Some reasons to vote for Bloomberg:
1. Trump’s only campaign issue is running against a socialist. He can’t do that against Bloomberg
2. Bloomberg is the only one Trump fears.
3. Bloomberg best knows how to reestablish and re-populated with expertise government agencies that have been destroyed by Trump.
4. He is very tough.
5. He has many years of donating to and helping liberal causes and candidates.
6. He can defeat Trump.
7. He already has the money and expert infrastructure to finish the campaign.
Sanders would be disaster and would lose decisively to the worst president in US history.
Saturday, February 29, 2020
Friday, February 28, 2020
The Coronavirus exposes Trump's incompetence
Trump
and the Trumpsters are trying to have us believe that the Coronavirus isn't
that big a deal, it's just a bad cold. They are telling themselves that
this is just some kind of evil media campaign to hurt Trump. Good grief!
Japan has closed schools, the World Health Organization has raised the level of
alert to global spread to "very high". People die at ten
times the rate of influenza deaths, and those numbers are assuming that the
totalitarian police state of China is sharing honest statistics about this
disease. I believe the death rate in China is probably higher than they
are admitting.
The world wide reaction to the coronavirus has absolutely nothing to do with Donald Trump. But of course Donald Trump is pathologically narcissistic, meaning he can only view the world in terms of how it affects him. And he is afraid that since this virus is causing the stock market to drop it is some kind of evil plot of to hurt his re-election. So, he does what he always does when he doesn't like the news, he attacks the news-people who report what is going on in the world.
Very, very sadly, we find out that Trump has stripped the government of the expertise needed to combat the rapid spread of a dangerous disease by cutting budgets and forcing scientists out of the government, forcing out those who have actual knowledge and expertise in handling these kinds of contagions.
Michael Bloomberg was asked if he would appoint a Czar to address this kind of outbreak if he were president. He gave the smartest answer I have heard. He said "no" he would not appoint a Czar, he would have a Czar and an organization already in place with policies, practices, and training to be able to respond on a dime to these kinds of events. He said you can't start from nearly nothing and have an effective response.
Trump appointed VP Pence to head up the emergency response, and it looks like his primary function will be to control the messaging of the government - i.e. downplay the news so the stock market doesn't tank. Lovely.
America and the world have been exceptionally lucky for the three years of the Trump presidency in that there have been no major emergencies that this incompetent and ignorant president has had to deal with. He has devastated nearly every governmental department, especially by driving out scientists and experts in almost every field - from the Energy Department dealing with radioactive nuclear weapons and waste, to the Agriculture Department making us safe with highly sophisticated science forwarning us of extreme weather events, to health scientists and experts keeping us safe from outbreaks of diseases.
Well, we now have an emergency coming at us that was not just one of the many, many, many self made emergencies created by Trump's bullying, ignorance, and authoritarian violations of law and the constitution. And Mr. Trump is so far looking like he is incapable of handling it.
And, also by the way, people seem to be comforted by the notion that “only” 2% of the people who contract the disease die. Are you kidding? If you catch the disease you are supposed to feel good that your chances of dying is “only” one in fifty? People are saying that many thousands die of the flu worldwide every year and so far only a handful have died from this disease. Well, it turns out that that chances of dying from the flu is about .2 to .4 percent. That is, your chances of dying from the flu is about one in 500, not one in 50. And those who die of flu are likely those who are already compromised, the aged, the very young, those with other health issues. The coronavirus killed the Chinese doctor who blew the whistle on its danger, and killed the head of the hospital where the outbreak started. These were healthy adults, not people at risk.
All you need to know about the seriousness of this disease is to look at the photos and videos of the Chinese people taking the temperature of people who might be at risk – they are completely covered in Hazmat garb with taped ankles and wrists, masks, goggles, etc. Why are they so protected? Because they know what this disease looks like and they very, very much do not want to catch it.
I hope that this disease is not as serious as it could be, and that it fades away and vaccines are developed quickly to combat it. But, the way the country, and the world, must respond is to prepare for the worst and hope for the best.
Too bad our Federal Government is run by an idiot, and has surrounded himself with idiots, and has a right wing media bubble that protects him at all costs – in this case the costs could become way too many lives lost.
Good grief!
The world wide reaction to the coronavirus has absolutely nothing to do with Donald Trump. But of course Donald Trump is pathologically narcissistic, meaning he can only view the world in terms of how it affects him. And he is afraid that since this virus is causing the stock market to drop it is some kind of evil plot of to hurt his re-election. So, he does what he always does when he doesn't like the news, he attacks the news-people who report what is going on in the world.
Very, very sadly, we find out that Trump has stripped the government of the expertise needed to combat the rapid spread of a dangerous disease by cutting budgets and forcing scientists out of the government, forcing out those who have actual knowledge and expertise in handling these kinds of contagions.
Michael Bloomberg was asked if he would appoint a Czar to address this kind of outbreak if he were president. He gave the smartest answer I have heard. He said "no" he would not appoint a Czar, he would have a Czar and an organization already in place with policies, practices, and training to be able to respond on a dime to these kinds of events. He said you can't start from nearly nothing and have an effective response.
Trump appointed VP Pence to head up the emergency response, and it looks like his primary function will be to control the messaging of the government - i.e. downplay the news so the stock market doesn't tank. Lovely.
America and the world have been exceptionally lucky for the three years of the Trump presidency in that there have been no major emergencies that this incompetent and ignorant president has had to deal with. He has devastated nearly every governmental department, especially by driving out scientists and experts in almost every field - from the Energy Department dealing with radioactive nuclear weapons and waste, to the Agriculture Department making us safe with highly sophisticated science forwarning us of extreme weather events, to health scientists and experts keeping us safe from outbreaks of diseases.
Well, we now have an emergency coming at us that was not just one of the many, many, many self made emergencies created by Trump's bullying, ignorance, and authoritarian violations of law and the constitution. And Mr. Trump is so far looking like he is incapable of handling it.
And, also by the way, people seem to be comforted by the notion that “only” 2% of the people who contract the disease die. Are you kidding? If you catch the disease you are supposed to feel good that your chances of dying is “only” one in fifty? People are saying that many thousands die of the flu worldwide every year and so far only a handful have died from this disease. Well, it turns out that that chances of dying from the flu is about .2 to .4 percent. That is, your chances of dying from the flu is about one in 500, not one in 50. And those who die of flu are likely those who are already compromised, the aged, the very young, those with other health issues. The coronavirus killed the Chinese doctor who blew the whistle on its danger, and killed the head of the hospital where the outbreak started. These were healthy adults, not people at risk.
All you need to know about the seriousness of this disease is to look at the photos and videos of the Chinese people taking the temperature of people who might be at risk – they are completely covered in Hazmat garb with taped ankles and wrists, masks, goggles, etc. Why are they so protected? Because they know what this disease looks like and they very, very much do not want to catch it.
I hope that this disease is not as serious as it could be, and that it fades away and vaccines are developed quickly to combat it. But, the way the country, and the world, must respond is to prepare for the worst and hope for the best.
Too bad our Federal Government is run by an idiot, and has surrounded himself with idiots, and has a right wing media bubble that protects him at all costs – in this case the costs could become way too many lives lost.
Good grief!
Friday, February 21, 2020
The Russians are helping Sanders win the nomination, and Trump win the election
Russia want Donald Trump to win the election in 2020. And they are actively working to help him. Just as they did in 2016.
Trump exploded in a fury when his intelligence folks told him that they have detected Russian help for his re-election, and he stopped his director of national intelligence, Joseph Maguire from becoming his permanent intelligence chief for telling him that truth, and says he will appoint a completely unqualified man, Richard Grenell, the U.S. ambassador to Germany, to head the intelligence services. Grenell's only qualification is total obeisance to Trump.
Nitwit.
And, wouldn't you know it, Sanders has been informed that Russia has been detected helping Sanders win the Democratic nomination. The reason is obvious - Russia knows, as we all do, that Trump can beat the Socialist Sanders.
Sorry to disappoint some of my liberal friends who think it is time for the Socialist Revolution in America. It's not. A Sanders nomination re-elects Trump, easily, overwhelmingly, obviously.
Russia knows it, and now my liberal friends do too.
Please do not put a socialist on the ticket. Trump is too dangerous to our democracy and to the world to re-elect him by making such an obviously poor choice.
Trump exploded in a fury when his intelligence folks told him that they have detected Russian help for his re-election, and he stopped his director of national intelligence, Joseph Maguire from becoming his permanent intelligence chief for telling him that truth, and says he will appoint a completely unqualified man, Richard Grenell, the U.S. ambassador to Germany, to head the intelligence services. Grenell's only qualification is total obeisance to Trump.
Nitwit.
And, wouldn't you know it, Sanders has been informed that Russia has been detected helping Sanders win the Democratic nomination. The reason is obvious - Russia knows, as we all do, that Trump can beat the Socialist Sanders.
Sorry to disappoint some of my liberal friends who think it is time for the Socialist Revolution in America. It's not. A Sanders nomination re-elects Trump, easily, overwhelmingly, obviously.
Russia knows it, and now my liberal friends do too.
