The Trump Effect: Report on Corruption in High and Low Places

Good Day World!

To get an idea how far we've slipped as a nation all you have to do is read the latest report from Transparency International's Corruption Perceptions Index for 2018.

Transparency International is a global coalition against corruption and every year they issue a report on the status of nations from all over the world.

One of the many troubling takeaways is that the United States is no longer in the list of the top 20 countries deemed the least corrupt!

Trump's take-down of our ethical norms, especially in high places, has gone unchecked...until now.

The newly Democratic House is working to hold him and his crooked cronies accountable for their assaults on the constitution, and the American public.

What I find particularly worrisome is we have two more years left in the Trump administration. How much further is our moral standing in the world going to slip? 

How much longer can we endure corrupt wealthy cabinet members like Wilbur Ross and Andrew Wheeler? Or advisors like Stephen Miller whose said he'd be happy if not one more immigrant stepped unto American soil?

As the depths of Trump's depravity unfolds, one news story after another, there's a sense we still haven't seen it all. Political bombshells will continue to drop, like Mueller's report. Trump's threats to shutter the government again are just a temper tantrum away.

The full blown battle between the majority of Americans versus Trump, promises to shake our nation to it's very roots in the months to come.

In the end however, I'm confident Trump will be held accountable for his many crimes. His chances of getting re-elected dwindle by the day. It's just a matter of time.

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








  

State-of-The-Union: Press Breifings and Shock Therapy

                                           Good Day World!

The people's House is a no-Trump zone this morning. 

Instead of giving the annual state-of-the-union address, Trump is sulking in the Oval Office because Nancy Pelosi publicly smacked him down over the government shutdown.

Until he agrees to quit threatening a shutdown or national emergency, and agrees to funding all government agencies until September, Trump doesn't get to slither into the people's house for a speech.

There was a briefly entertaining moment yesterday when Sarah Sanders appeared before the press after hiding in the halls of the White House for 41 days.

Here's a video.

It speaks so much better than I could in portraying the amusing encounter between two different universes.

I don't know if it'll work, but perhaps some doctors could be convinced to use shock therapy on Trump in order to snap him back to reality. 

I realize it would have to be a covert operation but...it would be for the good of the country. The way I see it nothing short of a serious intervention of some kind is called for now.

All eyes are turned to the House of Representatives as Trump's judgement day arrives... step by legislative step.

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

Where's the Duct Tape? Show Me The Tape!

Good Day World!

I've got a beef with Trump's recent duct tape mania.

Somehow duct-tape has become a dog whistle for his core in his latest tweets and appearances when talking about the immigration crisis.

Where the hell did the duct-taped women being smuggled over the southern border bullshit come from? (One possibility is that with his overactive sexual drive the thought must turn him on!)

According to officials in Homeland Security, they have not seen any cases like Trump so vehemently pleaded were happening after being forced to open the government again.

The whole duct tape scenario he's described in recent rants has no basis in reality. Like many of Trump's delusional announcements to whip up his fringe followers, the duct tape story is sensational and only exists in an alternative universe.

The rest of America isn't so easily fooled. The majority of people want the truth, not fear-mongering memes coming from a failing demagogue.

Let me summarize with a popular commercial on TV back in 1984 titled, "Where's the beef?" and... 

conclude with the modern equivalent of the commercial today, "Where's the duct-tape?"

Related: Fact Check: Trump Claims 'Growing' Crisis on Southern Border 

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

Poetic Analysis: The Times We Live In

                                        Good Day World!

I'm taking a departure from my usual prose format today to share a poem I wrote for my fiction blog because it reflects the times we live in.

I'm Waiting

"You know I’m waiting for Armageddon to come and go

because we’re heading there

Climatologists warn there’ll be nowhere to go

and we won’t be able to breath the air

I’m waiting for America to experience an awakening

in civility 

A season of reasoning

that’ll restore our nations stability

I’m waiting for a new era of hope

when all races come together in peace

and nationalities learn to cope

and all of the hostilities cease

I’m waiting for a new day

behind my computer

looking for a positive pathway

a self-appointed troubleshooter

I’m waiting to ride into the sunset

to see a stairway to heaven

to learn the mysteries of the internet

and to spiritual progression

And, I’ll keep waiting…"

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

I wonder what Trump thought as his pal was greeted with the chant, 'Lock him up!'

                                          Good Day World!

No one knows what really goes through the head of our liar in chief. 

Most of the time, I suspect he's living in an alternative universe, checking in now-and-then with reality...and not liking it one bit lately. 

When longtime Trump adviser Roger Stone was arrested by a swat team of FBI agents at his home, he got slapped in the face with reality.

After appearing in court Friday, Stone stopped to address a crowd of reporters and other people who were waiting for him on the court house steps in Ft. Lauderdale.

As he droned on about his "innocence" and "allegiance to Trump" the crowd was chanting, "Lock him up! Lock him up!"

The sight of his crony being taunted with a chant that he once led in rallies must have been a jarring experience to Trump as he sat in front of one of the numerous TVs scattered about in the White House.

