Lost, Not Stolen

For the record:  A report entitled Lost, Not Stolen, written "by conservatives for conservatives" and signed by several retired Republican senators and federal judges, was released today, documenting in great detail the failure of Trump partisans to prove the Big Lie that the 2020 election was stolen.  NBC's Morning Joe presents an interview with two of the authors:

 

Excerpt from the introduction to the report (emphasis mine):

We therefore have undertaken an examination of every claim of fraud and miscount put forward by former President Trump and his advocates, and now put the results of those investigations before the American people, and especially before fellow conservatives who may be uncertain about what and whom to believe. Our conclusion is unequivocal: Joe Biden was the choice of a majority of the Electors, who themselves were the choice of the majority of voters in their states. Biden’s victory is easily explained by a political landscape that was much different in 2020 than it was when President Trump narrowly won the presidency in 2016. President Trump waged his campaign for re-election during a devastating worldwide pandemic that caused a severe downturn in the global economy. This, coupled with an electorate that included a small but statistically significant number willing to vote for other Republican candidates on the ballot but not for President Trump, are the reasons his campaign fell short, not a fraudulent election. 

 Donald Trump and his supporters have failed to present evidence of fraud or inaccurate results significant enough to invalidate the results of the 2020 Presidential Election. We do not claim that election administration is perfect. Election fraud is a real thing; there are prosecutions in almost every election year, and no doubt some election fraud goes undetected. Nor do we disparage attempts to reduce fraud. States should continue to do what they can do to eliminate opportunities for election fraud and to punish it when it occurs. But there is absolutely no evidence of fraud in the 2020 Presidential Election on the magnitude necessary to shift the result in any state, let alone the nation as a whole. In fact, there was no fraud that changed the outcome in even a single precinct. It is wrong, and bad for our country, for people to propagate baseless claims that President Biden’s election was not legitimate. 

 In the past 30 years, those tasked with administering our elections have helped create a modern election system in which we can and should have confidence. In all fifty states and at the national level there are transparent recount and election contest procedures designed to allow candidates to investigate and litigate claims of voter fraud and corruption. Those procedures have been tested in every presidential election since at least 2000 and have been found in every instance to be sound and reliable. The Trump Campaign and its supporters had full access to these remedies and used them in 64 proceedings in the states we examine, and in each instance, their claims of fraud and miscount failed. Our review of each of these Trump charges affirms that the 2020 election was administered by trained professionals who reaffirmed their established track record for fairness. 

The performance of the system in 2020 was all the more remarkable because of the extraordinary circumstances caused by the COVID-19 pandemic, which precipitated changes on an unprecedented scope and timeline. Some of those changes may have created possibilities for fraud, but there is no evidence that those risks materialized in reality; nor did they result in dampening voter participation—quite the opposite. Nonetheless, moving forward, the states should redouble their efforts to strengthen the integrity of our voting systems and make it as easy to vote and as hard to cheat as possible for persons of every circumstance. 

We urge our fellow conservatives to cease obsessing over the results of the 2020 election, and to focus instead on presenting candidates and ideas that offer a positive vision for overcoming our current difficulties and bringing greater peace, prosperity, and liberty to our nation.

The full text of the report is here.

See also the Wikipedia article Attempts to overturn the 2020 United States presidential election.

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TRUMP'S COUP FAILS

Trump's reign of misrule began with "American Carnage" and it ends with American carnage.

For the benefit of my overseas truckbuddies and any others who care to watch, here are some videos of the filthy, horrific scene at the Capitol - a direct attack on our democracy at its very heart - the culmination of abomination that has been growing for the last four years - continuously cultivated by an evil man and his minions:

Just minutes before the rioters broke into the Capitol, Senate Majority leader Mitch McConnell broke decisively with Trump, urging his Republican colleagues to accept the fact of Biden's electoral victory:

 

About 3 p.m. Texas time, nearly three hours after the Capitol was invaded, President-Elect Joe Biden addressed the nation with a stirring call to patriotic values:

 

About half an hour later, the current occupant of the Oval Office hypocritically poured gasoline on the fire he himself started:

  

What I Say:  Your Head Trucker has faith that our Republic will survive this brazen attempt at overthrowing our democracy; but the name of this filthy would-be tyrant will be an execration down all the centuries to come, and his descendants will bear the shame of it to the last generation.