Please do not put a socialist on the ticket. Trump is too dangerous to our democracy and to the world to re-elect him by making such an obviously poor choice.
Thursday, February 13, 2020
Bernie Sanders got trump elected last time, will Democrats let him do it again?
One of the reasons Trump is the president of the United States is that Bernie Sanders put him there. That is, his avid left wing base put Trump in the White House, by either refusing to vote, or by voting for Trump in 2016. Trump won by a hair in the electoral college in three states - Wisconsin, Michigan, and Pennsylvania - by only a total of 77,744.
I know I have avid Berniecrat friends, but it is obvious to me that if Sanders is nominated he will lose in a landslide not seen since McGovern lost 60.7 percent to 37.5 percent and won only one state - Massachusetts. Britain just went through this when the liberals put up a hard core socialist, Jeremy Corbyn, and elected an obnoxious lout named Boris Johnson by a landslide.
The Sanders people said that they know that Sanders is pretty extreme but his base is young and Sanders will make a dramatic boost in their turnout. Wrong. Iowa and New Hampshire just voted and the turnout was disappointing. The youth are not flooding to support Sanders. He almost won Iowa and barely won New Hampshire (where he had a big home field advantage being from next door Vermont), but the anti-socialist candidates won the biggest total by far against him.
Klobachar, Bloomberg, or Buttigieg are my choices. I will vote for any Democrat against the infantile and ignorant authoritarian in training, but I think any but Sanders will beat him, and Sanders won't.
I know I have avid Berniecrat friends, but it is obvious to me that if Sanders is nominated he will lose in a landslide not seen since McGovern lost 60.7 percent to 37.5 percent and won only one state - Massachusetts. Britain just went through this when the liberals put up a hard core socialist, Jeremy Corbyn, and elected an obnoxious lout named Boris Johnson by a landslide.
The Sanders people said that they know that Sanders is pretty extreme but his base is young and Sanders will make a dramatic boost in their turnout. Wrong. Iowa and New Hampshire just voted and the turnout was disappointing. The youth are not flooding to support Sanders. He almost won Iowa and barely won New Hampshire (where he had a big home field advantage being from next door Vermont), but the anti-socialist candidates won the biggest total by far against him.
Klobachar, Bloomberg, or Buttigieg are my choices. I will vote for any Democrat against the infantile and ignorant authoritarian in training, but I think any but Sanders will beat him, and Sanders won't.
Wednesday, February 12, 2020
Another of many steps toward authoritarian rule by Trump
Trump's Department of Justice, under the direction of Attorney General William Barr, overturned the 7 - 9 year sentence of convicted criminal Roger Stone yesterday. We'll see what Barr's Department of Justice mandates instead. This is what happens in authoritarian regimes around the world. Now the U.S. is one of those authoritarian regimes. This is just the latest of this president's authoritarian moves, and his minions support his authoritarianism.
One of the characteristics of authoritarian governments is their undermining their own judicial institutions. The four prosecutors of this case resigned in protest. This is the president over-riding his own Justice Department with a political mandate. Stone is a Trump supporter, so Trump interferes, and by so doing he sends a very loud message to all Trump supporters that he will defend their illegal actions on his behalf - that he will condone their illegal actions - htat he intends to continue breaking American laws - and that he and his corrupt followers are above the law.
The United States of America is in trouble. This authoritarian child is undermining the institutions of democracy - this authoritarian takeover of the Justice Department is just the latest example of a man who is convinced that he is above the law. Looks like Republicans agree.
This is not acceptable, if democracy is to survive.
"Rep. Bill Pascrell Jr. (D-N.J.) said the move amounted to “obstruction of justice.”
“We are seeing a full-frontal assault on the rule of law in America,” Pascrell said. “Direct political interference in our justice system is a hallmark of a banana republic. Despite whatever Trump, William Barr, and their helpers think, the United States is a nation of laws and not an authoritarian’s paradise.”
One of the characteristics of authoritarian governments is their undermining their own judicial institutions. The four prosecutors of this case resigned in protest. This is the president over-riding his own Justice Department with a political mandate. Stone is a Trump supporter, so Trump interferes, and by so doing he sends a very loud message to all Trump supporters that he will defend their illegal actions on his behalf - that he will condone their illegal actions - htat he intends to continue breaking American laws - and that he and his corrupt followers are above the law.
The United States of America is in trouble. This authoritarian child is undermining the institutions of democracy - this authoritarian takeover of the Justice Department is just the latest example of a man who is convinced that he is above the law. Looks like Republicans agree.
This is not acceptable, if democracy is to survive.
Saturday, February 1, 2020
Two right wing extremist triumphs yesterday
Yesterday saw two victories for right wing extremists - it was the official Brexit day in England, and the Senate Republicans voted to deny any witnesses in the Senate impeachment trial.
Trial? without witnesses? Just a sham. Of course if eye witness accounts of those who were directed by Trump to withhold military aid to Ukraine to force Ukraine to announce and investigation into a political opponent were allowed, it would have made no difference since the proof of Trump's crime was detailed and deep already with House witnesses. But eye witnesses of Trump doing his abuse of presidential power would have taken away the sham Republican defense that all the testimony was "hearsay".
Brexit? Right wing whackos were videoed in England waving their little English flags and whooping it up in celebration. Celebrating what? the demise of Britain and the reverting to little England.
So, authoritarianism in America took another step forward - it was never a doubt that the Republican Senate would acquit Trump, and it was never a doubt that they would disallow witnesses, and it was never a doubt that the defense lawyers would trot out labored and twisted defenses of the indefensible. Almost the entire Republican Party is now blatantly on record supporting unconstitutional cheating by a president to win a presidential election. My hope is this will be the death knell of the party that I once was a member of.
The xenophobia of England has now diminished and damaged what was once Great Britain.
And the xenophobic fears of brown and black people by too many of my conservative friends is diminishing and damaging what was once the Leader of the Free World - the United States of America. An ignorant and stupid leader of the Republican Party has conquered the Republican Party and is leading them into oblivion. Oh, they may be able to cheat their way to some victories in 2020, but the political victory for a party is more than votes in the next election. The Whigs disappeared by defending the indefensible - white supremacist defense of slavery - and the Republicans are about to disappear by defending the indefensible - a white supremacist defense of a white supremacist president.
Oh well. Let it play out.....
Trial? without witnesses? Just a sham. Of course if eye witness accounts of those who were directed by Trump to withhold military aid to Ukraine to force Ukraine to announce and investigation into a political opponent were allowed, it would have made no difference since the proof of Trump's crime was detailed and deep already with House witnesses. But eye witnesses of Trump doing his abuse of presidential power would have taken away the sham Republican defense that all the testimony was "hearsay".
Brexit? Right wing whackos were videoed in England waving their little English flags and whooping it up in celebration. Celebrating what? the demise of Britain and the reverting to little England.
So, authoritarianism in America took another step forward - it was never a doubt that the Republican Senate would acquit Trump, and it was never a doubt that they would disallow witnesses, and it was never a doubt that the defense lawyers would trot out labored and twisted defenses of the indefensible. Almost the entire Republican Party is now blatantly on record supporting unconstitutional cheating by a president to win a presidential election. My hope is this will be the death knell of the party that I once was a member of.
The xenophobia of England has now diminished and damaged what was once Great Britain.
And the xenophobic fears of brown and black people by too many of my conservative friends is diminishing and damaging what was once the Leader of the Free World - the United States of America. An ignorant and stupid leader of the Republican Party has conquered the Republican Party and is leading them into oblivion. Oh, they may be able to cheat their way to some victories in 2020, but the political victory for a party is more than votes in the next election. The Whigs disappeared by defending the indefensible - white supremacist defense of slavery - and the Republicans are about to disappear by defending the indefensible - a white supremacist defense of a white supremacist president.
Oh well. Let it play out.....
Wednesday, January 29, 2020
The two words that condemn Trump - “though” and “announce”
The two words that condemn Trump are “though” and “announce”. He said I need a favor “though”. That means he won’t release the aid until he gets his favor. What is the favor? That the president of Ukraine “announce” an investigation into Biden corruption. If you want an investigation you ask for an investigation. If you want to damage Biden you ask for an ANNOUNCEMENT of an investigation. The last thing you do to investigate someone is to announce that you will investigate. That forewarns the target to cover their tracks.
The Trump lawyers are smart folks and are doing a pretty good job of defending a HYPOTHETICAL TRUMP who Could have had policy reasons to investigate corruption in Ukraine. But they aren’t defending the actual Trump, who did it, and did it as an abuse of presidential power to cheat in the 2020 election.
The Trump lawyers are smart folks and are doing a pretty good job of defending a HYPOTHETICAL TRUMP who Could have had policy reasons to investigate corruption in Ukraine. But they aren’t defending the actual Trump, who did it, and did it as an abuse of presidential power to cheat in the 2020 election.
Saturday, January 25, 2020
Isn’t jury intimidation an impeachable offense?
Isn’t jury intimidation a crime? Isn’t intimidation of the Senate jury in the president’s impeachment trial by the president an impeachable offense? When the president threatens the Senators of his party isn’t that further evidence of obstruction of Congress? The president made this threat:
According to a report from CBS News, Republicans even entertaining the idea of giving Democrats the necessary votes to call witnesses have been told, “Vote against the president, and your head will be on a pike.“
Every day this president abuses the power of his office. The more he gets away with the worse he gets. Is there any chance that Republicans will fight back? I suppose not.
