Donald Trump refused to brief the only branch of government that has the power to make war about his attack on Iranian General Soleimani. He never notified the senior officials, referred to as the Gang of Eight, in the House and Senate.Instead, he gave a briefing to his high dollar donors in Florida, and essentially bragged that he didn't even need a reason beyond that "this guy was bad mouthing America." This is shocking. Had Barack Obama done anything like this, the Republicans would've immediately impeached him.

The biggest struggle America is going to be facing over the next few years is recalibrating what "normal" means. Donald Trump, and the other Republicans supported by the billionaire class who follow him, have so distorted our norms that we stand on the edge of this country becoming a total and irreversible oligarchy.

The immune system the Framers built into our form of government is elections; if the elections this year don't throw the Republicans out of power in state after state and at virtually every federal level, it's not inconceivable that this country will be so severely damaged that democracy will not survive in this republic.

-Thom