Candidates nominated to become a Supreme Court Justice of the United States (SCOTUS) by Occupier of the Oval Office, Donald J. Trump, who were successfully seated, arguably are of the same ilk as is he.  Mr. Trump is a twice impeached ex-Occupier of the Oval Office who has proven to be a xenophobic incompetent leader who is a liar, conman and charlatan –  this truncated list of negative qualities is obviously by no means exhaustive – who refuses to let go of his ‘Big Lie’ that the 2020 election was stolen from him.  Mr. Trump has always been very meticulous when it comes to the people that he chooses to surround himself with so he was likely just as meticulous about selecting those who he nominated to become Supreme Court Justices.

It is well known that Mr. Trump places an all but unmatchable value on loyalty; he expects the three Justices that he chose to be loyal to him!  Based on this it is reasonable to assume that he vetted them thoroughly – whether directly or implied – on the loyalty issue.  The fact that Mr. Trump moved forward and nominated them does not mean that these nominees agreed – again, whether directly or implied – to be loyal to him.  But knowing how Mr. Trump operates – after the vetting, he would have had to believe in his mind that they understood that not committing to be loyal to him was a non-starter to their nomination.  None of the three candidates that Mr. Trump nominated to the Supreme Court could have been confirmed without the strong help of then Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell and Senator Lindsey Graham; especially nominee Amy Coney Barrett who was confirmed about a week before the 2020 election!

In light of what Republicans did to President Barrack Obama’s SCOTUS nominee Merrick Garland, the blatant hypocrisy of the Republican Party is even more painful to witness and one would think that this shameful conduct by its leaders would cause at least some members to push back against it.  But that is not the case.  The Republicans have no shame and dignity down to every last member of the Republican caucus has taken a back seat.  There are those who cry foul when some Democrats speak of expanding the Court because they do not believe that Democrats should stack the Court: what have the Republicans just done?!  It appears that this new conservative Supreme Court is shifting its focus toward rolling back all of the hard-won civil rights battles that have been accumulated through blood, sweat and tears over the years.  The shift is subtle but it is occurring.  All Americans must be vigilant and remain that way if we are to protect the rights of all Americans.  It is obvious that there are some who would prefer that this American Democracy become an Autocracy.

Under the leadership of Chief Justice John Roberts the current spider-like Supreme Court is not only subtle and stealthy but it is opaque by way of the use of its’ Shadow Docket, especially when former occupier of the Oval Office Donald J. Trump was in office.  It is spider-like, and this was a tactic likely concocted by Chief Justice Roberts, in that it sucks the life out of laws that it does not agree with but is too cowardly to take on head-on for fear of public backlash, and leaves the toothless hull of them in place.  That way, there are those Americans who will believe that the law with its full effect is still in place and the Justices can argue that they did not strike it down.  For example, do you remember when Chief Justice Roberts cast the key vote in gutting the Voting Rights Act?  In the unlikely event that you do not remember that, certainly you remember what the SCOTUS just did by allowing Texas SB8 to stand, in essence overturning Roe v. Wade, without any opinion from a lower court or oral arguments and while admitting that the bill was unconstitutional.

There was an article by Amanda Marcotte in Salon about this decision.  There was also an article by CNN legal analyst & Supreme Court biographer Joan Biskupic concerning it.  In both cases I think that they nailed it with regards to the John Roberts Supreme Court!  You should read these articles and see what you think: Amanda Marcotte’s article is entitled ‘The “soft” overturn of Roe v. Wade exposes how far-right John Roberts has let the Supreme Court go’ and Joan Biskupic’s is ‘John Roberts has lost control of the Supreme Court’.  However, I must push back a bit on Ms. Biskupic’s article because I don’t think that Chief Justice Roberts has lost control of the Supreme Court, rather I believe that it is doing exactly what he wants it to do while shielding him.

Simply reflect on Chief Justice Roberts’ concoction of the spider-like tactic in addressing the Voting Rights Act and the hull of it that continues to exist there while his reputation as an institutionalist remains intact and protected.  And not only should you reflect on what happened with the Voting Rights Act and what just happened with Texas’ SB8, but contemplate this; while the Roe v. Wade controversy has the spotlight, John Roberts’ spider-like, stealthy Supreme Court is further sucking any remaining life out of the Voting Rights Act.  In light of all of this, don’t be fooled by Justice Roberts joining the three dissenting Justices in slamming the majorities’ decision to let SB8 stand.  As Rachel Maddow so often says on her show, don’t watch what they say, watch what they do.  Republicans as a Party have lost their collective mind.  They are flagrantly and frantically working to subvert the will of the American people and replace it with their own will and agenda.

Voters are the only medicine that can cure this problem so Republicans are even working to replace election officials who were elected by the people to oversee America’s voting process with people of their own choosing; people who will count and certify votes the way that they want them counted and certified.  That way, they can place the people into office that they want to place in office and ignore the will of voters!  This entire effort to subvert the will of the American people is predicated upon the former The Donald J. Trump of the United States of America’s “Big Lie.”  Keep all of these things in mind when you are at the polls 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

The more that I reflect on the January 6, 2021 attempted coup by the mob of crazed Trump supporters who labeled themselves patriots while they killed one police officer and injured many others as they stormed the United States capitol, I thank God for the silver lining that this ominous black cloud in American history contained; failure.  It was an attempted coup.  I regularly go through the same cycle again and again: disbelief, disappointment, frustration, fear, anger, stress, exhaustion…and back to disbelief.  It is an involuntary thing that is brought on by the trauma of witnessing the Republican Party shamelessly and relentlessly press forward in supporting Donald J. Trump’s ‘big lie’ that the 2020 election was stolen from him.  It does not last long because I always consciously quickly discard it.

