#this man wants america to be a 'unified reich'

[dandunn]

this is probably redundant at this point but what is wrong with him

[pudding-parade]

Sorry, but I have to get political on all your asses, at least those of you who live in the US. It will be a one-time thing on this subject, the only thing that I will say here about the election before it happens. And yeah, I'm going to say this on a blog devoted to a stupid video game. Why? Because I know that I have younger American people who follow me here, and if y'all are like some of the younger people I've talked to in real life and online in other venues, I have concerns. So I'm going to say all this as an old-ass, progressive American. Because if I can wake up one apathetic mind out there, it will be worth it. And if you're pissed at me for making a single political post at this important juncture, then fuck off and unfollow me or send me nasty messages or whatever you want to do. I don't care. And I'm not cutting this, either.

My dear followers: Donald Trump cannot -- CANNOT -- become president again.

Late last night, Trump posted on his Truth Social account a video containing language and images reminiscent of the World War era. It was about his fantasies of what America would be like, should he win the general election in about five months. It contained suspicious imagery and phrases like "creating a unified Reich." Does that sort of language sound familiar? Especially when combined with his rhetoric about immigrants being "vermin" that "poison the blood of our country?" Ring any bells? I'm sure it does for any German folks who might read this.

Trump's post was only taken down about 12 hours later, after backlash over it, and then Trump claimed that a "low level staffer" posted it, not him. Which is either a lie OR he was lying when he said previously that only he and his campaign's communications director have or will ever have access to that account. If you want more info about this, here's a short video from Jesse Dollemore, an independent commentator:

This election isn't about liberal/progressive vs. conservative. It truly doesn't matter what your personal ideology is because this election is about saving democracy. This is about preserving your freedoms, because we won't be able to do anything about any other issue, whatever our individual ideologies and pet issues are, if our basic freedoms upon which this country was founded -- freedom of speech and to protest, freedom of (and from) religion, freedom of the press -- are chipped away until they are gone. Because that's what autocrats do. They want freedom only for themselves, and Donald Trump and his cronies and hangers-on are all autocrat wannabes.

And if you -- Yes, you, even if you're sitting in the middle of blood-red state -- don't vote for Joe Biden, you will be doing your part to hand the autocrats what they want, because a non-vote or a vote for anyone other than Biden is in fact a vote for Trump and autocracy. Similarly, you must also vote for Democrats for all other positions, local, state, and federal so that America's overt flirtation with autocracy that's been going on since at least the 1990s might finally end once and for all.

Yes, yes, I know: "But Genocide Joe!" Think about it: Do you seriously think that Trump, who licks Netanyahu's asshole because he sees him as the kind of "strong man" that Trump wants to be, is going to help Gaza? Or that he'll go against Putin and continue aid to Ukraine? Because if you think that he will do either of those things, I have several bridges I'd like to sell you. No, Trump is going to "put America first." He says it all the time, and what he means by that is that he will do nothing except whatever it takes to keep himself and his cronies in power while also isolating America by severing ties to our allies. Gaza will be given to Netanyahu just as Ukraine will be given to Putin, should Trump win, and he won't give a shit. In the end, Biden (and Harris, should she have to take over) will listen and help Gaza, maybe not as much as we'd like because the Middle East situation is complicated and there are no simple solutions, but a Biden-led government will certainly help more than another Trumpian government would. And Biden will definitely continue to aid Ukraine, because that situation isn't complicated at all.

And in the end, it's not really about Ukraine and Gaza, though they are of course important. It's about us. Should Trump get into the White House again, he will surround himself with people who want America to be a plutocratic and authoritarian autocracy, very similar to Putin's Russia. This is not hyperbole. This is fact. A vote for Trump -- either actual or de facto by fucking around with not voting or voting for a third party because you think it's a "protest" -- is a vote to end democracy, plain and simple, which might very well mean that you'll never be able to protest again another day.

How bad could Trump be, you ask? Who cares who is president? Well, have a look at Project 2025. It's a 900-page "playbook" for the next "conservative" administration. (In quotes because there is nothing "conservative" about these people, including Trump and his cronies; they are radicals.) It is nothing less than a plan to destroy the federal government, the Constitution, and the freedoms that it enshrines and protects, which means the end of democracy. They published a similar tome before Reagan was elected, and once he was in, Reagan followed through with a lot of it. I have no doubt that Trump would, too, given that his "Agenda 47" platform is basically the same. Here is an article that summarizes Project 2025 and details some of its directives. And here is an article from Time Magazine, of all things, where the writer of it interviewed Trump about his vision for America, should he win. The first line of the article is, "Donald Trump thinks he’s identified a crucial mistake of his first term: He was too nice." You can read the transcripts of the interviews, too, so you can rest assured that the interviewer isn't being hyperbolic.

It ain't good, folks. Part of this extreme-right agenda is ridiculously expanding the power of the executive branch so that it would no longer be checked and balanced by Congress and the Supreme Court, which effectively turns the presidency into a dictatorship. And if Biden does not win, at least some of this bullshit will come to pass, especially because Trump already has the Supreme Court in his pocket. And he'll be able to appoint more young, far-right lunatics to that, too, should he win.

I'll repeat that Trump CANNOT win. I'll be the first to say that, as a pretty extreme (but also pragmatic) progressive, I'm not Biden's biggest fan, for various reasons. He is way farther right than I am, though he has been far more progressive-friendly than I expected and he has gotten some very good things done. But even if he wasn't and hadn't, he will preserve democracy and because of that, I will be voting for him without hesitation. I won't even have to hold my nose. Trump and his cronies in Congress and the Supreme Court will destroy democracy if you -- Yes, YOU! -- let them. And if you let them by deciding not to vote or doing some sort of lame "protest" vote, especially if you live in that handful of states where every presidential vote matters, you will have no one to blame but yourself and others like you. People being apathetic or doing "protest" votes is what got us Trump the first time around.

For fuck's sake, do the right thing.

[dreaminginthedeepsouth]

George Danby

* * *

LETTERS FROM AN AMERICAN

May 20, 2024

HEATHER COX RICHARDSON

MAY 21, 2024

There is a curious dynamic at work in politics these days. Trump does not appear to be trying to court voters to his standard. If he were, he would be reaching out to Nikki Haley voters and trying to moderate his stances. Instead, he is rejecting her voters and doubling down on extreme positions. Rather than trying to appeal to swing voters, he seems to be trying to whip up his right-wing base to engage in violence on his behalf. 

In Minnesota on Friday, Trump echoed fascists when he told supporters, "No matter how hateful and corrupt the communists and criminals we are fighting against may be, you must never forget this is not a nation that belongs to them. This is a nation that totally belongs to you. It belongs to you. This is your home, this is your heritage."

