The Marco Rubio Pick for Secretary of State offers a Glimmer of Hope

by Rod Williams, Nov. 13, 2024- Since having to face the fact that Donald Trump won the election, all I can do is hope for the best. Trump supporters have never believed Donald Trump when he talked about recalling a retired general and having him court marshalled for treason or when he talked about suspending the Constitution or any of the other of his expressions of his authoritarian tendencies. After his supporters got past saying he really didn't say it, they would settle on he said but didn't really mean it or they would say he meant it but really wouldn't do it. Unlike his supporters, I believed Donald Trump. 

Now, that Trump will return to office, and return to office without the guardrails of his first term, I can only hope that his supporters were right, and I was wrong. I want to be wrong. If I was right, I can hope that our institutions can withstand the challenge. 

Court challenges can slow some of Trump's worst instincts. I know that many liberal critics of Trump think of the Supreme Court as Trump lapdogs. I don't. I think the Court will uphold the Constitution.  I also think our military take seriously their oath to the Constitution and they know they do not take an oath to a president. I don't think the military will shoot Americans even if ordered to do so by the president. Military officers can be fired by the president of course and loyalist can be promoted, but it would take a while to remake the military in Trump's image. 

Another factor that may mitigate Trump's authoritarian tendencies is that he may quickly overreach, and the public may turn on Trump and Republicans would lose the next mid-term.  If Trump imposes across the board tariffs, we will see an almost immediate increase in consumer prices and the public will not be happy. 

While I think securing the border and expelling criminal immigrants is popular, if people see long-time illegal immigrant being arrested as they leave church or neighbors being drug out of their home, people will turn against Trump. Hearing someone say they will do something extreme is one thing; seeing is something else. 

Also of course, there is some solace in that Trump is old, but not much. Trump is only a year older than me, and I do not feel like I am ready to kick the bucket anytime soon but life expectancy for American males is only 74.8 years, so maybe Trump won't live long enough to destroy our democracy. If he does complete this coming term, maybe he will be ready to retire in four years. In any event, I do not feel that this 2024 election will be our last. I think there is about a 90% chance we will again have a legitimate election in 2028. Despite my fears, I expect democracy to survive Trump.

I am paying close attention as Trump picks his cabinet and staff, looking for any glimmer of hope that Trump will not be as bad as I fear he could be.  I am trying not to focus on the negative and instead accentuate the positive. I saw a glimmer of hope in that Trump has selected Marco Rubio as his Secretary of State. Trump could have picked someone like Steve Bannon or Tucker Carlson or Marjorie Taylor Green. That is sort of what I expected. Trump did pick a totally unqualified talk show host to head the Department of Defense, and I expected an equally bad choice for State. 

Marco Rubio is qualified and smart and mainstream. He has served eight years in the Senate and is a member of the Foreign Intelligence Committee. He did, like most Republicans, bend the knee and kiss the ring, but Trump was not going to pick anyone who had not. Last term Trump surrounded himself with traditionalist establishment Republicans. I did not expect that this time. Anyone Trump picked would have to be a Trump loyalist. While Rubio proved himself to be a Trump loyalist, his loyalism came late. Rubio did vote against the most recent aid package to Ukraine. However, in 2022, Rubio said we should continue the funding of Ukraine as long as Ukraine would continue the fighting. I take some solace in that at least Rubio knows what the policy should be even though he buckled to Trump's will. In his heart, Rubio is not an isolationist. 

Another thing that encourages me about Rubio is that he was pretty much the architect of our policy toward Cuba, Venezuela and Nicaragua. When Biden came to office he kept those policies in place. 

I was watching an episode of The Bulwark last night and one of the members on the panel reported that he had a first-hand report from someone who was in the room who said that after Venezuela's Maduro did something particularly offensive that Trump was talking about invading and disposing Maduro and Rubio pulled out a mad and showed Trump why such a move would be risky and appealed to Trump's ego by explaining why such a move would prove embarrassing to Trump.  If true, that is the kind of person we need around Trump. Rubio appears to be a hawk but pragmatic. 

I'll take a glimmer of hope wherever I can find it. 

