One More Tradition Crushed: The Day That 4th of July Became a Partisan Event

I had some dreams, they were clouds in my coffee. -Carly Simon

Good Day World!

I'm 69 years-old, and have never seen a partisan 4th of July event.

That streak is going to end tomorrow, when Trump turns our most patriotic holiday into a campaign rally for his friends and family.

Trump is promising this 4th of July will be like no other in our history. He's right about that.

There's a reason none of Trump's predecessors in the White House pulled this nakedly partisan stunt before. They wanted the holiday to be for ALL AMERICANS...not just for a fringe minority like the freaks who follow Trump.

Here's the thing; it's important to know the difference between patriotism and nationalism. It is a fine line, but a crucial one.

According to Merriam Webster, "Patriotism is a love for, or devotion to the country. Nationalism is a sense of national consciousness exalting one nation above all others and placing primary emphasis on promotion of it's culture and interests as opposed to other nations."

Trump and his minions are claiming that those who don't go along with his personal show of power aren't patriotic. In Trump's tiny excuse for a brain, those past presidents were unpatriotic because they didn't get involved and put on a partisan rally.

Then there's Trump's frigging parade. Every since he saw a military parade in France last year, Donny has been lusting for a personal parade to show off HIS POWER.

Related: Park Service Diverts $2.5 million in Fees For Trump's July 4th Extravaganza

America is stuck with a mean little toddler camping out in the Oval Office who stays busy with his toxic Twitter account and his ridiculous demands. 

Cadet Bonespurs realizes the differences in his planned show. He just doesn't give a damn who it bothers, or insults. The orange narcissist is realizing his boyhood dreams when he played with little plastic soldiers and tanks.

Just a quick example of how clueless the orange ape is. He's telling everyone who'll listen that he's going to have some tanks sitting on the National Mall. He even boasted that there will be brand new Sherman tanks there.

For the record; we quit producing Sherman tanks in 1957.

Related: Military Chiefs Have Concerns About Politicization of Trump's July 4th Event

The part that is going to be the hardest to stomach is when Trump spews his shit from the steps of The Lincoln Memorial.

That blasphemy will probably have Lincoln rolling over in his grave.

I only have one hope that this event may get postponed. 

The weather. 

If there is a God, then there's going to be thunder and lightning as the heavens open up and weep!

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

Taking a Blog Break for 3 Days - I'll Be Back on July 3rd

"What goes best with coffee? Another cup of coffee." - Unknown

Good Day World!

It's time for me to take a few days off and recharge my batteries.

While I'm gone, I hope you'll check out my archives from past posts.

I created this blog in 2008. It's been a long and strange journey (thank you Grateful Dead). I hope many more years are ahead for this opinion platform.

I also have another blog - The Creative Chronicles of Dave Stancliff - which is fiction blog. Flash fiction, essays and poems.

May the wind be at your back, and the sun always shine above you...

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

Trump-Putin Bromance Only Highlight of G20 Summit

"It’s amazing how the world begins to change through the eyes of a cup of coffee." - Donna A. Favors

Good Day World!

Bring in the clowns!

The much anticipated G20 summit opened with...laughter!

It was a sight to see. 

Trump and Putin did a great comedy team routine where Trump laughingly told Putin not to interfere in our next election.

Their smiles glowed with inner knowledge while a hoard of reporters watched them mock the idea of Russian election interference in our next election.

That was it though.

Trump meant with China's Xi Jinping and agreed to scale back restrictions on Chinese technology giant Huawei and delay new tariffs.

 In return China said they'd buy "large amounts" of farm products. The bottom line; there's nothing in writing.

They swapped phony pleasant greetings for about 90 minutes and Trump waddled away claiming trade talks were "on track" with China.

If Wall Street was waiting for a big breakthrough the reality must have been tough to deal with. Mr. Art-of-the-No-Deal once again waddled away with vague promises of a better day.

As usual, Trump spent his quality time with other world leaders by harassing them over supposed wrongs.

However, when it comes to dictators it was a different story. 

Related: Saudi Crown Prince Feted at G20 summit

He even extended another invitation to meet with his little buddy that writes "beautiful letters" in North Korea.

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

Twitter's New Disclaimer Is Sure To Piss Trump Off!

"I only need coffee on days that end with a "Y" - Unknown

Good Day World!

Trump's favorite way to communicate with his frenzied base is tweeting. 

That's a fact.

