RUSSIA, THE PROGRESSIVES, AND MY NEW PARANOIA

I first experienced political paranoia in the 1960’s and 70’s when the FBI really was watching us. This era marked widespread infiltration of organizations and surveillance of individuals dubbed radical and that included Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. and the NAACP! And even you, if your government thought you or your friends were “dangerous radicals.”  These government infiltrators did a lot of harm and over the long term, their existence gave credence to an inherent American paranoia.

These early infiltrators, however, were impossibly sloppy.  My brother, at the time, was a member of Students for a Democratic Society (SDS) and as well as an active member of the Brooklyn Chapter of the Congress of Racial Equality (CORE) which sometimes met in my parent’s apartment.  My parents were not co-conspirators. They assumed their athletic son’s meetings were with the basketball team. My best friend was in Red Stockings a feminist organization and was once briefly arrested for stamping “Fuck War, Not Men” on subway advertisements. I was, at the time, active in the Women’s Movement.

My phone was tapped, my brother’s phone was tapped and even my parents’ phone was tapped. The reason I can say this is because often our U.S. surveillance team left the tap open and there were suddenly four people on the phone at the same time. Once they connected their tap to the Staten Island train’s sound system and broadcasted some of my brother’s personal phone calls over their loudspeakers. In short, a lot of the time the technology and/or the agents involved in this surveillance were not as together as we feared. Time passed and young radicals were no longer the focus of our national political angst; all that was left were some important societal changes and a lingering trail of paranoia.

As I have been an activist on many political issues, I met many other activists and eventually my theater work brought me into contact with a large supposedly left-wing cult with nationwide political ties.  I also discovered that some of the activists I met were more interested in gaining power for themselves or their organizations than advancing the issues they espoused. Time passed and I went on my way paranoia-free.

I did a little college teaching in New York City in the late 90s and at one English Department meeting the political activists in that group decided to call themselves “progressives.” I objected, didn’t they know their history? The “Progressives” were part of America’s past. In the 19^th and early 20^th century, many of these “Progressives” came from the more refined middle and upper classes who desired to educate and inspire those “below them.” Many of these “Progressives “were also racists and believed that preventing the lower sort from procreating would eliminate the world’s ills. That idea was embraced by Hitler and his crowd. And, yes, they also made some inroads in fighting monopolies, founding settlement houses and birth control clinics. However, I could not see how going backward in history could be going forward.

Soon these “Progressives” began multiplying. At the start, they seemed to embrace many  “Liberal” ideas but with a twist.  The twist made me uncomfortable. Often their voices seemed reactionary and too often divisive. Then, there was the issue of their new heroes.

These so-called Progressive leaders heartily championed the men who had leaked US government secrets. But what did they actually leak? Compared with, say, the Pentagon Papers, these revelations seemed weak and some even seemed to undermine our own government rather than any particular villain or villains. One such example was making public our secret dealings and conversations with and about world leaders. Surely, that could have a negative effect on American foreign relations.

When I more closely examined the background of these “heroic” internet hackers I found one of them was hiding from his trial for rape and avoiding extradition. Another had made his new home in Russia. For me, that raised questions.  What was that Russian connection? Why was he there? And who was supporting them in hiding? I know the reasons offered, and now we all know a little more about that Russian connection. I wondered at the time why progressives were idealizing those men and to what ends? At first, I believed this political idealization represented the blindness of people who thought revealing secret government files, whatever the consequences, was always a good thing.

 It was, also, puzzling that many vocal progressives showed tremendous hostility to U.S. International trade agreements.  They insisted these deals just shouldn’t happen.  Now, didn’t these intelligent people know we were in a global economy?  I imagined the left should be pointing out the problems within the agreements, not simply eschewing international cooperation. Who would have guessed some decades later Trump, in the name of the extreme right, would also rail against international agreements? Still, at the time, paranoia was yet to click in. Like many people growing up in the middle of the last century, my understanding of our new dangers was not yet globalized.

