Wednesday, April 17, 2019

Who Is Bill Weld? Is He Crazy For Challenging Trump For 2020 GOP Ticket?

Good Day World!

I have to admit that I was really surprised when a Republican - Bill Weld - announced he was running for president against The Donald.

Frankly I thought most of the real Republicans had been driven into the hinterlands by Trump and his minions. The few that are still holding on in Congress are deaf mutes too cowardly to stand up to his assaults on the Constitution.

Pundits think Weld is nuts for challenging the orange Cheeto in the Oval Office. After all, he has the backing of 90 percent of the Republican party according to the polls.

The two-time governor of Massachusetts also ran as the vice presidential nominee on the Libertarian Party ticket in 2016. His conservative creds are considerable.

Watching him being interviewed I was struck by how confident the man seemed. When reminded that Trump had a majority of Republicans behind him and did he know his chances were slim to none? His reply was, "Yeah. I do."

Continuing, he pointed out that, "I have followers, particularly in New Hampshire, where I'm spending a lot of time. It's one vote at a time and one voter at a time, and you gotta meet 'em," he explained.

To establish his anti-Trump crusade creds Weld described himself as a "Republican who works across the aisle and gets things done." 

That alone would be a novel approach, but Weld doubles down with it saying he would have a "bipartisan Cabinet" if he won the presidency.

Wow! Imagine that?

Weld is running as the sane alternative in the Republican Party. Who knows? He may have a large silent following who loath Trump but are afraid to openly defy him, who will show up when it comes time to vote.

There's one more big reason why Weld might not be such a long shot for the GOP nomination: 

After the release of the real Mueller report tomorrow, all signs point to bad news for Donny on the obstruction of justice portion of the investigation.

Then there's all the rest of the investigations Congress is conducting along with New York's investigation into campaign violations and Trump's financial dealings of possible fraud and cheating the IRS.

That's a hell of a lot of baggage to carry for anyone - even Trump - that's running for the presidency. 

Bill Weld may very well be a sneaky candidate who picks up Republican voters feeling overwhelmed with Trump's crimes and assaults against the government.

No. I don't think he's crazy for trying. More like crazy as a fox!

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

Tuesday, April 16, 2019

Final Countdown: 2 Days Until Blast-off

Good Day World!

Five...four...three...

The moment America has been waiting for is arriving on Thursday...

the release of the real Mueller report!

Not another watered down conclusion like Barr gave in his four-page cover-up of the investigation three weeks ago.

I'm tempering my excitement with the knowledge that Barr is going to release a heavily redacted account of what Mueller found.

With that being said, Washington insiders are saying the obstruction part of the investigation is loaded with shit on Trump, and some of it will probably come out Thursday. 

The rest will end up coming out in dribs and drabs in the coming months as Trump fights every effort to get the entire contents of the report released.

The bottom line is when the Geni/Mueller report is let out of the bottle, there's no putting it back.

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

Monday, April 15, 2019

See Analysis: 2 Trump Minion's Battle For Bullshit Bragging Rights

Good Day World!

If you missed seeing Sarah Sanders and Kellyanne Conway yesterday on the Sunday pundit shows from Fox to ABC, you missed epic examples of propaganda at its best.
Sanders appeared on a couple of morning shows and Conway appeared on one.

After carefully evaluating (with periodic vomiting during the process) the amount of lies; how passionate they were; their ability to divert and control interviews; and to defend Trump's lawbreaking; I finally decided that Conway was the Best Trump Minion representative for Sunday 4/14/19. 

Conway won bullshit bragging rights according to my results. The competition was fierce (especially when Sanders was on Fox.)

Don't get me wrong. Sander's was such a close second, I almost declared a tie. See what you think: 

Here's Conway on Meet The Press

Here's Sanders on ABC This Week

Here's Sanders on Fox News Sunday

Forgive me...I probably should have warned you to keep a barf bag nearby while viewing their competition.

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

Sunday, April 14, 2019

Trump Updates Dictator Guide: The Power of Lying


                                           Good Day World!