And each time that I have reflected on the horrible and shameful event of January 6^th and passed through this cycle I see more clearly how fortunate that we Americans are to still have our fragile democracy; to still be moving forward with this Great American Experiment!  I see how extremely close that The Donald J. Trump of the United States of America was to pulling off a successful coup d’état: the margin between America remaining a democracy or becoming an authoritarian  country was paper-thin!

As I reflect on the attempted coup, the things that occurred during it and the things that continue to occur in real-time since then, it is definitely emotionally painful.  It is emotionally painful to the point to where it actually feels like physical pain.  That is why, as previously stated, I quickly discard it.  It is extremely hard to believe that those that we elected to protect Americans and America against all enemies foreign and domestic would turn their back on the oath that they placed their hand on the Bible and swore to in order to take office.  It is even harder to believe that an entire political party would do this!  How can personal political ambition hold such aggregate sway over an entire party especially when to choose political ambition over their sworn oath presents an existential threat to the American democracy?!

I know that there are a lot of other Americans – Democrats, Republicans and Independents – who feel the same kind of pain that I feel.  I can see this in the faces of many of the cable news reporters and their guests.  These cable news hosts, being the professionals that they are, many times try to disguise the pain that they are feeling and not overemphasize the severity of the January 6^th event and the overwhelming danger of the political games that the entire Republican Party is continuing to play.  They try valiantly to accentuate the positive with respect to what Democrats are doing to address the attempted coup and to prevent the same thing from occurring again.  And although they do not go so far as to eliminate the negative by avoiding acknowledging what Democrats are not doing – because they understand the pain and fear that the majority of the American people are experiencing, they do everything that they can to protect those Americans’ physical and mental health without misreporting or underreporting the news.

It’s hard work to watch Senators Mitch McConnell, Mitt Romney, John Cornyn, Lindsay Graham and many other senators like them completely forsake democracy.  These were politicians who – in the past, even if you disagreed with them on the issues, you felt like there was at least some degree of principle, honor, sincerity and commitment involved in the positions they held: now, principle, honor, sincerity and commitment are completely lacking.  There is no decency!  The only thing that counts is power…and staying in power at all costs!

As far as members of the House of Representatives is concerned, I intentionally excluded mentioning Leader McCarthy and the other Republican politicians in the House along with the senators mentioned above because I am convinced that Leader McCarthy’s word was never worth anything and that he was never an honorable politician.  He was always strictly about Kevin McCarthy and the Republican Party; emphasis on Kevin McCarthy, because his personal ambition has always held priority.  Therefore, although he and his cohorts are just as deep into choosing ‘the big lie’ and Party (Trump?) over their oath and democracy, I still could not bring myself to mention Leader McCarthy’s name in the same breath as that of the aforementioned senators.

That notwithstanding, the ease and lack of patriotic emotion with which all of these Republican senators and House members deal with the metaphorical fire that encapsulates America’s fragile democracy and the existential threat to it – which is only exacerbated by their disregard to their oath of office and their lack of decency, is astonishing.  Politics is indeed a tough profession that is only for those of a particular ilk.  It is definitely not for everyone.

I have always been aware of those people who are cynical when it comes to politics but I never really thought before that politicians could make me more skeptical of their profession than I already am.  Surprise!  The January 6, 2021 attempted coup and the things that have transpired and continue to take place since then have been a real eye-opener for me.  But unlike those cynical folks who eschew politics and find it so distasteful that they refuse to participate in it in any way, fashion or form, I have always done my civic duty and will continue to do so.  That is, if we can preserve our fragile democracy!  And right now, things don’t look all that promising.

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

I am almost as sick and tired of hearing Democratic Senator Joe Manchin’s name as I was of hearing The Donald J. Trump of the United States of America’s name when he was the Occupier of the Oval Office.  Before the 2020 election that gave the Democrats control of the senate by the slimmest margin possible – 50 Republicans and 50 Democrats plus Vice President Kamala Harris’ vote, no one even knew who Senator Joe Manchin was; well, maybe a few people in West Virginia did.  Anyway, based on this slimmest of margins situation, Senator Manchin saw the opportunity for a power grab and he took it.

Since grabbing that power, he has been working hard to spread his name throughout America like, I suppose, anything that gets spread by a professional no matter his level on the, so-to-speak, professional totem pole.  There is no doubt that these power grabs when they are available are not uncommon and happen far too often by ambitious politicians.  They are usually winked at by other politicians, especially those of the same ilk, who are awaiting their own opportunity to further their personal professional goals.  That is likely among the reasons why Senator Manchin’s Democratic colleagues are handling him with kid gloves while he runs around with his Republican colleagues and sides with them against getting rid of the filibuster or changing it in any way.  Senator Machin is doing this under the guise of bipartisanship and preserving the voice of the minority Party.

This action by Senator Manchin has not gone unnoticed by Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell and he and his lieutenants, which arguably could include Senator Manchin, are taking full advantage of the situation to allow Republican politicians around the country time to introduce and enact voter suppression laws.  This means that the cornerstone of the American democracy is at stake vs. a long held senate tradition; the filibuster.  Yes, we are talking about preserving the cornerstone of our democracy vs. the tradition of the filibuster!  The filibuster is not a part of the Constitution and there are some who argue that it came into being via a mistake!  Senator Joe Manchin is siding with the Republicans – all of whom, with the exception of two, are sticking together under the guidance of Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell to support Donald Trump’s ‘big lie’ – in supporting maintaining the filibuster tradition over the right of every eligible voter to vote.

