Most of us know what we mean when we talk about what our country is (or should be). It’s a place in which we are free to live as we want to live, as long as we play by some equitable/fair set of rules.

It’s a place where no person should be subject to the whims of a king, a dictator, or a maniac.

The Founding Fathers got it right for the most part. It’s a place where fairness and justice have meaning. Except for that slavery thing and a woman’s right to vote. But what the hell, the founders fucked up badly there, but they at least got us started down a more productive, fair road toward the concept of democracy.

It took a Civil War in the 19th Century, and women’s suffrage in the 20th Century to fix some of the things the founders missed. And then it took the “New Deal” of the 1930’s to grant us the right to a decent life through a minimum wage during our working years, and Social Security in our old age.

Then, the movements of the 1960s helped fix a lot of the other things the founding fathers didn’t/couldn’t foresee. Things like civil rights, voting rights, Medicare and Medicaid.

Progress, and the move toward a more civilized society, took a couple of centuries. And now, the Republican Party has dedicated itself to turning back the clock, screwing up women’s rights, doing everything possible to stop black and brown people from voting, and getting rid of medical coverage, Social Security, and each and every program that shreds the safety net that helps people to live a life, free from poverty and misery.

The Republican Party is composed of mostly older white men who lack human decency. They can’t/won’t accept the concept of “equality for all.” As far as they’re concerned, they should rightfully be “in charge” of everything. And the “Thems and Others” should be taking care of the kids, cooking, cleaning the house, picking cotton, and dying as soon as they’re too old to be of any use.

The Republican Party is a disease that is doing everything possible to infect and destroy the very concept of democracy. This is who and what they are. And they must be stopped.

In a democracy, an opposition party is necessary. But a party, like today’s Republicans who are trying to establish a fascist country must be fought and be replaced by a sane, opposition party. A party that actually believes in freedom, democracy, and what America is meant to be.

Almost everyone has seen the video of Walter Cronkite reacting to John Kennedy's assassination. At the time, everyone already knew that Kennedy had been shot in Dallas and feared for the worst. But Kennedy's death wasn't "official" until Walter Cronkite took off his glasses, turned to the camera and, straining to keep his voice steady, said: "President Kennedy is dead."

Last night, Rachel Maddow interviewed Bob Woodward on his book "Fear." After the show was over, she spent about two minutes chatting with Lawrence O'Donnell whose show follows hers. Their chatter is normal, but last night, she came out with a statement for the ages and one that may end up in the Smithonian.

She was referring to specific passages in Woodward's book. But, imo, she was referring to the incredible, unlikely, mind-boggling fact that Donald Trump is occupying the Oval Office.

She said: "It's why dogs aren't allowed to drive cars."

O'Donnell laughed, held up a copy of Woodward's book "Fear," and said it will be the subtitle on the second printing: "'Fear'" It's Why Dogs Aren't Allowed to Drive Cars"

IMO, Rachel's comment may be a giant coffin nail in Trump's pResidency. For all the millions of words that have been written about Trump, none have been more devastating than indirectly comparing him to a dog that shouldn't be driving a car.

It seems likely that some 50 or more years from now, some documentary will cover, on whatever media exists in the future, the historical tape of Cronkite declaring a president dead, -- a historic moment, -- and a clip of Rachel Maddow referring to Donald Trump with the quip: "It's why they don't let dogs drive cars."

Both statements refer to horrific moments: One, a tragic announcement of loss; The other, a simple yet brilliant statement of a deadly threat to American democracy.

Racism!

Disagree? Let's hear why.

The answer is so simple. All take power/ownership/control away from white Christian men.*

Imagine (if you can) that you're a white Christian man. You are SOMEONE. You are PRIVILEGED. You are in CONTROL.

It doesn't matter what you do for a living. You are a SUPERIOR human being.

That mindset. That self-image. That world view. That is what and why you are among some of the stupidest fucking people on this planet. It's who and what you are. It's why you love and voted for a cruel, evil, know-nothing, orange imbecile.

Listen up. America will soon be a "minority" country. What does that mean? It means that white Christians will no longer be the majority.

Why does that scare them?

Because of what they've done to every non-Christian white person for a few hundred years in this country.

I'd like to believe that the new, upcoming majority will be more tolerant, fair and accepting than those who are about to become a minority. But can only hope. Human nature is human nature.

*There are millions upon millions of white Christian men who are decent, loving, and caring of all humanity.

The answer is simple. It's called the Republican Hate Machine.

Hilary is hated because Republican voters have been told for years that she is to be hated.

Nancy Pelosi is hated because the Republican Hate Machine keeps repeating that she must be hated. Why must she be hated? Because it is repeated and repeated and repeated that she must be hated.

Now that Elizabeth Warren is becoming a possible candidate for president, she too must be hated. So the Republican Hate Machine spends time telling Republican voters to hate an incredibly great woman, (who Trump calls "Pocahontas." The man's a piece of pig shit.)

If the imbeciles who buy into the hatred are asked why they hate any of those named above, they can't tell you. Actually, they won't tell you that they hate them because they are all Democrats. And Democrats, especially their leaders, and especially women, are against the racism, bigotry and ignorance spewed out by the Republican Party 24/7/365.

This is why Hilary, Pelosi and Elizabeth Warren are so hated. They are hated by the know-nothings of the world who are told to hate them. And they're told over and over and over again.

