One positive from Trump's UN speech: Ukraine policy shift?

In surprise shift, Trump prods Ukraine, Nato to fight Russia and to take back the lands Russia now occupies by force and war? TACO Trump makes me wonder if he will not follow up this promouncement with anti-missile defense aid, severe sanctions against Russia, and other weapons and technology that Europe does not have. Will it inspire an effort both by the US and Europe to develop to keep up with the Russians? If this is a permanent change in Trump's policy and attitude toward NATO, only time is going to tell. I remain skeptical, but hopeful.

Trump's UN "address", the rantings of a disordered mind

I attempted to listen to Trump's so-called address to the UN, and even Fidel Castro, in his most rambling, could not top it. I thought I would do fact-checking, but he went off on already discredited boasts about the economy with so many lies and self-puffery, and an attack against the UN itself, I couldn't keep up. As the "address" devolved into grievances, self hype(the Nobel Peace Prize he deserves), and insults of even our international friends, it was one only his most MAGA would believe. I am embarrassed to think that he has a 43% approval rating...The rest of the Western world must think that a chunk of America has lost its mind. What will likely happen now is that he will not be taken seriously, his rantings being dismissed as the ravings of a disordered mind, except for the danger and abuse of his power, which will be perceived as a threat to their own national interests and will still be feared. They will act accordingly, either pussyfooting around, working behind his back, or stroking his insatiable ego.

Most of the world's democracies still condemn Trump's violent, inhumane, extralegal targeting, on and offshore gulags, and deportation of only those of certain races who were only guilty of being undocumented, and the use of military force as a threat of force should anyone object. Most of the world has its own reporters and intelligence services in the US who have the capability of reporting news that does not fit into the Trump regime's approved news outlets or who depend on media that cave to Trump's threats to delicense and harm them with costs of fighting outlandish claims in suits likely to get rejected and denied by judges.

The Deported | Human Rights Watch

For the MAGA who still adore his words, they should realize that the rest of the Western world democracies are not tied up in knots over our same cultural issues as they are, or in white Christian nationalism and their love of dictators, which are significant elements of the MAGA movement. These issues seem to offset and excuse the rest of Trump's behavior and policies, which are harmful to their own pocketbooks or traditional GOP values. Their information source, it appears, is limited to those who tout unchallenged Trump's data and talking points: FOX, NEWSMAX, and Truth Social, among them..

(CNN fact checker seemed overwhelmed and did not go into details of Trump's false claims about the US economy, but still burst a lot of other bubbles: 'Highly dubious': CNN fact-checker hits almost all of Trump's brags at UN - Raw Story)

The Orban playbook and if it would work here

 Recently, some on the media have compared what Viktor Orban did to become Hungary's dictator with what Trump's actions and words appear to mirror.. There is a difference between Hungary and the US, but the techniques are similar. Remember, too, that the conservative political action pac..CPAC has held meetings in Hungary, clearly hoping Trump will be enabled to do likewise. The groundwork for this was laid by CPAC in 2022. https://www.adl.org/.../cpac-conference-hungary-views... From my post, March 2024: Orban gradually consolidated his power peacefully, and he had one advantage: citizens who were 97% percent of his same ethnic identification. That is not America. To say there would be chaos is an understatement if he tried the same techniques as Orban did. Trump has added one element to amassing power that Orban did not need to use: violence and the threat of violence. It worked in Colorado to cause many county clerk election officials to resign, and some were replaced by Trump loyalists. It worked in Georgia to intimidate election officials and witnesses. He attempted to use active military to put down civil protests and to give him legal cover in his attempt to overturn the 2020 election. He invited and exhorted violent militia members on January 6. Only Gen. Milley, the threat of resignation of nearly all of the top brass of the DOJ, and the bravery of the Capitol and DC police stood in his way. He would make sure those who were more loyal to the rule of law than to him would not be his appointees in a second.

