VOTE! VOTE! VOTE!

In the 2024 presidential election…

Like your life depends upon it…

It does!

If things continue to go for Trump in the U.S. justice system the way that they have gone for him throughout his entire life, the U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ) will need to change its mantra.  Or perhaps I should say that it will need to change several of them: Donald J. Trump has never been held to account for any of the wrong things that he has done; not really.  I say that he has not been held to account for “any,” wrong things based on public comments by his niece, Mary Trump.  But speaking specifically about the U.S. justice system, I have watched him avoid accountability for at least eight years now.  And that is why I say that the DOJ will need to change its mantra(s).

I have listened to Attorney General Merrick Garland try to assure the American people that the law applies to everyone in America equally.  I have heard him say things like: 1) No one is above the law, 2) We will apply the law without fear or favor, 3) We will pursue the facts wherever they take us.  Federal judges and other judges in the lower courts have echoed his words. And most of those saying these things are probably serious and mean them.

However, when it comes to how the system actually works and applying those mantras in the real-world U.S. judicial system, it’s not happening.  Their mantras are meaningless because their words are hollow and, therefore, fall short.  This is especially glaring in Donald J. Trump’s case.  That is why the mantras might need to be changed.  Perhaps they could say 1) No one is above the law except Donald J. Trump 2) We will apply the law without fear or favor except if the target of the investigation or defendant is Donald J. Trump and 3) We will pursue the facts wherever they take us except if these facts implicate or involve Donald J. Trump.

Trump Trumps the justice system!  He is the Joker in the deck where Jokers are wild!  So, if things are not going his way, he Trumps the proceedings, switches the suit to the suit that favors the hand he is holding, then moves forward and claims the victory.  Not only does he Trump the justice system, he does the same thing to the judicial system.  It seems that he has the entire judicial system sitting anxiously panting in front of him while eagerly awaiting any command so they can carry it out as quickly and efficiently as possible.  And for those who are not postured to anticipate and grant his wishes, it appears that he has the Supreme Court in line to watch his back and apply its full weight to assure, to the greatest extend possible, that things go his way.  And, of course, the packaging for this whole thing is Republicans in the U.S. Congress that worked tirelessly to put the Supreme Court Justices and other Trump-friendly Federal and lower-level judges in place.

Trump has shown America and the world time-and-time again who he is.  He has shown those who support him who he is and they should know that he does not care anything about them.  “I am the chosen one,” he said.  And as the “chosen one” he expects all his supporters to be completely loyal to him and protect him at all costs.  If they fail to do this even one time, no matter the situation that they are in, at his discretion, he will completely trash them and possibly completely ruin their lives and careers if they do not kiss his ring and beg for his forgiveness.  Even if he accepts them back into the fold after their kowtowing, his record says that he will still never let them forget that they failed him and will toy with them at his whim.

Subconsciously, I could not help but to contemplate while writing, how this article would impact those reading it.  So, I took a step back and took some time to try to view what I had written thus far from the perspective of those individuals, especially Republicans, because I thought; if the situation were reversed and someone wrote this about a Democrat and implied that a Democratic congress was somehow corrupt, as a Democrat, would I be upset?  Would I shutdown, stop reading, begin thinking about how biased the author is and move on to something else without giving reasonable consideration to what they had written?  And my thoughts were, probably yes…if I were not the kind of guy who strives to keep abreast on issues and whose experience has taught him to dig deeper and try to see things from the perspective of those that I disagree with.

So that is what I am asking those of you who disagree with what I have written so far to do.  Find a way to get through this article, you might learn something.  I know that I have learned and become more willing to seek common ground after earnestly listening to points of view that I did not want to hear and/or reading opinions of those whom I consider to be inherent adversaries.  And by “seriously” listening, I mean not just hearing the noise of their words while contemplating the cons that I would respond with.  I mean truly listening and hearing what they were saying, processing those things while placing myself in their shoes, and trying to see things from their perspective.  In this case, of course, that concept would need to be applied from the standpoint of written words.

So, here is my question to you and why I ask It followed by my rationale for why I ask it and urge you to support Vice President Kamala Harris and Minnesota Governor Tim Walz for President and Vice President, respectively, in the 2024 presidential election.  First, my question: Why would you vote for Trump if you know his record; and if you do not know it, don’t you think that you should know it to make an informed decision to vote for or against him?  I ask this question because of Trump’s personal record throughout his adult life including his record as a politician.  It is rife with vile things.  Things that involve personal characteristics and faults that are reasonably unacceptable to society – especially if that person is a politician, let alone one who is running to be President of the United States of America.

I know Trump’s record well and find it impossible for me to vote for him or anyone like him to be President of the United States of America; a position that demands the ability to accept responsibility, admit to mistakes, a belief in the rule of law, truth, justice, fairness, love of one’s fellow man, empathy, compassion, love of democracy, the peaceful transfer of power after losing an election, and much more.  Trump’s record is the antithesis of all these things.  That is why you should vote for Vice President Kamala Harris and Governor Tim Walz in the 2024 presidential election to be President and Vice President of the United States of America.

Finally, I will take the liberty to paraphrase former Arizona Republican Senator Jeff Flake; Republicans, if you vote for Vice President Kamala Harris and Governor Tim Walz in the 2024 presidential election, you are not a Democrat, you are a patriot!  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, M2: Street Cop To Top Cop, Operation Rubik’s Cube, and Living Between The Line

VOTE! VOTE! VOTE!

In the 2024 presidential election…

Like your life depends upon it…

It does!

What on God’s green earth is happing to America in this 2024 presidential election?!  Exactly who is the devil stirring up and why are they spewing such hateful venom?  Sure, the devil is going to take his pound of flesh in everything that goes on in this world whether it is politics or anything else that is happening in it; and he does not discriminate.  It does not matter to him whether you are a Democrat, Republican, Independent, man, women, boy or girl.  It does not matter your hue; Black, White, brown, red, yellow or whatever.  It does not matter whether you are Jew or gentile; Agnostic, Atheist, Buddhist, Catholic, or Christan.

