“… government of the people, by the people, for the people, shall not perish from the earth.”
The above words were spoken by President Abraham Lincoln on Thursday, November 19, 1863, at the dedication of the Soldiers’ National Cemetery in Gettysburg, Pennsylvania. The speech was to become one of the best-known speeches in the history of this nation. Read the words again, please. 
Today, I truthfully and without rhetoric or bombast, state that the government of the people, by the people, and for the people has, in fact, perished from at least the United States. The word ‘democracy’ is a fantasy that is bandied about by some, but the majority of us can plainly see what is before our very eyes … we have been had.
Earlier this year, four of the world’s largest auto makers — Ford Motor Company, Volkswagen of America, Honda and BMW – struck a deal with the State of California to ignore Trump’s rollback of emissions standards and continue their efforts to reduce CO2 emissions in an effort to stem the tide of climate change. Our health depends on it. The air we breathe and the water we drink depends on it. The lives of 7+ billion people, including you and me, depend on it. I applaud this cooperative effort between one of the most polluting industries and the State of California.
The federal government does not applaud this effort, and in fact is challenging it. Today, the U.S. Department of Justice announced that it will open an investigation as to whether the four automakers violated federal antitrust laws by reaching a side deal to follow California’s stricter rules. Additionally, Trump is considering a plan to revoke California’s legal authority to enforce stricter greenhouse gas emissions rules within its state borders.
To put this into the simplest possible terms … California is saying that they want to try to rescue our environment, save lives, and Trump is saying, “No … you must make the air as unhealthy as possible!”.
And, if you aren’t concerned enough about the environment, think of your own wallets! Trump is actively promoting cars that use more fuel, which means you will be buying more fuel just to get to work and back home each day.
According to the New York Times …
Top lawyers from the Environmental Protection Agency and Transportation Department on Friday sent a letter to Mary Nichols, California’s top clean air official, saying, “The purpose of this letter is to put California on notice” that its deal with automakers “appears to be inconsistent with federal law.”
Government for the people? I think not. More like … government for the rich fossil fuel barons. Government by the people? With a billionaire in the White House and 358 of the 535 members of Congress being millionaires, I don’t think we can say it is a government by the people. Government of the people? Our elections are increasingly unfair and dishonest: think voter disenfranchisement, lack of voter security against outside influences, gerrymandering. Additionally, once elected, our senators and representatives seem to forget the best interest of those of us who put them in office. So no, I don’t think our government is of the people, either. Mr. Lincoln was fortunate not to have lived to see this day.
You have a fascist dictator of the worst kind… He is uneducated and dim-witted too.
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Yep, that’s for sure. Now, we need to get rid of him before it’s too late.
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With a billionaire in the White House — I’m assuming you’re referring to tRumpsky? If so, from what I’ve read, the “billionaire” rating is in his head only.
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Eh, it’s impossible to know. His reported net worth is, last time I checked, around the $3 billion mark, but without seeing his balance sheet, his tax returns, it’s impossible to say. Either way, though, he is wealthy by my standards, for I am just thrilled to have a few thousand in savings in case of a ‘rainy day’. But you know what? I wouldn’t trade my life for his any day, any way. I have something he hasn’t got … a few things, actually: a functional brain, peace of mind, a conscience, my pride, and friends … honest, genuine friends who like me for who I am, not for what I can give them or do for them.
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Problem is, Jill … he doesn’t miss any of those things you mentioned.
As for his wealth — like you say, who knows (except IRS auditors and his bookkeeper) for sure? But rumor has it …
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Then that’s his loss, isn’t it? If I didn’t hate him so much, I might actually feel sorry for him.
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Living outside the States, one tends to think that a lot of what one reads of Trump is hyperbole.
However, reading the letter sent to Mary Nichols – blinking, and then reading it again, what can one say but …. WTF?
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Believe it or not, most of what you read about Trump is absolute fact, and not hyperbole. He is … beyond belief in his ignorance and cruelty. They say that fact is stranger than fiction, and in this case it is true … no writer of fiction could likely have dreamed up a character as unfit for office as Trump. We have many of those WTF moments, on a near-daily basis. Sigh.
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Reblogged this on notestoponder.
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He is rolling over in his grave!
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No doubt he is, as are the framers of the Constitution that is being trampled to death. Sigh.
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Jill, this antitrust case is lacking in merit and will not prevail. But, your point is well taken. Yet, it also reveals a president who cannot tolerate criticism or not getting gis way. This childish behavior is not new, but it is alarming when departments of the government execute on the president’s temper tantrums.
Keith
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I hope you are right, Keith, but … it seems that so many things we thought could not possibly prevail, have. I have lost confidence that common sense and rule of law will prevail. Sigh.
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Jill, two things are clear. When the president’s little feelings get hurt he has his staff go to great pains to soothe his ego. The amount of time to assuage his ego is significant and wearisome.
The other is William Barr has damaged his reputation doing the president’s bidding. It did not end well for Michael Cohen and will likely not end well for Barr. Maybe Barr does not care, but he should. If you work for Trump, your reputation will be stained. Keith
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A few times this weekend I have seen articles that his staff is increasingly concerned about his mental stability and one where a staff member said they are relegated to “babysitting a 4-year-old”. This is concerning, for while I’ve never thought he was particularly mentally stable, if he is deteriorating, and he is crossed at the wrong moment, what might he do? Are there limits … does he have any bit of conscience that would stop him from doing something so heinous that lives would be lost over his whim? It’s concerning.
Yes, William Barr sold himself downriver and I hope he won’t need to work for a living after the Era of Trump comes to an end, for I think he has lost all credibility. Too bad, for he was once well respected.
