Saturday, August 8, 2020

Pandemic Diary Day 145: The NRA's Days Are Numbered

Dear Diary,

After decades of corrupting Congress, the National Rifle Association is facing it's comeuppance from New York state Attorney General Letitia James.

 Jame's office is suing the NRA for (among other things):

** The leadership of the organization spent funds improperly;

**The leadership engaged in self-dealing;

**The leadership made false or misleading disclosures to the attorney general and the IRS

The lawsuit also accuses Wayne LaPierre, the NRA's longtime CEO, of using "a secret "poison pill contract" to guarantee himself lifetime income from the gun group.

These are already bad times for the NRA as the group is deeply in debt because of years of accumulated corruption.
The civil lawsuit alleges that when the NRA faced financial shortfalls the corporation (the lobbying wing) turned to its foundation.

The NRA's independent charitable foundation was breeched by LaPierre and cronies, who colluded with the Foundation's Board of Trustees to get millions in illegal loans.

The NRA and it's charitable foundation are also under fire from a separate lawsuit filed by the District of Columbia's attorney general. The lawsuit alleges the charitable foundation became a vessel that supported the NRA's financial interests.

The best thing about the State of New York lawsuit is that it seeks to dissolve the NRA. And it looks like, based upon the information gathered over the last year, the NRA is soon going to be just a bad memory.

The demise of the Trump-loving, conservative cabal the NRA lobby, will leave a lot of Republicans in a bad position. One, they're going to lose a big chunk of their income, and two, they're going to be forced to act on gun safety laws that the NRA has prevented from being passed for decades.

The NRA had a long history of thwarting the rules that govern the non-profits in New York state, Gov. Andrew Cuomo told reporters.

It looks like those days are coming to an end.

Quote for the Day: "The best time to fight corruption was ages ago, the next best thing is now." -Amit Kalantri

Friday, August 7, 2020

Pandemic Diary Day 144: Our Reality Show Election Pitts Fiction vs Fact


 Dear Diary,

Trump made made it clear to everyone around him that after he was elected his administration would be the biggest reality show in America.

The dizzying rise from a fading TV reality star to the president of the United States, caused Trump's already outsized ego to blossom like deadly nightshade in Western Asia.

Fact-checking Trump's daily lies hardly raises an eyebrow this far into his failed administration. Everyone - yes, I mean everyone who has eyes, ears, and can read - KNOWS he's a habitual liar. 

Despite that, Trump pumps out fictional scenarios to combat reality with increasing vigor as election day draws near. The most egregious example has to be his denial of what the coronavirus is doing to the country.

Every healthcare expert in the country, and even Trump's Task Force, is warning that it's not safe to open schools across the country this fall. The decision to open, the professionals say, has to be based upon the amount of infections in a county and local school districts. Many other safety caveats have to also be considered.

In direct opposition to the experts, Trump is demanding all school districts open up, and even threatening to withhold funds to districts that don't comply with his royal decree.

As more information about COVID-19 becomes available healthcare experts have found out that children can be carriers of the virus, and a small percentage can get very sick. 

That means teachers (and any other adults in the school) are more at risk of infection, and when the kids go home their family could catch the coronavirus from them.

Trump claims, without evidence, that children are immune and democrats don't want schools to open so that it hurts his re-election chances.

This unnecessary battle between safety facts and fiction during a pandemic is another element of chaos that Trump is infecting into the media. Coupled with his all out attacks against mail-in voting, Trump is doubling down on fictional claims that he believes his supporters want to hear.

This denial of reality is no surprise to anyone who knows Trump's simplistic belief that if you tell a lie long enough it becomes real. 

That Trump suckled on the teat of one of the most infamous lawyers and political fixers in history, Roy Kohn (Senator Joseph McCarthy's lawyer), is common knowledge.

Watching his reality presidency slip further away every day has further unhinged Trump the narcissist, and producer of an alternate world where everyone loved him as the supreme leader.

Make sure to vote for Biden on Nov. 3rd, so we can restore reality and dignity to America. 

Quote for the Day: "Reality exists in the human mind, and no where else." -George Orwell

Thursday, August 6, 2020

Pandemic Diary Day 143: History Will Remember Trump For Being a Serial Liar

Dear Diary,

With over 20,000 documented lies to his discredit, Trump has set a leadership bar so low it will likely never be challenged in the foreseeable future.

