Let’s take a trip down memory lane starting from Kevin McCarthy’s successful bid to become Speaker of the House to our current state of affairs in US governance.  After four days and fourteen failed tries, on the 15^th try, Kevin McCarthy became Speaker of the House.  It has been more than 150 years since it took more than 12 rounds of voting to select a Speaker.  And in the process of winning the job, Kevin McCarthy managed to sell his soul to six extreme rightwing House members.  Those six members held Kevin McCarthy and the other 215 Republican House members hostage until Mr. McCarthy made himself the weakest Speaker of the House in the history of congress.

He did this by way of bargaining away to those six hostage-takers virtually all the power of the Speaker: power that has customarily been used by Speakers to help control caucus members during stressful, tough, and extensive negotiations and shepherd controversial but necessary legislation through the bill-to-law process.  Mr. McCarthy did this based mainly on his selfish lust to hold the Speaker’s gavel and advance his personal political ambitions.  And he apparently did this without any regard for the sanctity of the institution.

Some information in this article is obviously old news since Mr. McCarthy has been Speaker of the House for slightly more than two months now but it is worth writing to help those of you who are not constant consumers of cable news better understand what the new Republican Party is all about.  Among the main things that have happened since Mr. McCarthy has been speaker is that the House established a committee called the “Weaponization of the Federal Government” subcommittee.  This committee is chaired by Representative Jim Jordan and its task is to “investigate how the executive branch collects information on and investigates U.S. citizens ‘including ongoing criminal investigations.’”

Hey, wait!  Isn’t Jim Jordan somehow mixed up in the January 6 insurrection and is a potential person of interest and even a possible target in this ongoing litigation?  And isn’t he a staunch Trump ally and MAGA man?  Well surprise, surprise…  Very, very interesting.  Of course, we all know that he would not use any information he might gather regarding this ongoing litigation to help his own case.  And if he would not do that, then certainly he would not share any of it with Mr. Trump or any of the “patriots,” so called by Republicans, who were involved in the insurrection in order to help their case.

Having said that, I believe that we all can agree that the name of this committee is a misnomer because it is obvious that its real purpose is to obfuscate issues and mislead the public.  The actual name of the committee should be The Jim Jordan Committee because this would accurately reflect its real purpose.  In the meantime, while the chaos of this subcommittee is  going on, House Speaker Kevin McCarthy has given Fox News’ Tucker Carlson exclusive access to more than 41,000 hours of the January 6 riot tapes.  What’s that all about?!

Anyway, another thing that he has done is to give many, if not all, of these previously mentioned hostage-takers positions on coveted committees that are strongly sought after by all members of the Republican caucus.  For example, Representative Marjorie Taylor Greene is on the House Committee on Oversight and Accountability, House Committee on Homeland Security and the House Select Subcommittee on the Coronavirus Pandemic.  Representative Matt Gaetz is on the Armed Services Committee and the Judiciary Committee.  Representative Lauren Boebert serves on the Committee on Natural Resources and the Committee on Oversight and Accountability as does Representative Paul Gosar.

Since Representative Marjorie Taylor Greene serves on the Committee on Homeland Security, that makes it even more disturbing that she has suggested dividing America into red and blue states and giving Jacob Chansley, the QAnon Shaman, a new trial, especially since he never had a trial but pled guilty to the charges leveled against him.

At the beginning of this article I said that we would take a trip down memory lane starting from Kevin McCarthy’s successful bid to become Speaker of the House to our current state of affairs in US governance.  Well, although the following is not directly related to Mr. McCarthy becoming Speaker, it is worth noting that Republican legislatures throughout America are making it harder for Americans to vote by passing laws based on Donald Trump’s “Big Lie” that the 2020 presidential election was stolen from him because it was rife with voter fraud.  Mr. Trump’s popularity is waning but he is still very popular overall in the Republican party and especially with its extreme rightwing constituents.  Voters need to consider what is happening around America legislatively now because the 2024 election will soon be upon us.

A couple of prime examples of how the enthusiasm for legislative action associated with Mr. Trump, his popularity despite the “Big Lie,” and his style of governing is occurring in Florida and Georgia.  Florida’s Governor Ron DeSantis is running Florida like he is the dictator of his own little piece of America.  He has taken away Disney World’s long held authority to self-govern because they have dared to disagree with him on certain issues and awarded that responsibility to himself.  For a long time now, he has been banning various books, dictating to pre-K – college educators what curriculum they can teach and mandating that they use only specific approved pronouns when addressing their male and female students.

In Georgia, that legislature has passed a bill that puts the power to fire “rogue” prosecutors that they don’t like or who might disagree with them in their own hands even though some of those legislators are potential persons of interests or targets of at least one of these so called “rogue” prosecutors.  This bill has already passed in the Georgia Senate and is on its way to the House.  If it passes there, Governor Kemp is expected to sign it.

Democracy in America is under attack by the Republican Party.  Unfortunately, even those Republican politicians who stood firm against Mr. Trump’s “Big Lie” and refused to say that the 2020 election was stolen from him are in support of what Georgia is doing.  Silence is complicity!  The entire Republican Party is involved in this attack on our democracy and they must be called out for it.  To stand strong in one moment and relent, whether explicitly or tacitly, in the next is not acceptable.  Those who stood strong against Mr. Trump’s “Big Lie” but are now supporting the Republicans attack on the American democracy must not be labeled heroes because they are not.

Finally, if you do not live in the state of Georgia, you might be thinking, that’s an entirely different state so that doesn’t impact on me.  What legislators in Georgia do is none of my concern.  Think again.  All of us – whether we are Democrats, Republicans, or Independents, must remember that the attacks on Roe v. Wade began at the state level and those waging that battle while more and more states joined in, fought relentlessly until Roe was, as impossible as it may have seemed, finally overturned.