I was familiar with the right wings’ often anti-Semitic paranoia about a menacing “world order” but it had always been the Liberal left that reached out towards more international cooperation than the more nationalistic right. If you replace the evil all –present- Jewish conspiracy with an evil all present corporate conspiracy you suddenly have a meeting of the so-called left and so-called extreme right. For me, it just didn’t make sense. We are in a global economy, run at this moment by international corporations, didn’t our leaders have to connect with them, talk to them, try to influence them? Yet any political leader who even spoke in front of corporations were dismissed as evil

Then along came Bernie. Bernie Sanders is a part of my generation. He came from a similar working-class background as myself and shared my type of 20th-century politics; as a child, he even lived in my neighborhood. At the start, I found his campaign interesting. As it moved along, I began to notice the man with solutions spoke less and less about real-time issues and began to ride the one horse pony of money in politics. At the same time, some of my more dubious activist friends began building this old man into a giant, a Messiah, to save us, never explaining how he could do all the wonderful things he promised. His record as Senator was far from impressive.

Then the primaries were upon us and I began to see Sander’s (now a Democrat) attacking Clinton in the same way the Republican’s did. Instead of talking about issues, he used emotional buzz words (Wall Street, Warmonger, Corporations etc.). He lost my vote but it was still strange. A man with ideas running on the Democratic ticket, striking out at Democrats and Clinton instead of selling his plans, his ideas, his strategy. Even as the election came around, he saved his rhetoric for attacks against the Democrats. What was he doing? I added it up to ego and self-interest.

And then the Mueller investigation.  Suddenly Russia and Putin were center stage, Putin, who made his way up the ladder of the notorious KGB to become Russia’s new dictator and head of the oligarchy that now controlled Russia was somehow implicated in supporting an American candidate in an attempt to shape a US presidential election.

I began exploring links I had never thought about. We all know about Ms. Stein’s (another Progressive idol)  connections and are learning about our heroic hackers connections. So, I looked up Bernie. My search was based on a quote that I heard about how Russian’s lure, entice and trap people into their service, often people who would never expect or want to be caught in their net. Was it possible? Did Bernie Sanders have a Russian connection?

Very little research made it clear that the answer was a resounding “Yes.’ For example, as mayor, he had made Burlington a sister city to the USSR’s Moscow. He spent part of his time as a newlywed there with his wife. Over the years he attended many conferences with Russian involvement. Proof? No. Thought provoking. Yes. And do remember, he was among the very, very few Senators from either party to vote against sanctions for Russia due to their election meddling.

But there is more to think about than Sanders. As I said, earlier in my life in theater I had dealings with an organization that began as believers in an idea; some called them a cult, but they had also moved into politics. As fate would have it, I had a discussion on politics with one of this organization’s members. It was over open political primaries, which, I strongly believe, is very dangerous to American democracy, because it weakens party political. Oh, yes in the progressive’s litany, political parties are evil. This so-called left-wing political organization was working to end political parties. How was it to their advantage? Disunited, money poor, unfocused political parties, would mean political chaos in our presidential system.

I did a little research and found that Russia ala Putin is busy recruiting extreme left and right wing organizations on the edges of society, from Nazis to Progressives. And the aim is to win. What will winning mean? Losses of U.S. power, losses to the U.S. economy and a global society headed by….Russia and Putin.

I am not often given to speculation or paranoia and that is what this article is about. There is no hard proof. Perhaps Mueller will give us some evidence, but the truth proved through history, is that small focused fanatic organizations can easily beat the majority.  They will march to the polls and give us Trump, and Russia has already nurtured and prepared such organizations for local, state and federal elections here and abroad.

Now for the disclaimer: Not every Progressive is part of this pack but we must be aware. Candidates whose politics line up with our own should not get a blind pass. Today we should look carefully for a Russian connection, or the candidates cult or splinter group ties. Bernie’s progressives are still on the march. For example, one of their present darlings, Tulsi Gabbard, grew up in her father’s cult. She recently made a visit to Syria (Russia’s murderous dictator friend) and returned with the Russian line that Assad is not all that bad.

Let us not be lured by tempting positions alone or a gung-ho personality or even a nice resume. Let us agree not to walk in lock-step when divisive so-called Progressive Democrats fight with party Democrats to condemn the party for being too “centrist” or “corporate.” Those are buzz words to incline us not to think. And perhaps, more importantly, don’t let the Russians or Republicans divide the opposition to their advantage. A “corporate centrist Democrat” is better than the most benign Republican nowadays….really!  Don’t let anyone lure us into a third party vote except, perhaps, on the local level or if they are also supporting the Democratic Party candidate. And let us stop picking up our toys and not voting because a candidate doesn’t embrace our every idea because that is just what Russia and the Republicans, and I am afraid, some Progressives want.

