Most people continually wonder, “How can they believe that.” They hear and read Donald Trump’s 19,000 lies and they shake their heads, “Are these people crazy to believe the things he says?”
Then when Trump does or says something really awful, they say among themselves, “Surely this will lose him followers.” When it doesn’t, they again resort to “How can they believe that?”
I suggest that his followers don’t believe all those nutty things Trump does and says, They didn’t believe or care about Mexico paying for the wall. They didn’t believe he wasn’t trying to threaten Ukraine. They didn’t believe he didn’t grope unwilling women or cheat on his wife with a porn star.
They believe nothing bad ever is his fault, and everything good is his doing.
They just excuse Trump’s lies because the man hates the same people his followers hate.
It’s a cult, and as with all cults, the leader is to be worshipped, and anyone outside the cult is to be reviled.
And as is common with cults, the leader is a psychopath.
In Trump world, there are no good liberals, no good Democrats, no good anyone who doesn’t worship him. Trump is the GOP version of Jim Jones, and Trump’s followers drink the Kool-Aid every day.
People on the outside of a cult always wonder how the followers can be so “stupid,” “naive,” “ignorant,” and willing to accept any nonsense the cult leader delivers.
Demonstrating this fact, a far-right website called Watchdog News conducted an online “poll” of Americans. The word “poll” is in quotes because the respondents were limited to people who wanted a coin with Donald Trump’s name on it.
Think about that.
Thus, the “poll” doesn’t tell you what America thinks, but it does indicate what Trump’s followers think.
Here are the results, plus some commentary from Watchdog News and from me.
19% of Americans think illegal immigrants SHOULD be able to join a branch of the United States Military.
81% of Americans think illegal immigrants SHOULD NOT be able to join a branch of the United States Military.
For those who think that illegal immigrants should be able to serve in the military, we say that doing the right thing doesn’t change the fact that they are here ILLEGALLY.
There is also something terrifying about arming large groups of illegal immigrants, giving them advanced weapons training, and then releasing them back into the U.S. once they’ve completed their service.
Here we see the results of Trump’s hate-mongering and fear-mongering.
The concept of “arming large groups of illegal immigrants giving them advanced weapons training. . . ” is a result of his false claims that undocumented immigrants are criminals who hate America, and if allowed to be in the military, they will take us over by force.
It’s utter nonsense of course. Immigrants didn’t come here to take over America. They came here to make a better life for themselves and their children.
And by the way, undocumented immigrants are less likely to commit crimes than are the armed white supremacists who Trump excuses.
His message is: “I’m a draft dodger with fake heel spurs, but I respect the military. The guy protesting bigotry against blacks doesn’t respect the military.”
96% of Americans think Football Players ARE disrespecting Veterans when protesting during the National Anthem.
4% of Americans think Football Players ARE NOT disrespecting Veterans when protesting during the National Anthem.
The average NFL player makes $2.1 million, according to Forbes.
Active-duty soldiers up to E6 make less than $40K, starting out at less than $20K a year.
Many Americans feel that’s reason enough to resent the methods the NFL players are using to protest. Their actions seem to disrespect the flag as well as the national anthem and by proxy, the military that defends those things and their right to protest.
Pro Football players earn more money than do U.S. soldiers. That irrelevancy is mentioned only to make you biased against football players. It has nothing whatever to do with the question.
And taking a knee has nothing to do with disrespecting soldiers, the flag, or the national anthem.
Similarly, hugging the flag, singing the national anthem, and dodging the draft because of fake “bone spurs,” does not show patriotism or respect for the military.
Some irony there.
What the right does not wish to see is that the protest has to do with the inferior treatment of blacks, particularly by the whites on the right.
Protesting bigotry is far more patriotic than the phony symbolism of flag-hugging. Ironically, the right-wing defends the right to protest, but does not want the protest itself.
56% of Americans polled think we CAN save America without a civil war.
44% of Americans polled think we CAN NOT save America without a civil war.
We suspect that the majority of people who answer that we CAN NOT avoid a civil war also believe that they are up against an extremely covert and powerful Deep State embedded in every level of media, government, and law enforcement.
The “extremely covert and powerful (and mythical) Deep State” is Trump’s invention of an enemy. Cults always need some sort of enemy to unite against.
