Monthly Archives: August 2017

national news

Presidents make powerful statement, but it needs more

There you go. A powerful statement from the two most recent Republican presidents of the United States, father and son, George H.W. and George W. Bush.

Their reaction to the Charlottesville riot and the tragic death of Heather Heyer speaks volumes about their decency and compassion.

However …

There’s an element missing from this statement. What is missing is a specific condemnation of their successor, Donald John Trump.

It’s the kind of rebuke and denunciation that must come from members of the president’s own party. They must condemn not just the acts of hate that transpired in Charlottesville, but also the president who — in a stunning display of ignorance and arrogance on Tuesday — equated the hate merchants with those who oppose them.

Indeed, the silence from the GOP political high command has been deafening in its own right. House and Senate leaders have spoken eloquently about their loathing of intolerance, bigotry and racism. Good for them!

But the rest of the condemnation also must single out the president of the United States who tossed aside the proverbial “dog whistle” he has used to incite his political base and replaced it with a bullhorn. We all heard what he meant when he said “both sides” are to blame for the tragedy that unfolded in Charlottesville.

No, Mr. President. There is no “both sides do it” moral equivalence here. The riot was provoked by the presence of white supremacists, the KKK and neo-Nazis who protested the taking down of a statue of Robert E. Lee. They marched under the lights of tiki torches, which symbolize the terror tactics used by the Klan and, yes, by the Nazis in Europe prior to World War II.

And yet the president drew a moral equivalence between the hate groups and the counter protesters. It was disgraceful in the extreme for Trump to do such a thing.

I’m glad the two former presidents have spoken out. They both have been quiet since leaving the presidency in 1993 and 2009.

I just wish they would have taken the final step and called out Donald Trump by name. Maybe that moment will arrive in due course. Let us hope.

national news

Trump has managed to remove all doubt

I’ve acknowledged on occasion in this blog that I am at times a bit slow on the uptake.

Yesterday, though, only the dimmest of bulbs who watched the president’s impromptu press conference couldn’t have realized what they were witnessing in real time — as it was occurring.

The bulb in my brain lit up brightly as I watched Donald John Trump do what he did. I’m sure yours did, too. Indeed, the picture accompanying this post is of White House chief of staff John Kelly listening to the president’s remarks at Trump Tower; I have to wonder what Kelly must be thinking in real time.

We all witnessed an extraordinary display of ignorance from the man elected to represent the greatest nation on Earth. He decided to revert back to his original response to that Charlottesville riot, the one in which he blamed “many sides” for the violence that erupted.

He equated the neo-Nazis/white supremacists/Ku Klux Klansmen who gathered to protest the taking down of a Robert E. Lee statue with counter protesters.

I watched the president’s Q&A and felt my jaw drop in amazement the longer it went on. Trump was revealing precisely who he is, what he stands for and who he represents. This individual does not represent yours truly.

What the president did was suggest that racist hate groups were no different from those who oppose them. The white nationalists and Klansmen have a lengthy history of demonstrating that they believe they are superior to those who don’t look like them. They have acted violently over the course of the past two centuries against people of color, non-Christians and immigrants.

And yet the president said that Charlottesville’s tragedy was the result of actions of those on “both sides.”

I remain utterly amazed and astounded that this man now is our head of state, our head of government, our commander in chief. His remarks Tuesday afternoon have shown the nation he was elected to lead that his critics had it right — that he is unfit for the office he occupies.

President Lincoln once reportedly said it is “better to remain silent and be thought a fool than to speak out and remove all doubt.”

I suppose the same can be said that Donald Trump has removed “all doubt” about his true character — or lack thereof.

national news

Call out the president by name, GOP leaders

We’ve heard a lot of chatter about the responsibility of leaders to name their adversaries by name, to call out those who act irresponsibly or reprehensibly.

Republicans implored Democratic President Barack Obama to label international terrorists as “radical Muslims.” Obama declined during his time in the White House, saying we must not suggest the terrorists are associated with a great religion.

Just recently, we heard others say that a Republican president must call out the instigators in the Charlottesville riot by their names: white supremacists, neo-Nazis and Ku Klux Klansmen. Donald Trump at first declined to do so, then he did.

Today, though, he reverted back to his initial response to the violence in Virginia, blaming it on “both sides.” He sought to attach some sort of moral equivalency between the racists who were protesting the removal of a Confederate statue with the counter protesters.

The president put on a shameful display today at Trump Tower.

So it now falls on Republicans across the land to call out the president — a fellow Republican — by name. There’s been a lot of social media chatter from GOP leaders about how we must not tolerate hate groups, racists, bigotry, anti-Semitism. It’s no longer enough to denounce these hideous groups. It’s time to denounce the president who today demonstrated what he truly believes about these hate mongers.

They now need to take the next step. These Republican leaders — including members of Congress — need to say: Donald Trump, you are consorting with hate groups and we will not tolerate such disgraceful behavior from the president of the United States.