When I'm finished writing this post, I'm sending a comprehensive list of Trump's lying statistics to the folks at Guinness Book of World Records

In other words, the perfect publication to feature our serial liar-in-charge. The editors may even feature Trump's artificially bronzed face on the next cover if everything works out. 

Being a world-class egotist, Trump will feel honored to be featured in the latest edition of Guinness Book of Records. He'll also probably sue the publication - because that's what he does - but will eventually lose in every court in the land.

Another possibility: negotiate cover deal and let Trump use that portrait of himself that he used to rip off charities (it's his favorite) and in return he would agree not to sue Guinness. Observation; this offer only works if you're dealing with a malicious narcissist.

Trump's talent for telling lies puts him in a special category among American presidents. Watching him speak during his press briefings/rallies is like stepping into an alternate universe where up is down, and down is up.

Historians watching videos of Trump will be struck by his ability to lie without batting an eye. And how stupid he really was. 
More New Books I'd like to See on Trump

1) Trump Tells All: 'How I Fooled Everyone'
 An insider's look at how corruption became rampant during the Trump regime and how the Republican Party enabled him to do whatever he wanted. Telling scenes like Lindsey Graham kneeling before Trump's tiny trumpet, flesh out the whole sordid story.

2) The Art of the Lie: Trump Reveals His Techniques
Trump spins tales of how lying got him where he is today, and how important telling a bigly lie can be for a reader's career. This book is the closest thing to scholarly he's ever done by sharing his unmatched ability to lie. A master's edition on how to deceive in 10 easy steps by his favorite ghost writer.  

3) How Whining, Even Though You're Wrong, Can Be Weaponized
With input from Trump's closest minions, this manual for manipulating people takes the reader through a series of situations where whining can be a winning preposition when cornered by facts. A special section features GOP Cry Babies to watch for in 2021 politics.

Quote for the Day: "Be bad, but at least don't be a liar, a deceiver!" -Leo Tolstoy

Wednesday, August 5, 2020

Pandemic Diary Day 142: It's Happened - Americans Have Become Shock Proof!

Dear Diary,

It was a slow destructive process during the first three years of Trump's takeover, but things have picked up in the last nine months.

That's because Trump is delivering non-stop lies and treasonous tweets daily.

Stories that would have been major scandals in any other administration have a lifecycle of 24-hours before the next shocking headline is delivered. 

The result is Americans have become shock proof. Not numb. Just no longer surprised at the depth of The Donald's depravity and depredations against our democracy.

Try as I might, I can't think of another president in American history who would have stood up for a notorious serial sexual predator - Jeffrey Epstein - numerous times during his presidency. 

No past president would have stood up for Epstein's co-conspirator Ghislaine Maxwell, Epstein's partner in abusing young girls for years.

But Trump does it, and we forget by the next day because he's pushing Lysol injections again and claiming the coronavirus is going away next month.

The terrible news that our GDP took the biggest hit in history, was hours old when Trump grabbed the headlines by suggesting he wanted to delay the elections. This constant chaos has become so common little of it surprises me, and I suspect many others, anymore.

Sometimes, I think back to my days as a newspaper editor and publisher, when any of these daily stories would have been a banner 90 point headline on the front page. It's sobering how quickly they plunge into obscurity today.

In an age when the president of the United States has been recorded bragging about his female conquests, and "...how you can grab their pussies, if your famous," Trump's managed to maintain a cult-like following. 

The rest of America, that doesn't belong to the Trump cult, is disgusted with his corruption and divisiveness. They have all become shock proof. Trump can shout "Squirrel!" and point all he wants, but people are no longer fooled. 

He's an old charlatan whose exposed himself repeatedly and Americans get the message.

Trump's clumsy-handed efforts at denying responsibility and distracting from reality, are failing. Polls point that out. Biden is leading in nearly every category a candidate could hope for.

No one will be surprised if Trump contests the election results. He's already promised to throw a presidential hissy fit well in advance of the results. 

It's a good thing that Americans have been primed before election day. 

Quote for the Day: "Americans became desensitized to scandalous revelation, whether it involved sex or drug use or cheating on a college exam. You could disappoint us, certainly, but we were now a very hard country to shock." -Matt Bai

Tuesday, August 4, 2020

Pandemic Diary Day 141: Suffer The Children: Schools Opening Despite Outbreaks

Dear Diary,

The topic of children going back to school now is as hot as the blazing temperatures across the country, and Trump's temper tantrums against science and reality.