Saturday, at the annual meeting of the National Rifle Association in Dallas, Texas, Trump floated the idea that he could throw out the constitutional amendment limiting a president to two terms. “You know, FDR 16 years—almost 16 years—he was four terms. I don’t know, are we going to be considered three-term? Or two-term?” he asked the crowd. Some yelled, “Three!”

In the same speech, Trump told attendees that the Second Amendment “is very much on the ballot” in November, and he urged gun owners to vote and to “be rebellious.” Then he told the crowd that Biden’s actions were such that if he “were a Republican, he would have been given the electric chair, they would have brought back the death penalty.”

This evening, Trump’s Instagram account posted a video of what a newspaper would look like after a 2024 MAGA win. Under the headline “WHAT’S NEXT FOR AMERICA?” were the words “INDUSTRIAL STRENGTH SIGNIFICANTLY INCREASED DRIVEN BY THE CREATION OF A UNIFIED REICH,” a clear reference to fascism and German dictator Adolf Hitler’s Third Reich.

It is not clear to me how anyone can any longer deny that Trump is promising to destroy our democracy and usher in authoritarianism.

But it is also not clear that he is still a figure that any but the extremes of his base will follow to that end. Hence his emphasis on turning them to violence. 

His lies have become increasingly outrageous. On Friday he told a crowd in Minnesota that he won the state by “a landslide” in 2020 even though he actually lost it by more than 7 points. At the NRA annual meeting, Trump claimed that his former physician told him he is “healthier” and “a better physical specimen” than the famously athletic former president Barack Obama. At that same event he boasted that he won 31 club golf championships; the day before, he boasted that he won 29.

Significantly, he continues to insist that the area around the courtroom is like “Fort Knox.” “There are more police than I’ve ever seen anywhere because they don’t want to have anybody come down,” he said today, “There’s not a civilian within three blocks of the courthouse.” But this is, quite simply, a lie. Virtually no one has turned out to support him. As conservative lawyer George Conway noted today, “There is virtually complete freedom of movement around that courthouse.” 

Social media contributor Eddie Smith, who filmed the handful of Trump protesters in New York today, put it more colorfully. After noting that “MAGA’s not repping in New York,” he added: “Wait a minute! You guys hear that? There is a mouse pissing on a ball of cotton in China. That’s how quiet it is out here.” 

Republican lawmakers are stepping in where Trump’s base followers are not. Republicans attacked as unfit for office 2016 Democratic presidential nominee Hillary Clinton for her use of a private email server. They tried to impeach current president Biden on unfounded accusations that he took bribes from foreign countries. Now they find themselves forced to defend a man who is currently the defendant in a criminal trial that is showing that his associates acted like a criminal gang. As Tom Nichols put it today in The Atlantic, that defense is partly because they are afraid of their own voters. 

Nichols also called out those “now circling Trump like the cold fragments of a destroyed planet” who “resent the people who stuck to their principles.” Those MAGA Republicans lawmakers are, like Trump, trying to gin up anger with lies. Representative Anna Paulina Luna (R-FL), who went to Trump’s Manhattan trial to support him on Thursday, told Jesse Watters of the Fox News Channel and later posted on social media that “[t]hey’re trying to keep cameras out of the courtroom so that the American people don’t see what’s happening.” Former federal prosecutor Ron Filipkowski noted in response that “New York has banned cameras in courtrooms since June 30, 1997.” 

The most important of their lies, though, is that the 2020 presidential election was stolen and that to protect the 2024 election, it is imperative to police the election. This is the same tactic Trump used in 2020, claiming exactly four years ago that “they send in thousands and thousands of fake ballots.”

Those lies have resulted in a huge increase in threats against those whom MAGA perceives as an enemy. Danny Hakim, Ken Bensinger, and Eileen Sullivan reported in the New York Times yesterday that last year, threats against federal judges increased 150% over 2019: 450 federal judges were targeted. Since 2018, threats to members of Congress have increased by 50%, with more than 8,000 such threats last year. More than 80% of local officials also say they have been threatened or harassed.

MAGA lawmakers refuse to say they will accept the results of the 2024 election. On Saturday, Wisconsin senator Ron Johnson refused to commit to that fundamental tenet of our democracy. On Meet the Press on Sunday, Florida senator Marco Rubio also declined to say he would accept the election results. Those vying for the Republican vice presidential nomination, including North Dakota governor Doug Burgum and South Carolina senator Tim Scott, have refused to say they would accept the results. 

Their tactics are working among the Republican base. A CBS News/YouGov poll released this weekend showed that only 47% of Arizona Republicans say they will accept the results of the 2024 election no matter who wins. An equal number—47%—say they will challenge the results if the other side wins. That result is not symmetrical with the Democrats: 82% of them say they will accept the results, while only 14% say they will challenge the results if their opponents win.  

But people are pushing back against the MAGA narrative. On May 15 the Texas Tribune and ProPublica published a story by Jeremy Schwartz about Courtney Gore, a woman who ran for a Texas school board to combat pornography and critical race theory in the schools, only to find there wasn’t any. When she told the public, her former colleagues turned on her. “I’m over the political agenda, hypocrisy bs,” Gore wrote. “I took part in it myself. I refuse to participate in it any longer. It’s not serving our party. We have to do better.”

Steve MacLaughlin, a meteorologist for NBC 6 News in Miami, reported on a new law Florida governor Ron DeSantis signed into law last week that will remove references to climate change from state law. “On Thursday, we reported on NBC 6 News that the government of Florida was beginning to roll back really important climate change legislation and really important climate change language in spite of the fact that the state of Florida, over the last couple of years, has seen record heat, record flooding, record rain, record insurance rates, and the corals are dying all around the state,” MacLaughlin said. “The entire world is looking to Florida to lead in climate change, and our government is saying that climate change is no longer the priority it once was. Please keep in mind, the most powerful climate change solution is the one you already have in the palm of your hands: the right to vote. And we will never tell you who to vote for, but we will tell you this: We implore you to please do your research and know that there are candidates that believe in climate change and that there are solutions, and there are candidates that don’t.”

On May 17, former lieutenant governor of Georgia Geoffrey Duncan noted on Amanpour & Company that Trump had done less for rural voters than any other president in modern history. “At the end of the day,” he said, “we just cannot get into the business in America of electing dishonest human beings to represent us…. The world’s watching us. I’m hoping we get this right.” 

Tonight, Sarah Matthews, who was deputy press secretary for the Trump administration, wrote: “Trump’s continued use of Nazi rhetoric is un-American and despicable. Yet too many Americans are brushing off the glaring red flags about what could happen if he returns to the White House. When someone shows you who they are, believe them.” 