Edgar Allen Poe wrote, “Believe half of what you see, and none of what you hear.” Be careful. Their sell is brilliant and preys on our prejudices, fears, and displeasures. The public’s interest in political issues is usually surface deep. As a people, we have little historic memory, even if that history happened yesterday.  Quick, what was the name of the person killed by a Nazi during a demonstration a few months ago? Where was the rally? What was it about? See. If you got it, bravo or brava, now ask your friends.

My advice for a better future for us all,  is to listen and look for yourself, watch each candidate's words; are they shaped to inflame or enlighten, to divide or strengthen and who and in what direction? And never let them disunite us. They are out there on the networking to destroy democracy. Let’s unite to stop this.  Being aware is the first step to combating the growing fascism spearheaded by Russia and some Republicans, and certain Progressives.

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On Friday, April 10, the Queen of Denmark made a set of startling comments about anthropogenic climate change that go completely against the scientific consensus. And this came at a most unfortunate time in Denmark’s up to recent abiding by the developing scientific evidence over how to best protect society from the deadly COVID-19 fast-transmitting disease.

The Danish monarchy is considered Europe’s oldest in descent, and despite the institution’s vestigial status as a national symbol or identity, and economic burden on taxpayers as well as its extreme carbon footprint per member of the royal family, it has a majority support of its citizens. So what Queen Margrethe 2 says publicly will have a powerful impact upon the minds of many Danes. And for Danes caught in the worst national crisis since the Nazi Occupation, with a pandemic not seen since just after WW I, it’s important for as many as possible to appropriately respond to what the scientific method is finding evidence for regarding any threat to life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness... civilization... the future of our children and theirs.

(By having followed most of the recommendations put forth by scientific evidence, here's how well Denmark has done up to the fifth week of the pandemic.  The red curve was Denmark's worst case projection, way above its health care system's capacity to treat ICU patients.  The green curve represented a hoped-for scenario... and the blue line is the actual scenario.  What concerns some experts is that the government may be fooling itself into believing it's safe enough now to relax.)

That’s particularly important at this moment. For the first time since the pandemic hit Denmark, its people find themselves getting confused by conflicting information between the Ministry of Health and some virologists from the Danish scientific community and WHO (World Health Organization).  Going against some of these expert recommendations, Prime Minister Mette Frederiksen’s government just eased social distancing rules to allow groups of children back to schools and kindergartens after Easter, and allow more workforce into industry as an economy boosting strategy.

In an interview that was supposed to have been about her upcoming 80th birthday, Queen Margrethe 2 fielded a question about climate change. She said that there was no need to panic. And as far as “...people playing a role in climate change, there’s likely no doubt about that. But I am not convinced that we are the direct cause of it.”

In response, Member of Parliament, Uffe Elbæk, said, ”For the first, she says, there's no need to panic. If that’s how she feels about it, then she hasn’t understood the problem. Climate change is perhaps the most challenging problem civilization is facing... And she’s politicizing the issue by suggesting that climate change is not a man-made... What she’s saying on the subject is equal to Donald Trump’s statements. She’s contradicting science, and making people feel uncertain about whether or not human activity is the cause of climate change.”

Elbæk went on to say that the queen is an intelligent woman. “So it’s not a lack of knowledge that led her to say that. It’s the most vulnerable peoples of the planet who are now being hit by this. It’s hard to even imagine how socially unfair climate change is. So it rises to an extra degree of provocation when a high placed institution [Danish monarchy] speaks from its privileged status, to proclaim that there's no need to be extremely concerned.”

In contrast, Søren Espersen of the Danish People’s Party offers only praises for the queen’s statement, stating, “Her majesty’s interview serves as a good defense against Swedish climate activist Greta Thunberg’s message...” that we need to act post haste.