Because there's been so much mixed-messaging from the White House, the virus is running rampant. Trump and minions are insisting the whole country go back to school this fall, but school authorities are warning it's not yet safe to go back to in-school teaching everywhere. 

WHAT HEALTHCARE PROFESSIONALS ARE SAYING

1. The area that the school district is in should have the spread contained before throwing the doors open to students.

2. There's numerous cautions that can be taken, from wearing face masks to social distancing and taking temperatures. But there has to be other factors taken into account in addition to those recommendations. For example busing.

3. Children can get the virus, although they aren't generally as seriously affected as adults. There has been exceptions however. Children are carriers, according to recent studies, that can bring the coronavirus home.

4.Most schools don't have the funding to pay for the additional money that would be needed to make schools safe.

HERE'S WHERE THE SITUATION GETS MESSY

Parents...

Some are desperate for their children to go back to in-school teaching for a myriad of reasons. From children's mental health to an ideology that denies science.  

Still others are too concerned about their children's (and their own) safety to expose them to in-school teaching in the middle of a spreading pandemic.

The worst thing I see happening is the controversy the subject is causing. Instead of a unified and scientific national approach there's chaos. In our politically charged universe nothing is safe... not even children's lives!

Quote for the Day: "Children are our most valuable resource." -Herbert Hoover

Monday, August 3, 2020

Pandemic Diary Day 140: The Dog Days of Trump's Regime

Dear Diary,

It's the start of another chaotic week as the nation warily edges toward the elections in November. The country is mired in the dog days of summer.

Fun fact; dog days were historically the period following the heliacal rising of the star system Sirius, which Hellenistic astrology connected with heat, drought, sudden thunderstorms, lethargy, fever, mad dogs, and bad luck.

The nation is also enduring the dog days of Trump's regime, as he strikes out like a mad dog threatening to delay the elections, while also attacking mail-in voting as a fraudulent process.

Like a rabid dog chasing a mailman, Trump is busy sabotaging the United States Postal Service after appointing a big donor to his re-election campaign as it's new head honcho. Mission: slow down the mail as much as possible to cause a cluster fuck in November.

With the help of a pack of other deranged dogs like Jim "Gym" Jordan; "Moscow Mitch" McConnell; Mike Pence the patsy; leading lapdog Bill Barr; Lyin' Ted Cruz; "Gaslighter" Matt Gaetz; "Gomer" Louis Gompert; and the rest of his loyal bloodhounds, Trump has managed to nearly derail our democracy in one term.

It's frightening to see just how fragile democracy can be.

The United States of America is ground zero for the global pandemic. We're doing worse than the rest of the world in containing the virus with no end in sight.

The coronavirus is raging while record hot temperatures are being recorded from coast-to-coast. Our economy is staggering under the increased burdens that come from having no real leadership.

As tough as these dog days of Trump's regime are, they're only going to get worse in the fall approaching Nov.3rd. It doesn't take a prophet to know that Trump is prepared to interfere and discredit the election in any way possible.

I suspect when Trump loses the election authorities will have to wheel him out in a cage and take him to a kennel for mentally ill dogs somewhere in Puerto Rico...

Quote for the Day: "Every summer: 'Let's make this the best one yet!' End of Summer: "Wow! This summer sucked!" -Unknown

Sunday, August 2, 2020

Pandemic Diary Day 139: Where Were Our Politicians When Emergency Funds for Millions of Americans Ran Out?


Dear Diary,

When Congress failed to restore emergency stimulus funds for millions of Americans Friday, it plunged our beleaguered country even deeper into the current maelstrom.  

For the record, I've documented who, what, when, and where some politicians and political pundits were when the current lifelines to desperate Americans were severed as the deadline ran out Friday night.


TRUMP

As the country remained in numerous intensifying crises from the raging coronavirus epidemic to anti-racism protests and benefits running out, Trump played golf. And tweeted lies and conspiracies.

"Mr. Not Having Time" to play golf because he'd be too busy when he was elected, logged in his 283rd trip to the golf course while in office, and his 376th day at a Trump property.

While Trump played golf (ala Nero playing the harp while Rome burned) the US death toll from COVID-19 topped 153,000 with more than 4.5 million cases - by far the largest totals in the world.