But Trump’s so-called “Deep State” is composed entirely of those people who object to lying, science-denying, cruelty to the less fortunate, hate-mongering, replacement of good people with incompetent bootlickers, and abetting criminality.
21% of Americans think that the news media CAN be unbiased in their reporting.
79% of Americans think that the news media CANNOT be unbiased in their reporting.
When most people think of the media, they think of the major media networks. These include ABC, NBC, Fox, and CNN. While we didn’t ask if they trust say, Fox more than NBC, we think that it was important to ask about news media in general.
Speaking of unbiased, Trump tweeted, “Fox News is no longer the same. We miss the great Roger Ailes. You have more anti-Trump people, by far, than ever before. Looking for a new outlet!”
“The great Roger Ailes” resigned after allegations of sexual assault were made by 23 women! Sexual assault is not something that bothers Donald Trump.
And it’s interesting to see that Trump believes he owns an “outlet,” while complaining about biased media.
21% of Americans think illegal immigrants and their children SHOULD receive free education.
79% of Americans think illegal immigrants and their children SHOULD NOT receive free education.
Most people believe that the word ‘illegal’ determines how we should treat this matter. If someone is in this country illegally, they should not receive the benefits that legal citizens receive.
The “not legal citizens” is just a convenient excuse. Millions of non-citizens are in this country, receiving a free education, some documented and some not.
America benefits more from educating illegal immigrants, who generally stay in America, than from educating legal temporary card-holders, who eventually will return to their native countries.
4% of Americans think Illegal Immigrants SHOULD Be Eligible to Own Guns in the United States.
96% of Americans think Illegal Immigrants SHOULD NOT Be Eligible to Own Guns in the United States.
Why would anyone agree to give a criminal a gun?
They are ILLEGAL immigrants. They already have shown that they are ready to break any laws necessary to get what they want. Imagine the laws they could break once they have weapons?
No, they have not “shown that they are ready to break any laws.” They have shown that desperate people will risk their lives to make a better life for their families.
Undocumented law-breaking is more related to poverty than to any other factor, and poverty is related to lack of education, which often is denied them.
86% of Americans DO NOT want assault rifles banned.
14% of Americans DO want assault rifles banned.
Like all semi-automatic guns, the AR-15 is no more or less dangerous than any other firearm. With the exception of bolt action or lever-action rifles, most firearms can fire as fast as the user pulls the trigger.
The AR-15 projectile is only a .223 “varmint caliber” and safety depends on who, where, and how it’s being used in the first place.
The 2nd Amendment affords Americans the right to bear arms, period.
It’s not a “varmint caliber,” and it is more dangerous.
The U.S. Army defines assault rifles as a “short, compact, selective-fire weapons that fire a cartridge intermediate in power between submachine gun and rifle cartridges.“
In this strict definition, a firearm must have at least the following characteristics to be considered an assault rifle:
- It must be capable of selective (automatic or semi-automatic) fire.
- It must have an intermediate-power cartridge: more power than a pistol but less than a standard rifle or battle rifle.
- Its ammunition must be supplied from a detachable box magazine.
- It must have an effective range of at least 330 yards.
Those specifications describe a firearm that is far more dangerous than a handgun or a typical “varmint” hunting rifle.
As for the 2nd Amendment, until 2008 it included the “militia” phrase. In 2008, right-wing Supreme Court Justices decided those thirteen words have absolutely no meaning — the only words in the entire Constitution that a Court has decided are meaningless.
Future Courts may be a bit more humble in their translations.
94% of Americans think we ARE more divided than ever.
6% of Americans think we ARE NOT more divided than ever.
Now that we know that the majority of people feel America IS more divided than ever, the real question is what can be done about it.
They dodge the issue of a President who spends virtually all his time on two pursuits: Golf and insulting anyone who disagrees with him.
He is a President whose modus operandi is to divide the world into “me” and the hated “them.”
What can be done about it is simple: Elect a leader who is not so divisive.
5% of Americans think illegal immigrants SHOULD be eligible for unemployment benefits.
95% of Americans think illegal immigrants SHOULD NOT be eligible for unemployment benefits.
Illegal immigration is already costing this country millions of taxpayer dollars each day. Why would anyone want to increase that cost by providing them with citizenship benefits that many Americans who’re down on their luck do not even qualify for?