This is not meant to imply that God is siding with Democrats and not Republicans or Vice President Kamala Harris and not Donald J. Trump, who claims to be “the chosen one;” I do not presume to know the slightest thing about such a complex subject.  It is too lofty for me.  But I do know that He is not siding with the devil no matter who is involved!  And I broach the subject simply because evangelicals have somehow become all but inextricably entangled in 2024 presidential race politics and so many in their congregations are saying that God is using Trump to accomplish His divine purposes.  I will not even venture to express an opinion on whether they are right or wrong to help inform you one way or the other because, again, this subject is too lofty for me.

Still, I will talk about Trump, the electoral college, this tight 2024 presidential race, the coward Republicans, and the Supreme Court of the United States (SCOTUS), which is bending over backwards and twisting itself into a political pretzel to help Trump out. I will talk about this to encourage those who still believe that the situation America is in is just politics as usual and we are in no real danger, to reconsider and reassess their conclusions.   It is important that all Americans take a real close look at America’s situation because its very democracy is at stake.  Under the existing circumstances, Party affiliation should be the least of our concerns and our country must be our primary concern.

There is much to fear in what is happening in America right now but it does not mean that we should be so froze by that fear that it prevents us from functioning mentally.  We must not allow it to prevent us from preforming our civic duty, especially when that is what is required to save America; to save our democracy!  Leaders of both major political parties have made serious choices that will bring about major changes in how our country will be run going forward.  In some cases, the choices one party has made are diametrically opposed to those of the other: and they are tectonic!  On one side of the choices argument is those who want America to remain a democracy and on the other is Trump and the Trump-led Republicans who want to remain in power at all costs even if those costs include the American democracy!

Trump has already said that he will be a dictator on day one, that if he is elected people will never need to vote again, and that he does not need any more votes in this 2024 presidential election.  Even though Trump is already a felon and is awaiting sentencing in the Hush Money Case against him in New York, is faced with myriad other legal woes, including 34 felony counts still being litigated, the Classified Documents Case against him in Florida, the Election Interference case against him in Washington, the Attorney General Letitia James Civil Case against him in New York, the Anti-Racketeering Case against him in Georgia, the race between him and Vice President Kamala Harris is still very close.

Elected Republicans in many states throughout the country are fighting to make it harder for legitimate voters to vote.  Those they appointed to fill key positions to support the elections process are trying to force last minute changes to this process in some states to favor Trump during the state election process and/or clog the system to the point that the states vote count might not reach the electoral college in time to be counted.  Although the Georgia Attorney General advised the Election Board not to do this because it is highly likely to be found to be illegal, they made the changes anyway.  Though Georgia Governor Briam Kemp agrees with him, neither he nor the attorney general have acted to do anything about it.  Under these circumstances, combined with Trump’s statement that he does not need any more votes, it is reasonable for voters to surmise that he intends to win by unfairly manipulating the electoral college votes count.

Based on Trump’s rhetoric during the 2020 presidential race about letting the election of the president go to the Congress for a decision and/or letting that decision be finally decided by the Supreme Court, it seems reasonable to surmise that Congress and the Supreme Court is his backup plan in the event that the unfairly manipulated electoral college plan does not work.  Since most of the elected Republicans who are not determined to remain in power at all costs are cowards, a few brave Republicans have spoken up, to surmise that Trump intends to win based on means other than fairly securing the requisite number of votes required to become president is only reinforced.

The American people deserve better!  We deserve better than someone who is constantly playing the part of the victim, verbally denigrating America, her institutions, and those who, at great sacrifice, protect America and her people with honor from enemies foreign and domestic.  We deserve better than someone who looks upon these great patriots as losers and suckers and refers to himself, obviously only for political purposes, to American women as their protector and to American men and women who support him as their retribution against other Americans.

We deserve better than someone who says they will suspend the Constitution, jail their political enemies, and suggests jailing those who dare to criticize SCOTUS justices.  And finally, we deserve a president who will pull Americans together instead of dividing us by continuously spewing words of hate, prejudice, and despair.  We need a president who is looking forward to the future and not backwards toward the past.  Based on these criteria there is only one choice; Americans need “Kamala Harris-for the people.”

Vote for Kamala Harris and Tim Walz in the 2024 presidential election; every vote is crucial.  In the words of Georgia’s Republican former Lieutenant Governor Geoff Duncan when addressing other Republicans, “Let me be clear to my Republican friends at home: If you vote for Kamala Harris in 2024, you’re not a Democrat, you’re a patriot.”  Come on Republicans, you know what is the right thing to do… just do it!

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, M2: Street Cop To Top Cop, Operation Rubik’s Cube and Living Between The Line

VOTE! VOTE! VOTE!

In the 2024 presidential election…

Like your life depends upon it…

It does!

SCOTUS shrugged: or did it?  Did the Supreme Court Of The United States shrug under the weight of Trump, his sycophants, and his “Make America Great Again” (MAGA) movement when, in essence, presented with the question; will the American people be willing to sacrifice whatever is necessary and fight for as long as it takes to preserve the American democracy?  Or did they, after being bolstered by the seating of the three new hand-picked Trump justices to the SCOTUS, just say no?  It seems fair to refer to these justices this way based on how Trump has bragged on them and referred to them as “my judges” and how the SCOTUS has made tectonic anti- stare decisis decisions, along partisan lines, since their appointment which seem to be based on nothing other than the supermajority established by their appointment.

Did the Supreme Court Justices make these decisions based on their personal feelings as to how they feel the country should be run rather than on the existing law of the land?  If not, why else would they make these kinds of decisions lightly without seriously considering, respecting, and honoring stare decisis; something that each of them emphatically claimed to deem of extreme importance in any decision to change proven, longstanding laws?  The SCOTUS has made no effort to help the American people to understand why they have made these decisions.  Instead, they have continued to make head scratching decisions that have raised the eyebrows of legal experts and the American people at large.  Yet, in their arrogance, they say that no other branch of government has the right or power to monitor them and continue to insist on monitoring themselves as regards their ethics and decisions.

