December 2020

The Electoral College voted Joseph R. Biden, President-Elect, to be inaugurated on 1/20/21.   Even Mitch McConnell finally accepted the victory on 12/15, congratulating Biden & Harris on their wins.  Instigator-in-Chief, Trump swiftly attacked McConnell tweeting, “Mitch, 75,000,000 VOTES, a record for a sitting President (by a lot)).  It’s still too soon to give up.  Republican party must finally learn to fight.  People are angry!”   Trump continues to stoke the anger of his base.  The 126 Republicans who signed the amicus-brief presented to SCOTUS to discard valid votes from 4 states, attacking our democracy, went too far!   The 14th Amendment, section 3, of our Constitution PROHIBITS  any senators, representatives, electors of President or Vice-President, or office-holders, civil or military, who have taken the oath to uphold our Constitution, who have then engaged in insurrection or rebellion against the U.S. — their being seated & serving in our government.  Many of us on the left & middle & former-Republicans are also angry; we’re outraged & fed-up with the seditionists on the far-Right, who are calling for Trump to invoke martial-law rather than leave office; many even talking of secession!  Comparing this moment to the Civil War era is not that far-out.  The GOP is in it’s death-throes; many such formerly affiliated voters have cut ranks with the Greedy Obstructionist Party, abandoned the dark side, coming over to the Light.  Such as: Steve Schmidt, who tweeted on 12/15   “I spent 29 years as a Republican.  I’ve spent 2 & half as an independent, and later this afternoon I will register as a member of the Democratic party. Because in America today,  it’s only the Democratic party that stands for the ideas & ideals of American liberty.  It’s a broad, big tent party — I understand ideologically where I come from isn’t anywhere close to being the median opinion of  the party on some issues, but I think in this hour, for the balance of my life and my participation in politics, I’m not independent in this fight anymore”.   WELCOME: Steve Schmidt & all others who join the party of inclusion, equality & progressive values!

The Pfizer-Covid-vaccine rolled out 12/14; and as I write this …. nearly 306,000 Americans have died from Covid-19.   The Dodge City, Kansas, Mayor Joyce Warshaw, resigned today 12/16, and MOVED, after receiving threats over a mask-mandate (her daughter contracted Covid-19, and her aunt recently died from it).   Warshaw, a former-Republican, has now changed her party-affiliation to one of common-sense.  The GOP is in rapid free-fall!

Trish Forsyth Voss

After a wildly-desperate, post-election-campaign, contacting election-officials in battleground states, blatantly pressuring them to overturn their election-results that were certified by Safe Harbor Day 12/8, showing President-elect Biden won the 2020 election — after some-50 courts rejected or dropped frivolous lawsuits from the likes of Rudy Giuliani, Trump influenced Pennsylvania Republican legislators to bring a lawsuit to U.S. Supreme Court — alleging voter-fraud claims, asking the court to block certification of results, which SCOTUS refused to even hear.  This rejection, another crushing loss for Donald Trump, only served to stoke a bald-pardon-bid by Texas Atty Gen, Ken Paxton, (who is under investigation by the FBI for alleged financial crimes he’s committed) to file a lawsuit on 12/8 in four states (GA, PA, MI & WI) on charges of ‘unconstitutional changes’ to 2020 election laws.  Hours before SCOTUS denied  the suit, Trump made direct appeals to state officials to assist him in his efforts to subvert the will of the people, as he continues to bloviate about how he “really won”, baiting supporters with his ploy, “Let’s see if someone has the courage to do what everybody in this country knows is right”.  On 12/9, seventeen other GOP state’s Attorneys General have joined Paxton’s lawsuit, seeking to invalidate the 62 electoral votes from those battleground states, basically cancelling fair & free votes in 18 states.  The GOP is either scared to death of Trump or they are more concerned with egregious power-grabs than with demonstrating integrity or upholding our democratic elections.  Trump is causing a crises in our democracy; he DOES NOT have every right to continue his baseless voter-fraud claims, creating more division!

Armed Trump-supporters have turned out at homes of election-officials, screaming, “STOP THE STEAL”, threatening violence & issuing death threats, all incited by Donald Trump.  What will become of US?   Mitt Romney denounced President Trump’s attempts to reverse the election results as “among the most undemocratic actions ever taken by a sitting president”.  The Utah Senator said, “This is madness.! We have a process, recounts are appropriate, pursuing every legal avenue is appropriate, but trying to get electors NOT to do what the people voted to do is madness”.  Trump’s attempts tear at the fabric of our Constitution!   Hopefully, on Monday, 12/14, the Electoral College will vote for Joseph R. Biden for president.  Meanwhile, Biden daily continues to roll-out his esteemed cabinet-picks.  All this, as our nation saw on 12/9, the greatest number of Covid deaths, 3103, in one day; more than on 9/11, more than incurred in Pearl Harbor attack, more than occurred in the 1906 San Francisco earthquake & resulting conflagration.

Trish Forsyth Voss

PARDON ME, PLEASE!  There’s plenty of pardon-talk at the White House this week; Trump’s talking to associates about pardoning his sons, his daughter, son-in-law, his lawyer, Rudy Giuliani, and himself on the way out the door!  He’s tweeting  that the Dems are out to get him, drumming up New York cases against him (since a president can’t pardon state charges, only federal charges).  Trump’s friend, Sean Hannity, on Fox, stated that “Trump SHOULD pardon himself & his family!”   Breaking news on 12/1: there’s a pending DOJ federal case against Donald Trump for a “Bribery for Pardons scheme”, many pages redacted; so the ‘players’ will be revealed shortly.  Trump foreshadowed these actions 2 years ago, saying that he “wouldn’t pardon” himself, because he hadn’t done anything wrong!  Yeah, right.

On 12/1, Gabe Sterling, a Republican, Georgia election-administrator came out, strongly denouncing President Trump and the Republican Senators, especially Perdue & Loeffler, for not speaking out against the lies, the harrassment, and the death threats leveled at GA Sec of State, Brad Raffensperger & his wife, and a young, low-level election-employee, and himself.  Sterling stated heatedly, “someone’s going to get killed; it has all gone too far; this must stop!”  Christopher Krebs, former Cybersecurity chief, was fired on 11/17, after rebutting Trump’s claims of massive election fraud; he is receiving death threats from the far-right crazies.  Trump’s purposely inciting his base to threaten violence against election officials & anyone else they consider the enemy.  Trump has basically called out GA Gov, Brian P. Kemp & others to overturn the election outcome.  Georgia officials are rejecting these hostile & demented demands.  Brad Raffensperger announced on 12/2 that GA has seen no substantial changes in the state’s tallies, as they finished the second recount.  He said, “Dishonest actors are exploiting the emotions of many Trump supporters; Truth matters, especially around the election-administration”.  Even Attorney General William Barr has come out saying there’s NO evidence of fraud to act upon.  Barr is now under vicious media-attack by right-wingers such as Roger Stone, and Lou Dobbs, who said “Barr is either a liar or a fool or both, or compromised!”    On Monday, 11/30, one Trump, depraved lawyer, Joe diGenova, appeared on “The Howie Carr Show”, calling for violence against Krebs, calling him a “moron” and saying that “he should be drawn & quartered; taken out at dawn and shot!”  So much for a peaceful transfer of power!  Peace on Earth, Goodwill toward men!

Trish Forsyth Voss