In the meantime, President Joe Biden – who is an honorable and decent man – is also, and sincerely I might add, striving with everything within his power to work across the aisle and govern on a bipartisan basis.  President Biden was a part of the senate for 36 years so he knows how the senate works and that is why, even though the American people are severely divided and obviously polarized, he can still make bipartisanship work.  But Senator Mitch McConnell has been a part of the senate for just as long as was now President Biden so he too knows how the senate works.  The difference is that President Biden has been out of the senate since 2009 and Senator McConnell, who has served as a senator since 1985, is still there.  Senator McConnell has also served as Senate Majority leader.  A lot has changed since President Biden left the senate.  Is Senator McConnell taking advantage of President Biden’s sentiments and passion regarding that body and playing him like a cheap violin?

Whether or not Senator McConnell is taking advantage of President Biden is of much concern but it is not the point of focus.  Americans must keep our eyes on the prize; the franchise: the right of every eligible voter to vote!  If that means putting pressure on President Biden and all of our elected Democratic politicians and keeping it there until they do everything legally possible to secure and protect the right of every eligible voter to vote then so be it.  If it means peaceful demonstrations of all sorts (‘Good Trouble’) then so be it.

It is far past time for Democratic politicians to confront Senator Joe Manchin and deal with him.  They must strategically pressure him because he also has skin in the game: He too, has something to lose.  Knowing Democrats, there is no doubt that they are running scared, wringing their hands and asking themselves what will happen if Joe Manchin switches sides and becomes a Republican?!  Ooh (sound of knees knocking together)!  For all intents and purposes he has already switched sides.  And he will continue to use Democrats fear to consolidate his power.

Democrats lose either way because they refuse to argue their position to the American people from a moral standpoint rather than from a policies standpoint.  They are either afraid to argue this issue from a moral standpoint or they do not understand that the right to vote is a moral issue that demands an argument based on a moral premise.  The Republicans understand this.  And that is why they are running all-out in the opposite direction of morals while there is still time to accomplish their nefarious goal.  They are betting that the Democrats don’t understand that this is the case and that even if they do they are too busy being afraid to do what obviously needs to be done.

So here we Democrats are again taking to the streets and demonstrating in order to do what our Democratic politicians do not have the nerve to do to preserve the American democracy.  And once again we find ourselves hoping against hope that they will eventually grow the spine to do before it is too late.  We can send a message to politicians like those who wink at what Senator Joe Machin is doing and to Senator Manchin himself through our vote that now is not the time to try to further his personal ambitions through a power grab.

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

Cops around the United States are still murdering Black People.  What are politicians in Denver, Colorado doing to address this problem?  Right now, it appears that they are doing the same thing as virtually all of the other politicians throughout the country…nothing!  Well, maybe – again like all of the other politicians – they are talking about it.  They are saying things like “our policemen need better training, our policemen are expected to handle situations that are really not a part of their expertise; things like mental health situations, there are a lot of good police officers and we really need to get rid of the bad apples” and on-and-on they go!  Blah, blah, blah, blah blah.  And like all of them have been saying since forever, they continue echoing the same old line saying, we can fix it…but it’s not going to happen overnight.

Overnight?!  Black folks have been complaining about unequal justice and being mistreated by the police since long before the 1964 Civil Rights Act was passed!  Overnight?!  I would say that prior to 1964 until 2021 goes far beyond overnight, wouldn’t you?!  I agree with the statement that Jason Johnson made on MSNBC’s Nicolle Wallace’s Deadline: White House show.  Mr. Johnson said, and I paraphrase here; we have to break this down and start over, you can’t train this out of people!  Mr. Johnson was referring to America’s policemen and the biases that far too many white police officers have against people of color; especially Black people.  He was saying that these biases are baked in to the police culture.

The real problem is that most politicians are unwilling to risk their cushy, prestigious jobs in order to do what really needs to be done to fix the policing problem in America.  They refuse to break things down and start over.  They know that an extremely large percentage of Americans refuse to even acknowledge that America has a problem in terms of racism and prejudices.  Many white people still believe that Black people still have the same opportunities that they do if we are willing to “pull ourselves up by our bootstraps” and work hard.  There is no doubt that many of them just say this but don’t really believe it but there are likely many of them that really do believe that this is true!  These politicians do not want to face the wrath of those who say that all things are equal because they risk losing their jobs if they do the right thing and work to fix the problem.

Unfortunately, Denver politicians and politicians throughout Colorado fall into this category of the “I can’t risk my job” group.  Denver and Colorado are a microcosm of what is happening at the federal level of our government.  But all of these politicians are our elected leaders who swore an oath to do what is best for America; shouldn’t they be willing to risk their jobs to uphold that oath?  Shouldn’t we expect them to be willing to risk their jobs to uphold that oath; especially when they are privy to information that is not available to the rest of us and they know that even if they face the wrath of some of their constituents that to risk their jobs is the right thing to do?

I shared my feelings about the problems that Denver has with its police force with my City Council representative, Stacie Gilmore, and suggested that she could perhaps take the lead in talking to Denver Mayor Michael Hancock about working to address this problem in an effort to mitigate it by getting ahead of it by using innovative methods to clean up the Denver police force and even possibly make it a model for other police departments around the country to use as an example to remake their police departments.  On about July 9, 2016 – subsequent to speaking to Councilwoman Gilmore, I wrote a letter to Mayor Hancock.  In that letter I provided him with a template that I believed would be beneficial in helping him to address the policing problem in Denver.