Member of Parliament, Sikandar Siddique, agrees with Uffe Elbæk, and describes the queen’s statement as “unfortunate, because we are caught in an existential crisis [with anthropogenic climate change]... What [Margrethe 2] said is irresponsible in every way imaginable. This is the Monarchy interfering with a serious and current political discussion. And [for our queen] to do so with a disregard to the scientific evidence is of course problematic. We are in a situation where climate disasters are ever more knocking on our door. The scientific community is in consensus here. ”

He went on: “We are talking about 250 million climate refugees. We’re talking about escalating food shortages and extreme weather that will kill millions. If that’s not a catastrophe, if that’s not a reason to act now, what then is ? I find the attitude she expressed on climate to be unfortunately a politicized one, one which should not find place, and one which also belongs to a bygone chapter in history.”

In response to her right to express her opinion, Siddique argues that "the monarchy must be cautious in interfering with our political debates, and especially so if it is done with such disregard to science that it becomes inappropriate... [so] yesterday I asked the government [of Prime Minister Mette Frederiksen] to state whether or not it agrees with the queen's unscientific and incorrect statements about the climate crisis. I would also ask of the government to present the problem to the monarchy, of it having directly interfered in a political debate, and in a way which actually harms Denmark’s position as a pioneer in the climate crisis."

During the interview, Margrethe also explained that climate naturally changes with time, and on that point, Siddique replied, “We consume and use the globe's resources as if we had three or four planets. The climate crisis we are facing is man-made. And it occurred as a direct result of our way of living and exploiting the planet’s resources in ways that make it impossible for nature to recover. It is a problem when our monarch makes statements to the effect that this climate change is just nature doing its thing."

A lot has transpired (yes, I know I’ve used this line before) since Dec. 28, 2017 when I wrote “Orange Is The New Whack II” in which I said, “… not a day has gone by without one lie or another (often multiple lies per day) coming out of the Orange Whack’s mouth. These are not just harmless falsehoods; they are delusional, democracy-eroding statements that may very well herald the collapse of our democratic republic.” Today is Jan. 9, 2018. The New Year is less than two weeks old and the Orange Whack’s volatility and the question of his fitness for office is, at long last, being publicly scrutinized and has become the leading topic of discussion on all major news outlets.

All this sudden mainstream media (MSM) focus on the president’s mental health was triggered by the release of the book, “Fire and Fury: Inside the Trump White House”, written by Michael Wolff. But MSM aren’t the only ones in a tizzy about this particular tome. The White House bubble-dwellers are in spin-control mode, trying to cover for the POTUS whose orange panties are in a bunch (again) over the unfavorable light it shines on him and his presidency.

Trump, being Trump, took to the Twittersphere to set the record straight once and for all (until the next time) regarding his mental capacity. Astonishingly, he truly did set the record straight in my mind and others, too, I’m sure. He left not a single doubt about his mental health and unfitness for office. His tweets speak for themselves. Believe me:

Tweeting was not Trump’s only bizarre response to Wolff’s expose. He went further down the authoritarian rabbit hole with a desperate attempt to stop the book before it could be released. He failed in that attempt. Bigly.

Hats off to the legal team, Davis Wright Tremaine LLP, and Elizabeth A. McNamara for her written response to Trump’s threat to bring legal action against the book’s publisher, Henry Holt & Co., and the author Michael Wolff.  Henry Holt & Co., upped the release date in defiance of the Orange Whack, knowing it would be a bestseller. That move was brilliant, as hard copies are flying off the bookstore shelves, digital downloads throttling eBook servers. Well played, Henry Holt & Co. Well played.

Personally, reading “Fire and Fury: Inside the Trump White House” didn’t change my opinion of Trump, his sycophant GOP supporters, or the Russian interference in our elections. It is rather gossipy and brings no new information to light for me; I’ve always known “Orange Is The New Whack”, and the resulting MSM buzz over the book and the Orange-POTUS’ delusional, unstable disposition is a welcome turn of events.

However, I do find myself a bit puzzled as to why MSM didn’t latch on to Dr. Bandy X. Lee’s book, “The Dangerous Case of Donald Trump”, a compilation of 27 mental health professionals’ assessment of the POTUS. That being said, it appears that Congressional Democrats and at least one Republican have taken notice of - and taken seriously - the opinions of Dr. Bandy X. Lee, her book and the opinions of other mental health professionals. Dr. Lee was called to a meeting with these members of Congress back in December... before he proclaimed himself to be a “stable genius”. 

It is exhausting for me (yes, I know I've used this line before) to try and keep up with 45's insanity; thankfully the MSM is finally, openly expressing/reporting on the Trump's three-dimensional state of mind; Delusional, Deranged, and Dangerous. 

