Rule of Law? Respect for Democracy? Not in the Age of Trump…

Remember the quote–attributed to John Adams–to the effect that the then-new American Constitution had created “a government of laws, not men”?

One of the most important improvements in our human efforts to improve governance was development of the concept of rule of law–the radical notion that fair rules should be established and everyone–including government officials and others in positions of power– should be expected to follow those rules (including the rules on how rules should be changed).

Adherence to the rule of law, in spirit and fact, is absolutely essential to the legitimacy of a governing authority.

Which brings us to the truly outrageous behavior of Republican lawmakers in North Carolina. As the New York Times reported earlier this week,

Republicans in the North Carolina legislature on Wednesday took the highly unusual step of moving to strip power from the incoming Democratic governor after a bitter election that extended years of fierce ideological battles in the state.

After calling a surprise special session, Republican lawmakers who control the General Assembly introduced measures to end the governor’s control over election boards, to require State Senate approval of the new governor’s cabinet members and to strip his power to appoint University of North Carolina trustees.

Republicans also proposed to substantially cut the number of state employees who serve at the governor’s pleasure, giving Civil Service protections to hundreds of managers in state agencies who have executed the priorities of Gov. Pat McCrory, a Republican.

These extraordinary steps–taken in the wake of a democratic (note small “d”) election that produced a result displeasing to the state’s GOP–unquestionably violate democratic norms, and may well violate the North Carolina state constitution.

The election of a Democratic governor came despite sustained Republican efforts to suppress African-American votes–efforts so transparently and blatantly aimed at (disproportionately Democratic) black voters that a court described them as “surgical.” Several of those measures were struck down, but a number of others–moving polling places, shortening voting hours–had the intended effect.

Even in the face of massive vote suppression, the Democratic gubernatorial candidate somehow won.Hence the special session to strip the new Governor of authority–and the transformation of North Carolina government into an illegitimate putsch.

As the Times editorialized

This legislative power grab is the latest underhanded step by a state Republican Party desperate to stay in power in a state where demographic changes would normally benefit Democrats. Republicans in North Carolina, a presidential battleground state, have used aggressive redistricting and voting suppression measures that are among the most brazen in the nation to win elections. The courts have blocked some of these efforts, but Republicans have found workarounds, for instance, by limiting voting hours and sites.

Calling what is happening in North Carolina a “legislative power grab” is like calling cancer a “minor illness.” It is a shocking violation of democratic norms, and a frontal attack on the rule of law.

It is one more element in America’s current wholesale retreat from the principles that did make America great.

50 Comments

  1. Yes, like the emergency managers that were appointed in Benton Harbor Michigan after the city’s bankruptcy in ’10. and Detroit in ’13. I see a pattern here. The GOP are fascists and communists. So it’s no wonder their approval rating of Putin is higher than the Presidency of Obama. (Insert cuss word).

  2. North Carolina has blatantly moved back in time to the post-Civil War Soverienty (note the capital S) rule. This later became the (White implied) Citizen’s Councils (1954, white separation/white supremacy sub-groups), after 1956 named Citizens’ Councils of American and on to Council of Conservative Citizens in 1985 which was/is? a collaboration of KKK and white supremist political agendas. This appears to be what we now view as “white nationalists”; not sure if it is actually organized and named but Steve Bannon could tell us. So could Trump and/or Pence.

    Are these conditions (for want of a better word) more difficult to pinpoint due to the addition of other entire groups of people (dark-skinned, religious affiliations, sexual orientation?) in this country who are targeted in the same manner as African-American citizens have been for centuries? I was thinking just this morning about the crime rates in specific areas in Indianapolis which IMPD says it is targeting for better protection to stem the crime rates. We have had Black Expo and Circle Center Classic for many years; making it appear Indianapolis is a welcome place for African-Americans but…that crime rate soars in “their” areas and the death rate continues to climb. Where is Joe Slash and the Indianapolis Urban League? Sam Jones’ voice was heard loud and often; especially regarding black-on-black crime and voter registration and voting. Indiana has become North Carolina with cold weather, snowstorms and this morning dangerous ice-covered streets and highways. What is our local white nationalist organization called – the Republican party?