What the legislature in Georgia is doing puts the entire democratic system in jeopardy as Republicans push America toward authoritarian rule.  This encompasses all Americans and includes the legislative and judicial branches of government.  Even the very comfortable, rightwing super-majority Supreme Court should be wary of the monster that they are helping to create by conducting themselves like politicians in black robes rather than the apolitical Justices that they are supposed to be.  They may be able to control this monster right now but as it feeds on the destruction of democracy it will eventually grow stronger.  And it will continue to grow stronger until it is strong enough to tell those who created it to stand down or be put down.  You don’t believe it?  I give you the former “The Donald J. Trump of the United States of America.”

The Republican Party, if they are being true to themselves, know that this is the case.  Recent history reveals that they were not able to control Mr. Trump and, as a result of their poor judgment, are continuing to pay a steep political price.  But at this point, as the Republican Party tries to rebuild itself, it is struggling with the decision as to whether it should gamble on the chance that this time it will be different.  That this time they will have put things into place that will give them the advantage that they did not have with Mr. Trump, which will enable them to control their creation; that they can eat their cake and have it too.

Most Americans know that this will not work.  They know that manipulating things in a democracy so that things will always turn out as they want them to is not a democracy at all because in a democracy, no one gets everything that they want.  Since all of us know that this is true, let’s stop the shenanigans now.  Let’s vote those politicians who would destroy our democracy out of office and replace them with those who will still fight for their constituents but always stand up for democracy and the American way of life.

There is no doubt that we can do this through the power of our vote.  But first, we must always work hard, in perpetuity, to assure that we are not stripped of this power systematically or otherwise.  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

It’s alivvvve!  It’s alivvvve!  Do you remember that line in the Monster Frankenstein movie; it’s alive?  You know, it’s alivvvve!  Well, Republicans created and nurtured a monster during Donald J. Trump’s tenure as The Donald J. Trump of the United States of America and now it is completely out of control.  Now, they keep trying to put it into the coffin so that they can nail it shut, bolt it shut, wrap a few heavy chains around it and place strong padlocks on it to assure that he will not escape but they can’t.

They can’t because every time that they think that they have him in there, press the lid down and try to begin to nail it shut, ole Frankie stretches his arms out and pushes it open.  Republicans, especially coffin-workers, SCREAM and jump backward away from the coffin!  Then, when Frankenstein appears to simply be readjusting himself so that he can be more comfortable and does not climb all the way out of his coffin, the coffin-workers cautiously approach again and repeat their effort to seal Frankie’s fate.

So far, Republicans’ efforts to contain Frankie haven’t been productive.  How does one know that these efforts have not been fruitful?  Here’s how.  After all of the notes that they nailed to the doors at his home and the messages that they have incessantly promulgated via the media saying that they do not want him to run for reelection in 2024, and he should not announce – especially right after the midterm election, that he will run; Mr. Trump announced – right after the midterm election, that he will run for president in 2024.  The monster that they created because they believed that they could control him and use him to secure the Republican agenda is completely out of control.  It’s alivvvve!  It’s alivvvve!

But Republicans are really angry now so they are very strongly denouncing Mr. Trump whenever they are asked by the media whether they think that he should be president again and or if they would support him if he were the Republican nominee in 2024.  They are getting on any news shows throughout the country that will accept them and saying things like, the Republican Party has better choices than Donald Trump for 2024, the American people can reject Donald Trump in an effort to move away from divisiveness, I think that’s up to the American people, and well, there might be somebody else I’d prefer more.  While all of these comments were made by one Republican, former Vice President Mike Pence, comments coming from other elected Republican officials are either just as weak or not much stronger.  None of them are willing to directly denounce him.

In the meantime, because Mr. Trump is well aware of what these Republicans are trying to do to him and also knows that he is still facing multiple investigations some of which could ultimately involve criminal charges, he is using these – as he calls them – witch-hunt investigations and the fact that he has announced that he is running for president in 2024 to label himself as a victim.  Okay, now we have it; Mr. Trump is a “victim!”  This is his strategy.  He has implied victimhood for a long time but now that he has actually proclaimed it via his announcement to run for president in 2024, the victimhood strategy is no longer opaque, it is out in the open.

Having done this, it remains to be seen what Mr. Trump will do next.  However, his Republican sycophants in the House – having signaled for a long time now what they would do should they win the House in 2022 – are making their intensions clearer.  Like Mr. Trump who decided to clear things up now that he has declared that he will run for president in 2024, they want to be sure that Republican constituents understand exactly what they intend to do:  Attorney General Garland, retain all documentation regarding your investigation of Mr. Trump.  Hunter Biden, prepare for a reckoning.  Biden White House staff and Cabinet members, prepare to be investigated, they say!

Now that the air has been cleared so that everyone understands exactly what it is that Republicans are going to do once they take control of the House, Frankie does the Frankenstein walk – there’s nothing wrong with him physically, he just walks that way – back to his coffin and settles in again.  But for how long, nobody knows.  But there is little doubt that he will not allow anyone to nail his coffin shut…and bolt it…and wrap it with heavy chains secured with heavy padlocks.

Once Frankie is comfortably settled in, his sycophants – an oversize coffin had to be built for this purpose – scramble into spaces all around him sort of like a huge human cushion.  This not only protects him from bumping into the hard interior of his coffin while he is inside, but whenever he climbs out of it and they scramble out along with him, they cushion him from the onslaught of things like, let’s say, all of the ongoing investigations that he is caught up in and all kinds of questions from the media.  Questions like, why are you doing and saying all of the asinine things that you are doing and saying while you are already in enough trouble?  Wouldn’t it be better to just be quiet?

Anyway, once Frankie has settled into his coffin and has been well cushioned, the Republicans – especially the coffin workers, wait until things have grown quiet inside it before they once again cautiously approach it.  They cautiously and quietly place the lid on the coffin, press it down firmly and some of them hold it down while others with hammers and nails prepare to nail it shut.  But before a single nail has been struck, Frankie places his hands against the inside of the lid, pushes upward and stiffens his arms.  The Republicans, especially the coffin workers, SCREAM and jump backward away from the coffin.