According to a report from CBS News, Republicans even entertaining the idea of giving Democrats the necessary votes to call witnesses have been told, “Vote against the president, and your head will be on a pike.“
Every day this president abuses the power of his office. The more he gets away with the worse he gets. Is there any chance that Republicans will fight back? I suppose not.
Friday, January 24, 2020
When do Republicans say "ENOUGH!"
When will some Republican Senators finally get pissed off? Trump just threatened them not to vote against him in the impeachment trial:
"According to a report from CBS News, Republicans even entertaining the idea of giving Democrats the necessary votes to call witnesses have been told, “Vote against the president, and your head will be on a pike.”
Trump continues to prove that Adam Schiff's brilliant and heartfelt closing speech from last night is all too true;
""If 'Right' doesn’t matter, it doesn’t matter how good the constitution is," Rep. Schiff told the Senate. "The framers could not protect us from ourselves if right and truth don’t matter. And you know what (Trump) did was not right."
Not only is what Trump does "not right", what Trump does is profoundly wrong. There is just something wrong with him.
I think it is about time that about half a dozen Republican Senators break the wall of fear, get pissed off, and vote to impeach this pathetic little man. Probably won't happen, but what is it going to take?
How is what Trump is doing any different than an authoritarian tyrant would do? This is what the Republican Party stands for today - blind and fearful obeisance to an authoritarian despot.
They don't have to do this. They can take their party back. But it will take more than one, but only one is probably needed to crack open the wall. Romney, Collins, Murkowski? I would wager that it will be a woman who is most likely to have the courage to finally say "ENOUGH!"
"According to a report from CBS News, Republicans even entertaining the idea of giving Democrats the necessary votes to call witnesses have been told, “Vote against the president, and your head will be on a pike.”
Trump continues to prove that Adam Schiff's brilliant and heartfelt closing speech from last night is all too true;
""If 'Right' doesn’t matter, it doesn’t matter how good the constitution is," Rep. Schiff told the Senate. "The framers could not protect us from ourselves if right and truth don’t matter. And you know what (Trump) did was not right."
Not only is what Trump does "not right", what Trump does is profoundly wrong. There is just something wrong with him.
I think it is about time that about half a dozen Republican Senators break the wall of fear, get pissed off, and vote to impeach this pathetic little man. Probably won't happen, but what is it going to take?
How is what Trump is doing any different than an authoritarian tyrant would do? This is what the Republican Party stands for today - blind and fearful obeisance to an authoritarian despot.
They don't have to do this. They can take their party back. But it will take more than one, but only one is probably needed to crack open the wall. Romney, Collins, Murkowski? I would wager that it will be a woman who is most likely to have the courage to finally say "ENOUGH!"
Wednesday, January 22, 2020
What the world looks like when America doesn't lead
America has been the necessary nation ever since WWII. It provided, imperfectly, the moral leadership of the post war world - it was the international stabilizer - it was the bulwark against the tyrannies of the Soviet and Chinese Communist dictatorships.
But that is gone now. Trump's America is not in any way a moral leader in the world. Trump's America is in no way a stabilizer of the international order. Trump's America is a imitator of Putin's Oligarchy, and Saudi Arabia's oligarchy, and the authoritarian rules in Hungary, Turkey, the Philippines, etc.
Trump admires authoritarianism, not democracy. Trump admires and promotes oligarchy. Trump admires, promotes, and is saturated with political and financial corruption.
One of the latest examples is Saudi Arabia Crown Prince MBS hacking the phone of Jeff Bezos as part of MBS campaign against his perceived opponents. Why wouldn't MBS do whatever authoritarian thing he wants? He has Trump as an admirer rather than a constraint.
One of the many ways our president is diminishing and weakening America.
But that is gone now. Trump's America is not in any way a moral leader in the world. Trump's America is in no way a stabilizer of the international order. Trump's America is a imitator of Putin's Oligarchy, and Saudi Arabia's oligarchy, and the authoritarian rules in Hungary, Turkey, the Philippines, etc.
Trump admires authoritarianism, not democracy. Trump admires and promotes oligarchy. Trump admires, promotes, and is saturated with political and financial corruption.
One of the latest examples is Saudi Arabia Crown Prince MBS hacking the phone of Jeff Bezos as part of MBS campaign against his perceived opponents. Why wouldn't MBS do whatever authoritarian thing he wants? He has Trump as an admirer rather than a constraint.
One of the many ways our president is diminishing and weakening America.
Monday, January 20, 2020
Trump's inability to comprehend anything complex - please read the book
This is a much longer than normal post. Rather than get involved in the prelude to the impeachment trial in the Senate, I wanted to show an episode that illustrates who it is that my conservative friends are wanting to protect and keep in office.
It is excerpts from an book by Phillip Rucker and Carol Leonnig "A Very Stable Genius" being released on January 21, 2020. It tells a story that I have read before, but this tells it in terrifying detail. It shows the level of Trump's inability to comprehend complex issues and shows his deeply ingrained corrupt instincts.
It is excerpts from an book by Phillip Rucker and Carol Leonnig "A Very Stable Genius" being released on January 21, 2020. It tells a story that I have read before, but this tells it in terrifying detail. It shows the level of Trump's inability to comprehend complex issues and shows his deeply ingrained corrupt instincts.
"...six months into his administration, Secretary of Defense Jim Mattis, Director of the National Economic Council Gary Cohn, and Secretary of State Rex Tillerson had grown alarmed by gaping holes in Trump’s knowledge of history, especially the key alliances forged following World War II. Trump had dismissed allies as worthless, cozied up to authoritarian regimes in Russia and elsewhere, and advocated withdrawing troops from strategic outposts and active theaters alike
...felt that many of Trump’s impulsive ideas stemmed from his lack of familiarity with U.S. history and, even, where countries were located. To have a useful discussion with him, the trio agreed, they had to create a basic knowledge, a shared language.
...The episode has been documented numerous times, but subsequent reporting reveals a more complete picture of the moment and the chilling effect Trump’s comments and hostility had on the nation’s military and national security leadership.
...Just before 10 a.m. on a scorching summer Thursday, Trump arrived at the Pentagon. He stepped out of his motorcade, walked along a corridor with portraits honoring former chairmen of the Joint Chiefs, and stepped inside the Tank. The uniformed officers greeted their commander in chief. Chairman of the Joint Chiefs General Joseph F. Dunford Jr. sat in the seat of honor midway down the table, because this was his room, and Trump sat at the head of the table facing a projection screen. Mattis and the newly confirmed deputy defense secretary, Patrick Shanahan, sat to the president’s left, with Vice President Pence and Tillerson to his right. Down the table sat the leaders of the military branches, along with Cohn and Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin. White House chief strategist Stephen K. Bannon was in the outer ring of chairs with other staff, taking his seat just behind Mattis and directly in Trump’s line of sight.
Mattis, Cohn, and Tillerson and their aides decided to use maps, graphics, and charts to tutor the president, figuring they would help keep him from getting bored. Mattis opened with a slide show punctuated with lots of dollar signs. Mattis devised a strategy to use terms the impatient president, schooled in real estate, would appreciate to impress upon him the value of U.S. investments abroad. He sought to explain why U.S. troops were deployed in so many regions and why America’s safety hinged on a complex web of trade deals, alliances, and bases across the globe.
An opening line flashed on the screen, setting the tone: “The post-war international rules-based order is the greatest gift of the greatest generation.” Mattis then gave a 20-minute briefing on the power of the NATO alliance to stabilize Europe and keep the United States safe. Bannon thought to himself, “Not good. Trump is not going to like that one bit.” The internationalist language Mattis was using was a trigger for Trump.
“Oh, baby, this is going to be f---ing wild,” Bannon thought. “If you stood up and threatened to shoot [Trump], he couldn’t say ‘postwar rules-based international order.’ It’s just not the way he thinks.”
For the next 90 minutes, Mattis, Tillerson, and Cohn took turns trying to emphasize their points, pointing to their charts and diagrams. They showed where U.S. personnel were positioned, at military bases, CIA stations, and embassies, and how U.S. deployments fended off the threats of terror cells, nuclear blasts, and destabilizing enemies in places including Afghanistan, Iran, Iraq, the Korea Peninsula, and Syria. Cohn spoke for about 20 minutes about the value of free trade with America’s allies, emphasizing how he saw each trade agreement working together as part of an overall structure to solidify U.S. economic and national security.
Trump’s first complaint was to repeat what he had vented about to his national security adviser months earlier: South Korea should pay for a $10 billion missile defense system that the United States built for it. The system was designed to shoot down any short- and medium-range ballistic missiles from North Korea to protect South Korea and American troops stationed there. But Trump argued that the South Koreans should pay for it, proposing that the administration pull U.S. troops out of the region or bill the South Koreans for their protection.
“We should charge them rent,” Trump said of South Korea. “We should make them pay for our soldiers. We should make money off of everything.”