As of the posting of this article, the 2024 presidential election is only 65 days away.  According to the polls, Vice President Kamala Harris and Trump are running neck-and-neck.  It is mindboggling that this is the case since Trump has so many things going against him.  He continues to fight to prevent any of the cases against him from going to trial before the election.  And so far, he is winning.  Much of his success can be attributed to the SCOTUS, whose supermajority seems to be pulling for him to be reelected, for slow-walking his appeal before ruling in his favor on “presidential immunity.”  Trump’s campaign is a mess, his running mate – J. D. Vance keeps digging the hole that he is already in deeper with his constant gaffs, and Trump, well, he continues to be Trump.  He is still lying, saying outlandish things, and he is even still breaking the law; e.g., his photo op at Arlington cemetery’s Section 60.

None of this outlandish talk and conduct should come as a surprise to the American people because of what Trump and all his sycophants have become; they’re just weird.  And this would be funny if the stakes were not so high.  Our democracy is at stake!  So, we all must stay focused and remember that their being weird does not make them any less dangerous!  As Kamala Harris – for the people says at many of her rallies, “we still have a lot of hard work to do!  But hard work is good work!”  And as working-class people, we know what hard work is.  And each of us takes pride in doing that work because we know who we are and we know that together with all middleclass people we are the backbone of America!

So, forget about what the polls are saying, whether they reflect positively or negatively for us and let’s get to work, work hard, and continue to work hard until we put Vice President Kamala Harris and Governor Tim Walz in the White House…and keep Trump out of serving in the government in any capacity in perpetuity; especially the White House.  The way to do this is with our vote.  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, M2: Street Cop To Top Cop, Operation Rubik’s Cube, and Living Between The Line

VOTE! VOTE! VOTE!

In the 2024 presidential election…

Like your life depends upon it…

It does!

The Democratic National Convention, which was a resounding success, is over; Kamala Harris – for the people, and Tim Walz have accepted the nomination of the American people to be their nominees for president and vice president of the United States of America and Kamala Harris – for the people, has called us, the American people, to action.  So, in the words of former President Barrack Obama at the close of his convention speech, “lets get to work!  I’m starting by writing and posting this article to encourage E  V  E  R  Y  O  N  E to get out and vote in the 2024 presidential election; you must vote, before the polls close, by TUESDAY, NOVEMBER 5, 2024.

Just a few short weeks ago Democrats were deeply depressed because the Party seemed to be completely lost and in total shambles after President Joe Biden crashed and burned during his debate with the former The Donald J. Trump of the United States of America.  The former occupier of the Oval Office and all Republicans could not hide their glee after the debate.

The press had all but called the election, before ballots had even begun to be cast, for the former The Donald J. Trump of the United States of America.  They scourged President Biden and demeaned him with negative comments about his debate performance and declared Trump the winner while they winked at his total disregard for the truth in the comments he made, parried questions the hosts asked him and, instead, pivoted to subjects that he preferred to address.

The former The Donald J. Trump of the United States of America, with his chin raised high, could not resist projecting an air of superiority; his self-proclaimed air of superiority that he feels is his birthright: not just an air of superiority over President Biden in this debate, but over everyone in every way.  After all, according to him, he is the chosen one.  Trump believes that his supporters should shield him from all harm and accusations leveled against him.  Unfortunately, and without doubt, President Biden had committed a major blunder that had gifted Trump and the Republican Party with a major campaign boost; as if they needed it.

The Democratic Party was in total disarray and the only way back from this debacle would be for a politician at the pinnacle of power to willingly cede that power to another politician which was completely unthinkable.  Democrats had good reason to be depressed and their Party leaders desperately searching for a positive way forward.  Democrats were in an untenable situation and Trump and the Republican Party knew it.  That is why they were so giddy after the Biden-Trump debate.  But in their giddiness, they failed to account for the Democratic Party’s secret weapon: love of country more than love of the job; love of principle more than an insatiable desire to cling to power.  These things were personified in the very man that the press skewered because he lost the debate; President Joe Biden.

And as if he knew this and sensed that to cede his power was exactly what he must do, President Biden did the unthinkable, he ceded his power to Vice President Kamala Harris.  The former The Donald J. Trump of the United States of America and this new Trump-led Republican Party were taken totally by surprise because they had long ago abandoned all principles that they once held and, ostensibly, love of country more than love of power.  Now the Republican Party was completely discombobulated because their plan A, which was to wage a personal attack on President Biden in every way possible and malign all his policies, was suddenly obliterated and there was no plan B.

THANK YOU PRESIDENT JOE BIDEN.  WE LOVE YOU, JOE.  Thank you for your integrity and for being the decent and caring man that you have always been: thank you for standing on principle and placing country above your personal political ambition.  These Republicans were completely incapable of anticipating this move because they no longer espoused principles or honor; the only thing they have left now, so far, is power and their sheer determination to cling to it.  And when Kamala Harris and Tim Walz are elected president and vice president – then hopefully, they, like their leader who has experienced it already, will be removed from public office and never allowed the honor to serve again.  America deserves better!

What a difference three weeks make; 504 little hours!  In this short period of time Democrats went from complete despair to euphoria and a packed, energized Democratic National Convention while Republicans went from overwhelming giddiness to complete despair.  The script was totally flipped.  But Democrats cannot afford to rest on our laurels.  Speakers at the convention emphasized that this will still be a tight race and each of us must do their part to help assure that Democrats win this election so that democracy will be preserved.  And because democracy is on the ballot, that means that everything that it provides is on the ballot.