This commotion startles the sycophants and so awakens them.  They begin to make all of these unique sycophant noises – which sounds cannot be expressed in writing; you have to hear them – and prepare to swing into action to shield Frankie.  But false alarm.  Frankie simply says, no one had better run against me to force a primary in 2024.  I’ll bury them!  The sycophants make more unique sycophant noises.  Then Frankie says, and you better not try to nail this coffin shut or secure it in any way!  If you do, I’ll bury you!  And he lays down again.  The sycophants make a few more unique sycophant noises before they too lay down, assume their assigned spaces and cushion him.  This further frightens the Republicans, especially the coffin workers, and they jump backward even further away from the coffin…  It’s alivvvve, it’s alivvvve, they say!

Epilogue

Hopefully, during these extremely stressful times and extraordinary circumstances in the history of our young country, a bit of humor will provoke a laugh that will relieve some of that stress; even if only for a brief moment.  Then – hopefully, all Americans, whether we are Democrats, Republicans or Independents will take a deep breath and continue the fight to keep our republic.  And finally – hopefully, we the people will resolve to settle any differences that we might have, no matter how great or how small, through reasonable discourse and not violence.

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

On the day of Election Day what came to mind for me was that the words of Maya Angelou – “When someone shows you who they are, believe them” – do not only apply to individual people but they apply to political parties and, by way of our system of governance, America overall, as well.  I mean, come on; how can we repeatedly say that this is not who we are as regards hate when the vote in this 2022 midterm election shows the world exactly who we are?!  The argument remains the same whether this hate is directed at an individual, their race, religion, ethnicity, gender or anything else.  Hate is hate!  In light of what happened on January 6, 2022, how can we say this is not who we are as regards democracy after the voting results of this 2022 midterm election shows the world exactly who we are?!  Insurrection is insurrection!

All Americans know that America is not perfect and that she never will be.  But we can, and should, always strive toward perfection.  That is the only way that a democracy can survive.  All of us should know by now that things will be messy more often than not but we have to be able to work our way through those things…without violence.  Messy is inherent in a democracy.  If we truly believe in democracy and are serious about it, any one of us who was or is in anyway involved in supporting anyone who plotted to subvert the American democracy needs to ask ourselves this key question.  Why?  And when we ask ourselves this question we should not rationalize and make excuses when we answer it.  There is no one else involved in questioning us and evaluating our answer.  Then, once we answer that question truthfully, we can decide whether we want an autocracy or a democracy and determine where we will go from that point.  If we opt for democracy then we must deal with the democratic process vis-à-vis, messy.

The “sea of cowards” that is the current Republican Party is just as guilty as the former The Donald J. Trump of the United States of America as regards the deterioration of our democracy.  A great injustice has been carried out against the American democracy since Mr. Trump arrived on the political scene and the Republican Party has been a willing participant in the blatant savaging of Lady Liberty.  Some of these elected officials have been active participants while others have participated tacitly.  But in the words of Dr. Martin Luther King, “there comes a time when silence is betrayal”; and that time is long past for those tacit participants.

There are those, foreign and domestic, who say that the American democracy is designed to be undemocratic.  Although I can accept their perspective as arguably correct, that perspective is what I view as the “messy” part of democracy, which is something that we have to continue to deal with as we strive toward perfection; as we strive to make America a more perfect union.  Unfortunately, as disgusting and frustrating as it may be to deal with the messiness of democracy, that’s just the way that it is.  As long as we live in a democracy, Americans will constantly have to deal with conspiracy theories, white supremacy, the QAnons of the world, the Donald Trumps of the world, the Marjorie Taylor Greenes of the world and the list goes on.

Most Americans would be hard-pressed to come up with a worse time for the Supreme Court of the United States (SCOTUS) to even appear to be unsure of itself and faltering in their role as the virtual glue that holds the legal system together that allows America to be an effective rule of law nation.  Yet, here we are with a supermajority conservative SCOTUS that has cast aside stare decisis, something that every justice on the court said that they were committed to and would abide by, and overturned Roe v. Wade.  Wow!  Not only had Roe v. Wade been established law for almost 50 years but the great majority of Americans felt that, before it was overturned, it should remain law.  The only thing that changed that brought about the reversal of this law was that three new conservative justices were added to the Court during Mr. Trump’s tenure as The Donald J. Trump of the United States of America.

And as if overturning the Roe decision wasn’t controversial enough, the SCOTUS, after having already gutted the Voting Rights Act (VRA) in 2013, suddenly saw fit to interject itself into a case that a lower district court had adjudicated and decided in favor of the plaintiffs who said that the Republican Party had drawn a gerrymandered map for the 2022 midterm election that involved extreme redistricting, which favored the Republican Party.  The SCOTUS overturned the lower courts’ ruling based in great part on the “Purcell principle which cautions against federal courts’ changing voting rules on the eve of an election.”  As a result of this SCOTUS ruling, the midterm election was likely affected in favor of the Republican Party.  Even if it wasn’t, it certainly has the appearance of having done so.  Are the SCOTUS justices simply politicians in long black robes?  If they are, how long have they been hiding it until they could become a supermajority?  And if they are not, their recent overall conduct, which includes more than merely the cases that they adjudicate, definitely gives the appearance that they are.

So, you see, this is our system of governance and this is how it works…for now.  Because there is obviously those among us in this fledgling democracy who feel that something is not right about what is happening at the SCOTUS right now and that it needs to be closely scrutinized and corrected, things will likely have to eventually get messy.  Then, there are those who think that no changes are required because the SCOTUS is fine just the way that it is.  In order to resolve the differences between those who feel that something is not right and those who feel that everything is fine as it is…  It’s messy time!