LETTERS FROM AN AMERICAN

HEATHER COX RICHARDSON

[e350tb]

Todesreich - Prologue

Berlin, 1962

Tempelhof was the largest airport in the world, or so the regime claimed. It was also one of the emptiest.

The incoming American ambassador had landed to great fanfare on the tarmac, the state-of-the-art Boeing wheeling up to the long, flat, semicircular terminal as the band played old Sousa tunes. The Washington Post filled the air, just audible from within the blue-furnished interior of the plane. Yet only a few other planes could be seen in the distance, nearly all of them bearing the markings of Deutsche Luft Hansa. The only exception was a sad old plane of the French national airline.

The door opened - the band swapped to the American national anthem as Ambassador Clay stepped through the door. At the bottom waited the delegation - the enemy, as some of the embassy’s new guards had quietly called them. At the front stood the beaming, portly martinet himself, one of the faces of the regime for the past three decades, his uniform glittering in the afternoon sunlight. He enthusiastically thrust an arm forward as Clay reached the bottom of the stairs.

“Herr Clay!” he exclaimed. “Welcome to Berlin.”

Clay’s smile looked like he’d just sucked a lemon, but he maintained diplomatic niceties nonetheless.

“Reichmarschall Goering,” he nodded, taking his hand. “It’s good to be here.”

The staff began their procession down the stairs, some more hesitantly than others. Takashi Shirogane in particular had reason for apprehension - he was one of the few Asians in the Foreign Security Service, and his sexual orientation, already carefully hidden from the Foreign Service, was even more unwelcome in Hitler’s Reich. Had Samuel Holt not personally chosen him as his bodyguard, he’d never had received such an important posting - as it was, he wasn’t sure if it was a blessing or a curse.

He briefly felt the bulge under the jacket that indicated his service pistol and glanced towards Goering’s smug, sweating face. No, he told himself, we’re the first diplomatic mission to Berlin since 1941. It’s probably not a good idea to cause a diplomatic incident fifteen seconds after landing.

He pursed his lips.

Would feel pretty good, though.

As they walked through Tempelhof to the waiting diplomatic cars, their footsteps echoing in the nearly-empty arrivals terminal, Shiro took note of his surroundings. The shops all seemed to be shuttered, save for a single newsagent. There were a few people around, on telephones or in seats, but the animated way they spoke and the fact that they all seemed to be handsome and ‘Aryan’ made Shiro suspect they were plants. A few faded posters called for ‘pure-blooded, independent Germans’ to make new lives in Reichskommissariat Turkestan; it was clear they hadn’t been replaced for a long time. Nearly every official, be they a security guard or a clerk or a bandsman, all wore the insignia of the Luftwaffe.

The Reichsmarschall, who ruled the air force like a personal fief, clearly wanted to make an impression. It had, after all, been his idea to normalise relations with the United States and Great Britain; it was he who had spoken so forcefully about opening markets, about swamping American markets with Fanta and shiny new Volkswagens, and thus saving the Reich’s ailing economy. The whole mission was a cynical ‘hail mary’, the last throw of the dice to keep the ponderous, teetering state on its feet.

Shiro wondered how Goeing would take America’s terms for a trade deal.

They reached the cars - hand-selected, brand new Mercedes-Benz limousines. The Reichsmarschall’s personal car was huge and long, painted a pearl white and accented with gold. It resembled the kind of thing a Hollywood movie star or powerful gangster might drive, it’s obnoxious size augmented by armour plating. The bonnet carried two flags - the stars-and-stripes and the swastika. If Ambassador Clay found this distasteful, he certainly didn’t say it, continuing his conversation with Goering as he climbed into the car.

Shiro climbed into a smaller car a little way back, following Holt and his son (a trainee attache named Matt.) They said nothing as the cars powered away from the airport - Clay and Goering to the Volkshalle, the rest to the new embassy building. They said nothing for a while - the only sound was Matt’s finger’s tapping on the window.

“You tried calling Adam before we left London?” asked Holt.

Shiro shot a glance at the Luftwaffe driver behind the sound-proofed screen. He knew he couldn’t hear, but he didn’t doubt the car was bugged.

“Yes,” he replied. “He didn’t reply.”

“I’m sorry to hear that.”

Shiro understood what that meant. The phones at the embassy would certainly be bugged - if he tried to call Adam again, he risked handing the Nazi government blackmail.

He sighed, gazing back out the window. They left the airport behind, pulling into the grey, concrete streets of modern Berlin. He felt a shiver as he passed each tenement, each sign, each monument labelled with faded or crumbling swastikas.

He felt like he was visiting Rome in its final days.

----

Wewelsburg, 1962

“The new American ambassador has arrived.”

Heinrich Himmler didn’t turn his head - he was gazing out one of the windows of the Obergruppenführersaal - the General’s Hall - over his Westphalian domain. The sun highlighted his midnight-black uniform; he almost resembled an evil spirit from the dark fairy tales the SS man had been told as a child.

“I see Berlin still hasn’t seen sense, then.”

“No, sir. Speer and Bormann have aligned themselves with Goering, albeit for their own reasons.”

“And the Wehrmacht?”

“Keitel still does whatever he thinks Hitler wants, so it’s difficult to say. Manstein favours opening up to the west, as far as we can tell; Model doesn’t, and we believe both are courting Rommel and Guderian.”

“The Navy?”

“Doesn’t care as long as somebody pays for their new U-Boats.”

Himmler grunted.

“We do have the Hitlerjugend,” continued the underling. “And I think we can rely on the Panzerkorps. And as long as Model thinks Hitler’s will-”

“Model is too inflexible,” said Himmler. “Talk to Rommel and Guderian directly. Guderian is a loyalist to the party, and Rommel can be plied easily.”

For a moment, the SS man thought he could see a hint of a smile on Himmler’s gaunt features.

“For the final destiny of the volk to be accomplished,” Himmler continued, “we must thwart these moderates. For that, we need a unified vision.”

He turned his head - the SS man could not see his eyes, his glasses shining in the sunlight.

“Contact Reinhard and the others and tell them to come,” he said. “I think it’s time they knew of the plan. Only the SS can secure the future of our Fuhrer’s vision.”

“Of course,” nodded the SS man.

He clicked his heels and raised his palm.

“Heil Hitler!”

Himmler returned the gesture almost lazily.

“Heil Hitler, Adolf.”

Adolf Eichmann walked away, leaving Himmler to contemplate. He gazed out, once more, at the natural, pure surroundings of Wewelsburg Castle. This, he reminded himself, was what he fought for. 

The rest would be cleansed with fire.