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Aftermath, 1/7/21, 5 a.m.--To their eternal credit, the members of the House and Senate, undaunted by armed attack, reconvened at 7 p.m. last night, Texas time, to continue and complete their Constitutional duty of certifying the vote of the People. In the early hours of the morning, Vice President Mike Pence dutifully announced the result from the chair of the Senate, sealing beyond all doubt or question the election of Joe Biden and Kamala Harris as the next President and Vice President of the United States.

 

The chaplain of the Senate, the Rev. Barry Black, delivered this prayer from the dais, echoing in large part the prayers of millions, including your Head Trucker, these several months:

Lord of our lives and sovereign of our beloved nation, we deplore the desecration of the United States Capitol building, the shedding of innocent blood, the loss of life, and the quagmire of dysfunction that threaten our democracy.

These tragedies have reminded us that words matter and that the power of life and death is in the tongue. We have been warned that eternal vigilance continues to be freedom's price.

Lord, you have helped us remember that we need to see in each other a common humanity that reflects your image.

You have strengthened our resolve to protect and defend the Constitution of the United States against all enemies domestic as well as foreign.

Use us to bring healing and unity to our hurting and divided nation and world. Thank you for what you have blessed our lawmakers to accomplish in spite of threats to liberty.

Bless and keep us. Drive far from us all wrong desires, incline our hearts to do your will and guide our feet on the path of peace. And God bless America. We pray in your sovereign name, Amen.

Your Head Trucker would add only, Thanks be to God.  Alleluia.

So the election is settled. Now we must somehow wait another two weeks for the life of the Nation to begin anew - with a wild beast, a raving, resentful madman, the enemy of the People, in the White House, manifestly unfit to govern. This is so wrong. In this modern world of instant terror and pushbutton destruction, there should be a quick and simple way to protect the Nation from a rogue President; just how that could be done by legal and constitutional means is the thought of many minds at this time, I am sure. 

I was very proud to see that Vice President Pence, after four years of kowtowing to the monster's whims, at last acted the man and the patriot today in fulfilling his Constitutional duty to ensure the peaceful, legitimate continuity of government in our democratic republic. He ought to be Acting President now. 

And one more thing:  I also like the fact that the Congress publicly certified the votes that each of the fifty states had already certified, in a ceremony that is usually a mere formality.  Notice what great legitimacy and certainty it gives to the results.  No sane mind can now entertain the slightest doubt that the next President was lawfully elected - a fact endorsed by dozens of courts across the land that have unanimously refused to overturn the will of the People.

Our election system needs an overhaul and tune-up, to be sure, and perhaps a new set of wheels - but keep today's profound scenes in mind as you listen in the coming months and years to the debate about reforming our system of electing a President.  Efficiency is important - but even more so is public confidence in the fairness and accuracy of the results.  These things are not mutually exclusive.

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Update, 1/7/21, 11 a.m.--The political landscape seems to be shifting by the hour in the wake of yesterday's violent attack on Congress.  To show how far minds have changed in just 24 hours, studly Republican Congressman Adam Kinzinger has just posted this video on Twitter calling for Trump to be removed from office by the 25th Amendment:

It’s with a heavy heart I am calling for the sake of our Democracy that the 25th Amendment be invoked. My statement: pic.twitter.com/yVyQrYcjuD

— Adam Kinzinger (@RepKinzinger) January 7, 2021

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No Doubt About It: Biden Wins the Presidency

[We have] faced difficult times before in our history. I know we’ll get through this one, but together. That’s how we get through it, together. So as we start the hard work to be done, may this moment give us a strength to rebuild this house of ours upon a rock that can never be washed away. As in the Prayer of St. Francis, for where there is discord, union, where there is doubt, faith, where there is darkness, light. This is who we are as a nation. This is the America we love and that is the America we’re going to be. So thank you all and may God bless you. And may God protect our troops and all of those who stand watch over our democracy.