As Americans, if we want to keep our democracy, we must be willing to work for it in perpetuity.  If we are not willing to do that, then we cannot keep it.  Without question, that work includes voting; and not just in the presidential elections.  Win or lose, like the results or not, we must continue to perform our civic duty at all times.  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

There is only six days left until Election Day and some voters are still struggling to decide how they will vote; will it be for Democrats or Republicans?  Donald Trump and his sycophants are not concerned about why these voters are undecided, they continue to relentlessly pound them with anti-democracy rhetoric and other disinformation.  All of the election deniers that are running for office are making it clear that they will not accept the outcome of their election bid if they lose.  Donald Trump and all of his supporters are busy badmouthing the election process in general and implying that elections are bad and not needed here or abroad.

Mr. Trump and his followers are doing everything that they can to create problems with elections where there are none.   Then, they complain about the problems that they have created and use them as an excuse to reinforce their allegations that elections are completely messed up and that is why no one needs them.  One glaring example of a problem that Mr. Trump and his sycophants have created is the demand to count ballots in Arizona counties by hand.

Katie Hobbs, the Arizona Secretary of State recently made this comment about the hand counts.  “With early voting well under way and less than two weeks from election day, these antics are doing more than creating chaos and confusion around the election and tabulation of ballots, which is wildly irresponsible,” she said.  In light of the just released emails surrounding the plan of Trump lawyers to overturn the 2020 election, this fits right in with Trump and his sycophants’ plan to return Mr. Trump to power; smoke and mirrors and chaos and confusion.

To make the things that are occurring in Arizona and in other states around our country even more sad and unsettling is that all Republicans in congress– with the exception of two, Representatives Liz Cheney and Adam Kinzinger, are either actively supporting these things, tacitly supporting them or are completely silent!  Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. said that “there comes a time when silence is betrayal.”  Dr. King is absolutely right.  Not only have these Republicans betrayed their oath of office in their greed and lust for power, they have betrayed the American people.  Any time that these elected officials are faced with a choice between defending the American democracy or circling the wagons and standing with Party, American democracy should always win!

There are those among the Republican faithful who might feel that they are comparable to those who fought in the first Crusades; who fought based on various motivations including religious salvation and economic or political gain.  Certainly, in the eyes of many during those times the end justified the means because their cause was just.  And there is little doubt that there are many Republicans, especially those who identify as evangelicals, who believe that Democrats are leading America in the wrong direction.  They believe that the policies for which Democrats are advocating and making the law of the land are so devastating that they must be stopped at their earliest stages.  And under these circumstances, the end justifies the means; their cause is just!  Many of them will weigh the cost of preventing these policies from spreading and becoming deep-rooted against democracy and might even opt for prevention at all costs.

Some of us might even agree with these Republicans that some of the policies and laws that Democrats are advocating for and putting into place are moving us in the wrong direction.  But to go with the end justifies the means approach and be willing to exchange our democracy for an autocracy to achieve those ends should be a bridge to far for all Americans whether we are Democrats, Republicans or Independents.  That is where Republicans like Representatives Liz Cheney and Adam Kinzinger come in.  Representative Liz Cheney is as conservative and staunch Republican as any Republican can be!  And Representative Kinzinger is probably not far behind her.

These two brave Republicans, Representative Kinzinger says that they are not brave but simply surrounded by a sea of cowards, believe strongly in the establishment Republican party and embrace its policies and ideals.  They have demonstrated that they also believe in democracy, the Constitution and the rule of law.  How could any Republican choose Donald J. Trump, a man who almost every Republican has at one time or another called a liar and every other derogatory name that they could think of, over Representatives Cheney and Kinzinger who have chosen to honor their oath of office and stand on principle?

I am a dyed-in-the-wool Democrat and proud of it.  However, as I mentioned earlier in this article, when it comes to choosing between Party and democracy, we should always choose democracy.  In this case; however, heaping praise on Representatives Cheney and Kinzinger – which they deserve, and agreeing with them on some things that relate to American policy does not involve a choice between democracy and Party.  It’s a choice between who you would prefer to argue about those policies with; Representatives Cheney and Kinzinger and people like them or Donald J. Trump and people like him.

I know who I would prefer to see elected Democrats argue those policies with, and it’s not Donald J. Trump and people like him.  My hope would be that we would win some and that we would lose some because that is the essence of democracy: no one gets everything that they want.  Common ground is the key and that can only be reached through compromise.  But those arguments would have to begin with Representatives Liz Cheney and Adam Kinzinger and Republicans like them.  Any proffer that would involve Mr. Trump and/or his sycophants would be a non-starter.  This is how Democrats, Republicans and Independents should be assessing the situation as we navigate through these last six days before Election Day.

As American people, we absolutely must be able to agree to disagree and resolve our differences through reasonable discourse.  But in order to do this, we absolutely must have reasonable elected officials in office.  Perhaps it would be sufficient to give those who currently constitute that “sea of cowards” that Representative Kinzinger mentioned, a warning from voters that they need to stand up, step up and be counted or risk being voted out of office.  But there are more than 300 election deniers running for office in the 2022 midterm election and we, the American people, must let them know in no uncertain terms that we will not tolerate anyone as an elected official who is against or advocates against our democracy.  We can let them know by voting against them on Election Day.

Again, there are only six days left until Election Day.  Americans know that our enemies, whether foreign or domestic, are watching this midterm election and wishing those who love our democracy ill.  Let’s coalesce around democracy and those things that have always made and will continue to make America great!  Let’s show the world that America is still the leader of and chief defender of democracy.  Let’s show them that democracy is the best way to govern.

