Monthly Archives: January 2021

national news

By all means, Sen. Cruz … resign!

By JOHN KANELIS / johnkanelis_92@hotmail.com

An editor of mine used to say that “when one person calls you an ass, you blow it off; when many of them say so, then you need to start shopping for a feedbag.”

A lot of Americans these days are calling for the resignations of U.S. Sens. Ted Cruz and Josh Hawley. Why? Because they led the Senate’s effort to overturn the results of the 2020 presidential election. They both will couch their intentions behind merely seeking to “ensure the integrity” of the electoral process.

That is a pile of steaming bullsh**. They intended to somehow restore Donald Trump’s political fortunes and return him for a second term as president. Never mind that a majority of Americans endorsed Joe Biden as the next president or that the elections in each of our 50 states and the District of Columbia were conducted under the tightest security in history.

Yeah, these two clowns need to quit. They won’t go anywhere. At least not until someone finds something incriminating about them and can prove it … which is more than Cruz, Hawley and the other vote fraud conspiracy theorists were able to do with their phony allegations of “widespread” corruption of the electoral process.

Both of these nimrods won’t stand for re-election until 2024. They both have earned censure in the Senate, as do  the House members who joined them in that moronic effort to subvert our democratic process. Cruz, the Texas Republican, and Hawley, the GOP’er from Missouri, need to be stripped of their committee assignments and sent to the back of the Senate chamber.

Will any of that happen? Oh, probably not. However, enough Americans are calling them asses for what they tried to pull off that they surely have earned the scorn they are receiving.

national news

VP ‘boasts’ worst job in D.C.

By JOHN KANELIS / johnkanelis_92@hotmail.com

A lot of jobs in Washington, D.C., during the Trump administration can qualify as the worst of the bunch. I want to offer my latest suggestion: vice president of the United States.

VP Mike Pence suffered perhaps the most frightening experience of his political life this past Wednesday when he scurried for cover in the face of the riotous mob that stormed the Senate, which was in the midst of ratifying Joe Biden’s election as president.

Pence was huddled with congressional leaders while the cops cleared the chamber and the entire Capitol Building of the insurrectionists who sought to overthrow the government.

Some of them yelled “Hang Mike Pence!” 

How long did it take for Donald Trump to call the VP? To talk to him? To, perhaps, ask him if he was OK? Oh, let’s see. The two of them spoke finally on Monday. Five days after the act of sedition.

Let’s remember, too, how Trump hectored Pence prior to the ratification, suggesting publicly that the VP had the power to overrule the votes of states, that he could just declare Trump to be elected. Pence had to remind Trump, uh, no Mr. President, I cannot do that. The Constitution doesn’t allow it, which reportedly pissed Trump off royally.

So, with that, Vice President Pence has been delivered a real-time reminder that Donald Trump’s loyalty goes only in one direction, which is that those who report to him must demonstrate it. Trump does not believe in reciprocity … you know?

Congressional leaders are pressuring Pence to invoke the 25th Amendment to the Constitution, enabling for the removal of a president because he is no longer able to carry out the duties of the office. Pence so far is balking, although there are reports that he hasn’t removed it from the list of options to take.

Still, despite all that, despite the hideous snub from the president, Pence remains loyal to Donald Trump. His office said after the two men met that the VP is intent on showing to the world that the United States has a functioning executive branch of government. Therein lies the outward display of loyalty.

Do you think that privately, deep down in his gut that Pence is seething? I would think so. I would hope so, given the conduct that Trump has demonstrated throughout his term as president.

Vice President Pence now finds himself in the vise-grip of political options, none of which is attractive.

The good news? Pence and Trump will be out of office in eight days.

national news

Yep, Trump is, um … consequential

By JOHN KANELIS / johnkanelis_92@hotmail.com

Donald J. Trump has redefined the term “consequential,” as in he has been a “consequential president” for most of the four years he held the office.

The greatest consequence of the Trump tenure as president is about to occur this week. The U.S. House of Representatives is a lead-pipe cinch to impeach for the second time. To be clear, it appears to be equally certain that this impeachment won’t result in Trump’s removal from office. He’s only got nine days to go before President Biden takes the oath of office.

