“The great enemy of the truth is very often not the lie – deliberate, contrived and dishonest, but the myth, persistent, persuasive, and unrealistic.  Belief in myths allows the comfort of opinion without the discomfort of thought.”

The Mr. Donald J. Trump of the United States of America and the Prime Minister of Israel, Mr. Benjamin Netanyahu, have come together and agreed to bar two U.S. members of congress – both of whom are women of color and Democrats, from entering Israel.  There has been talk about why Democratic Representatives Ilhan Omar and Rashida Tlaib were denied entry that ranged from them not following customary protocol to an Israeli law that bars anyone from entering Israel who promotes a boycott of Israel.  They ultimately settled on the Israeli law that prohibits anyone who promotes boycott legislation against Israel from entering the country.

Mr. Trump and Prime Minister Netanyahu certainly could not go with the talking point that Representatives Omar and Tlaib did not follow customary protocol because that would have immediately exposed Prime Minister Netanyahu as a complete hypocrite: do you remember when he came to the United States and spoke on the floor of the United States Congress without informing the White House when President Obama was in office?  I do!  And I also remember that he went there with the specific purpose to undermine President Obama’s efforts to make a deal with Iran regarding nuclear weapons.  He was lobbing our congressmen to vote against their own president!

Prime Minister Netanyahu is well aware that the majority of Americans believe that the Mr. Donald J. Trump of the United States of America is a racist and that many of us believe that he is also a white supremacist.  Mr. Trump has publicly stated that “I am a nationalist…but not a white nationalist.”  It is very unlikely that Prime Minister Netanyahu believes that Mr. Trump is a “Nationalist but not a white nationalist!”  Prime Minister Netanyahu is also aware of how Mr. Trump has treated and continues to treat people of color in America yet-and-still he willingly works with him hand-in-glove while he implements his xenophobic agenda against the poor, women and anyone who is not white.  Prime Minister Netanyahu knows that this is not the right thing to do but he still does it in order to achieve his personal political goals.

American Republican politicians are just as bad as Prime Minister Netanyahu when it comes to their fear of Mr. Trump.  This fear fuels their willingness to continue to enable him and wink at his antics no matter how much they degrade the Office or how disgusting they are.  Furthermore, virtually all congressional politicians whether they are Democrats or Republicans are afraid to say anything negative about Israel even when chastisement is well deserved and despite what Prime Minister Netanyahu does in the way of kowtowing to Mr. Trump.  Although they know that Prime Minister Netanyahu is indulging Mr. Trump for political purposes while he accuses the two previously mentioned congresswomen of hating Israel, these American politicians remain virtually silent for their own political purposes.  They have also remained quiet for the same reason when Mr. Trump has accused his other political enemies – including American voters who didn’t vote for him, of hating Israel.

Prime Minister Netanyahu and all of these congressmen know that those people that Mr. Trump is accusing of hating Israel don’t hate Israel.  They know that this is just a political ploy that Mr. Trump is using to keep his base excited in order to enhance his chances of getting reelected in 2020.  These congressmen should not stand by silently while Mr. Trump blatantly keeps his foot on the collective neck of people of color, women, and the poor.  Mr. Trump has proven time-and-again that he is incapable of being shamed.  But these politicians who are enabling him should be ashamed of themselves.  And if they have even a grain of dignity left, a desire to live up to the oath that they took when they were sworn into office, and any empathy whatsoever for those whom they were elected to serve and humanity in general then they should speak up.

They should speak truth to power to both the Mr. Donald J. Trump of the United States of America and to Prime Minister Netanyahu!  After all, Israel, which is headed by Prime Minister Netanyahu, receives billions of dollars in aid from the United States so he should be held to account also!  All of those tax dollars that provide that aid to Israel come from American tax payers and that means that a part of that is my money too!  Prime Minister Netanyahu should not be baring U.S. congresswomen from entering Israel at the urging of Mr. Trump simply to please him.