AUTHOR NOTE: I am an avid reader. I read, on average, 1.5 books a week (the Amazon Kindle store loves me). I subscribe to many news publications and also read/follow many writers’ blogs and newsletters. As an Idiot Free Zone author, I can’t write as fast as I can read. In fact, I did not want to write this third installment of ‘Orange Is the New Whack’.  No, I wanted to take the easy route and simply update the second one with links to more articles on the subject. But my slave-driving bossJose Rosa made me write this piece! Just kidding - I am just ribbing Jose as I stray from this note’s intent to link to an article written by my friend John Lundin:  “A Growing Consensus: Trump’s Mental Health Is A Danger To Us All”.

It’s 5:13 am, a full moon is providing enough light to see a deer cross the yard and a slight breeze is tickling the wind chimes and I am awake. I write to you of ‘hope from the trenches’. Since November our group has been growing. A rag tag bunch of Liberals, Greens, Independents and Democrats who have lived under the yoke of Republican dominance and ridicule. I still recall the vision of an oversized 4 wheel drive truck, confederate flag blowing from the bed and the driver honking and yelling ‘Fuck You!’ while waving a middle finger as he drove past Democrat Headquarters on November 9, 2016. As a mountain climber holds the image of the peak in her mind to drive her to the top, I hold that image in my mind to keep me going- to one day have the opportunity to return the gesture BUT choose not to.

After every meeting I arrive home exhausted and hungry but also the conquering warrior-ess, each event, each discussion just one step closer. The path seems so much clearer than it ever has, mistakes and bad decisions are so glaring and we have set goals of what not to do going forward. This vision seems to be shared by so many others and that is empowering. A new member or 3 or 4 show at each meeting, other lost souls venturing out of their cave of despair, peeking out, stepping a tentative toe in the water, is it safe to come out now? YES. Come on out, we need you and we are in this together I tell them as we welcome them with open arms.

Last night our club filled the venue, again, all the chairs were taken and people were standing while the treasurer accepted dues and donations. Our coffer is growing and we just committed to spending a portion of it on a community event for ‘single payer’. We made a long list of our concerns on a white board and kept score, then selected the top 4. We then broke into groups and each group determined action items. Global Warming was one of the top concerns as was Health Care, we were all rebounding from Ryan’s Death Panel for the Poor version of health care. Several folks have now secured a venue, planned community flyers, contacted the Nurses Association to come and speak to the community at large about California SB562, single payer health care for our state.

How are we coming together? We have all agreed to stop talking about what happened and trying to pin blame (even though that can feel so good in the moment), move forward, focus on what can we do now to improve the future because we all know if we do nothing it will get worse. We are utilizing the talents and knowledge of those who have been in the battlefield already. The veteran activists who thought they were loners for years like Bonnie and Betty. These 2 women have been working and studying water and planning issues in our county for a long time, steadfastly attending meetings often being the only one in attendance at council meetings. They have preserved and won small victories and large battles here and there. Another woman, Pam, joined us and described how she learned to work around the difficult personalities of our Board of Supervisors and educated herself in legislature and the general plan- seeking ways to find current laws preventing the destruction of our forests. When you call another women she answers her phone, “Eve’s president toppling, congressman ousting services, how can I help you?” We have a gentleman who worked on preventing a Big Box Store from marring our landscape. The people are out there. There are many, many in the community who have experience and knowledge. There are some who have no experience but a whole lot of energy. We have a big bus and plenty of room. Sometimes there are little squabbles but nothing to waste time over. The key, I think, is to continue to welcome folks, determine their talents and figure out where they fit. Tina told us that she hates speaking in public so she is going to work on making calls to find venues for rallies and events- that’s where she fits best.

What joins us together is larger than a label of political party, what we have in common are mostly the same values whether you call yourself Liberal, Democrat, Green, Independent and declined to state.

Let us set aside the things that we disagree upon and focus on what we do share and let us strive to oust the insane 45, stop the cruel Herr Bannon, the misguided Robespierre Ryan and the feeble Turtle McConnell from foisting their misguided and anti-democratic oligarchy on us.

“A house divided against itself cannot stand.” Abraham Lincoln.

“We have given you a democratic-republic... if you can keep it.” Benjamin Franklin.