coup d’état

 [koo dey-tah; French koo dey-ta]
1. a sudden and decisive action in politics, especially one resulting in a change of government illegally or by force.                                                                                       

Trump and his supporters call it, “shaking it up”, and “draining the swamp” and a dozen other idiotic catchphrases they’ve come up with. But make no mistake: This is a coup d’état. This is happening right now, in the United States of America, to all of us. It doesn’t matter if you’re a Republican, Democrat, Libertarian, Green, or whatever. Trump and Bannon are going to burn it down, right to the ground, and not in a cool, crazy, interesting, hipster way, either.

Those of you who know me know that I am absolutely not a conspiracy nut- I have always prided myself on being a level-headed pragmatist. I’m not prone to fanciful thinking, and I consider myself to be as open-minded as the next guy.

Trump is holding all Americans and Congress, in particular, hostage by conveying prospective cabinet appointees who are not only grossly unqualified but who are the very nemeses of their intended departments. This accomplishes a few things. First, it puts Congress in a catch 22- They in no way can justify voting to accept Trump’s inept nominees, and the alternative leaves us without functioning legislative or judicial branches of government. Trump and Bannon will most likely maintain absolute control through seemingly justifiable executive power, and the blame will fall on anyone who opposes it.

We are right now, literally, one disaster away from Trump and Bannon taking complete control of all three branches of government.

But without intervention of some kind, his entire cabinet will most likely be filled with utter nitwits, sycophants, ideologues and the alt-right, and in the natural course of their work they’ll create enough chaos for Trump to maintain an imbalance in the system and in the streets, while allowing him to dismantle all forms of government regulations with the sole aim of creating profits for himself and his partners abroad. He will do this at the expense of national security, the environment, health care, employment- anything and everything.

But here’s the scary part.

I believe Steve Bannon is actually steering the ship, and Trump’s crushing insecurities, paper-thin ego and blind, monarchical ambitions are supplying Bannon with gale-force winds.

Steve Bannon is now the Chief Strategist to the White House and counselor to the President of the United States. There are less than a handful of people on the planet with more power and influence.

Steve Bannon sits on the council that oversees the targeting of Americans, and no law establishes the panel’s existence or governs its decisions. There is no due process and no public record of its operations or decisions. To this end, Bannon has also enforced a paper-trail blackout within the National Security Council itself.

Let that sink in.

Bannon is a former Goldman Sachs investment banker who was appointed executive chairman of Breitbart News Network after the passing of its owner, Andrew Breitbart, in 2012. According to former Breitbart editor-at-large, conservative talk show host Ben Shapiro, Bannon is a sinister character. “He is a vindictive, nasty figure, infamous for verbally abusing supposed friends and threatening enemies,” Shapiro wrote. “He will attempt to ruin anyone who impedes his unending ambition, and he will use anyone bigger than he is – for example, Donald Trump – to get where he wants to go.”

Here are some quotes from one of the most powerful and dangerous people on earth:

  • Are there racist people involved in the alt-right? Absolutely,” he told Mother Jones at this year’s Republican National Convention. “Look, are there some people that are white nationalists that are attracted to some of the philosophies of the alt-right? Maybe. Are there some people that are anti-Semitic that are attracted? Maybe. Right? Maybe some people are attracted to the alt-right that are homophobes, right? But that’s just like, there are certain elements of the progressive left and the hard left that attract certain elements.”
  • “…there are some unintended consequences of the women’s liberation movement. That, in fact, the women that would lead this country would be pro-family, they would have husbands, they would love their children. They wouldn’t be a bunch of dykes that came from the Seven Sisters schools up in New England.” — 2011 radio interview with Political Vindication Radio
  • He “didn’t want the girls going to school with Jews … He said he doesn’t like Jews and that he doesn’t like the way they raise their kids to be ‘whiney brats.'” — The Guardian, from his wife in court documents filed in 2007.
  • “Leadership are all c*nts” and “We should just go buck wild.” — The Daily Beast, from an email exchange.

But here is most shocking and dangerous quote of the bunch:

“I’m a Leninist … Lenin wanted to destroy the state, and that’s my goal too. I want to bring everything crashing down, and destroy all of today’s establishment.” — The Daily Beast

If you are a half-decent person who cares at all about the United States, the Constitution, security, peace, equality or, at the very least, democracy in general, Bannon is a clear and present danger to you and your loved ones. Period.

Lastly, Trump is illegitimate and his actions are Illegal. He is in direct violation of the First andTwenty-fifth amendments, and Article I, Section 9, Clause 8 of the United States Constitution. These are not opinions, these are facts, and unless Congress acts quickly to impeach him, there will be, at the very least, civil unrest and/or violent protest across our country. I can’t think of a scenario that would consolidate Trump and Bannon’s power faster, because the law will finally be on their side. Game over.

Remember, democracy is only alive when we all agree to the basic, fundamental principles laid out very specifically by our founding fathers. Without our implicit agreement, the Constitution, along with the Bill of Rights is nothing but an old piece of paper, and unless we do something, and fast, we’re going to lose it all to a madman and his cronies.

Now is the time for all Americans to come to the aid of their country- You can make a difference:

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