In two short years our grifter-in-charge has modified the means to be a successful dictator in the 21st century.

Trump started off with the standard demonizing of the "other," creating crisis situations to entrench power, and using cruelty to spread fear.

But Trump's biggest achievement was to show dictators how to create an alternate universe. The pillar for this tactic was using the power of the lie.

Coming from such an accomplished world-class liar, the strategy makes sense in a twisted way.

He's still in office despite setting a record of an average of 22 lies daily. With over 9,000 documented lies since he slithered into the Oval office, Trump is setting a new standard for dictators worldwide.

Dictators have always lied, that's just stock in trade. 

But Trump's taken lies to a new level, saturating our government, social media, and the press. The result being chaos, which is music to any dictator.

In one sign that Trump's influence has already made a difference, the fake news fable is now fashionable among dictators worldwide.

With two years left, who knows what other updates Don the Con will add to the dictator's guide to controlling the masses?

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

Saturday, April 13, 2019

Trump's Despicable Use of People As Political Pawns

Good Day World!

I think it's apparent to most sane Americans that after two years of Trump, he's the real world Gru character from the Despicable Me movie franchise.

With one caveat, unlike the cartoon character, Trump doesn't end up being a good guy. 

Nothing touches his heart (if he has one), unlike the movie's supervillain.

Case in point:

A New Level of Inhumanity

As Trump becomes increasingly rabid about immigration he's ready to do anything - regardless of the human consequences.

Combining his racist attitude and his hatred for Democrats, Trump has come up with a supposed "fix" that even ICE officials thought - at first - was a joke, despite being a grim one. 

After several attempts ICE realized the idiot-in-chief was serious and declined to follow up with his desperate requests/orders.

The fact that Trump wanted to divert immigrants to so-called Democratic sanctuary cities as a way to retaliate against his opposition, didn't go down well with immigration authorities.

Ashley Etienne, a spokeswoman for Nancy Pelosi, labeled Trump's partisan attempt as "despicable."

"Using human beings - including little children - as pawns in his warped game to perpetuate fear and demonize immigrants is despicable, and in some cases, criminal," Etienne told reporters.

Up until two days ago, the WH press claimed Trump's idea was just floated around in conversation and was rejected. That story was suddenly scuttled on Friday.

On Friday morning our grifter-in-chief undercut his own administration officials and announced he is considering moving immigrants to sanctuary cities to retaliate against Democrats.

It looks like Trump/Gru is going to be pitted against the courts (and laws) once again, despite being slapped down by those courts numerous times. 

Using people as pawns is only one of the many despicable things Trump has done while in office.

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

Friday, April 12, 2019

Trump's Photo Ops vs Reality

Good Day World!

Trump has always been a grip-and-grin guy. 

His specialty being photo-ops that directly contradict reality.

Photo-Op For the Day 

Consider yesterdays visit from South Korea's leader Moon to the White House. 

With cameras rolling, Trump praised North Korea's crazed leader Kim, and his great potential. Both leaders sat in chairs and smiled like it was just a matter of time before Kim came to the table and agreed to US terms.

Meanwhile...

The Reality

As Trump and Moon were talking about making peace with North Korea, Kim Jong Un was warning the world that a "severe blow" was coming to those sanctioning his country.

In a party speech yesterday he urged his minions to continue with "self-reliance," signaling his determination to hold the party line in talks with Trump.

This one example is what we've seen numerous times before, where Trump says one thing and the reality is something else entirely.

Is it any wonder there's documented chaos in the West Wing? One hand doesn't know what the other is doing, and everyone kowtows to Trump's temper tantrums.

Foreign policy? There is none. The reality star and lifelong grifter cares little for policy, rules, laws, or anything that doesn't fit his agenda.

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

Thursday, April 11, 2019

In An Alternate Universe: Trump Unites All Americans!

Good Day World!

It occurred to me this morning, after liberal applications of coffee and cannabis, that the comic book I was looking at - the June 1961 Issue #280 Tales of the Bizarro World - answered my question about how Trump got a cult following.