The Republican Hate Machine generates propaganda full time. We have nothing to match it except the truth. In the short run, propaganda machines work. In the long run, the haters go down.

Yesterday, I went for my yearly checkup.

After the med stuff, my doctor asked my what I do in my spare time

I told him about exercise, reading, etc, etc. And then I mentioned I spend time online.

His reaction was "Social Media?"

I told him I never go to Facebook, Twitter, or any of the social sites.

He breathed a sigh of relief. Although an MD, he went on to give me a short lecture about social network sites and mental health.

It was a lecture I didn't need. My feelings/beliefs are the same as his.

So what's my point?

If you're on social network sites, get off. Stop telling the world about yourself, and stop listening to or reading about crap that may or may not be true.

Social media could have been a blessing and a curse. Turns out it's more of a curse that anyone could have imagined.

I know that I'm going to take a ton of crap for this post from many people for many reasons.

Nonetheless, please allow me to say this to you. Get off of social media. And stay off. Forever.

Conservatives have been playing the game of "by any and all means" politics for 40 or 50 years, while we've been playing with ourselves.

They have funded institutions such as the Heritage Foundation, the Federalist Society, and many other "think tanks" to establish their goals, lay out their plans for achieving them, and getting like-minded people into office, from local school boards, to city commissioners, to state officials, on up to the U.S. house and senate. They've succeeded brilliantly.

Control of local and federal courts has always been one of their objectives and, at that level, they are succeeding beyond their wildest dreams. Owning the Supreme Court has been their wet dream forever. Now they've got it.

We Democrats don't think this way. We've always relied on people "doing the right thing," and we've always believed that democracy would somehow, "magically" triumph over any evil that tried to attack it. We've had faith in the innate decency and goodness of human beings, while the enemies of democracy have spun their very effective webs to ensnare the minds of millions.

Well, here we are. We're on the right side of history, morality and humanity. So why are we being crushed? Because we underestimated the enemies of freedom.

They've got a 40 or 50 year head start. We've got a lot of catching up to do and not much time to do it.

If this year's congressional elections are stolen (yes, Republicans steal elections), we're going to need a Plan B pretty damn quick.

Sounds like a rumor to me.

Hope Donald enjoys all his meals there.

And everywhere else.

This afternoon, I saw a movie that was made in 1988, titled, “Mississippi Burning.”

It was about the KKK murder of three civil rights workers named Chaney, Schwerner and Goodwin. One black Christian and two white Jews who were murdered by the KKK in the summer of 1964 because they were trying to register voters in Mississippi.

The despicable KKK thugs were eventually brought to justice, (of sorts), but America has not lived happily ever after.

Lynden Johnson was the president back then, and, when he got the civil rights and voting rights bills through congress, he said that the South was lost to Democrats for a generation.

Well, it’s been far more than a generation and it’s been far more than the South. Today, it’s the entire Republican Party that is surviving and thriving, in many regions of the country, under the banner of racism and hatred.

And at this moment in history, the Oval Office is occupied by someone who is using the ignorance, hatred and racism of a minority of Americans, to expand and consolidate his own power, and to satisfy his lust for more wealth and his insatiable ego.

Forget that “slippery slope” meme. We’re well down that water slide and accelerating.

It seems that the only power we have left is the vote. But we don’t get to do that until four months from now. And by then, the highest court in the land may well be occupied by a majority of people who have no problem with the current destruction of American democracy.

So is there a point to this recital of history and where we are now?

Yes. The point is that a minority of people with no conscience, morality, or decency, now hold all the levers of power in America. It may already be too late to stop this juggernaut of fascism. But unless we somehow can stop it, or slow it down, it will devour American democracy, human decency and all of us who understand what’s happening.

This is more than a rant. It’s a plea for anyone who has a concept of how to battle this disease to step forward and speak up.

Is there a defensive action we haven’t thought of?

Is there anything that can be done to slow down this horror before we get to vote?

Is there a way to save what is left of the country we thought this was?

As a kid, I was afraid to go to the circus. I liked the high-wire and trapeze acts. I hated lion-tamers who snapped whips at large cats who spent their lives in cages. My heart went out to the magnificent elephants who had to perform stupid tricks in order to get fed.

But mostly, I was afraid of clowns. They terrified me, as they terrified millions of others.

Perhaps there is such a thing as precognition, (a paranormal feeling/instinct about the future). If so, perhaps those of us who were terrified by clowns, were exposed to a warp in the space-time continuum. -- A peek at the future. -- An intuitive awareness that clowns were, somehow, bringers of evil.

The grotesque Trump clown is now having his moment. It was like that moment in the circus when countless clowns spilled out of a small car. We wondered how so many of them could get in there. And now we’re wondering how so many incredible fools and clowns could have gotten into positions of power in the American government.

And some of them aren’t even in the Trump “administration.” They are clowns who work in a circus called “The Republican House of Representatives.” But they’re not throwing pies in the face. Instead, they’re trying to throw a Nobel Peace Prize at the clown-in-chief. They’re throwing tax cuts at their owners. They’re throwing up roadblocks to healthcare for all Americans. They’re spitting on immigrants who are seeking a better life – or just life itself, for their children and themselves.

And now, every day of our lives, the Trump clown draws our attention to his demented activities, -- to the meaningless "thoughts" that develop in his diseased mind and that he spews forth as words or tweets. It's a terrifying show and we are all a captive audience.

No need for a call to send in the clowns. They’re here.

Past time to send them out.