Whether or not these American congressmen will have the courage to stand up to Mr. Trump and Prime Minister Netanyahu remains to be seen.  But I have no doubt that there are plenty of other people of color and white people who believe in truth and fairness who feel the same way that I do.  Even if politicians do not meet the challenge and speak up I am confident that those people of color and white people that were just mentioned will.  That notwithstanding, the fact is that it is incumbent upon our elected politicians to stand up to Mr. Trump and anyone else who challenges our democracy no matter how major or minor that challenge might be.

These politicians should be constantly working to pull all people – no matter the color of their skin, to the side of the ledger that our founders envisioned for America and not abandon them without leadership and guidance on Mr. Trump’s side of it.  They should not allow Mr. Trump to infect and corrupt everything that America stands for and has ever stood for in order to line the pockets of himself and his family.  We are Americans and, just like these elected politicians, all of us have a responsibility to America and our fellow Americans as well.

Therefore, we need to fulfill our responsibility, which includes the responsibility to vote, to insure that our democracy will remain strong by doing the right thing even when it is hard.  And with the ball of confusion that Mr. Trump has wrapped all Americans up in and with his helter-skelter leadership (if one can call it that) style, it is hard.  Too many of us have retreated to our comfortable corners where all of the people look and think like us, circled the wagons and are prepared for what we perceive to be the battle to come.  We don’t trust anyone outside of our circled wagons.

This is not the way that things should be.  Too many of us have allowed Mr. Trump to instill fear in us and either pull us over to his side of the ledger or so badly divide us that we find ourselves unable to function as normal, reasonable human beings.  Mr. Trump is used to all of this confusion and divisiveness because this is how he has lived his entire life and now he is trying to get the rest of America to normalize this madness.  Let’s not allow this to happen.  Instead, let’s use our power, which is our vote, to place someone in the Oval Office who is worthy of it and who as president will honor the Office and its long-held honorable traditions.

So always remember, whether you are a Democrat, Republican or Independent, your vote is the most important one of all…unless you don’t use it!

Eulus Dennis – author, Operation Rubik’s Cube and Living Between The Line

“The great enemy of the truth is very often not the lie – deliberate, contrived and dishonest, but the myth, persistent, persuasive, and unrealistic.  Belief in myths allows the comfort of opinion without the discomfort of thought.”

After the mysterious death of Jeffrey Epstein, the Mr. Donald J. Trump of the United States of America and his minions are trying to get ahead of the curve on anything that might be said about Mr. Trump’s involvement with him.  Just like Attorney General William Barr did with the Mueller Report they want to put a Mr. Trump spin on any involvement that Mr. Trump had with Jeffrey Epstein.  They are attempting to do this by obfuscating and laying any potential findings of wrongdoing by those associated with Mr. Epstein squarely at the feet of everyone else; especially those among those ‘everyone else’ who are Democrats or who support Democrats.

Just like Mr. Barr’s promulgation almost a month ahead of time of his false narrative on the Mueller Report conclusion before the media and the public had the opportunity to read the redacted version of this Report and draw their own conclusion was misleading in favor of Mr. Trump and caused confusion; Mr. Trump and his minions are trying to do the same thing with the Jeffrey Epstein situation.  The Mr. Donald J. Trump of the United States of America kicked off his efforts to distance himself from Jeffrey Epstein, obfuscate and create confusion around his own involvement with him by retweeting a conspiracy theory about Jeffrey Epstein and former president Bill Clinton.

Shortly after Mr. Trump’s tweet, Mrs. Kellyanne Conway – Mr. Trump’s counselor, defended Mr. Trump’s retweet of this conspiracy theory by downplaying it and saying that the Mr. Donald J. Trump of the United States of America just “wants everything to be investigated.”  To suggest that this is why Mr. Trump retweeted this conspiracy theory, on its face, is highly questionable since Mr. Trump has done everything in his power to block congress from getting to the truth about things concerning him (that could possibly exonerate him) in their ongoing investigations involving him.

And as far as the Department of Justice (DOJ) conducting an investigation into Mr. Epstein’s untimely death and Mr. Trump’s previous involvement with him, their credibility is currently barely above zero so why should anyone believe any conclusion that the DOJ arrives at?!  Mr. Barr has already proven that he is just a Trump toady!  And unfortunately, the FBI operates under his jurisdiction so no matter how honest, dedicated, professional and above board the individuals that are a part of the FBI might be, their collective conclusion can easily be tainted by him.