  3. JoAnn,

    “What is our local white nationalist organization called – the Republican party?”

    And we better start acting ACCORDINGLY as quick as possible or all [democracy]will be lost by January 20th. What in the hell are we waiting for?

  4. “What is our white nationalist organization called – the Republican Party?” You nailed it again, JoAnn.

    More and more it appears to me that the Republican Party is made up of two factions: the ignorant whites from the world of racism and magical thinking and the wealthy whites from the “greed is good” world. They are used by and thrive on each other… and they are destroying this country.

  5. Pro-democracy Americans are FROZEN just the like the Jews were in Nazi Germany. In the last three days, traffic on my multiple websites have more than tripled, most of which coming out of Europe and the only visible response out of the U.S. is from North Carolina, especially Winston-Salem.

  6. Bernie Sanders and his social democracy are certainly no cures, at least not at this time in history. The only cure is the COURAGE to stand up and we have a very short supply of that in the U.S. at the present time.

  7. RJD

    Is this kind of legislative action part of a Republican long range plan? They pulled it here in Indiana and now they are pulling it in NC. Voter suppression not enough? Gerrymandering not enough? Plotting with the enemy (Russia) not enough? If there was ever any doubt as to what the Republican Party would do to totally control the country, even at the expense of freedom, that doubt has been erased.

  8. Theresa : More and more it appears to me that the Republican Party is made up of two factions: the ignorant whites from the world of racism and magical thinking and the wealthy whites from the “greed is good” world. They are used by and thrive on each other… and they are destroying this country.

    YES. And yet I keep reading that we libtards (their word for us) is what is destroying the country because we won’t tolerate hate, bigotry and outright lies. We’re just “poor little snowflakes.” Separate worlds indeed.

  9. Once again…if you look at the GOP only, you are missing the point. Notice the NYT focuses mainly on the fraudulent puppets who are front men for the Billionaires who pull their strings.

    If you think republicans are the only ones with Billionaire puppet masters, you missed the great fraud of 2008, or the greatest grab of wealth this nation has ever witnessed. Who repealed Glass Steagall which allowed banks to gamble with our money? Who deregulated the banks?

    Democrat, Bill Clinton. Who allowed the fraudsters to continue pillaging the global financial community? Democrat, Barack Obama.

    Despite all the criminality which took place on Wall Street, Citibank (Obama’s main donor) chose his administration. Barack allowed Wall Street to come down hard on Wall Street. It was a joke.

    I stopped counting after the bailout and subsequent easy money policies used to clean up bank balance sheets totaled $14 trillion.

    Meanwhile, Neoliberal policies are inflicted on the global community. Austerity for us. Bail outs for Wall Street. Check out the stock market. LOL

    The so-called democratic party (notice the small d and p) is a joke and it’s why they’re using Vladimir Putin as a scapegoat, but Americans are catching on. As it stands now, we don’t have a democracy, and haven’t for a very long time. We are ruled over and Neoliberalism is oppression.

    Trump used propaganda and won. The democratic party doesn’t have an answer for the people because they represent Wall Street. Wall Street has been using their ownership of the “party of the people” to enrich their personal and corporate financial statements at the expense of average Americans.

    Marv says, “Sanders and his social democracy are certainly no cures…”. WRONG!

    The truth is, socialism (a planned economy) is the only solution to free market capitalism. You’ll be seeing something equivalent to the Labor Party emerge in the USA. The smart leaders within the democratic party are starting to see this now. Maybe they can have Jeremy Corbyn from our British parent come explain the nuances.

    The other cure is authoritarian fascism. You’ll get to experience four years of this solution under Trump/Pence/Koch/Oligarchs. The problem here is Trump lied to voters, and is not representing the people…his appointments have tipped off the world on his con job.