With this in mind, everyone should, no, must vote.  In the words spoken by former First Lady Michelle Obama at the convention, “do something”!  That means we should not only vote but we should encourage others to vote.  We should not wait to “get the call” from the campaign to make our contribution, whatever that might be, to help save democracy but we should do it of our own volition because America’s current situation demands it.  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, M2: Street Cop To Top Cop, Operation Rubik’s Cube, and Living Between The Line

In my July 10, 2024 post  of this article to this website, I said that Justice Scalia “quoted from this toothless SCOTUS Code of Ethics to refuse to recuse from cases associated with the January 6, 2021 insurrection even though, according to him, his wife flew an upside-down American flag at one of their homes and an ‘Appeal to Heaven’ flag at another.”  The name “Scalia” was in error.  The name should have been “Alito.”  I apologize for the mistake.  This error was corrected concurrent with this apology.

Eulus Dennis

VOTE! VOTE! VOTE!

In the 2024 presidential election…

Like your life depends upon it…

It does!

The conservative supermajority in the Supreme Court has lost their minds.  One would think that after witnessing the chaos that they brought upon the country after they overturned Roe v. Wade that it would have given them pause about what they had done and motivated them to correct their course: but it did not.  Instead, because it appeared to them that they had gotten away with it, they continued to do asinine things, like overturning Chevron U.S.A., Inc. v. Natural Resources Defense Council, Inc. and make asinine rulings, like in Trump v. United States.  It seems that they did this with the thought in mind that they would grab unfathomable power for themselves but let the lower courts figure out what they meant in their gobbledygook rulings and how to apply the gobbledygook to cases that come before them.

The SCOTUS even tried to take some of the heat off their backs caused by the scandalous behavior of some of its justices by using this gobbledygook to mitigate what were arguably, in essence, bribes taken by some SCOTUS justices.  E.g., in the case where they overturned the bribery conviction against ex-mayor of Portage Indiana James Snyder, they employed mumbo jumbo about gratuities and whether money or other gratuities are received before or after an action is taken to justify the SCOTUS’ ruling to overturn the Snyder ruling.  Whether intended or not, this ruling could eventually be used to mitigate past and potential future acceptance of “gratuities” by SCOTUS justices if not totally preclude the acceptance of “gratuities” by SCOTUS justices from being viewed as scandalous behavior.

While all of this was going on, Chief Justice John Roberts declined the request by a congressional committee for him to come testify, the SCOTUS created a Code of Ethics that has no enforcement apparatus, Justice Alito quoted from this toothless SCOTUS Code of Ethics to refuse to recuse from cases associated with the January 6, 2021 insurrection even though, according to him, his wife flew an upside-down American flag at one of their homes and an “Appeal to Heaven” flag at another, and now, the SCOTUS is on break until October 2024.  And, in the meantime, Democratic senators have sent a letter to Attorney General Merrick Garland asking the Department of Justice to initiate a criminal investigation of Justice Clarence Thomas for violating ethics rules and tax laws and Representative Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez has filed impeachment articles against Justices Thomas and Alito.

This will likely generate a ball of confusion on capitol hill as those who support Justices Thomas and Alito will circle the wagons around them and say that such an investigation and articles of impeachment are politically motivated nonsense.  Then, they will quote from the toothless SCOTUS Code of Ethics to emphasize their point.  My, my.  Whether they investigate Justice Thomas or whether they do not; whether Justice Alito recuses from cases associated with the January 6, 2021 insurrection or whether he does not, whether Chief Justice John Roberts finally agrees to testify before congress or whether he does not, why can’t the SCOTUS just adopt a Code of Ethics in line with those of all the other courts in the land?!  This would not be a magic wand to end the SCOTUS’ problems but it would go a long way toward solving them.  Ultimately – in summary, the job of the SCOTUS is to 1) Interpret and apply the Constitution, 2) Conduct judicial review, 3) Be the final arbiter of the law, and 4) Ensure equal justice under the law for all Americans.  Maybe solving their internal problems would help them to get back to these things.

Even if we consider the SCOTUS’ job based on the few items in the above summary, of course, it is much more complex than this and I am obviously over simplifying, the SCOTUS has suddenly veered far of course.  It has suddenly overturned longstanding (stare decisis?) seminal precedents when nothing on the SCOTUS has changed except the number of conservative justices; they have a supermajority.  No meaningful revelations in these longstanding rulings have occurred.  No genuine epiphany by anyone, relevant to the law, has transpired!  Sadly, the only reasonable conclusion that one can draw from this is that all the talk about the importance and baked-in meaningfulness of stare decisis in already decided cases that the last three justices appointed to the SCOTUS spouted during their confirmation hearings was, like that of the writings of the SCOTUS’ latest rulings, gobbledygook, and mumbo jumbo!

The bottom line is that Democrats need a sweep in the November 2024 presidential election.  They need to win the Presidency, House, and Senate and they need to win them with a significant majority.  And if they win, they must begin reform in the SCOTUS immediately.  They must rescind all the things that those who want to make America something other than a democracy have put into place.  This will begin to reestablish America as that city upon a hill and clear beacon of hope that she has always been and remains.  But because her light has been dimmed by the opaque stain that those who would prefer to have an autocrat or a king have applied to her, the American people must work hard to regain the trust of “all” Americans and democracies around the world.

We can do this!  However, to achieve it, Democrats need all American voters to get out and vote in this election.  I have no doubt that American voters will choose democracy over autocracy or a King.  It is important that you decide between the candidates on the ballot!  Do not write in the name of a candidate because that will be tantamount to sitting out the election!  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!  Vote in the 2024 presidential election…  Vote like your life depends upon it…  It does!

Eulus Dennis – author, M2: Street Cop To Top Cop, Operation Rubik’s Cube, and Living Between The Line

VOTE! VOTE! VOTE!

In the 2024 presidential election…

Like your life depends upon it…

It does!

Supreme Court of the United States (SCOTUS) of America Justices are just politicians in black robes.  And now, the conservative (Republican) justices are fighting to crown Trump King of America.  It is reasonable to believe that these politicians are pulling for him to win the 2024 presidential election because they just ruled in his favor in Trump v. United States: They granted him complete immunity for all acts that he took while he was president.  Oh sure, in the 119 pages of the ruling, written by SCOTUS Chief Justice John Roberts, the Court said a lot of mumbo jumbo about official acts, unofficial acts, absolute immunity, and presumptive immunity but they did not define or in any way clarify what these things were.