However, the guy who always wanted to make a name for himself — whether it was in business, in entertainment and now in politics — is going to hit the big time, if you know what I mean.

President Andrew Johnson got impeached and came within a single vote in the Senate of being convicted. President Bill Clinton got impeached and the Senate never came close to convicting him on any of the three articles it considered. Then came Trump’s first impeachment. He, too, skated clear with little to worry. Why? Because the GOP caucus in the Senate — except for Mitt Romney of Utah — lacked the guts to do what needed to be done; Trump needed to be convicted for seeking dirt on Biden from a foreign government.

Now he’s done it! He incited the riot that damaged the Capitol Building. It killed five people, including a D.C. Metro police officer. Trump called for an insurrection against the government. It’s on the record. We all saw him do it. We heard the words. He wanted the mob to prevent Congress from ratifying Biden’s election as president in 2020.

Now the House is going to make history by impeaching Trump a second time. House members will make the case that Trump must be barred from holding any federal office in the future. I am not at all confident they will persuade enough Republican senators to show the courage they need to keep this presidential idiot out of public office for the rest of his life.

But … by golly, Donald Trump has shown himself to be a “consequential president.” 

military news, national news

What would Dad think?

By JOHN KANELIS / johnkanelis_92@hotmail.com

You have seen this picture already, but I want to share it again to make a point about what is happening in our deeply divided nation.

The fellow on the left is a British Marine. The sailor is my father. They were standing guard aboard ship in the Mediterranean during World War II.

They joined their nations’ respective militaries to fight tyranny, to defeat the Nazis. I cannot speak for the Marine, but I damn sure can speak for Dad … who I am as certain as I am sitting here today that he would be appalled at the state of affairs in the country he loved dearly.

What would Dad think of the sight of rioters, some of whom were wearing Nazi paraphernalia while storming the Capitol Building in Washington? What would he say to someone who sought to justify such a thing? How might he respond to the sound of a president lie incessantly about an election outcome and, thus, fuel the rage that erupted on Capitol Hill this past week?

Dad wasn’t a particularly political man. He and I didn’t talk much about public policy or the effects of policy on our family. He didn’t identify with either major political party.

However, he was a patriot through and through. He got into fight of his life on the very day that Japan attacked our fleet in Hawaii on Dec. 7, 1941. He loved our country and all for which it stood.

I must believe that he would be horrified to see a president desecrate our government in the manner that we have witnessed during the past four years … which he did in spades just the other day when he exhorted the mob to “take back” our government from mysterious, nefarious forces.

What would Dad think? He would be full of rage.

national news

How can Trump avoid conviction for this act?

By JOHN KANELIS / johnkanelis_92@hotmail.com

It’s worth asking, which I will do.

How in the world can Donald Trump walk away from a nearly certain impeachment by the House of Representatives? It’s a rhetorical question, but it’s worth pondering.

Trump stood before a crowd of rioters and urged them to walk to Capitol Hill and try to “take back” the government that someone allegedly stole it from them.

Where I come from, that is inciting a riot. It is against the law. If “no one is above the law,” which Trump has actually acknowledged, then how does the president of the United States avoid being convicted of “inciting an insurrection,” which the single impeachment article alleges against him?

The Democrat-controlled House is all but certain to impeach Trump for the second time in his term as president. The question of the day, of course, rests with the Senate. The House needs a simple majority to impeach, the Senate requires a two-thirds vote to convict. The new Senate will be split 50-50, which certainly makes Senate conviction problematic, given the gutlessness of most Republicans in that body.

By my count, at least three Republican senators are speaking as though they could convict Trump: Lisa Murkowski of Alaska, Pat Toomey of Pennsylvania and Mitt Romney of Utah. The rest of ’em? It’s a crap shoot for some of the GOP caucus, not so much for too many of them.

What remains to be seen and heard, though, is their rationale for voting “no,” if it comes to that.

Trump has few political friends, especially now that he has incited the riot that sought to topple the very fabric of our government. Were the Republicans who serve in the Senate who plan to acquit Trump had any sense of the gravity of what he has done, they would pivot immediately and do right by the Constitution they all swore an oath to protect.