    If you thought oppression was bad under neoliberalism, just wait…

  10. Marv – a few days ago you said you would establish a web site to enumerate steps we should take to fight back. Have you done that and what is the site.

  11. Wayne,

    “Marv – a few days ago you said you would establish a web site to enumerate steps we should take to fight back. Have you done that and what is the site.”

    The website is http://www.StandUpToPower.org. It’s still under construction as you can see. It’s a work in progress. Most of which should be completed by the end of this weekend.

    I mentioned the first step a few days ago: Start a movement to impeach Donald Trump. We have a winnable case right NOW before the deluge hits us in the face.

    Todd,

    “Marv says, Sanders and his social democracy are certainly no cures….”. WRONG!”

    Try to be a little more accurate. I said, “Bernie Sanders and his social democracy are certainly no cures, at least not at this time in history.” Are Bernie Sanders and his social democracy in the U.S. ready to take on Donald Trump? Maybe I’m missing something. Please fill me in.

  12. For 4 years brave citizens in NC protested their corrupt government weekly. Moral Monday rallies. 4 years. Every Monday. Many were arrested but that didn’t stop them. These rallies received weekly news coverage raising awareness with the public about what was really happening at the state legislature. Did the elected officials care that people were calling attention to their outlandish behaviors of restricting voters rights and LGBTQ rights? Nope.

    Many believe it was Moral Monday that helped to eke out the defeat of the morally bankrupt Governor.

    These brave patriots again stormed the state house at the most recent public display of theft of democracy the legislature pulled after the defeat of the crony Governor. These brazenly criminal legislatures are up to their antics again — in broad daylight, so to speak. And the people were there again to raise their voices in protest and to be arrested again.

    Every Monday, Every week, arrests a certainty. For 4 Years. This is what resistance will look like. The leader of Moral Monday has come to Indpls. We here in IN can do the same. The Q is will we Hoosier have same fortitude as our North Caroline brothers and sisters to wage the good fight? Will good Americans step up and resist? Thefight is long and hard and victories are few and elusive. Our fellow citizens in NC have shown and are showing us how it is done They continue to perservere wben in the face of blanent tyranny. True heroes.

    I ask these questions for myself. Am I ready to sacrifice my time, my professional reputation, my criminal free record to go do battle for Justice and Democracy? All Americans who see what is going and are appalled and heart broken and pissed need to ask these questions of themselves because clearly these are dangerous times and the battles that need to be waged will require much sacrifice.

    So much to consider in a cold gray morning.

  13. The Reverend Dr. William Barber suggests that we need a movement to keep issues in front of the people. That’s what his “Moral Mondays” has become. It should be noted though that Democrats and activists in North Carolina also pursued legal action.

    The Republicans have spent the last 8 years in court fighting everything President Obama has done. Last night I heard Michael Moore suggest that it’s now the Democrats’ turn to go to court. that may be the only way to stop some of what will be rolling downhill. If you think you have standing, call the ACLU.

  14. What the Republican establishment in North Carolina is doing to democracy is indeed feeding the cancer of power for its own sake and will ultimately come back to bite them. They will find that they cannot do what they are doing without destroying the legitimacy of government when and if their own party comes back into power at the executive level. The people of North Carolina, despite massive (and probably unconstitutional) roadblocks to their rights as citizens to vote, have made a choice, and the Republican legislature is engaged in effectively refusing to abide by such choice with their stripping game. Do they really want to set up a system where the peoples’ votes are immaterial as each party plays a tit for tat game in stripping one another’s powers upon accession to office, and if the powers of the executive are stripped, then who exercises such powers when there are no mechanisms for carrying out the functions of government? Further, if stripping is to be the norm after elections that are adverse to the interests of either the legislative or executive branches, then who is to say that the powers of the legislative branch are immune to stripping as well in the future, so that, in effect, the will of the people will have been ignored and the benefits of democracy denied?