Based on documents that were recently unsealed by the court, there were many high-level US government officials and other high-level socialites and foreign officials that were associated with Mr. Epstein.  Existing news clips show that before he became the Mr. Donald J. Trump of the United States of America, Mr. Trump was aware of Mr. Epstein’s affinity for extremely young women and that he partied with him.  This does not mean that Mr. Trump was aware that Mr. Epstein was trafficking in young girls but by association the implication is there and that is why an honest, above board investigation needs to be conducted.

Such an investigation can serve to either clear or implicate Mr. Trump.  Should it indicate that he was aware that Mr. Epstein was involved in unlawful activities and that Mr. Trump continued to associate himself with him, then the proper persons or official organizations can determine how to proceed.  However, such an investigation would be made more difficult and its outcome harder to accept as fully credible if anyone attempts to obfuscate by putting up roadblocks or interfering in any other way.  This is why Mr. Trump, Kellyanne Conway and all of his other minions should refrain from putting forward conspiracy theories or doing anything else that will taint the Epstein investigation.

One could reasonably argue for a number of reasons that Attorney General William Barr should recuse himself from this case.  How helpful that might be is questionable because of how badly the Mr. Donald J. Trump of the United States of America and Attorney General Barr have already tainted the credibility of the DOJ: no one knows how deep the political rot has already penetrated.  So although a recusal would be the right thing to do, it might not do much to enhance the credibility of the findings or ultimate conclusion determined.

The likelihood that the Mr. Donald J. Trump of the United States of America and those around him will allow an investigation into Jeffrey Epstein’s death to go forward without interference is already obvious.  They will not.  The investigation has only just begun and Mr. Trump has interjected himself into it by tossing a conspiracy theory up against the wall of things that will need to be investigated to see if it will stick.  This conspiracy theory has already gained traction and is spreading fast.  At the same time, Attorney General Barr is continuing to work hard to put the ‘Trump spin’ on things in advance of any actual findings and the final determination of the case.

Americans have been and continue to be given blaring warning signs that America is headed in the wrong direction and that our democracy is in imminent danger.  We have an election coming up in 2020 and through our vote, we can do something to change the situation and the direction in which we are traveling.  Hopefully we will have the courage to make that change.  So always remember, whether you are a Democrat, Republican or Independent, your vote is the most important one of all…unless you don’t use it!

Eulus Dennis – author, Operation Rubik’s Cube and Living Between The Line

Conceived shortly after his unexpected 2016 election win, Mr. Donald J. Trump’s conception of Trump’s America has finally begun to materialize.  The record indicates via his sordid personal, business and political history that he has lived his entire life in the “Trump’s America” bubble.  And now as the Mr. Donald J. Trump of the United States of America he is trying to expand the “Trump’s America” bubble so that it covers, not just the echoes of his mind, but all of the real America.

Working out of the Oval Office with the strong support of Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell and the rest of the Republicans in the Senate and House, he is moving full speed ahead to implement his full agenda.  Because Mr. Trump’s self-proclaimed “I am a nationalist” proclamation appears to be an intricate part of his “Make America Great Again” (MAGA) crusade, which he is hell bent on bringing to fruition no matter the cost, and his base – that appears to espouse these white nationalist ideals and is strongly focused on the second amendment of the Constitution is also an intricate part of his MAGA crusade, and all of these things smoothly dovetail with his constant hateful rhetoric, the latest mass shootings are worth mentioning.

There have recently been shootings in El Paso, Texas and Dayton, Ohio that have involved the use of assault-type weapons that have killed at least 31 people and wounded at least 40 others.  So far the Mr. Donald J. Trump of the United States of America has had very little to say about it that serves to console the American people and bring us together; and congressional Republicans have continued to eschew their responsibility to speak truth to power by failing to confront him for his lack of leadership.