[cathygeha]

REVIEW

The Counterfeit Candidate by Brian Klein

 Action-packed thrill-ride from beginning to end. This story is one of conspiracy, intrigue, crime, and moves between continents and time periods with facility. Settle in for a great story that will leave you thinking…what if?

 What I liked:

* The plot, writing and story told

* The way it made me think about the past and what could have happened if something like this story had truly happened

* The dark gritty reality of the story

* That it had me doing google searches and reading about various places and characters in the book

* Wondering about what would motivate the various characters

* The police procedural aspect of the story

* Being able to hate the bad guys entirely – saw no redeeming qualities in them

* Thinking about who I would cast in the roles of the characters if this were to be made into a movie

* Wondering about the true relationship between Braun and Hitler

* Stepping into the past without actually having to be there

* Reading a debut novel by a new author

 What I didn’t like:

* Exactly what I was meant NOT to like

 Did I enjoy this book? Yes

Would I read more by this author? Yes

 Thank you to MidasPR for the ARC – this is my honest review.

 5 Stars

  BLURB

 Set between Berlin in 1945 and Buenos Aires and San Francisco in 2012 – the story looks at ‘what if’ Hitler didn’t die in the bunker in 1945 and instead escaped to Buenos Aires – how did the subsequent story unfold?

 Buenos Aires, 8th January, 2012 Three thieves carry out the biggest safe depository heist in Argentine history, escaping with more than one hundred million dollars' worth of valuables. Within hours, an encrypted phone call to America triggers a sinister manhunt as the thieves are tracked down and face the consequences. Meanwhile in San Francisco, 22nd January, 2012 Senator John Franklin, hailed as the "Great Unifier", secures the Republican Presidential nomination and seems destined for the Oval Office.  Despite the sixty-seven-year interval and a span of thirteen thousand miles, these events are indelibly linked.   Chief Inspector Nicolas Vargas of the Buenos Aires Police Department and Lieutenant Troy Hembury of the LAPD are sucked into a dark political conspiracy concealing an incredible historical truth which stretches from the infamous Berlin bunker to Buenos Aires and to Washington and which threatens the very heart and soul of American democracy.

    AUTHOR BIO

 Brian is an award-winning Television Director, with over twenty-five years' experience in the industry. His work regularly appears on Netflix, Amazon Prime, BBC and Sky. Amongst his directing credits are twenty-five seasons of the iconic car show, TOP GEAR and five seasons of A LEAGUE OF THEIR OWN ROADTRIP, Sky One's highest rating entertainment show.  He was part of the core team that produced twenty-two series of the controversial car show that became the biggest TV phenomena in the world, with 350 million weekly viewers in 120 countries and  worked extremely closely with TV heavyweights, Jeremy Clarkson and James Corden, high profile comedians, Jack Whitehall, Alan Carr, Tom Allen , Romesh Ranganathan and Micky Flanagan, sports stars turned presenters, Freddie Flintoff, Jamie Redknapp and Ronnie O’Sullivan and TV chefs Jamie Oliver, Gordon Ramsay and Marco Pierre White. He has also directed two feature-length films for BBC Worldwide and five entertainment specials for Netflix. THE COUNTERFEIT CANDIDATE is his debut novel and is to be advertised in The Bookseller shortly. 

 For review copies of ‘The Counterfeit Candidate’ and for further information please contact Sophie Ransom on sophie.ransom@midaspr.co.uk (m) 07714 344482.

    THE COUNTERFEIT CANDIDATE BY BRIAN KLEIN – THE INSPIRATION (IN HIS OWN WORDS)

Trailer: https://f.io/PfYC_WJy

 FROM THE AUTHOR ABOUT THE BOOK

The basic idea for The Counterfeit Candidate had been buried inside my head for over thirty years but, I’d never been brave or confident enough or indeed had the time, to try and write it. In the end, it took the totally unexpected arrival of a pandemic and the first lockdown to turn the idea into a reality. Like millions of people, when the virus struck and the world shut down, I lost all my work and found myself sitting at home wondering what to do. I was a television director, with nothing to direct.

 For the previous thirty years I had directed many of the UK’s most popular and enduring shows, including Top Gear, A League Of Their Own, The Grand Tour, Watchdog and Crimewatch. I was part of the core team that produced twenty-two series of the controversial car show that became the biggest TV phenomena in the world, with 350 million weekly viewers in 120 countries. I worked extremely closely with TV heavyweights, Jeremy Clarkson and James Corden, high profile comedians, Jack Whitehall, Alan Carr, Tom Allen , Romesh Ranganathan and Micky Flanagan, sports stars turned presenters, Freddie Flintoff, Jamie Redknapp and Ronnie O’Sullivan and TV chefs Jamie Oliver, Gordon Ramsay and Marco Pierre White. My diary for March – December 2020 was rammed with new programming involving many of these artists and then Covid closed everything down.

 I sat at home wondering what to do next and then a remarkable event happened. I decided I would try flesh out my idea of the safe deposit robbery, which I knew would be a key element of the story. I thought I would begin my research by finding a real bank in Buenos Aires that housed a vault with a safe depository and I was truly astonished when my initial google search threw up the fact that in January 2011, the Banco Provincia in Buenos Aires, was the victim of one of the biggest safe deposit heists of all time. Thieves tunneled their way in and escaped with an estimated hundred million dollars’ worth of merchandise. It was a bizarre feeling, as I’d had the idea for the robbery twenty years before it happened in real life!

 That was a key moment as it inspired me to begin the writing process and for the following twelve weeks, I worked ten hours a day, seven days a week and became totally obsessed with the project. The end result was a 90,000 word, first draft. No one was more surprised than me or my wife and daughter who witnessed the entire process unfold. My only escape from constant writing was a daily, late night walk with the family dog, Georgie, a gorgeous Frenchador (yes, a Labrador/French Bulldog combo!), who became my thinking companion, when I wanted to explore plot lines.

 I always knew the idea required two timelines, one following Hitler’s secret, post-war life in Argentina and the other, a contemporary setting for the robbery and the 2012 Presidential campaign. I soon appreciated that in effect I was writing two books and the only way I could make that work, was to write them comletely separately. So, the contemporary story came first and then, when that was complete, I set about writing the story of Hitler’s post-war life in Argentina and his outrageous plan for building a Fourth Reich in the United States.

 I have always been fascinated by conspiracy theories. JFK’s assassination, the moon landings, Princess Diana’s car crash, all come to mind. But they don’t come much bigger or more controversial, than the apparent suicides of Adolf Hitler and Eva Braun in the Fuhrer’s notorious bunker in war-torn Berlin on 30th April 1945. It’s a highly contentious event that has generated countless books, articles and documentaries and the truth is that, even today, views differ on what really happened.