I had been writing about the policing problem in America long before I wrote to Mayor Hancock on July 9^th and provided him with a template to reform the Denver police force.  In retrospect, I now believe that the template that I provided to Mayor Hancock fell far short of what actually needs to be done to correct the problem with Denver’s police department: We need to apply the remedy that Jason Johnson suggested that America needs to apply to all of its police departments!  The show of force that the police demonstrated at the United States Capitol during the January 6, 2021 insurrection vs. that which they have demonstrated and continue to demonstrate against peaceful protesters around our country is an excruciating reminder of the biases that exist in the American police forces.

Case in point: During the January 6, 2021 insurrection the insurrectionists were obviously in charge and not the police.  Even after these people had stormed the capitol and actually broken into it while a joint session of congress was going on to certify now President Joe Biden as the 46^th president of the United States, the police were handling them with kid gloves.  They were cajoling them and asking them if there was any chance that they could get them to leave the building!  The police were doing this even after many police officers had already been badly injured by this crowd!  Some of these policemen who were defending the capitol even died!

Compare this to how police in Aurora, Colorado handled a much smaller group of people who were holding a violin vigil to honor 23-year-old Elijah Jovan McClain, an unarmed Black man who died after being placed in a chokehold by the Aurora, Colorado police.  What happened in this case?  The police showed up in large numbers clad in riot gear.  They proceeded to pepper spray the crowd until it dispersed.  These protesters were playing violins!

The city of Aurora and the city of Denver are adjacent to each other so they are obviously close neighbors.  And just like they are close neighbors, the Aurora police force and the Denver police force are not much different when it comes to policing Black people and other people of color vs. white people.  Both cities police departments treat Black people and other people of color like they are second-class citizens who are unworthy of being treated with the same amount of dignity and respect as that shown to their white counterparts.

I never heard anything back from Mayor Hancock or my City Council representative about the template that I shared with them and I have not noticed any visible improvement in the way that the Denver police treat Black people and other people of color.  Notwithstanding, I continue to hold on to the hope that things will change for the better and I will continue to do what I can to help bring about that change.  And if the mayor or my City Council representative should finally decide to contact me about that template I will be sure to tell them that it is time to upgrade it to the Jason Johnson approach; we need to break this thing down and start over.  We will have to somehow figure out how to use that model to break things down and start over.  And if we can’t do that, then the city of Denver will just have to start from scratch.  But the bottom line is, the problem absolutely must be addressed!

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

The Donald J. Trump of the United States of America is doing everything within his power to destroy the American democracy before he leaves office on January 20, 2021.  He continues to be assisted in this effort by his collection of toadies that he already has in the House and Senate.  Yet, because of his insatiable lust for power and corruption, he is seeking still more Republican representatives and senators who will do his bidding.  He is collecting these trophy representatives and senators through bullying, intimidation and any other means that he deems necessary.  He can smell their fear and sense their lust for power and he ruthlessly uses these things to bring them to their knees: he is a stone cold predator and always conducts himself as such.

There are some among these oath-breaker devoid of principle enablers who do not require bullying or intimidation to cast democracy and the Constitution on the trash heap, they follow him simply because they are Trump loyalist who believe that he can do no wrong.  They willingly accept the fact that loyalty to him is a one way street as he views it and always will be.  They also believe and willingly accept the statement that he made when he said that “I am the president, I can do anything that I want.”  They literally believe that The Donald J. Trump of the United States of America can do anything that he wants to do.

Those who support Mr. Trump and believe that he can do anything that he wants to do does not stop with Republican members of the House and Senate, it extends to more than half of all Republicans.  This poses a grave danger to our democracy and a serious threat to the survival of this republic; the American experiment that began almost 250 years ago.  Many of those Republicans who are not members of the House or Senate may not know that what Mr. Trump and these incumbent representatives and senators are doing is wrong and goes against everything that America has stood for during those almost 250 years and still stands for today; but these representatives and senators do!  I can’t even imagine that they don’t.  And if for some unimaginable reason they don’t, then they do not belong in office!

If our elected officials want to be leaders then they must show some leadership.  They must defend America against all enemies foreign and domestic and protect and defend the Constitution.  Those of them who have chosen to succumb to Mr. Trump – for whatever reason – kiss his ring and do his bidding should never be forgotten!  Always remember their names and never trust them again!  Hold them accountable, present them as examples and let them and what they have done live in infamy throughout history.  That way, those who follow them will realize the gravity of what they did and never repeat it!

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

I have seen a lot of news headlines lately with the articles following them stating that the Democrats expected a big blue wave but didn’t get it because they didn’t pursue Trump supporters hard enough: because they used virtual campaign techniques rather than the old fashion technique of getting out and knocking on doors and talking to people: because Republicans and Independents still remember the “basket of deplorables” statement that Secretary Hillary Clinton made in 2016 and their feelings remain badly hurt and 2020 Democrats made an equivalent mistake but without using Secretary Clinton’s exact words.  Poppycock!  Here’s how I see it…

Now I am just a regular old guy – who is, by the way, a rock-solid Democrat (I thought that you should know that), who believes that Trump supporters are going to be Trump supporters no matter what!  Some of those supporters might support him for different reasons than do others but he still has their non-wavering support.  For instance, Trump says you can grab women by their “p***y and get away with it; his supporters accept this and don’t budge.  Trump regularly denigrates women in other vile and vulgar ways through name-calling; his supporters accept this and don’t budge.  Trump calls Mexicans rapists and murders; his supporters accept this and don’t budge.  Trump readily denigrates any of his supporters no matter how loyal they have been to him and for how long they have been loyal to him, as soon as they openly disagree with him; his supporters accept this and don’t budge.  Trump rips children, including infants and toddlers, from the arms of their parents and locks them in cages without a solid plan to ever be able to reunite these children with their parents; his supporters accept this and don’t budge.  Trump cuddles up with dictators and other strongmen in secretive meetings while not allowing American note takers into the room and then refuses to tell the American people what was said during those meetings; his supporters accept this and don’t budge.  Trump allowed Covid-19 to run rampant in the United States killing more than 241,000 Americans without establishing a plan to bring it under control and as of the writing of this article, still has no plan; his supporters accept this and don’t budge.  This list is by no means exhaustive.