    I see severe constitutional questions on both state and federal levels looming and would suggest (if I were representing the duly elected governor of that state) that suit be brought in federal rather than filed in the quagmire of state courts to address this insult to democracy. It seems to me that thinking Republicans (if any) in North Carolina would favor a continuation of democratic principles and traditions over temporary political advantage, but then what do I know in a bizarre election year featuring Putin and Comey and others who are also interfering with our rights to enjoy our most precious asset, our democracy?

  15. Peggy,

    “It should be noted though that Democrats and activists in North Carolina also pursued legal action…..Last night I heard Michael Moore suggest that it’s now the Democrats’ turn to go court.”

    Similarly, as I stated about Bernie Sanders, don’t rely on Michael Moore or the ACLU at this time in history. We’re witnessing the PRELUDE to domestic warfare. It won’t be fought in the courts, nor prevented by the Courts.

  16. North Carolina, following the lead of Virginia, has become a blue state, light blue admitally. The citizens there have had to suffer from political manipulation of some of the worst kind. The courts, hopefully, will allow justice to prevail. We need to support these efforts for restoring a level playing field.

  17. What is occurring in NC is a virtual coup and was not spontaneous by any measure. Clearly the exiting governor delayed his concession for two weeks to give the coup planners plenty of time to formulate their takeover. The Kochtopus and ALEC are the foundation of the takeover going back decades. The discussion yesterday makes it clear that it will only get worse as technological advances eat away at work opportunities and wages worldwide.
    We are at a pivotal point in history, one of those eras when we can fight up and out or sink into another Dark Age of fear, ignorance, and concentrated power in the hands of a self-appointed new aristocracy.

  18. We’ve seen this abuse of power both in Congress and in our own state legislature. If they can’t win by the rules, then they change the rules. Sometimes they get away with it and sometimes they don’t, but it doesn’t stop them from trying. They can at least make some power grabs while their abuse is duked out in the court system.

  19. “Frozen” is a good word for the Democratic Party and many democrats Marv. The othe accurate word is silent. We could all call the DNC ((202) 863-8000) and attempt to set a bit of a fire under them. I did so yesterday. The man answering claimed to be writing it down.

  20. How could I forget this…except this effing election has me addle-brained.

    Overnight I saw an ad for all of Trump’s cabinet appointees on the TV; rows of pictures of them rolling across the screen so I wasn’t paying attention till the end. Trump asked Indiana voters to call DONNELLY to support his cabinet appointees. Will we hear from Donnelly or any Indiana Democrat about this?

  21. The ACLU is a terrific organization. But it isn’t anywhere near the answer to our problems. Over the years their main emphasis, very much like Sheila, has been freedom of speech. The major problem we’re now facing is the loss of all the freedoms associated with a democracy when a neo-fascist movement takes firm hold. The ACLU has no answer to that and neither does any court.

  22. Theresa, et al. Cease and desist calling ignorant those of our neighbors who are hurting for all the changes which have taken place in the last 60 years. Automation and corporate greed, not ignorance, are the cause of their distress. Reagan used ‘welfare queens’ to inflame racism and blame the impoverished. He was wrong. We who have a living wage or income if retired must not make Reagan’s mistake. Work to make life better for the underpaid and underprivileged.

  23. JoAnn,

    I love this term that you mentioned – “What is our local white nationalist organization called – the Republican party?”

    I am now going to refer to the GOP as the WNO!

  24. Marcia, that link looks good but with my wide screen laptop, it’s so hard to read. They need a web developer that can format ALL THAT TEXT so that it’s easy to read. Like Sheila’s page, make it like a newspaper column so that you can easily read down the page and make it mobile friendly. Otherwise, great stuff! Thanks for sharing.

  25. Nancy; thanks for appreciating the connection. With Trump asking white folks to thank black folks for not voting and asking Indiana residents to call DONNELLY to support his cabinet appointees…what can Republican people like Mayor Bill Hudnut be thinking? President Obama is tiptoeing through the cow patties with every mention of Trump; I am hoping for a full explosion of his true feelings and what he knows when he is no longer president and has to weigh his words carefully. It must be heartbreaking for he and Michelle and frightening for Malia and Sasha to leave the sanctuary of the White House. They will never again be as protected as in their temporary home on Pennsylvania Avenue.