Instead, they left that up to Judge Tanya Chutkan who is handling Trump’s trial in a lower court.  And upon appeal, which is more likely than not to happen, after Judge Chutkan makes her ruling, the decision will end up right back in the Supreme Court.  That way, based upon the fact that they ruled as they did in the first place on presidential immunity, it is reasonable to believe that they will define and clarify things in Trump’s favor.  Then in the future, depending on whether there is a Democrat or a Republican president, it is reasonable to assume that they will continue in that vein: They will rule one way if it is a Democrat and another way if it is a Republican.

If Trump wins the 2024 presidential election, this SCOTUS ruling along with the Heritage Foundation’s Project 2025 (a.k.a. The Presidential Transition Project) document will give Trump all of the authority that he needs to rule like a king, have a roadmap to eradicate democracy as we now know it and implement the changes listed in Project 2025, and continue to avoid being held to account for any wrong that he has done just as he has always done throughout his whole life.  Even if he loses the election and does not become king, he will still likely be cleared of any crimes, civil or criminal, that he committed while he was president if information from “official acts” (a key piece of the SCOTUS mumbo jumbo) was used to indict/convict him.

Further, he is likely to be cleared of any crimes – again, civil or criminal, he committed before he held office if information from “official acts” while he was in office was used to indict/convict him.  So, you see, the chameleon act by the SCOTUS is no longer in play.  It is all in; it is very carefully concealing its hand.  And it is daring the American people to call.  If the American people do call, the outcome of the 2024 presidential election will be the evidence of whether the SCOTUS was bluffing or held a winning hand.  In other words, if President Biden is reelected, the SCOTUS was bluffing; if Trump wins, they had a winning hand.  So, if the American people do not call and the SCOTUS is holding a winning hand, the only difference will be that accepting the outcome might be a little less painful: but the results will be the same.

I cannot overstate how important it is for all American voters to get out and vote in the 2024 presidential election.  You must get out and vote like your life depends on it; because it does!  Do not sit this one out because you do not like either candidate, think that both are too old to be president, or for any other reason.  And when you do get out and vote, do not write in the name of a candidate since you know that this candidate cannot win.  You are not helping the situation and to do that is tantamount to sitting out the election.  Do not make excuses as to why you are not going to vote.  The 2024 presidential election is a binary decision; either you want America to remain a democracy or you do not.  Make a decision, not excuses.  VOTE!  And 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, M2: Street Cop To Top Cop, Operation Rubik’s Cube and Living Between The Line

The debate between President Joe Biden and the former The Donald J. Trump of the United States of America is over.  And I will start by saying President Joe Biden is still the man who should run against Trump in the 2024 presidential election.  In case you might think that how I addressed Trump in the title of this article is harsh, it is no worse than how major newspapers addressed President Biden.  Look at the headlines about President Biden in most of the major newspapers in America and around the world immediately after the debate then see if you still feel the same way.

Just so that you will know, if you did not watch the debate; during most of the debate, one of the hosts addressed both convict Trump and President Biden as President.  No deference, distinction, esteem, dignity, or honor – choose any one of these words that you would like, was granted to President Joe Biden for the distinguished job that he has done as president under extremely polarized partisan political circumstances and that of a convict who has been convicted on 34 felony counts and is awaiting charges in future trials that he has managed to avoid until after the 2024 presidential election.

Journalists who once supported President Biden turned their backs on him and completely slammed him based on one 90-minute broadcast!  They showered him with blistering comments about his debate performance before encouraging him to drop out of the race!  Many Democrats also jumped on the bandwagon.  They said things like, although President Biden has been a good president, perhaps it is time for him to go and that it would be selfish of him not to drop out.  I have always admonished those who read this blog to base their voting decisions on a politician’s record and not on a soundbite.  Perhaps I should add “broadcast” and say that those decisions should be based on a politician’s record and not “a soundbite or one 90-minute broadcast.”  Perhaps the journalist of those major newspapers would benefit from the advice offered in this humble blog.

To contextualize those headlines and comments so that you will better understand just how completely harsh they were, consider this; President Biden was debating a person to whom the word truth is just a conjured-up word that does not actually exist.  The truth is what I say it is could easily be his mantra.  Again, no deference, esteem, honor, dignity, distinction, etc. was granted to President Biden as the President of the United States of America over a convict and serial liar who has been convicted on 34 felony counts and was awaiting a July 11, 2024 sentencing, which has been delayed until September 18, 2024 thanks to “[his] judges” at the Supreme Court.  There was no semblance of respect for the office that President Biden holds in which he has served with dignity and honor over his opponent who, arguably, instigated the January 6, 2021 insurrection at the United States capitol in an effort to remain in power after he lost the 2020 election.  While President Biden debated within the boundaries of truth, Trump, oblivious of those boundaries, spewed pablum – saying whatever came to his mind, mostly lies, to rebut the president and gaslight debate viewers.

Republicans say that Democrats do not fight for what they believe in.  Democrats went a long way in providing some validity to this after the debate.  What do I mean by this?  Donald Trump has said so many derogatory things about women, immigrants, fallen soldiers, and people of color, that I will not even try to list them all.  But to name a few, he said 1) You can grab women by their p***y…” 2) [Mexican immigrants] are bringing drugs, they’re bringing crime, they’re rapists, and some, I assume are good people.” 3) Fallen soldiers are “suckers” and “losers.”  4) Regarding people who are crossing America’s southern border: They’re taking Black Jobs.  They’re taking Hispanic jobs. 5) Black people like me because of my mug shot.  Plus, lest American voters should forget, Trump is a convict!  Despite all of this, Republicans have circled the wagons around him.