How Viktor Orban Pulled Off Hungary’s Descent Into Dictatorship "Fidesz (Orban's political party)staged a spectacular comeback with a supermajority in parliament. Orban wasted no time in employing this mandate to hollow out the judiciary, rewrite Hungary’s legal code, and promulgate a new constitution. New laws made it harder for upstart parties to win seats and even easier for a large party, like Fidesz, to capture a legislative supermajority with less of the vote. And the refashioned legal code saw to it that Fidesz’s cronyism and subsequent amassing of power fell close enough within the law that it would not be sanctioned domestically.Today, Hungary is a flourishing dictatorship. The regime has curtailed press freedom, marginalized the opposition, dismantled democratic checks and balances, controlled civil society, fixed election laws, and neutered criticism—ensuring that only extraordinary events, not elections, could oust it from power." ..Those who toed the line were rewarded with jobs, directorships, and contracts. And, of course, he leaned on his own special cocktail of nationalist rhetoric: “He has provided identity props for a disintegrated society using tropes in line with historical tradition: a Christian bulwark against the colonialism of the West,.."

(Note: he used the migration of Syrian immigrants to strike fear into Hungarians (Magyars; 97% of the country) that their culture was under attack..Article: Using Fear of the “Other,” Orbán Res.. | migrationpolicy.org

MUFTIC FORUM BLOG: Viktor Orban: a dangerous role model for America

MUFTIC FORUM BLOG: Violence is the difference between an Orban dictatorship and a Trump one

Trump, the spin dictator

 Trump says negative press coverage of his administration is "really illegal"

Surprised that Trump is closing down the ability of the opposition to communicate to you? You shouldn't be. For a wannabe strongman to achieve and maintain power, control of the media is critical. Trump is using whatever power he thinks he has, constitutional or not, to do just that with lawsuits and threats of delicensing and demands that those who get under his skin the most get fired. Maybe when these abuses of power reach "his" Supreme Court, even they will say no, but in the meantime, he is satisfying his unbridled lust for more power and wealth right out in the open.

Back in February, I included this in a post:

"Modern-day dictators have gained the power they seek because they have used modern technology to spin and mind-control their way to their position. They spin the news to engineer their support. "The central goal remains the same: to monopolize political power. But today’s strongmen realize that in current conditions, violence is not always necessary or even helpful. Instead of terrorizing citizens, a skillful ruler can control them by reshaping their beliefs about the world. He can fool people into compliance and even enthusiastic approval. In place of harsh repression, the new dictators manipulate information. Like spin doctors in a democracy, they spin the news to support. They are spin dictators." How Do Dictatorships Survive in 21st Century? | Andrew Carnegie Fellows | Carnegie Corporation of New York

.MUFTIC FORUM BLOG: The only whistleblowers left is the free press...guard it well updated

CPAC Conference in Hungary Views Viktor Orban’s Nationalism as A Model to Follow | ADL

Half of Republicans want a strong man president: imagine that, but got a beef? Lots of luck.

Half of Republicans want a strong man president: imagine that, but what if you got a beef? (not the kind you eat; you can't afford that; but a gripe.) You are out of luck if Trump had already achieved that goal to be the strong man he craves to be, and imagine this is what happens if you no longer have freedom of speech or to gripe, if grocery prices do not go down but government figures claim otherwise, if the president or his family get rich you suspect because of corrupt practices, or that someone in your family is laid off due to Trump's tariffs,   you would either be ignored or told to shut up for fear of looking disloyal to Trump himself.  Whatever you do, do not put it on social media or in writing. It may haunt you later.

There is a libertarian streak in the right side of the political spectrum that would like to object to government suppression of even hate speech. That was one of Charlie Kirk's main positions: freedom to even to use hateful speech toward those of which you disapprove.  If Trump had his way, if you were one of those who objected to Trump's suppression of such freedoms,  you would either be ignored or told to shut up for fear of looking disloyal to Trump himself.