Trump proceeded to explain that NATO, too, was worthless. U.S. generals were letting the allied member countries get away with murder, he said, and they owed the United States a lot of money after not living up to their promise of paying their dues.
More broadly, Mattis argued, the NATO alliance was not serving only to protect western Europe. It protected America, too. “This is what keeps us safe,” Mattis said. Cohn tried to explain to Trump that he needed to see the value of the trade deals. “These are commitments that help keep us safe,” Cohn said.
...Trump then repeated a threat he’d made countless times before. He wanted out of the Iran nuclear deal that President Obama had struck in 2015, which called for Iran to reduce its uranium stockpile and cut its nuclear program.
...Trump then repeated a threat he’d made countless times before. He wanted out of the Iran nuclear deal that President Obama had struck in 2015, which called for Iran to reduce its uranium stockpile and cut its nuclear program.
“It’s the worst deal in history!” Trump declared.
“Well, actually . . .,” Tillerson interjected.
“I don’t want to hear it,” Trump said, cutting off the secretary of state before he could explain some of the benefits of the agreement. “They’re cheating. They’re building. We’re getting out of it. I keep telling you, I keep giving you time, and you keep delaying me. I want out of it.”
Before they could debate the Iran deal, Trump erupted to revive another frequent complaint: the war in Afghanistan, which was now America’s longest war. He demanded an explanation for why the United States hadn’t won in Afghanistan yet, now 16 years after the nation began fighting there in the wake of the 9/11 terrorist attacks. Trump unleashed his disdain, calling Afghanistan a “loser war.” That phrase hung in the air and disgusted not only the military leaders at the table but also the men and women in uniform sitting along the back wall behind their principals. They all were sworn to obey their commander in chief’s commands, and here he was calling the war they had been fighting a loser war.
“You’re all losers,” Trump said. “You don’t know how to win anymore.”
Trump questioned why the United States couldn’t get some oil as payment for the troops stationed in the Persian Gulf. “We spent $7 trillion; they’re ripping us off,” Trump boomed. “Where is the f---ing oil?”
...“I want to win,” he said. “We don’t win any wars anymore . . . We spend $7 trillion, everybody else got the oil and we’re not winning anymore.”
Trump by now was in one of his rages. ...
“I wouldn’t go to war with you people,” Trump told the assembled brass.
Addressing the room, the commander in chief barked, “You’re a bunch of dopes and babies.”
For a president known for verbiage he euphemistically called “locker room talk,” this was the gravest insult he could have delivered to these people, in this sacred space. The flag officers in the room were shocked. Some staff began looking down at their papers, rearranging folders, almost wishing themselves out of the room. A few considered walking out. They tried not to reveal their revulsion on their faces, but questions raced through their minds. “How does the commander in chief say that?” one thought. “What would our worst adversaries think if they knew he said this?”
This was a president who had been labeled a “draft dodger” for avoiding service in the Vietnam War under questionable circumstances. Trump was a young man born of privilege and in seemingly perfect health: six feet two inches with a muscular build and a flawless medical record. He played several sports, including football. Then, in 1968 at age 22, he obtained a diagnosis of bone spurs in his heels that exempted him from military service just as the United States was drafting men his age to fulfill massive troop deployments to Vietnam.
Tillerson in particular was stunned by Trump’s diatribe and began visibly seething. For too many minutes, others in the room noticed, he had been staring straight, dumbfounded, at Mattis, who was speechless, his head bowed down toward the table. Tillerson thought to himself, “Gosh darn it, Jim, say something. Why aren’t you saying something?”
But, as he would later tell close aides, Tillerson realized in that moment that Mattis was genetically a Marine, unable to talk back to his commander in chief, no matter what nonsense came out of his mouth.
The more perplexing silence was from Pence, a leader who should have been able to stand up to Trump. Instead, one attendee thought, “He’s sitting there frozen like a statue.
...Others at the table noticed Trump’s stream of venom had taken an emotional toll. So many people in that room had gone to war and risked their lives for their country, and now they were being dressed down by a president who had not. They felt sick to their stomachs. Tillerson told others he thought he saw a woman in the room silently crying. He was furious and decided he couldn’t stand it another minute. His voice broke into Trump’s tirade, this one about trying to make money off U.S. troops.
“No, that’s just wrong,” the secretary of state said. “Mr. President, you’re totally wrong. None of that is true.”
Tillerson’s father and uncle had both been combat veterans, and he was deeply proud of their service.
“The men and women who put on a uniform don’t do it to become soldiers of fortune,” Tillerson said. “That’s not why they put on a uniform and go out and die . . . They do it to protect our freedom.”
There was silence in the Tank. Several military officers in the room were grateful to the secretary of state for defending them when no one else would. The meeting soon ended and Trump walked out, saying goodbye to a group of servicemen lining the corridor as he made his way to his motorcade waiting outside. Mattis, Tillerson, and Cohn were deflated. Standing in the hall with a small cluster of people he trusted, Tillerson finally let down his guard.
“He’s a f---ing moron,” the secretary of state said of the president.
...
Trump once again gathered his generals and top diplomats in December 2017 for a meeting as part of the administration’s ongoing strategy talks about troop deployments in Afghanistan in the Situation Room, a secure meeting room on the ground floor of the West Wing. Trump didn’t like the Situation Room as much as the Pentagon’s Tank, because he didn’t think it had enough gravitas. It just wasn’t impressive. But there Trump was, struggling to come up with a new Afghanistan policy and frustrated that so many U.S. forces were deployed in so many places around the world. The conversation began to tilt in the same direction as it had in the Tank back in July.
“All these countries need to start paying us for the troops we are sending to their countries. We need to be making a profit,” Trump said. “We could turn a profit on this.”
Dunford tried to explain to the president once again, gently, that troops deployed in these regions provided stability there, which helped make America safer. Another officer chimed in that charging other countries for U.S. soldiers would be against the law.
“But it just wasn’t working,” one former Trump aide recalled. “Nothing worked.”
Following the Tank meeting, Tillerson had told his aides that he would never silently tolerate such demeaning talk from Trump about making money off the deployments of U.S. soldiers. Tillerson’s father, at the age of 17, had committed to enlist in the Navy on his next birthday, wanting so much to serve his country in World War II. His great-uncle was a career officer in the Navy as well. Both men had been on his mind, Tillerson told aides, when Trump unleashed his tirade in the Tank and again when he repeated those points in the Situation Room in December.
“We need to get our money back,” Trump told his assembled advisers.
That was it. Tillerson stood up. But when he did so, he turned his back to the president and faced the flag officers and the rest of the aides in the room. He didn’t want a repeat of the scene in the Tank.
“I’ve never put on a uniform, but I know this,” Tillerson said. “Every person who has put on a uniform, the people in this room, they don’t do it to make a buck. They did it for their country, to protect us. I want everyone to be clear about how much we as a country value their service.”
Tillerson’s rebuke made Trump angry. He got a little red in the face. But the president decided not to engage Tillerson at that moment. He would wait to take him on another day.
In March 2018, Trump abruptly fired Tillerson while the secretary of state was halfway across the globe on a sensitive diplomatic mission to Africa to ease tensions caused by Trump’s demeaning insults about African countries. Trump gave Tillerson no rationale for his firing, and afterward acted as if they were buddies, inviting him to come by the Oval Office to take a picture and have the president sign it. Tillerson never went."end of excerpt...
But, isn't Trump actually smart but just different? Didn't he go to a great school, Wharton? I don't think so. He got into Wharton because his brother was a friend of a man who vetted candidates and recommended Donald as a favor to Donald's brother. Plus, long ago, before Trump ran for president, a retire Wharton professor said very publically and often that Trump was the dumbest student he ever had, you couldn't teach him anything.
But, wasn't Trump a very successful businessman? Not really. He took over $400 million from his father and blew it, ending up in multiple bankruptcies and business failures. As best I can tell his money is from money laundering billions from Russian oligarchs who needed to find criminals like themselves with real estate, casino, resort and golf courses that could take in dirty cash and give them back clean cash in return.
Trump is good at conning people, good at building a brand, an illusion of success that evaporates under scrutiny.
Trump's impeachment is the least of his problems. His real problem will be to stay out of prison on money laundering, tax fraud, and bank fraud. That is why his real passion is to keep his finances secret.
It will all come out eventually, and those who so loudly defend him now will try to quietly slink away when it becomes undeniable.
Tuesday, January 14, 2020
Soleimani was not like bin Laden or Baghdadi
Bin Laden headed up Al Qaeda, and Baghdadi headed up ISIS. Both of these were non state terrorist movements. Soleimani was the second most powerful member of the government of Iran. Assassinating him on the grounds of an ally, Iraq, was an act of war. Doing so without consulting with Congress was pretty close to a violation of the Constitution.
Soleimani deserved to die, and the world is better without him. But previous presidents, W and Obama, decided that declaring war against Iran was worse than working to oppose the actions of Soleimani. I agree.
Bullies only know about bullying. So it is with Trump and his cult.
America has plummeted from the heights of the Leader of the Free World to the depths of the Biggest Bully. And a Stupid Bully at that.
Soleimani deserved to die, and the world is better without him. But previous presidents, W and Obama, decided that declaring war against Iran was worse than working to oppose the actions of Soleimani. I agree.
