A number of you have kindly inquired as to why I have recently been absent from these pages. The reason is that, since early November, the only matter worth discussing has been the outright theft of the 2020 presidential election, and, as will be explained below, I have been emotionally and intellectually  unable to rationally address the topic.

President Trump won re-election by an historic landslide. He has been denied his rightful victory by means of corrupted voting machines and the massive use of unverified and unverifiable mail in ballots. I won’t go into the details since I would just be repeating all the depressing and alarming facts with which I am sure you are already familiar. But, watching events unfold, it has become apparent that there was nothing subtle about the theft. It has been the electoral equivalent of an in-your-face smash and grab robbery – as in, yeah, we stole the election and there’s nothing you can do about it.

On the emotional side, I have been too angry to write coherently about the theft and what it will mean for the future of this country. The consequences of the theft extend far beyond the fate of President Trump. Those who conspired to steal the election now have in place the tools to oppress the majority. Think of the massive demonstrations in Venezuela by the majority who oppose the Maduro dictatorship. The masses may demonstrate and protest, but so what?  Maduro and his thugs remain in control and will continue to “win” elections into perpetuity using the same voting machines and software now being used (in conjunction with fake mail in ballots) to deprive Trump of victory.

Will the majority in America suffer the same fate as its counterpart in Venezuela? If Trump, who won a huge landslide, can be cheated out of victory, what chance will lesser candidates have in the future?

I have closely watched the brave efforts of Trump’s legal team and supporters to undo the theft. Based on my 50 + years as a trial lawyer, I have not been surprised by the refusal of the courts to become involved in rectifying the situation. The dirty little secret is that courts – including the august U.S. Supreme Court – are risk averse and exist primarily to preserve themselves and their authority. They are not about to get involved in what, in ordinary times, would be a political matter. Moreover, from the standpoint of the Supreme Court, I am sure that its reluctance is bolstered by the fact that the immediate political solution to the problem is properly in the hands of the Republican-controlled legislatures in the states where the theft occurred. Those legislatures could, if they would muster the political will and courage to do so, decertify their states’ electors and throw the election into the House of Representatives where Trump would win.

But the chances of those legislatures acting before the Electoral College votes are counted on January 6 dwindle with each passing day. There are signs of hope here and there, but time is running out. So it is that the relevant failure of political nerve may prove to be on the part of the Republicans in those legislatures who so far are hiding under their desks and refusing to act.

The other reason I haven’t written about the election theft is that I lack sufficient knowledge of the constitutional procedures and options that are available to the President’s legal team. I’m a retired grunt-level trial lawyer who never dealt with election law or the fine points of how the Electoral College works. Any analysis by me would only be ignorant speculation and not worth your time to consider.

Nevertheless, I fear for the future of this country. As the Democrats celebrate their “victory”, they seem oblivious to what they are about to unleash. The very brave and capable Sidney Powell has spoken of her releasing the Kraken, the destructive beast of mythology. But, in a more profound sense, it is the Democrats who, in their short-sighted arrogance, are on the verge of unintentionally releasing the Kraken of an aroused citizenry forced to resort to violence. As former Attorney General William Barr said of the massive use of mail in ballots, the Democrats are playing with fire. For, when elections have no integrity, what’s the alternative for a free people unwilling to submit to the tyranny of an illegitimate government forced on them by a blatantly and unapologetically corrupt conspiracy?

So, to those who have so gleefully stolen the election (as well as those cowardly Republican legislators who are letting them get away with it), let me share this passage from “The Rebel” by the Irish poet and patriot Padraic Pearse:

And I say to my people’s masters: Beware

Beware of the thing that is coming, beware of the risen people

Who shall take what ye would not give.

Did ye think to conquer the people, or that law is stronger than life,

And than men’s desire to be free?

We will try it out with you ye that have harried and held,

Ye that have bullied and bribed.

Tyrants…hypocrites…liars!

In other words, America isn’t Venezuela and, thanks to the wisdom of the Founding Fathers, our citizens are in a position to defend themselves against an illegitimate and corrupt government.

God help us all if it comes to that.

But, barring a miracle on January 6, it just might.