  26. Alison,

    “Am I ready to sacrifice my time, my professional reputation, my criminal free record to go do battle for Justice and Democracy?”

    You have pointed out the reasons so many of us are very careful about what we say and do and who we speak to about these issues. The financial and social costs could be davastating – especially the financial costs. Most small business owners are Republican and would show us the door immediately. Thos of us in the working class cannot afford to lose our jobs when there are no other jobs out there to obtain. This enables the powerful elite to keep us silent.

  27. Any one who thinks Republicans believe in democracy hasn’t been paying attention for the past 30 years.

  28. Todd, good post. Sanders had the cures for what ails us, but that unique pivot point or decisive battle was lost. Blame “deplorables”, Comey, Fake News or that old reliable villain Russia and/or Putin, blame everyone else except the Corporate Establishment Democratic Party for the loss. The Democrats nominated the perfect Maginot Line candidate – Clintonism of the 1990’s. Here in Indiana we got Evan Bayh and John Gregg. We always fight the last war. Problem was Trump went around the Democratic Party’s Maginot Line.

    The 1% could care less what person is the White House or Congress as long as it serves their need for greed. The 1% can be flexible on gay, rights, gay marriage, woman’s rights, civil rights, etc., as long as these social issues do not interfere with profit. The 1% does of course does encourage fighting among the voters – must divide and conquer.

    The Republicans take no prisoners. What’s mine is mine, and what is yours is negotiable. What happened in NC was pre-dated a century ago. Native Americans were herded unto reservations, treaties were signed and solemn promises made. However, when gold or some precious metal, was discovered on Native American Land, or just a land grab was needed, well just change the law. Then send in the Army to enforce the new treaty.

    The Trumpters will find out Trump’s promises are like pie crust made to be broken.

  29. Nancy,

    “Those of us in the working class cannot afford to lose our jobs when there are no other jobs out there to obtain. This enables the powerful elite to keep us silent.”

    That’s the way it is and it will be much, much worse after January 20th. The protests in North Carolina are commendable, but they were not undertaken under a Trump/Pence Administration. During the last four years, Barack Obama has been our President and if things had become out of control in North Carolina, like in the 60’s, the national government could have intervened. That is not the case now with the Trump/Pence administration looming in the horizon.

    The situation is NOW much worse than in the 60’s. The majority of Americans back then were for a democracy, I doubt if that is the present case.

    From what I have observed, I don’t believe the pro-democracy forces have the wherewithal to ENGAGE. Our only chance and it is slim is for significant Republicans to decide to DIS-ENGAGE from supporting the potentially disastrous anti-democracy policies of the Trump/Pence administration.

    That’s why we need to heed the advice of Wayne Moss.

  30. Of course slavery is the concept that owning other humans is not morally reprehensible. Oligarchy and aristocracy are the political equivalent. If you recall ending those was the reason for both the Revolutionary and Civil Wars.

    Now they are back to be tested again by those who think that they are entitled to power.

    Examples are everywhere. The Trump Dynasty ensconced in their personal Versailles, Trump Tower. The third Koch Brother, Rex Tillerson, pretending to be qualified as Sec State. Money everywhere you look in Trump’s ass kissing entourage.

    I just can’t see any possibility of this ending well.

  31. Respect for democracy? No, respect was lost years ago, and it’s only recently that we’ve opened our eyes and discovered it’s our own damn fault, our collective fault of establishing two aristocratic celebrity-status ruling groups, Democrats and Republicans, who do public battle every 4 years and do private lunches during the interim.

    They are playing us like Masters of the Wurlitzer.

    Would you pay $50,000 to have coffee with Ivanka Trump? According to Charity Buzz, someone will pay for that premium coffee, obviously not your regular cuppa joe, on December 20 in New York City.