If you believe that Trump will lower grocery prices, and then tells you he has already done it,  when you darn well know how much stuff once cost and now what it costs, and you want to object, you will either be ignored or told to shut up because you would look disloyal to Trump himself. Fooling yourself, the alternative becomes that you will keep the faith that prices and inflation will decrease in 6 months to a year, even though the policies that caused the problem will remain unchanged.   That takes a heap of faith so long as tariffs remain on imports, and vegetables rot in the field for lack ot migrant farm workers, or the cost of coffee goes wild, or parts for an ailing imported car go nuts, don't dare complain, for fear of looking disloyal to Trump himself.

If you start complaining about the burden of student loans, and Trump opposes any relief, don't you dare complain for fear of looking disloyal to Trump himself.

If you grumble that Trump seems to be enriching himself and his family,  using his pwerful position to market and coherse or bribe with state national security computer chips thrown into incentives, or it appears that your tax break is a laugh while those who do not need a break get a big one, don't you dare complain for fear of looking disloyal to Trump himself.

If you grumble about the closing of a plant and got laid off or removing a space command facility to a more loyal state due directly to Trump's policies, don't you dare complain or fear of looking disloyal to Trump himself.

For God's sake, do not put your disloyal gripes on any social media. It will come back to haunt you, as Trump believes in revenge and retribution for anyone who dares to disagree, whether you are a bigwig, an elected official, or a little guy. The favors only go to the loyalists.  The fear goes to those who are only thinking of complaining. You will have to put up or shut up. Loyalty to Trump is first and foremost.

Then welcome to the brave new world of Trump, the strong man.  You may already be there.

Survey data on "strong man" leader preferences

Bright Line Watch/Washington Post poll (February 2025): Accelerated transgressions in the second Trump presidency | Bright Line Watch  Summary courtesy of Google AI

• "About half of Republicans surveyed said that a strongman government that doesn't "bother with Congress" was at least a "fairly" good way of governing.
• The poll found that 55% of Republicans whose allegiance was primarily to Donald Trump (rather than the Republican Party) viewed a strongman government positively.
• This group of Trump-first supporters was also the least enthusiastic about democracy."
• Trump Fed appointee downplays rising grocery prices — even as inflation hits 3-year high
• The U.S. is losing thousands of manufacturing jobs, analysis finds - CBS News
• GOP Colorado House members vote for moving CyberCommand to AL - Google Search First no, next yes, but help us mitigate the damage, Pres. Trump.   Estimated loss to Colorado $One billion moving space command to Alabama: Space Command's departure from Colorado will cost the state hundreds of jobs and millions of dollars
• In Giant Deals, U.A.E. Got Chips, and Trump Team Got Crypto Riches - The New York Times
• Student loan borrowers may face 'enormous tax liability' amid Trump administration delays: union
• Charlie Kirk's Own Words on Hate Speech Used Against Pam Bondi - Newsweek
• 
  

Pam Bondi prosecuting "hate speech" raises serious questions.

 The issue is the government's role in suppressing the right to freedom on speech protected and granted in the First Amendment, supported by the Supreme Court in that decision last year in the Second Amendment case. (NRA vs Vullo) Let's see how consistent SCOTUS will be now when the shoe is on the other political foot with the threats made by the FCC head. Bondi and Donald Trump himself, to either harm ABC's business deal or to delicense them. Control of what and how the public sees and hears is the most powerful tool of dictators and is key to how they gain power and stay in power. There is nothing more important than this. The actions taken and the threats uttered this week are an insult to the very person in whose name they are acting: Charlie Kirk was a fundamental defender of freedom of speech, including hate speech, which the Trump regime is fundamentally violating. Kirk on X: "Hate speech does not exist legally in America. There's ugly speech. There's gross speech. There's evil speech. And ALL of it is protected by the First Amendment. Keep America free." https://www.newsweek.com/charlie-kirks-own-words-hate...

