Memorial Day Perspective

 

This Memorial Day we remember the ultimate sacrifice Americans in uniform paid in defense of our country.

It was originally called "Decoration Day" in 1868 to honor those who served to defend the United States against the slave states of the Confederacy. I have an ancestor who died in Union Blue in 1865, the final year of the Civil War. 

Today we largely honor the fallen for defending freedom from fascist and racist regimes that waged unprovoked wars of conquest and territorial expansion. Domestically the dictators dominated their country’s legislatures and courts while they employed secret unaccountable police to enforce their will. I also have relatives who were killed, wounded, and or taken as a prisoner of war in the Ardennes in 1944.

I can’t help but wonder what our heroes who fell on Omaha Beach, in the Ardennes, and on Iwo Jima would say about our country today. They died fighting Right Wing Authoritarians (RWAs) who promised to make Germany and Japan great again. Here in our United States, we now have a Right Wing Authoritarian leader who has the legislature and Supreme Court in service to his personal agenda. We now have a virtual dictator who has secret unaccountable police to enforce his will.  And I can easily imagine the men in blue would be horrified to see that we now have former Confederate States given license by that authoritarian leader and his Court to suppress African American voices in our elections and government.

Welcome to Trump’s MAGA America. And in the authoritarian minds of its loyal adherents, we who object are seen as an evil threat to “their country”.

As readers know, I love to inspect the dark corners of that authoritarian mind. This trait is prevalent in our greedy power seeking oligarchs, Christian nationalists, and white supremacists. They are America's Right Wing Authoritarians. (RWAs)Their overactive amygdalas keep them in constant fear of “socialism”, “woke”, DEI, LGBTQ, CRT, immigrants, minorities, and the thousand other triggers that haunt them like demons. It’s a sealed fortress of a closed mind where there’s little to no light of factuality and morality to confuse the Right Wing Authoritarian personality. 

Here, we identify a novel factor that may predict belief updating: right-wing authoritarianism (RWA), which is characterized by a desire for order, structure, and preservation of social norms. We hypothesized that because people who score high on RWA are motivated to preserve entrenched beliefs, they may often fail to successfully update their beliefs when confronted with new information. Using a novel paradigm, we challenged participants’ false beliefs and misconceptions to elicit prediction error. In two studies, we found consistent evidence that high-RWA individuals were less successful at correcting their false beliefs.

To say the least...

I confess to having an occasional impulse to tweak the authoritarian MAGA mindset to draw out their indoctrination and anger against most American who overwhelmingly disapprove of the Criminal President. None of the comments I made under my name were allowed at a particular blog so I posted as Anonymous:

~~~

Dave Dubya as "Anonymous":

The criminal, sex offending, pedophile protector you condoned and helped put in the Oval Office is rigging the stock market for $millions and stealing almost two $BILLION to reward his thugs for beating cops bloody and trying to overturn our fair 2020 election he lost.

Now we know exactly what you think America should have for leadership.

How does it feel to have no shame, no conscience, and zero respect for our Constitutional rule of law?

And how's that war of choice working out for you at the gas pump? Better blame Biden and liberals, right?

~~~~~~~

I was mildly surprised when a response came from the Trump supporter

~~~~

The RWA blogger:

I don't particularly care for anonymous comments, as I think if you have something to say that you supposedly believe, you should at least assign some sort of nom de plume to your comment. It doesn't matter as I am about 95% certain of whom this comment came from anyway. I posted this to show the complete disconnect that the radical left has from reality. I don't like Trump. I never have, but I think he has done some really important and good things to right the country. Not everything he says or has done has been good however.

Our anonymous poster, if I am correct in my assumption of his true identity, supported the treasonous and treacherous Biden and his administration and had no problem with his $6/gallon gasoline back then, nor the crony capitalism for his buddies, rampant crime, and open borders . Trump is far from perfect, and I have criticized him in these very pages when warranted. That said, I love my country far more than my hatred for Obama, Biden, or Trump personally. Evidently the hate-America Leftists would rather have the country completely fail rather than give any credit to the evil orange man. Their childish tantrums would be amusing if they weren't so dangerous.