Now, contrast this with the kind of support that President Biden is receiving from Democrats.  President Biden has done a yeoman’s job since he has been in office of carrying out the Democrats agenda even with a slim majority in the senate and a Republican controlled House.  He has always been looked upon as a patriot and a person of honor.  His dedication to serving America with dignity and honor has never been questioned: His determination to protect America against all enemies foreign and domestic, preserve democracy in America and foster democracy around the world has never been questioned.  Recently, President Biden participated in a debate with Trump and, based on the optics – emphasis on optics because a debate between two people with only one being bound by the parameters of truth is fundamentally not a debate, failed.  No consideration was shown President Biden for having been bound by the parameters of truth while Trump was free to say whatever came to mind without the slightest regard for truth.  What did Democrats do?  Did they circle the wagons around President Biden?  No, they cut bait and ran!

Many Democrats now want to run someone else against Trump; they do not know who and do not seem to be concerned about whether the system within which Democratic nominees must operate is set up to handle this kind of a situation, especially at the last minute.  I started this article by saying that President Biden is still the man who should run against Trump.  I will end it by saying that Democrats need to work with President Biden and figure out a path forward without him withdrawing from the race.  I have said before that the cavalry is not coming to save the American people from Donald J. Trump, this one is on us and we must save ourselves: and we must do it through our vote.  After the Supreme Court’s 7/1/2024 presidential immunity ruling, this is our only option.

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, M2: Street Cop To Top Cop, Operation Rubik’s Cube and Living Between The Line

Have our elected officials abandoned and then forgotten us?  I don’t know about you but I sure feel like they have.  Further, have all those people who said all the things that they were well-coached to say to get their potential constituents’ votes when they were trying to get elected been stricken with amnesia?!  Come on!  Remember how they named all these things that we – their constituents, “the American People” overall, and our country need and how much they would value the privilege to work with their friends across the aisle to assure that those needs are met?

Didn’t they project the idea that they wanted to be public servants because they wanted to serve a cause greater than themselves?  Doesn’t it now seem that all those patriotic images that their smooth rhetoric aroused in you when they alluded to a life of public service and a cause greater than themselves have long ago faded?  Doesn’t it now seem like all those words that engendered thoughts of patriotism in you were just a mask to hide their desire for a life of self-service so they could line their pockets and acquire as much power as possible?

Can you recall occasions in these current highly partisan and completely polarized times how when a candidate or elected politician referred to “friends across the aisle,” and they used the adjective “Republican” preceding “friends” if they were a Democrat and “Democrat” preceding “friends” if they were a Republican, that many times when coming from the Republican side of the aisle these words were ladened with vitriol?  That is because now that this is the Trump Republican Party, many Republicans, especially elected Republicans, refuse to use the adjective “Democratic” when referring to Democrats or things that are in any way associated with Democrats out of fear that it might somehow give Democrats a political advantage.

As a result, most Republican candidates running for office have adopted this same approach when referring to Democrats or things associated with Democrats i.e. Democratic Party, Democratic policy, Democratic Dogma, etc.  Instead, they use the words Democrat Party, Democrat policy, Democrat Dogma, etc.  As regards Independents, since you can choose which Party you will caucus with, I assume that as Independents you are not under any pressure to choose one or the other of these adjectives so the decision as to which to use is entirely yours.

As for me and my feelings of being abandoned and then forgotten by elected officials, I feel that way because of: 1) the rude awakening that I have been shocked into.  The rude awakening of witnessing elected politicians that I viewed as principled, strong, and powerful individual men and women who form the collective strong body of our government and way of life, be cowered to the point where they kowtow to a superficial charlatan who is a proven serial liar who has been convicted of 34 felony counts and who is still awaiting trials, which he has cunningly managed to delay, until after the 2024 presidential election in which he is the presumptive Republican nominee.

2) The rude awakening that I have been shocked into.  The rude awakening of witnessing one man, a superficial charlatan who is a proven serial liar who has been convicted of 34 felony counts and who is still awaiting trials, which he has cunningly managed to delay, until after the 2024 presidential election in which he is the presumptive Republican nominee, twist the American judicial system into a Trump-conjured pretzel starting with the Supreme Court of the United States (SCOTUS).

Is the SCOTUS, under the leadership of Chief Justice John Roberts, aiding and abetting Trump in his attempt to avoid being held to account for the crimes he has been convicted of and other crimes that he is accused of committing before the 2024 presidential election?  If it is not, it certainly appears that it is.  The SCOTUS, to which Trump appointed three justices in his one term as The Donald J. Trump of the United States of America and to whose conservative justices he on many occasions has referred to as “my judges,” has slow-walked a decision on whether he has complete presidential immunity; immunity against any crimes that he might have committed as The Donald J. Trump of the United States of America.

3) The rude awakening that I have been shocked into.  The rude awakening of witnessing one man, a superficial charlatan who is a proven serial liar who has been convicted of 34 felony counts and who is still awaiting trials, which he has cunningly managed to delay, until after the 2024 presidential election in which he is the presumptive Republican nominee, twist the American judicial system into a Trump-conjured pretzel by working his will upon, in addition to the SCOTUS, four courts where he is to be held to account for crimes that he is accused of committing.  Even in the court that managed to try and convict Trump, he thumbed his nose at the gag order placed on him the entire time during that trial.  Despite the intimidating atmosphere in which they had to work, the jurors in this court did their job and, although not everyone agrees with it, returned a fair verdict.  Trump will be sentenced on July 11, 2024.  It remains to be seen as to what his sentence will be.  Will the judge do his job?  Without doubt, not everyone will agree with the sentence; but it will be fair.  Hopefully the punishment will fit the crimes and Trump’s defiance of the gag order will also be incorporated into the sentence.

4) The rude awakening that I have been shocked into.  The rude awakening of witnessing one man, a superficial charlatan who is a proven serial liar who has been convicted of 34 felony counts and who is still awaiting trials, which he has cunningly managed to delay, until after the 2024 presidential election in which he is the presumptive Republican nominee, twist the American judicial system into a Trump-conjured pretzel by making a mockery of the flowery words “no one is above the law” and “without fear or favor” that are so frequently used by America’s high-level judicial government officials.  These words have been made meaningless by Trump.  Arguably, he has been treated favorably from the beginning and it remains to be seen whether he is above the law.  So, as regards whether the law is being applied to Trump “without fear or favor,” … well, you have witnessed what is going on in Trump’s case; you decide.