All of his Republican enablers in the House and Senate also hear these things and witness his complete lack of respect for the office of the presidency and the long-held norms that have been observed by virtually every president before him and they accept this and don’t budge.  Those who voted for him in this 2020 election have witnessed his behavior and know exactly who he is yet they voted for him again.  They also – after all of the protests and demonstrations, after all of the fiery rhetoric about how terrible a person that he is and how unworthy he is to hold the highest office in America and how all of those who enable him should be voted out of office and replaced with elected officials who will respect their oaths of office and serve America with honor – voted those same enablers right back into office.  Why is that?!

Now that they have voted these Representatives and Senators back into office and voted for The Donald J. Trump of the United States of America to have a second term and the race is extremely tight between him and former Vice President Joe Biden, they are pointing the finger at Blacks and Latinos and trying to steer the narrative for this tight race toward them. Well, this regular old guy believes that he knows why this 2020 election between Mr. Trump and former Vice President Joe Biden is so tight.  It certainly ain’t because of Blacks and Latinos!  I agree with Princeton Professor Eddie S. Glaude, Jr.  This story is about White America!  It is about things that far too many White Americans do not want to talk about.  It is about something that our country has struggled with from the day of its founding; that something is race.

The previously mentioned Trump supporters likely enjoy having Democrats chase after them and they wrap this attention around them like a fur coat and completely enjoy the warm and cozy feeling as if this metaphorical wrap were an actual fur coat on a very cold wintry day.  But they haven’t the slightest intention on voting for anyone other than Mr. Trump.  These voters may say that they detest the way that The Donald J. Trump of the United States of America conducts himself but they like his policies because they are for the greater good.

The following scenario is from a Black man’s perspective because that has been my personal experience so that is what I know best.  Take a minute, close your eyes and really think about the things that Mr. Trump has done.  As you relax and let your mind transport you back through some of the things that he has done as The Donald J. Trump of the United States of America, allow yourself to feel and be a part of what is actually happening.  Imagine a young Black man walking home to enjoy candy that he has purchased at a convenience store.  He is attacked by a grown man (vigilante?) with a gun, who is a so-called neighborhood watch person on patrol, and ultimately shot and killed.  Now imagine a twelve-year-old Black child who has a plastic gun, is playing in the park and is shot and killed by a police officer who acted within a few seconds of he and his partner rushing up in their patrol car because someone reported a person in the park with a gun.  Now imagine that a Black man is standing on a corner selling loose cigarettes and the police arrive and within minutes have placed him in a chokehold and chocked him to death as he repeatedly tells them that he cannot breathe.  Now imagine a Black man that has been pulled over for a traffic stop and as he runs away is shot multiple times in the back and killed.  This is important so bear with me as I provide you with a few more examples…

Now imagine a black man who is on the pavement with a police officers’ knee on his neck for almost nine (9) minutes.  And as this Black man pleads for his life, says time-and-again that he can’t breathe and calls out for his mother; the officer, with his hands in his pockets and with his knee still on the Black man’s neck tells him to get up and get in the car…the Black man says “I can’t”…and then he dies.  Now imagine an innocent Black woman who is shot to death in her own apartment by police who are executing a no-knock warrant.  Multiple shots were fired into her home but the only charge filed was against one of the officers for endangering the dead Black woman’s neighbor because one of his bullets penetrated the wall of her apartment…and the list goes on.

But now I ask you to imagine just one more thing, imagine that all of those killed were White…and that the police officers who killed them were Black!  Would the greater good perspective that you hold still prevail?  Would you still be so tolerant of Mr. Trump?  I am not by any means saying that Trump supporters and enablers are responsible for bringing about the above mentioned deaths but I am saying that they condone them by winking at them and they tacitly tender their approval of them by refusing to speak truth to power!  One of the main means to throttle Mr. Trump and his enablers and prevent them from leading America backwards toward the days of Jim Crow and slavery is by way of our vote.  During this 2020 election, almost half of the American voters voted to give Mr. Trump four (4) more years in office.  That speaks volumes about the great divide that exists in America and is indicative of the great amount of work that all Americans have ahead of us if we are serious about creating a more perfect union.  It is neither perfect now nor will it ever be.  But if our democracy, this great American experiment that we are involved in, is to survive, we must work in perpetuity to make it perfect.

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

Republican politicians first personified the meaning of the expression hollow oath of office then sold their souls to The Donald J. Trump of the United States of America.  While the majority of Americans have been traumatized by the way that Mr. Trump has conducted himself from the time that he became The Donald J. Trump of the United States of America and are now stressed to their breaking point due to the pre-election and post election violence that he is inciting, Mr. Trump is in his element and is as happy as a lark.  And guess what…spoiler alert, all of the Washington Republican politicians in the House and Senate are continuing to enable him in his march to destroy our American democracy and so are all of the other Republican politicians around the country!

I am among those Americans who are traumatized and stressed almost to the limit as a result of Mr. Trump’s tenure in office.  I have followed politics and been involved in it for almost all of my adult life.  I have always been, and am struggling to remain, an optimist when it comes to politicians and the governance our country.  Up until this point, I have always believed that a politician’s oath of office held an honorable meaning to them.  I believed that at any time that a choice arose between Party and politics that even appeared to threaten our country and/or democracy – let alone present an existential threat – that would be a Rubicon that they would refuse to cross and they would therefore choose country and democracy.  Obviously, that is not the case.  Where are the voices of patriotic Republican politicians?  Are there none to be found?!