 It’s well recorded that in July,1945, just three months after Hitler’s supposed death, Stalin met with Churchill and Roosevelt at the Potsdam Conference in Germany, where he cast doubt on the official story of the Fuhrer’s death. He astonished the two western leaders by claiming that Hitler had eluded his Red Army, escaped from Berlin and was hiding somewhere in Patagonia. The genie was well and truly out of the bottle and a new conspiracy theory was born.

 As a student, I studied Hitler and the rise and fall of The Third Reich at Queen Mary College, where I completed a degree in History and Modern Politics. I’ve always had a gut feeling that Hitler wasn’t the kind of man to take his own life, but then again, there is a great deal of compelling evidence, and eye-witness testimony, to suggest he did. However, for the purposes of writing The Counterfeit Candidate, I went with my gut. I couldn’t help wondering, “What if….”

 THE IDEA

 What if Hitler escaped from Berlin at the end of the war and built a new life, using a false identity and perpetuated his dynasty. How would that singular event change the course of history and impact on the lives of millions of people around the world.

 What if, in the present day, Republican Senator John Franklin, an American born citizen on the verge of securing the Presidency, was, in reality, Adolf Hitler’s grandson. A man, groomed from birth by his family to become the most powerful leader in the world.

 The contemporary part of the story is set in January, 2012 and chaos breaks out, when a sensational safe deposit robbery, at a seemingly impregnable bank vault in Buenos Aires, ignites the possibility of exposing this incredible historical truth. The three audacious thieves who carry out the heist, have no idea the contents of Box 1321, one of ninety raided in the robbery, contain original documentation and film that can expose the real identity of the presidential candidate. They are hunted down in a blood-soaked manhunt in pursuit of the explosive materials hidden inside the box.

 For The Counterfeit Candidate, I created a fictional account of Hitler’s escape from Berlin, involving a perilous night-time drive through enemy lines from Berlin to the coastal port of Kiel ,set on the north-west coast of Germany. Then a seven-week sea passage on a dilapidated cargo boat, transports the Fuhrer, Eva Braun and Hitler’s personal secretary, Martin Bormann to the Argentine port of Rio Gallegos. The location I chose for their new life, El Calafate in the province of Santa Cruz, in Patagonia, is a real town.

  I named the farmhouse which became Hitler’s new base, ‘El Blondie,” as I liked the conceit that the name of the Fuher’s new home would be a permanent memorial to his beloved dog, who he had left behind in the bunker. A creature he loved far more than any human.

  The idea of Hitler and Bormann creating and building one of the biggest pharmaceutical companies in the world, seemed plausible to me. It would provide them with a huge multinational vehicle, perfect for laundering the vast sums of money they had taken out of Germany. It would also give them a platform of power and respectability for Hitler’s son, enabling him to set up a new home in the United States, where he could father an heir, who could go on to become a world leader, achieving the ultimate prize of the Presidency.

 Martin Boorman is a key figure in the book and the arch manipulator behind the masterplan to land Hitler’s grandson in the White House.

 I decided it was essential to try and make this part of the story feel as authentic as possible. So, I weaved into the narrative a number of real-life characters. Early on, we meet Hitler’s support team who were living in wretched conditions inside the infamous bunker. His driver, Erich Kempka, personal valet, Hans Linge, private physician, Thomas Morrell and his long-time chef, Constanze Manziarly.

 Later in the story, once Hitler is living In Argentina, we see him interact with two fellow notorious Nazis who we know, really did escape to Patagonia, Josef Mengele and Adolf Eichmann. One of the chapters covers the audacious abduction of Eichmann by the Israeli secret service, Mossad, in 1960, which was a global news event at the time. In my story, Hitler tries in vain to help Eichmann avoid capture but to no avail.

 I also created a number of prominent scenes between the Fuhrer and the iconic couple who ruled Argentina, Juan and Eva Peron. If Hitler did settle in El Calafate, there is no question he would have been supported and protected by the Peron regime, who were openly pro-Nazi supporters

 In one particular encounter, the couple are guests of honour at Hitler’s 60th birthday party, where Maria Callas makes a cameo appearance singing an aria from the Fuhrer’s favourite Wagner opera, Rienzi.

 Lockdown meant I had no choice but to plough the internet for research for many aspects of the story, although fortunately I had prior knowledge of Hitler from my University studies and I had travelled extensively across South America, both for filming and social purposes. When it came to locations, Buenos Aires provided a wonderful, stunning backdrop for so many scenes. One of my favourite locations featured in the book is without doubt the renowned, Recoleta Cemetry, considered by many to be the most beautiful burial ground in the world.

 One of the principal figures in the story, Matias Paz, is a former fascist mercenary whose office happens to be located next to the cemetry. He regularly visits the mausoleum of one of his idols, Argentine boxing legend, Louis Angel Firpo, who was known as the “Wild Bull of the Papas.” Paz holds a number of key meetings with his staff, sitting on a stone bench in front of the giant marble statue of his hero, which provides a stunning backdrop.

   The truth is, when I began the project in Lockdown, I had no idea if I was capable of completing it and trust me, when I say, no one was more surprised than me, that the book finally got written. However, almost as challenging as writing the story was securing a literary agent and subsequently a publisher, but somehow I managed it and here we are !

Eva Braun

Eva & Hitler with their dogs

[punkponyprincess-blog]

On Punching a Nazi...