I wonder if he remembers all the members of his campaign who also led the "lock her up!" chants and are now either in jail or no longer working for the government?

For context, we'll start with Roger Stone who gleefully led the "lock her up" chant. We all know where the the self-avowed political trickster ended up. See above. 

One of my favorite MAGA hat and "lock her up" chant leaders at rallies was former Army Gen. Michael Flynn who was appointed National Security Advisor by an appreciative Trump. He ended up being convicted of lying to FBI, and conspiring with a foreign power during the campaign.

How about Ryan Zinke? He sure led a spirited rally chant for the Donald. Of course he's no longer in the cabinet position of Secretary of the Interior that Trump gifted him with because of corruption charges.

Then there's Jeff Sessions. The Keeble elf look-alike put on a red MAGA hat during rallies and led the "lock her up" chants while smiling like a weasel who just caught a chicken. Yup! He's gone too. Trump fired him for not lying for him before Congress.

How about one-time White House advisor to Trump, Stephen Bannon? You remember him don't you?  Bannon held his own rallies where the crowd chanted "lock her up!" Trump fired him too, in another example of loyalty to those who follow him and later fall out of favor.

There were a lot of lesser luminaries who were happy to lead "lock her up" chants at Trump rallies then, and even now, for his hardcore supporter's benefit.

I can't help wondering if his signature chant (along with Build That Wall) is going to haunt Trump when he spends the rest of his life in jail, or an insane asylum.

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

Majority of Americans Realize It's Reality Against Donny

Good Day World!

Most Americans - nearly three-quarters - want Trump to compromise, but the ex-reality star has stubbornly refused to thus far.

A majority of Americans blame Trump for the shutdown. 

A new poll shows that our wannabee dictator's disapproval numbers are at an all-time.

So why hasn't Trump backed off from getting his big beautiful wall? First and foremost, it's about pleasing a hardcore base that he hopes will re-elect him in 2020.

His stubborn stance goes beyond the obvious first reason however.

Trump's livid that a powerful woman is successfully denying his bullying tactics and turning the tables on him every time he comes up with a new plan to get around her, and the rule of law.

Simply put, Trump found a woman who wouldn't let him grab her by the pussy. So, he's understandably shocked that House Speaker Pelosi has slapped down his pathetic political maneuvers at the height of his imagined power.

Trump has been caught lying publicly so many times the only people who believe him are his cult-like followers. His grip on reality has always been an iffy thing - subject to his revolving interpretations of the truth. 

After two years of Trump's administration it's obvious he's further divided this nation with his hateful rhetoric and lies. His MAGA hats have become a symbol of hate right alongside the Nazi swastika and the KKK's white hoods.

Despite Trump's assertion that everything we see is fake, from the news and videos sharing reality, to what we see with our own eyes, Americans are realizing it's just a matter of time for Trump's corrupt regime.

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

Trump's Art of Hostage-Taking Isn't Working So Well...Yet

Good Day World!

Our desperate Liar in Charge has entered a dangerous new phase in negotiating. 

It's called taking hostages, and waiting until the other side capitulates.

With a shitload of corruption accusations cornering Trump he decided the best way to divert the public's attention was to put 800,000 federal workers out of work in the name of his vanity wall. 

It was nothing more than a pathetic nod to his hard-core followers.

Speaking of hostage-taking, Trump's ex-lawyer and fixer, Michael Cohen, suddenly backed out of a voluntary hearing before a House committee on Feb. 7th, because he (and his lawyer) said President Trump and his stooge Rudy were threatening his family if he talked!

In essence, taking them hostage to keep Cohen from telling the truth about Trump's illegal activities. Apparently, he's inspired by the fact no one has stopped him from taking federal workers hostage...yet.

Related: Michael Cohen Subpoenaed By Senate Intelligence Committee

Related: BuzzFeed Journalists Insist Cohen-Trump Story is 'Accurate' and has 'Further Confirmation' That It's Correct

Someday, I can see Trump hiring a ghost-writer to do his presidential biography - The Art of Hostage Taking."  

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

Why The Wheels Have Fallen Off Our Cultural Bandwagon

Good Day World!

I really think more people ought to wake and bake before going out into public these days. 

It seems like everyone is ready to pick up their torches and pitchforks and to storm the norms in our society. 

Americans either see a blue sky, or a red one. Everything in between is smothered in the two divergent ideologies. 

We're entrenched in a war between liberals and conservatives seeking to smother moderates and convert them to their political agenda. No compromise. Only wins, or losses.

During the 20th century Americans still believed in diversity, proudly invoking the Statue of Liberty and these famous words..

"Give me your tired, your poor, your huddled masses yearning to be free..." 

In the 21st century we have a president who would sexually harass the Statue of Liberty (if he could) saying...

"I don't even wait. And when you're a star, they let you do it. You can do anything. Grab them by the pussy..."

Despite this shocking insight into who Trump really was, he was elected president. That's when the first wheel of the cultural bandwagon went flat.