~~~~~

Of course he had good reason to believe I made that comment. I’ve been his blogger nemesis for over a decade, so I really know him better than he thinks I do.

Our authoritarian friend lectured me with, “I posted this to show the complete disconnect that the radical left has from reality.”

He seems to confuse “to show” with “to accuse”.

And what are his examples and where is his supporting evidence of his version of “reality”.

Nowhere.

But true to my desire for honest dialogue, I found common ground.

“I don't like Trump.”

I agree. I don’t like him either. He’s a criminal who spreads deliberate divisions, hate, lies.

“I never have, but I think he has done some really important and good things to right the country.”

Where to begin? The worst sociopath may give a thirsty person a drink of water. Even Al Capone did some good things like opening a soup kitchen for the unemployed people of Chicago. However, both Capone and Trump have committed numerous crimes.

I do agree it’s good for the country to deport violent immigrants. I can’t deny he did something right with his "TrumpRx" to help some uninsured people find lower priced meds. It falls far short of what is really needed, like banning Big Pharma from political donations, universal public healthcare, and demanding lower prices for everyone.

There’s nothing good for the country in giving billionaire oligarchs power to deny public services and shut down agencies. It's outright cold-blooded to give them tax cuts at the cost of cutting food stamps and Medicare for the poor.

It does the country no good to punish non-violent immigrants with cruelty  and neglect as they are packed into concentration camps run by amoral and unaccountable corporations. It does the country no good when ICE thugs can kill non-violent protesters with impunity. It does the rule of law no good when drug running suspects are murdered on the open sea without due process. Along with Trump’s unaccountable criminality this is where the rule of law breaks down.

Trump was bailed out of his evidence-backed indictments by his corrupt and highly partisan judges and Supreme Court Justices, two of whom were appointed by way of the grossly dishonest double standards of Mitch McConnell.

Count 1: 18 U.S.C. § 371 (Conspiracy to Defraud the United States)

Count 2: 18 U.S. C. § 1512(k) (Conspiracy to Obstruct an Official Proceeding)

Count 3: 18 U.S.C. §§ 1512(c)(2), 2 (Obstruction of and Attempt to Obstruct an Official Proceeding)

Count 4: 18 U.S.C. § 241 (Conspiracy Against Rights)

A leader above the law is NEVER good for any country.

There’s nothing good about pardoning and rewarding his henchmen and thugs for violently beating cops to overturn a fair election he clearly lost.

Here a just a few of the crimes committed by Trump’s J6 thugs after he praised and pardoned them.

– Violent assault

– Sexual assault of a child

– Solicitation of a minor

– Possession of child pornography

– Domestic abuse

– Aggravated DUI and reckless homicide

– Attempted murder

– Stalking

– Burglary

How much would he REWARD them with our tax dollars for their violence and loyalty? How is that any different from Hitler and his Brownshirt thugs?

A real Christ following Christian of conscience would never vote for any of this. 

Our RWA concedes, “Not everything he says or has done has been good however.”

Or “Double plus ungood!” in Orwell’s Newspeak.

As I predicted with, “Better blame Biden and liberals, right?”

Yes, I called it again. (They are SO easy to read and predict.)

He accuses Biden of  “crony capitalism for his buddies, rampant crime, and open borders”.

Yes, I agree lax border protection was Biden’s first big mistake. (His second big mistake was breaking his promise to serve only one term.)

The authoritarian personality will always deflect to Biden to protect their lack of moral grounding in defending the Criminal President. The authoritarian will blame Biden alone for high gas prices in 2022 and go so far as to say I “had no problem with his $6/gallon gasoline back then”. But In reality the prices surged to historic highs due to pandemic constraints and supply disruptions, in addition to the reaction to the Russian invasion of Ukraine.