This whole "Punch a Nazi" phenomenon is a microcosm of an oncoming civil war that will happen. Absolutely no doubt. Bannon is counting on the 10 year and the 90 year cycle of history replaying itself, what he is not counting on is people learning from history. He believes fervently that people are predictable and that Liberal values preclude violence against itself, that White America is too sell centred and self-interested and selfish to turn on itself. And I think he is wrong because all the pieces are not in play yet. The facts remain that despite becoming president Trump represents a minority he lost by 3 million votes and I take comfort knowing that failure gnaws at Trump, constantly. Trump only got elected by gaming a system he said he disapproved of -- until he used it. Trump supporters who encourage the tearing down the establishment are supporting nothing of the sort; they're supporting the tearing down of protections for the most dependent people and parts of society, strengthening a power-base within that establishment for a new kind of American Reich. The establishment that enables totalitarian control by capitalism and corporatism by patriarchy and by religious extremist fundamentalism still exists; Trump/Bannon/Pence are are simply trying to have fewer checks and balances that stop it from becoming a totalitarian state. For Trump its about money and ego, for Pence it is about christo-fascism, for Bannon it is a global white power movement. Now, is Trump true to his promise? Yes, well... kinda. Its something of a Faustian pact though. The Swamp was drained but only in order to fill it with a more toxic sludge made up of yet more self-interested billionaires and manipulable hucksters like Kellyanne Conway and people unqualified for the job who paid their way into the position, like Betsy DeVos. Like any Faustian pact, Trump supporters are finding they made a deal with the Devil, and the Devil is good to his word but then he adds to the deal -- obviating any benefits of the deal. This is, in a nutshell, The Art of the Con. Lets be clear: Trump does not care about you, or your mining village or your community or your schools or hospitals, he does not even care about "America". A truly "Great America" would really mess up his plans. Trump cares only about Trump. Pence, Bannon and his whole cabinet do not care about you, they care about their sick little ideology. Bannon cares about establishing a global white superculture with Muslims as the new enemy. Pence is a christo-fascist and loves his twisted religion; as for the rest: the Republicans are along for the ride, for the power. So lets skip to violence: to "Punching A Nazi". Trump supporters are like all enablers of the alt-right and, just like the Nazis, they respond to a good punching. When Oswald Mosley was very publicly flattened-out by workers at a rally it revealed the pathetic illusion of a "master" or a "super race". I personally advocate violence against these people (let's personify this evil and call this angry white mob "John"). History shows that negotiation, peace and contrition does not work with this kind of alt-right Nazi Trumpist-toting "John". Dispassionate, reasoned attempts at intelligent discourse with Trump supporters -- the angry wall of "John" -- is not only pointless, but actively dangerous. Its serves only to unfocus and distract. Let's be clear. Trump supporters -- this wall of "John" -- are aberrant and loud but they're nothing special. We've seen these people before. En-masse "John" appears to be unified but is just a huddle of confused self-interest groups united only under a fake-billionaire demagogue (BTW we have no proof of Trump's success or immense riches, so I call bullshit until we see his financials). Those of us that oppose Trump are not "losers" despite the "John's" protestations -- a Trump supporter did not back a "winner", "John" is not on a "winning side" because Trump only won with a minority vote and scraped through the Electoral College because he gamed the system by getting very stupid people to chant simple slogans at Rallies -- like the trolling "John" repeats on the internet -- to believe the Trump rhetoric. The stupider they are the slower it takes for them to see Trump is merely a fraud, a huckster and in this sense "John" who has still not seen through the lie yet is one of the stupider ones. In this game everyone other than Trump suffers to Bannon (and we will see over time even Trump will fall) and if that is the case then we have nothing more to lose by fighting "John" -- by punching a Nazi. Bannon has stacked it so there are no winners here: Trump supporters are merely representative of something considerably more ordinary and pathetic: "John" is a puppet for the white supremacist faction behind Trump. "John" is either too stupid to see this or too evil to even try and deny it. So I advocate violence against the whole Trump superculture and that means taking on "John" -- his supporters -- at every opportunity. Punch a Nazi? Well yes, by all means. The Trump regime is the personification of bad faith with malice aforethought. The only non-violent solution takes a massive global effort to marginalise Nazism/Trump from public life in our society. It is our job when fighting "John", to keep the torn down parts of the establishment working, to do what the Judiciary's executive powers allow -- to refuse to relinquish the parts of the establishment Trump wants to tear down in order to make his power even stronger. When, however, someone like "John", or any Trump supporter comes along and is being feted in the mainstream, there are no other options available to marginalised groups but violence. So let's do this, there are more of us than "John"; so the odds are good that Trump, "John" and all those cronies will suffer. Cowards do not like to suffer. That leaves Bannon and his global plan to spread his ideological poison (he is already courting Le Pen) and a highly-visible loss and destabilisation of Trump in America and a hunting down of all the "Johns" for post Trump-era retribution will act as a message to alt-right/Nazis to "stay under your rock until you die of old age". There are essential aspects to the Nazi/Trump mythology -- and the whole internet troll culture that "John" subscribes to that attempts to shut down reasoned argument, because reasoned argument is the enemy of people like "John". It just does not work when facts fail when discussion fails when reason fails. After a long time discussing with christo-fascists and alt-right demagogues only violence prevails. Debate does not work with "John". So, when us "SJWs" kick back violently at being kicked by Trump supporters they spit "You Liberals are not so peace loving are you?" Well no, firstly I am not a Liberal and secondly I am not a pacifist -- not when a survival imperative kicks in. "Punching a Nazi?", hunting down a Trump supporter? Covertly targeting a "John"? -- reveals it. "John", you own it all -- you encouraged a violent opposing force because you behaved like such a jackass; you leave little by way of peaceful counter-punch. The smugness of the Trump supporter reveals you are not "winners" or "betters" but the self-satisfied position of a person who has forgotten what it is to be a person, a mensch. And I know that "John" is vulnerable, he can be got at and even if "John" has forgotten it we know you are capable of fear, of pain, of vulnerability -- and you are a minority he has things he holds dear within his ideology, his health (such as it is post-ACA), his home, work and family -- all those can be reached. So, when a Trump supporter will not listen: the next step is to replace their smugness with fear, eliminate the mystique so that it puts the lie to the idea that their sick dumb little ideology is an armour against the pains of modernity. Making America Great Again was never going to happen by embracing the embodiment of a swastika in a wig and orange spray tan. So when this is all over, and it will crash and burn and be just another short-lived period of American madness -- like McCarthyism (but with a whole lot more blood and ill-will in its wake) -- I expect there to be quite a bit of retribution, an American entnazifizierung. We're stacking up the reasons to "hunt down a John" in the same way Trump supporters had hounded us. Sure, the "Johns" of this fallen blip of a regime will whine and seek protections as the witchunts happen -- those Chinese-made red caps will be quietly destroyed and people will claim they never voted for the man... But for "John", emboldened by his love of hate, there will be a reckoning. I'm not going to stand in the way of the next one directed at all the "Johns" in America because you did not stand in the way of attacks directed at people like me. Not until every last one of you have crawled back from under the rock you came from; because punching a Nazi, an Entnazifizierung absolutely fuc'k'n works and it's precisely what you will get from us "peace-loving SJW faggots". claire.fox - 8 Feb 2017

[newagesispage]

                                                                  NOVEMBER         2017

 *****Bill Murray has been singing at Carnegie Hall promoting the new album with Jan Vogler and friends.

*****A beautiful eastern black rhino was born on October 2nd. There are only a few hundred left in Africa.

*****NASA just found 20 new habitable planets.

*****Loving , loving ,loving At Home with Amy Sedaris. Great guest stars and Von Mueller’s: The official maple syrup of the Third Reich and other humor of that ilk. It is like Pee Wees playhouse, Mister Rogers, Martha Stewart, local DIY shows, SNL and SCTV all rolled into one. Go Amy!!