I mean, c’mon. Are they going to seriously tolerate a word of good cheer for the president’s performance today from David Duke … of all people?

national news

A glimmer of good news from Trump tirade?

If there was the slightest glimmer of good news from Donald J. Trump’s astonishing rant this afternoon, it involves the possible fate of the president’s senior political strategist.

The president fielded a question at Trump Tower about Stephen K. Bannon and whether he was going to be pushed out of his job. Trump responded that Bannon is a good guy, a “friend of mine.” He said Bannon “is not a racist.”

Then the president said he was uncertain about whether Bannon would stay on.  “We’ll see what happens,” Trump said.

Wait a second! He’s the president of the United States. Of course he knows whether he’s going to keep Bannon. Should he retain this guy? Hell … no!

Bannon is the former Breitbart News honcho who ran an organization with deep sympathies to the “alt-right” movement often associated with white supremacists and assorted other haters.

He now has a seat at the White House policy-setting table. He also is reportedly feuding with chief of staff John Kelly and national security adviser H.R. McMaster.

I want Bannon out of there. Maybe the president will do the right thing — at least on that score. Then again, we still will have Donald Trump as president of the United States.

national news

‘Fine people’ among the neo-Nazis?

The president of the United States has provided so much grist for us out here in Flyover Country, I almost don’t know where to start.

OK, I’ll start with this: Donald John Trump Sr. said the Klansmen, neo-Nazis and white supremacists comprised “many fine” individuals who had gathered in Charlottesville, Va., to protest the removal of that statue of Gen. Robert E. Lee.

Does the president believe anyone who belongs to a well-recognized hate group would qualify as a “fine” person? Is that what he believes?

Well, yes he does. He said so today while launching into that amazingly stupid, ignorant rant about how “both sides” were to blame for the riot in Charlottesville.

Oh, sure, Trump paid tribute to the counter protesters, too, saying they had some good folks among their ranks. That was his way of equivocating, I suppose — kind of the way he used the “many sides” dodge in his initial response to the Charlottesville violence.

Mr. President, I don’t know any white supremacists, or neo-Nazis, or Ku Klux Klansmen. It might be that I refuse to associate with those of that particular ilk. Why? Because I set a pretty high standard for those with whom I associate.

They are “fine” individuals. None of those hate group members is anything of the sort.

national news

POTUS’s loathsome conduct on full display

That was some performance — yes? — from the president of the United States of America.

He walked this afternoon into the Trump Tower lobby, talked a little bit about infrastructure improvement and then opened the floor up for questions from the “enemy of the people,” aka the media.

Then it got real nasty. In a major hurry. Reporters weren’t there to talk about roads and bridges. They wanted to talk about another matter that’s on the minds of millions of Americans.

Donald John Trump Sr. has motivated me to explain why I loathe this man to my core — and to his core, for that matter.

It’s not ideology, because he doesn’t have one. It’s not his partisan leaning, because he doesn’t adhere to any partisan doctrine.

It’s his conduct, his demeanor, his utter lack of dignity, his ignorance and arrogance. It’s strictly personal, dear reader.

Trump put on a disgraceful display at that Q&A with the media today. It laid bare with absolute clarity just why I stand more strongly than ever behind the view that this man is unfit for the nation’s highest office. He is unfit to be called “president.”

Trump defended his hideous initial statement about the Charlottesville riot. Then he equated the Klan/Nazi/white supremacists with those who oppose them. He attacked the media yet one more time. He took a moment to chide Sen. John McCain — a celebrated Vietnam War hero — for his vote against repeal of the Affordable Care Act.

The president demonstrated clearly and without a trace of ambiguity why he is such a loathsome individual.

I won’t restate the myriad examples he provided for us while campaigning for the presidency. We’ve been down that road already.

He pledged to become more “presidential” once he was elected and getting ready to take office. He has gone in precisely the opposite direction. He has become an absolute embarrassment to the greatest nation on Earth. He has demonstrated to those of us who opposed his election precisely why we continue to detest him.

Yes, he has his supporters. I am acquainted with a number of them who live here in the Texas Panhandle, which voted overwhelmingly for his election in 2016. I choose to avoid discussing Trump with them; thus, I am not entirely certain if their faith in Trump today is as strong as it was when he took office. That’s for them to ponder.

Me? My mind was made up long before the election, let alone long before this shameful opportunist took the oath for the only public office he ever sought.

On this day, my loathing of this individual is stronger than ever.

national news

POTUS shows us once more he is unfit for his office

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XXzQ1cNXfxk

This video is about 23 minutes long. If you have the time — and if you have the stomach for it — take some time to watch it.

You will witness the president of the United States demonstrate a remarkable implosion. Donald John Trump Sr. said many astonishing things during this press conference on the ground floor of Trump Tower.

He reverted back to his “many sides” argument in response to the Charlottesville, Va., riot that was provoked by white nationalists/neo-Nazis/Ku Klux Klansmen protesting the removal of a Confederate statue.

Trump accused the so-called “alt-left” of attacking the racists.

The president once again blamed the media for its coverage of the event over the weekend, saying that the media were “unfair” in their reportage of the white supremacists.