Remember when Trump urged OPEC to cut production?

From Forbes:

Compared to the Biden‑era spike—driven by a complex mix of post‑COVID supply lag, OPEC+ restraint, and Russia’s invasion of Ukraine—the current Trump‑era spike is more directly tied to a single geopolitical decision and its immediate consequences for a key transit route… In Trump’s case, oil prices were relatively stable until the February 28, 2026 decision to attack Iran. Iran’s retaliation—closing the Strait of Hormuz—directly threatened a major share of global oil flows. That move triggered a sharp increase in the geopolitical risk premium, and oil prices have climbed roughly 50% since, with fuel prices rising in tandem.

Unlike the supply chain plagued prices during Biden’s term, ONE person is to blame for today’s souring inflation and gas prices. That would be our tariff obsessed Criminal President and his lust for being a tough guy by starting a war.

Without evidence he accuses Biden of being responsible for “rampant crimes”.

Let’s look at the reality the MAGA Authoritarians MUST DENY.

“EVERY federal and nongovernmental analysis completed since shows crime falling in 2023 and 2024.”

And:

Violent crime has decreased during Biden’s time in office, according to FBI crime statistics and those compiled by other sources. Annual figures for 2023, released last month, show a decline in the number and rate per 100,000 population for nationwide violent crime overall, as well as for murder and nonnegligent manslaughter, rape, robbery and aggravated assault.

Despite this data, Trump and other Republicans have continued to falsely claim that violent crime has gone up under Biden. Instead, what the statistics from several sources consistently show is a spike in violent crime overall in 2020, Trump’s last year in office, due to increases in murders and aggravated assaults.

 

This information will be rejected by the fanatic RWA Trump supporters.

Only willful ignorance, hate, and faith in the lies of Donald Trump could induce the deluded person to call Biden “treasonous and treacherous” without a trace of evidence.

Trump’s insane tweets are his gospel. This is MAGA propaganda all the way and the RWA’s lap it up.  They cannot QUESTION Trump’s words, including his Big Lie about the 2020 election. That’s their loyalty test.

And his ugly mean face draped over the FBI building reeks of a dictator’s ego with a personal Gestapo eager to obey his orders to prosecute without justification anyone he hates.

It is futile to ask them for evidence to support their vicious lies about the 2020 election and Biden’s “crimes” and acts of “treason” because there is none. There are troves of evidence behind Trump’s indictments, but NOTHING on Biden. No wonder they hate him so much!

Crony Capitalism is a Trump trademark. He and his family and friends have enjoyed raking in $billions in just the past two years. As for Biden’s “rampant crime”? No evidence. By the sourced evidence I provided, the nation’s crime rate came DOWN during Biden’s term. Anyone who doesn’t know this isn’t paying attention.

“Trump is far from perfect, and I have criticized him in these very pages when warranted.”

In fairness, I acknowledge his criticisms. I agree with him on Trump’s desecration of our public lands for resource exploitation. I agree that Trump violated the Posse Comitatus Act by deploy military assets for law enforcement. However, in the same paragraph he would offer a back-handed justification for that that crime with his lies about “leftist mayors refuse to fight crime” and “This does NOT negate the lawful need to deploy limited National Guard troops to protect federal facilities and employees when blue city politicians refuse to do so”.

Glaringly there’s not a peep about Trump having his minions at the DOJ obstruct the unredacted Epstein files. He is behaving EXACTLY as if he’s either protecting his pedophile pals and/or protecting himself.

No problem for RWA’s. That Epstein stuff is just a Democrat “hoax”, I’m sure.

Let me note that Trump’s attacks on the free speech rights of critics, often demanding for their arrest, his demand for racist gerrymandering to strip representation from Black Americans, and his barrage of hate speech and lies don’t appear in his list. Absent from his list are his demand for racist gerrymandering to strip representation from Black Americans, and his barrage of hate speech and lies, and the widespread corruption and insider trading by him, his family, and henchmen.