As readers of this site know, immigrants, legal or otherwise, cost federal taxpayers exactly $0.
Ignorance of how a Monetarily Sovereign tax system works is continually reinforced, knowingly or unknowingly, by some media, politicians, or economists who have an anti-immigrant agenda.
However, a case could be made that they pay fewer local tax dollars than they receive in benefits. But that is true of all poor people. Shall we deny the poor of unemployment benefits?
And what then?. Starve them and their children? Is that how a great nation operates?
Contrary to popular myth, most undocumented immigrants do pay income taxes, and they all pay sales taxes, the principle taxes used by state and local governments.
8% of Americans think illegal immigrants SHOULD receive free college education.
92% of Americans think illegal immigrants SHOULD NOT receive free college education.
The votes coming through so far indicate that the vast majority of people feel that those who are not United States citizens SHOULD NOT receive free college education funded by U.S. taxpayers. And it’s not even close, which is a relief because it seems that common sense is rare these days.
The silent majority of the United States does not even think that college should be free for American students.
They believe that investing in your own future and education are part of the American dream. A dream that is handed to no one, but comes as the result of hard work.
However, there are some on the left that believe in handouts. Particularly, they believe in handouts to illegal immigrants, and a free college education is just one of the many handouts that some believe should be available to all.
What usually happens when an illegal immigrant receives a college education, is they go back to their own country to start a better life. They leave their old life in the U.S. behind, along with all of their college debt. Giving them free education would just encourage more illegal immigration, not less.
The above is so filled with bigoted falsehoods, one scarcely knows where to begin.
Free college is not funded by U.S. taxpayers. Most of it is funded by the parents of paying students via scholarships.
But the question really is, “Should the federal government fund free college?” and the answer is a resounding, “Yes.!”
Federal spending costs federal taxpayers nothing, and the more people who go to college, the more advanced the nation becomes. America’s progress relies largely on college education.
As for the silent majority not believing in free college, does it also not believe in free high school? What about free elementary school? Education benefits America.
The notion that free college is a “handout,” is a perfect example of what The Party Of The Rich (the GOP) preaches.
The GOP wants to reserve college for the rich, so there will be a large supply of uneducated and desperate workers available to wealthy employers.
And the notion that educated undocumented immigrants are more likely to go back to their “own country” than educated documented immigrants do, is ridiculous. It’s just another excuse to hate immigrants.
88% of Americans polled think that people who are in this country illegally should NOT be eligible for Medicare benefits.
12% of Americans polled are OK with illegal immigrants receiving Medicare benefits.
The hardworking American families who’re paying their taxes and struggling to put food on the table are at the same time paying to feed, clothe, and house these illegals and their children.
This is yet another myth promulgated to people who do not understand Monetary Sovereignty. Medicare is funded by the federal government, not by taxpayers.
However, when people don’t have healthcare insurance they use the hospital emergency rooms, which are funded by taxpaying and insurance-paying Americans.
In short, just from the financial standpoint, and forgetting about the moral aspect of denying people healthcare, it is cheaper for American citizens to have the federal government pay for immigrants’ health care.
93% of Americans DO NOT think illegal immigrants should get Social Security benefits.
7% of Americans DO think illegal immigrants should get Social Security benefits.
While Americans are happy to help those who help themselves, poll results show that they would prefer those benefits go to other Americans who have earned them or who suffer from a disability.
Just 7% of Americans are willing to share their Social Security with those who come into America illegally.
Does making that long, hard, difficult, dangerous, life-threatening trek from an impoverished country count as “help themselves”?
“Share their Social Security”? How does an immigrant “share” anyone’s Social Security? The federal government, being Monetarily Sovereign, has the unlimited ability to fund unlimited benefits.
19% of Americans DO Trust Independent Media.
81% of Americans DO NOT trust Mainstream Media.
We asked thousands of people whether they felt they could trust the Mainstream Media and if they trusted Independent Media more than Mainstream Media.
Some confusion here. “Do Trust Independent Media” is not the opposite of “Do Not Trust Mainstream Media.
It would be a miracle if anyone trusted anything, with a President repeatedly talking about “Fake News” and “Lamestream Media,” any time any reported document one of Trump’s lies.