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All illegal immigrants should pack up and quickly move to California.

by Rod Williams, Nov. 11, 2024 - President elect Donald Trump as a candidate promised the biggest mass deportation in American History. Sometimes he said he would deport 15 million and other times he said up to 20 million. Now, some of his sycophants say he will start with the criminal illegals and those recently arrived, and that number might be two million.  They sound like maybe it may stop there. I don't know. 

I am supportive of President Trump's pledge to close the southern border, and I am supportive of expelling recent arrivals and criminals. I oppose deportation of 20 million people, many of whom have been living here for decades. The purpose of this post, however, is not to opine on emigration policy. I am posting this as a public service to illegal aliens, also known as undocumented residents. I am reposting this in Spanish using a translation program, so I don't know how well those works. I know there are illegals here from China and various African counties and other places and all illegal immigrants do not speak Spanish. I hope someone is getting them the message that doom may await. The message is that while deportation looms, there is hope. 

Like I said, I am not really sure that Trump will deport 15 to 20 million people. Trump talks a lot and doesn't deliver. You may remember he said he would build a wall, and Mexico would pay for it, and that didn't happen. So, his talk of mass deportation may be bluster. However, if I were a criminal illegal, I would be very worried. Since I am not an illegal, I have the luxury of just waiting to see what happens; if you are an illegal alien, you need to worry, especially if you are a criminal alien or on the terror watch list or a gang member.  However, all is not gloom and doom. You have a champion. 

California Governor Gavn Newsom is already preparing to fight back and make California a safe haven for illegal immigrants. President Trump does not take office for two and a half months, but Newsom is getting ready for battle. Newsom has called a special session of the legislature for Dec. 2 focused on bolstering the State's resources for the defense of what Newsom sees as fundamental rights. 

When Trump was previously President, California filed over 100 lawsuits contesting the president's actions on immigration. California's Attorney General Rob Bonta is ready to do it again. Last week Bonta announced that the state is prepared to defend its values against the challenges brought by a second Trump administration.

"I don't think there's anything that the Trump administration won't try in pursuit of its ends and goals, so we have to be prepared for anything," said Bonta. "Mr. Trump repeatedly overstepped his authority between 2016 and 2020. There's no reason to think he won't do it again. We checked him and we stopped him, and we pushed him back into his box when he tried to step out of it. And that's what the law is for. That's what AGs do."

"We won't be flat-footed come January. You can be sure that as California attorney general, if Trump attacks your rights, I'll be there. If Trump comes after your freedoms, I'll be there. If Trump jeopardizes your safety and your well-being, I'll be there," said Bonta.

All illegal immigrants should pack up and quickly move to California. California will protect you. Plus, the weather is nice.  Also, in January of this year California expanded the state's healthcare program to cover almost all illegal immigrants. There should be room for you in California, because the state is losing population. The super rich are fine with paying high taxes and living in their gated communities, but a lot of middle class are fleeing to places like Texas and Tennessee, so California can handle the influx. California is a welcoming state and will defend you. Go now while the gettin's good.  

Note: The translation program did not work. It kept automatically changing it back to English and I gave up. If you have contacts with the illegal immigrant community, help spread the word. Tell your lawn care guy.

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Trump didn't say that. Ok, he said it, but you're taking it out of context, Ok, Ok, it was in context but ......

by Rod Williams, Nov. 11, 2022- I have been and continue to be amazed about how unconcerned Trump supporters are with anything Trump says. I could list a good thirty of forty things that Trump has said that frighten, disgust or concern me. I could find forty without digging too deep. Many of you could too. I have on other post listed many of them, such as suspending the constitution, recalling a general and trying him for treason and on and on. There is no point in listing more here. I believe Trump when he says these things; his supporters do not. 

My friend Bill Bernstein posted the above in a Facebook post summarizing the respond of Trumpinistas to anyone pointing out outrageous and freighting things Trump says. The response is so standard that it almost doesn't need to be said. Often it is not said, but dismissed by a simple, "Fake News." 

By saying "fake news," Trumpinistas to not mean it is not true that Trump said it, is is that: "He didn't say that. Ok, he said that, but it was out of context. Ok, ok, it was in context but that wasn't what he meant. Alright, that is what he meant and damn straight we should do it. Fine, you have TDS and Orange Man bad."

When Donald Trump said, "I could stand in the middle of 5th Avenue and shoot somebody and I wouldn't lose voters," he was spot on.  

You may respond with a simple "Fake News." 

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