My Plan From Now Until November 5, 2024!

 

There are only 41 days from now, September 26, 2024, until November 5, 2024, the date of the 2024 US Presidential Election.  I have a plan for what I will attempt to accomplish between now and then which will include several goals, all of which are individual steps in my plan to do everything I can as a single human citizen of the greatest country on earth to help ensure that Kamala Harris will be elected as the next President of The United States, and to ensure that TRAITOR Trump is never again allowed anywhere near the White House.  I hope that each of you who reads this has a similar plan and will do everything in your power to carry that out to its fully justified and righteous completion.  Listed below are some of the steps in that plan, hopefully not the full list of steps since I will be thinking everyday until November 5, 2024, is there one more thing I can do to ensure that America is safe from TRAITOR Trump.  Among the things I will be doing is reading as much as I can of the list of books below, and each day adding on this blog a post discussing what I have found in these books.  Some of the books on this list are nearly fresh off the press.  Some are several years old and were either published prior to and because of the 2016 election or as a result of the horrible outcomes of that stolen election.  Every one of these books is a very important book.  I have read and written about several of them on this blog in the past.  Others I have not read but ordered over the last few weeks because of the potential outcomes of this election, potentially wonderful if all goes well, potentially  the death of American Democracy if all goes wrong and TRAITOR Trump is allowed to return to the White House after having already been indicted for 94 felonies and convicted of 34, after his having created, fomented, and caused the worst insurrection against the duly constituted government of the United States since the Civil War, and after the many evidences of his decades long deep, dangerous connections to Russia and Putin.  The list of books is appended to the bottom of this post and other, more easily completed tasks will be listed and discussed briefly before the book list.  I beseech each of you to do as many of these tasks as you possibly can.  This is literally  the most important election in the history of the United States just as the previous two were.  One of those elections, 2020, turned out in the best interests of the country and for almost four years we have reaped the rewards of that election.  The other of the two previous elections ended in the worst possible way and we have paid horrible prices for that outcome over the intervening four years.  Sadly, we are not, and will not for some unforeseeable time in the future, done with suffering the outrageous costs of the 2016 election, and will not be done for many years to come.  It will take at least fifty years for this country to overcome the incredible moral and ethical damage which TRAITOR Trump has already  done to this country.  We will never be able to overcome the increased ethical, moral, governmental damage which TRAITOR Trump would do to the country in four more years of his work to destroy America and American Democracy.  Do all you can to help the country avoid that outcome!

!) Every day from now until the next election I will be doing everything I can to convince other Americans to do the right thing and elect Kamala Harris to the presidency.  I will confront the ignorance and TREASON which attempts to justify the election of TRAITOR Trump, anywhere, anytime, from anybody.

2) I will VOTE FOR KAMALA HARRIS and so should you.  I will do all I can to convince every person I discuss this election with to do the same.  If I am needed, I will haul voters to the polls, I will spend my time, gasoline, and effort to ensure the best turnout possible for Kamala Harris in this election.  If necessary, I will stop traffic at a polling place and help little old ladies and gentlemen across the street to vote if I see the need.

3) I will use every form of communication available to me between now and the election to spread the truth about both Kamala Harris and TRAITOR Trump.  This election is literally between Good and Evil.  No more dangerous human on earth exists today who could be placed in the White House.  Tell everyone you know the truth.  Use your personal communication skills in face to face talks with others.  Use social media if you use it.  Use your telephone to call others and urge them to vote for Kamala Harris and the entire Democratic ticket wherever they live in the US.  Volunteer for phone call duty with your state Democratic party.  Put up a yard sign at your property and, if you live in a community which prohibits that, tell you HOA to Kiss Your Ass and appeal their decisions against you to the highest arbiters possible at least until November 5.  If you have the money, hire a small plane to fly a banner over the local high school football game on Friday night.  If you belong to some form of club, fraternity, sorority, or other group activity speak out before and after their meetings. If it allowed, speak out during those meetings when the most people will hear the truth.  Do all you can in any way possible to help Kamala Harris win this election.  America and American Democracy literally depend on the outcome of this election.

4) Now let's talk about this list of books.  All of them are important but I will list some of the shorter, new, arguably more important books first and the older books last.  But remember this, every one of these books contains truths about TRAITOR Trump and the danger he presents to the country.  

    A) "On Freedom" by Timothy Snyder has just come off the press and my copy has just hit my mail box literally as I have been writing this post.  It will be the next book I read cover to cover after I complete the current Timothy Snyder book which I am about two thirds of the way through. That book is "The Road To Unfreedom".   I cannot list enough superlatives about Timothy Snyder and his books.  "The Road To Unfreedome" is described in this manner on his website: Freedom is the great American commitment, but as Snyder argues, we have lost sight of what it means—and this is leading us into crisis.  According to Snyder, the goal of the book is to allow us to design a government in which we and future generations can flourish.  I assure you we cannot design such a government with TRAITOR Trump and his cult anywhere near the White House.  

B)  "On Tyranny" by Timothy Snyder is a wonderful book and I am currently waiting for my third purchased copy to arrive.  One previous copy I passed on to cousin who is like a brother to me and joins all of us in resisting TRAITOR Trump and his TREASON.  A second purchased copy was accidentally left on a toilet paper dispenser in a restroom at the Kentucky Clinic.  I only hope that it fell into hands of someone who was open to its ideas, read and understood the truths it contains.  Snyder's website describes the book in this manner: On Tyranny is a call to arms and a guide to resistance, with invaluable ideas for how we can preserve our freedoms in the uncertain years to come.  I have written about resistance on this blog in the past and read more than one book on political resistance in response to the terrible damage which TRAITOR Trump has caused this country over the last ten years.  One of the books I read in that vein is "A Nation Defiant: Poland's Resistance To The German Occupation Of Poland" by Richard S. Fuegner which I wrote about in this blog post in February 2017.  In January of 2017, I also constructed a list of books to be read by those who understand that it is the most patriotic act possible to resist a destructive government such as the Nazi and Fascists of WWII and a possible Fascist government to be constructed by TRAITOR Trump if this election goes awry as 2016 did.  Every book on that list is well worth reading in today's times but should be read only after you have read the books on this blog post.  

C) "The Road To Unfreedom" by Timothy Snyder is the third of his books which I am adding at the front of this list, and I realize that some of you are already wondering if I should add so many books by the same author.  Timothy Snyder is the professor at Yale University who holds the endowed Richard C. Levin Chair in History and is perhaps the greatest living historian in America in addition to being the best author of history, especially about current politics in America, World War II, and The Holocaust.  This book is about the rise of Fascism in Russia and other parts of Europe, Vladimir Putin and his well publicized plan to create what he likes to call Eurasia which he has stated will stretch from Vladivostok to Lisbon, literally putting Russia and Putin in control of nearly all of Eastern Europe and a large portion of Asia.  It details Putin's fascination with the deceased Russian political philosopher Ivan Ilyin.  

D) Now we move away from the works of Timothy Snyder but not away from Yale University.  The book "How Fascism Works" by Jason Stanley is exactly what the title says.  It is great description of how Fascists rise to power in susceptible countries, gain control of governments in such countries, and move on to destroy those countries.  Stanley is the Jacob Urowsky professor of philosophy at Yale.  His works are not as voluminous or publicly popular as Snyder's but they are equally important for the person who understands just how dangerous these times  have become in American politics because of TRAITOR Trump and his cult.  

