Bette’s Weekly Roundup - Arrest Donald Trump
Savor the wins, but get back to work - a roundup of Bette’s week in news
I honestly don’t know where to begin so let’s start with the image that stands out most in my mind - Jack Smith at the podium, encouraging Americans to read the indictment.
In an era where a misshapen reality is being force fed by corporate and social media reveling in the profit margins inspired by grotesques, there stands a guy using an economy of words to deliver a historic bombshell about a Spy Traitor Con.
As Bandy Lee wrote today:
“Now, it is absolutely imperative that Donald Trump soon be indicted in Washington, DC, for the January 6, 2021, violent insurrection and coup attempt, which he played a direct role in instigating. It is also necessary he be indicted at the state level in Georgia, for his very significant vote tampering that contributed to the leadup to January 6.”
We don’t stop at two indictments, we keep going. We don’t stop at Trump, we keep going. The MAGA gang that funded and schemed and plotted the overthrow of our country must all be held to account.
They are on Twitter right now, using violent rhetoric conflated with Bible quotes to get the Cult to commit criminal acts.
That Trump’s arrest came and went without incident as I predicted it would does not meant the villains of our story aren’t plotting chaos and destabilization events.
So we keep doing the work. We stay vigilant and inspired by a week where Donald Jessica Trump is in the FO stages of FAFO. He is indeed finding out.
It’s a good week.
We have work to do.
Onward.
On that note, Bette members please look for your registration invite to our second ‘Speakeasy’ with David Pepper on or before Saturday morning. The event will take place at 4 pm, Sunday, June 18, via zoom. If you haven’t already done so, you can support Pepper by buying his book, ‘Saving Democracy - A User’s Manual for Every American,’ and by subscribing to his Substack. Thank you for all you do to support the people on the frontlines of defending democracy. If you are not yet a Bette member and would like to receive invites to events, and access to all archives and author chats, please subscribe here:
Alright, let’s jump in to the Best of Bette for the week. New members—this is the weekly email I send out to summarize my most important reporting of the week, so if you are busy, this is the one email you need to read:
War and Peace - A Byline Supplement Interview with Zarina Zabrisky
Shh. Don’t tell anyone, but there is a badass in my front room, on deadline, filing reports on the Ukraine war. Author and poet Zarina Zabrisky and I are hosting the US/Hollywood premiere of The Eastern Front tonight, and I am so inspired by her — not just her bravery, but her brilliance.
In our Byline Supplement interview, she said:
The world has split into war and peace for me. War became habitual. It is a job; my actions in Ukraine have purpose and meaning: we are all fighting for victory. Back here, in peace, the reality falls apart into a million pieces I can't fit together.
Ukraine is the first step. If Putin is not stopped, Russia will devour many smaller countries. If Republicans win, if Trump is president again, we will end up with a totalitarian mafia empire.
So that is our goal — to ensure the defeat of the MAGA gang to thwart a totalitarian mafia empire. I would be very grateful if you read our entire interview.
Arrest Donald Trump - Save the World
In the previous report I noted why we must defeat the MAGA gang - in order to ensure the defeat of Putin’s totalitarian mafia empire. But there is another reason why his complete and utter defeat on every single level is required — because Stephen Hawking told us so.
This entire war — both kinetic and non-kinetic — largely boils down to Fossil Fuel v. Renewables, and we need Renewables to win.
As I wrote in this report — where I invited you to join me in reading the indictment together — Stephen Hawking once said of Trump:
"We are close to the tipping point where global warming becomes irreversible. Trump's action could push the Earth over the brink, to become like Venus, with a temperature of two hundred and fifty degrees, and raining sulphuric acid," he told BBC News.
“Climate change is one of the great dangers we face, and it's one we can prevent if we act now. By denying the evidence for climate change, and pulling out of the Paris Climate Agreement, Donald Trump will cause avoidable environmental damage to our beautiful planet, endangering the natural world, for us and our children."
Arrest Donald Trump and save the world.
In a war of words, accuracy matters. It’s incredibly important that we choose our words wisely. I believe that words such as ‘meddling’ and ‘mishandling’ are propaganda words and that what we have been enduring for the past seven years is the work of spies, traitors, and cons. May we get the bastards.
As I wrote in this report:
As I think of a possible future for the spy-traitor-cons who sold out our democracy with terrible human costs, I like to think the haunting has already begun.
Restoring Faith - Marty’s Hot Take
I had ex-fed Martin Sheil read the indictment and among my favorite passages are:
What is most striking to me is the level of Intent and Willfulness that the Special Prosecutor has been able to capture and articulate in the Indictment.
With Trump attorneys jumping ship Trump may not fully understand how serious a situation he is confronting.
It will be interesting to see how steadfast the Trump cult will maintain support of their hero when American National Security, Human intelligence and our armed forces were placed in jeopardy.
Accountability for wrongdoing may actually become fashionable again and the law may actually be applied to the most powerful among us restoring faith in our flawed but still standing system of justice
Marty — a retired IRS criminal investigator — spent a career helping put away mobsters. He knows how serious this is.
RadPod & Chill — Jeff Sharlet Edition
If you want to know why my RadPod is the Most Dangerous Show in America, watch our impromptu livestream with Jeff Sharlet. This isn’t pre-scripted corporate bullshittery, but the real deal on the important events of our time. Jeff’s visit will go down in history as my favorite episode ever. I told the guys the next day, “He’s one of us.” And I mean that in the nicest, pro-democracy way.
Off to our screening! Looking forward to meeting many of you tonight. Promise to take pix xoxo
****
Bette Dangerous is a reader-funded magazine. Thank you to all monthly, annual, and founding members. Thank you as well to all those who support my work with your generous coffee tips and who buy my ebooks. Some of you prefer making subsidizing donations via venmo, and it’s always greatly appreciated. Thank you to everyone who pitches in with a monthly membership - each time they come in, it always feels like pennies from heaven.
A private link to an annual membership discount for older adults, those on fixed incomes or drawing disability, as well as activists and members of the media is available upon request at bettedangerous@gmail.com. 🥹
Our next Bette Dangerous ‘Speakeasy’ Zoom for paid members is Sunday, June 18, featuring David Pepper giving us a pep talk from his latest book, Saving Democracy; Paid members also receive invites to our weekly Bette’s Happy Hour, a wellness checkin every Tuesday. This Tuesday, our checkin is at noon PT.
🤍
“I say a silent prayer of thanksgiving as I walk upon the earth.”-Audrey Peterman.
“May the viral hope for truth and humanity wash away the chaos of these years.”-S.C., Bette community member
“Something Sacred never dies in almost all of us, that can hear the invitation of Truth…”-words from a Bette Dangerous community member
“Nothing but blue skies from now on…”-Irving Berlin
🤍
(Two foxes, Zarina’s photo of Semion the fox of Chornobyl, and Jack Smith, the fox of the DOJ)
🤍