“Guilty on 34 Counts

           

GUILTY

GUILTY

GUILTY

            Yesterday ex-president Trump’s New York jury found him guilty on all 34 counts of  felony fraud. Trump corrupted elections by hiding information from voters. For me, this moment demonstrates that the attempts of a political party to disassemble the foundations of our democracy took a blow. Supporters of Trump couldn’t wait to get before their fan bases to try to undermine the rule of law.

            It’s important to point out that this man, his family members, and his business don’t do well once a judge and jury examine evidence provided against them. I found out recently that some of my Trump supporting friends and family members didn’t even know that he was found guilty of Defamation and Sexual Assault against E. Jean Carroll. Another jury concluded that Trump committed sexual assault and defamation with Trump having to pay $5 million and $83.3 million in damages. These same people manage to spin the $355 million plus interest fraud verdict in New York into proof that Trump’s a risk-taker, which they find admirable.

            This same group of people insists that Trump’s being unfairly persecuted when confronted with the pending 37 felony count Mar-a-Lago Documents case surrounding his removal and retention of national security documents. They explain away the Fulton County Election Subversion case because they still want to believe that Trump won 2020. One eighty-year-old relative claimed recently that if he’d been younger, he would’ve been participating in the attack on the Capitol on January 6, 2021. The Department of Justice Election Subversion felony charges, to him, are false claims against true patriots.

            What’s next for people like me, surrounded by MAGA madness?

 

                SPEAK.

            SPEAK OUT OFTEN.

            SPEAK OUT TRUTHFULLY.

       

 

Copyright 2024 Elizabeth Abrams Chapman

“Heartbreak and Horror”

            Right now, my throat tightens to fight back tears as today’s events play out. Only it isn’t some kind of game. It isn’t a distant country. It isn’t someone else’s home or problem.
            This reality is our problem caused by angry, gutless people who cultishly defended a sociopath. He twisted and manipulated with ease all of the weakest points within our society. He and his enablers stoked the discontent of racists and misogynists and fanned their smoldering embers of distrust into flames of “righteous” outrage. He had no substance. He relied on smoke and mirrors—magic tricks that never hold up in the light of day.
            In horror, I watch the evacuation of members of the House and Senate. I listen, dumbstruck, as reports come through that key people responsible for the function of our government have been swept away to safety. A woman, trying to break into one of the chambers holding congressmen, was shot. I celebrate her death. Consequences are a bitch.
            There’s no control over the Capitol right now because we have no leadership. We have a want-to-be dictator. The full measures of our legal system need to come after Trump, all of his enablers, the followers. White House officials huddle in their offices and wait for Trump to give a longer, stronger statement than a few inept tweets. 
            Biden, the President Elect, supplies a need our resident narcissist cannot fulfill. Biden renounces the insurrection and rejects the selfish interests of the anarchy and chaos spawned by Trump’s insistence that our election was fraud-filled. His call for Trump to step up will set a tone for Trump to stop the siege. “The words of a President matter.”
            However, we all know that Trump is incapable of doing what is best for anyone but himself. Instead of showing leadership, he posts a short Twitter video that continues his lies about a “landslide election” that was “stolen” and although the election was taken away from him, his followers, and the country, they should “go home in peace.” He doesn’t denounce the mob rule that spews throughout D.C. screaming, “This is Civil War!” An unstable despot-wannabe grabs hold of conspiracy theories, making them true and real while undermining evidence and data by shouting louder than anyone else, “Fake!”
           
            The optimist in me stays glued to our reconvened Congress’s speeches, and the heartbreak weighs heavily on me. Some determined words bring me hope. I listen for those who will change the horror of today into honor for tomorrow.

Frozen in place?

Copyright 2021 Elizabeth Abrams Chapman