22-842 National Rifle Association of America v. Vullo (05/30/24)

FCC Chairman Threatens ABC Over Jimmy Kimmel Remark on Kirk Killer

Pam Bondi ignited a firestorm within her own party when she appeared to promote DOJ action against those who indulge in "hate speech".  Later clarification by her better defined what hate speech was: that which exhorted violence.  I have a suggestion that Pam Bondi, as her first act of prosecution against hate speech, should target what influenced the Evergreen High School shooter. It is reported that He had spent much time on a neo nazi site. If that site advocated the use of violence and murder, that is not far from the famous Supreme Court standard of what is free speech and what is not: falsely shouting fire in a crowded theater is not free speech. This country has "monsters among us"(on both sides) and is a tinder box triggered when ignited by extreme partisanship and wide gulfs in opinions. Social media is full of those who howl for violence and death to their opponents and who ignite deranged minds to act out what they see urged in such sites. We, the onlookers and the audience, independent, non-partisan, or partisan, are the victims in the crowded theater, bewildered about who to believe, and some are panicked to make a run for it, even though many are trampled into the debris. We should never forget that what is hate speech to one side seems perfectly reasonable to the other. The democratic goal is not to let anyone in government decide what is and what is not hate speech, but to permit the voters to make that judgment call. However, to the Trump regime, hate speech is defined by opinions uttered by the libs and to use that drum beat to justify suppression, in violation of the First Amendment, which protects a person's right to speak words of hate, but not to act out violently on them. Trump wants to target liberal groups and protesters with a decades-old law once used against the mob

Oh, but wait, in the lexicon of MAGA's leader, there are some fine people in the neo nazi movement. Do not hold your breath for Bondi to take action against violence advocated by the extreme right. They are part of the red team. In the Trump regime, what is "falsely" is also subject to partisan definition. January 6 rioters were responding to what the courts have ruled is a false claim: the 2020 election was stolen. The most violent of them were freed from prison by Trump's pardons, and one who was killed in the mob actions was declared a national hero. Stay tuned.

Pam Bondi Defends 'Hate Speech' Crackdown After MAGA Backlash - Newsweek

A reader of my FB post on this same text said too he was constantly bombarded by attacks online. I wrote back to him the following:

There are some advantages to having run for public office and have had a public profile in my earlier days.. I was also one of Denver's first woman talk show hosts (in the era when Alan Berg was assassinated). You develop calluses and learn to avoid words that trigger deranged haters but still get a point across to those who need to hear it. This is not to say that the bomb squad went through periods when they opened suspicious packages received by mail, and our children were trained never to open packages delivered to our mailbox. The danger in this case came from foreign neo nazis who were targeting my outspoken immigrant husband. 

More thoughts along this line: Sadly, the success of bloggers and posters depends upon how outrageous or extreme they can sound and how they can inflame passions.   Being tempered makes for boring columns and low-rated talk show hosts. Fortunately, I have never had to rely on either for a living.

In response to those who use Kirk's assassination as an excuse for more violence in revenge

 On another social media site to which I belong, I was shocked by some whose response to the assassination of Charlie Kirk was revenge against those they hated...Obama, Pelosi, Soros, and a whole list of political adversaries...and said it was time for a CIVIL WAR (yes, in caps). I hear there are those on the lib side" who also vowed violence, though none on the social media sites I follow.. The lunatics on both sides are the enemies to our ability to pursue a goal and rights "granted by our Creator" we all should share, in the words of the Declaration of Independence, of life, liberty, and happiness. I was heartened by those who said political violence was a blow against democracy. Democracy is still the best way to achieve such lofty and universal aspirations.

I realize some do not give a twit about democracy. They are so bound up by either ignorance of what the alternatives are or those who feel the only way that counts is their way and seek a government that only rules on their behalf, the rest of the country and world be damned. Those who do not march in lock step with them should be beaten down and suppressed using whatever means they have, including violence.. To those who think that, all I can say is what goes around comes around, and the circle of violence only expands and accelerates until there are more and more victims in the grave on both sides. There are no happy endings in history, as even the victors or the governments they espoused based on hate, violence, and suppression eventually fall victim to themselves, either in suicide in a bunker or hanged by those they once suppressed. That should be the lesson we learned from the last century of world wars and revolutions, from the rise of totalitarianism (dictatorial control over governmental power, everyday life, thought, and culture) to Bosnia's war of ethnic cleansing. It may take years for this to unfold, but the old adage "those who live with the sword, die with the sword" has some truth.  So few of us have lived or experienced this. Too few of us know the history of what we have not seen with our own eyes. We are condemned to repeat it. Democracy's greatest asset is that it provides a plan and way for humans to pursue life, liberty, and happiness without violent conflict, instead.

