Saturday, November 30, 2019

Look on the Senate Floor! It's a Speeding Bullet... No! It's Stall Man!

Illustration Courtesy of MAD Magazine

Good Day World!

He's able to block democracy in a single bound...

He's bound by no loyalty but to himself...

He shoots down House bills with his Trump-Ray vision...

Some call him Moscow Mitch...

Other's like Mad Magazine, call him Stall Man for his ability to stop any legislation Trump doesn't like.

Call him what you will, Mitch McConnell has become the Grim Reaper where non-Trump bills go to die in a partisan graveyard.

Like all partisan hacks, especially the one's who drink a dose of Trump Kool Aid daily, McConnell has no scruples, no morals, no conscience, but the sucker is really connected.

With his wife's (Elaine Chao's) connection - she's Secretary of Transportation - the pair are both in bed with two of our worst foreign enemies.

Chao with her China connection which is currently being investigated by Congress, and Mitch with his Moscow connection to a Russian Oligarch, are just one example of current Washington DC power couples. (Think Jared and Ivanka.)

Both are blissfully corrupt in the Age of Trump where the swamp was supersized to envelope every branch of our government.

Even Mitch's fellow Republicans in the Senate are getting tired of not passing any legislation in favor of a parade of wannabee judges being confirmed (after an oath of loyalty to Trump) to infect our judiciary system - from top to bottom.

I would suggest to those GOP sleepwalkers in the Senate that they need to wake up fast, and stand up for their constituents... not Stall Man!

Time for me to walk on down the road...

Friday, November 29, 2019

Defending the Indefensible: A Journey Through the GOP's FantasyLand


                                       Good Day World!

America is submerged in the dark era of Trump, where lies live daily, and the truth struggles to see light in an alternate universe of corruption that has become our new normal.

Republicans glibly walk down the path of Trump's fantasy world with reservation. Despite evidence to the contrary (the Ukraine didn't meddle in our presidential elections, Russia did), Trump's minions in the House and the Senate continue to deny that reality...

As for Trump's pathetic defense of his actions get peeled away like an onion in the emerging story, one thing is clear; Trump bribed the Ukrainian president to investigate his political opponent Joe Biden, and to look into a conspiracy theory.

As GOP lawmakers fumble around in Trump's fantasyland it gets harder to defend his outright lies. But they are. Even as his lies are exposed in prime time.

Related: Trump contradicts testimony-and himself-by claiming he never directed Giuliani on Ukraine

This sheep-like support is threatening our national security. 

Example: Tensions have been mounting between Trump and some the nation's top military officers after he intervened in the cases of three service members accused of war crimes.

There's a moral problem among senor Pentagon officials that are disturbed by Trump's behavior, and bad decisions - as in the betrayal of our ally the Kurds.

Trump has managed to sow divisiveness among the public, and now our military with his capricious actions based upon what he thinks his base wants.

As for those Republican lawmakers that are part of the ongoing impeachment process... it's not too late to come back to reality and serve YOUR constituents - the people who elected you believing you'd be honest and keep your oath of office.

Time for me to walk on down the road...

Thursday, November 28, 2019

Seven Reasons Why I'm So Thankful This Thanksgiving Day

Good Day World!

Rather than writing about the history of Thanksgiving, I thought it would be more interesting if I listed the reasons why I'm thankful on this holiday.

It may even inspire you to take stock of your blessings.

1. I'm thankful for having made it to 69-years-old, and I still have my eyesight, hearing (albeit not perfect), and am able to walk unassisted.

2. I'm thankful that I've been married to the same beautiful woman/soul for 45 years.

3. I'm thankful for my wonderful, and close, family and friends.

4. I'm still amazed, and thankful, I survived combat in Vietnam, and Cambodia (1970).

5. Despite how ugly our society has become, I'm thankful there are still millions of good people helping out other people in need.

6. I'm thankful to be an American living in a land where freedom is still considered an inherent right for all.

7. I'm thankful that I can still write for an audience (this blog and my fiction blog), despite having retired from journalism two decades ago.

Happy Thanksgiving!

Time for me to walk on down the road...

Wednesday, November 27, 2019

How Politics and Trump Are Stealing the Holidays!

Good Day World!

Good grief! Charlie Brown!

What happened to Thanksgiving this year?

Instead of a time of family traditions and gathering to give thanks for various things in our lives, Americans are too angry to even be civil to one another in this era of Trump.

The division between family members who support Trump and those that hate him is a raw reminder of where we're at in this country.

Quick example: It's been a public tradition since Harry Truman made it a ritual in 1947, to pardon a turkey. It's always been a lighthearted event without political overtones.

Trump warped that tradition yesterday when he went off script and mocked Democrat Adam Schiff who is leading the impeachment inquiry against him.

Trump put everyone on notice as he pulled polarizing politics into the ceremony meant to provide holiday cheer, that there were going to be more political rants in the days and weeks ahead during the holiday season.

To emphasize that, he waddled off to a campaign rally in Florida, his newly adopted lair, claiming New York was mean to him. 

Don't be surprised if impeachment is all he babbles about while attending holiday events, between now, and Christmas.

The rest of the story on the turkey tradition...

It goes back before Truman took it public. Abraham Lincoln's son Tad was said to be so close to a turkey destined to be Christmas dinner that the president took pity on it and spared the turkey from suffering it's culinary fate by giving it a reprieve.

I hope Trump and politics don't ruin your holiday season - Happy Thanksgiving!

Time for me to walk on down the road...

Tuesday, November 26, 2019

America: It's a MAD World After All

Good Day World!

Growing up in the 50's and 60s, I was a devoted fan of MAD magazine.

There was one cartoon strip in particular I enjoyed; Spy vs Spy.