Why was he still in office, despite being the most corrupt president in American history? Then it hit me...

We're living in an alternate universe!

As far as I can figure, the transition came the day Trump was sworn into office. I still remember the nearly universal shock when Trump lost the popular vote, but still won in the electoral college.

The amount of shock, horror, disbelief, dread, mourning, and depression rocked American's world...and that's when it happened.

The world we once knew was gone overnight. Replaced by a Bizarro World where everything was the opposite of what it should be. All norms, from laws to civility, were shattered and recycled by Trump and his minions.

So, here we are. Victims stuck in an alternative universe until the 2020 elections roll around where Americans will have a chance to return to a reality more reflective of our society.

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

Wednesday, April 10, 2019

Research Shows Political 'Lie-Byes' Hit New Highs

Good Day World!

Based upon four plus decades as a newspaper editor, publisher, opinion columnist, and blogger, with countless hours of examining our government and the goons who run it, I've determined political "lie-byes" are on the rise.

In the Trump era political "lie-byes" are more common than house flies. "Lie-byes" come so fast every day that by the time they're fact-checked new ones immedietely replace them like maggots on rotten meat.

Consider: As per fact-checking publications like the Washington Post and Politico, Trump is averaging 22 lies per day. He's surpassed 9,000 lies in slightly more than two years.

Consider: Republicans in Congress, like Devin Nunes, Jim Jordan, Kevin McCarthy, Mark Meadows, and Steve Scalise ingratiate themselves with Trump by picking up his lies and magnifying them. 

Trump's team of supervillains on The Hill are joined by the West Wing and cabinet cabal of Mick Mulvaney, Mike Pence, Wilbur Ross, Stephen Miller, Andrew Wheeler, Elizabeth DeVos, Ben Carson, Mike Pompeo and the rest of the cabinet. 

Throw in AG William Barr for maximum effect and the result is inevitable.

Flight patterns of "lie-byes" over Washington DC have reached a crisis stage, resulting in a threat to the Constitution and the American people who rely on our democracy.

Thus far my studies have shown that "lie-byes" are part and parcel of most politicians playbooks. One way to deal with them is to shoot them down the moment they take flight.

Another way is to vote against Trump and his minions in 2020. While that won't eliminate the problem, it'll sure slow down the migration of falsehoods emanating from the nest of liars in our current government.

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

Tuesday, April 9, 2019

Time To Sell Tickets To Attend Congressional Committee Hearings

Good Day World!

By now, anyone who has watched a few heated House committee hearings knows that they are great entertainment.

I think Congress is missing out by not charging attendance fees to witness those hearings first hand. 

Seats should be easy to sell considering that the hearings are packed with more twists and surprises than a good suspense movie.

Consider what a attraction these hearings are. You get the whole spectrum, from drama to comedy. 

From the Brett Kavanaugh comedy confirmation hearing (I like beer. Do you like beer? Everyone drinks beer. I like...) to the raw emotion of Rep. Keith Ellison (the first Muslim elected to Congress), when he denounced the hearing on radicalization in the U.S. community sponsored by NY Rep. Peter King.

The fun part is you're never sure who the star of the hearing will be, as the Democrats and Republicans attack each other relentlessly.

Meanwhile the majority of Americans will be watching these enlightening interchanges between the two parties on TV. As a matter of fact there's a potential barn-burner on today:

You're not going to want to miss watching AG William Barr testify in the House (see local times near you) about the Justice Department's budget, but the conversation is sure to turn to his handling of special counsel Robert Mueller's report.

Make sure to bring plenty of snacks because it's a double feature. More on that further down the page. 

The Barr questioning will be picked up again in the Senate tomorrow. 

I guarantee you'll be entertained by the differences between a House hearing (with Democrats in the majority) and the Senate hearing (with Republicans in the majority), both dealing with the same subject with so many spins viewers should be warned to wear a neck brace while watching.

Another don't miss hearing today!