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

• On the twelfth day before Election Day what came to mind for me was, “educate and be prepared to demonstrate.” That is, thoroughly educate yourself on all of the issues while you still can and properly prioritize them.  Then on Election Day, demonstrate that you fully comprehend those issues and know what is at stake by properly prioritizing them and voting for the top priority!
• On the eleventh day before Election Day what came to mind for me was, “keep abreast of political issues in real-time and continue to review and properly prioritize all of them.”
• On the tenth day before Election Day what came to mind for me was, “beware of smoke and mirrors and cunning soundbites.” That is, watch what incumbent politicians and those politicians running for election/reelection do or have done and not what they say.
• On the nineth day before Election Day what came to mind for me was, “gas prices continue to be way too high and it hurts to go to the supermarket because food prices are still too high; and the crime… Maybe the Republicans…”  No, the Republicans can’t.  Republicans don’t have a magic wand they can wave and make everything better.  Remember, “watch what these politicians do or have done and not what they say!”
• On the eighth day before Election Day what came to mind for me was, “money and power v. democracy. Which of the two will it be?  It’s binary.”  That is, it has to be one or the other.  There are no other options available!  Keep your priorities straight!
• On the seventh day before Election Day what came to mind for me was, “Democrats, Republicans and Independents; it’s a Party thing.” That is, I’m a (fill in the blank), I have to stick with my Party, right?  I know that the Republican Party has made a few mistakes lately but…  Again, “watch what these politicians do or have done and not what they say!  Keep your priorities straight; there is an existential threat to democracy!  You decide!  And it is you alone who can decide!
• On the sixth day before Election Day what came to mind for me was, “midterm election fatigue is knocking at my door.” That is, I am tired of all of the chaos, hearing about how America is a “rule of law” country and the law applies to all citizens equally while the rich and powerful are not held to account, listening to cunning political soundbites, watching the trust in the Supreme Court by Americans continue to plummet, and the list goes on.  Beware of smoke and mirrors!  And, keep your priorities straight; there is an existential threat to democracy and it impacts on Democrats, Republicans and Independents!
• On the fifth day before Election Day what came to mind for me was, “freedom is not free, we must fight for it!” That is, now is not the time to grow weary and quit.  This is what those who prefer an autocracy over a democracy are hoping for; that those who want America to remain a democracy will quit.
• On the fourth day before Election Day what came to mind for me was, “lovers of democracy might grow weary but we will not quit!” That is, we will press forward through the weariness and we will continue to fight for democracy and that which is not free; freedom!
• On the third day before Election Day what came to mind for me was, “even through uncertainty we have managed to keep our eyes on the prize and we are almost there.
• On the second day before Election Day what came to mind for me was, “why are we Democrats so inept at messaging when we have had years to learn and get better at it?!” That is, why is the Republican party so much better at messaging than the Democrats?  Is that why so many races are extremely tight when we should be running away with them?!  Will we ever learn?!
• On the first day before Election Day what came to mind for me was, “why am I/are you so focused on criticizing the Democratic party instead of doing everything that I/you can to help turn out the vote under this unprecedented threat to the American democracy? Let’s keep our priorities straight!  Let’s focus and put all of our effort into saving America; saving our democracy!”
• On the day of Election Day what came to mind for me was, “I have already voted.” That is – in the spirit of what was mentioned on the twelfth day before Election Day in this article, “I have already educated and demonstrated.”  So, since I have already voted – I have always voted prior to Election Day, I need to cast all negative thoughts and thoughts about criticism aside.  Instead, I need to continue right up until the deadline to do everything that I can to encourage anyone who hasn’t voted to vote.

There you have it.  That’s the twelve days before Election Day food for thought list.  If this article encouraged even one person who would not have voted to get out and vote then I will consider my efforts a success.  I encourage anyone who reads this article to do everything that you can to encourage those that you know to vote.  If we want our vote to continue to count, we absolutely must “keep our priorities straight” and make sure that we vote for the top priority.

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

In light of the politics in America right now and politicians and their political calculus as regards money and power or democracy, American voters are confronted with a binary choice.  That choice is between democracy and autocracy; and the world is watching.  Voters’ choice on November 8, 2022 is simple; democracy or autocracy!  And without our democracy, everything else on the ballot and in the minds of voters regarding changes that they want and feel that one party can bring and sustain as opposed to the other is completely meaningless!

Maya Angelou said “When people show you who they are, believe them the first time.”  The Democratic party has shown you who they are and the Republican party has shown you who they are.

The only thing that remains is for American voters to decide and validate by way of our vote on November 8^th, based on facts and not soundbites or alternative facts (lies), is whether we want to keep our democracy or exchange it for an autocracy.

The above quote is sage advice from Ms. Angelou.  And based on what we have seen from the Republican party since the election of Donald J. Trump as The Donald J. Trump of the United States of America, his two impeachments, his loss to now President Joe Biden – which he still refuses to acknowledge and accept, and his antics since that loss, it would be extremely dangerous for American voters to continue not to believe them.

We can show them that we believe them on November 8, 2022 by voting to keep America a democracy and a country that truly believes in the rule of law; not one that only provides lip service to 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!  Be sure to vote on Tuesday November 8^th, your country is depending on you!

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

We are still about 20 days out from the midterm election and many of us pro-democracy voters are experiencing battle fatigue.  This is exactly what congressional Republicans – with the exception of two, Representatives Liz Cheney and Adam Kinzinger, were hoping for.  I say two, specifically because only these two have displayed the courage to stand on their convictions and speak up and defend democracy.

I lean on two quotes from Doctor Martin Luther King, Jr. to bolster my rationale for making this claim that there are sadly only two Republicans in the entire House and Senate in Washington who are not cowards and are willing to stand on their principles.  Those quotes are as follows:  1. During a meeting at Riverside Church in New York City, exactly one year before he was assassinated, Doctor King said “A time comes when silence is betrayal…  The truth of these words is beyond doubt, but the mission to which they call us is a most difficult one.”  And 2., he said that “In the end, we will remember not the words of our enemies, but the silence of our friends.”

The way that these Republican Representatives and Senators (“our friends”) are conducting themselves at a time when there is an existential threat to our democracy is astounding; so, I will understand if there are those who can’t help but to chuckle to themselves and muse as to whether I am using the word friend quite loosely.  However, my point is that all – with the exception of the previously mentioned two, of our elected congressional Republican officials in Washington have been measured and have come up short.  They have failed to honor their oath of office and, instead, have chosen to cling to power at all costs.  A failure to stand on principle and honor their oath – which, unfortunately has become normalized and most Americans wink at it, at any other time would be terrible enough but to fail to do these things at a time when our democracy is at stake is…  As previously mentioned, this is astounding!  It is all but unforgivable!  There is no excuse for such conduct!