To perpetuate the unending circle of political violence, the leader in chief of revenge on political adversaries is our own president, Donald Trump, who was quick to beat the drums of hate and retribution in the wake of the Kirk assassination. But there were also some on "the other side" who did likewise. Or, as New York Times opinion writer, David French, noted:" there are monsters in your midst, too". The exact count of who has the most monsters, red or blue? The libertarian CATO institute has some figures. After the 9/11 foreign terrorists, the right is in second place in the count of those perpetrating political violence in the US. Politically Motivated Violence Is Rare in the United States | Cato at Liberty Blog

Trump Escalates Attacks on Political Opponents After Charlie Kirk’s Killing - The New York Times   

   MUFTIC FORUM BLOG: Trump fans the flames of violence, yet calls himself the law and order president updated

"To get past this dreadful moment, more and more Americans are going to have to face a painful fact. Evil isn’t confined to one side of the American divide. There are monsters in your midst, too. Opinion | There Are Monsters in Your Midst, Too - The New York Times

Trump Puts Democrat Senator in His Place for Rejecting God-Given Rights. The pertinent question in the USA is not who gives the rights, but what rights our nation should support. Cain is right in one regard: if you do not have a government that supports those rights given by God, you do not have those rights. The government plays a role in supporting or subverting those rights, whether in the USA or abroad, as do the theologians in power in their respective countries. Trump is correct in one respect: our founders saw rights as those granted by God, but on the other hand, he seeks to oppress those upholding those rights to life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness as listed in the Declaration. He uses or supports violence, military force, and all the power of the federal executive, which he can abuse to punish and suppress those who write, advocate, and support his political enemies. Our founders protected rights from being taken away in the Bill of Rights. 

The founders also viewed government as an instrument for granting rights they had identified as inalienable. That was their unique contribution used to offset a too powerful federal government, as well as the separation and balance of powers. I draw heavily on this conclusion from https://www.thriftbooks.com/w/first-principles-what-americas-founders-learned-from-the-greeks-and-romans-and-how-that-shaped-our-country_thomas-e-ricks/

Pam Bondi ignited a firestorm within her own party when she appeared to promote DOJ action against those who indulge in "hate speech".  Later clarification by her better defined what hate speech was: that which exhorted violence.  I have a suggestion that Pam Bondi, as her first act of prosecution against hate speech, should target what influenced the Evergreen High School shooter. It is reported that He had spent much time on a neo nazi site. If that site advocated the use of violence and murder, that is not far from the famous standard of what is free speech and what is not: falsely shouting fire in a crowded theater is not free speech. This country has "monsters among us" and is a tinder box of extreme partisanship and wide gulfs in opinions. Social media is full of those who howl for violence and death to their opponents and who ignite deranged minds to act out what they see urged in such sites. We, the onlookers and the audience, independent, non-partisan, or partisan, are the victims in the crowded theater, bewildered about who to believe, and some are panicked to make a run for it, even though many are trampled into the debris.

Charlie Kirk's widow,Erika, speaks from a very different viewpoint than Bondi and Trump. It is a beautiful speech, a sermon, that reflects a different and a more fundamental and profound compass of traditional Christianity than what is in vogue now.. FULL SPEECH: Erika Kirk speaks at Charlie Kirk memorial service. That did not mean I agree with  Kirk's application of his faith on every issue facing America and dividing America, but he had represented something very important: the willingness in a democracy to engage in debate freely, and it is that that Bondi and Trump want to destroy and recreate to only reflect their version of truth and convey only news that benefits their regime with no debate to give other viewpoints. I admire Erika's ability to speak her truth and faith so soon after the horrific death of her most beloved. I was unable to do so after my late husband's passing. I was dumbstruck by the emotion. 

