Let's face it, Trump is mentally ill, and the fate of the nation rests on the shoulders of conservatives that he listens to having the courage to tell him what he must do for the nation. Here is his latest evidence of his profound mental disease:
"“I say, ‘Mike, don’t call the governor of Washington; you’re wasting your time with him. Don’t call the woman in Michigan. It doesn’t make any difference what happens.’ You know what I say: ‘If they don’t treat you right, I don’t call.”
Conservatives on Fox News and in the right wing media bubble need to tell him that he needs to use his powers to send help where it is needed, not where people "treat him right". Republicans in the Senate and House need to tell him face to face what he needs to do. And if he won't listen they need to go public, en masse.
We need conservatives to show courage and do the right thing for the nation. It is blue states with high population densities being hardest hit now by COVID-19, but rural areas with marginal health care systems are at very great risk as well, and this virus is coming for them.
Trump's mental illness - pathological psychotic narcissistic self centeredness - makes him incapable of compassion or caring for other people. He can only see people as worshipers who "treat him right" or as enemies to be destroyed. It is sad for him as a person, and extraordinarily dangerous for the rest of us as long as he has any power at all over our lives. He literally is threatening to kill people who don't "treat him right." (It is an understatement to say that this is an unconstitutional abuse of power)
Sean Hannity, Tucker Carlson, Laura Ingraham, the Fox morning show folks, Mitch McConnell, Devin Nunes, all Republican Senate and House members, Republican governors - we need you to show courage. Once you start, all can join, and you will be protected by your numbers if all join in. And then Trump will decide, ON HIS OWN, that he was right all along that he said he was sending help to every state according to need rather than according to their political leadership, because he is the greatest president in American history.
The fate of America rests on the shoulders of a very few conservative. I know this seems like a foolish dream right now, but it is one I need to have. And so I dream it.....
Saturday, March 28, 2020
Friday, March 27, 2020
Is Trump profiting from the virus?
Why did it take Trump two months to issue a Defense Production Authorization to build ventilators? Can we please see the finances of him, his family, and his cronies? Is he a pandemic profiteer? Why hasn’t he issues DPAs for testing kits and Personal Protective Equipment?? What investments are they making?
One explanation is simply that he has been trying to convince people that the virus is no big deal and is trying to keep the stock market up so he gets re-elected. It might be even more disgusting.
Saturday, March 21, 2020
Why does Trump call the Corona Virus the Chinese Virus?
Conservatives seem to be rushing to defend Trump for calling the coronavirus the Chinese virus. After all, they say, the virus started in China. Correct? So what’s the problem and calling it the Chinese virus?
Well, the swine flu in 2009 originated in America. What is it called the American flu? No.
The corona virus the sweeping through the world because the world is so deeply interconnected. It is not the Chinese virus.
It is true that the dictatorial authoritarian of Communist China did his best to downplay the effect and scope of the coronavirus. That authoritarian leader was more interested in protecting the reputation and business of China than protecting its people or protecting the world. Sound familiar?
It is deeply and sadly true that the Wanabee dictatorial authoritarian leader in the White House did his best to downplay the effect and scope of the Corona Virus in America. He was more interested in protecting his reputation and protecting business in America than he was in protecting the people in America.
So, the time to contain the virus has passed and we are now in the mitigation phase - trying to spread out the curve of infection in order to keep from overwhelming our health care system.
Donald Trump calls it the Chinese virus for two reasons.
What I really want to know is what Trump and his family and his associates sold and bought on the stock market while he was oddly telling everybody that the virus was under control and that the virus was nothing more than a cold or a flu. Two Republican senators were caught selling hundreds of thousands of dollars of stock after getting briefings about what was about to happen. Did trump and those close to him do the same? Was Trump's message that we should not worry just a ploy for him to make millions?
Is Trump a pandemic profiteer? It certainly would not be out of character for him, would it?
Well, the swine flu in 2009 originated in America. What is it called the American flu? No.
The corona virus the sweeping through the world because the world is so deeply interconnected. It is not the Chinese virus.
It is true that the dictatorial authoritarian of Communist China did his best to downplay the effect and scope of the coronavirus. That authoritarian leader was more interested in protecting the reputation and business of China than protecting its people or protecting the world. Sound familiar?
It is deeply and sadly true that the Wanabee dictatorial authoritarian leader in the White House did his best to downplay the effect and scope of the Corona Virus in America. He was more interested in protecting his reputation and protecting business in America than he was in protecting the people in America.
So, the time to contain the virus has passed and we are now in the mitigation phase - trying to spread out the curve of infection in order to keep from overwhelming our health care system.