E) The next book on this list is "How Democracies Die" by Steven Levitsky and Daniel Ziblatt.  It is about exactly what the title says, the death of democracies. Steven Levitsky is a professor political science at Harvard University.  Daniel Ziblatt is Director of Harvard University's Minda de Gunzburg Center for European Studies where he is also Eaton Professor of Government.  Their book is described as being about how elected leaders can gradually subvert the democratic process to increase their power. The book also offers stark warnings about the impact of the Republican Party and Donald Trump on U.S. democracy.  Are you beginning to understand that I am not the only writer in America who understands that TRAITOR Trump is the greatest present danger to Democracy and the United States?  

F) This next book is one of the most important to come out of the stolen 2016 election and I wrote about it several years ago on another list of books I was recommending at that time.  It is "The Dangerous Case Of Donald Trump", edited by Dr. Bandy X. Lee, M. D., a professor of psychiatry and the law at Harvard University. She went to Harvard after having taught at Yale for 17 years.  The book is written in a series of articles by 27 of the most respected, most experienced, and most honest psychiatrists in America.  Each article details and explains the seriously dangerous nature of TRAITOR Trump's mental illness. It was a massive best seller when it was published in 2017.  It will be an important book so long as TRAITOR Trump lives outside a federal prison cell.  

G) "Rocket Man: Nuclear Madness And The Mind Of Donald Trump" was edited by John Gartner, Steven Buser, and Leonard Cruz and is also written in separate articles as the Lee edited book is.  But these national experts are discussing the unfitness of TRAITOR Trump to be in charge of the American nuclear arsenal.  Each of the writers in this book are experts in the field of nuclear weaponry and/or nuclear war. Several of these authors are retired American military officers who worked in the area of nuclear weaponry during their military careers.  Others were journalists who specialized in the military field.  

H) I have not read a word of this next book yet.  But you can bet that I will, at least, have read the concluding section and written about it before the election. The book in question?  "On Call: A Doctor's Journey In Public Service" by Anthony Fauci, M. D.  One chapter in that section is entitled "He Loves Me, He Loves Me Not" and without a doubt that chapter is about Fauci's horribly demeaning treatment by TRAITOR Trump during the Covid crisis when Fauci and many other researchers at the National Institutes of Health were working day and night trying to find a successful treatment and intervention program to curtail the Covid epidemic, and were being belittled, resisted, mistreated, minimized, and publicly abused by a TRAITOR who proved on a daily basis that he knew less about Covid and epidemic management than he knew about any other subject on earth. I should also say here that I am very familiar with NIH, ,having traveled there regularly for about five years in the 1990's due to my wife suffering from an incredibly rare and undiagnosed genetic anomaly which has placed her in a wheelchair for the past 25 years.  We traveled to NIH about 3 times a year for a week at a time for their team in the National Institute for Diabetes and Kidney Disease.  During that time, we never met Dr. Fauci, but we did meet the Director of the NIDKD, Dr. Simeon Taylor, M. D. along with hundreds of other NIH employees in most departments at all levels of responsibility.  For the rest of my life, I will be a fan a defender of NIH and all its employees who are many of the finest humans I have ever met in my life.  

It is possible that I might add a few other excellent books to this list before election day.  I realize full well that most of us could not hope to read them all in the next 41 days.  I am asking you to choose a few from the list to read before the election.  And, regardless of the outcome of the election, please read them all when you can.  They will give you a very good education about American Democracy, the dangers TRAITOR Trump always has and always will present to  this country and to every one of its citizens so long as he walks the earth a free man.  He must not be allowed to live in the White House again.  He must not be allowed to destroy this country and democracy.  He must be convicted of his crimes against America, American Democracy, the entire civilized world, and the planet itself.  GO VOTE!  

"Black Earth The Holocaust As History And Warning" by Timothy Snyder---Book Review

Ever since its release date of September 8, 2015, I had been seeing this book quoted in all sorts of legitimate writing both in the public media and in more academic articles about World War II, the Holocaust, genocide, and totalitarian governments.  I am always involved in reading, research, and writing about liberal issues, dystopian governments, totalitarian governments, etc. and became particularly involved in these issues with the tragic rise to prominence of the TRAITOR & International Terrorist Trump.  But I never ordered the book because my to be read list is always too long.  Then in October 2017 my wife, Candice, and I took a long vacation in the Desert Southwest.  On October 6, 2017, we happened to visit the El Paso Holocaust Museum which will receive a much deserved post on this blog sometime soon. When we completed out tour and went into the gift shop, the first thing to catch my eye was a copy of this book which I immediately bought.  I finally finished reading it a few weeks ago and should have done so before October 2017 had passed.  

Photo Of Timothy Snyder by The Book Haven

"Black Earth..." is a wonderful piece of historical writing by one of the true experts on the subjects of the Holocaust, World War II, and Eastern Europe.  Timothy Snyder has written a dozen or so books on a wide ranging list of subjects in at least four languages.  It is reported in the latest issue of "The Nation" that he has just released his latest book, "The Road to Unfreedom: Russia, Europe, America". Mr. Snyder is a professor of history at Yale University and is said to be able to do research in at least eight languages.  To say the least, he is a prolific author, highly acclaimed professor, and prodigious researcher.  The worst thing I can say about "Black Earth..." or Mr. Snyder is that he writes like a Yale professor of history.  By that I mean that this is a complex, well researched, lengthy, and studious book.  But do not let that keep you from reading it.  The broad ranging analysis and statistical examination of the Holocaust, Hitler's ideas, and the execution of the war across all of Europe is highly educational and worthy of your time.  The last three chapters and the conclusion are the least amount of this book that anyone should allow themselves to skip by with reading.  On page 320 in the conclusion, Snyder writes "There is little reason to think that we are ethically superior to the Europeans of the 1930's and 1940's, or for that matter less vulnerable to the kind of ideas that Hitler so successfully promulgated and realized."  That statement is absolutely true about America today.  

We are seeing a time in our country where a usurper, TRAITOR, international terrorist, racist,  demagogue, and would be dictator has been allowed to conspire and commit TREASON with an enemy of America and is still tolerated by a significant portion of America and allowed to live inside the White House with the assistance of a Russian Owned Criminal Syndicate.  In early May, TRAITOR and international terrorist Trump stated that immigrants "...aren't people. These are animals."  Those very same words were spoken by his hero, Adolph Hitler about Jews before and during the Holocaust.  On several other occasions, TRAITOR and international terrorist Trump has used words written and spoken by Adolph Hitler.  His followers, just as Hitler's followers did, cheer him on during these occasions, defend his use of them afterwards, and base their own hate filled actions on such quotes and actions.  Timothy Snyder is dead center on target when he says that "...there is little reason to think we are ethically superior...".  It is my sincere hope and heartfelt suggestion that each of you who reads this book review will also read "Black Earth...", take the information and ideas it contains to heart, and take future actions to prevent the possibility that another Holocaust directed Muslims, Hispanics, immigrants, the poor, the elderly, and the young can arise in America.  