I am at a complete loss for adequate words to express the situation that we, the American people, find ourselves in under the so-called leadership of The Donald J. Trump of the United States of America and his minions – the Republican Party, under the leadership of Senate Majority Leader Addison Mitchell McConnell, Jr. (a.k.a. The Infamous AMM).  Unfortunately, the Supreme Court of the United States (SCOTUS) got mixed up in this leadership, or lack thereof, quagmire in 2013 when, under the leadership of Chief Justice John Roberts, the SCOTUS gutted the Voting Rights Act and in essence rendered it powerless.  Now not only is Chief Justice Roberts right in the center of our current Trumpian controversy but thanks to the determined assistance of The Infamous AMM, Mr. Trump has appointed three (3) conservative Justices to the SCOTUS who he fully expects to be loyal to him.  And he has not been shy about what he wants from them with respect to the 2020 election.  It remains to be seen as to how these Justices will respond to his not-so-subtle suggestions but the situation certainly creates the appearance that the SCOTUS is a political sham and not at all about the law and its spirit and intent.

Since I am at a complete loss for adequate words to express the situation that we, the American people, find ourselves in under the so-called leadership of The Donald J. Trump of the United States of America and his minions who enable him, I strongly recommend that you read The New York Times article by The Editorial Board.  The title of the article is “Why Are Republicans So Afraid of Voters?”  It’s like they took the words right out of my mouth only they were much, much, much, much better.  The read certainly gave me a clearer understanding of the situation that we find ourselves in and how things really should be if we want to be the democracy that we are meant to be.  I think that it will do the same for you! To read the New York Times article you can simply click on the above link or type the title of the article into your browser search box and click the search icon.

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

I decided that I once again needed a break from writing about The Donald J. Trump of the United States of America and his outrageous antics.  As usual, he is continuing to suck up all of the air in the room so is dominating the news coverage in the United States and perhaps around the globe.  So while all of the mainstream news media is covering Mr. Trump I decided to write about the opening episode of the original series called First Ladies and the reminder that exudes from First Lady Michelle Obama that the prospect of “Hope and Change” should always remain with us…until that change comes.

Sunday night, 10/5/2020, I watched “First Ladies” on CNN featuring First Lady Michelle Obama.  When the First Lady began to speak it felt like I was immediately whisked away back to 2008 when now past president Barack Obama was elected president of the United States of America.  Once again I felt that ember of hope that still exists within me that there will be a time in politics someday when we will have a president who will bring all Americans together and lead America forward with dignity and honor; a president who will take that torch of hope that President Obama passed to them, expand on it and continue to make America an even brighter light on that hill burst into flame.  That same sense of pride and joy that welled up inside of me in 2008 when then Mr. Obama was elected president surfaced again!

However, that euphoric feeling that I experienced was accompanied by feelings of sadness and feelings of sympathy for First Lady Michelle Obama and President Obama; but especially for First Lady Obama.  I also experienced feelings of anger and outrage at the way that most of the Republican senators, which included Senator Mitch McConnell, treated First Lady Obama and President Barack Obama.  I specifically call out Senator McConnell because he is the Republicans’ leader and the person who was orchestrating the Republican mess then and is still doing so now.  You see, videos that were taken during President Obama’s tenure were shown during this series opening episode and news clips during that time were also displayed.  The body language demonstrated by those Republican senators toward President Obama and First Lady Obama was palpable and the vitriol, as exemplified in those news clips, that was spewed out of the mouths of far too many white people toward the First Lady and President Obama was all but unforgivable!

When First Lady Michelle Obama wore a sleeveless dress she was sorely criticized.  Many of those who criticized her acted as if no First Lady had ever worn a sleeveless dress before she wore one.  Many of them implied that this was completely out of bounds for a First Lady and some didn’t bother to imply that this was outside of White House decorum; they came right out and said that it was.

Whoa!  Refocus and recalibrate!  Lest I get sidetracked and go off on a complete tangent, which would be easy to do when I focus on First Lady Obama and our current First Lady…and current Donald J. Trump of the United States of America; a rhetorical question, have they been scrutinized anywhere near as closely for their behavior and character as were First Lady Michelle Obama and President Barack Obama?  And if they have, where is the outrage and criticism from the public and palpable body language from the Republican congressmen and senators toward First Lady Melania Trump and The Donald J. Trump of the United States of America?!  Food for thought for the Obama haters.  Anyway, I didn’t write this article to rehash all of the wrong that was done to President Obama and First Lady Obama.   I wrote it because of the feelings that were rekindled in me that made me more determined than I have ever been to do everything that I can in an effort to assure that they have the opportunity to read the poem that they inspired me to write prior to President Obama being elected President of the United States of America.  That determination was reinforced and amplified after I watched the first episode of “First Ladies”.  Following is that Poem:

A POEM

History in Black and White

Who is this Barack Obama who keeps appearing on my TV          Spouting words of change and hope in this beautiful land of the free?

It really would be a change if he wins despite the dissent                    You see, Barack Obama is running for President!

Now this may not sound much like change if your knowledge of history is slack                                                                                                                         But the fact of the matter in point, is this man Obama is Black!

He is truly African-American, as pure as African-American can be   So don’t be afraid to put a shout out that he can speak for you and for me

His father is a citizen of Africa and a true native in his own right     But his mother is a citizen of the USA, not only that but the woman is White!