Bullies only know about bullying. So it is with Trump and his cult.
America has plummeted from the heights of the Leader of the Free World to the depths of the Biggest Bully. And a Stupid Bully at that.
Wednesday, January 8, 2020
Showing restraint
Looks like President Trump is not escalating dramatically against Iran, as I had feared he would. He is diminishing the effects of the attack on the military base and just talking about economic sanction increases.
Good for him.
Good for him.
Tuesday, January 7, 2020
The stupidity is escalating
To the Iranians, the assassination of Soleimani was akin to the assassination of JFK in America in 1963. Although each had some opposition within, they were beloved and both nations were both shocked and grieving intensely. Imagine America's response in '63 if it was discovered that the USSR had assassinated JFK!
Iran has now attacked to two Iraqi military bases hosting Americans. The U.S. is huddling to determine their response. Expecting anything approaching intelligence or wisdom from Trump and his war-hawks close to him is just beyond my ability to credibly imagine.
It would be good to remember that Iran lost about half a MILLION men in their war with Iran in the '80s. They sent thousands of boys across mine fields to their deaths as a way to clear out the mines. Expecting restraint from Iran is also beyond my ability to credibly imagine.
Why did previous administrations stay away from going to war with Iran? The straits of Hormuz. It is too easy for Iran to block it and stop oil coming out of the gulf.
This is not going well.
Iran has now attacked to two Iraqi military bases hosting Americans. The U.S. is huddling to determine their response. Expecting anything approaching intelligence or wisdom from Trump and his war-hawks close to him is just beyond my ability to credibly imagine.
It would be good to remember that Iran lost about half a MILLION men in their war with Iran in the '80s. They sent thousands of boys across mine fields to their deaths as a way to clear out the mines. Expecting restraint from Iran is also beyond my ability to credibly imagine.
Why did previous administrations stay away from going to war with Iran? The straits of Hormuz. It is too easy for Iran to block it and stop oil coming out of the gulf.
This is not going well.
Friday, January 3, 2020
Did the nitwit just start a war with Iran?
Trump just assassinated the second most powerful man in Iran, Qassem Soleimani, head of the dreaded Quds force. I think this is Trump's declaration of war against Iran. Do we expect Iran, of all countries, to be diplomatic in its response? or rather to fly into a blood-lust frenzy instead? Not really that hard to figure out.
Is it good that the horrible Soleimani is dead? Sure. Was he working to attack Americans in the Middle East? Probably. Was he a primary force in the brutal expansions of Iranian power in the Middle East? Yes.
But, how does the leader of the free world respond to that? By assassinating him? George W Bush said no. Obama said no. They didn't want to start a war with Iran. They countered Soleimani's moves with U.S. moves. That is the level headed and responsible approach. The approach of grown ups. The approach based upon the interests of America rather than the political interests of a childish president needing to distract from his impeachment.
Did Trump consult with Saudi Arabia's leader, MBS? I expect that is very likely, as Trump immediately sided with Saudi Arabia against Iran as soon as he took office - remember him standing with a ridiculous grin on his face as Saudi warriors danced around him swinging swords?
Why? Even though you can find Republicans and war hawks agreeing with this assassination as justified, the support rings hollow to me. They keep being forced to defend the egotistical impulses of the child at the head of their party. When will they speak out?
Why? This nitwit, whose only concern is himself, needs big headlines to distract from his impeachment. I have long feared just this - a war to pull the headlines away from his exposed corruption and to capture the headlines.
He is a danger, not only to American democracy with his authoritarian attacks on our democratic institutions (free press, neutral judiciary, fair Justice system, Constitutional congressional powers, etc.) but he is a danger to the world with his bloodthirsty need to prove his pathetic notion of manhood.
I do hope and pray that this does not escalate into a war the way Iraq did, because I fear it could actually get worse than Iraq.
Is it good that the horrible Soleimani is dead? Sure. Was he working to attack Americans in the Middle East? Probably. Was he a primary force in the brutal expansions of Iranian power in the Middle East? Yes.
But, how does the leader of the free world respond to that? By assassinating him? George W Bush said no. Obama said no. They didn't want to start a war with Iran. They countered Soleimani's moves with U.S. moves. That is the level headed and responsible approach. The approach of grown ups. The approach based upon the interests of America rather than the political interests of a childish president needing to distract from his impeachment.
Did Trump consult with Saudi Arabia's leader, MBS? I expect that is very likely, as Trump immediately sided with Saudi Arabia against Iran as soon as he took office - remember him standing with a ridiculous grin on his face as Saudi warriors danced around him swinging swords?
Why? Even though you can find Republicans and war hawks agreeing with this assassination as justified, the support rings hollow to me. They keep being forced to defend the egotistical impulses of the child at the head of their party. When will they speak out?
Why? This nitwit, whose only concern is himself, needs big headlines to distract from his impeachment. I have long feared just this - a war to pull the headlines away from his exposed corruption and to capture the headlines.
He is a danger, not only to American democracy with his authoritarian attacks on our democratic institutions (free press, neutral judiciary, fair Justice system, Constitutional congressional powers, etc.) but he is a danger to the world with his bloodthirsty need to prove his pathetic notion of manhood.
I do hope and pray that this does not escalate into a war the way Iraq did, because I fear it could actually get worse than Iraq.
Thursday, January 2, 2020
Climate change catastrophes
Climate change is producing terrible damage to this world. The most recent catastrophe is in Australia where so far about 18 people have died, many are missing, mass evacuations are happening, people are fleeing into the ocean to stay alive, smoke inhalation is affecting vast numbers, and nearly ONE HALF A BILLION animals have died. Some species may have disappeared. The cause is unusual heat and dryness. Apparently this fire season has gone far beyond the normal, gotten into trees, and there is no quick end in sight as the heat and dryness continue.
We in California understand this problem all to well as we have gone through three consecutive out of the ordinary fire seasons.
In addition to fires there are blizzards and floods that are unusual due to the unstable polar vortex caused by climate change.
Of course there are more category 5 hurricanes assaulting us as well.
We are in a New Normal - instability in our climate.
My political beliefs have long been to stay away from the extremes in either party, and I don't want an extreme lefty to get the Democratic nomination for President this season because I think that is the only way that Trump gets elected.
But, I think the youth today are much less interested in whether or not a candidate cares about Medicare for All and is much more interested in cleaning up the air and water, and attacking the causes of climate change.
It is finally dawning on me that environmental concerns need to take the lead going forward.
We in California understand this problem all to well as we have gone through three consecutive out of the ordinary fire seasons.
In addition to fires there are blizzards and floods that are unusual due to the unstable polar vortex caused by climate change.
Of course there are more category 5 hurricanes assaulting us as well.
We are in a New Normal - instability in our climate.
My political beliefs have long been to stay away from the extremes in either party, and I don't want an extreme lefty to get the Democratic nomination for President this season because I think that is the only way that Trump gets elected.
But, I think the youth today are much less interested in whether or not a candidate cares about Medicare for All and is much more interested in cleaning up the air and water, and attacking the causes of climate change.
It is finally dawning on me that environmental concerns need to take the lead going forward.
Wednesday, December 18, 2019
Trump is impeached
It’s not complicated. He did it. Violated the Constitution. Tried to bribe a foreign country to rig the 2020 election. Abuse of Power. Refused to honor all Congressional subpoenas for documents and testimony. Abuse of Congress
It’s not a coup. It’s Constitutionally authorized impeachment of a president that violated the Constitution.
It’s not complicated.
It’s not a coup. It’s Constitutionally authorized impeachment of a president that violated the Constitution.
It’s not complicated.
Friday, December 13, 2019
Britain's crushing defeat of Socialist Corbyn is a warning to to U.S. liberals
I hope my liberal friends hear the shouted lesson of the British election yesterday where the bombastic and unpredictable conservative Boris Johnson won a landslide victory over his far left opponent, Jeremy Corbyn.
It will happen here if the Democrats nominate a Medicare For All candidate - i.e. Warren or Sanders. I strongly support a Klobachar, Buttigieg, or Biden instead - or any other non-Medicare For All candidate.
I know that the far wing of either party gets all the passion and hullabaloo, but they won't get the votes.
I know Trump will call any Democrat a far leftist, but the country can elect a liberal but it won't elect someone they see as an extremist (and Medicare For All and free college tuition are very far left, indeed)
To beat Trump, which I believe is necessary to save/restore democracy and the institutions of democracy (unintimidated free press, unintimidated intelligence agencies, unintimidated judiciary, unintimidated State Department, science based policies in weather and health and environment, fair elections, functioning governmental departments, etc.) the Democrats need to heed the failure of their British counterparts and move far away from the American versions of Corbyn.
It will happen here if the Democrats nominate a Medicare For All candidate - i.e. Warren or Sanders. I strongly support a Klobachar, Buttigieg, or Biden instead - or any other non-Medicare For All candidate.
I know that the far wing of either party gets all the passion and hullabaloo, but they won't get the votes.
