AnneLandmanBlog.com

Dangerous Republicans, Democracy under threat, Extremism, Freedom under threat, Insurrection, Trump Insanity

Trump publicly states he intends to erode the Constitution rather than preserve, protect & defend it as his oath requires, thus should not be sworn in

by Anne Landman • December 10, 2024 • 13 Comments

Swearing in Trump after he promised on national television to degrade the U.S. Constitution would be assisting him in undermining the Constitution

In a recent interview with Kristin Welker broadcast on national television on December 8, convicted felon and president-elect Trump promised to “absolutely” end birthright citizenship “on day one” of his presidency:

KRISTEN WELKER: You promised to end birthright citizenship on day one.

PRESIDENT-ELECT DONALD TRUMP: Correct.

KRISTEN WELKER: Is that still your plan?

PRESIDENT-ELECT DONALD TRUMP: Yeah. Absolutely.

KRISTEN WELKER: The 14th Amendment, though, says that, quote, “All persons born in the United States are citizens.”

PRESIDENT-ELECT DONALD TRUMP: Yeah.

KRISTEN WELKER: Can you get around the 14th Amendment with an executive action?

PRESIDENT-ELECT DONALD TRUMP: Well, we’re going to have to get it changed. We’ll maybe have to go back to the people. But we have to end it.

Birthright citizenship is guaranteed to Americans by Section 1 of the 14th Amendment to the U.S. Constitution:

In order to assume the office of President, Trump must take a Presidential Oath in which he must swear to faithfully preserve, protect and defend the Constitution of the United States, not erode it:

“I do solemnly swear (or affirm) that I will faithfully execute the Office of President of the United States, and will to the best of my ability, preserve, protect and defend the Constitution of the United States.” [Underlining emphasis added.]

Thus Trump has publicly stated an intent to violate his oath of office before taking it.

Swearing in of Supreme Court Chief Justice John Roberts in 2005. His oath required him to “defend the Constitution of the United States against all enemies, foreign and domestic.” (Photo: Wikimedia Commons)

Knowing Trump intends to find a way to undermine the Constitution instead of preserving, protecting and defending it as required by oath, Chief Justice John Roberts should refuse to swear him into office. If Roberts doesn’t and swears Trump in anyway, then Roberts will become Trump’s accomplice in degrading the Constitution and thus violate his own oath of office, which required him as a Supreme Court Justice to “defend the Constitution of the United States against all enemies, foreign and domestic.”

Trump has made it abundantly clear on more than one occasion that he is a domestic enemy of the Constitution. In December of 2022, he publicly called to terminate the Constitution to overturn the 2020 election so he could be president again. Liz Cheney said at the time, “No honest person can now deny that Trump is an enemy of the Constitution.”

Knowing Trump’s intent, and his broader desire to “terminate” the Constitution, swearing Trump into office despite would make Chief Justice Roberts a domestic enemy of the Constitution as well.

Bad behavior, Christian nationalism, Conservatives, Conspiracy theories, Crazy Republicans, Cringeworthy, Dangerous Republicans, Democracy under threat, Election deniers, Extremism, Generic idiocy, Public health, Trump Insanity

The threat posed by the Christian nationalist bent of Trump’s nominees

by Anne Landman • December 7, 2024 • 15 Comments

Republished with permission from the Freedom From Religion Foundation. AnneLandmanblog included some additional information, references and videos:

Trump

President-elect Trump’s nominees for cabinet and other powerful positions read like a “Who’s Who” of Christian nationalists (pdf) and Project 2025 creators. His choices for key federal positions in federal government constitute a direct threat to the secular foundations of the U.S. government and signal the implementation of Project 2025, the extremist blueprint aimed at reshaping the federal government to align with a narrow sectarian ideology. Project 2025’s agenda includes dismantling the wall between state and church, curbing religious freedoms for non-Christians, and pushing policies that marginalize religious minorities and LGBTQ-plus individuals. By nominating individuals deeply entrenched in Christian nationalist movements to key positions, Trump can fast-track the implementation of this radical agenda.

Here’s a rundown of cabinet and high-level picks that are prominently connected to Christian nationalism, Project 2025 or the America First Policy Institute, founded to advance Trump’s Christian nationalist-influenced agenda:

What’s wrong with “Medicare Advantage” plans?

by Anne Landman • December 6, 2024 • 29 Comments

Frame from a TV ad by a local agency that sells Medicare Advantage plans

Re-publishing this article in the wake of the murder of the UnitedHealth Care CEO in New York this week. Authorities found the words “delay” and “deny” written on the bullets that killed the CEO — words that describe insurer tactics to avoid paying claims. UnitedHealthCare has the biggest share of so-called “Medicare Advantage” enrollment at 29% in 2024, up from 20% in 2010, according the Kaiser Family Foundation, which focuses on major health care issues in the U.S.

At this time of year, ads hawking “Medicare Advantage” plans flood every possible media outlet, imploring seniors to call 1-800 numbers for “free Medicare evaluations” where brokers can sign them up for Medicare Advantage (MA) plans. MA plans are also called Part C plans, which offer premiums for private insurance plans that cost less than traditional Medicare plans while also offering freebies like vision screenings, dental cleanings, gym memberships and a monthly allowance to spend on drugstore merchandise.

These plans definitely sound alluring, but beware.

