Brask, daring, in-your-face lawlessness — it reminds you of Donald Trump. Among broad-daylight Nordstrom shoppers, thirty masked shoplifters made what is a common misdemeanor an outrageous, eye-popping violent crime, glass display cases crashing to the floor like explosives, grabbing $100,000 worth of expensive items. Such “smash-and-grab robberies” are becoming common in large cities.

Donald Trump never did robberies that violent other than his attempted coup of our government with a mob whom he coached. But SCOTUS’s 2021 dismissal of suits against his profiteering in violation of the Emoluments clauses of the Constitution seemed to open the door for Clarence Thomas and Samuel Alito taking favors and money from billionaires during their tenure, mostly likely such bribes achieved favorable court rulings.

Donald Trump and Republican leaders have made mincemeat of democratic ethics, breaking one principle after another, crossing the line of propriety into the damaging and the life-threatening: Bush’s bogus war, Republican policies leading to Wall Street failures, Trump and Republican policies inviting pandemic deaths. All this for their own benefit.

The corporate and political forums are showcases for malfeasance, lack of accountability and criminal negligence, even before “the Donald conman” hit the scene. The difference is behind-the-scenes crime and deception became brazen, in-your-face crime under Donald Trump.

Thanks to right-wing SCOTUS, Corporations became people and were sued rather than executive perpetrators. Responsible CEOs at the top like Wells Fargo top executive, John Stumpf, are lightly dissed and dismissed with huge severance packages. With Donald Trump, corruption evolved. Grifting and thievery were done in the open with no consequences. Corruption became normalized among top politicians.

The George W. Bush administration pilfered public money in the shadows to campaign for public office. Donald Trump did it more in the open and used his considerable power as president for his own personal profit enriching his still active businesses. He provided the perfect example for open lawlessness.

Republican policy and promotion along with social media technology are now handy tools to promote chaos and crime. Now with more guns per person than the wild West ever dreamed of, mass murder in public places and threats to public servants is brandished with open carry.

For-profit social media was an organizing force to plan a coup against our government. Now it is used to plan outrageous flash mob robberies, the current open assault at a Canoga Park, California Nordstrom store.

Donald Trump is gone, hopefully for good, but he has left blueprints for open thievery planned and coordinated on social media, now used by budding criminals. Add to that lifetimes of biased jurists getting supplemental money and favors from billionaires, bribes to keep favorable rulings flowing, rulings that take away established rights among the people while granting new rights to the corporate rich.

Only now does accountability seems to be catching up with Donald Trump. But the seemingly lackadaisical effort to bring him to justice may be eclipsed by trial delays until Republican can cement their hold on the government in the next election.

The most substantial charge against Trump centers around the January 6th insurrection, the trial set for January. Meanwhile working for delays and assaults on democracy, red states are staging attacks on voting, counting on SCOTUS corruption and rulings to give favor to the GOP, buying campaigns with billionaire Dark money, and brain-washing voters with right-wing media.

With captured power by Republicans, it could even end with a toppled Democracy, that is, if we let it.