He enjoys getting away with unchecked facts, and bullying everyone from American athletes to foreign heads of state with no repercussions. 

Twitter executives have announced plans to place a disclaimer on future tweets from world leaders that breaks its rules. They will be judging tweets in the "public interest" the company said in a blog post Thursday.

This new policy is going to face it's biggest test from serial tweeter Trump. he's repeatedly tested Twitter's community standards with his regular tirades on the platform and some of his tweets have already ran afoul of twitter's rules.

There's little doubt that this new disclaimer is going to bring a firestorm of criticism on the company republicans in Washington, including Trump, often claim without real evidence that technology companies are biased against conservatives.

"This is not about perceived bias but about providing more clarity if our rules have been broken," a Twitter spokesperson told CNN Business in a recent interview.

Here's what I really like about twitter's new feature; it'll apply to verified government officials, political candidates and people who have over a 100,000 followers.

That select group are major influencers in our society and now they're going to have to play by house rules, or get booted of Twitter.

If there's one thing Trump, and his minions hate, it's facts. By not being able to outright lie and make shit up they're going to have conniptions. I wouldn't be surprised to see a few of them have stokes upon hearing the news.

I expect Trump is already seething, knowing the plan is moving forward. Expect to see an all out battle between Twitter and Trump...

Are you ready?

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

Trump At The G20 Osaka Summit: What Could Go Wrong?

"I would rather suffer from coffee than be  senseless - Napoleon Bonaparte 

Good Day World!

Every time our liar-in-chief leaves the country to represent the American people, I cringe.

My guts tighten up with a combination of fear and loathing because I know he's going to embarrass the hell out of us again. (Please refer to every trip he's taken abroad since he slunk into office.)

The G20 Osaka Summit kicks off today and runs through Saturday. The two main themes are Global Economy and Trade and Investment. 

Before leaving Trump gave us a preview of what an ass he was going to be by attacking our closest allies:

Trump Complains About US Defense Pact With Japan, Blaming G20 Countries

Guess what? We're going to get to see the renewal of the bromance between Putin and his baby blimp Trump. I know. Exciting stuff. Just don't let your kids watch any of it.

The fun doesn't stop there. Oh, Hell no! Trump and Chinese Premier Xi are set for a little tete-a-tete where they're going to discuss their economies.

Will Trump and Xi come to a trade agreement and stop the tariff wars? Hint...don't bet on it. By now, we all know how great Donny is with his art of the deal fail in foreign relations.

Then we have to consider the possibility of Trump picking fights with other leaders for no good reason. Our big baby in the Oval Office has already indicated he was looking for trouble the day he left.

Sometime, I suspect he just needs a diaper change before sitting down with world leaders who are talking like adults.

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

New Three Stooges Episode Starring Trump, Pence, and Perdue

"Coffee first. Schemes later." - Leanna Renee Hiber 

                                       Good Day World!

In this new episode of the Three Stooges (starring Trump, Pence and Purdue) they demonstrate the depth of their ignorance about climate change.

Trump/Moe, is bragging about how he pulled out of the Paris Agreement, and how he's upping pollution in America by bringing back coal production.

Pence/Larry, is standing behind him and looks like a bobble head doll as he rapidly nods in agreement with his master.

Perdue/Curly Joe, respectively waits until Trump stops yammering and then gleefully tells them about his interview on CNN where he tossed out a smart-ass response to climate change questions he was fielding...

"It rained yesterday, it's a nice pretty day today," he tittered like a little girl.

This pithy retort laid bare his ignorance and defiance on climate change. 

He told CNN's Vanessa Yurkevich in an interview released Tuesday that "we don't know" the cause of climate change, adding "and obviously scientists-many scientists believe that it's human caused, other scientists believe it's not."

Trump cuts off Perdue, and asks Pence if he saw the interview he had with Piers Morgan?

Pence's head bobbled in the affirmative and he gave his creepy (I could be a pedophile) smile.

"You should have seen Pier's eyes when I told him it used to be called global warming, that wasn't working, then it was called climate change, and now actually it's called extreme weather."

Obvious devotion glittered in Perdue's piggy eyes, and Pence's face took on an angelic look as he listened to Trump.

Trump abruptly stopped ranting and turned to Pence.

"What's this I hear about my boy flipping off Jake Tapper?"

Pence, "It was nothing, I..."

Trump, "Don't play with me Mike. You know what my temper is like."