The mission that these words, “A time comes when silence is betrayal”, call all Americans to is indeed a “most difficult one.”  It is a most difficult one because it pits us against one another.  It pits us against one another through ginned up hate and intentional lack of transparency: Democrats vs. Republicans, Whites vs. Blacks and other people of color, Whites vs. Jews, Christians vs. Non-Christians, immigrants vs. American citizens, them vs. us…  Divisiveness has been used as a weapon in politics for countless years but it was perfected by Donald J. Trump when he became The Donald J. Trump of the United States of America; and he continues even now to hone it as needed to fit his purposes each time that they change.

Mr. Trump lost the 2020 election to President Joe Biden but he has yet to admit that he lost.  The scary and most stressful thing for most Americans who live in the real world is that Mr. Trump is threatening to run again in 2024.  And he is threatening to do this even though he allegedly led a failed insurrection before he left office and committed numerous other crimes, which the preponderance of the evidence collected thus far indicates that he committed.  And although he is still under investigation for these crimes, polls indicate that he is still extremely popular.

Republican-controlled state legislatures throughout America have either enacted laws or are in the process of enacting laws that are based on Mr. Trumps “Big Lie” that the 2020 election was stolen from him due to rampant voter fraud.  Thorough investigations were conducted as a result of Mr. Trump’s allegations and no fraud was found; not even by Bill Barr, Mr. Trump’s Attorney General!  These laws that have been implemented or are in the process of being implemented by the above-mentioned legislatures are all based Mr. Trump’s “Big Lie” and no evidence!  They amount to nothing more than thinly veiled voter suppression, a tactic that these Republicans are using to keep Republicans in power!

Currently, there are many of Mr. Trump’s followers, a.k.a. election deniers, who agree with him that he did not lose the 2020 election.  They, like Mr. Trump, say that it was stolen from him and that he is still the legitimate The Donald J. Trump of the United States of America.  Some of those followers are running for office at local, state and federal levels in the 2022 midterm election.  Even with all of the evidence that is stacked up against Mr. Trump and with his current outrageous antics, due in no small part to his acumen concerning divisiveness and his demonstrated ability to con and manipulate people, there are those that continue to follow him as if he is the proverbial Pied Piper and so are committed to support these candidates simply because Mr. Trump has endorsed them.  Hence, polls indicate that almost all of these are tight.  America can’t afford to have people like these running the country if we intend to remain a democracy.

This is where we, the voters who love our democracy – whether we are Democrats, Republicans or Independents, come in.  Those elected leaders who are standing on principles and honoring their oath cannot fight those who would subvert democracy alone!  They need our help!  That is why we cannot become weary and disengage before the 2022 midterm Election Day; before the 2022 midterms are completely finished.  That is why we must turn out like we have never turned out before. It is likely that we will even have to continue to fight beyond that day.  We must realize that freedom is not free and that we must fight for it for as long as it takes.  With midterm races being tight, staunch election denier candidates running for office, voter suppression laws in place and extreme gerrymandering, Republicans feel that they have a real good chance of taking, win or lose, the midterm elections and retaking the House and Senate.

Finally, polls show that many American voters believe that democracy is under threat but it is not a priority.  Instead, their priorities are inflation, the overall economy and climate change.  There is a poll that says 81% of American voters say that the economy will have a major impact on their vote.  What!  Don’t these voters know that without our democracy their perspective on these things won’t matter because they will not have any meaningful input concerning them.  Don’t they realize that unless their perspective coincides with that of the autocrat and his chosen few, their thoughts and concerns will be tossed aside and completely disregarded?!

What are those Americans who have these concerns and place them above the threat to democracy going to tell their children and grandchildren should we lose our democracy and those children one day ask them, what did you do when America was faced with this threat?  Are they going to tell them that they were to busy with the concerns that the price of gas was way too high and that food at the supermarket was too high!  Every single voter needs to focus on their priorities as they relate to the 2022 midterm election and be absolutely sure that they are properly ranked.

If all of us do that, then we will have a much better chance of surviving this attack on our democracy by one of our two major political parties; the Republican Party.  So, get your priorities straight and be sure to turn out and 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, Operation Rubik’s Cube and Living Between The Line

I went to my local post office yesterday, 10/11/2022, to mail a letter via certified mail.  My wife had been experiencing problems since April this year with getting in touch with someone that she really needed to speak to.  Finally, I suggested that since she was unable to reach this person by phone, I would contact her by mail since what she needed to talk to her about impacted on both of us.  My wife agreed that this would be worth trying so…

When I arrived at the post office that afternoon, as usual, the line was long.  There was only one post office employee working the counter – I will not label this situation as another “as usual” thing but I will call it common, so I settled in for the wait.  Shortly after I got into the long line, a young man got into line behind me.  He struck me as a cordial, polite and well-mannered young man so I did what we older folks consider to be the polite thing to do; I greeted him with what I will refer to as the obligatory hello.  I was right, in his own cordial, polite and well-mannered fashion he responded in kind.  Hello sir, he said.

Before I knew it, I found myself involved in an interesting conversation with him.  This young man told me his name and said that he was the coach at a school in the area.  As we continued to talk, I surmised that his coaching job was either a parttime activity to earn extra income or it was a completely voluntary thing that he enjoyed doing while giving something back to his community, which he seemed to care a lot about.  I further theorized that this school was a small and not well-known one.  I found out that I was correct in my assumptions when he told me its name and where it was located.  As our conversation continued, I found out that he was in his mid-thirties, was concerned about the ongoing gentrification of Black communities and cared a lot about helping young Black men who were struggling for various reasons, to stay on the right path and continue to move forward.