oops. DOJ Deletes Its Own Study From Website Showing ‘Far More’ Domestic Terrorism Committed by ‘Far-Right Extremists’

Oh, but wait, in the lexicon of MAGA's leader, there are some fine people in the neo nazi movement. Do not hold your breath for Bondi to take action against violence advocated by the extreme right. They are part of the red team. In the Trump regime, what is "falsely" is also subject to partisan definition. January 6 rioters were responding to what the courts have ruled is a false claim: the 2020 election was stolen. The most violent of them were freed from prison by Trump's pardons, and one who was killed in the mob actions was declared a national hero. Stay tuned.

Trump drags his feet on Ukraine again and deceptively invents an excuse

 Trump is inventing another excuse to drag his feet in support of Ukraine....he'll impose more sanctions if Europeans stop importing oil from Russia. There are already sanctions in place, as Biden imposed them, but the Trump administration has stopped enforcing them, according to Ann Applebaum of the Atlantic on MSNBC this morning. Trump's holding further sanctions against Russia hostage to extract pledges from Europe for what they are already doing is deceptive. European imports of oil from Russia have been cut drastically since Russia invaded Ukraine. All but three European countries have already agreed to stop importing oil from Russia and are already doing so...But oil is not the main problem, and the three holdouts are situated along a Russian oil pipeline. The real challenge is finding and affording alternative energy sources, from wind to natural gas to heat homes and generate electricity. Where does the EU’s gas come from? - Consilium . Over 47% of European electric energy comes from wind, water, and solar. Electricity from renewable sources reaches 47% in 2024 - News articles - Eurostat

Even some in the president's party are disgusted with Trump and now Vance over their lack of action in supporting Ukraine. Frustrated GOP senators blow steam on Russia: ‘Sick of Trump and JD and Putin ‘love affair’

reuters.com

How much oil does the European Union import from Russia?
Kremlin shrugs off EU plans to speed up phase-out of Russia's energy    My comment: So they say for their domestic propaganda.  However, what Russia loses  is their ability to hold Europe hostage to their threats of cutoff of energy.

PROJECT 2025'S plan to replace employees with Trump loyalists sort of worked

Project 2025, the Heritage Foundation's plan to replace the "deep state" with loyalists to Trump and their cause, sort of worked, though not in the way they planned. Elon Musk was tasked with finding "waste, fraud, and abuse," and thousands of federal workers were fired en masse, particularly those on probation. Some agencies were closed altogether. Originally, Project 2025 called for reclassifying key positions and turning them into political appointments, once protected by career service non-partisanship, using a mechanism called Schedule F. Musk and the Trump administration effectively bypassed much of that with the mass firings. However, the Heritage Foundation's plan to have cadres of replacements screened for ideological purity to fill vacant positions began to be implemented when one of its plan authors was appointed to head the Office of Management and Budget by Trump. The Trump administration has had six months to implement this scheme. How far they have gone toward their goal is not clear, but what has been done so far will stay in place.  A judge has just made it harder to do much more in the future, other than filling vacancies, putting a halt to mass firings... Those unlawfully fired, per the Supreme Court, will not be reinstated. The Heritage Plan is now faced with filling vacancies, but they cannot do any unlawful mass firings to cause the vacancies as they once did. Trump administration unlawfully directed mass US worker terminations, judge rules

AFGE | New Trump Administration Packed with Project 2025 Architects

Project 2025: The Plan To Seize Power by Gutting America’s System of Checks and Balances - Center for American Progress

What is behind the current wave of political and school violence?

What is behind the current wave of political and school violence? Is it a societal problem or a political one? Does society in the US condone political violence? From some learned estimates, about 20% of Americans, depending on how the question is asked. According to a PBS NewsHour/NPR/Marist poll published in April of this year, approximately 20% of Americans believe that political violence can be justified at times.  Demagogues and aspiring influencers have appealed to that segment to rise to power and the emergence of social media has provided the newest vehicle for promotion. There is certainly a political element, but is it more?