I will also note the ominous absence of any discussion of Trump’s numerous, evidence-supported criminal indictments after he LIED about the 2020 election. He has no objection or even concern over Trump’s J6 coup and praise and pardons for his violent thugs for beating cops bloody in his criminal attempt to overturn a fair election he lost.

Our RWA even went so far as to retract his most important and morally justified criticism.

To refresh our memory, this is what our dear RWA wrote at my blog on Jan 8, 2021:

“Dave, Trump was wrong to give encouragement and a wink and a nod to the protestors and delaying any attempt to rein them back. He was complicit. Sadly this ego maniacal narcissist tarnished the myriad of good things he has done for our country with this latest escapade.”

This is what he wrote on May 15, 2021:

“Trump instigates a riot according to the left and the media, but then I repeat myself. (He didn’t.)”

Like so many others, he believes the lies and has allowed Trump to pervert, diminish, and corrupt his mind, conscience, and morality, even to go so far as to say,” Evidently the hate-America Leftists would rather have the country completely fail rather than give any credit to the evil orange man”.

That’s what happens with everyone who supports dictators. They MUST see him as the savior of the country and see those who oppose him as the enemy who hates and would destroy the country. And that is precisely how a democratic republic DOES fail.

Trump’s path to his virtual dictatorship isn’t difficult to understand for the rest of us.

After lying, sowing doubts on election integrity, scapegoating, and fear-mongering his way to power, he refused to concede to electoral defeat. He duped and distracted enough voters into forgetting his insurrection. His allies on the Supreme Court absolved him from criminal responsibility and enabled him to run for president again. This only encouraged more lies, rage, and lust for vindictive retribution. He swore to punish everyone who tried to hold him accountable. This is exactly the unjust weaponization and “lawfare” he falsely claims was used against him.

He accuses everyone who opposes him of being traitors and attacks our First Amendment rights. The free press is demonized as the “enemy of the people” for accurately reporting his treachery, lies, and crimes. He demands punishment for comedians who dare to joke about him. But he has a cadre of self-serving billionaire oligarchs as allies. As the obscenely wealthy Jeff Bezos whines about paying his taxes, Stephen Colbert donated $2.5 million to Chef Jose Andres for his World Central Kitchen that feeds people in times of trauma and suffering. This is the difference between real Christians and a MAGA oligarch.

And true to every dictator’s ambition, he desires to expand his power over other countries. Canada, Greenland, Mexico, Venezuela, Iran, Cuba, etc. are in his sights.

Trump went on to suppress dissent, minority representation, and voter rights, and to pardon his loyal criminals and thugs. He is now attempting to loot our treasury to reward them. He routinely calls for the arrest of critics and proceeded to take control of the legislative and judicial branches of government. Finally, as all dictators do, he is taking control of, and intimidating, news media, law firms, the educational system, and corporations.

This is every tyrant’s idea of “law and order”.

Like Hitler did last century, the insurrectionist Criminal President gained power over the rule of law. What is worse for a country than that?

Now our nation is falling into the hell of an authoritarian dictatorship that HIS servile Republican Party, HIS corrupt Department of Justice, and HIS partisan Supreme Court refuse to restrain.

We the people are finally waking up, albeit far too late. Today’s Combined polls Trump Approval Rating:

Disapprove – 58.1%

Approve – 38.9%

Authoritarianism is NEVER compatible with democratic ideals, free speech, civil rights, voter rights, fair elections, liberty, and justice. Authoritarianism is how our great experiment in a representative democratic republic withers and dies. And the radical right authoritarian third of our country, along with 5% of the mentally deficient and illiterate, still approves of him. In 2016, our deeply flawed Constitution permitted their tyranny of the minority to take root. Now it’s the majority be damned.

So let us memorialize our fallen. But let us also NEVER FORGET WHY they served and fell.