"On Tyranny: Twenty Lessons From The Twentieth Century" by Timothy Snyder--Reflections On A Book And Current Events

This little masterpiece is a book every American should read as soon as possible and take everything it says seriously to heart.  Timothy Snyder is one of the best non-fiction authors, researchers, and history professors working in America today.  He is the Levin Professor of History at Yale University, one of the most prolific authors of non-fiction in the country, and, arguably, the most important expert on the Holocaust alive today.  I have previously written about Snyder's masterpiece "Black Earth: The Holocaust As History and Warning" which I consider to be the best book I have ever read about the Holocaust.  I had read the book in discussion today several months ago and never got around to writing about it on this blog when I have actually always intended to try to write about each of the twenty chapters.  Each of those chapters is a lesson which every American should strive to learn and to live by.  

Although this book never mentions the TRAITOR Donald Trump by name, he and his many crimes are the primary motivation for the book.  The fact that it doesn't mention him by name is my primary beef with the book.   I believe we should always call a spade a spade, a shovel a shovel, and a TRAITOR just that, a TRAITOR.  And that is what brings us to current events. As I said in a brief post last night, I firmly believe that history will prove that March 30, 2023, will come to be remembered as one of the most important days in American History, the day when the process began to hold TRAITOR Trump legally responsible for his many crimes against the people and the government of the United States.  The New York indictments are only the beginning of that legal process.  The New York case and each of the other state and federal indictments into the the crimes of TRAITOR Trump must be carried out to their full logical and legal culminations and those culminations must result in his conviction, sentencing, and imprisonment for the many crimes he has committed at least since June 16, 2015, the day he made the asinine assumption  that he was fit to be the leader of the free world.  

This little book by Timothy Snyder provides a perfectly rational and logical blueprint for the country and each of its citizens to work diligently for all time to prevent the possibility that such a criminal and TRAITOR can ever again manage to be placed in a TREASONOUSLY obtained position of power in this country.  Chapter One, entitled "Do Not Obey In Advance" carries a warning rooted both in the Holocaust and rise of the Nazi party in Germany and in the proliferation of TRAITOR TRUMP and his cult.  The two movements are nearly identical in their lust for undeserved power and their willingness to destroy the countries in which they arose. The willingness of his cult of followers to "obey in advance" led to the insurrection and domestic terrorism of January 6th. The opening sentence in the book states that "Most of the power of authoritarianism is freely given."  That sentence is absolutely true and also absolutely true of how Adolph Hitler rose to power and was nearly able to destroy the world. It is also true in a slightly less universal way of how the TRAITOR  Trump rose to power. His cult of followers freely followed him and his lies.  The US justice system initially ignored the many obvious signs that foreign meddling in the 2016 election led to the razor thin leads the votes showed in Michigan, Illinois, and Pennsylvania and that system freely allowed him to be installed in the White House despite those signs of vast criminal activity in the electoral process.  The Right Wing Radical Repugnicans nationwide freely allowed him to escape not one but two clearly justified impeachments.  And for eight years, a majority of the people of the United States have freely allowed him to escape criminal prosecution.  Those times ended on the day TRAITOR Trump was indicted in New York. Further indictments will come in the other cases. No longer must the people of the United States "freely" allow this TRAITOR to escape punishment. However, in America a majority of those who voted in both the 2016 and 2020 elections knew him for what he was, voted against him, fought him and his TREASONOUS ambitions diligently and tirelessly during the entire time he was able to live illegally in the White House based on his TREASON with Russia and Vladimir Putin's ability to steal an American election in the states of Michigan, Wisconsin, and Pennsylvania.  Without that diligent and tireless resistance, this country would have become another example of just how easy it is for a would be despot to seize power, overcome a resistant populace, and destroy a country.  

Timothy Snyder's little masterpiece of a book contains 19 other statements on which each chapter is based which are just as accurate about the rise of tyranny in susceptible populaces and destroy the nations in which they arise.  Buy "On Tyranny..." by Timothy Snyder!  Read and memorize all of its 126 incredibly important pages!  Live by the truths contained in those pages!  Do not stop fighting tirelessly to demand and ensure that TRAITOR Trump is held responsible for all his crimes against this country and its people!  Do not relax about the danger he presents until he dies in the federal prison cell which he has so richly deserved for his entire adult life!  

 

TRAITOR Trump, Vladimir Putin, and Their Relationship!

 

I have written several times on this blog about the deep, unbreakable relationship between TRAITOR Trump and Vladimir Putin.  I have also written several times about the incredible writing and honest reporting of Yale University history professor Timothy Snyder.  This link will take you to several posts about the work of Timothy Snyder who, in my opinion is the greatest historian and author of history and political science based books we have in America today.  Timothy Snyder does a far better job of explaining or illustrating the dangerous and TREASONOUS depth of the relationship between the two.  Every voter in America should read Snyder's books "On Tyranny" ,  "The Road To Unfreedom", and "On Democracy".  All three are among the most important books in print in America today.  And all three are on the list of books that TRAITOR Trump, his campaign staff, and Vladimir Putin hope that no American will read.  The reasons for that is that the books are honest, accurate, well documented history of the danger TRAITOR Trump presents to both America and the world. 

Since I began writing this blog post, an incredible story has broken in the news media about TRAITOR Trump and Vladimir Putin.  Bob Woodward has just released a new book called "War"  in which he writes about information provided to him by a TRAITOR Trump staffer who stated that TRAITOR Trump had provided Covid equipment to Putin secretly very early in the pandemic while he was doing nothing about the onrushing US pandemic. The book also reports that TRAITOR Trump has made at least seven telephone calls to Putin since the inauguration of President Biden and would sometimes tell staffers to leave the room since he had "to have a private conversation with President Putin".  This book, written by one of the men responsible for the Watergate disclosures which ended the presidency of Richard Nixon, has made allegations which should ensure that TRAITOR Trump is prosecuted for violations of both the Logan Act and the  Espionage Act.  This is just one more "smoking gun" about the TREASON of TRAITOR Trump.  It is absolute proof of what I and dozens of other intelligent writers and politicians have been telling the world about TRAITOR Trump for many years.  HE IS A TRAITOR OWNED AND CONTROLLED BY VLADIMIR PUTIN AND RUSSIA!  Based on what Bob Woodward has said in his book, you cannot defend TRAITOR Trump on any level.  He must be prosecuted ! He must be convicted!  He must be imprisoned for the rest of his life!  This country is not safe so long as he is alive and outside a maximum security prison.  Below is just  a portion of the story as it has been reported by CBS News: 

"Even after leaving office, Trump has stayed in touch with the Russian president, according to Woodward. An unidentified aide told Woodward the former president had as many as seven private calls with Putin — although Woodward noted he was unable to speak to Trump or Putin to verify the calls happened, and he was wasn't able to confirm the calls through the Trump campaign or intelligence sources.  But according to the aide, one of the calls came early this year, when Trump was urging Republicans to block additional aid to Ukraine to help the country's fight against Russia.  The newly revealed contacts raise additional questions about Trump's relationship with Putin. In a recent presidential debate, Trump twice refused to say who he wanted to prevail in the war between Russia and Ukraine." (CBS, October 8, 2024) 

This is damning information from a journalist who has moved within the circles of world power for over fifty years and whose work with Carl Bernstein led to the resignation of Richard Nixon, the successful prosecution of the Watergate figures, and has made both of these men household words in America and the world ever since.  Woodward's ethics and honest are impeccable and unimpeachable.  This is, or should be, the last nail in the public coffin of TRAITOR Trump and his collusion with Vladimir Putin.  I am certain every US intelligence agent in the world has now been directed to follow this story to whatever sordid place in which the ultimate truth of it is hiding.  It is about Espionage!  It is about TREASON!  It is about TRAITOR Trump's collusion with the worst enemy the United States of America has in the world!