Since there a so many of those lies, Trump is almost continuously blasting the media.
I say, “Thank God for the media.” Imagine what Trump would do with no media to watch him!!
28% of Americans think illegal immigrants SHOULD be eligible for student loan programs.
72% of Americans think illegal immigrants SHOULD NOT be eligible for student loan programs.
What are some reasons illegal immigrants should NOT be given student loans? First of all, if they’re deported, they are likely to default on their loan payments.
This makes an illegal immigrant a higher risk to lenders. Also, without a social security number, it’s difficult to track and ensure that illegal immigrants are paying their loans off or whether they qualify for credit in the first place.
The most likely outcome of an illegal immigrant getting a college education is that they return to their country and abandon their debt, leaving the taxpayers to pay for their education.
Student loans are among the lowest risk loans. They are not dischargeable in bankruptcy. Almost all student loans are guaranteed by the federal government, which costs American taxpayers nothing.
The above simply are nothing but rationalizations for immigrant-hatred, fostered by the cult leader.
8% of Americans think illegal immigrants SHOULD be eligible to receive Supplemental Security Income benefits.
92% of Americans think illegal immigrants SHOULD NOT eligible to receive Supplemental Security Income benefits.
This program provides extra income for people who have disabilities, are blind, or are over 65.
Most people don’t believe that illegal immigrants should take more of taxpayer money than they’re already receiving.
Illegal immigration costs millions of taxpayer dollars and the amount keeps growing as the problem of illegal immigration expands with each passing day.
Federal taxpayers do not fund SSI benefits.
This is yet another example of immigrant hatred, with no supporting facts.
The right-wing is so mean-spirited they even want to deny benefits to the blind, disabled, and elderly. They claim to “love America.” They just hate the blind, disabled, and elderly in it.
6% of Americans think illegal immigrants SHOULD be eligible for welfare benefits in the United States.
94% of Americans think illegal immigrants SHOULD NOT be eligible for welfare benefits in the United States.
Many illegal immigrants receive a great deal of taxpayer-funded assistance when they come into this country. It seems like common sense that the government would not pay for this kind of thing, but there seems to be a shortage of common sense these days.
Like the previous rationales, this one includes the “taxpayer-funded” false excuse.
When you review all the right-wing commentary, you’ll see a consistent thread running through. Today’s right-wing is a cult based on hatred of outsiders, as all cults are.
And as all cults do, this right-wing cult takes its direction from a hate-mongering cult leader, who uses scapegoating to justify everything evil.
And like all cult members, Trump’s followers excuse it.
Rodger Malcolm Mitchell
Monetary Sovereignty Twitter: @rodgermitchell Search #monetarysovereignty Facebook: Rodger Malcolm Mitchell …………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………..
THE SOLE PURPOSE OF GOVERNMENT IS TO IMPROVE AND PROTECT THE LIVES OF THE PEOPLE.
The most important problems in economics involve:
- Monetary Sovereignty describes money creation and destruction.
- Gap Psychology describes the common desire to distance oneself from those “below” in any socio-economic ranking, and to come nearer those “above.” The socio-economic distance is referred to as “The Gap.”
Wide Gaps negatively affect poverty, health and longevity, education, housing, law and crime, war, leadership, ownership, bigotry, supply and demand, taxation, GDP, international relations, scientific advancement, the environment, human motivation and well-being, and virtually every other issue in economics. Implementation of Monetary Sovereignty and The Ten Steps To Prosperity can grow the economy and narrow the Gaps:
Ten Steps To Prosperity:
2. Federally funded Medicare — parts A, B & D, plus long-term care — for everyone
3. Social Security for all or a reverse income tax
4. Free education (including post-grad) for everyone
5. Salary for attending school
6. Eliminate federal taxes on business
7. Increase the standard income tax deduction, annually.
8. Tax the very rich (the “.1%”) more, with higher progressive tax rates on all forms of income.
9. Federal ownership of all banks
10. I
Increase federal spending on the myriad initiatives that benefit America’s 99.9%
The Ten Steps will grow the economy and narrow the income/wealth/power Gap between the rich and the rest.
MONETARY SOVEREIGNTY
#Monetary Sovereignty - Mitchell 