POTUS also took shots at Sen. John McCain for voting against the repeal of the Affordable Care Act, as well as at “fake news” outlets and their representatives.

It was an astonishing display of maximum petulance today at Trump Tower.

The president in effect reverted to form this afternoon. He exhibited compelling evidence that his initial response to the Charlottesville event — where he said “many sides” were to blame for the violence — came from his gut and that his more restrained response delivered Monday was canned, strained and done against his will.

Oh, and he conflated the American Revolution with the Civil War, noting that George Washington and Thomas Jefferson owned slaves, as did the leaders of the Confederate States of America. He asked, then, if it’s time to remove statues of the Father of Our Country and the author of the Declaration of Independence.

My head is about to explode.

I watched every moment of Donald Trump’s disgraceful display this afternoon. I still cannot believe what I witnessed.

Take a look at the video.

medical news

CBO weighs in again: not good for ACA repeal

That doggone Congressional Budget Office has done it again.

It has released a report that suggests an attempt to repeal the Affordable Care Act — even through a back-door process — is doomed to cost Americans more than many of them can afford.

The CBO reports that Donald Trump’s threat to repeal the “cost-sharing” payments to Americans seeking health insurance under the ACA is going to cause premiums to skyrocket. Such a repeal also would balloon the deficit by $194 billion over the next decade.

The president has made the threat as a way to get congressional Democrats to bargain with Republicans after the GOP repeal/replace effort failed in the U.S. Senate.

The payments provide Americans a way to afford health insurance. They subsidize insurance companies as well, giving them a chance to provide coverage to Americans who otherwise could not afford it.

As I’ve noted already, my wife and I have benefited directly from the payments provided under the ACA and I am appalled that the president would threaten to cut them off, to use them as a bargaining tool — or, if you’ll accept this description, as a political football.

I’m glad the CBO has lined up on the side of Americans — such as yours truly — who want the president and Congress to improve the ACA, not repeal it.

national news

We aren’t born to hate

“No one is born hating another person because of the color of his skin or his background or his religion…”

— Former President Barack Obama

The 44th president of the United States fired this brief message out via Twitter over the weekend.

And what a weekend it was.

A riot broke out in Charlottesville, Va. Three people died as a result of the violence that erupted when white nationalists protested the taking down of a Confederate statue.

Obama’s presidential successor, Donald John Trump, had a chance to lead in the moment. He whiffed. He blew it. He choked.

Then came this tweet from Trump’s immediate predecessor. It has become the second-most “liked” tweet in Twitter history. I’ve been hooked up to Twitter for about five years, so I don’t have deep knowledge of the history of this social medium.

But the former president is so very correct. We aren’t born to hate. It is — if you’ll pardon this expression — a “learned” behavior.

Children who instinctively play with anyone are “taught” by their elders — be they parents, extended family or other so-called “adults” — to mistrust others. It’s a disgraceful, disgusting and so very dishonorable thing to teach our children.

As I look at the above quote from the former president, I am torn by conflicting emotions.

* One is to wish he could return to the post he had to surrender under the rules set for by the U.S. Constitution. I am longing for some semblance of dignity and decorum from our head of state. We aren’t getting anything of the sort from the man who now occupies the presidency.

* The other is to be glad for the president and his family to be away from the spotlight. They stood under the glare of the nation’s highest office for eight years. I am quite certain that historians will judge Barack Obama eventually as one of our nation’s most consequential and successful presidents — despite the partisan battles he fought virtually every step of the way.

Yes, these emotions are fighting with each other. I am afraid the first one — wishing for presidential dignity — is winning the fight.

national news

Hoping these Bannon reports are true

Oh, how I hope reports that have surfaced about Stephen Bannon are true, that he’ll be shown the door at the White House, the one leading away from the “real dump” where the president now lives and works.

A Bannon exit actually would verify that White House chief of staff John Kelly is the kick-a** Marine everyone says he is and that he cannot work with someone who (a) holds extreme right-wing views, (b) has the ear of the president of the United States and (c) is wholly unqualified to be the “senior strategist” for Donald John Trump Sr.

I have made no secret of my loathing of Bannon, the former Breitbart News executive whose publication has — and continues to do — published blatantly racist and anti-Semitic commentary on public policy. Bannon is the darling of the “nationalist wing” of the base that continues to cling, albeit in declining numbers, to its support of the president.

Bannon reportedly also has been feuding with another Trump grownup, national security adviser H.R. McMaster, who happens to be an active-duty Army lieutenant general; he, too, has been known to kick some back sides in his day.

The president is on vacation in New Jersey. He’ll be returning soon to the place he calls “a real dump.”

The changes that might await him are substantial, thanks to the work of Kelly, the retired Marine general. The potential changes likely won’t erase the immediate past — the “Russia thing” and questions about whether the president sought to obstruct justice in that ongoing FBI and special counsel investigation.

If only Gen. Kelly can control the president’s Twitter fingers. We’ll still have to see how that plays out.