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Jill, the stories they could tell! Oh wait, they have. I think re-reading Bob Woodward’s book “Fear,” might be appropriate.
In that book may be the best example of Trump’s modus operandi. On the “transgenders in the military” issue, James Mattis and others are waiting downstairs for a planned 10 am meeting to discuss the pros and cons of four options. As they waited, Trump sends out two tweets around 9:15 am saying the Joint Chiefs have met with him and decided on the most legally aggressive option. Of course, they had not met or decided, so that was a lie. This is when Mattis famously said he did not assume tweets were orders.
This shows a so-called leader that wasted people’s time, made them look foolish and then lied about it. This example is not isolated and sums up Trump the person and president in a nutshell. His word means nothing, but how he uses people like pawns shows contempt for others. He is indeed the Queen of Hearts to our Alice. Keith
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Along those lines, what’s your take on this latest news that he was going to ‘secretly’ meet with the Taliban at Camp David, but then canceled at the last minute? I don’t believe it for a minute, but I cannot help but wonder what his game is here? And yes, of all the books that have come out about Trump in the past two years (and I’ve read 3 of them thus far), Woodward’s was the best, the most credible, and would bear re-reading for sure.
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Jill, there are a lot of issues on the Taliban discussions. On the good side, peace talks are better than the alternative. On the bad side, what is lost on this president since he cares not to know history or context, is the president’s meeting with opposition gives higher credibility to the other person or group. Kim Jong Un has already won the global debate with Trump as Trump elevated him to the president’s level.
As for these talks, GOP Congresswomen Liz Cheney said having terrorists meet at Camp David is an awful idea. It gives them more credibility. Camp David should be reserved for leaders.
Finally, Trump has long overstated his abilities as a deal maker. A key reason is dealmakiing requires history, effort, patience, integrity and due diligence, known of these characteristics which are strengths of Trump’s. A person who has followed Trump for years said, Trump does not make deals – his people make the deals. It should be noted the NAFTA replacement deal was set to be signed eight months before until Trump got involved and monkeyed it up.
It should also be noted that Trump had a bipartisan deal for his wall funding in February of 2018 – $25 billon for the wall traded for DACA being made into law. After agreeing, he reneged later than day and now he is using military funds to be bulld a wall.
Keith
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I agree that talking beats the alternative … I just don’t trust Trump to be the one to do the talking. And, like you, I think he doesn’t understand either the history or the issues. The Taliban have reasons to hate the West … they didn’t all just wake one morning and say, “Let’s kill westerners!” But Trump is ignorant, and won’t listen to those who do understand the Middle East and all the nuances, so … sigh. Though I don’t care for her, I agree with Liz Cheney this time. And lastly, I think Trump’s ego is so large that it long ago pushed everything else out of his head. Sigh.
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Then let’s hope that no-one a nuclear capability ever gets caught looking at the nice Mr Trump’s teddy bear …
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That government was only there when the voters were male and white, and to bring that back would be an abomination. But the repugs are trying their damnedest to make America white again, and right now they are succeeding. If Trumpelstiltskin thought he could get away with it, he would disenfranchise all women and all men of colour. He might even set the voting age at 35, or some ridiculous number. That idea is probably being considered for after he gets his second mandate. Beware!
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Much of what you say is true. I’m fairly certain he would love to take voting rights away from minorities and women, and I wouldn’t be surprised if he would like to re-instate a poll tax or a property ownership requirement so that only those of a certain economic level could vote. He best not get his second mandate … I will drink drain cleaner.
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Under no circumstances while I live will you do that. Put it in his milkshake instead.
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Good idea!
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That’s not nice … but surely in a ‘Democracy’ you get what you asked for, no?
Aren’t Americans quoted ad nauseam as blaring about “Truth, Justice, Freedom, and the American Way”? So what is there to whimper about? (Or are you from a disenchanted minority, and you want something other than T J & F as currently displayed?) … … just vote the bugger out, no?
For myself as much as I genuinely and openly DO admire America and Americans—I think the Swiss have it all over you for democracy. (Sadly Americans make the mistake of believing your own propaganda …)
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No, I’m actually part of the majority who voted for a woman who would have made a fine president, but instead the minority, by hook and crook, gave the presidency to a buffoon who is destroying not only the nation, but possibly the planet. The majority of us did not, in fact, ask for this nightmare. That said, I would agree that there are other democracies that function much better than the one in the U.S., but … we must work with what we have. It is far easier for the Swiss you use as an example, for theirs is a much smaller nation of only 8.4 million vs the U.S. with 330 million.
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I was born and raised in rural southeastern Pennsylvania. Since early childhood I had been fully immersed in the history of the war fought at Gettysburg by my Father, a Civil War buff. Over the years, my siblings and I often walked that battlefield with him and listened as he recited from memory Lincoln’s Gettysburg Address. If I close my eyes and let my mind take me back across those years, I can still recall his impassioned voice speaking those same words you just wrote about. Several years before moving to Rhode Island, I lived in Gettysburg with my young Family. My school age Son and I took turns pushing my baby Daughter in her stroller to the battlefield. Countless hours were spent there, as I attempted to give him what had been given to me…admittedly, I was a poor substitute for my Father. Much as it pains me, I must acknowledge the veracity of the facts as you have presented them in this post. I can only imagine how my Father would feel were he alive today. Thank-you!
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So sad, but true. Hard to believe that in such a short time, we have forsaken the ideals of our nation, isn’t it?
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Don’t give up hope. Happy days will come again.
Cwtch
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I used to believe that. Reality says it is not a sure thing. No one is going to come save us. We have to do it ourselves. And right now we are not doing enough.
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Some days I believe that, and other days I think I have already given up hope.
Cwtch
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