For the last month or so, the media has been obsessed with the late billionaire Jeffrey Epstein and his infamous list of evildoers who were living as foul as he was.
And oddly enough, the MAGA republic is outraged because they bought into the idea that the Trump Administration was going to expose all of the secrets our government has been keeping from us.
President Trump did release the Martin Luther King Jr., file, and the Kennedy assassination file, but not the Epstein file. There is real outrage about this. What I can’t understand is why people care about that and not all the other things.
They could be outraged about his tariff policy, the way migrants are being treated, ICE and deportation efforts, FEMA response, and foreign policy, particularly Ukraine and Israel wars.
Instead, we’re outraged about a pedophiles list of co-conspirators? We’re worried about these predators being brought to justice? Are we all of a sudden interested in the safety of children?
This country aborts more than a million babies a year. This is the place where a mass shooter went into a Uvalde elementary school and slaughtered 19 children, 2 teachers, while injuring 17 others. We made no new laws for gun safety or reform. But now, we are so interested in the Epstein list. Serious?!?!???
President Donald Trump has a playbook. If we understood history better, we would have seen this coming. Trump has quoted Adolph Hitler and shown us that he is quite the fan of the dictator. At the end of his first term in office, he began to follow Hitlers actions to rise to power through the very system designed and created to keep people like Trump out.
Never in the history of US presidents have we had one like Trump. In the modern era, no other republican president in the last 50 years would have even voted for him. There is no other time in America after the Civil Rights Movement that the country would have elected such a man.
Hitler was quite radical in Germany, and his clear hatred of people labeled communists and Jews was apparent. Hitler was a part of the country that believed they lost World War I because of this group. There were three major events that led to the rise of Hitler, and there are also three major events that led to the rise of Trump.
As recorded in the Holocaust Encyclopedia, these are the events that led to the rise of Hitler:
June 28, 1919 The Treaty of Versailles is signed Germany loses World War I in November 1918. Germans are shocked and horrified. Many people, including Adolf Hitler, refuse to believe that the loss is real. They falsely blame Jews and Communists for Germany’s defeat.
This shock is intensified in June 1919, when Germany is forced to sign the Treaty of Versailles. The Treaty makes Germany accept responsibility for the war. Many Germans feel that the Treaty’s terms are too harsh. Germany has to make huge payments for damage caused by the war (known as war reparations). Also, according to the Treaty, the German army is limited to 100,000 troops. Finally, Germany is forced to transfer territory to its neighbors. The Nazi Party makes overturning the Treaty of Versailles a key part of its political platform. Many Germans welcome this Nazi promise.
November 8–9, 1923 The Beer Hall Putsch In the early 1920s, the Nazi Party is a small extremist group. They hope to seize power in Germany by force. On November 8–9, 1923, Adolf Hitler and the Nazi Party attempt to overthrow the government of the state of Bavaria. They begin at a beer hall in the city of Munich. The plotters hope to march on Berlin. But they fail miserably. The Munich police kill more than a dozen of Hitler’s supporters. Hitler and others are arrested, tried, and convicted of treason. This attempted coup d’état is called the Beer Hall Putsch.
The failure of the Beer Hall Putsch encourages Nazi leaders to change their strategy. Instead of using force, the Nazis focus on winning elections.
October 24 and 29, 1929 The stock market crash in New York In October 1929, the stock market crashes in New York and sparks a worldwide economic crisis. This crisis is called the Great Depression. The stock market crash impacts Germany almost overnight because the American and German economies have become closely intertwined. This economic connection is a direct result of financial negotiations relating to World War I reparations payments. Unemployment becomes a major problem in German society. Joblessness, homelessness, and begging are commonplace. These economic conditions make Nazi promises more attractive to voters.
In America, Trump was elected the first time for three major reasons: Many poor marginalized white Americans felt that they were forgotten by the establishment, and many benefits were going to blacks, Hispanics, and the LGBTQ communities; America was not ready for a female president; Hilary Clinton could not overcome her past and the perception the American people had of the Clinton’s overall.
Despite Trump proving that he was not fit to be president of the free world, parts of America wanted him to “shake things up” in Washington, and that’s what he did. There are people who can point out some good that he did, but it is hard to overlook the tens of thousands who died monthly during the pandemic. Under Trumps leadership, America was not prepared to deal with the pandemic, and what’s worse is that a couple of months before Covid-19 hit America, Trump thought it was something the democrats made up.
When Trump lost to Joe Biden, he attempted an insurrection just like Hitler in Nov. 1923, and it failed. The White Fear button was pressed during his second campaign as he began to prey on America’s prejudices. White people believed illegal immigrants were bringing drugs, particularly fentanyl, into our country as well as sending us all their worst prisoners. The democrats mishandled legislation regarding transgenders and some of their decisions were a bit ridiculous, particularly in how our tax dollars were being spent on transgender operations. Finally, the idea that DEI initiatives were unfair to white people. Add that to a very weak candidate in Kamala Harris and inflation, and Trump, the felon, returns to office.
Trump now spends his days writing executive orders to dismantel America, alienate our allies and side with world dictators with the hope that he can become like them. It is a harsh history lesson for American citizens, but spoiler alert: Hitler ultimately is defeated — fyi.
Next month, our Supreme Court will hear arguments as to whether former president Donald Trump is eligible to run for president given the 91 charges he is facing. The people are confused as to what is really happening because Trump is claiming he is immune from wrongdoing and that the charges are not valid.