The second wheel went flat when Trump tried to ban Muslims throughout the world from entering the US as immigrants.

The third wheel fell off after Trump stood up for Nazis, KKK members, and other hate groups in Charlottesville.

The fourth wheel went flat when the Trump administration separated immigrant families at the southern border as a draconian way of discouraging asylum seekers.

The results of Trump's influence on our society is shocking...

* The FBI's most recent data on hate crimes in 2017 show that they rose 12 percent over 2016 levels in 38 of the largest cities.

* There were 1,038 hate crimes in the nations largest cities - the highest in more than a decade.

Related: Addressing Suicide and Depression Under A Trump Administration

Related: OSHA Enforcement Activity Declines Under Trump Administration

Related: Transgender Navy Seal Calls Bullshit On Trump Admin Saying Transgender troops Aren't As Lethal or Effective

Related: Ex-Senator John Danforth: Trump Is The Most Divisive president in History

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

Here's The Key To Negotations That Could Solve The Shutdown

Trump's Puppet Masters Hold the Key

                                          Good Day World!

The answer to this partial government showdown has been hiding in obvious sight. It's been in the front of our faces  all this time but we haven't recognized it.

Until now.

The only way to solve this result of Trump's temper tantrum is to quit trying to negotiation with him. That's right. It's a waste of time. Democrats need to deal with the people who've made him a puppet...

They need to go to the sources like Ann Coulter, Rush Limbaugh, Matt Drudge, and Sean Hannity, to break the deadlock.

As historians will point out one day, there was a bipartisan agreement to open the government with both sides assured that Trump would sign it.

But at the last moment, Ann Coulter attacked Trump and told him he was a sell-out to his base. When Rush Limbaugh chimed in Trump got panicky and called him to reassure him he wouldn't sign the already agreed upon bill.

The rest is history. On day 31 of Trump's shutdown it's apparent Democrats need to change their strategy and deal with who is really running the White House.

A group of far-right activists whose goal is to turn America back to the 1950s when there was no challenge to the wealthy ruling white class who created an alternate America, until the rise of social justice and people like Martin Luther King.

It's a good example of how pathetic the position of president has become. We have a racist troll whose allegiance to himself comes first, and then to his hardcore base. 

Setting that aside, it's now a matter of negotiating with talk show hosts to see what it'll take to put 800,000 Americans back to work.

If that doesn't work - and I'm pretty sure it won't (nothing ventured, nothing gained) - then it's up to the Democrats to rally enough senators in Congress to stop this stupid shutdown.

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

Resistance Against Trump: The Patriotic Backlash

Good Day World!

If there's one word that stands out in the Trump era it's "Resistance." 

The day after the orange-hued con man was sworn in as the new POTUS, there was a massive show of resistance from millions of women who marched through the streets of America to let the "pussy grabber" president know they were prepared to resist his immorality and constant stream of lies.

Which brings us to the current government shutdown that Trump proudly takes credit for. Or, at least he did at first. It's been a revolving list of accusations and explanations since.

I took a look at this current impasse between Trump and the Democrats and turned to science to see if there was a way around the resistance against making this deal that would re-open our government.

I came across an interesting article by blogger Matt Banna titled "The Science Behind the Resistance to Change" (go here for webinar and article).

Quoting Banna:

"To move forward and accomplish ideal change, you need to address issues and find out what works, but you also need to make sure that it is a workable change. 

Without a workable change, people will not accept it. They need to believe that the change will be more successful than what they’re currently doing, or else they will reject this change.

If they don’t believe the change will be successful for them, then why shouldn’t they resist?

Resistance is the judgment made by the brain that the proposal for change makes less sense than what they’re currently doing. This judgment is only partly based on reason, but it can also be based on missing data."

Some good points were made. But, we also know all the rules have been thrown out by Trump and the puppets who slavishly follow him.

Trump's toxic tactic of taking hundreds of thousands of federal workers hostage, and making them pawns in his political pissing game goes on for much longer, something has to give.

And it probably won't be a compromise with Trump that'll end this insanity. No. Unless, of course, a miracle occurs. (Please don't hold your breath waiting)

GOP senators will have to grow temporary spines and show that the Senate is an equal part of our government (it can use veto proof majority to resist Trump), and not just a bunch of handmaidens for a president who thinks laws don't apply to him.

That might be the miracle I referred to.

If that doesn't happen, then Putin's investment in Trump was worth it...he's successfully destroyed our current form of democracy and installed a dictatorship.

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

On This Sunday I Come To You, Not to Praise...

Good Day World!

I come to you today, not to praise the orange-hued anus in the Oval Office, but to expose him...

to reveal his daily lies
to hold up examples of his corruption, before and after Russia put him in the White House
to uncover his outrageous claims about the southern border

Yea! ... though Americans walk in the Valley of Trump today
they should fear no evil...

Mueller's near
He shall guide us into impeachment
this very year

His evidence will lead to a jail cell
for Trump and many minions
Once again we'll hear the Freedom Bell

and will rest again in our Democracy 
From sea-to-shining sea

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