Republican Rep. Louie Gohmert

One of a group of maroons that defies face mask wearing in the Capitol, Louie "Gomer," has been strutting around like a rooster without his face mask on. After finding out he had the coronavirus Wednesday, Louie had to go into quarantine.

So, he spent his Friday claiming he may have got the virus by - wait for it - wearing a face mask. Oh, yeah. He said that in a video for the alt right face mask idiots.


Brian Murphy

Department of Homeland Security acting undersecretary, Brian Murphy, was removed from his post and reassigned to a different, undisclosed position Friday when word got out what he was doing in Portland.

Murphy was compiling reports on journalists in Portland, Ore., and collecting electronic messages belonging to protestors. He was even making up "Baseball cards" of protestors and passing them out.

Democrats are calling for an investigation.


Joe Scarborough

In a piece published Friday, political pundit Joe Scarborough chastised the self-described conservatives who remained silent earlier in the week when Trump touted the idea of delaying the 2020 election over debunked concerns about mail-in voting fraud.

For the record, the orange anus can't delay the election. Period.


Jim Jordan

U.S. Republican Rep. Jim "Gym" Jordan was playing to the cameras Friday morning as he bullied, belittled, and attacked Dr. Anthony Fauci during a House Oversight and Reform Subcommittee hearing on the coronavirus crisis.

As usual he was playing for an audience of one, his master Donald Trump. Anyone who happened to catch the exchange between the two could see what a dramatic clueless moron Gym is.


The bottom line.

Friday was another stark snapshot of how dysfunctional our government is. 

Quote for the Day: "Great leaders create more leaders, not followers." -Roy T. Bennett

Saturday, August 1, 2020

Pandemic Diary Day 138: World Democracies Cringed, American's Groaned, Dictators Celebrated

Dear Diary, 

America, once on top of the world food chain, is now slipping as world leaders, ally or enemy, can see the planet's greatest democracy declining.

 Rapidly.

When Trump finally officially revealed he was going to contest the results of the upcoming election... a chill fell over the nation. GOP Senate and House members cringed and avoided reporters.

Then the orange anus argued the election should be delayed or it would be the "most inaccurate and fraudulent" vote in history.

That's when bells of alarm sounded off across the country as Americans got a dreadful confirmation that Trump was going to interfere with the electoral process.

Constitutional experts quickly pointed out that it's not possible to delay election day, but conceded Trump will do everything he can to discredit the election.

Meanwhile, world leaders are witnessing the destruction of a political system over 240-years old. Imagine what they thought when they heard the leader of the free world wanted to violate the Constitution so he could have more time for the economy to improve - and by proxy helping his re-elections chances.

Once the guiding light of democracies that valued equality and freedom, the USA's startling decline in just a few years has sown seeds of doubt, making it easier for fascists' and nationalists to take control when social unrest is threatening countries.

That's what happening in the world today. We have a global pandemic. Failing economies. Rising racism worldwide. And America doesn't have a true leader. 

Instead we have to contend with a narcissist whose losing in all of the pre-election polls, and melting down before our very eyes when he gives briefings at the White House. I just couldn't squeeze out a tear for Donny when he complained everyone likes and trusts Dr. Fauci, but not him.

Trump's open defiance against our Constitution is rattling democracies across the globe. It's rattling the Republican Party, which up to now has been a pool of jellyfish in his destructive wake.

Trump knows words matter. He's a con man, first and foremost.

With the biggest bully pulpit in the world he promotes conspiracies' and racism to keep his alt right base intact, gambling they will carry him to victory in November. 

Because he has limited brain capacity and doesn't believe in polls that don't favor him, Trump thinks his followers outnumber the rest of the United States. I hope he goes right on thinking that.

Quote for the Day: "I wonder if being sane means disregarding the chaos that is life, pretending only an infinitesimal segment of it is reality." -Rabih Alameddine

Friday, July 31, 2020

Pandemic Diary Day 137: Yesterday Was a Huge Day of Contrasts

Dear Diary,

What a day of contrasts yesterday was.

While President Barack Obama eulogized civil rights icon, John Lewis, before the congressman's body was laid to rest in Atlanta, Trump was tweeting about his new bill to save suburbia from invading people of color and restoring The American Dream circa 1955.

When the news broke that the US economy contracted at a 32 percent annual rate from April through June, its worst drop on record according to an announcement from the Bureau of Economic Analysis yesterday, Trump tweeted a few minutes later about delaying the election "until it's safe to vote."