I know Trump will call any Democrat a far leftist, but the country can elect a liberal but it won't elect someone they see as an extremist (and Medicare For All and free college tuition are very far left, indeed)
To beat Trump, which I believe is necessary to save/restore democracy and the institutions of democracy (unintimidated free press, unintimidated intelligence agencies, unintimidated judiciary, unintimidated State Department, science based policies in weather and health and environment, fair elections, functioning governmental departments, etc.) the Democrats need to heed the failure of their British counterparts and move far away from the American versions of Corbyn.
Wednesday, December 11, 2019
Putin instructs Trump how to handle his impeachment
Amazingly, Russia's "Foreign Minister" Sergie Lavrov rushed to the White House from Paris for a closed door meeting with the Russian Puppet, President Trump. There can be no doubt that Putin/Lavrov and the Russian Oligarchy are giving Trump marching orders during his impeachment. Look for actions from the Putin Puppet that most help Putin.
I can understand that Putin controls Trump through blackmail or money or some such, but why on earth have the Republicans in Congress and the Senate turned into Putin propagandists?
They are not capable of shame, it seems.
I can understand that Putin controls Trump through blackmail or money or some such, but why on earth have the Republicans in Congress and the Senate turned into Putin propagandists?
They are not capable of shame, it seems.
Thursday, December 5, 2019
It's not hate, it's the violation of the Constitution that drives the impeachment of Trump
“Do you hate the president, Madam Speaker?” This question was given to Nancy Pelosi by a conservative from the Sinclair Broadcast Group. He was voicing the main anti-impeachment propaganda message from conservatives. It is spin, not a real question.
It is not hate, it is Trump's violation of the Constitution that is driving the impeachment process.
Trump violated the Constitution by trying to bribe a foreign leader to manufacture damaging info on a political rival. That is a violation of the Constitution.
Trump violates the Constitution when he obstructs Congress by refusing to turn over subpoenaed documents and refuses to let subpoenaed Administration officials testify before Congress.
Trump violated the Constitution when he obstructed justice and intimidated witnesses during the Mueller investigation.
Trump violated the Constitution by trying to bribe a foreign leader to manufacture info blaming Ukraine rather than Russia for interfering in the 2016 election - that is just the president of the United States following the orders of the head of a foreign power - Putin of Russia. The Founding Fathers were more afraid of a foreign power dictating the affairs of America than perhaps any other thing - except, perhaps, being afraid of a President trying to become a king - another real fear in the case of our current temporary occupant of the White House.
Speaker Pelosi's response to the pointed question from the Sinclair Broadcasting man was swift and strong:
“As a Catholic, I resent your using the word ‘hate’ in a sentence that addresses me. I don’t hate anyone. I was raised in a way that is full — a heart full of love — and always pray for the president. And I still pray for the president. I pray for the president all the time."
“So, don’t mess with me when it comes to words like that.”
It is clear to all that are willing to see it that Donald Trump is a disturbed man who is should be pitied rather than hated. It is only because of his position of power in the country and the world that he is a danger to anyone other than himself and his immediate family and businesses. But he is a danger to all of us.
It is not hate, it is Constitutionally mandated responsibility that forces the House to impeach Donald Trump.
At this point, we all think that the Republicans in the Senate won't convict. But that is on their consciences and on their eternal historical legacies that they have to live with.
I don't know why Republicans have decided that defending the childish and incompetent Donald Trump is the hill they should die on. But, so far they are doing so. Will they win this impeachment battle in the Senate? Probably. But what do they lose, besides their reputations and sacred honor? Their Party?
Strange times when a political party abandons all of their principles and risk the future of their very party to defend a man they are embarrassed by and secretly despise.
It is not hate, it is Trump's violation of the Constitution that is driving the impeachment process.
Trump violated the Constitution by trying to bribe a foreign leader to manufacture damaging info on a political rival. That is a violation of the Constitution.
Trump violates the Constitution when he obstructs Congress by refusing to turn over subpoenaed documents and refuses to let subpoenaed Administration officials testify before Congress.
Trump violated the Constitution when he obstructed justice and intimidated witnesses during the Mueller investigation.
Trump violated the Constitution by trying to bribe a foreign leader to manufacture info blaming Ukraine rather than Russia for interfering in the 2016 election - that is just the president of the United States following the orders of the head of a foreign power - Putin of Russia. The Founding Fathers were more afraid of a foreign power dictating the affairs of America than perhaps any other thing - except, perhaps, being afraid of a President trying to become a king - another real fear in the case of our current temporary occupant of the White House.
Speaker Pelosi's response to the pointed question from the Sinclair Broadcasting man was swift and strong:
“As a Catholic, I resent your using the word ‘hate’ in a sentence that addresses me. I don’t hate anyone. I was raised in a way that is full — a heart full of love — and always pray for the president. And I still pray for the president. I pray for the president all the time."
“So, don’t mess with me when it comes to words like that.”
It is clear to all that are willing to see it that Donald Trump is a disturbed man who is should be pitied rather than hated. It is only because of his position of power in the country and the world that he is a danger to anyone other than himself and his immediate family and businesses. But he is a danger to all of us.
It is not hate, it is Constitutionally mandated responsibility that forces the House to impeach Donald Trump.
At this point, we all think that the Republicans in the Senate won't convict. But that is on their consciences and on their eternal historical legacies that they have to live with.
I don't know why Republicans have decided that defending the childish and incompetent Donald Trump is the hill they should die on. But, so far they are doing so. Will they win this impeachment battle in the Senate? Probably. But what do they lose, besides their reputations and sacred honor? Their Party?
Strange times when a political party abandons all of their principles and risk the future of their very party to defend a man they are embarrassed by and secretly despise.
Tuesday, November 26, 2019
Conservative calls for Trump removal
Brett Stephens is one of the ever growing list of conservatives who are appalled by Trump and the current Republican Party. He is calling for the removal of the President.
His most recent article shows how Trump is turning America into the old Ukraine that was steeped in corruption. The current Ukraine has been moving to rid the old corruption and replace with anti-corruption forces, including the new President, Zelensky. Trump, of course, is on the side of corruption and has tried and is trying to corrupt Zelensky by forcing him to dig up dirt on a political rival, Biden, and fabricate a case that it was Ukraine and not Russia that interfered in the 2016 election.
Stephens sums it up in a very revealing paragraph:
"...we’ve been living in a country undergoing its own dismal process of Ukrainianization:
An excellent summary of today's disgusting administration and Republican Party.
Impeach him and remove him from office. And punish his corrupt toadies by voting them out of office. Please.
His most recent article shows how Trump is turning America into the old Ukraine that was steeped in corruption. The current Ukraine has been moving to rid the old corruption and replace with anti-corruption forces, including the new President, Zelensky. Trump, of course, is on the side of corruption and has tried and is trying to corrupt Zelensky by forcing him to dig up dirt on a political rival, Biden, and fabricate a case that it was Ukraine and not Russia that interfered in the 2016 election.
Stephens sums it up in a very revealing paragraph:
"...we’ve been living in a country undergoing its own dismal process of Ukrainianization:
- of treating fictions as facts;
- and propaganda as journalism;
- and political opponents as criminals;
- and political offices as business ventures;
- and personal relatives as diplomatic representatives;
- and legal fixers as shadow cabinet members;
- and extortion as foreign policy;
- and toadyism as patriotism;
- and fellow citizens as “human scum”;
- and mortal enemies as long-lost friends —
An excellent summary of today's disgusting administration and Republican Party.
Impeach him and remove him from office. And punish his corrupt toadies by voting them out of office. Please.
Sunday, November 24, 2019
The Sound Bite Defense
The testimonies in the House Impeachment hearings were decisive and specific - Trump and his administration tried to bribe the newly elected president of Ukraine to investigate Trump's political opponent, Joe Biden and his son, and to fabricate evidence that it was Ukraine rather than Russia that interfered with the 2016 presidential election.
But the responses by the Republicans on the committee were interesting. Rather than deal with the testimony itself they simply created an alternate reality that had nothing to do with the testimony. They waged a Sound Bite Defense. Sound bites that can be fed to the Trump base on Fox News and the Right Wing media bubble. Ignore the news, they say, just hear the Republican Sound Bites.
For example, the testimony was that Trump demanded a quid pro quo in order to release Congressionally authorized military aid. the Sound Bite Defense by Nunes and Jordan is that Ukraine got the aid, so that is proof that there was no quid pro quo. What? The aid was only released after Trump was caught, after the whistleblower blew the whistle, after Congress was in the process of forcing the release.
The testimony was that Trump pressured, demanded, the Ukrainian president to announce an investigation before aid would be released. The Sound Bite Defense is that the two people on the call - Trump and Zalensky - both said there was no pressure. What? Of course the accused, Trump, will say there was no pressure. And of course the one who was pressured, Zalensky, has to say he wasn't pressured - he needs Trump's help in his war against Putin's Russia. He has no choice. He is still under pressure.
The fact is that Trump was caught in a flagrant violation of the Constitution's Bribery Clause. The Sound Bite is that this is a coup to overturn the will of the people. What? Bribing a foreign country to announce an investigation into a political opponent isn't a violation of the Constitution?