There would have been a time in our recent history that the Republican party would select a more presidential candidate. George Santos was booted out of Congress for all the lying and cheating he has done. How is Trump different?
Would Ronald Reagan, George H.W. Bush or George W. Bush approve of such a candidate like Trump? Further, with the danger of election interference by Russia and Trump facing a ton of debt, are we not taking a chance with him being vulnerable to more corruption because of his debt?
Then there is current president Joe Biden. He might as well be 300 years old because, for some reason, despite the level of stress that comes with the job, would any former president agree with Biden continuing in this role? It is hard to believe that Bill Clinton and Barak Obama would agree that Joe is ready for another term. We know that both parties could support better candidates. But at this point, they can not be trusted.
The two-party system does not work for this reason. They have lost the trust of the people, and that is probably the only thing that can be agreed on.
So what is the country to do? This clear, good Ole Boy network in politics has betrayed us. The parties have lost sight of what the people really want. The majority of the people are tired of seeing money by the billions sent overseas, and we have millions of struggling people here.
We are tired of wars and being involved in wars. We are tired of our government taking care of everyone else by us.
Solution: All three branches of government need to be replaced. One huge election and nobody over 70 should be allowed to take any position. Our smartest and brightest people are between 40 and 60 years old, and we need to tap into that market. We need to have a greater balance of medical professionals, former teachers, business executives, and blue-collar workers in Congress. We should maintain a third of each. We need to pledge to take care of home first and settle our own issues so that we can reach out together as a country to help others, but not until we are good at home. Finally, we need to be as diverse as the U.N. white people should not dominate the branches. We need to embrace diversity and build a country that works for everyone and not just some.
Racism used to be a covert operation. Racist folks wanted to conceal their identity so as to not receive backlash from their choices. Now, it seems that it is fashionable to embrace racism just as the Tennessee lawmakers have done recently.
It appears that Tennessee is the testing ground before policies go national. Recent focus has turned to the banning on a Grammy award winning song by Allison Russell titled Eve was Black. The song links all races together and challenges the hate that is demonstrated by some seemingly because of race. It is bold, honest, and challenging.
The song holds the claim of the leading hypothesis among scholars in this area that the whole human race entered the world through the legs of a dark-skinned woman. Not Black, not Egyptian, not Hebrew, as there wasn’t a race back then, but the first humans were Black.
This truth bothers some people enough to ban the song in the state. Until we deal with the sin of racism, we are doomed to keep recycling it in our society. The following is the lyrics to Eve was Black.
Allison Russell
“Eve was Black, haven’t you heard? The Mother of All was Dark and Good Eve was Black, didn’t you know? Is that why you hate my Black Skin so? Is that why you hate my Black Skin so?
Does it remind you of what you lost? Do you hate or do you lust? Do you despise or do you yearn? To return, to return, to return
Back to the Motherland Back to the Garden Back to your Black Skin Back to the Innocence Back to the shine you lost When you enslaved your Kin
Why do you try to touch my hair? Do you hope to find a blessing there? Why do you try to keep me down? Do you hope to sow this barren ground With my black blood, black magic blood With my black blood, black magic blood
Do I remind you of what you lost? Do you hate or do you lust? Do you despise or do you yearn? To return, to return, to return
Back to the Motherland Back to the Garden Back to your Black Skin Back to the Innocence Back to the shine you lost When you enslaved your Kin
What do you hope for as you tie the rope? What do you hope for as you hoist me up? What do you hope for as you watch me swing? Will the Witness Tree Salvation bring?
Do I remind you of what you lost? Do you hate or do you lust? Do you despise or do you yearn? To return, to return, to return
Back to the Motherland Back to the Garden Back to your Black Skin Back to the Innocence Back to the shine you lost When you enslaved your Kin
Oh, my Sister, oh, my Brother Oh, my Mother, oh, my Father Oh, my Cousin, all my pale Kin Can’t wash this sin Can’t wash this sin Can’t wash this sin With my Black Blood With my Black Blood”
Some things need to be left in last year. The “newness” of the New Year is preserved in our excitement to go forward with great anticipation.
Bitterness tends to start slow and stay very long. It slips up on you and haunts you. From moment to moment, bitterness can creep in and change your mood, make you irritable, and steal your joy.
Bitterness is when you suffer a disappointing experience or you have been treated unfairly. Bitterness is the feeling you get as you continue to be angry about it.
Many people are living with their bitterness. America gives you a lot to be better about. There are some who believe that certain politicians are making laws against them. Some believe the government is giving away the good jobs to immigrants. Some believe in multiple conspiracies that will negatively affect their life. Some believe the criminal justice system is unfair. Others believe there is systemic racism that has greatly affected their growth. Still, others believe religion has harmed them, and you can’t trust the police.
Whether these things are true for you or not doesn’t matter, the point here is that all of these things would cause bitterness. So the following are three steps to help with your bitterness.
1) Put a price on your time and energy. It is extremely unproductive to continue repeating what has happened or sharing it with folks who haven’t heard. This doesn’t change the experience, it only keeps you married to it.
2) Confront to source. If someone has wronged you, it may be time to tell them how you feel about what happened.
3) Ask yourself why. You need to know why this is important to you. Why you can’t get past it. And why didn’t you see this coming.
ClydeStyle 