And finally, 5).  The rude awakening that I have been shocked into.  The rude awakening of witnessing one man, a superficial charlatan who is a proven serial liar who has been convicted of 34 felony counts and who is still awaiting trials, which he has cunningly managed to delay, until after the 2024 presidential election in which he is the presumptive Republican nominee, twist the American judicial system – and as a result – the American election system into a Trump-conjured pretzel that enabled him to arrange to participate in a debate with the President of the United States of America!  Yes, on June 27, 2024 the President of the United States of America will be debating a convict in an effort to help Americans to decide as to whether he or a convicted felon should be the next president of the United States of America.  Wow, that will be a first!

Whether or not you feel that you have been abandoned and then forgotten by our elected officials, the current situation that America is in demands that you do your civic duty and vote.  No matter how many roadblocks are placed in our path when it is time to vote in the 2024 presidential election, we must overcome them.  Instead of getting angry or booing at the ridiculous things that Trump says and does; in the words of former president Barack Obama, don’t get mad, vote!  Don’t boo, vote!

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, M2: Street Cop To Top Cop, Operation Rubik’s Cube, and Living Between The Line

The Republican Party has gone completely crazy; they are unhinged.  In addition to all the scandals that the Supreme Court of the United States (SCOTUS) is already involved in, SCOTUS Samuel Alito (a member of the SCOTUS conservative supermajority) is now embroiled in a scandal that involves flying an upside-down American flag at one of his homes and an “Appeal to heaven” flag at another.  Both these flags were carried by those involved in the January 6, 2021 insurrection/riot and are considered by many Americans to indicate support of the January 6^th insurrection/riot and those that participated in it.  Yet, Justice Samuel Alito refuses to recuse from cases that will come before the SCOTUS related to the January 6^th event, Trump’s request for complete presidential immunity, or any other cases involving Trump and his legal woes.

In addition to the SCOTUS, Republicans in the Senate and House have gone all-in in support of Trump.  Some of them, including Speaker of the House Mike Johnson, went to New York and appeared in court during Trump’s Hush Money Trial and stood behind him in support as he spoke to the press during pauses in the trial for breaks.  Since then, many of them – again, including Speaker Johnson, have referred to the trial as rigged, a sham, a disgrace, and used other denigrating terms to describe it.  Speaker Mike Johnson even went so far as to say that the SCOTUS should get involved and overturn Trump’s conviction, in which he was unanimously convicted of all 34 counts against him by a jury of his peers.  Imagine that; Speaker Mike Johnson, the self-proclaimed Constitutionalist who is second in line to the presidency and who is supposed to represent all Americans, is trashing the American justice system, and conducting himself like a Trump defense attorney!

Once again Republicans have circled the wagons around one of their own.  It does not matter that he has publicly stated that he will be a dictator if he is elected to be president again.  It does not matter that he is a convicted felon.  Trump is their man; he is their presumptive presidential nominee.  Virtually every Republican in the United States congress is supporting Trump whether overtly, covertly, or by their deafening silence!  Not only are these Republicans supporting Trump but most Republicans throughout America are supporting him.  Big business has lined up behind Trump and is holding fundraising activities to help him get elected.  Most everyday Americans, and without doubt, these elected officials and business executives know that Trump is not fit for office.  Notwithstanding, their lust for dominance, money, and power compels them to disregard Trump’s true nature and his existential threat to democracy.  As a result, they view the concerns by many Americans that Trump is unfit for office as an overreaction and discount the real damage that he is currently doing to the country and the greater damage that he can do if he is elected president.  This is shortsighted, frightening, shameful, and disappointing.

Many of Trump’s sycophants and other supporters are encouraging rich Republicans to “come off the sidelines and get involved,” encouraging Republican congressmen to withhold funding from prosecutors conducting the Trump trials, encouraging Republican Attorneys General throughout America to investigate Democrats and do anything else that they can to “defeat these [Democratic] communist.”  Some congressmen are even threating to impede Biden appointments as a protest to Trump’s conviction.  In the meantime while all of this is going on – despite his gag orders, Trump is busy calling Special Counsel Jack Smith a “deranged dumb son-of-a-bitch” calling DOJ employees bastards, and spouting lies and denigrating nearly everyone else who is not pro-Trump in his upcoming trials and the one trial in which he was recently found guilty on all counts, Rudy Giuliani is calling District Attorney Fani Willis a “Ho”, and Representative Byron Donald is telling Black Americans how much better off we were under Jim Crow than we are now.  The amazing part about all of this is that no one in the Republican Party is pushing back on any of this.  They are completely silent!

The 2024 election is a little less than five months from now and the Republican Party is going full speed ahead in their effort to get Trump elected president.  Trump visited capitol hill Thursday and his congressional toadies were there to welcome and support him.  Many of us are asking ourselves, what have we come to as Americans and how could things have ever come down to this?!  My thoughts?  Complacency: we have taken our freedom for granted for so long that we have forgotten that freedom is not free!  It comes at a price and we must fight for it every day by regularly and faithfully performing our civic duty.  That does not only mean that we must vote, but we have a responsibility to stay informed and keep abreast of what is going on in politics whether we like it or not.  To invoke a currently popular slogan, when we see something, we must say something!  We must say it to our elected officials and keep pressure on them to do something about it.  If we do not do this or wait too long before doing it, we will end up in a situation like the one that America is in now.  Hopefully, our current situation is only temporary, one that can be reversed, and one that we will learn from.

We have a two-party system of government in America.  Because we live in a democracy, we have a right to expect reasonable discourse to occur between the two political parties in order to solve America’s problems and foster effective governance based on the will of the majority.  We are a country that believes in the rule of law.  That is key in a democracy and what makes it function effectively.  If we discard the rule of law, work in any way to rig the system in favor of minority rule, trash our justice system and refuse to accept the decisions made that are based upon the rule of law and our overall democratic system, then we are no longer a democracy; we just have not formerly established and declared that we are something other than that!  Right now, only one Party is conducting itself like a Party that believes in democracy and the rule of law.  Only one Party is fighting to preserve those precious, irreplaceable things that are the foundation of a democratic system of government.  That Party is the Democratic Party.  Do you want a democracy or something else?  The choice is a binary one.