So put a shout out to the White people too, this man’s knowledge is vast and not slim                                                                                                            Not only can he represent us, but he can also represent them

His knowledge is not based on guessing, like guessing done by you and by me Nor like the guessing done in John McCain’s camp though they’re truly trying to see

They are trying to see common interest, and common ground for those Black and White                                                                                               But when John is matched against Obama, his candle cannot hold a light

He has not an African father; though his parents love him they are White                                                                                                                                      So he can’t truly know their concerns and ours though he tries with all of his might

There’s no doubt that McCain is a patriot and wants our country to grow despite drama                                                                                                     But the best way for him to assure that this happens is for him to vote for Obama

We have not even talked about Michelle, who is as sharp as a First Lady can be                                                                                                                      And although Mr. Obama is not yet elected, she is talked about worldwide on TV

They attack the comments she’s made, to shame Barack for the world to see                                                                                                                   They say a First Lady should be background stuff and not wise and outspoken like she

This woman is as sharp as a whip, must she pretend to be dumb and not wise                                                                                                                               But for the President and the people of the USA she can be astute with nimble compromise

But now let’s get back to Obama who will be our next President      He will break that glass ceiling and enter that room that’s reserved for the establishment

He will surely be good for our country as we explore this new frontier                                                                                                                                                We will shed all labels but American people and conquer all doubt and all fear

Now pay attention Latinos and Native Americans and all others with the franchise true-blue                                                                                             This poem is from a Black perspective and that’s why there was no shout out to you

But Mr. Obama needs your support also to lead our country and let her noble flag wave Then he can assure we remain on task, the land of the free and the home of the brave                                                       ©Eulus Dennis 2008

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

Other than to make this comparison of the stark difference between these two people, it is without a doubt unfair to even mention The Notorious Ruth Bader Ginsburg and the Infamous Addison Mitchell McConnell, Jr. in the same sentence because they are political polar opposites.  While U.S. Supreme Court Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg (a.k.a. The Notorious RBG) spent her entire adult life standing on principle while fighting for justice and equal treatment under the law for all people, Senate Majority Leader Addison Mitch McConnell (a.k.a. The Infamous AMM) – as dubbed by yours truly as I began to write this article –  has spent his entire adult life lusting after as much power as he can possibly accumulate and worshiping that power while giving no regard to fairness or how the decisions that he is able to make as a result of that power impacts on others.  Unfortunately, Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg died on September 18, 2020.  She was 87 years old.  As for the Infamous AMM – shortly after her death, likely after prowling the corridors of power to see if there was any new power to grab before issuing a statement, publicly announced that Mr. Trump’s nominee to replace Justice Ginsburg would receive a vote on the floor of the senate.

You might remember that back in 2016 The Infamous AMM denied then President Barrack Obama the right to perform his duty as president to have his Supreme Court nominee, Judge Merrick Garland considered for the Supreme Court by refusing to hold hearings and allow a vote on the senate floor for him to be seated on the Court.  He said that he was withholding hearings and a vote on Judge Garland because it was an election year, about 10 months before Election Day, that the American people should have a voice in this placement and that whoever was elected president should make this nomination.  He said that whoever was elected might or might not choose to submit Judge Garland’s name.  All of the Republican senators supported The Infamous AMM’s decision.  Many of those same senators said that if this same situation arose in an election year in the future they would treat the situation the same way.

This is election year 2020 and that same situation has arisen as a result of the death of Justice Ginsburg.  The only difference is that Election Day 2020 is only 41 days away.  Notwithstanding, the Republican-led senate does not want to handle the situation the same way.  As mentioned previously, The Infamous AMM has made the decision that Mr. Trump’s nominee will receive a vote on the senate floor.  And now – because they want to support him again, these Republican senators who said back in 2016 when they supported The Infamous AMM’s decision to block a senate vote on Judge Garland for more than a year that if the same situation occurred again they would treat it the same way are backpedaling.  If it is at all possible they intend to vote on Mr. Trump’s nominee and so are looking for any excuse that they can find in order to spin it to provide cover for themselves and The Donald J. Trump of the United States of America.

So far the excuse that The Infamous AMM has conjured up is that this time the senate and the executive branches are controlled by the same party and that is a key difference.  His spin is that because of this, he and all of his Republican colleagues who refused to grant Judge Merrick Garland a hearing and a vote on the senate floor for more than a year back in 2016 because it was an election year, are not hypocrites.  Guess what?  All of the Republican senators have lined up in support of The Infamous AMM and are using this conjured up excuse to explain their change of mind.  All of them are a bunch of liars and flimflam men…and women.  But they are politicians without principles so lying comes natural for them so it is easy and without shame.  They look at lying as part of the profession and far too many American voters, journalist, pundits and press have been hoodwinked by them into accepting that this truly is the case.  Remember these politicians’ names and never trust them again!

Those people who have chosen to cast all else aside, things like healthcare, the rights of minorities – ethnic and otherwise, equal justice under the law, voting rights and all other rights to life outside of the womb and hold their nose and align themselves with The Donald J. Trump of the United States of America just for judges, are delusional if they believe that these judges in Trump’s America have real meaning.  They may have real meaning right now and yet for a little while.  But Mr. Trump’s actions, manner of thinking and policies align more with those of dictators and other strongmen than they do with American laws, norms and the American way.  And after that “little while” if he has his way – in Trump’s America, those judges will have neither meaning nor power unless they remain in his good graces.  Then, under those circumstances, what will it profit you if you have 100% conservative judges in the courts but lose your freedom and right to life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness.