Donald Trump calls it the Chinese virus for two reasons.
- First he gets to blame somebody else for his own delayed responses to protect America from this virus.
- Second, he gets to play to his racist base, and proudly display his own racism. That seems to be his primary campaign strategy - last time and this time as well.
What I really want to know is what Trump and his family and his associates sold and bought on the stock market while he was oddly telling everybody that the virus was under control and that the virus was nothing more than a cold or a flu. Two Republican senators were caught selling hundreds of thousands of dollars of stock after getting briefings about what was about to happen. Did trump and those close to him do the same? Was Trump's message that we should not worry just a ploy for him to make millions?
Is Trump a pandemic profiteer? It certainly would not be out of character for him, would it?
Thursday, March 19, 2020
Trump and the Tea Party prepared the country to be unprepared for the Corona Virus
Trump and his Tea Party comrades - dedicated to destroying the Federal Government - are being exposed by how deliberately unprepared they were for this Corona Virus pandemic. (By the way, it is not what Trump racistly calls the "Chinese Virus" it is the Corona Virus - a world wide virus). Amber Phillips writes:
The New York Times reported that last year, the Health and Human Services Department performed startling government simulations to show how underprepared the United States was for such a pandemic. Nothing was done in response.
As Trump was coming into office, the Times reports, “outgoing Obama administration officials ran an extensive exercise on responding to a pandemic for incoming senior officials of the Trump administration.” A year later, Trump disbanded the government’s pandemic-response team.
NPR got an audio recording of the top senator on the Intelligence Committee, Sen. Richard Burr (R-N.C.), privately warning businesses in February that the virus, which was already in America, was going to be “aggressive” and “akin to the 1918 pandemic.” At the time, Trump was still comparing it to the flu.
We are lucky that the entire world is working to combat this pandemic, because this White House and these Tea Party Republicans certainly weren't prepared.
Wednesday, March 18, 2020
Why Trump and UK's Boris Johnson suddenly stopped calling the virus a hoax
Here is a quote about a very qualified report that got the UK's Boris Johnson, and probably Donald Trump as well, to stop telling people to go out and have a good time at restaurants and bars - from the WAPO's Daily 202:
3) Research from Imperial College London, endorsed by the U.K. government, suggests that 2.2 million would die in the United States and 510,000 would die in Britain if nothing is done by governments and individuals to stop the pandemic. The new forecasts, by Neil Ferguson and his colleagues, show that more-ambitious measures to mitigate the spread of the coronavirus, to slow but not necessarily stop the epidemic over the coming few months, could reduce mortality by half, to 260,000 people in the United Kingdom and 1.1 million in the United States. The new report concludes that the British government might be able to keep the number of dead below 20,000 by enforcing social distancing for the entire population, isolating all cases, demanding quarantines of entire households where anyone is sick and closing all schools and universities — for 12 to 18 months, until a vaccine is available. The modelers did not give numbers for the United States for these most intense suppression efforts.Seeing these numbers from some of Britain’s top modelers of infectious disease inspired Prime Minister Boris Johnson to take a much more severe approach to suppress the spread. “The report is also influencing planning by the Trump administration,” William Booth reports. “Deborah Birx, who serves as the coordinator of the White House coronavirus task force, cited the British analysis at a news conference Monday, saying her response team was especially focused on the report’s conclusion that an entire household should self-quarantine for 14 days if one of its members is stricken by the virus.”
The administration and the right wing news organizations who have been telling everyone that this virus is just some kind of plot to damage Trump have proven themselves to be totally unreliable sources of news - you could more properly call them "Fake News".
I hope my conservative friends hear this wake up call to get out of their propaganda bubbles and have the courage to just listen to the actual news, rather than be continuously assured by the right wing media bubble telling them that the world is being run by liberals trying to hurt them in some way.
Please, just read, watch, and listen to actual news. It may save your life.
3) Research from Imperial College London, endorsed by the U.K. government, suggests that 2.2 million would die in the United States and 510,000 would die in Britain if nothing is done by governments and individuals to stop the pandemic. The new forecasts, by Neil Ferguson and his colleagues, show that more-ambitious measures to mitigate the spread of the coronavirus, to slow but not necessarily stop the epidemic over the coming few months, could reduce mortality by half, to 260,000 people in the United Kingdom and 1.1 million in the United States. The new report concludes that the British government might be able to keep the number of dead below 20,000 by enforcing social distancing for the entire population, isolating all cases, demanding quarantines of entire households where anyone is sick and closing all schools and universities — for 12 to 18 months, until a vaccine is available. The modelers did not give numbers for the United States for these most intense suppression efforts.Seeing these numbers from some of Britain’s top modelers of infectious disease inspired Prime Minister Boris Johnson to take a much more severe approach to suppress the spread. “The report is also influencing planning by the Trump administration,” William Booth reports. “Deborah Birx, who serves as the coordinator of the White House coronavirus task force, cited the British analysis at a news conference Monday, saying her response team was especially focused on the report’s conclusion that an entire household should self-quarantine for 14 days if one of its members is stricken by the virus.”