    If you’re the outdoorsy type, it’s not too late to enjoy an afternoon boat ride and tour of the Kennedy Compound with the Kennedy Family in Hyannis Port. The current bid for an afternoon of hobnobbing with the Kennedy’s is $12,500. Bids are still open.

    Would you pay $100,000 for dinner and a personal picture with Tim Kaine? That’s a rhetorical question as the dinner was in September. http://mynewsla.com/government/2016/09/19/would-you-pay-100000-for-picture-with-hillarys-vp-tim-who/

    We seem to prefer our leaders of democracy to be a blend of pseudo-aristocracy and Hollywood celebrity. What’s to respect about that?

  32. Marv – in re your 10:30 note – Let’s try the courts first before moving to the next step in trying to rectify last month’s electoral catastrophe.

  33. Gerald,

    “Marv – in re your 10:30 note – Let’s try the courts first before moving to the next step in trying to rectify last month’s electoral catastrophe.”

    I been tracking the MOVEMENT behind “last month’s electoral catastrophe” every day for the last 35 years and have [successfully intervened around a dozen times]. We can’t take a chance on just the court system. My evaluation, for whatever that Is worth, is that there is no effective remedy in the courts. And if an effective counter-movement is not in place by January 20th, then it will all over, except for the shouting.

    I will list those successful encounters against the underlying systems of the MOVEMENT on my new website http://www.StandUpToPower.org by the end of the weekend.

  34. Gerald,

    Along with my successful predictions, I’m also going to list those behind the numerous retaliations I have received over the years for exposing the truth. Screw’em.

    We’ve run out of time.

  35. Well, this is the 2nd rise of the Confederacy, isn’t it? The sickness that is the American South NEVER accepted the rule of law, and they still don’t. And guess what, that sickness has found a home in the hearts of Northern rural people, ignorant, forgotten, and the losers of the modern economy. So now we, those who actually believe in the principles of this nation’s founding, live on islands of education and prosperity, while the “losers,” roughly half the population of the country, heavily armed and very angry, surround us.

    Of course we know their uprising is a sham, a convenient conspiracy on the part of oligarchs to use the frustrations of their victims to put an end to democratic foolishness. But it isn’t a sham to the victims, and they vote, and that is the enabling factor that will allow the oligarchs to destroy us. Think about it, how would one go about informing and educating the good, wholesome, religious people of rural Indiana to all this? How would one go about turning this state blue as it should be?

    I don’t have that answer, but I fear we either must find the answer, or begin training and stockpiling ammunition. CW II is not outside the realm of possibilities.

  36. And where are the Democrats? Were they ever even trying to be a solution? Above someone implies that the two parties are not the same. No, they are not. One is the oligarch party, bent on complete domination and fascism. The other is a collection of professional whiners and do-nothings, perpetual (and happy to be) victims. I am sorry I ever spent a moment supporting them. From the human parasites like the Clintons and Debbie Wasserman-Schultz to the legions of lawyers and hangers-on who view politics as a perpetual job machine, the Democratic party has turned into a massive distraction to triangulate people away from real change. Wasn’t that Slick Willy’s favorite buzzword? Triangulation? Funny, that.

    No, they are not the same. One is in charge, and the other is a collection of the usefully greedy and their idiot followers. Oh, did “trigger” anyone? Was that a “microaggression?” I am so very sorry. I hope you all feel empowered and fulfilled never threatened by scary words as you accept your positions in the fascist tyranny of the near future.

  37. Well, I kind of thought waterboardings, force feedings, foreclosing homes using false documents, spying on Americans and bombing seven countries was illegal, but what do I know?

  38. When I lived in Mexico I went prepared for the frontier style lawlessness that I was warned about.

    What I learned was it was a natural and predictable cultural adaptation to politics that imposed the privileged few on the struggling many.

    It will come to pass here inevitably and the artitocracy will use it as an excuse for more power for them and less freedom for us.

    Now we know the dynamics of the black and blue violence that is a growing problem here.