And God bless the Electoral College!  Meeting in their respective state capitals today, the electors ratified the election of Joe Biden as the next President according to the Constitution, 306-232.  And for once, there was not a single faithless elector among them.  So my hat is off to them; the election system may need changes in future, but for now the good old Electoral College has preserved democracy and guaranteed Uncle Sam a new lease on life.  Well done!

My longtime truckbuddies will have noticed I haven't blogged very much since the election.  It's partly because the colder weather has put me in something of a hibernating mood; and also I simply haven't thought it worth disrupting my peace of mind to rant about the blatant lies and seditious attempts at subverting our democracy - even overthrowing the lawful government of this republic - that have the support of far too many would-be fascists in high places and among the citizenry.  I have instead tried to stay calm and do my part in keeping our little home running smoothly and happily, turning all the other stuff over to the Lord to handle - and He does seem to be doing a good job with it.

I also pray daily for Joe and Kamala to find the strength and wisdom to lead this sadly divided nation back to the path of justice, unity, and peace.  There is much that needs mending and fixing in this old house; but now we can breathe again, and begin again to build that more perfect union - which is always a work in progress.

Here are Joe's thoughts on that subject, in a speech given today after the Electoral College finished voting - a real "Mr. Smith Goes to Washington" speech that warmed your Head Trucker's heart:

Lift up your hearts:  the dark night is ending, a brighter day is coming.  You take care fellas, and stay safe.

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All Over But The Shouting

 ABC and other news outfits have finally called Arizona and Georgia for Biden, giving him 306 electoral votes to Trump's 232.  There is no way Trump is going to have a second term.  So lift up your hearts.

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Sunday Drive: On Eagle's Wings

This is the lovely hymn by Fr. Michael Joncas that President-elect Biden quoted in his victory speech last night. 

 

The President-elect also quoted part of this famous passage from the Old Testament:

To every thing there is a season, and a time to every purpose under the heaven:

A time to be born, and a time to die; a time to plant, and a time to pluck up that which is planted;

A time to kill, and a time to heal; a time to break down, and a time to build up;

A time to weep, and a time to laugh; a time to mourn, and a time to dance;

A time to cast away stones, and a time to gather stones together; a time to embrace, and a time to refrain from embracing;

A time to get, and a time to lose; a time to keep, and a time to cast away;

A time to rend, and a time to sew; a time to keep silence, and a time to speak;

A time to love, and a time to hate; a time of war, and a time of peace.

--Ecclesiastes 3:1-8

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America to Trump: YOU'RE FIRED!

The votes are in, and Joe Biden is the next President of the United States.  Hallelujah!   Live from NBC News:

 

NBC also shows us live celebrations of Biden's victory across the country:

Biden made this statement at midday after learning of his victory:

I am honored and humbled by the trust the American people have placed in me and in Vice President-elect Harris. In the face of unprecedented obstacles, a record number of Americans voted. Proving once again, that democracy beats deep in the heart of America. With the campaign over, it’s time to put the anger and the harsh rhetoric behind us and come together as a nation. It’s time for America to unite. And to heal. We are the United States of America. And there’s nothing we can’t do, if we do it together.

The Guardian put it this way:

America has chosen Joe Biden to be the 46th president of the United States. The American people have disavowed four years of a thuggish presidency. They have chosen decency over dysfunction, fact over fiction, truth over lies, and empathy over cruelty. They have rejected the last four years of ugliness, divisiveness, racism and sustained assaults on constitutional democracy. And even as Trump plots legal challenges and levies unfounded claims of fraud, it is clear America is moving on.  Now, the real work begins.

Click to enlarge.