The administration and the right wing news organizations who have been telling everyone that this virus is just some kind of plot to damage Trump have proven themselves to be totally unreliable sources of news - you could more properly call them "Fake News".
I hope my conservative friends hear this wake up call to get out of their propaganda bubbles and have the courage to just listen to the actual news, rather than be continuously assured by the right wing media bubble telling them that the world is being run by liberals trying to hurt them in some way.
Please, just read, watch, and listen to actual news. It may save your life.
Sunday, March 15, 2020
Former CDC Director Dr. Tom Frieden clarifies info on the virus
I claimed yesterday that Trump and the Tea Party cut the CDC. But Former CDC Director, Dr Tom Frieden, assured us on the Fareed Zacharia Sunday morning show that the experts and expert managers of the CDC are still in place. That is good news.
It is true that Trump's budgets have and do try to cut funding to the CDC but Congress apparently has stopped that from happening. Good for them!
It is also unfortunately true that Rear Admiral Timothy Zeimer and his team left the White House on the National Security Council after Bolton cut their budget and influence. That White House team was in charge of executive leadership to respond to pandemics and was never replaced. We pay a big price for that now.
Dr. Freiden agreed that critical early responses to the pandemic were not taken, and that in the past America had taken the lead in fighting other outbreaks of pandemic potential diseases. In the past, those were stopped.
Also, I was apparently wrong about China's response, as Dr Friedan said China slowed the spread by isolating millions in their homes for a month to increase the social distancing and reduce the spread of the virus.
He repeated that science does not know if this virus is seasonal, or can re-emerge violently after a pause. This is a new virus. And it is not known. What we think we know are mostly just pretty good guesses for now.
It is true that Trump's budgets have and do try to cut funding to the CDC but Congress apparently has stopped that from happening. Good for them!
It is also unfortunately true that Rear Admiral Timothy Zeimer and his team left the White House on the National Security Council after Bolton cut their budget and influence. That White House team was in charge of executive leadership to respond to pandemics and was never replaced. We pay a big price for that now.
Dr. Freiden agreed that critical early responses to the pandemic were not taken, and that in the past America had taken the lead in fighting other outbreaks of pandemic potential diseases. In the past, those were stopped.
Also, I was apparently wrong about China's response, as Dr Friedan said China slowed the spread by isolating millions in their homes for a month to increase the social distancing and reduce the spread of the virus.
He repeated that science does not know if this virus is seasonal, or can re-emerge violently after a pause. This is a new virus. And it is not known. What we think we know are mostly just pretty good guesses for now.
Saturday, March 14, 2020
It's the Tea Party too
This president's amazingly incompetent response to the Covid-19 virus pandemic was to be expected because he is simply an ignorant and incompetent con artist who conned conservatives into making him their leader. Why is still quite a mystery to me, but it has something to do with his ability to speak to their rage at liberals. More about that rage in later posts, not here today.
But, it is very clear to me that America's slow response to the pandemic is caused by the stripping of the Center for Disease Control of budget and expertise. (He ridiculously blames Obama of course, he always blames, blames, blames, not a mark of a leader is it?) That gutting of the CDC is part of the systematic passions of the Tea Party - to shrink the government and make it disappear. Sounds nice to some of my conservative friends, but once you find out what shrinking the government means you find out that it means stripping away the expertise that makes America safe and makes America great.
Trump and the Tea Party have gleefully driven scientists and experts of all form out of the government. In Trump's case it is a matter of his own ignorance and stupidity. In the Tea Party's case it is a matter of wrong headed ideology.
One of the terrible outcomes of this tragic pandemic is that we can all see how needed expertise of doctors, scientists, and other experts are for our safety and well being.
I deeply hope and pray that America is able to spread out the incidences of severe virus diseases so that our hospitals and emergency care centers are able to handle the influx that is about to happen - slowly and manageably, I hope. Italy was not able to do that and they are having to Triage patients - i.e. choosing which will have to die and which will be able to live. We do this with plenty of warning ahead of time to inconvenience our normal lives and keep our social distance to try to slow the spread of this disease.