All the while that I was talking to this young man thoughts about another young man that I was intrigued by and had struck up a conversation with kept coming to mind.  I met this particular young man in the barbershop back in 2014 when I was getting a haircut.  I can’t recall his name but I remember that he too was affiliated with education, was concerned about the gentrification of Black communities and wanted to help young Black children and other children of color to stay on the right track and become assets to their communities.  This young man was a teacher at a school in a largely Black community.  Further, he too spoke with excitement in his voice about what these young Black children and other children of color could achieve if only given the opportunity and the right people to genuinely care about and mentor them.

The next thing that I knew, I was at the front of the line and would be next to be called to the counter.  The lady that was at the counter ahead of me, like me – she was also a senior citizen, must have overheard our conversation during the entire time that we were waiting in line because when the postal clerk that was assisting her at the counter went to the back area to check on something for her, she came and spoke in a whispered voice to the young man that I was talking to.  I could not hear what she said to him before she went back to the counter but from the expression on his face, he seemed to be touched by her words.

When the clerk returned, finished helping her and called “next”, I quickly told this young man that I had enjoyed our conversation and said goodbye.  I proceeded to the counter, paid to have my letter sent via certified mail, left the post office and headed for home.  Although I am not able to remember the young man’s name that I chatted with in the barbershop back in 2014, I recall exactly who the young man in the post office is.  However, since I didn’t get his permission to use his name in this article and I am not sure how he would feel about having his name publicized, I will simply refer to him as Coach ZR.  So, good luck in your efforts to help support and guide the young men that you are working with, Coach ZR.  I hope that in the long run they will be better off because you cared about them and provided them with more than just lip service.  Even if just one of them ends up better off, you will have accomplished a great and honorable task because every single person is, and as they should be, a precious life that is worth saving.

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

Trump’s America is slowly but steadily making “progress on regression” – a.k.a. Make America Great Again (MAGA).  Trump supporters are working hard and tirelessly to take America back to the “good ole days” as defined by the former The Donald J. Trump of the United States of America and his followers.  In my opinion, Mr. Trump’s followers can easily be subdivided into two distinct categories; heartfelt followers and sycophants.   Here, I will identify “heartfelt followers” as those Americans who honestly believe that the 2020 election was stolen from Mr. Trump.  I will identify “sycophants” as those Americans who are his toadies and who willing carry his water.  They are the ones who help him to keep his current followers convinced that he is still the legitimate president and convert prospective new followers.  These sycophants are comprised mostly of federal, state and local elected officials.

It is pretty easy to identify the first category of Mr. Trump’s followers but it is much harder to identify the second category; “sycophants.”  These sycophants know without a doubt that Mr. Trump’s “Big Lie” that the 2020 election was stolen from him is nothing more than a hoax but they go along with it because they are seeking to gain an advantage.  It is harder to identify them because they do not want to be readily identifiable to the American people overall because this would have a negative impact on the advantage they are seeking to gain.  Instead, when it is convenient, they want to be readily identifiable as Trump followers and/or sycophants only to the Republican base.  Then, when it not convenient to be identified as such, they want to be opaque and, perhaps, be identified simply as a Trump follower because they agree with his policies but not the man.  And still in other cases – when they think that the red meat Republican base is not watching, deny being a Trump follower at all.

Many of the Trump followers – in particular the sycophants, are sitting elected officials who are just desperate to keep their jobs and hold on to power.  They hate what Mr. Trump is doing and what he represents but they choose to sacrifice their principles and ignore their oath of office in these desperate attempts to remain in office.  They forget that the reason that we the people placed our trust in them and put them there in the first place was because we believed that they would put America first and protect her and the American people against all enemies, foreign and domestic.  It appears more so with each passing day that we were wrong.  Although President Joe Biden has been in office for almost 21 months now there are still those- including Virginia Thomas, the wife of Supreme Court Justice Clarence Thomas, who believe that he is not America’s legitimate president.  They believe that Donald J. Trump is.

It is not hard to understand why many Americans are frustrated and fearful about where America is headed.  We watched Mr. Trump thumb his nose at the law during the four years while he was in office and now, we have watched him do the same thing again during the almost 21 months that he has been out of office.  Every day we continue to hear about how no one is above the law; yet, Mr. Trump remains to be held to account.  It is likely that by now all Americans know that the wheels of justice turn slowly for rich folks that the system is trying to hold accountable for something that they have allegedly done.  But the only time that this occurs for people of color and other poor folks without power and money is when you are trying to get innocent folks who were falsely imprisoned out of jail.  The regular lamentations about how terrible the things are that Mr. Trump has done and how Republicans should grow a backbone and step up and condemn him for them have long ago grown stale; especially when he continues to flaunt his wrongdoing on the world stage still without consequences.

As Americans, we deserve better.  We deserve to have our system of justice work the same for all Americans.  And yes, this includes Mr. Trump even if he is the former The Donald J. Trump of the United States of America.  But Americans are not strangers to a system of justice that does not work the same for all Americans.  The system has never worked the same for the rich and powerful and the poor and powerless.  As obviously wrong as it is, preference has always been given to the rich and powerful.  But the system has never been known to willingly completely fail.  With the situation with Mr. Trump, it is on a fast track to complete failure if he is not held to account and is allowed to continue his outrageous antics while continuing to thumb his nose at the law.

I mentioned earlier in this article that Trump has followers and that those followers can be subdivided into two distinct categories, “heartfelt followers” and “sycophants”.  I further said that the sycophants were comprised mostly of federal, state and local elected officials.  What I did not mention was that there are others in this category who are nominated and confirmed to the highest judicial level in our country, the Supreme Court, by some of those federal level elected officials.  These justices are tasked with making the final decisions on cases that have been argued in the lower-level federal district courts and appellate courts, yet remain unresolved.  The Supreme Court is the virtual glue that holds together the actual “rule of law” in America.  It is the fundamental foundation for the rule of law without which rule of law would be unable to stand.  That is why the great majority of the public must believe that the Supreme Court is an apolitical institution and that its decisions are fair, just and based strictly on the law.