In a slight aside, let me say that if you want to understand the nature of the relationship between TRAITOR Trump and Vladimir Putin, all you have to do is study and come to understand the body language in the photograph above.  It was shot at the G7 Summit in Helsinki at the press conference after TRAITOR Trump had just met with Vladimir Putin in a meeting without US interpreters.  He came out of that meeting with the above hangdog face while Putin was trying hard to stifle a grin at whatever they had just said to each other.  In the press conference, TRAITOR Trump disputed the findings of all 17 US intelligence agencies and stated that he believed Putin when he said that Russia had not interfered in the US election. That photograph, that meeting, that relationship, and that lie from TRAITOR Trump have been discussed many times in many places by thousands of journalists, US intelligence agents, common US citizens, and nearly every world leader since then, and almost universally by everyone who has ever rendered an honest opinion about it, it has been assessed as being a photograph of an American minion of the Russian president telling a lie to please his owner.  The most honest of all those opinions and the best documentation of proof to support his opinion about that relationship has consistently come from Timothy Snyder, both on his Twitter or X account and in his several books about the rising specter of Fascism in the world today.  It has also been discussed many times by other historians and journalists in their writings.  This is a CNN article on the topic from June of 2018.  This is a 2021 article from the New Zealand Herald discussing TRAITOR Trump's insistence three years after the news conference that he still believes Putin over US intelligence.  

Will This Be Our Last Real Independence Day?

 

Today is July 3, 2024, and the United States is  facing the most grave danger of being destroyed as a nation at least since Pearl Harbor.  What is even worse about this impending disaster is that the grave danger is within our own borders, centered in the 6 justices on the US Supreme Court who voted to give a convicted felon, Russian Agent, TRAITOR, serial sex offender, tax cheat, career criminal, pathological liar, and idiot a free pass on having incited the greatest insurrection in the history of our nation, having stolen and attempted to retain hundreds of classified documents which are clearly the property of the US government and no one else.  It is also centered in and led by that very same convicted felon, Russian Agent, TRAITOR, serial sex offender, tax cheat, career criminal, pathological liar, and idiot.  We are living the prediction of Nikita Kruschev when he said " We do not have to invade the United States, we will destroy you from within."  That dire prediction from the former Russian leader is being personified in the Russian Agent this country allowed to live illegally in the White House for 4 years after having committed TREASON with Vladimir Putin and Russia.  Just a few days ago one of this country's greatest historians and writers, Timothy Snyder posted a list of "50 Reasons..." why TRAITOR Trump owes a debt to Putin and Russia.  And, according to Snyder, every one of those fifty acts is documented in the public record.  That list of events which Snyder has provided includes occasions on both sides when money has changed hands between TRAITOR Trump and Russian people, probable intelligence agents, and entities, occasions when TRAITOR Trump has done political favors for Russia including the time shortly after he was allowed to enter the White House that he turned and brought the Russian Ambassador and a Russian (Translation: FSB, Russian Intelligence Agents) into the Oval Office. Those Russian agents were the only videographers and sound technicians in the Oval Office during that visit.  What do you think they were doing?  It also includes the deal for useless real estate in Florida for which a Russian paid nearly $100Million dollars, an amount vastly greater than the land's worth. There is also a great deal of credible intelligence that TRAITOR Trump has laundered an untold amount of Russian money through his companies.  Many Russian citizens also have bought units in the many condominium buildings he has built.  Timothy Snyder has been warning the US and our citizens about TRAITOR Trump for several years and his excellent little book, "On Tyranny", is one of the best examples of his many warnings.  But that book and read it closely!  It is small but it is a very important book in today's world.

Over the years since that horrible day in June 2015, when TRAITOR Trump came riding down that gold elevator at Trump Tower spouting the outrageous idea that he was fit to be the leader of the free world, I have written extensively on this blog about the grave danger he and those around him present to the country.  I know that a few people have listened to me and, hopefully, hundreds of thousands, perhaps millions, of others have listened to the American heroes and heroines like Timothy Snyder, President Biden, Liz Cheney, Adam Kinzinger, and all the other members of the January 6th Select Committee.  But we are still faced with the horrible possibility  that the same TRAITOR who has constantly exposed himself to be exactly what all of us have been saying he is, was, always has been, and always will be might actually manage with the help of Russia and other enemies of America to once again occupy the White House even after the Supreme Court has proven they are owned by the same enemies of the country which own him and that they will never make an effort to stop him, hold him responsible for his thousands of crimes, and will actually assist him in his efforts to destroy America for his Russian owners.  We cannot allow that tragedy to occur to the greatest country in the world. He must be stopped both at the ballot box and in the courts of the nation. He must be held responsible for his crimes.  He must be convicted, sentenced, and imprisoned or the nation will not survive.  The greatest democracy in the world will have fulfilled the prediction of Nikita Kruschev that they will destroy us without firing a shot, that they will take us from within.  We must vote, we must educate other voters, we must take them to the polls if they cannot drive, we must carry our lap tops to their homes and help them register and vote if they cannot leave home.  We must hold him responsible for every destructive action he and his followers have taken to destroy this nation.  We must ensure that democracy is restored to and never again endangered by traitors and agents of other countries.

"The Road To Unfreedom" by Timothy Snyder, Page 220--One Page Of Truths About TRAITOR Trump And Russia!

 

This is one of the best non-fiction books to be released in the United States in the last several years.  It was published in 2018 and should be read by every voter in America before the November 5, 2024, election.  I have given it a prominent place in my list of several such books which every American should read even if it takes you several months to complete that list.  But right now I'm going to make it easy on most of you to come to understand just how important this book by Timothy Snyder is with regard to the upcoming US election by discussing and copying one page from the book, page 220.  Snyder has discussed this page in his feed on X, or Twitter, or whatever Elon Musk, TRAITOR Trump's latest version of Hitler's co-conspirator Joseph Goebbels is calling that website now.  So, let's look at page 220 from the book and then discuss it.  