As best as I can read at this point, one of five infected by this disease will need to be hospitalized. I hope that is an alarmist exaggeration, but the countries in the grips of the pandemic now are seeing these kinds of numbers, as I understand it.
The Left Wing authoritarian country of China tried to tell everybody that the disease wasn't all that bad, and then the pandemic hit and proved them tragically wrong.
The Right Wing authoritarian country of Italy tried to tell everybody that the disease wasn't all that bad, and then the pandemic hit and proved them tragically wrong.
The Theocratic authoritarian country of Iran probably did much the same and satellite photos show that they have dug two massive trenches about the size of football fields to dump the bodies taken by this pandemic.
This pandemic has not seemed very real to me, and I think to most Americans, up to now because we just aren't seeing it here, and because this president and his sycophantic right wing media bubble have tried to tell their followers that there is nothing really that bad about this virus. They lie. I hope that about four out of five who get this disease will have fairly mild and manageable symptoms. But one in five will have a real problem. And about 3% or so die.
Back before Trump and the Tea Party, America would have been the leader of the world in responding to this pandemic. Now we have a Chinese billionaire donating a million masks and half a million testing kits to America. Thank you, very gratefully for the help.
It is not just Trump. It is the Tea Party too. They have and are continuing to strip the government of needed expertise. Why? They want lower taxes? Really? Not a lot of foresight, wisdom, or compassion in that ideology, it seems to me.
But, it is very clear to me that America's slow response to the pandemic is caused by the stripping of the Center for Disease Control of budget and expertise. (He ridiculously blames Obama of course, he always blames, blames, blames, not a mark of a leader is it?) That gutting of the CDC is part of the systematic passions of the Tea Party - to shrink the government and make it disappear. Sounds nice to some of my conservative friends, but once you find out what shrinking the government means you find out that it means stripping away the expertise that makes America safe and makes America great.
Trump and the Tea Party have gleefully driven scientists and experts of all form out of the government. In Trump's case it is a matter of his own ignorance and stupidity. In the Tea Party's case it is a matter of wrong headed ideology.
One of the terrible outcomes of this tragic pandemic is that we can all see how needed expertise of doctors, scientists, and other experts are for our safety and well being.
I deeply hope and pray that America is able to spread out the incidences of severe virus diseases so that our hospitals and emergency care centers are able to handle the influx that is about to happen - slowly and manageably, I hope. Italy was not able to do that and they are having to Triage patients - i.e. choosing which will have to die and which will be able to live. We do this with plenty of warning ahead of time to inconvenience our normal lives and keep our social distance to try to slow the spread of this disease.
As best as I can read at this point, one of five infected by this disease will need to be hospitalized. I hope that is an alarmist exaggeration, but the countries in the grips of the pandemic now are seeing these kinds of numbers, as I understand it.
The Left Wing authoritarian country of China tried to tell everybody that the disease wasn't all that bad, and then the pandemic hit and proved them tragically wrong.
The Right Wing authoritarian country of Italy tried to tell everybody that the disease wasn't all that bad, and then the pandemic hit and proved them tragically wrong.
The Theocratic authoritarian country of Iran probably did much the same and satellite photos show that they have dug two massive trenches about the size of football fields to dump the bodies taken by this pandemic.
This pandemic has not seemed very real to me, and I think to most Americans, up to now because we just aren't seeing it here, and because this president and his sycophantic right wing media bubble have tried to tell their followers that there is nothing really that bad about this virus. They lie. I hope that about four out of five who get this disease will have fairly mild and manageable symptoms. But one in five will have a real problem. And about 3% or so die.
Back before Trump and the Tea Party, America would have been the leader of the world in responding to this pandemic. Now we have a Chinese billionaire donating a million masks and half a million testing kits to America. Thank you, very gratefully for the help.
It is not just Trump. It is the Tea Party too. They have and are continuing to strip the government of needed expertise. Why? They want lower taxes? Really? Not a lot of foresight, wisdom, or compassion in that ideology, it seems to me.
Wednesday, March 11, 2020
Decency please
Joe Biden increased his lead over Bernie Sanders last night. Here is an excerpt from his speech acknowledging his victory in Michigan and elsewhere.
"Winning means uniting America, not sowing more division and anger. Means having a president who not only knows how to fight but how to heal....We are a decent, brave, resilient people. We are better than this moment we are in. We just need to remember who we are.
He was calm, adult, competent, sane. Such a contrast to Trump.
