Fred’s Weekly Note Archive

America’s Oligarchs Have Arrived

America’s Oligarchs have arrived. With their arrival, Trump’s faux “populism” is likely headed for the same dustbin where his “draining the swamp” commitment ended up. Trump likes rich people. The first big test of Trump’s “populism” will be who gets what in the huge tax cuts Trump and the Republican Congress are expected to enact […]

And So It Begins.

So it begins. President-elect Donald Trump is moving quickly to staff his Administration and “loyalty” is key his allies say. But, John Bolton, Trump’s former national security adviser, says “fealty” and “subservience,” not loyalty, is what Trump seeks. Some might say his early picks include an All-Star team of unqualified losers. Among them: Ethically challenged former Rep. […]

We Will Survive.

Our nation survived the Civil War. We survived World War I. We survived the Great Depression. We survived World War II. We will survive four more years of Donald Trump. But it is going to take a lot of hard work by people who believe in our Constitution, our democracy, and the rule of law. […]

Trump Lies, Threatens Retribution, And Sells Influence

Former President Donald Trump lies, threatens retribution, and sells influence. Not exactly a role model for children – or anyone. For four years, Trump has been lying that he won the 2020 presidential election. He continues lying at his rallies, in interviews, on podcasts, and whenever the opportunity arises. He also lies about his accomplishments, […]

What In The World Was Chief Justice Roberts Thinking?

What in the world was Chief Justice John Roberts thinking when he wrote the Supreme Court’s majority opinion on presidential immunity in Trump v. United States? Just who did he think he was dealing with when he wrote an opinion establishing absolute and presumptive immunity from criminal prosecution for former President Donald Trump? Trump had said […]

Blame SCOTUS — The Super Rich Flood Elections With Billions In Contributions

In 1976, the Supreme Court ruled in Buckley v. Valeo that “contribution ceilings were a necessary legislative concomitant to deal with the reality or appearance of corruption inherent in a system permitting unlimited financial contributions.” [emphasis added] Thus, the Court upheld the limits on campaign contributions to candidates enacted in response to the Watergate scandals. In 2002, Congress banned […]

Donald Trump And His Cult Of Liars

“There is no vice so mean, so pitiful, so contemptible and he who permits himself to tell a lie once, finds it much easier to do it a second and third time, till at length it becomes habitual, he tells lies without attending to it, and truths without the world’s believing him.” – Thomas Jefferson, 1785 It’s no […]

JD Vance Shows His True Colors

When Senator J.D. Vance was asked during Tuesday’s Vice Presidential debate if former President Donald Trump lost the 2020 election, he refused to answer. Vance doubled down suggesting the presidential transition was peaceful. Peaceful? Vance has to know that Trump incited that day’s violent attack, urging his followers to go to the Capitol and telling them, […]

Trump’s Election Deniers In Action

For the past four years, former President Donald Trump has been building a cult of election deniers who believe his false claim that the 2020 presidential election was stolen from him. They don’t care that no one has ever presented a shred of credible evidence to support Trump’s blatantly bogus claim. Notwithstanding the lack of […]

Chief Justice John Roberts Bends The Knee To Trump

Chief Justice John Roberts appears to have sold out the independent third branch of government he leads, by choosing to bend the knee to former President Donald Trump. Roberts has appeared in recent years to lose his leadership of the Supreme Court to the Trump-aligned wing of the Court. Roberts’s response has been to seize […]