"From an American point of view, Trump Tower is a garish building on Fifth Avenue in New York City.  From a Russian point of view, Trump Tower is an inviting site for international crime.  Russian gangsters began to launder money by buying and selling apartment units in Trump Tower in 1984.  Beginning in 1986, Trump was courted and flattered by Russian diplomats, who suggested to him that he had a future as a mogul in Moscow.  In 1987, the Soviet state paid for Trump and his then-wife Ivana to visit Moscow and stay in the Lenin Suite of the National Hotel.  This room was certainly bugged and monitored; the normal KGB procedure was to collect compromising material on figures who might later become important.  Interestingly, it was only after his return that Trump began to speak of running for president, and to place advertisements advocating U. S. isolationism.  After the collapse of the Soviet Union in 1991, the Russian mob extended its reach in New York.  The most notorious Russian hit man, long sought by the FBI, resided in Trump Tower.  Russians were arrested for running a gambling ring from the apartment beneath Trump's own.  In Trump World Tower, constructed between 1999 and 2001 on the east side of Manhattan near the United Nations, a third of the luxury units were bought by people or entities from the Soviet Union.  A man investigated by the Treasury Department for money laundering lived in Trump World Tower directly beneath Kellyanne Conway,  who would become the press spokesman for the Trump campaign.  Seven hundred units of Trump properties in South Florida were purchased by shell companies.  Two men associated with those shell companies were convicted of running a gambling and (money) laundering scheme from Trump Tower.  Perhaps Trump was entirely unaware of what was happening on his properties.  By the late 1990's, Trump was considered to be uncreditworthy and bankrupt.  He owed about four billion dollars to more than seventy banks, of which some $800 million dollars was personally guaranteed.  He never showed any inclination or capacity to pay back this after this debt.  After his 2004 bankruptcy, no American bank would lend him money.  The only bank that did so was Deutsche Bank, whose colorful history of scandal belied its staid name.  Interestingly, Deutsche Bank also laundered about $10billion  for Russian clients between 2011 and 2015. Interestingly, Trump declined to pay back his debts to Deutsche Bank."  ("The Road To Unfreedom" by Timothy Snyder, pages 220-221.) 

That is some might interesting writing from the best historian and political history writer in America today. Snyder is a professor of history at Yale University in an endowed chair and still manages to research and write at least one book a year every year.  Every word in every one of his books has been impeccably and irrefutably researched and verified.  His reputation, both as a professor and an author, is impeccable and unimpeachable. If he writes and publishes it, he can prove it.  

 

So what does that have to tell you about TRAITOR Trump? First and foremost, it tells you that he is in far too deep with Russia and Putin.  In light of the fact that TRAITOR Trump is facing multiple federal felonies over having stolen a truck load of classified documents from the government, and having made at least seven telephone calls to Vladimir Putin over the last 4 years, it tells you that everyone of those telephone calls is a violation of the Logan Act.  It also tells you that there is a very high degree of probability that everyone of those telephone calls also involved violations of the Espionage Act.  It tells you that TRAITOR Trump is a TRAITOR, no doubt, not even a little.  

A Very Rewarding Visit With My Surgeon!

In previous posts (post #2) over the last few years, I have discussed a couple of visits (post #1) I have had with two of my doctors, a surgeon (post #3) and a cardiologist.  About six years ago, I discovered that I had a life threatening blockage of one of my carotid arteries and a surgical procedure was recommended which I finally accepted about four years after the original diagnosis.  During that four years, I engaged in a serious regimen of exercise, mild medication treatment, and a stringent change to my diet, all of which resulted in serious reductions in my blood pressure, weight, overall health risks, and even my opthalmic pressures in both eyes.  I had the surgery roughly two years ago and have been fine ever since.  Immediately after my original diagnosis by a local general practitioner who is friend of mine, I began to see these two specialist and have done so ever since.  About three months after the surgery, I was put on a program of one year follow up visits with both doctors and see each of them once a year and once a year only unless some future serious change in my health requires closer treatment.  

 

When I have any serious appointment for any reason, and especially for medical visits, I always carry whatever book I am reading to the visit since waiting room and even examination room waits can be longer than  just a few minutes.  I always read during those waits unless I sometimes become engaged in a positive conversation with another patient.  As I had said in two of the blog posts linked above, during those particular visits both of these doctors noticed what I was reading and engaged me in conversations about the books at those times.  This is not a very common practice among doctors and, right or wrong, I have always considered the fact that they did so to be a compliment to the quality of my reading material.  I never read what I call "light reading" or "drug store fiction", and neither do most doctors.  They are universally too busy.  But I learned long ago that nearly all doctors have been engaged, like me, in a lifetime habit of reading or most of them would never have become doctors in the first place.  This past Friday, September 13, 2024, I had my regular annual visit with my surgeon and went to the visit reading "The Road To Unfreedom" by Timothy Snyder whose works I have written about on more than one occasion on this blog, and about which I will most certainly write more in the future.  Snyder is one of the best historians, authors, and political thinkers in America today.  He is a professor of history at Yale University and holds an endowed chair there where such a guaranteed lifetime position would be one of the most competitive jobs in education in the world.  Snyder writes in about a half dozen languages, reads in about four or five more, is an incredibly diligent researcher, and an author any high level reader has to respect.  This particular book is the third of his works which I have read and I will write about it in the near future when I finish it.  

As my surgeon entered the examination room, he glanced at my book, asked me "what are you reading today?" and turned to my wife Candice to say, "he never lets me down when he recommends me books".  The first ten minutes or so of our conversation were about Timothy Snyder, his work, politics, and books in general.  Then for about two minutes, he said, "your ultrasounds are great. You're perfect.  Your arteries are perfect."  and we returned to our conversation about politics, literature, and travel since I had told him I had bought "Black Earth: The Holocaust As History And Warning" by Snyder at the El Paso Holocaust Museum in 2017.  When we finished our conversation and he was ready to move on to his next patient, he actually walked with me to the front desk to tell the staff when I needed to return and we ended our conversation there.  I won't see him for another year unless some catastrophe strikes and I need his medical expertise on short notice.  But I know in advance that I will carry whatever book I am reading then, hopefully a biography of Kamala Harrris, President of the United States, and we will discuss it and whatever we both have been reading shortly before the visit.  And he will continue to provide me the same excellent, potentially life saving medical expertise he always has.  Then both of us will go out to order whatever book the other has recommended.  That is the kind of doctor I wish all of you could benefit from on a regular basis.  

Since originally completing and posting this blog post, I have become engaged in a long and rewarding messaging exchange with one of my former high school teacher whom I have been in regular contact with over the last several years.  Our exchange this time was prompted by this blog post and she said during that exchange that We need you to stay around and get our country back on track.Those kinds of compliments about my writings on politics are what keep me writing on this blog and in other venues,  both because I know that if we don't save democracy in this election we may well lose it forever, and because I know that I am correct about this situation in America today and my writing just might change a few minds in the right direction. 

TRAITOR Trump Has A Putin Problem! Or Is It Just A Partnership???