The fact is that the Democrats are following precedent and law in their impeachment hearings along the lines of the impeachment hearings of Clinton and Nixon. The Sound Bite is that the investigation was all hidden and underground without Republicans having a chance to question witnesses. Even while Republicans were on the committees asking questions of the witnesses.
I expect Trump and the Republicans to fight back. But their strategy is to feed Sound Bites that simply ignore the evidence so that the only place the Trump base gets its news - Fox News and the Right Wing Media Bubble - ignores the evidence and presents the fictional reality of the Sound Bite Defense.
But the responses by the Republicans on the committee were interesting. Rather than deal with the testimony itself they simply created an alternate reality that had nothing to do with the testimony. They waged a Sound Bite Defense. Sound bites that can be fed to the Trump base on Fox News and the Right Wing media bubble. Ignore the news, they say, just hear the Republican Sound Bites.
For example, the testimony was that Trump demanded a quid pro quo in order to release Congressionally authorized military aid. the Sound Bite Defense by Nunes and Jordan is that Ukraine got the aid, so that is proof that there was no quid pro quo. What? The aid was only released after Trump was caught, after the whistleblower blew the whistle, after Congress was in the process of forcing the release.
The testimony was that Trump pressured, demanded, the Ukrainian president to announce an investigation before aid would be released. The Sound Bite Defense is that the two people on the call - Trump and Zalensky - both said there was no pressure. What? Of course the accused, Trump, will say there was no pressure. And of course the one who was pressured, Zalensky, has to say he wasn't pressured - he needs Trump's help in his war against Putin's Russia. He has no choice. He is still under pressure.
The fact is that Trump was caught in a flagrant violation of the Constitution's Bribery Clause. The Sound Bite is that this is a coup to overturn the will of the people. What? Bribing a foreign country to announce an investigation into a political opponent isn't a violation of the Constitution?
The fact is that the Democrats are following precedent and law in their impeachment hearings along the lines of the impeachment hearings of Clinton and Nixon. The Sound Bite is that the investigation was all hidden and underground without Republicans having a chance to question witnesses. Even while Republicans were on the committees asking questions of the witnesses.
I expect Trump and the Republicans to fight back. But their strategy is to feed Sound Bites that simply ignore the evidence so that the only place the Trump base gets its news - Fox News and the Right Wing Media Bubble - ignores the evidence and presents the fictional reality of the Sound Bite Defense.
Friday, November 15, 2019
Bribery is impeachable
Donald Trump is guilty of bribery, as outlined in Wednesday's impeachment inquiry. Article II, Section 4 of the U.S. Constitution states:
"The President, Vice President and all civil Officers of the United States, shall be removed from Office on Impeachment for, and Conviction of, Treason, Bribery, or other high Crimes and Misdemeanors."
Trump tried to bribe Ukraine when speaking to it's new president and the Ukrainian thanked Trump for military aid and Trump responded with "I would like you to do us a favor, though". It was much more than that one line in the fateful phone call. Wednesday's hearings outlined a concerted effort by Trump and his administration to withhold assistance until and unless the Ukrainian president publically announced that he was investigating Joe Biden and Biden's son, and was investigating whether Ukraine rather than Russia was the one interfering in the 2016 U.S. elections. (The CIA, FBI, the Mueller Report, and all 17 U.S. Intelligence Agencies have concluded that it was Russia that interfered in the 2016 elections - to get Trump elected)
The Republican defense seems to be that nothing happened. In the end the aid was given and the weapons were sold to Ukraine. So what?
To say that there was no bribery because there was no quid pro quo because the aid was eventually given is a pretty dumb defense. It is like saying a politician is in a room soliciting a million dollars for his upcoming campaign in return for a billion dollar contract, and having the FBI swoop into the room to arrest him, and then have his defense say that there was no bribery because he never got the money.
Republican Congressmen and women seem to have a very low opinion of their constituents if that is all they can come up with for a defense.
Indeed, the completion of the "deal" doesn't matter. The offer of a bribe is impeachable all by itself. Plus, the blackmail/extortion/bribe was only removed after the White House whistleblower made the impeachable offense known to Congress and it became public knowledge, plus with the threat of Congressional action forcing the administration to release the assistance.
By the way, Ukraine is fighting for its democratic life against military invasion and coercion from Russia. Actually, they are fighting for their actual lives. About 13,000 Ukrainians have died in this war. But Trump is more interested in his re-election than helping Ukraine fight against Trump's favorite dictator - Putin's Russia.
Corruption, corruption, corruption..... it goes on forever with this man and his enabling Republican Party.
Is it really that important to them that they keep out brown people? or get their corrupt tax cuts? or pack the courts with religious fanatics? Or be allowed to pollute our waters and air? or get to devastate the social safety net? Or keep their women in the kitchen and pregnant? Or be mean to gay people? Or to keep a house full of assault weapons waiting for the Apocalypse? Or.... what is so important to Republicans that they tie their fate to this authoritarian and mentally unstable man-child?
"The President, Vice President and all civil Officers of the United States, shall be removed from Office on Impeachment for, and Conviction of, Treason, Bribery, or other high Crimes and Misdemeanors."
Trump tried to bribe Ukraine when speaking to it's new president and the Ukrainian thanked Trump for military aid and Trump responded with "I would like you to do us a favor, though". It was much more than that one line in the fateful phone call. Wednesday's hearings outlined a concerted effort by Trump and his administration to withhold assistance until and unless the Ukrainian president publically announced that he was investigating Joe Biden and Biden's son, and was investigating whether Ukraine rather than Russia was the one interfering in the 2016 U.S. elections. (The CIA, FBI, the Mueller Report, and all 17 U.S. Intelligence Agencies have concluded that it was Russia that interfered in the 2016 elections - to get Trump elected)
The Republican defense seems to be that nothing happened. In the end the aid was given and the weapons were sold to Ukraine. So what?
To say that there was no bribery because there was no quid pro quo because the aid was eventually given is a pretty dumb defense. It is like saying a politician is in a room soliciting a million dollars for his upcoming campaign in return for a billion dollar contract, and having the FBI swoop into the room to arrest him, and then have his defense say that there was no bribery because he never got the money.
Republican Congressmen and women seem to have a very low opinion of their constituents if that is all they can come up with for a defense.
Indeed, the completion of the "deal" doesn't matter. The offer of a bribe is impeachable all by itself. Plus, the blackmail/extortion/bribe was only removed after the White House whistleblower made the impeachable offense known to Congress and it became public knowledge, plus with the threat of Congressional action forcing the administration to release the assistance.
By the way, Ukraine is fighting for its democratic life against military invasion and coercion from Russia. Actually, they are fighting for their actual lives. About 13,000 Ukrainians have died in this war. But Trump is more interested in his re-election than helping Ukraine fight against Trump's favorite dictator - Putin's Russia.
Corruption, corruption, corruption..... it goes on forever with this man and his enabling Republican Party.
Is it really that important to them that they keep out brown people? or get their corrupt tax cuts? or pack the courts with religious fanatics? Or be allowed to pollute our waters and air? or get to devastate the social safety net? Or keep their women in the kitchen and pregnant? Or be mean to gay people? Or to keep a house full of assault weapons waiting for the Apocalypse? Or.... what is so important to Republicans that they tie their fate to this authoritarian and mentally unstable man-child?
Tuesday, November 5, 2019
Virginia tuns blue - thank you President Trump!
The Virginia legislature turned blue tonight for the first time in a generation. Thank you President Trump. The Democrat won the race for governor, even though the Republican candidate has yet to concede.
Loser?
It may not be too long before Republican politicians wake up and realize that President Donald J Trump is hurting them personally. It has been said that once the polls show a 60% approval rating of an impeachment of Donald J Trump the Republicans will show him the same loyalty that he shows all of them – zero. Support for impeachment is already at 48%.
Loser?
The impeachment testimony is clear, Trump is guilty of bribery of a foreign power to find dirt on a political opponent. That is a direct violation of the Constitution, and a very serious impeachable crime.
Loser?
He is affecting Republican politicians’ election chances. How long will it take before they finally get to turn on the man that so many of them privately loathe?
Look out.
Friday, October 25, 2019
Trump's trillion dollar deficit
The deficit has grown to nearly $1 trillion under Trump ($984billion). There are two reasons for this.
First, Trump himself is an ignorant nitwit who doesn't have the mental capacity to understand the consequences of his actions. His only concern is getting a good photo op and looking good in the media on any particular day. So, he ceremoniously signed the only real bill of his presidency - an onerous tax cut that shifted wealth to the wealthy while guaranteeing an increase in the deficit. He did this, of course, to great fanfare surrounded by gleeful Republicans.
Second, it is really the Republicans who designed the tax cut, and their motives were obvious - to enrich the wealthy, and to increase the deficit so they can do what they always want to do, which is cut social programs that help the poor and middle class.
So, everything is right on target. Next step will be a big push to cut the social safety net in order to "lower the deficit."
By the way, the deficit was astronomical after the 2008 Great Recession, and Obama did a good job of lowering it. Trump has done a good job of raising it again. See this chart:
Sad. Cruel. Republican.....
