Archive for September 25, 2018

America’s Greatest Antifa Warriors

America’s CEO/Donald Trump has been steadily guiding America toward an authoritarian, corporatist, fascist state ever since he came into office much to the delight of Republicans, who’ve been clamoring for this ever since Franklin Roosevelt created the New Deal. The 2016 election was their coup and Trump is now ramming through the Republican’s agenda (like last year’s tax cuts that favor the rich) that has already given power to top corporations in America for years to come while drastically reducing the capability of the average American consumer to protest or dissent. Or basically democracy…but only for the rich.

Now our orange haired man child is whining about the antifa protesters who have been engaging against white supremacists in many protest marches around the country. Trump claims it is the antifa groups who are the violent parties and America should fear them more than the Neo-Nazis. This is propaganda that would have made Joseph Goebbels very proud. We have volumes of evidence of the violence perpetrated by Nazis throughout history. And yet Trump vilifies the people who fight against them. You know who else were huge antifa warriors?; every single American man and woman who fought against Nazi Germany and Fascist Italy during World War II. By claiming antifa doesn’t represent America’s values is a slap in the face of every American who gave their lives during World War II. It’s unbelievable that so many supposedly patriotic Republicans are not only buying this bullshit but supporting it. We’re pretty sure the last great Republican president, Dwight D. Eisenhower, would probably be in the anti-fascist camp.  Wake up America!

Antifa activists are in good company with another group of prominent Americans: the brave, patriotic men and women who fought against the Nazis and Italian Fascists during World War II.

Antifa activists are in good company with another group of prominent Americans: the brave, patriotic men and women who fought against the Nazis and Italian Fascists during World War II.

The Untouchables: 2018

Paul Manafort is the latest former associate of Donald Trump to flip and it has many speculating as to whether this is the beginning of the end for the orange haired man child who is America’s CEO/Dictator. Most people agree that things aren’t looking good for Trump, but then again things have never looked good for the Donald during his entire disastrous presidency and yet he is still — unfrickingbelievably — president.

This whole clusterf*cked trauma brings to mind for us old farts here at the Bucket, the early 1960s crime drama The Untouchables starring Robert Stack as Eliot Ness, which has been constantly played in syndication on TV for the last fifty years. In the episodes, Ness and his band of incorruptible G-men pursued noted criminal gangsters like Dutch Schultz, Frank Nitti and the kingpin, Al Capone.  The lead-in and ending graphic for the show was very stylistic and combined with the iconic theme music, set the mood perfectly for the drama. We can just imagine a possible reality reboot of the show with Robert Mueller leading his intrepid team of FBI agents as they descend on Trump Tower to bring to justice members of the Republican crime syndicate like Manafort, Michael Cohen and of course, the dear leader, the real Alphonse Capone of the 21st century, Donald Trump.

A reality reboot of the fantastic early 1960s crime drama. The Untouchables, is in the works with Robert Mueller leading his intrepid squad of FBI agents as they descend upon Trump Tower trying to bring to justice members of the current Republican crime syndicate like Paul Manafort, Michael Cohen and dear leader, Donald Trump.

A reality reboot of the fantastic early 1960s crime drama. The Untouchables, is in the works with Robert Mueller leading his intrepid squad of FBI agents as they descend upon Trump Tower trying to bring to justice members of the current Republican crime syndicate like Paul Manafort, Michael Cohen and dear leader, Donald Trump.

The Perfect Visual Metaphor

It’s been a nerve-wracking several days for the inhabitants of North Carolina and South Carolina as they have dealt with the preparation for and are still enduring the effects of Hurricane Florence, which is now slowly spinning over South Carolina, still packing tropical storm force winds and drenching the region with record rainfall and flooding reminiscent of last year’s Hurricane Harvey in Houston.

While watching the coverage of the storm online, we noticed a web cam set up on Frying Pan Tower off the coast of Cape Fear in North Carolina. The cam was set up focusing mainly on the American flag fluttering in the wind with the stormy seas rolling behind it. As time went on, the violent winds of Hurricane Florence battered and eventually ripped the flag to shreds. We thought: what a perfect visual metaphor for what category 5 shitstorm, Donald Trump, is doing to American democracy and rule of law.

Much like Hurricane Florence demolished the American flag at Frying Pan Tower in North Carolina, category 5 shitstorm, Donald Trump, is shredding American democracy and rule of law.

Much like Hurricane Florence demolished the American flag at Frying Pan Tower in North Carolina, category 5 shitstorm, Donald Trump, is shredding American democracy and rule of law.

The Republican Crime Syndicate

Things are heating up in the Robert Mueller investigation as more and more of Donald Trump’s cronies are being indicted or flipping on the orange haired man child. The list keeps growing of people close to Trump who are being exposed for corruption. The list includes: Paul Manafort, Trump’s former campaign chairman; Michael Flynn, Trump’s former National Security Advisor; Rick Gates, former business partner of Manafort; and Michael Cohen, Trump’s former lawyer and ‘fixer’. One of Trump’s former campaign advisors, George Papadopoulos, just received a puny 14 day sentence for lying to the FBI. In addition to these crooks, there is also one of the first GOP congressmen to support Trump, New York’s Chris Collins, who’s been indicted on insider trading and California’s Duncan Hunter, who is accused along with his wife (who he promptly blamed completely) of misusing campaign funds.  Throw in corrupt former EPA chief Scott Pruitt, former HHS Secretary Tom Price, Donald Trump Jr., who may be implicated because of his Trump Tower meeting and of course, Rudy Giuliani, Trump’s current lawyer who looks like he came straight out of a mafia movie and has done nothing but constantly lie and embarrass himself since he was hired by Trump. It’s a rogue’s gallery of con artists who could have easily rubbed elbows with the likes of Capone against the FBI G-men in the 1920s and 30s. Hey, whaddya’ know…Trump is fighting against the FBI just like those hoodlums.