  39. Adams exaggerated. We have, in fact, trusted in the character and integrity of our public servants, relying on them to observe some unwritten rules and traditions of civics and civility. There are a multitude of examples in which our current public servants have violated that trust, one of the most ominous being the Senate Republicans’ refusal to give fair consideration to President Obama’s Supreme Court nominee. Although I’m sure there are examples of Democrats violating that trust, it certainly seems to me that the Republican Party, once it was infiltrated by the Tea Parties, has made it a common practice. Even so, I want to see votes cast in the Electoral College the same way the state voted. I know the arguments about “Hamilton electors” and that the E.C. was intended as a safeguard against the people making a bad choice for President, but that was in the 18th century. Today, voters fully trust that the vote of the people in each state will be reflected in the votes cast by the electors, and I don’t want to see that trust betrayed. I want to see the E.C. eliminated in favor of election of the President by popular vote in an election in which no single vote counts any more than another, but those weren’t the rules that governed this election.

  40. mirsm; “Today, voters fully trust that the vote of the people in each state will be reflected in the votes cast by the electors, and I don’t want to see that trust betrayed.”

    TODAY is not the day voters fully trust that the vote of the people will be reflected by their electors. Electors in many states have stated publicly that they are receiving literally thousands of letters, E-mails and phone calls asking them to change their vote from Trump…not all asking those votes to change to Hillary just so it is away from Trump. If you have been watching the news…NOT social media, Facebook posts and Tweets (unless you are watching Trump’s foolish Tweeted arguments with Alec Baldwin and SNL), but actual news broadcasts you have seen him flaunt his “win” with his so-called “Thank You” tours. You have seen him refuse to attend intelligence briefings because “he is too smart to need intelligence briefings”. You have watched him alienate our long-time allies, two of which tried to pass laws to prevent Donald Trump from crossing their borders. Try PBS if you don’t like MSNBC, CNN or Fox News and local news cannot be counted on. This election seems not to have any rules…or format or protocol to follow, especially this post election turmoil and tragedy of errors.

    If “the E.C. was/is intended as a safeguard against the people making a bad choice for President” today is the day to go AGAINST THE WAY THE STATE ORIGINALLY VOTED in those states where Trump was considered the winner as there cannot be a worse choice for president than Donald Trump. The Russians proved years ago that Adolph Hitler is indeed dead. Until and unless the Electoral College is repealed we can only hope and pray they change their vote as allowed by the Constitution and as is required as their responsibility to protect this country.

  41. I can only imagine the GOP outrage if the Congress were majority Democratic and tried to do the same to the President. Here’s hoping North Carolina voters becoe so incensed that they’ll throw the bums out next election.

  42. What has been long operating in the shadows as we have progressed with our technology revolution, and futures, has now become more of a force, presenting change with a force we seemed to totally not expect. It has been very inconvenient for many of us to admit these things, which didn’t directly effect us so much in the past, were building. A very short view of inevitable change so it now seems. Stepping back away from the fray, we are able to now note the warning signs, many of which Marv seems to be including in his Web site and his sharing here, that were subtle and there for us to see all along.

    Being fearful, allowing fear to limit our viewing what is occurring can be our downfall; as will dividing ourselves from others with views which seem totally opposite to ours. Walking in their shoes in our minds and understanding, may perhaps allow us to come up with alternative solutions not imbued with the emotion of fear. Not that concern is not in our beings, just that it is not seasoning our opportunities for creative and critical thought.

  43. Barbara G,

    “Stepping back away from the fray, we are able to now note the warning signs, many of which Marv seems to be including in his Web site and his sharing here, that were subtle and there for us to see all along.”

    We’re all at risk right now. What I’m attempting to provide at http://www.StandUpToPower.org is a political MRI of the “body politic” composed of a series of images (sonar like) from both Dallas and Jacksonville over more than 50 years in order for ALL us to be able to make a proper DIAGNOSIS of the spreading virus of hatred that is putting at risk the future, not only, of our democracy, but also, our ability to protect ourselves from our enemies abroad.

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