To my earlier point, I will await the discussion on why Trump should walk free of the serious crime he clearly has committed against the government he once ran.

national news, national security

Get to the root of the Capitol Hill riot

(AP Photo/Jose Luis Magana)

By JOHN KANELIS / johnkanelis_92@hotmail.com

Those of us who are old enough to remember it likely would provide the same answer to this question: What is the most serious security breach in our nation’s history?

I would answer: 9/11. Terrorists flew three passenger jets into the World Trade Center and the Pentagon and could have crashed a fourth jetliner into the Capitol Building were it not for the bravery of the passengers who fought them for control of the jet and crashed it into a field in Pennsylvania.

The tragedy of 9/11 prompted a thorough investigation into what went wrong and it produced some important reforms in the fight against international terrorism.

Now we have another monumental security breakdown staring us in the face. It occurred this past Wednesday when rioters stormed up Capitol Hill and ransacked the Capitol Building. They sent members of Congress – as well as Vice President Mike Pence – scurrying for cover. They were gathered to perform a pro forma constitutional act of ratifying the Electoral College vote that declared Joe Biden elected president of the United States. Donald Trump sought to contest that result and, well, he has contested it in hideous fashion!

Now comes the question: What in the name of national security happened and how did the D.C. Metro Police Department, the Capitol Police, and the Secret Service not respond more forcefully and quickly to the mayhem that was unfolding?

I am one American patriot who believes we need to create another blue-ribbon, bipartisan commission to study in detail what went wrong and provide solutions for how to prevent this kind of tragedy from recurring.

I also am one of millions of Americans who was horrified at what I watched on my TV screen. Donald Trump exhorted the rioters to march on Capitol Hill and “take back” the government. The rioters began their march and then all hell broke loose.

A commission charged with finding answers would have many questions to probe. They include:

  • Given Donald Trump’s threat that “something big” would occur on Jan. 6, why wasn’t the Capitol Building swarming with security personnel who could repel the advance of the rioters?
  • Why did some of the cops appear to many of us seem to assist rioters into the building?
  • Others have posed this notion, but I’ll repeat it here: Had the rioters been ransacking the Capitol been Black Lives Matter protesters, there is little doubt that police would have reacted much differently than they did with the pro-Trump mob. The question: Is that a valid assertion?

Was there a massive breakdown in security of our nation’s government? I want answers. I believe a blue-ribbon commission given free rein to search for the truth can provide the answers we need to hear.

BLOGGER’S NOTE: A version of this blog was posted initially on KETR-FM’s website.

national news

Is America ‘great again’ yet?

By JOHN KANELIS / johnkanelis_92@hotmail.com

I have some words to share with the MAGA-hatters who might be reading these messages of mine.

We all know what MAGA means. It has become the acronym du jour for “Make America Great Again.”

I have used it a time or two — and that’s about it — as a verb, as in “Let’s all MAGA!” It usually shows up as an adjective to describe those who adhere to the message made infamous by one Donald J. Trump.

Have we done it? Those who subscribe to the MAGA world view, I want to know whether we have “made America great again.”

I was astonished beyond my ability to articulate at the sight of MAGA-hatted rioters plundering the U.S. Capitol Building. Think of the ghastly irony of that, if you have the stomach for it; I am not sure I can quite process it fully.

The MAGA crowd stormed into the Capitol alongside others carrying the flag of traitors, aka the Confederate flag. Think as well of that particular irony. MAGA-hatters profess to want to return America to greatness while ransacking the heart of our democratic system along with those plundering with them under the banner of the flag representing a confederation of states that sought to destroy America. Oh, and why did they want to tear the nation apart? They launched the Civil War to retain their right to own slaves.

Wow, man! How does it feel, MAGA-hatters? Have you accomplished all you set out to do?

national news

Ulterior motive surfaces

By JOHN KANELIS / johnkanelis_92@hotmail.com

There appears to be an ulterior, but noble nonetheless, motive behind the House of Representatives’ effort to impeach Donald Trump a second time, just days before he leaves office.