Pence, "Well Tapper asked me if we're having a climate emergency, and if I thought it a threat?"

Trump, "What did you say?"

Pence, "I think the answer is going to be based upon the science. Then he asked me the same question gain."

Trump, "Get to the point, I've got a round of golf planned."

Pence, "Well, he kept badgering me with facts so I fell back on what you taught me and said I thought we were making great progress reducing carbon emissions, and that America has the cleanest air and water in the world." 

Trump, "And...?"

Pence, it was actually kinda funny. His eyes rolled back and I think he had a mini-stroke!"

Trump, "Good boy Mikey! Now go change into your caddy outfit, I want to hit the links in 20 minutes."

Perdue, "What about me boss?"

Trump, "You can chase any balls that end up in the rough."

That concludes today's episode of the new Three Stooges. Let me know if you're down with future episodes.

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

Republicans Busy Trying To Restrict Voting for 2020

"Everyone should believe in something. I believe I'll have another cup of coffee." - Unknown

Good Day World!

The reasoning is simple but diabolical. 

Republicans restrict access to the polls and they won't come.

That's the plan, and has been for the last couple of elections. The goal is to keep the majority of Americans from voting, which equates to minorities being singled out because they usually vote for Democrats. 

How that's done is a study in stealth and long-range planning. Needless to say, the GOP party is committed to hindering the vote, and they have come up with numerous way to do it.

Most recently, Florida lawmakers are trying to restrict early voting locations based on parking availability. Critics say the measure is clearly aimed at restricting early voting on college campuses, where parking is limited.

After getting a reality call in the 2018 midterms Republican-controlled states are now ramping up their efforts to purge or suppress more and more eligible voters ahead of the 2020 elections.

Three states in particular are working on brand new suppressive, repressive or oppressive voter purges or voter suppression. 

The states to watch are Texas, Arizona, and Tennessee, all three red states that saw democratic surges in the 2018 midterms.

For example:

In Texas, senate bill nine looks like it'll pass. 

Basically the measure throws anyone in prison for making the slightest mistake on their voter registration form.

Get this; the law would literally send people to jail if they accidentally put the wrong address (or some other equally understandable mistake that humans do make sometimes) instead of giving them the opportunity to correct their form.

That's going to make a lot of people think twice before voting for fear of being locked up because they might mistakenly put down the wrong zip code and end up in jail.

That's exactly why the Republicans are going to pass it.

All of which points to the importance of the 2020 elections. Democrats are going to have to be on their game to catch the Republicans in their nasty little schemes, and any other foreign influence that wants to see Trump re-elected.

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

Another Rape Allegation Against Trump: Main Media Outlets Shrug It Off

"As long as there is coffee in the world, how bad can things be?" - Cassandra Clare

Good Day World!

News rooms in America resemble the Situation Room in the White House these days.

They are so busy covering Trump's daily depredations there's just not enough time to cover past crimes. So when author E. Jean Carroll publicly alleged that Trump raped her the story got buried on page three.

The story broke on a Friday leaving the popular Sunday Morning shows enough time to pursue the allegations. But the Big 5; ABC, CBS, CNN, Fox, and NBC ignored it.

Carroll joins over a dozen other woman who have publicly accused Trump of sexually assaulting, groping and forcibly kissing them since the 1980s.

Trump's response was par for the course - deny, deny, deny. "I don't even know who the woman is. I never met her," he claimed.

Carroll did appear on a NBC-owned network, MSNBC's Joy Reid Show. "In any other universe, in any other presidency, in any other news cycle, E. Jean Carroll's bombshell revelations against a sitting president of the United States would have been the lead story all week long," Reid observed.

That's how low this country has sunk since Trump stole the presidency with the help of his pals in Russia. 

Corruption is rampant, and the world no longer trusts us because of the unpredictable asshole in the Oval Office. The nation is struggling with a growing Constitutional crisis as Trump and minions assault the House of Representatives lawful functions.

In the chaos created by the orange ape, another rape hardly rates notice. Much like another new bonfire in hell.

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

Trump Doctrine: Start Fire, Watch It Burn, Try To Put Fire Out

"Keep calm and have another cup of coffee." - Anonymous

Good Day World!

I heartily disagree with Trump critics that say he has no doctrine when it comes to foreign and domestic affairs.

The Trump Doctrine is very simple: start a fire, watch it burn, then put it out (if he can).