*****The World Series did not include the Cubs. Astros V Dodgers.

*****The first African American full time Nascar driver since 1971, Darrell Wallace Jr. will drive for Richard Petty.

*****Some drunks at a wedding reception in Illinois jumped the fence at Wildlife Prairie Park to chase bison. The newlyweds had already left.

*****San Juan mayor Carmen Yulin Cruz called out Scary clown for his slow response to the Puerto Rico disaster.

*****Coming to Broadway this fall: The Cher Show!!

*****Robin Thede has a new show on BET called The Rundown.

*****So, Tim Allen was whining on Norm Macdonald’s program about Last Man Standing being cancelled. Allen said, ”There is nothing more dangerous to Hollywood than a funny likeable conservative.” What?? I could not even get thru one episode of that show. I think he was damn lucky that thing stayed on the air as long as it did. Friends and I were shocked whenever we would notice the show was still going.

***** Trump released demands to overhaul the green card system by hiring 10 thousand more immigration officers and more money to build the wall.

*****OJ Simpson is out of prison and his first meal was at McDonald’s. That is so fucking American.** Speaking of the arches: Mulan sauce.. that was a thing?

*****On the great new show White Famous, I believe I saw Jamie Foxx’s balls under that skirt!!

*****Stephen Colbert and Ted Danson share an ancestor. The same is true of Mary Steenburgen and William H. Macy.

*****Ines Rau, a French model is Playboys first transgender playmate.

*****Things sure exploded on The View because of the phone call Trump made about a fallen soldier. Rep. Frederica Wilson claims that he did not mention La David Johnson’s name and told his widow that he knew what he was getting into. **He seems to have no sensitivity but then we knew that. He is the Greg Stillson of 2017!

*****What a great couple of weeks on the late night shows. Thank you for Conan and his horse story on Colbert. Thanks for Paul and Dave and Biff on Kimmel. ** Kimmel’s son Billy is getting ready for a second surgery and there will be some guest hosts with Shaq, Dave Grohl, Channing Tatum and Jennifer Lawrence.

*****David S. Pumpkins now has an animated show and has really become a thing.

*****Dale Earnhardt Jr. and wife are having a baby.

*****It looks like the Czech Republic now elected a leader just like Trump in their choice of Andrej Babis.

*****Russian sanctions have still not been implemented and the deadline was October 1. Hey scary clown: Just signing the measure means nothing!!

*****Diane Lake, a young former member of Manson’s family wrote a book about letting go of Charlie. She promoted ‘One of the Family’ on Dr. Phil.

*****So.. It seems that the prototypes of the wall are near the Mexican border and it is drawing gawkers from across the border. So.. The wall to prevent illegals is actually drawing them to the site to check it out. Priceless.

*****Judas Priest is going on tour.

*****Mark Wahlberg hopes God will forgive him for Boogie Nights. C’mon own your fucking art.. You were lucky to be in suck a brilliant film.

*****Dave Letterman received his Mark Twain prize for American humor on October 22. He now claims, “I’m now the most humorous person in the world.”

*****East Peoria’s Joe Girardi is out as the NY Yankees manager.

*****Her it comes: The final season of Major Crimes.. This is a tough one, what quality acting there is on that show.

*****Days alert: It breaks my heart that they brought back Dr. Rolf back and immediately killed him off. At least he was in Abigail’s dream and boy was he hairy!!Please let him have a twin like on Night Court.** Why are characters heading to Memphis? Will they meet with someone who can help answer questions about Will Horton? Will Paul find out the truth before anyone else and will he keep it to himself? If Will is alive, is he the same person or has he went thru big changes? ** Rumors are out there that EJ could be headed back..fingers crossed.

*****Texas inmates donated $53,863 for hurricane Harvey relief.

*****Has Mueller filed his first charges in the Russia investigation?

*****Trump’s approach to Iran seems to be undoing all of Obama’s efforts. This, of course is the ultimate goal of the Trumpers so good news for them. Trumps use of the term ’Arabian gulf’ has helped to unify the diplomatic and revolutionary sides of the Islamic republic.

*****Too Funny to Fail takes on the subject of the failure of The Dana Carvey Show.

*****Robert Plant has a new album, ‘Carry Fire’ which he will support with a 2018 tour.

*****Congress did not reauthorize the healthcare program for kids so 9 million kids are booted off healthcare.

*****Bob’s Burgers did a great episode about brunch drunks. Oh that is such a thing!!

*****The new administration just loves pollution. Just one more thing to add to the ever growing list of climate change dismantling is Scott Pruitt helping to get rid of the clean power plan. I am sure their corporate polluter friends and Obama haters are pretty happy about that.

*****Scarlett Johansen and Colin Jost made their first public appearance as a couple at an SNL after party.

*****Word is that they have found Paul Revere’s outhouse and they are examining its contents.

*****I’m so glad that Curb is back!!! J.B. Smoove is killing it as usual.

*****Roman Polanski has a new film, ‘Based on a true story’ which stars his wife Emmanuelle Seigner.

*****Metamora High school in Illinois is reeling from a racist video put out by some members of the football team.  The entire school system of Metamora which includes Riverview and Germantown hills was closed October 3 due to a mass shooting scare.

*****The newest Eastwood film is the 15:17 to Paris.

*****Facebook had to turn over about 3,000 ads for inspection. Facebook employees offered themselves up to the Trump and Clinton campaigns. Only Trump took them up on it. Google and Twitter also embedded themselves in his campaign.  The staff used all they were taught to put bogus Hillary info out there and penetrate the rural vote.  They pushed a lot of buttons with infrastructure in middle America. The platform churned out 50 to 60 thousand ads a day.  By pinpointing the things you care about most , they seemed to use the trickery well because it worked.

*****They found the tomb of Santa in Turkey.

*****Nick Cage has his own candy bar in Japan.

*****Chris Elliott is on the Last man on earth. Thank you God!

*****The country talked about guns for a few days again after the Vegas shooting. No license or registration is needed in Vegas. Machine guns are perfectly legal. As saner people have mentioned: The GOP insists that the Vegas shooter’s gun arsenal is a right but medical treatment for his 500 + victims is merely a privelage. Well put Desirina Boskovich.** The American college of physicians says that gun violence is a public health issue and calls for banning automatic and semi -automatic weapons.** 78% of Americans don’t own guns.**Wayne LaPierre was on Face the Nation to reinforce that anti -gun people are elites. The only sane thing he said was that we need to enforce the laws we have in place better to start with.