The House Appropriations Subcommittee on Financial Services are meeting with Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin, and Internal Revenue Commissioner Charles P. Rettig, about budget requests; but you can expect the questioning will drift off to oversight matters.

They'll be asked to hand over the past six years of Trump's tax returns by Wednesday. If they don't, both will have to explain why to Congress.

As for the ticket sales from my proposal; all of the money raised should go towards providing better shelter and treatment for the immigrants on our southern border.

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

Monday, April 8, 2019

Let's Start Monday off With a Laugh...or Two, or Three

Good Day World!

I thought it would be nice to start this Monday off with smiles and laughs. 

Many people hate this day of the week, but I think it's time to cut Monday some slack.

What better way than to joke about politics?

Here's a small collection of famous funny political quotes via ThoughtCo.

1.) Mark Twain On Congress: "Reader, suppose you were an idiot. And suppose you were a member of Congress. But I repeat myself."

2.) P.J. O'Rourke on Democrats vs Republicans: "The democrats are the party of government activism, the party that says government can make you richer, smarter, taller, and get the chickweed out of your lawn. Republicans are the party that says government doesn't work, and then get elected and prove it."

3.) Jim Hightower on George Bush: "If ignorance goes to $40 a barrel, I want drilling rights to George Bush's head." 

4.) Groucho Marx on Politics: "Politics is the art of looking for trouble, finding it everywhere, diagnosing it incorrectly, and applying the wrong remedies."

5.) Will Rogers on Politicians vs Comedians: "Everything is changing. People are taking their comedians seriously and the politicians are a joke."

6. Barrack Obama on Donald Trump: "Now, I know that he's taken some flak lately but no one is prouder to put this birth certificate matter to rest than The Donald. And that's because he can finally get back to focusing on the issues that matter, like, did we fake the moon landing? What really happened in Roswell? And where are Biggie and Tupac?"

If you enjoyed these quotes and are in the mood for more - go here.

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

Sunday, April 7, 2019

New Game Show Will Be A Hit In Washington DC

Good Day World!

Big announcement: a new game show sponsored by this blog is nearly ready for prime time.

The show is titled, "Lies and No Consequences." It's modeled after the wildly successful Truth or Consequences which first premiered on radio in 1940, then went to TV in 1950, lasting until 1988.

I will be your host. Here's a preview...

First Episode: The contestants are, our liar-in-chief Trump, and three of his most loyal minions; Steven Mnuchin, Mike Pence, and Kellyanne Conway.

Dave: I'll start with you Mr. President.
When will you release your income tax returns?

Trump: When they're done being audited.

Lie Points: 10 (on a scale of 1-to-10)
Moving on...Steven Mnuchin, when do you plan on fully divesting yourself from the stock you own in the movie production business?

Mnuchin: I've already complied with federal ethics rules. Next?

Lie Points: 8 (there was a hint of truth in his reply)

Dave: Everybody says Trump is a big fat liar. What's your response to that accusation Kellyanne?

Kellyanne: That's a wicked lie! I've never heard Donny lie about anything. You sound like that pencil neck Adam Schiff who hates our beloved president. Shame on you for even suggesting Trump lies.

Lie Points: 11! (an extra point had to be added for this whopper)

Dave: My question for you Mike Pence, is it true that you've told audiences that Trump was sent by God to straighten out this evil nation?

Pence: Listen, God talks to me all the time...okay? Just the other night he revealed to me that Trump is the next Christ! MAGA!

Lie Points: 0 (He's so crazed that he believes the shit he's spewing is the gospel.)  

That's the end of the first round. It looks like Kellyanne Conway is the early leader.

Stay tuned to this blog for further rounds and new contestants on a weekly basis. 

If you have some ideas for contestants for this game don't hesitate to contact me here, or here, or at this email address: richarddavestancliff@gmail.com 

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

Trump's Lowest Grift Ever Saved for Holy Week

This is a story about how the devil's puppet, aka Donald Trump, mocked Christianity by selling a book combining the Bible, the Constitu...