Again, the 2024 presidential election is a little less than five months away; you must choose.  If you want a Democracy, the Democratic Party is your only logical choice.  Yes, the Republican Party says that it is the Party of the rule of law and it is their Party that wants to save America and the American democracy.  But, in the words of Rachael Maddow, “watch what they do, not what they say.”  Keep a close eye on what Republicans have been doing since Trump’s one term as president and what they are doing now; not what they have been saying since then and are now saying!  To save our democracy, you must do your civic duty and vote.  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, M2: Street Cop To Top Cop, Operation Rubik’s Cube, and Living Between The Line

A lot has been said lately about how great the stock market is doing so, to many, this means that the American economy is doing great.  News flash for those who do not already know it, the stock market is not the be-all-end-all that says that the economy is doing great.  It is a part of what determines the health of the American economy but it is certainly not the be-all-end-all indicator of how the economy is doing.  Why?  Because the top 1% of Americans own 49% of stock, the top 10% own 89%, and the bottom 50% of Americans own only 1% of stock.  So, the top 1% of Americans soar, the top 9% glide, and the bottom 50%…well, they do whatever.  In the meantime, the economy just motors along until it finds its way.

After this very brief lesson on the American economy, I cannot resist adding a lamentation on how overall wealth distribution impacts on the everyday American.  I am sure that somewhere along the way during the more than a decade that I have been posting articles to this blog, I must have lamented the special attention paid to the rich by the American government and the waning attention, if not complete neglect, paid to everyday Americans.  With the downward spiral that our government is in right now, I am compelled to again express my frustration with its disparate treatment of everyday Americans when compared to that of the top 10 percent of them.

It is obvious that the rich are given greater consideration than are everyday Americans when it comes to how our government and its great institutions treat one group versus the other.  It is likely that everyday Americans are treated differently from our rich counterparts because the rich have greater access, just one of their perks, to those in power; our elected officials.  They constantly have the ears of these officials readily available to them through their highly paid lobbyists; lobbyists who likely constantly remind these politicians, just by virtue of being there, who their big money contributors are.  Although everyday Americans know that the rich are given special treatment, we have disregarded it: we know that we cannot do anything about it because we have tried and failed so many times in the past.

Everyday Americans use to feel some small degree of comfort because we had, at least, a few senators and representatives advocating for us.  We had a few government organizations in place that were fighting for us.  Even if they were not successful in closing that gap of special treatment, they were continuing to fight to keep it from widening.  They were relentless in their mitigation on behalf of the larger percentage of Americans who are the target of this disparate treatment despite that there are no lobbyists constantly pressuring them on our behalf.  They kept a bright light shining on this unfair practice.  But those days are long gone.  There is no longer any light that illuminates what these money hungry, power-seeking politicians are doing.  Instead, now, the American congress is too busy with the Republicans’ agenda of retribution and fighting about petty issues.  Further, the Republican half of our two-party system of government acts as if it no longer wants America to be a democracy but prefers it to be an autocracy!

To be clear, what prompted me to once again bemoan how the American government is treating the rich and powerful special while virtually ignoring the needs of everyday Americans is the whining of insurance companies about their declining profit margins.  They are whining about how much money they are losing as the result of the claims that they are paying out.  Everything is fine as long as Americans are paying in money and not making any claims: free money!  Yes, that’s great; for insurance companies.  First, they go to the government and talk it into mandating that everyone has insurance on everything from health insurance to car insurance to home insurance and more, then they complain when they must pay out claims?!  But I am getting sidetracked.

The particular insurance company, which is a subsidiary of CVS, that brought on my need to vent my frustration is Aetna.  According to an article in Newsweek, CVS is concerned about its profit margin and has said that it plans to cut 10% of its Aetna health insurance plans in an effort to prioritize its profit margin.  I do not know what the expected profit margin of a health insurance company is but what I do know is this.  CVS paid more than $63,459,882 in salaries and other compensation to five of its executives in 2023.  The total compensation figure for each of these executives likely include stock and stock options.  And I have no doubt that these are not the only CVS executives that are being paid hefty salaries and receiving “other” compensation.

Like any public owned company, CVS needs to pay its stockholders a reasonable return on their investment but maybe they would be better able to do this if they gave their executives less in salaries and other compensation – which again, likely includes stock and stock options.  But, in large part, because the American congress is dysfunctional, corporations are taking full advantage of the situation.  Corporate greed is alive and well and most American companies are fighting hard to make sure that their hand also is in the average Americans’ pocket before we are stretched to our limit and it is too late for them to get their fair share of the plunders.

The bottom line is that these corporations that are swamped in corporate greed need to take a deep breath, take a step back, see the big picture and closely examine it.  The odds are that they will find that everyday Americans are already stretched to their limit.  And even if these billionaires and multi-millionaires who own these corporations find that they cannot bring themselves under control out of (gulp) compassion and empathy for their fellow Americans plight; surely, they will be able to do it when they consider that persisting in gouging them will ultimately bring about the demise of their own lifestyle.  Surely, they will stop gouging them when they recognize that their fellow Americans need to always have a reasonable amount of money to purchase their already overpriced products and goods and that this will not even put a dent in their lavish billionaire and multi-millionaire lifestyles.

Will they do this?  Who knows; we can only hope that they will.  Just like the truth is not agreeable to a liar, perhaps empathy and even the thought of sharing is incomprehensible to the super rich no matter the potential threat to their existing lifestyle.  Most of them are probably far too busy contemplating how to keep what they have and add to it while always fearing that some other super rich person might be successful at taking it away from them.  Be that as it may, one can always hope, right?

Eulus Dennis – author, M2: Street Cop To Top Cop, Operation Rubik’s Cube, and Living Between The Line