities all around the country, supposedly to maintain peace and roundup so called “illegal” criminal immigrants. Never mind that most of these cities having falling crime rates and moreover have not asked for any assistance to maintain law and order or restore peace. Recently two national guard soldiers were shot in Washington, DC, and one of them, a 20 year old young woman died from her injuries. Trump has blamed the “crazy left” for these deaths., but he is wrong.

I am deeply sorrow for this woman’s death, but she would not have been shot and died had Trump not illegally chosen to occupy the streets of our nation’s capital. Just a few days before this incidence, a federal judge had declared that the president’s use of masked and armed ICE agents and national guard troops was unlawful; a fact that the president and his administration have chosen to ignore.

The week before Thanksgiving, the Trump Administration presented a 28 point peace plan to Ukraine, which was clearly authored by Putin and the Russian Government. Among the many problems this peace plan contains is a proposal to give away one fifth of Ukraine’s territory to the Russian aggressor. The plan would also force Ukraine to reduce its army and prohibit the country from joining NATO and the EU.

Our Secretary of State seems not have known anything about this proposal and worked with European leaders to improve the proposal. I recently read that Ukraine, with the support of Europe, has rejected the proposal. While the world dithers, though, Russia continues to wage their horrible and illegal war on Ukraine. Every Ukrainian daily lives under the threat of a Russian attack, and thousands of civilians, including many children have died unnecessarily. Ukraine’s freedom is our freedom; we need to do everything possible to maintain their freedom.

Just a few days ago, the Trump Administration released the revised National Security Strategy, which is mandated by Congress. It looks like America and Europe and as well as other allies are going their separate ways. This administration would have us abandon NATO and other security pacts around the world as we pursue an America First strategy. Why are we doing a complete votte-face or about face after we have enjoyed 80 years of peace? How can anyone believe that a world dominated by a few superpowers, abetted by bad actors like Iran and North Korea, can possibly be the correct path?

Now it looks like our current, totally inept Secretary of Defense thinks that engaging in war crimes is a good policy. Despite what the President says, we are not at war with Venezuela. Congress has not authorized a war. Narco-traffickers are not terrorists and trying to smuggle illegal drugs like cocaine and fentanyl into our country is not an act of war, as reprehensible as it is. We do not have the legal right or authority to willy-nilly shoot boats out of the water in the Caribbean or kill shipwrecked survivors after we have blown up their boat. These people are not a threat to the United States. This is a a desperate attempt to distract us from a failing presidency.

It looks like Congress might be beginning to push back on the illegal acts of this administration. I surely hope so. The Supreme Court is completely owned by Trump and his cronies, but most of the lower court judges continue to be willing to tell the President he is wrong, even if he and his henchmen decide not to abide by their rulings.

Finally, how are you feeling about the economy? If you make more than $200,000 a year and are enjoying the exhilarating stock market ride, probably pretty good. If, on the other hand, you depend on Medicaid or SNAP you are most likely feeling uneasy and wondering how you are going to feed your family or pay for your medicines. Most recipients of Medicaid or SNAP are working full time or taking care of children or a sick or aged parent. Finding a place to live is becoming increasing difficult as well. And lest we forget, Trump and his family have increased their wealth this year by FIVE BILLION DOLLARS!

PS: Just as I was getting ready to post this, I heard the news that the US had seized a Venezuelan oil tanker…can a full blown war be far away?