Harris and Biden gave their victory speeches to a "drive-in" crowd tonight in Wilmington, Delaware.  Both were fine speeches.  Biden himself impressed your Head Trucker as being very presidential:  strong, confident, optimistic, and determined to do his best to be the leader of all the people and to heal the divisions in this country.

 

And I'll close tonight's post with the moving remarks of CNN's Van Jones, who struggles to explain what Biden's victory means to him and many others in this diverse nation:

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The Purpose of Our Politics

 Joe Biden, speaking to the nation late last night as election results continue to trickle in:

In America, we hold strong views, we have strong disagreements, and that’s okay. Strong disagreements are inevitable in a democracy, and strong disagreements are healthy, they’re a sign of a vigorous debate of deeply held views. But we have to remember the purpose of our politics isn’t total, unrelenting, unending warfare, no. The purpose of our politics, the work of the nation isn’t to fan the flames of conflict but to solve problems, to guarantee justice, to get to improve the lives of our people.

We may be opponents but we’re not enemies--we’re Americans. No matter who you voted for, I’m certain of one thing:  the vast majority of them, almost 150 million Americans who voted, they want to get the vitriol out of our politics. We’re certainly not going to agree on a lot of issues, but at least we can agree to be civil with one another. We have to put the anger and the demonization behind us. It’s time for us to come together as a nation to heal. It’s not going to be easy--we have to try.

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Today's Thought

 Do not be overcome by evil, but overcome evil with good.

--St. Paul

 

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We Voted

 Yesterday.  About 5 p.m.  Big auditorium, almost nobody there.  No lines, no waiting, poll workers very friendly and helpful.  It was a breeze.  Thank goodness for early voting.  (I'm happy to report that we were given scannable paper ballots, too.)

On the way home we picked up some groceries, including a little slice of blueberry cheese - yes, there is such a thing and it's delicious - came home, kicked off our shoes, and celebrated our votes with assorted cheeses, pepperoni slices, homemade "pizza toast," and a bottle of Guinness each.  Also conversation, music, and laughs.  Cheaper and much more fun than going out to a bar, we both agreed.

So for the record, the Pork Boys have done their patriotic duty to put the country back on the right track.  The rest is up to all of you. 

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Go from There

Studly Oscar-nominated actor Sam Elliott has recorded a campaign ad for Joe Biden.  I could listen to it all day.

 

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USA Today Endorses Joe Biden

 

The Editorial Board of the nationwide daily USA Today - and for my overseas truckbuddies, I might describe it as the low-key, mild-mannered Mr. Rogers of American newspapers - has for the first time in its four-decade history endorsed a presidential candidate. Excerpt from the Board's statement:

Four years ago, the Editorial Board — an ideologically and demographically diverse group of journalists that is separate from the news staff and operates by consensus — broke with tradition and took sides in the presidential race for the first time since USA TODAY was founded in 1982. We urged readers not to vote for Donald Trump, calling the Republican nominee unfit for office because he lacked the “temperament, knowledge, steadiness and honesty that America needs from its presidents.”

We stopped short, however, of an outright endorsement of Hillary Clinton, the Democratic nominee. This year, the Editorial Board unanimously supports the election of Joe Biden, who offers a shaken nation a harbor of calm and competence. . . .

It's no secret that the Editorial Board disagrees with Trump not just on his approach to the coronavirus but also on fundamental issues, from health care and climate change to immigration and trade. Policy differences, however, are not the reason behind our first-ever presidential endorsement. Diverse views, even ones we think are wrongheaded, are a staple of American politics and something to celebrate.

If this were a choice between two capable major party nominees who happened to have opposing ideas, we wouldn’t choose sides. Different voters have different concerns. But this is not a normal election, and these are not normal times. This year, character, competence and credibility are on the ballot. Given Trump’s refusal to guarantee a peaceful transfer of power if he loses, so, too, is the future of America's democracy.

For nearly four decades, the Editorial Board has stood for certain core values: truth, accountability, civility in public discourse, opposition to racism, common-ground solutions to the nation’s problems, and steadfast support for First Amendment rights. These aren’t partisan issues, or at least they shouldn’t be.