Trump who would have never been accepted by the Boy Scouts (that honesty thing was just too much) was the kind of kid who pulled the wings off butterflies and then wondered why they couldn't fly.

The fact that he never grew up (mentally) has proven to be a major challenge to the poor bastards that have to work with him in government. 

Two recent examples:

Iran. After pulling out of the international Nuclear Agreement just after he was elected, Trump started the fire. The resulting chaos has us teetering on the brink of war. This is one fire the orange anus is having trouble putting out.

Related: Obama, Others Warned Trump pulling Out Of Iran Nuke Deal Could Lead To War   

Related: U.S. Warns Iran: Don't Mistake Trump's 'Prudence' For Weakness

But, let's not stop here.

After threatening to go after "millions" of illegal immigrants in the mother of all ICE raids, he called the whole thing off...for two weeks.

He set the fire, now he's watching it spread and purposely keeping thousands of illegal immigrants fearful wondering when his storm troopers will come after them. At this time there is no attempt to solve the immigration problem - just punitive actions.

Related: Immigrant Advocates Remain Vigilant After Trump Delays Raids

Related: Ex-Hostage Suggests Trump Treatment of Migrants Worse Than His Captors: 'Somali Pirates Gave Me Toothpaste And Soap

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

Oregon Militia Members aka Domestic Terrorists Threaten Democratic Lawmakers

"Today will be one of those days where even my coffee needs coffee" - Anonymous

                                    Good Day World!
When Oregon Republican lawmakers ran away from their duties last week it gave the crazed local militia groups an excuse to threaten lawmakers.

The state capitol was shut down on Friday after receiving threats from militia groups.

Authorities say they were planning to demonstrate on the capitol grounds in support of the 11 cowardly Republican senators who fled the state to dodge a vote on climate change.

State Senator president Peter Courtney, a Democrat, told his colleagues that Oregon State Police had informed him there was a credible threat to him, the rest of the remaining senators-all of whom are Democrats-and the building staff. 

"We have been monitoring information throughout the day
that indicates the safety of legislators, staff, and citizen visitors could be compromised if certain threatened behaviors were realized," Capt. Timothy Fox told reporters.

Oregon has it's share of anti-government activists who are ready to threaten anyone that doesn't believe in their twisted causes.

Three years ago a group of armed assholes occupied a federal wildlife preserve in Oregon. They ransacked a federal building and plowed over an Indian burial ground while building barriers.

Apparently the militia morons in the state have become emboldened by getting away with a lot of shit, and felt it was okay to step up their game and threaten lawmakers.

I've always contended that the biggest domestic threat we have is the heavily armed anti-government militias.

They get bolder every day. By threatening lawmakers and the rule of law, they have chosen to violate our rights with impunity.

To be clear, these domestic militia groups are the terrorists embedded in our society.

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

Open Inquiry Now: Trump is Rolling Over Congress in Slow Motion

“Denial, anger, bargaining, depression, COFFEE and acceptance…The SIX stages of waking up!!” Comic Strip Mama 

Good Day World!

What Americans have been witnessing this year is worthy of a slasher film where parts are slowed down for dramatic effect. 

Watching the Trump team use "slo-mo" tactics to hamper Congress from concluding their numerous investigations, has been like watching an oncoming train wreck.

You know it's going to happen. It's just a matter of when.

Trump hopes to have Congress tied up in the courts until next year when he can exploit their attempts to find out the depths of his corruption, and claim it's a campaign ploy by crazed democrats. A conspiracy.

That strategy may, or may not work. But, why wait and see? I think it's time to open up an impeachment inquiry.

If the House doesn't move soon Trump will continue to dismantle our government and alienate our allies. It's getting worse every day, and every month.

Trump now has to deal with a possible war with Iran. It's going to be of his own making because he violated America's commitment to stay in the Iran Nuclear Agreement which was signed on to by the rest of the world.

Related: Trump's Last-Minute Pullback on Iran Strikes May Have Made Crisis More Perilous 

Related: Here's What a US War With Iran Could Look Like

How many more days and months have to pass before Trump inadvertently stumbles into a war with Iran, or even North Korea? 

Or, watch Trump permanently cripple our government with corporate whores in cabinet positions, and other government appointments?

The very least Democrats should do is open an inquiry into impeachment now, so they can get the answers they need - after a blanket effort of stonewalling subpoenas - before next year, when the political calculus could change.

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