Even the lip service that they have provided has been sparse likely due to their fear of upsetting Mr. Trump.  Senator Ted Cruise spouted some strong words denouncing white supremacy and hatred that might have had a stronger impact on the American people had the Mr. Donald J. Trump of the United States of America said them even though the majority of Americans would have known that they were the words of a proven liar and hypocrite.  They would have known that they were the hollow words of “Teleprompter Trump” and not the sincere words of “Trump bubble” Trump.

Neither Senator Ted Cruise nor any of the other congressional Republicans should be given a free pass for not standing up to Mr. Trump because they are afraid that they will not be reelected if they do.  What good are they to America anyway if they are reelected if they refuse to do their sworn duty to protect America against all enemies foreign and domestic?!  Are Americans supposed to reelect these politicians just for the sake of reelecting them?!  I don’t think so!

As the Trump train continues to barrel forward like some bizarre version of the train in the movie “Unstoppable”, without our elected politicians in Washington stepping up and doing their job, Americans can only hope and pray that the Trump train will have an ending as uplifting as the one in the movie…  Or – beyond hopes and prayers, we can wait until the 2020 election when American voters will have the opportunity to send these politicians a “no uncertain terms” message that we will not tolerate their cowardice and that they will pay dearly during elections for any dereliction of duty.  Hopefully, we will have the courage to do this.

Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell and many other Republicans have said that the Mr. Donald J. Trump of the United States of America is not a racist.  And even after the horrific events that recently took place in Texas and Ohio, their silence says that they continue to believe this; or at least, that is the way that they are going to continue to spin his racist behavior.  The definition of racist in every dictionary that I know of says that Mr. Trump is a racist.  And how all of his Republican minions can continue to say to the public that he isn’t without being challenged is a mystery to me.

How they can continue to say that he is blameless in the terrible situation of hatred and divisiveness that we currently find ourselves in is also a mystery to me.  If Republicans say that Mr. Trump is not a racist then someone needs to ask them what their definition of racist is!  And if they say that it is ridiculous to lay any blame on him for what these latest two shooters have done then should we not attribute any blame to those of foreign countries who radicalize foreign terrorist and urge them to wreak havoc in our country?!

By spewing the language of hate and divisiveness the Mr. Donald J. Trump of the United States of America is radicalizing those who are committing the heinous acts like those that occurred in Texas and Ohio.  It can reasonably be argued as to whether he is doing this by accident or on purpose but it is obvious that he is doing it so to deny that would be farcical.  The Mr. Donald J. Trump of the United States of America has said publicly that he is a nationalist and tried to spin his statement in such a way as to say he is a nationalist but not a white nationalist.

Most of the American people who heard him say that he is a nationalist but is not a white nationalist likely believe that this is a ludicrous statement.  After all, white nationalist certainly believe that he means that he is a white nationalist and they have made this known whether directly or indirectly.  But most importantly, this is not something that a president who knows and understands the importance of this office and what the impact of what he says has on America and the rest of the world should say.  They should know that words have consequences; especially the words of the most powerful person in the world!

If Americans intend to survive the situation that we find ourselves in while maintaining our democracy as we know it we must act now and in the 2020 election.  We must act now by holding Mr. Trump accountable for his lawlessness and the damage that he has done and is doing to America.  And we must hold him and those in congress who have enabled him and continue to do so to account in the 2020 election.  This article has spoken at length about the cowardice of congressional Republicans because they refuse to stand up to Mr. Trump and speak truth to power.  As American voters we too have a responsibility to do the right thing.  It is important that we do more than just provide lip service.  All eligible voters must fulfill our civic duty to vote; especially in light of America’s current situation.

Since Russia interfered in our 2016 election for the precise purpose of helping Mr. Trump to get elected, to pit Americans against one another and to create animosity and confusion, there is no doubt that they are thrilled with what is happening in America!  But we can fix things with our vote.  And once we have a president in office that is serious about upholding their sworn oath to protect America and to place her interest above their personal interest, we can demonstrate to Russia that they were wrong to interfere in our election and let them know that such interference will not be tolerated.

And once we fix things by way of our vote in 2020, it will serve to reinforce how important it is that you always remember that whether you are a Democrat Republican or Independent, your vote is the most important one of all…unless you don’t use it!

Eulus Dennis – author, Operation Rubik’s Cube and Living Between The Line