Donald Trump has trampled each of these principles, making more than 20,000 false or misleading statements, ducking responsibility for his actions, spewing streams of invective at his critics, trafficking in racial fearmongering, governing more as the leader of the red states than of the United States, and relentlessly attacking the free press.

Everything about Biden’s nearly half-century political career suggests he would do a far better job of respecting these values. “We need to revive the spirit of bipartisanship in this country, the spirit of being able to work with one another,” the Democratic nominee said in a recent speech in Gettysburg, Pennsylvania. . . .

Biden is well positioned to repair the wreckage Trump has made of the federal government, from the foreign service to the science agencies Trump has tried to politicize. As vice president in the Obama administration, Biden played a central role in the last economic recovery and is equipped to handle another one.

Even before the pandemic struck, Trump did no better than the Obama-Biden administration on job creation, the stock market and economic growth. (Remember his promise to pay off the national debt in eight years? It's now $27 trillion, up more than $7 trillion from four years ago.) Biden knows that the recovery process will require, first and foremost, a comprehensive national response to the COVID-19 crisis that has upended Americans’ lives and left large sectors of the economy reeling. 

This extraordinary moment in the history of our nation requires an extraordinary response. With his plans, his personnel picks, his experience and his humanity, Joe Biden can help lead the United States out of this morass and into the future. Your vote can help make that happen.

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The Firehose of Falsehood

Trump isn't nuts, he's trying to make you nuts, writes Mark Follman at Mother Jones.  Excerpt:

Trump may well be a dangerous psychopath, but he isn’t crazy. He doesn’t spread lunatic conspiracy theories because he believes them. Not for a moment does he actually think that Joe Biden secretly arranged the murder of Navy SEALs in a scheme to stage the takedown of Osama bin Laden. When Trump shared those claims recently on Twitter, his motivation was, as always, to provoke, entertain, confuse, “trigger the libs,” and change the subject from his own failures. . . .

It’s worth looking again at the big picture here, one Mother Jones began documenting shortly after the 2016 election: Trump is using the autocrat’s playbook. Vladimir Putin’s, to be specific. As contributor Denise Clifton wrote more than three years ago, Trump’s deluge of demagoguery and lies “echoes a contemporary form of Russian propaganda known as the ‘Firehose of Falsehood.’” With Election Day nearing, the comparison has never been more apt.

In 2016, the nonpartisan think tank RAND published a study of the tactics and techniques used in Kremlin-controlled media. The end goal of what the researchers called “a shameless willingness to disseminate partial truths or outright fictions” was to entertain, confuse, and overwhelm the public. (The entertainment component can serve as inspiration for loyal followers—for example, a string of broadcast traveling stage performances showcasing a greatest-hits of outrage and outrageousness.)

Look back at just about any point in Trump’s presidency and it’s evident how he has fulfilled four defining features of the Kremlin playbook, as identified in the RAND study:

• “High numbers of channels and messages”: Trump by no means controls the American media, but he has access to an unprecedented version of state-controlled television in Fox News, along with enormous unfettered reach through Facebook and Twitter (which further feeds all manner of news outlets).
• “Rapid, continuous and repetitive”: There are countless instances of Trump repeating a lie or line of attack multiple times during interviews, press conferences, and campaign rallies.
• “Lacks commitment to consistency”: In one recent example, Trump pushed for more coronavirus aid from Congress before railing against it and then calling for it again, in a span of less than 24 hours. In another, he turned his back on aid for wildfire-stricken California only to quickly reverse his position.
• “Lacks commitment to objective reality.” This one is pretty self-explanatory, but just in case… here are 20,000 examples.

Follman's well-written essay is worth reading in full.  Bottom line:  don't give up, don't look away, keep hope alive and VOTE HIM OUT!