The House will vote Tuesday or Wednesday to impeach Trump for inciting the riot that erupted on Capitol Hill this past Wednesday. House Speaker Nancy Pelosi knows the Senate won’t take the measure up until no earlier than Jan. 19; Joe Biden will take office the next day.

The Senate won’t consider the impeachment article possibly for weeks, maybe months from now. The aim I have read is to give President Biden some time to get the executive branch of government formed, confirmed by the Senate and then getting them all to work on solving the myriad problems confronting us.

The ulterior motive? It is to ban Trump from ever seeking public office again. House members could insert language into the single impeachment article that says Trump must not be allowed to run for president, or for that matter for a school board or county commissioner seat ever again.

He incited the riot that killed five Americans. He sought to overturn the results of a free and fair election. He needs to be punished for it. If the Senate trial won’t convict him and, thus, toss his sorry a** out of office, it has the authority to rule that he must be barred from seeking any public office.

We now shall see whether our federal lawmakers can complement that authority with the will to do what is right.

national news

So much good awaits the nation

By JOHN KANELIS / johnkanelis_92@hotmail.com

President Joe Biden and Vice President Kamala Harris will confront many challenges when they take office in nine days.

A coronavirus pandemic continues to rampage across the land; an economy is still shedding jobs because of that pandemic; the nation must rebuild its alliances around the world; it also must confront our adversaries, including those who have attacked our nation’s cyber networks.

However, we also can await some good news from the new government executive team. One of them will include the lack of demagoguery from the new president.

Joe Biden pledges to be president for all Americans. I believe him. Yes, I voted for him and for VP Harris. Part of my vote came with my trust that he is a man of his word. We endured four years of listening to a president say certain things, but do other things in contradiction to what he said.

Mexico would pay for The Wall; not so. The “American carnage” would stop; it only has gotten worse, as evidenced by the insurrection this past week on Capitol Hill. The pandemic was “under control”; it is running wildly out of control.

The immediate past president tweeted hourly. His policy pronouncements and top-level firings have become damn near legendary. President Biden is highly unlikely to forgo that form of communication.

A president with no government experience made a shambles of our government norms. The new president with decades of government experience will  restore them. He pledges to restore our national “soul.” I also believe in the sincerity of that promise.

I look forward to normal behavior and an absence of blind, raucous demagoguery from our commander in chief.

Big challenges await. So does some major promise.

national news

‘Come and Take It’?

By JOHN KANELIS / johnkanelis_92@hotmail.com

While watching the hideous insurrection erupt on Capitol Hill this past week, I was struck by the preponderance of at least two banners toted by the rioters who stormed into the halls of our democratic government.

One was the Confederate flag. Imagine that for a moment. The flag of traitors waving “proudly” in the hands of those supporting Donald Trump’s call for insurrection against the government.

Another was a banner with the phrase “Come And Take It,” featuring an image of some sort of assault rifle. These are the Second Amendment enthusiasts who comprise a sizable portion of the mob.

I want to focus briefly on the Second Amendment.

I suppose those who carried that banner want to send a message to President Biden and the new Congress, which is: Don’t mess with my rights to “keep and bear arms.” 

That “come and take it” mantra disturbs me to the core. I am not aware of any serious proposal being considered that would “take” guns away from citizens who own them for the right reasons: to hunt game, to shoot at targets, to protect their homes and loved ones from those who would do them harm, or just to own.

No one is going to “come and take” weapons from those individuals. Yet the notion being put forward by pro-Second Amendment zealots is that government aims to raid our homes and confiscate every weapon agents can find.

That is pure demagoguery. It panders to fear mongers. It seeks to frighten Americans needlessly.

Do I believe we ought to toughen gun laws? Absolutely! I have used this blog as a forum to call for legislative solutions that specifically do not inhibit Second Amendment guarantees that we can “keep and bear arms.”

All of this is being ignored by the zealots who contend that any effort to enact stricter guns laws is inherently an attack on Americans’ gun-owning civil liberties. It is no such thing.

How about toning down the fiery rhetoric? How about commencing this discussion once again with a new president and a new Congress that can find solutions to the ongoing epidemic of gun violence?

No need to fly that “Come And Take It” banner … especially while the nut jobs among us are attacking our system of government.