The strip was about two bumbling spies always trying to inflict injury upon each other in a constant war. That sounds an awful lot like the Democrats and the Republicans in our polarized world today.

When I look at what's happening in Washington DC the last three years with Trumps assault on truth and the Constitution, my conclusion is it's indeed a MAD world in the Age of Trump.

Republican lawmakers have entered Trump's alternate universe where truth withers on the alt-right vine that has engulfed our government.

After the public impeachment hearings in the last two weeks the Republicans are still in lock-step with Trump's conspiracy theories even though they've been proven to be false.

In our new reality the Ukraine attacked us in 2016, and Putin is our friend.

In this new MAD universe nothing is at it seems. Trump tells us not to believe what our eyes see and our ears hear, unless he's sanctioned it.

It's the reason I know we're living in a crazy world of contradictions where the Blue team and the Red team are locked in an eternal war of ideology and cult-think.

Chaos is the game and our Republic is fighting for everything our founders believed to be true.

Time for me to walk on down the road...

Monday, November 25, 2019

The Winter of America's Discontent: Is Truth More Important Than Political Considerations?

"We can shoot rockets into space but we can't cure anger or discontent." 
-John Steinbeck

                                          Good Day World!

You, and I, and the rest of the American public, are faced with an historical decision.

Should Trump be impeached, and booted out of office?

If a person is basing their decision on factual evidence over conspiracy theories, it's apparent Trump bribed a foreign government to get dirt on his 2020 political foe, Joe Biden.

But...

it looks like at least one-third of the country is perfectly fine with Trump's breeches of the Constitution and the truth, if you accept what the polls are saying. 

What's especially dangerous is the GOP's reluctance to put politics aside and keep their oath of office promising to protect our laws.

Indeed, the Republicans in the House were attacking the proceedings and not the evidence put forth during the inquiry phase.

Worse yet, it's been revealed that ranking GOP member of the Intelligence Committee Devin Nunes, was in on the conspiracy to claim the Ukraine intervened with the 2016 election and the search for dirt on Biden and son.

Nunes met with ousted corrupt Ukrainian prosecutor, Victor Shokin in December of 2018. Although he's tried to deny it, travel logs show Nunes (and three other government officials) in Europe at the time of the contested meeting. 

It's also on the books that about $30,000 of taxpayer money was spent on that little rendezvous. 

Were House GOP members aware of this meeting? If they were, then there was a Congressional conspiracy of silence because they should have insisted Nunes recuse himself from the panel. 

If they weren't aware of this meeting, then that should be enough for them to think twice about backing Trump's lies.

Everyone on the committee was warned by our intelligence agencies that Russia's plot of spreading disinformation included blaming the Ukraine for hiding a mythical server that could exonerate Trump.

Knowing this, House Republicans then proceeded to ignore the advise, choosing instead to go down the rabbit hole with Trump throughout the public hearing phase.

What really troubles me is we're at a turning point in our great Republic. If we don't check Trump's campaign to seize complete power (and destroy our checks and balances) in America, we're going to be looking at a series of dictators in the foreseeable future.  

I've heard there are a lot of undecided voters right now who are watching the Impeachment drama with varying degrees of interest - from almost none, to following every twist and turn of the inquiry.

Sadly, at this point in time, we're watching to see if democracy has a chance against corrupt politics in the 21st century.

As winter's freezing cloak engulfs the country, Americans are huddling in separate political camps hoping for a resolution to the chaos swirling around them.

Time for me to walk on down the road...

Sunday, November 24, 2019

Russia Keeps on Winning: How a Conspiracy Theory Rocked our Republic

Good Day World!

As history will show someday, Trump was a puppet of Putin.

It still has not been established exactly when Trump and Putin began working together, but the evidence gathered thus far points to the 2016 election.

Was Trump compromised by the ex-KGB chief and forced to cooperate with Putin's demands? Or, did their relationship begin when Trump was trying to build a hotel in Moscow? It could have been a combination of both.

From the day Trump got the Republican election platform to change their stance on the Crimea invasion, until the present, he's been a loyal ally of America's biggest enemy.

The damage Trump has done to all of our intelligence agencies, our standing in the world community, and the polarization of American politics has been extensive.

If it weren't for a whistleblower, no one would have known that Trump was bribing the Ukrainian president to investigate his political rival, Joe Biden.

The day after Trump and his minions stifled the Mueller report's findings and he declared he was exonerated from "the witch hunt," Trump went after his main opponent in the 2020 election.

A new conspiracy was born. This time, at the direction of Putin, a false narrative was advanced declaring the Ukraine really interfered with the 2016 election...not Russia. 

During the public hearing phase of the Impeachment inquiry a lot of damning facts were revealed by credible (and high ranking) career diplomats and foreign office employees.

Despite all of the GOP House members best efforts, they could not successfully challenge any of the facts and evidence presented.

During the hearings, I wonder how many GOP members knew of Devin Nune's relationship with Rudy Giuliani and their efforts to dredge up dirt on Biden, and his son?

The implications of him meeting with Trump's personal lawyer in Venice in 2018, are very troubling. How far does this conspiracy in Congress go to help Trump win the 2020 election? 

Related: Giuliani Associates Charged With Campaign Crimes Gave Money to California Republicans

As our Republic faces the greatest challenge to preserving the Constitution in American history, all of us have a decision to make...

Do we want corruption as our new normal? 

Can we step out of our ideological bubbles long enough to protect our democracy?

Finally...

Are we going to go along with destroying the balance of power in our government, and live with a dictator from here on out?

Time for me to walk on down the road...

It's Time to Pay Up Donnie!

It's looks like there will be some prime real estate going on the market soon in New York City. Convicted rapist and former president ...