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What I'm Watching: Hacking Democracy (2006)

The other day, I just happened to come across this chilling, eye-opening documentary, which shows how easily American elections can be - and have been - stolen, ought to be required viewing for all Americans.  (Caution:  may be anxiety-producing.)

Ever since the dawn of the Digital Age more than 20 years ago, your Head Trucker has always thought that electronic voting machines and ballot-counting machines are simply and obviously an invitation to electoral fraud, and furthermore, that the only verifiable voting method is by paper ballot.  It takes no technical expertise to see that, only common sense.

I am gratified to see that some experts are now - just three weeks before the election - speaking out and saying these very things I have been saying to anyone who would listen all these many years.  (See links below.)  

Programmable, hackable machines should never have been used to record or count votes in any election.  And it's far too late now to change the system for this year's election.  I expect many challenges on both sides to the initial returns, and who knows how long it will be until the nation has a bona fide tally of the votes in all states.  We are used to knowing the winner by the next morning at the latest - but these are not normal times.

Be that as it may, we have to do what we can do, and not worry about what we can't.  Because if we don't vote, the result is certain, and abominable.

 NBC News: How to Make the Election Trustworthy, 10/13/20 

 PBS News Hour: What Election Officials Think about Paper Ballots and Voting Machines, 10/14/20

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Rick Steves: For the Love of America, Vote

A timely message from travel writer and enthusiast Rick Steves:

  

 Excerpt from the video summary: 

As a traveler and a student of history, I've seen how strong societies can fray. And I fear for our democracy. It’s more fragile than we realize. And it is at risk.

That's why, this year, I believe our choice is more fundamental than partisanship. Four years ago, Donald Trump pledged to "Make America Great Again." When I survey our national life today, it's clear to me that we've lost so much more than we've gained in that time.

If we truly want to make America great again, we need to elect Joe Biden to the White House on November 3. Please join me.

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Predicting the Next President

Allan Lichtman, professor of history at American University in Washington, D. C., has accurately predicted every presidential election winner since 1980, often a year or two before the election, based on his analysis of 13 political, economic, and social criteria he calls the "keys to the White House." 

In this New York Times video produced in August 2020, you can find out who Prof. Lichtman thinks will win the election next month, and why.

  

What I Say:  Your Head Trucker reminds you that in this mortal life, nothing at all is certain until it happens.  There' s many a slip betwixt the cup and the lip, as the old saying goes.  You remember that in 2016 all signs, apart from Prof. Lichtman's, were go for a win by Hillary - and look what happened.  

Furthermore, in 2000, the prof did correctly predict that Gore would win the popular vote - but chicanery in Florida threw the election to Bush.  What do you think are the chances of political chicanery in this election?

I do feel the Democrats will prevail in this election - but feelings are not facts.  It ain't over till it's over.  So keep your fingers crossed, watch out for tricks, and VOTE!

 

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Our Rendezvous with Destiny

Treason is afoot in the land.  The New York Times sounds the alarm this morning:

Click to enlarge.

And Politico reports:  "Former national security adviser H.R. McMaster said Thursday that President Donald Trump is 'aiding and abetting' Russian President Vladimir Putin’s efforts to sow doubt about the American electoral system."

McMaster expressed himself at length in this interview with MSNBC today:

But of course all this is old news - here's a front page of the New York Daily News two years ago:

You know, 55 percent of non-voters in the 2016 election were Democrats, according to the Pew Research Center.  I'm praying that Democrats will turn out this year in overwhelming numbers so that the election results cannot possibly be challenged.  It's all up to us, fellas - now is the time to overthrow the dictatorship that has already begun.  This is the last chance to stop it - our generation's rendezvous with destiny.  

I was never asked to shed my blood for this country that I love - but I will certainly give my vote.  We are fortunate here in Texas that the state allows walk-in early voting during most of October, 7 days a week in our county.  M.P. and I have already made our plan for when and where to vote.  Have you?