Get ready for a big increase in the cost of living after Trump takes office

by Anne Landman • December 2, 2024 • 14 Comments

Torch-bearing white supremacists in Charlottesville, Aug. 11, 2017, cited President Trump as the inspiration for their “Unite the Right” rally (Photo: Edu Bayer/The New York Times)

On November 25, Trump said that as soon as he’s inaugurated on January 20, 2025 he will institute a new 25% tariff on all goods coming into the U.S. from Mexico and Canada, plus an additional 10% tariff on goods from China.

So look out. Your cost of living is about to get a huge increase.

Trump is either willfully ignorant about how tariffs work, or is lying to Americans about it by repeatedly asserting that other countries will pay the tariffs, and not Americans.

Economists and tax experts all say that’s completely wrong.

CO Ethics Commission to resume investigating 3 ethics complaints against Tina Peters

by Anne Landman • November 26, 2024 • 48 Comments

“I don’t belong here. I haven’t broken any laws,” says Tina, who continues to do internet shows from Mesa County Jail. (Screenshot: Rumble.com)

If you need some good news at a time when Americans have embraced racism, misogyny, vindictiveness, sexual abuse, large-scale fraud, corruption and grift as acceptable behaviors in their incoming commander-in-chief, here’s it is:

On November 25, 2024, the Colorado Independent Ethics Commission (IEC) voted to resume investigating Tina Peters (pdf) for multiple ethics charges filed against her while she was County Clerk, and not let her off the hook as a result of committing even worse crimes that landed her in prison.

Red Rock Auto wage theft lawsuit headed for trial Dec. 9-11

by Anne Landman • November 20, 2024 • 4 Comments

Red Rock GMC on First Street in Grand Junction, where Derek Paíz was employed as a detailer

A civil wage theft lawsuit, 23CV52 (pdf), filed by a tenacious former vehicle detailer against Red Rock Auto Group II, Inc. and Red Rock’s local minority owner Bryan Knight, is headed for a fast-approaching jury trial December 9-11, 2024 at the Mesa County Justice Center.

At a virtual pre-trial conference this morning, November 20, Judge Matthew Barrett confirmed that the trial is set for those dates and will be heard by a 6-person jury.

Bryan Knight, now listed as a minority (10%) owner of Red Rock GMC

Derek Paíz worked as a detailer for Red Rock GMC at 741 N. First Street in Grand Junction from April-September, 2022. He filed the case pro se (on his own, without an attorney) on October 26, 2023 seeking wages he alleges Red Rock failed to pay him for work he did while employed at the GMC dealership in 2022.

A “weird” watch party for Jeff Hurd and the media

by Anne Landman • November 17, 2024 • 11 Comments

Charles Ashby

The following opinion column by longtime political reporter for the Daily Sentinel, Charles Ashby, is reprinted here in full with permission from the Sentinel’s publisher. The original article is here, on the Sentinel’s website. It is a rare opinion column by Ashby, who has been a news reporter for 45 years, and who has covered politics for about half that time. It describes the unprecedented way District 3 Republican U.S. House Representative-elect Jeff Hurd treated journalists attending his watch party on election night, Nov. 5, 2024.

—————————–

In all my nearly 50 years in journalism, about half of which was in covering politics in Colorado, I’ve never heard of what happened during U.S. Rep.-elect Jeff Hurd’s election night watch party occurring anywhere else.

While it’s not uncommon to corral the media at political events, or even bar them from entry, what Hurd’s campaign did to the print, radio and television press at The Warehouse 25Sixty-five Kitchen & Bar on Tuesday night was unprecedented.

Community vigil planned for Amanda Overstreet

by Anne Landman • November 10, 2024 • 1 Comment

A community vigil will be held Saturday, November 16 at 2:00 p.m. at Long’s Park, 3117 Patterson Road, to honor Amanda Overstreet, whose remains were discovered in a freezer in the garage of a house on Pinyon Ave. in January of this year. The Mesa County Sheriff’s Office finally identified the remains on October 11, 2024 as those of the teenage daughter of the previous owner of the home. She was identified as Amanda Leariel Overstreet and was estimated to have been 16 years old at the time of her disappearance in 2005. Her disappearance was never reported. Her death is being investigated as a homicide.

MAGA customer spews racist insults at employees of 5 Guys hamburger restaurant in G.J.; restaurant fires employees

by Anne Landman • November 9, 2024 • 14 Comments

A customer wearing a Trump “Never Surrender” T-shirt was emboldened to hurl racist insults at employees at 5 Guys hamburger restaurant at 2480 U.S. Highway 6 in Grand Junction on the evening of Election Day, Nov. 5, calling them “beaners” and “f*cking invaders” as they filled his order.

Elect a criminal, expect crimes

by Anne Landman • November 8, 2024 • 28 Comments

There will be no one to blame but American voters for what is going to happen next.

After a decade in politics, we all knew Donald Trump was a criminal.

He was found guilty last May of 34 felony counts of fraud and was slapped with a $355 million fine after he and his company were found guilty of engaging in a decade-long scheme to defraud banks and lenders by falsifying the values of his properties. In writing the verdict in the case, Judge Arthur Engoron wrote “The frauds found here leap off the page and shock the conscience.” In 2023, a jury found Trump liable for sexual abuse and defamation.

Page 1 of 153

1 2 3 … 153 »