My long held opinion is that each new president is an answer to what didn't work in the previous president. There is much about Trump that does not work, but his lack of being calm, adult, competent, and sane are right toward the top of that list.
Please, let's just go back to decency in the Oval Office. Please, let America be a place that we can be proud to be from again. Please, let us finally say no to childish, rageful, incompetent, insanity that has taken over this country.
Looks like Biden will be the nominee. That is fine with me. I suggest Klobachar as his running mate, but let the story unfold.
"Winning means uniting America, not sowing more division and anger. Means having a president who not only knows how to fight but how to heal....We are a decent, brave, resilient people. We are better than this moment we are in. We just need to remember who we are.
He was calm, adult, competent, sane. Such a contrast to Trump.
My long held opinion is that each new president is an answer to what didn't work in the previous president. There is much about Trump that does not work, but his lack of being calm, adult, competent, and sane are right toward the top of that list.
Please, let's just go back to decency in the Oval Office. Please, let America be a place that we can be proud to be from again. Please, let us finally say no to childish, rageful, incompetent, insanity that has taken over this country.
Looks like Biden will be the nominee. That is fine with me. I suggest Klobachar as his running mate, but let the story unfold.
Friday, March 6, 2020
Why did southern African American voters vote for Biden on Super Tuesday?
African
Americans, especially in the South, are seeing a re-emergence of JimCrowe. They see Trump as appealing
directly to racists around the country, and they are seeing people who are now
proudly racist and spewing their bigotry as a badge of honor. They are seeing the Republican Party shutting
down polls in their neighborhoods in order to make voting more difficult. We saw plenty of evidence of this on Super
Tuesday as we saw extraordinarily long lines in Texas that people were waiting
for hours to vote. They are seeing voter
ID laws as a way to suppress votes from African Americans who do not have
driver’s licenses, and see that getting IDs is made deliberately difficult by the
Republican Party. They are seeing a
Republican Party that is dangerous to them.
They are seeing the clock turned back to very dark times that they
thought were gone. They aren’t
gone. They are coming back.
And they
saw Joe Biden as the one who they connected to in an emotional
way.
So they
voted for Biden. And the other moderates
– Buttigieg and Klobachar understood the message and withdrew prior to Super
Tuesday so Democrats could unite behind one centrist Democrat – Biden – against
the radical candidate calling for The Revolution wished for in his youth –
Sanders.
Good for
them. They led the way.
Be clear, I
am not saying that my conservative friends are Jim Crowe racists. But it is very clear also that Jim Crowe
racists are making very strong moves to go back in time. And they are Trumpsters. And that is pretty disturbing.
Thursday, March 5, 2020
The 15% solution
How did Biden suddenly become the front runner? The 15% solution.
It was explained to me that in the California Primary Tuesday, the only candidates who would get delegates were those who scored at least 15% of the vote. So, I looked at the CA polls and saw that the most likely candidate to get to 15% - the only one who was not Sanders, who I am convinced has no chance of beating Trump - was Biden. I regret that Klobachar and Buttigieg had no chance of getting 15% because I would have voted for either of them instead. I also didn't think the Bloomberg would get to the 15% even though I think he would be an excellent president.
So, the only person that I could vote for as a vote for moderate liberalism, and as a vote against Sanders, was Joe Biden.
So, I did.
I think the entire Democratic Party in the rest of the Super Tuesday states did essentially the same thing - they saw Biden as the only way to stop Sanders, and thus the only way to oust Trump.
Let the Force be with him.....
It was explained to me that in the California Primary Tuesday, the only candidates who would get delegates were those who scored at least 15% of the vote. So, I looked at the CA polls and saw that the most likely candidate to get to 15% - the only one who was not Sanders, who I am convinced has no chance of beating Trump - was Biden. I regret that Klobachar and Buttigieg had no chance of getting 15% because I would have voted for either of them instead. I also didn't think the Bloomberg would get to the 15% even though I think he would be an excellent president.
So, the only person that I could vote for as a vote for moderate liberalism, and as a vote against Sanders, was Joe Biden.
So, I did.
I think the entire Democratic Party in the rest of the Super Tuesday states did essentially the same thing - they saw Biden as the only way to stop Sanders, and thus the only way to oust Trump.
Let the Force be with him.....
Monday, March 2, 2020
Voted for Biden
For what it’s worth, I mailed in my primary vote for Biden this am. I’m afraid Bloomberg doesn’t connect to women nor African Americans. And they will be the difference in November.
Saturday, February 29, 2020
Trump is afraid of Bloomberg
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.
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.
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.
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