Top Republicans, and rank and file, actually turned on Trump when he suggested delaying the election. Even McConnell said, "No. It's carved in stone." The possibility of Trump trying to pull a stunt like that was accurately predicted by Joe Biden in April.

When President Obama spoke out strongly against Trump's efforts to suppress voters in November there was a standing ovation. It was one of those moments that reminded me what a great orator President Obama is.

Meanwhile, while extended stimulus benefits were desperately needed (they ran out today), Senate Republicans couldn't agree among themselves what they wanted in the proposed stimulus relief bill. 

As those disgruntled Republican senators leave today - for another break from work - while millions of Americans are being evicted from their homes, there's no relief in sight. 

In contrast, The House passed a bill 10 weeks ago - The Heroes Act - that addressed the needs of every American during this pandemic.

The contrast between Trump promoting a wacko who claims hydroxychloroquine cures COVID-19 and that our doctors use alien DNA to keep people from being religious, with Dr. Fauci and a whole raft of other healthcare officials was stark.

Yesterday was about Looney Tunes versus science. Fake News versus facts. It was about a president so far in over his toupee that he's bragging about dementia test scores. 

It was a bad day for Republican face mask rebellion. Herman Cain, a former GOP presidential candidate, died after getting the coronavirus because he didn't wear a face mask at Trump's super spreader event in Tulsa, Oklahoma.

Another top face mask denier, Sen. Republican from Texas, Louie Gohmert, tested positive for COVID-19 yesterday, just before getting on Air Force One with Trump for a campaign event where no one would be wearing face masks.

When the news became public it unleashed a fusillade of anger on Capitol Hill - a sudden release of built-up tension over how the institution has dealt with the coronavirus pandemic within the confines of its own workplace. 

I know everyday has been a day of contrasts since the pandemic first infected America. For reasons stated above, I feel like yesterday was a turning point. The stark contrast between fact and fiction was never more apparent.

Quote for the Day: "Nothing exists without its opposite." -Chris Crutcher

Thursday, July 30, 2020

Pandemic Diary Day 136: Trump Has Finally Found a 'Doctor' As Crazy As Him

Dear Diary,
I'm imagining
Trump's initial reaction when he first heard Stella Immanuel praising his favorite drug hydroxychloroquine, and claiming it would cure COVID-19.

It was love at first listen. He claimed he didn't know who she was but told reporters "She was spectacular and sounded important," as if that was all that was needed to be credible.

For reasons only the voices in his head know, Trump has relapsed on pretending that he believes in science and is back to pushing discredited hydroxychloroquine as a useful therapeutic for people who have the coronavirus.

When Trump heard more from reporters about Stella and a clutch of questionable doctors pushing his favorite snake oil remedy, he complained that they were unfairly taken off the social media sites for sharing their opinion on something. 

His own stupid son Don Jr., posted a video on Twitter showing Stella and her gang of deniers wearing white lab coats. It was quickly shut down for sharing false information that endangered people's lives. Facebook and YouTube also quickly clamped down on Immanuel's misinformation.

I watched Trump's face twist into a tortured pretzel 
the other day when reporters told him about who Stella was. When he heard enough he waddled off in a huff.
To summarize
**Stella Immanuel was born in Cameroon and got her "medical degree" from a university in Nigeria in 1990. Unfortunately she doesn't list which one.

** Immanuel made videos saying that doctors make medicine using DNA from aliens, and that they're trying to create a vaccine to make you immune from becoming religious.

**She describes herself as a prophet of God and runs a little cult called Firepower Ministries. She describes herself as God's Battle Ax and Weapon of War." She also refers to herself as a "Deliverance Minister."  

**She's a big TRUMP SUPPORTER and tweeted a photo of Trump with the caption "Acquitted!" after senate Republicans let him get away with his crimes earlier this year.

It's interesting how Trump claimed he didn't know her. Anyone who supported him after impeachment would have been on his radar. Especially, on twitter.

**She's anti-homosexual and says they're all sinners.

**She preaches that some ailments are a result of people having sexual relations with demons and witches in their dreams.

In other words...

She's perfect for Trump. A doctor willing to ignore science and who adores him. In the end, no matter how this whole mess turns out, I think the two will end up being friends for life...

or at least until she pisses him off, and he shed's her like a snake's skin.

Quote for the Day; "Taking crazy things seriously is a serious waste of time." -Haruki Murakami 

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...