First, Trump himself is an ignorant nitwit who doesn't have the mental capacity to understand the consequences of his actions. His only concern is getting a good photo op and looking good in the media on any particular day. So, he ceremoniously signed the only real bill of his presidency - an onerous tax cut that shifted wealth to the wealthy while guaranteeing an increase in the deficit. He did this, of course, to great fanfare surrounded by gleeful Republicans.
Second, it is really the Republicans who designed the tax cut, and their motives were obvious - to enrich the wealthy, and to increase the deficit so they can do what they always want to do, which is cut social programs that help the poor and middle class.
So, everything is right on target. Next step will be a big push to cut the social safety net in order to "lower the deficit."
By the way, the deficit was astronomical after the 2008 Great Recession, and Obama did a good job of lowering it. Trump has done a good job of raising it again. See this chart:
Sad. Cruel. Republican.....
Monday, October 21, 2019
The Millenials will change politics to reflect the world they know
Sometimes I wonder if this will be the last presidential election fought along the old battle lines of right vs. left. I am thinking both the Right and Left have become obsolete.
I am a Boomer. We were raised in the world following WWII. We were raised in the Cold War - the divisions were clear - Communism vs Capitalism - Communist tyranny vs. fascist tyranny - Right vs. Left - Conservative vs. Liberal.
But, today's young never lived in that world. Even the Millenials weren't born until about 1982, so the Soviet Communist Empire had collapsed by the time the oldest were just entering grade school. They have lived in a world completely different than the world I and my Boomer cohort were raised in.
So, what is important to the Millenials and their successor generation (not sure what to call them)?
For one thing, they live in a world where they have had to learn how to try to survive a nutcase with military weapons trying to kill them in school. Do you think they might want very effective gun control?
They live in a world where student debt for college is astronomical and sets their financial future back many years. Do you think they might want some strong regulations on Wall Street?
They were brought up in a world where jobs were scarce due to globalization and technological obsolescence. Do you think they might want effective governmental industrial policy?
They live in a world where Climate Change is not a theory but a harsh reality of wild forest fires, hundred year floods and hurricanes. Do you think they might want strong environmental action?
It's not right vs. left. Those are the obsolete battles of fading generations. It is the Future vs. the Past. It is up to them to define their new concerns. But, they will base it upon their own experience of the world they were raised in and live now, not the old ideas of the world that the Boomers haven't noticed no longer exists.
Bless them and wish them Godspeed.
I am a Boomer. We were raised in the world following WWII. We were raised in the Cold War - the divisions were clear - Communism vs Capitalism - Communist tyranny vs. fascist tyranny - Right vs. Left - Conservative vs. Liberal.
But, today's young never lived in that world. Even the Millenials weren't born until about 1982, so the Soviet Communist Empire had collapsed by the time the oldest were just entering grade school. They have lived in a world completely different than the world I and my Boomer cohort were raised in.
So, what is important to the Millenials and their successor generation (not sure what to call them)?
For one thing, they live in a world where they have had to learn how to try to survive a nutcase with military weapons trying to kill them in school. Do you think they might want very effective gun control?
They live in a world where student debt for college is astronomical and sets their financial future back many years. Do you think they might want some strong regulations on Wall Street?
They were brought up in a world where jobs were scarce due to globalization and technological obsolescence. Do you think they might want effective governmental industrial policy?
They live in a world where Climate Change is not a theory but a harsh reality of wild forest fires, hundred year floods and hurricanes. Do you think they might want strong environmental action?
It's not right vs. left. Those are the obsolete battles of fading generations. It is the Future vs. the Past. It is up to them to define their new concerns. But, they will base it upon their own experience of the world they were raised in and live now, not the old ideas of the world that the Boomers haven't noticed no longer exists.
Bless them and wish them Godspeed.
Trump forced to withdraw his Doral site for the next G-7 conference
Conservatives as well as liberals attacked Trump's unconstitutional and unethical money grab by having the next G-7 meeting at his own property, so he decided against it.
This shows that Republicans actually can contain this out of control ignorant president sometimes.
Keep it up, please....
This shows that Republicans actually can contain this out of control ignorant president sometimes.
Keep it up, please....
Friday, October 18, 2019
Trump violates the constitution by hosting the next G7 meeting at his Doral resort
It is a clear violation of black letter Constitutional law for a president to use his office to enrich himself by accepting emoluments. But this president thinks he can get away with anything so he announced the next G7 Summit will be on his property in Miami, his floundering Doral golf and country club.
He keeps impeaching himself in the most public of ways.
The Constitution says:
"No Title of Nobility shall be granted by the United States: And no Person holding any Office of Profit or Trust under them, shall, without the Consent of the Congress, accept of any present, Emolument, Office, or Title, of any kind whatever, from any King, Prince, or foreign State"s
Trump will receive substantial emoluments (money) when the G7 brings foreign states contingencies to his property.
Add to the impeachment articles.
Corrupt nitwit.
He keeps impeaching himself in the most public of ways.
The Constitution says:
"No Title of Nobility shall be granted by the United States: And no Person holding any Office of Profit or Trust under them, shall, without the Consent of the Congress, accept of any present, Emolument, Office, or Title, of any kind whatever, from any King, Prince, or foreign State"s
Trump will receive substantial emoluments (money) when the G7 brings foreign states contingencies to his property.
Add to the impeachment articles.
Corrupt nitwit.
Wednesday, October 16, 2019
Does Russia benefit?
I think that any foreign policy move made by Trump should always first raise the question - Does Russia Benefit?
Trump is abruptly withdrawing U.S. troops from Syria, abandoning our allies, the Kurds - an astonishing betrayal setting up the slaughter of American allies. U.S. troops are humiliated and enraged by the depth of dishonor of this move by this dishonorable president.
So, who benefits? It is said that Trump has investments in Turkey and this narcissistic president can only think in terms of what benefits him - and he is sucking up to the Turkey strong man Erdogan in order to make millions of dollars for himself. That could very well be true given the character of this president.
However - Does Russia Benefit? Well, it does. A lot. Putin is allied with the Syrian dictator, Assad, and the forces of Assad, Iran, and Russia all move into the vacuum of the American withdrawal. So, yes, Russia does benefit.
Looking at Trump foreign policy we see Putin's Russia benefits on almost every front - America weakens its foreign policy leadership in the world by pulling out of the Trans Pacific Partnership in the far east, weakens its foreign policy leadership by attacking and threatening NATO in Europe, weakens its leadership in the Americas by pulling out of NAFTA.
Looking at Trump domestic policy we see Putin's Russia benefits by Trump's attack on and virtual destruction of the State Department, by his attacks on his own CIA, FBI and all Intelligence Agencies, by his attacks and weakening all science based policy across all government agencies.
Putin can't make Russia strong because it is a fairly insignificant economy, about the size of Italy as I understand it. So, Putin does what any top notch former KGB officer knows how to do - weaken and destroy his enemies - America, NATO, pretty much everybody in the world - by weakening their foreign and domestic powers.
Trump is an incompetent and ignorant man with no real foreign or domestic policy other than what can make him money. Putin, however, has a very clear American domestic and foreign policy. And it is pretty clear to me that Putin controls Trump. Trump is pretty easy to control for a KGB agent - feed his fragile grandiose ego, feed him money, or.... threaten him with lifetime prison for things like money laundering and tax fraud.
Trump hasn't a clue, but Putin and the Russian Oligarchs know exactly what they are doing.
Trump is abruptly withdrawing U.S. troops from Syria, abandoning our allies, the Kurds - an astonishing betrayal setting up the slaughter of American allies. U.S. troops are humiliated and enraged by the depth of dishonor of this move by this dishonorable president.
So, who benefits? It is said that Trump has investments in Turkey and this narcissistic president can only think in terms of what benefits him - and he is sucking up to the Turkey strong man Erdogan in order to make millions of dollars for himself. That could very well be true given the character of this president.
However - Does Russia Benefit? Well, it does. A lot. Putin is allied with the Syrian dictator, Assad, and the forces of Assad, Iran, and Russia all move into the vacuum of the American withdrawal. So, yes, Russia does benefit.
Looking at Trump foreign policy we see Putin's Russia benefits on almost every front - America weakens its foreign policy leadership in the world by pulling out of the Trans Pacific Partnership in the far east, weakens its foreign policy leadership by attacking and threatening NATO in Europe, weakens its leadership in the Americas by pulling out of NAFTA.
Looking at Trump domestic policy we see Putin's Russia benefits by Trump's attack on and virtual destruction of the State Department, by his attacks on his own CIA, FBI and all Intelligence Agencies, by his attacks and weakening all science based policy across all government agencies.
Putin can't make Russia strong because it is a fairly insignificant economy, about the size of Italy as I understand it. So, Putin does what any top notch former KGB officer knows how to do - weaken and destroy his enemies - America, NATO, pretty much everybody in the world - by weakening their foreign and domestic powers.
Trump is an incompetent and ignorant man with no real foreign or domestic policy other than what can make him money. Putin, however, has a very clear American domestic and foreign policy. And it is pretty clear to me that Putin controls Trump. Trump is pretty easy to control for a KGB agent - feed his fragile grandiose ego, feed him money, or.... threaten him with lifetime prison for things like money laundering and tax fraud.
Trump hasn't a clue, but Putin and the Russian Oligarchs know exactly what they are doing.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)