To take a deep dive into what is causing this, I found this illuminating article:  What’s Driving Political Violence in America.  Emerging from the events of the past few days, the assassination of Charlie Kirk and a Evergreen High School shooter had in common: political extremism on social media.

The Everngreen shooter (now deceased) had spent much time on a neo Nazi website. Online footprint of Evergreen High School shooter reveals a troubling past | Watch   The Kirk killer's motivation is yet to be revealed, other than he came from a very conservative family who placed great value on gun ownership and 2nd amendment freedoms. Reported conversations with others leading up to the shooting indicated political disagreement with Charlie Kirk's positions. The accused's social media postings and often-visited websites have not been revealed, except for Discord.    Neither shooter used an "assault" weapon, but lethal weapons were nonetheless legally and easily available. These shooters would have had many more victims if these weapons or war had been used. The problem was not the type of weapons used in these two events; the problem was something else.  

The promotion of such violence by political leaders to resolve problems, no matter what media is used or by whom or what group is involved, also gives some sort of green light to the deranged to seek glory and even death.   

While the two young men involved, one 18 and the other 22,  may not have been aware of any of Trump's record, there are those on social media and in political leadership who have laid the groundwork for any degree of general societal approval of the use of violence in politics is legitimate. They reflect  this view in social media and postings by influencers that inspire wannabe political killers 

My own view:

Let us start with the top promoter of violence to achieve a political goal, the permission slip giver, the president of the United States, himself. Do not expect Trump to become the champion against political violence or take any moral leadership on this issue. He has a long record in exhorting such violence.  The record is clear and documented. Here is my tracking of Trump's dog whistles to those who commit violence on his behalf and his own exhortations of violence in public statements:  MUFTIC FORUM BLOG: Documented history of Trump's call to violence 2020-June 2024

MUFTIC FORUM BLOG: Trump fans the flames of violence, yet calls himself the law and order president updated 

Charlie Kirk assassination: Suspect allegedly used Discord before shooting - YouTube

The damage assassinations do to the cause of saving democracy from dictators and autocrats is profound: Political violence is what the founders of our democracy wanted to prevent. There are some sane voices rising and one deserves special recognition.Utah Governor Spencer Cox emerges as voice of reason in wake of Charlie Kirk killing - Newsweek

From my September 11 Facebook posting: The killing of Charlie Kirk was also an assassination attempt on democracy. Our country was founded during the Age of Reason, where citizens were considered capable of using their brains and reason to do what would be in the best interest of the country as a whole. Instead of violence and bloody revolution, which had plagued Europe and England to pit self-interested and religious fanatics against each other, Madison and others crafted a way to permit political discourse and debate to bring reason to political governance instead of violence and to protect even the voice of dissidents. There are always _those in any society who only see violence and hate as the way to get their way, but democracy was to formed to let the voice of rational people to be heard and the majority to be elected. Some are also deranged and so angry that they have lost reason. For those who see assassination as a tool to gain power, they are not protecting democracy, but destroying it.

Further thoughts on my Facebook posting on September 11. I realize some do not give a twit about democracy. They are so bound up by either ignorance of what the alternatives are or who feel the only way that counts is their way and seek a government who only rules on their behalf, the rest of the country and world be damned That who do not march in lock step with them and should be beaten down and suppressed using what ever means they have, including violence.. To those who think that, all I can say is what goes around comes around, and the circle of violence only expands and accelerates until there are more and more victims in the grave on both sides. There are no happy endings in history as even the victors or the governments they espoused based on hate, violence, and suppression eventually fall victim to themselves, either in suicide in a bunker or hanged by those they once suppressed. That should be the lesson we learned from the last century of world wars and revolutions, from the rise of totalitarianism (dictatorial control over governmental power and culture) to Bosnia. It may take years for this to play out, but the old saw of "those who live with the sword, die with the sword" has some truth. Democracy's greatest asset is that it provides a plan and way for humans to pursue life, liberty, and happiness without violent conflict, instead.