 

 

"Trump's contribution to global heterosexuality was to bring a beauty pageant to the Moscow suburbs, or rather to look on as Russians did so.  In principle he was the organizer, in fact he was paid twenty million dollars to oversee the work of his Russian colleagues. This was a pattern of relations between Russians and Trump that was by then long established: Trump was paid so that his name could assist Russians who knew something about money and power.  Just a few weeks earlier, in April 2013, the FBI had arrested twenty-nine men suspected of running two gambling rings inside Trump tower.  According to investigators, the operation was overseen by Alimzhan Tokhtakhounov, a Russian citizen who also ran a money-laundering operation from a condo directly under Trump's own.  As the FBI searched for him, Tokhtakhounov attended the Miss Universe pageant and sat a few seats away from Trump.  (The United States attorney who had authorized the Trump Tower raid was Preet Bharara.  Upon becoming president, Trump fired Bharara.)"  (Timothy Snyder, "The Road To Unfreedom", pages 120-121) 

While we cannot, and the FBI have not been able to say that TRAITOR Trump is definitely in the clutches of Russian intelligence, it is not difficult for anyone with the ability to read at a high school level to find enough well established, publicly documented evidence that he has had enough varied contacts with Russia and known Russian contacts of Vladimir Putin to be in the sway of Russia. That publicly documented evidence includes the aforementioned beauty pageant in Moscow, the invitation he extended to the Russian Ambassador to The United States to visit the White House with a Russian film crew and actually film their meeting inside the Oval Office shortly after he managed to manipulate his way into that hallowed location with the assistance and election meddling of Russian hackers under the direction of Vladimir Putin. There is little doubt that every member of that film crew were also FSB agents.  It also includes the press conference with Vladimir Putin in which TRAITOR Trump supported the claim by Putin that he had made no effort to influence the 2016 United State presidential election which was a direct contradiction of previously reported intelligence in which all 17 US intelligence agencies stated that there had been Russian influence on that election.  

 

These three incidents are just a minuscule portion of the 50 varied interactions between TRAITOR Trump and Russian entities in which some arrangement of either money or influence has changed hands which Timothy Snyder has documented both in his Thread on social media in this link and in his book "The Road To Unfreedom".  Each of these events can be confirmed in numerous forms of legitimate media, newspapers, magazines, television news, and social media.  All any of them requires to be validated is a simple internet search.  When you look at this link, keep in mind that Timothy Snyder is no Johnny Come Lately or a common angry citizen.  He is a professor of history at Yale University and actually holds an endowed chair there which is a guaranteed lifetime job so long as he wishes to teach.  He also is an expert on the history of Eastern Europe and the Holocaust.  If he puts anything into print, he can prove it and give you the location in publicly available records of that proof.  

Late in 2015, Konstantin Malofeev, a Russian oligarch and close associate of Putin used his "think tank" to endorse TRAITOR Trump in the US election.  Sooner or later with so many Russians professing their love of TRAITOR Trump you have to realize that he is a Russian asset.   

In November of 2016  after Putin's Russian hackers managed to steal the election in Michigan, Pennsylvania, and Wisconsin, and TRAITOR Trump was announced as the winner, he received a standing ovation in the Russian parliament which is composed entirely of people who are obligated with their lives to obey Putin.  They were cheering because they knew by virtue of TRAITOR Trump having been declared the winner, their leader's minion had achieved what no other Russian asset had ever done.  He would be living illegally in the White House and Russia had just won an American election.  

In June of 2017, TRAITOR Trump fired FBI director Robert Mueller after he had been ordered to carry out an investigation of Russian election interference.  The White House Counsel refused to carry out TRAITOR Trump's order and immediately Moscow began a widespread slander campaign against Mueller.   

In June of 2018, Vladimir Putin confirmed to a world wide selection of press members that he had actually wanted TRAITOR Trump to win the election of 2016.  Here is link to the story about  the Putin moment of honesty which appeared in "The Atlantic" at the time.  "The Atlantic" is one of the most honest and perpetually factual monthly magazines in America.  Here is a list of all the people Mueller brought charges against in his Russia investigation.  Although this is a slightly aged book, it would be very interesting if every reader of this blog post read Seth Hettena's book "Trump/Russia".   \I have not attempted to list an event of the exchange of power, influence, or money between TRAITOR Trump and Russia for every year since his first reported contacts with Russia because their nefarious relationship is too long and too close for an actual timeline of their love affair.  But you can do it on your own with simple internet searches of the phrases "Trump and Putin", "Trump and Russia", "Is Trump A Russian Asset" or almost any other word, combined with Trump, which can be interpreted as primarily Russian. Do you really want a Russian Asset living in the White House again?  Or you can just remember that only a few months ago in February 2024 TRAITOR Trump said in a public appearance that he would tell Putin to "do whatever the hell he wants to to any NATO country".  Do you really want Democracy to be silenced in America for the next four years?  In all honesty, this country cannot survive as a Democracy if TRAITOR Trump is allowed anywhere near the White House again!

Every American Voter Should Read One Of These Books Before November 5, 2024!

 

“These are the times that try men's souls. The summer soldier and the sunshine patriot will, in this crisis, shrink from the service of their country; but he that stands it now, deserves the love and thanks of man and woman." Thomas Paine  

 

I first began posting these book lists sometime shortly after it became apparent to most intelligent, politically aware people in America that TRAITOR Trump was just that, a TRAITOR, nothing more, nothing less.  He was that long before I ever posted one of these reading lists.  He is still a TRAITOR today.  He will still be a TRAITOR on the day he dies and finally leaves America and Americans to live in peace after he has destroyed everything he can on the way.  It is imperative, if America is to remain a democracy, that TRAITOR Trump must never be allowed anywhere near the White House or any other active component of government in this country.  He is unfit to hold any position of public trust at any level, all the way down to dogcatcher and constable in a small, poverty stricken district.  Do both yourself and the country a much needed favor and read at least one of these books on this list before you vote on November 5, 2024.  This is an election between Good and Evil, Patriotism and TREASON, Peace and Total Destruction of Everything Valuable in America.   

 

On Democracy by Timothy Snyder  This is Timothy Snyder's latest book, just having been releases a short while ago.  Like everything Snyder writes, it is described as being a book which "will allow us to design a government in which we and future generations can flourish."  It is a continuation of Snyder's deep concerns and fears for America and American Democracy if the voters of this country allow TRAITOR Trump to return to another TREASONOUS occupation of the White House.  In my opinion, Snyder is the greatest historian and historical writer in America today.  He is a professor of history at Yale University in an endowed chair and still manages to write at least one important book a year or more.  This is the link to his official website.  Anything which Snyder writes is a must read for any citizen of America who wishes to see our Democracy survive.  I will add a couple of his other books below with less commentary about them.  Just assume if he wrote it, you need to read it. 

 

The Dangerous Case Of Donald Trump Edited by Bandy Lee, M. D. I reviewed this book here.  This is one of those books that every reasonably intelligent citizen of this country should read.  I have been promoting this book ever since the day the initial publicity campaign began when it was released.  This book was written in individual articles by 27 of the best, best known, most experienced, most respected psychiatrists in the country and edited by Dr. Bandy X. Lee, M. D. who is a psychiatrist and professor at Yale University.  Her credentials are incredible and so is this book.  Just as the letter to the senate from 2,400 law professors should have put an end to the legal career of Brett Kavanaugh, this book should have put an end to the public life of TRAITOR Trump.  Read this book even if you do not choose to read another book on this list or another book of any kind for the rest of your life. Do not let the fact that it is written by a bevy of psychiatrists deter you from reading it.  When you are done you will have a far better understanding of the serious and danger mental illness of TRAITOR Trump. 