*****Sen. Bob Corker is ranting about Trump and the ‘adult day care center’ we call the White house.

***** Oh my God.. Rick Springfield is on AHS. Whoa! Sometimes that show just amazes you with its direction. Hell yea.

*****Brett Ratner and Jared Leto will bring Hugh Hefner to the big screen.

*****Jedediah Bila has left the View and has been replaced by Meghan McCain.

*****Colin Kaepernick consulted a Navy seal about his peaceful protest. The Seal told him that he didn’t see a problem with the kneeling at the games. He found it more respectful than sitting. People seem very divided on this issue  but this country has always disagreed on their version of patriotism. Wearing the flag s disrespectful, kneeling during our anthem is not. Perhaps the players should hold AR 15’s instead of taking a knee. Our President does not seem to have a problem with protesters showing up armed.**Pence made a big show of walking out of the game after the kneel. Only loves the team if they think as he does. It was an expensive stunt.

*****California has been experiencing the biggest wildfires in state history.

***** Hmm. I see a movie with Liam Neeson , Clint Eastwood and Kurt Russell.

***** The Pioneer Woman speaks of a granny named Inee.

*****So, I rarely watch Fallon but that Hillary show was awkward and special. The respect and beautiful words from the female writers and Miley brought tears.

*****Can’t wait to see Suburbicon.. looks fab!!

*****350 barrels of oil were spilled in the gulf of Mexico.

*****Reporters were arrested in St. Louis as they interviewed demonstrators. This is in violation of their first amendment.

*****Anti- abortion advocate Rep. Tim Murphy had a bad week as congress was trying to pass a bill that would ban and bring criminal charges against those who have abortions after 20 weeks. His mistress Shannon Edwards claims that he asked her to get an abortion but it turned out the pregnancy was just a scare.  He now says that it is his staff who wrote the pro- life rhetoric he spewed. He has resigned.**Scary clown wants to broaden the rules to let more employees deny birth control coverage.

*****The Rolling Stones have 18 recordings pulled together for On Air. The collection of 1963- 1965 BBC show clips were never commercially released.

***** Harvey Weinstein? Secret employees? Everybody knew?  WTF?  Obviously we have some extreme self indulgence and mental health issues here. Why can’t powerful men control themselves? **Many of the liberal donations he made have been donated to charity.** The list keeps growing with thanks to Ronan Farrow and his exhaustive work in the story on The New Yorker. Weinstein’s wife has left him so he is in for some shit. ** More women are coming forward about other powerful men as well like R Kelly, Mark Helprin and James Toback.** When the movie is made of the Harvey scandal, I hope they cast Jeff Garland in the title role.**In the wake of the Weinstein tsunami there have been protests at public gatherings for other men with pasts .A retrospective for Roman Polanski  did not turn out so well.

*****Meet the Press and the AFI are having  film fest. Look for the film Heroin(e).

*****Paul Manafort and Rick Gates were indicted for hiding foreign bank accounts, money laundering, false statements, conspiracy against the U.S. just to name a few. There is now a viral video with the music from To Russia with love that shows Trump and various staff being taken in by the FBI. I teared up.. Could it happen??** George Papadopolous has pled guilty.

*****Kathy Griffin is slamming Harvey Levin and Andy Cohen. She claims that Levin was egging people on about her Trump head stunt. Her Mother in a retirement community and her sister dyeing of cancer were receiving death threats. Cohen who produced her ‘My life on the D-list” is taking over her New Year duties on CNN.  Her claim about him is he often tried to get her do coke and he is generally an ass.

*****Actor Anthony Rapp claims Kevin Spacey was sexually aggressive with him when he was 14 and Spacey was in his 20’s.  Kevin denied and apologized and came out.

***** You must check out Denis O’Hare as Edgar Allan Poe on PBS American Masters.

*****Corey Feldman wants to expose the pedophiles of Hollywood for 10 mil.

*****Does it bother anybody else that those on cooking shows never seem to use spatulas to scrape the bowl? They pour and move on.

*****Check out the Comedy Get Down with Cedric the Entertainer, Eddie Griffin, DL Hughley, Charlie Murphy and George Lopez.

*****Larry Flynt is offering 10m million for info leading to the impeachment of scary clown.

*****Ben Stiller takes on the 2015 prison escape of David Sweet and Richard Matt. The Showtime production will star Benecio Del Toro, Paul Dano and Patricia Arquette

*****Jemele Hill is back from her suspension form ESPN because of her tweets. Let the girl stand up for her beliefs.

*****Atlanta has voted to decriminalize weed, now if they can get the rest of Georgia on board!

***** So it seems the boy scouts are going to now admit girls.

*****It has been nice to see Charley Pride every now and again lately.

*****Hooray!! Jessica Tuck is on General Hospital.. Oh, How I have missed you Jessica Tuck.. Where have you been??

*****A report says that white nationalists are flocking to get their DNA tested  to prove their white heritage with some mixed results. Of course they often find they have African ancestry or other  blood they may not want to admit is running thru them. Duh!

*****Nellie (Cornell Iral Haynes Jr.)  was arrested for rape on his tour bus at a Wal Mart.

*****Chicago pastor Robbie Wilkerson and his wife Tasha were sentenced to 37 months and 12 months respectively for defrauding a summer food program for impoverished kids.

*****The 207 Nobel Peace Prize has gone to Jacques Dubochet and Joachim Frank and Richard Henderson for developing cryo-electron microscopy for the high resolution structure determination of biomolecules in solution.

*****Steven Avery of Making a Murderer has been denied a new trial.

*****Roseanne Cash is getting some backlash for her comments. Cash wrote, ”The NRA funds domestic terrorism.” Her life has been filled with threats because of her views with smears like, ”your Dad would be ashamed of you.” Some ‘fans’ obviously did not understand her Father.

*****The White house thinks NBC should apologize after their report about Rex Tillerson threatening to resign after clashes with Trump. The scuttlebutt is that Pence intervened. Word is that Tillerson called Trump a fucking moron. Rex says he never considered leaving.

*****Senate intelligence can’t seem to get anywhere on the Trump dossier because everyone refuses to cooperate.  The committee has reported they are still interviewing and going thru documents. The investigation is now in exploratory mode. They do know that Russia is currently active in meddling in our election process and our vote tallies were accurate. Republican members of the bipartisan panel are praising the Obama administration for their complete cooperation.

*****Marilyn Manson had to cancel 9 shows after being crushed by a stage prop!

*****R.I.P. Tom Petty, the victims of the Rt. 91 country music fest in Las Vegas, S.I. Newhouse Jr., Bunny Sigler, Ralphie May, Bob Schiller, Fats Domino, John F. Dunsworth, Robert Guillaume, Gord Downie, Richard Wilbur, Sima Wall, Jack Bannon and victims of the NY Halloween attack.