Election Day 2020 will indeed be an historic Election Day.  Right now, Mr. Trump is busily traveling all around the country projecting his weaknesses and shortcomings upon his challenger, Vice President Joe Biden, and anyone else that he considers to be an adversary.  He is saying all of the right things about what he will do and how he will run our great country if he is given a second term in office.  But he is a proven liar and all Americans and the world have seen how he ran America in his first term.  He ruined America’s reputation at home and around the world.  We, the American people, can put a stop to the dismantling of our country this Election Day by way of our vote.

Yes, American voters can and should vote Mr. Trump and all of his enablers out of office on November 3^rd this year.  But rest assured that every available obstacle that can be successfully placed in your path to vote will be put there.  Because Mr. Trump is such a dangerous man who obviously possesses the ability to be a modern day pied piper to his base and many other Republican voters via his flimflam chicanery, I leave you with the words of the late John F. Kennedy as food for thought to encourage you to be sure to vote in this important fight for the soul of America to ensure that Mr. Trump will not have a second term as The Donald J. Trump of the United States of America.  President Kennedy said “the great enemy of the truth is very often not the lie – deliberate, contrived and dishonest, but the myth, persistent, persuasive, and unrealistic.  Belief in myths allows the comfort of opinion without the discomfort of thought.

Mr. Trump has very skillfully and successfully used the “lie and myth” method to lure trusting American people into his web since his first day in office.  Every vote counts if American voters are to be successful in putting an end to The Donald J. Trump of the United States of America’s “lie and myth” peddling.  That is one among many of the important reasons why you should 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 are seventy-three days left until Election Day 2020 and Americans are in one of the biggest, if not the biggest, fights of our life.  No matter which side of this fight that we are on we are in the fight for the very soul of America.  The Donald J. Trump of the United States of America and his minions are battling to suck what serves as the life-giving blood out of America during this extended period of night.  Mr. Trump and his minions are virtual vampires that are trying desperately to drain America of the right to life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness.

The Declaration of Independence specifically states that these unalienable rights – life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness – have been bestowed upon all humans by their creator.  And although the Constitution stops short of specifically mentioning happiness, it specifically mentions life and liberty.  As Americans, we have long known that life and liberty allows us the opportunity to be the best that we can possibly be and that they are key components to our potential to pursue livelihood as we see fit and establish a free and happy life at whatever level in society that we choose and are capable of reaching…i.e., “the pursuit of happiness.”  So, although the Constitution does not specifically mention “the pursuit of happiness,” it without doubt implies that we are entitled to this.

What are these virtual vampires doing to suck the blood out of America and make those of us who would prefer to keep America great rather than join the Trump clan who want to participate in a so-called rebirth of America to “Make America Great Again”?  They are joined at the hip with Mr. Trump in all of his shenanigans to do anything and everything that it takes to hold onto power by:

• According to the book “Hoax” by Brian Stelter (and long-held suspicions held by a large percentage of the American people), allowing Fox News to vicariously run the country by allowing Fox News to determine his decisions and policies many of which completely ignore science and are based on conspiracy theories
• Pretending that Coronavirus/COVID-19 does not exist, misinforming the American people about this disease and knowingly and willingly putting them in danger
• Spreading rumors, without evidence, that mail-in ballots will be rife with fraud and as a result…
• Withholding badly needed funding for the post office that will help them to get mail-in ballots to the polls on time so that they will be counted
• Removing mail sorting machines from post offices
• Eliminating overtime at post offices
• Firing post office managers or removing them from their current positions
• Removing post office mailboxes from off the streets where they have long stood
• Treating election mail (ballots) like bulk mail rather than first class mail
• Refusing to address foreign interference in our elections and instead soliciting their help in his own reelection
• Using the Department of Justice to punish his enemies and help his friends
• Using the Department of State and other Departments to line his own pockets
• Firing those who openly disagree with him or investigate any allegations against him even if an investigation is warranted
• Replacing longtime, qualified civil servants with large donors/political hacks
• Lying about almost everything…even when the truth would be as good or better…
• And the list goes on

Right now The Donald J. Trump of the United States of America is doing everything that he can to destroy the United States Postal Service, undermine the American election process by causing the American people to question its integrity and fairness and thereby lose confidence in the entire system and to suppress the vote in any other way possible so that he can be reelected.  He is emboldened by the fact that the Republican-led Senate refused to convict him, despite overwhelming evidence of his guilt, after he was impeached by the House.  He is ignoring all of the norms associated with the position that he holds and is handing out pardons to his convicted friends like candy to children on Halloween!

Mr. Trump was an extremely dangerous and freighting man as a regular American because of the power that he commanded due to his wealth and influence as a celebrity.  But he is even more dangerous and freighting now because of the enormous power that he wields as The Donald J. Trump of the United States of America.  He is the most powerful man in the world and holds the potential to almost singlehandedly destroy our democracy!  It is unfortunate but it appears that that is exactly what he is trying to do.  And that is why that no matter how many obstacles that he and his Republican minions place in our way in an effort to keep us from voting, we must surmount those obstacles and vote anyway!  I literally cannot say this too many times before Election Day 2020!  Hopefully I will not need to continue to say it after Election Day because we will have voted him and all of his enablers out of office.

Let us not become complacent and not vote due to the obstacles that Mr. Trump and his minions place in our path and we feel that they are too hard to deal with.  Let us not become complacent because Vice President Joe Biden currently has a comfortable lead according to the polls and that his running mate Senator Kamala Harris poses a formidable challenge to whomever Mr. Trump’s running mate might be: The stakes are just too high.  Vice President Joe Biden and Senator Kamala Harris need you!  America needs you!  So always remember, 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