Unfortunately, that is not the case right now.  Polls indicate that trust in the Supreme Court has fallen by at least 22 points over the past two years and is at its lowest ever approval rating.  The preponderance of Americans believe that the Supreme Court is definitely political and many believe that it is little more than an extension of the Republican Party.  The Court has earned this reputation through its rulings lately by overturning longstanding precedence, with the crown jewel being Roe vs. Wade, simply due to the appointment of new justices to the Court that gave the rightwing a supermajority.  The Supreme Court just begun its new session in October this year and plans to hear at least three very key cases – Merrill v. Milligan, Sackett v. EPA and Moore v. Harper – that can have a major impact on the Voting Rights Act, clean water standards and whether or not the “independent state legislature” theory will be established as the law of the land, respectively.  Based on its resent decisions, it is hard to determine what the Court will do.  It seems to be impervious to public opinion and determined to implement the rightwing Republican agenda.

Time is fleeting, America.  Our elected officials must act if we intend to keep our republic and democracy.  And right now, the Democratic Party and those Republicans who want to keep our republic and our democracy don’t appear to be acting with the urgency which this situation demands.  Mr. Trump must be held to account!  This does not mean that he absolutely must be found guilty.  But if the evidence determines that he is guilty then he must be held to account via a legitimate and fair trial.  Further, if the evidence determines that he is guilty and he is not held accountable then this will only embolden him and he will do even worse things.  There will be no limit to how far Mr. Trump will go except for the limit that he places on himself…good luck with that!

We must put pressure on our elected officials and keep it there to represent us, the voters who put them in office, and not themselves.  If they don’t do what we elected them to do then we must exercise our power through our collective vote – this November and in future elections, and remove them from office.  No matter how bleak the situation may appear to be right now, know that we can do this!  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 case “The former Donald J. Trump of the United States of America vs. The United States of America” is imminent… and so far, he is winning.  Yes, I’m aware that there is something that seems a little bit odd about this statement.  So, to state it more clearly, Mr. Donald J. Trump vs. The United States of America has not even started yet but he is already winning.  What do I mean?   Here is a mock exchange, founded on events that actually occurred, between Mr. Trump and the United States of America.  Based on this exchange, you decide.

The United States of America:  Based on tradition and norms Mr. The Donald J. Trump of the United States of America, you must make your tax information available to the public.

Mr. Trump:  In essence Flips the bird, aka f**k you.  The “aka” is a one-time clarification, in the very unlikely event that there is anyone in this world who does not know what this means.   So, if this expression should happen to occur again in this article you will know what it means without further clarification.

The United States of America:  Mr. The Donald J. Trump of the United States of America, based on traditions and norms, you must avoid even the appearance of nepotism in your administration.

Mr. Trump: Flips the bird.

The United States of America:  Mr. The Donald J. Trump of the United States of America, it is against the law for you to try to force Ukraine or any other country to help you win reelection by forcing them to provide dirt against your opponent.

Mr. Trump:  Flips the bird.

The United States of America:  Mr. The Donald J. Trump of the United States of America, it is against the law for you to try to remain in power after you have lost the election by pressuring states to somehow find non-existing votes that you need to overturn election results, pressuring your Vice President to refuse to do his duty in certifying the votes or to take part in or refuse to do your duty to quell an insurrection that occurs in order to keep you in power or to try to remain in power by any other means that is not in accordance with the law.

Mr. Trump:  Flips the bird.

The United States of America:  Mr. The Donald J. Trump of the United States of America, it is against the law for you to take records, especially classified documents that require special storage (SCIF), that belong to the American people to your private home at Mar-a-Lago.  Further, it is against the law for you to refuse to return them to the government when they request them.

Mr. Trump:  Flips the bird… and then says “they’re mine!”

Obviously, the above list of Donald J. Trump infractions is not exhaustive; but what do you think; have you reached a decision?  Do you think that Mr. Trump is already winning?  Do you think that there should be a trial?  Well – although Mr. Trump has lied to the US Archives and the courts about the documents he had at Mar-a-Lago and is fundamentally via implication still agitating his supporters to commit violence by publicly stating that they “would not stand for it” and saying that “[the US government] would have big trouble” should he be indicted, US Attorney General Merrick Garland still has not reached a decision as to whether or not the Department of Justice should indict Mr. Trump.  Whether or not Mr. Trump was involved – whether overtly, covertly, tacitly or not at all – in the previously mentioned examples of lawlessness must be decided via a trial.  Therefore – based on all of the evidence that is collected, if warranted, Mr. Trump must be indicted and there must be a trial.

There is no doubt that it is a tough decision that Attorney General Garland is faced with even though there is overwhelming evidence right now to support an indictment.  But because there are dire consequences associated with a decision to indict, AG Garland is proceeding with extreme caution.  That is understandable.  However, there are also just as dire consequences, if not more so, that are associated with not holding Mr. Trump to account.

All of us have seen what happens when Mr. Trump is not held to account.  Witness what happened when congress twice had the chance to hold him accountable but each time – with the strong support of Mr. Trump by senate Republicans under the leadership and guidance of Senator Mitch McConnell – refused to do so for political reasons.  This only emboldened Mr. Trump to move on to other unlawful things that have proven to be even worse.

If the Department of Justice follows suit and once again refuses to hold Mr. Trump to account, he will do even worse things and we could actually lose our republic.  The American democracy could quickly become the American autocracy… headed by non-other than Donald J. Trump.  This one man, thus far, has already demonstrated that he has the ability and mental fortitude to manipulate an entire powerful government despite resistance by the majority that opposes him and hold it hostage.  We must not allow Mr. Trump and his allies to manipulate us, the American people, into being caught like a deer in headlights; we must not be frozen by fear!  Make a decision AG Garland.

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