 

The Road To Unfreedom by Timothy Snyder  This is Snyder's most recent book excluding the release last month of his latest, On Freedom.  The Road To Unfreedom is an excellent and well documented study of how Fascism has been spread by Russia and other countries in Eastern Europe.  It discusses Putin's dream of putting together a Russian empire extending all the way from Vladivostok to Lisbon covering most of Eastern Europe and Northern Asia.  Do not for a minute believe TRAITOR Trump when he tells you that he could "stop the war in Ukraine before" he took office if he should actually win an American election for the first time in his life.  Putin has expressed this plan for quite a few years in magazine and newspaper articles published under his name, in public speeches, and in all forms of media.  His attempt to subjugate Ukraine is geared toward giving Russia an open door to proceed further in this plan.  If he is allowed to overpower Ukraine, Poland will be next.  World War 3 will have begun and Putin will proceed until he is forcefully stopped, if that is even possible at that point.  

 

On Call by Anthony Fauci, M. D.  is the recently published memoir of Dr. Fauci who recently retired as the Director of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases at the National Institutes of Health.  He was also the public face of the scientific fight against Covid and was daily defamed, insulted, minimized, and abused by TRAITOR Trump who is not now and never was fit to be a pimple on Dr. Fauci's ass.   More than 1million innocent American victims of Covid died because TRAITOR Trump refused to do anything to stop the pandemic after being informed by the intelligence and healthcare communities in January and February 2020 that the pandemic was coming and could destroy the country.  If NIH and the CDC had been allowed to fully do their jobs in early 2020, Covid would have been far less destructive and would have been confronted and dealt with successfully far sooner if TRAITOR Trump had not attempted to hamper every effort the scientific community made to do their jobs.  How do I know this?  For 5 years in the middle to late 1990's I spent many days at NIH.  My wife was a patient there during that period and we traveled there 2 or 3 times a year for a week at a time during that 5 year period.  So did my father-in-law.  I have never met Dr. Fauci, but I have met one other chair of an institute there.  I know NIH.  I have known people there at every level of employment from grounds keepers, food service workers, nurses, research staff, doctors, and one director of an institute.  Every one of them is a hero working daily in their own unique ways to help save the world.  If you don't read another word of Dr. Fauci's book read the section on Covid 19 and the pandemic which is only 67 pages long and will show you exactly what a TRAITOR TRAITOR Trump is and exactly what heroes the men and women of NIH  are.  It will also give you a great deal of insight into how greatly TRAITOR Trump has damaged this country morally and ethically over the last 10 years.

 

 Fascism by Madeleine Albright  Former Secretary of State Albright's book has been postively reviewed by most of the media people who have read it.  Secretary Albright was born in Czechoslovakia and immigrated to the US to become our first female Secretary of State and one of our best.  This is her description of a Fascist: "A Fascist is someone who claims to speak for a whole nation or group, is utterly unconcerned with the rights of others, and is willing to use violence and whatever other means are necessary to achieve the goals he or she might have.”  There is no more accurate description of TRAITOR Trump.  Read this book and if you finish it before I do send me an e-mail or a comment on this blog post.

 

  
Trump/Russia by Seth Hettena  This book provides an excellently researched timeline of the more than 30 year history of interactions between TRAITOR Trump and Russia.  Hettena's reputation as a reporter, researcher, and writer are excellent.  He is a graduate of Johns Hopkins University and that, in itself, is a recommendation of his mind and ability to function successfully in a high pressure environment.

 

 

The Restless Wave by John McCain  "Worse misfits have not been seen in a White House since William Taft got stuck in his bathtub."  (John McCain, p. 327)  When I read that sentence in John McCain's last book, I laughed out loud.  I have not reviewed this book yet, and have a few pages left to read before I finish it but this book is the most pleasant surprise I have had in a book in quite some time.  I began reading it since McCain has recently died and he had up put some level of public resistance to TRAITOR Trump.  However, in 2016, he had failed to go the full mile and endorse Hillary Clinton for president instead of just refusing to endorse TRAITOR Trump. Yet this book is far more positive about Hillary Clinton and President Barack Obama than toward TRAITOR Trump.  I had begun the book expecting to hear a pretty standard espousal of fairly Right Wing Repugnican politics and a play by play of McCain's career.  But the book is often very honest about McCain's serious misgivings, distrust, and opposition to TRAITOR Trump.  But once again, he fell short of taking the full step and calling a spade a spade.  But the book is very well worth reading.   

 

The Plot To Destroy America by Malcolm Nance Malcolm Nance is a career US Navy man and the author of several books on counter terrorism, intelligence, national security, and Islamic extremism.  He is a trained intelligence expert and cryptologist.  His unique perspective and ability to write about what he knows without endangering his security clearance or his reputation is remarkable.  Malcolm Nance is the kind of person you could expect someday to be a national security adviser to the next duly elected, legitimate administration to occupy the White House.

Russian Roulette by Michael Issikoff & David Corn  These two authors are writers for Yahoo News and Mother Jones Magazine respectively.  This book is another examination of the Russian interference in the 2016 election.  While I consider Mother Jones to be a far more reputable source of news than Yahoo, these two authors also have excellent reputations and their work is well respected.

Fear by Bob Woodward Bob Woodward needs no introductions anywhere in the world.  He is one of the two men who broke the story of the Watergate Conspiracy and eventually could be said to have helped bring about the resignation of Richard Nixon.  His reputation is flawless and he has steadily written political works since the 1970's.  Nearly all his books, more than a dozen, have been best sellers and above average works.  His ability to develop sources deep within sheltered organizations was first seen in the information he and his co-author Carl Bernstein obtained from Deep Throat who eventually revealed himself as a Deputy Director of The FBI.  This might be the first book some of you read or may have already read.  Tell me about it if you have.

The Apprentice: Trump, Russia and the Subversion of American Democracy by Greg Miller This book was written by Pulitzer Prize winning Washington Post reporter Greg Miller.  No author should ever need to have their resume bolstered after having been employed at the best newspaper in the nation and winning a Pulitzer Prize.  Place this book high on your list of works to be read as I have.  I can't wait to get to it and neither should you. 

Everything Trump Touches Dies: A Republican Strategist Gets Real About the Worst President Ever by Rick Wilson  Numerous reputable Republicans who desire to keep their reputations intact have spoken out over the last three years about the crimes and ignorance of TRAITOR Trump.  Many have left the Republican Party over his actions.  The rest should do the same.  Rick Wilson has a more than thirty year career as a Republican political operative and worked in the Department of Defense under Dick Cheney.  His resume and his political roots make this book worth examining. 

House of Trump, House of Putin: The Untold Story of Donald Trump and the Russian Mafia by Craig Unger Craig Unger has a Harvard education and a growing list of books written primarily about connections between Republican politicians and less than desirable partners. This book examines the long history between TRAITOR Trump and the Russian Mafia whose upper echelon members own many of the apartments in Trump Tower.  Nothing more need be said about that connection when you look at the list of business deals and money laundering schemes which have been perpetrated between these prinicpals. This book seems to be worth the time to read it.  Let me know what you think if you get to it before I do. 