An excerpt from Franklin D. Roosevelt's speech before the Democratic National Convention in Philadelphia on June 27, 1936 - a masterpiece of Democratic and democratic ideals, well worth reading in full:

There is a mysterious cycle in human events. To some generations much is given. Of other generations much is expected. This generation of Americans has a rendezvous with destiny.

In this world of ours, in other lands there are some people, who, in times past, have lived and fought for freedom, and seem to have grown too weary to carry on the fight. They have sold their heritage of freedom for the illusion of a living. They have yielded their democracy.

I believe in my heart that only our success can stir their ancient hope. They begin to know that here in America we are waging a great and successful war. It is not alone a war against want and destitution and economic demoralization. It is more than that; it is a war for the survival of democracy. We are fighting to save a great and precious form of government for ourselves and for the world.

I accept the commission you have tendered me. I join with you. I am enlisted for the duration of the war.

Bonus, 10/2/20, 6 a.m.:

Trump and Melania have come down with Covid-19.

What a coincidence.  A perfect excused absence from all other debates.  Which his team surely realizes would only turn off more voters.

Don't be too quick to feel sorry for him.  He has LIED about everything else in the last four years, why not his own health?  Such a convenient excuse to hole up in his bunker and avoid the press and public till Election Day.

Very clever.  But not, I think, clever enough to fool the American people - the sane majority, that is.

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Evil Is Real

Your Head Trucker presents this new video from the Lincoln Project for your consideration.  It is a political ad by a group of Republicans who seek Trump's defeat, and technically falls under the broad category of propaganda - however, propaganda may be true or false, and the video does seem to square with recent investigative journalism such as this article in Vanity Fair and this piece by NBC News.

So read, think, and make up your own mind about what kind of baby-faced demon would, in effect, condemn American citizens to suffering and death for the sake of political advantage.




While we are on the subject of evil, what would you think of a high federal official who deliberately sabotaged the United States Mail in order to throw an election? While the name of the crime might be debatable, TRAITOR springs to mind as a fitting name for the culprit.

Nixon: I am not a crook.

Trump:  I am not a racist.

Louis Dejoy: I am not sabotaging the election.

Democratic Convention Highlights, Day 4

Joe John Wayne Biden Accepts the Nomination:

Well, bless my soul. That's the best damn speech I ever heard in my life. What a MAN. Just what we needed to see. BALLS!

You nailed it, Joe. Proud of you. I'm behind you all the way. So is every decent man and woman in this country.

Now come on, boys - let's saddle up and go take our country back!

Yeeeeeeehaw!

~~  ~~  ~~  ~~  ~~  ~~  ~~

Transcript excerpt::

You know, American history tells us that it’s been in our darkest moments that we’ve made our greatest progress, that we’ve found the light.

In this dark moment, I believe we’re poised to make great progress again, that we can find the light once more. You know, many people have heard me say this, but I’ve always believed you can define America in one word: possibilities. The defining feature of America, everything is possible.

That in America, everyone, and I mean everyone, should be given an opportunity to go as far as their dreams and God-given ability will take them. We can never lose that.

In times as challenging as these, I believe there’s only one way forward: as a united America. United in our pursuit of a more perfect union. United in our dreams of a better future for us and for our children. United in our determination to make the coming years bright.

Are you ready? I believe we are. This is a great nation. We’re a good and decent people. For Lord’s sake, this is the United States of America. There’s never been anything we’ve been unable to accomplish when we’ve done it together.

The Irish poet Seamus Heaney once wrote,

History says, Don't hope
On this side of the grave,
But then, once in a lifetime
The longed-for tidal wave
Of justice can rise up
And hope and history rhyme.

This is our moment to make hope and history rhyme with passion and purpose. Let us begin. You and I together. One nation. Under God. United in our love for America. United in our love for each other.

For love is more powerful than hate. Hope is more powerful than fear. And light is more powerful than dark. This is our moment. This is our mission. May history be able to say that the end of this chapter of American darkness began here, tonight, as love and hope and light join in the battle for the soul of the nation.

And this is a battle we will win and we will do it together. I promise you.