The indictments are now prompting America’s CEO/Dictator to become unglued. He has accused Attorney Confederate General Jefferson Beauregard Sessions III of hurting Republican chances in the midterms.  He continues his assault on the free press stating that it is the ‘enemy of the people’.  Bob Woodward’s new book release paints a pretty dismal picture of the Trump White House and has Trump champing at the bit. Now the orange megalomaniac is blowing his top with his own staff because of a recent op-ed piece in the New York Times which pretty much states that Trump is an addle-brained lunatic incapable of making sound decisions.

So, logically with all this mounting evidence of a completely incompetent and dangerous administration, why aren’t the supposedly ‘morally superior’ Republicans removing the orange haired man child from office? Like we’ve said in previous posts, the Trump administration is doing exactly what the Republican’s corporate overlords want him to do; provide daily distractions in the media while the Republican corporate lackeys in the Senate, House and the courts systematically dismantle laws and regulations therefore enabling the corporate oligarchy to reap enormous wealth in the process. If that means breaking the law, then so be it. The Republican party is no longer a party; their actions indicate they are now a crime syndicate worthy of praise from the Godfather himself.

With so many indictments of Donald Trump associates, twenty-first century Republicans can no longer call themselves a party; they're a crime syndicate.

With so many indictments of Donald Trump’s associates, twenty-first century Republicans can no longer call themselves a party; they’re a crime syndicate.

 

Christians: The Original Sheeple

One of the most astonishing thing about Trump supporters that is unbelievably and stupefyingly mind boggling is that many of them are in fact, evangelical christians. Some are even speaking in tongues to protect Donald Trump. We’ve commented ad infinitum about their willingness to follow not just Trump but George W. Bush or any Republican leader who claims to love God, since the days of Dubya’s craptastic administration, which is basically since we started online back in 2003 (or aught three as old fart staff member, Chester Einstein, puts it). How can people who worship Jesus as their lord and savior support someone who represents the exact opposite of the person Jesus taught us to be?

Well, you can thank their teachers, pastors, priests and leaders for brainwashing them from day one to believe everything they say and that anybody who says otherwise is an agent of Satan. We’re atheists here at the Bucket, but we do abide by the golden rule, which pre-dates christianity. We were brought up in an religious environment, so we know from whence we speak. The organized christian religions are very authoritarian in nature; just look at the catholic church. The pope is considered to be infallible. That means he is never wrong and if you even suggest that he could be wrong, then you will face the consequences of excommunication or damnation in that mythical place of pain and suffering, hell. Dex Rexter, BilgeBucket editor, remembers very well the nuns searing into his young, malleable catholic brain to never, never, NEVER be a doubting Thomas or Jesus will be very upset with you and cast you into the pit of hell for all eternity. Fear is used as a weapon from day one on people in organized religious environments and used quite effectively. Just look at the art work of Hieronymous Bosch from the fifteenth century. Do what the preacher says and you’ll get to go to heaven; disobey and go to hell and get poked by demons with pitchforks. Of course, in reality, heaven and hell don’t exist. But this use of fear by religious authoritarians is the same methodology employers in corporate America get their employees to do whatever they want. They dangle that golden carrot telling their subordinates that if they work extra hard they’ll be rewarded with riches beyond their dreams, knowing full well that when the employee inevitably burns out or outlives their usefulness, they’ll be fired. Just ask the employees of Enron, Carrier or any of the other shit load of companies who’ve screwed their employees and consumers to augment the coffers of the top executives.

Another thing that is astonishingly aggravating is that many christians are anti-science and actually call critical thinking, logical and rational people who accept the truth of such things as climate change or evolution, sheeple. Really!? How ironic! Christians are the original sheeple! It’s even built into the dogma. Every christian is forced to pray the mantra “The lord is my shepherd, I shall not want…” or think for that matter. The metaphor of Jesus as the shepherd and everyone else as the sheep is everywhere in the christian faith. That is why the congregation must do what the pastor, priest or minister tells them to do, like vote for Trump, because the self acclaimed holy me are tighter with God than the average commoner. That’s how these prosperity gospel charlatans get away with their crap and the people’s money for materialistic wealth that Jesus taught against.

Make no mistake; the Republicans have exactly who they want in the Oval Office, that is why they are sitting on their keisters why all chaos descends on the White House and this country. Trump is the ultimate CEO; the exemplary authoritarian who barks out orders and condemns those who dissent. We ask the christian sheeple to wake up and realize that this wolf in sheep’s clothing, this golden calf, is nothing like Jesus, who preached the golden rule, to have tolerance and respect for others even if they were different and to eschew greed and materialistic wealth and to take care each other.

From Jesus to Donald Trump, christians unquestionably follow their authoritarian leaders like the good sheeple they are.

From Jesus to Donald Trump, christians unquestionably follow their authoritarian leaders like the good sheeple they are.