 

 

Collusion Secret Meetings, Dirty Money And How Russia Helped Donald Trump Win by Luke Harding  I have reviewed this book here.  This is the first historical book that I read about the crimes of the TRAITOR Trump. It was well worth the experience and has often guided me in my choices about other subsequent reading.  Luke Harding is a writer for The Guardian and is a tremendous writer, researcher, and fact finder in the very dangerous world of international politics.  He and his colleagues are on that list of journalists whom every American citizen should read regularly.  This book goes a very long way to explain and corroborate the information contained in the Steele Dossier which literally began the revelations about the crimes of TRAITOR Trump.  This book also does a great job of putting the timeline of the crimes of TRAITOR Trump into a logical frame for the less aware reader.  This book "reads like a spy novel" is what my friend and follower of this blog Steve Sargent said about it.  My response to that was "it is a spy novel". However, it is also the farthest thing in the world from fiction.  

Facts And Fears by James Clapper This book continues James Clapper's public denunciation of the crimes of TRAITOR Trump.  I have reviewed it here.  The one glaring shortcoming in the book is the use of acronyms for literally dozens of branches of the federal government and international agencies which Mr. Clapper worked with or for during his lifetime of public service.  For the person not well versed in the federal bureaucracy, this use of hundreds of acronyms is confusing and irritating in spite of the insertion of a list of full names in the back of the book.  But this book is one of the first on the list that I would suggest that you read.  It is a fine historical perspective on American intelligence efforts over the last forty years and brutally honest, especially so about the Russian collusion and hacking of our 2016 election.   

A Higher Loyalty Truth Lies And Leadership by James Comey  First and foremost, I want to say that this book is about James Comey and his life of public service much more than it is about his firing and public victimization by TRAITOR Trump.  I have reviewed it here.  This book, just as is true of James Clapper's is much more about facts and history than it is about any emotion the author might feel toward the current illegal occupant of the White House.  It is an excellent piece of work which I do not believe would have ever been written if Mr. Comey had not felt that it was his duty as a patriot and lifetime public servant to do so because of the criminality of TRAITOR Trump.  Read it!  Learn from it!  Familiarize yourself with and utilize the truths it contains. 

 

United States Constitution The US Constitution and individual rights will be under attack from the first second the Republicans take control of the US government.  Donald Trump has already, on numerous occasions, stated a desire to restrict freedom of the press, freedom of speech, and all rights of Muslim citizens and immigrants in general.  Every citizen should have a solid understanding of the Constitution, Bill of Rights, and the Declaration of Independence.  Every citizen should also be willing to stand up and speak out in defense of these basic principles of American Democracy at any time Trump or his generally uneducated, ignorant, and unprincipled followers make attacks on these concepts.  The Capitol Net publishes pocket copies of the Constitution and many other important American political documents which are cheap and easily ordered from their web site.   Capitol Net will actually send you a free pocket copy of the Constitution upon request. Get a copy, read it, study it, understand it, carry it with you wherever you go, and be prepared to confront ignorance about the foundations of American Democracy wherever you encounter it. 

The Federalist Papers by Alexander Hamilton, James Madison, and John Jay Do not ever listen to and accept the opinion of another about what the Founding Fathers thought, intended, or wanted.  Read what they said for yourself and form your own opinion.  

"Mein Kampf" by Adolph Hitler Donald Trump's campaign was a carbon copy of the campaign Hitler used to gain power in Germany.  One of Trump's ex-wives has stated that he kept a copy of Hitler's speeches by his bed.  Many of the same techniques Adolph Hitler and Vladimir Putin have used to gain and maintain power are the same being used by Donald Trump today and that use is not accidental. The Big Lie is being used every day by TRAITOR Trump just as it was used by Adolph Hitler.  It is deliberate emulation of Adolph Hitler. 

Black Earth The Holocaust As History And Warning by Timothy Snyder One of the most cogent quotations from history comes from the philosopher George Santayana:  "Those who cannot remember the past are condemned to repeat it."  Donald Trump is backed by a coalition of extremist groups ranging from the Ku Klux Klan to the American Nazi Party.  Trump has consistently refused to condemn them, their ideologies, or their actions.  Here is a link to a great story from Mother Jones about those groups.  Most of the followers of these groups are psychologically very similar to the German citizens who became Hitler's Brown Shirts and SS Troopers.  And the most important thing to remember about the Germans who carried out Adolph Hitler's crimes against humanity is that before Adolph Hitler rose to power those people were considered to be ordinary German citizens just as most of Trump's followers would have us believe they are ordinary American citizens.  This book by Timothy Snyder looks at the Holocaust both as a historical event and as an event that could be repeated if the people of today do not heed the warnings provided by the Holocaust.  This is one of the most important books to have been written in the last 25 years. 

Stubborn Twig: Three Generations In The Life Of A Japanese American Family For those of you who do not believe that anything remotely resembling the crimes of the Holocaust could happen in America, this book is a must read as Donald Trump rises to power after having preached disrespect, disregard, and unconstitutional labeling of groups in America such as the media, Muslims and immigrants.  It details the life of a very successful and patriotic Japanese American family which had their land and property seized during World War II and were sent off to interment camps simply because of their ethnicity.  Yes, it can happen in America and it already has under the administration of one of the greatest American Presidents, Franklin D. Roosevelt.  

The Cherokee Removal A Brief History With Documents edited by Theda Perdue & Michael Green  For those of you who have read "Stubborn Twig..." and still find yourselves saying it couldn't happen here, it already has...twice, once to the Japanese Americans and once to the Cherokee.  In many ways, the disrespect that Trump shows to Muslims and immigrants is a lot like the attitude which Andrew Jackson showed the Native Americans.  

The United States Of Appalachia How Southern Mountaineers Brought Independence, Culture, and Enlightenment To America by Jeff Biggers  This book will teach you a great deal about the birth of American Democracy, especially for those of you who have never heard of the State Of Franklin.  Jeff Biggers will also show you a lot about how a few dedicated citizens can change a country for the better. 

A Nation Defiant Polish Resistance To The German Occupation Of Poland by Richard S. Fuegner  The only way the country will be able to successfully resist, confront, and stop the destruction of American Democracy by Traitor Trump and his henchmen will be by utilizing a committed, determined, and well organized populist resistance.  Such a resistance is forming in America and can win this battle in the long run but that resistance must learn techniques which have been successful in other periods and other places.  This is an excellent book about the Polish resistance and will teach you a lot.

When Even Angels Wept by Lately Thomas During 1954, Senator Joseph McCarthy of Wisconsin led an effort known as the Communist Witch Hunts which destroyed the lives and careers of many thousand falsely accused Americans.  Senator McCarthy, another classic megalomaniac, led a senate investigation into alleged communism in the country and dragged hundreds and thousands of innocent socially active people in front of the committee where they were pilloried, denigrated, and defamed with little to no evidence in most cases.  Many of these people spent the rest of their lives unemployed, defamed, and in poverty.  But Senator McCarthy was confronted and stopped before he could completely destroy the country and American Democracy.  This is a great book to learn about one of the most shameful episodes in the history of the country and to utilize that knowledge to prevent TRAITOR Trump and his henchmen from perpetrating another such crime.  

I hope every person who reads this post will go on to read at least one of the listed works, especially the United States Constitution, which will be under attack for the next four years by the Republican Party whether or not Donald Trump is successfully prosecuted for treason.