~~ ~~ ~~ ~~ ~~ ~~ ~~

For the record, a few more notable videos from last night's convention, selected by your Head Trucker.  And for the benefit of my overseas truckbuddies, let me point out that these particular speakers reflect, as does the Democratic Party in general, a broad spectrum of backgrounds and viewpoints, united in working for a more perfect union of these United States, with liberty and justice for all, not merely the favored few.

Representative Deb Haaland of New Mexico:




Senator Cory Booker of New Jersey:




Senator Tammy Baldwin of Wisconsin:




Former presidential candidate Pete Buttigieg of Indiana:




Senator Tammy Duckworth of Illinois, a wounded veteran, calls Trump the "Coward-in-Chief":




And Governor Gavin Newsom phones it in from an evacuation center in wildfire-stricken California:

Democratic Convention Highlights, Day 2

For the record, a few notable speeches and presentations from the second night of the virtual convention, selected by your Head Trucker.

Former Democratic candidate Senator Bernie Sanders:




Democratic former President Bill Clinton:




Republican former Secretary of State Colin Powell:




Republican Cindy McCain, widow of the late Senator John McCain:




Gay Democratic former South Bend mayor Pete Buttigieg:




The Republican former Governor of Ohio, John Kasich:




And to wrap it all up, a scathing "Memo to Trump" from the Reverend Al Sharpton, who as usual tells it just like it is:

MIchelle Obama: Vote Like Our LIves Depend on It

The former First Lady gave an impassioned keynote speech yesterday on the first night of the (virtual() Democratic National Convention, and while it might have sounded a bit less scripted before a live audience, her message was right on target. Excerpt:

So what do we do now? What's our strategy? Over the past four years, a lot of people have asked me, "When others are going so low, does going high still really work?" My answer: going high is the only thing that works, because when we go low, when we use those same tactics of degrading and dehumanizing others, we just become part of the ugly noise that's drowning out everything else. We degrade ourselves. We degrade the very causes for which we fight.

But let's be clear: going high does not mean putting on a smile and saying nice things when confronted by viciousness and cruelty. Going high means taking the harder path. It means scraping and clawing our way to that mountain top. Going high means standing fierce against hatred while remembering that we are one nation under God, and if we want to survive, we've got to find a way to live together and work together across our differences.

And going high means unlocking the shackles of lies and mistrust with the only thing that can truly set us free: the cold hard truth.

So let me be as honest and clear as I possibly can. Donald Trump is the wrong president for our country. He has had more than enough time to prove that he can do the job, but he is clearly in over his head. He cannot meet this moment. He simply cannot be who we need him to be for us. It is what it is.

Now, I understand that my message won't be heard by some people. We live in a nation that is deeply divided, and I am a Black woman speaking at the Democratic Convention. But enough of you know me by now. You know that I tell you exactly what I'm feeling. You know I hate politics. But you also know that I care about this nation. You know how much I care about all of our children.

So if you take one thing from my words tonight, it is this: if you think things cannot possibly get worse, trust me, they can; and they will if we don't make a change in this election. If we have any hope of ending this chaos, we have got to vote for Joe Biden like our lives depend on it.

What I Say:  All my truckbuddies, take heed.  There is no reason to fear that Trump will start a dictatorship if he wins this election.  The dictatorship has already begun.  It's here.  It's real.  This is happening.



Trump says, If I lose, it means the election is rigged.  Or to put that another way:  No election is valid unless I win.  If that is not the declaration of a dictatorship over these United States, what the hell is?  You waiting for a nice, polite little ceremony in the Rose Garden or something?

It's no longer a question of if or when: he has the Constitution in one hand, and a lighted match in the other. What are you going to do about it?

I'll tell you what, boys: your Head Trucker is old and infirm, and can barely make a circuit around the grocery aisles anymore, much less stand all day and night in a voting line, but with God's help, he is going to do all he can to make sure his vote counts on November 3rd.

I hope you will, too. Or else you might never get to vote again. Don't think it can't happen here. It already has.