Tag Archives: Donald Trump

crime news

Bondi is now a ‘former U.S. attorney general’

Allow me to join the millions of Americans who today are cheering the news that Donald Trump has fired Pam Bondi from her post as U.S. attorney general.

I would say that “Pam, we hardly knew ye,” but that wouldn’t be true. We got to know a lot about Bondi during her year-long stint as AG. None of it good, from my perspective.

She proved to be every bit the sycophant that Trump sought when he plucked her from the ranks of Florida elected officials. She was so good at it that she should have embarrassed Trump with her hideous performances testifying — if you want to call it such — before congressional committees on matters involving Jeffrey Epstein and Trump’s pardon of the Jan. 6 traitors who sought to overturn the results of the 2020 presidential election.

My favorite moment came when she lied under oath to a House committee, was called on that lie by Rep. Ted Lieu, D-Calif., and then bellowed “Don’t you ever accuse me of committing a crime!” Wait a sec, Mme. AG. The nation just heard you commit perjury when you said the record contains “no evidence” accusing Trump of committing a crime.

It damn sure does! Lieu brought it out for public display.

If the POTUS had an ounce of shame, he would be embarrassed by Bondi’s performance as AG.

Hit the road, Pam. Me? I’m going to watch the Artemis II mission head for the moon and cheer on those four brave astronauts as they continue to bring smiles to our faces.

International news

‘Chaos, confusion’ take on new ID

You might recall how, during Donald Trump’s first term in office, how his critics feared an administration run by the twin theories of “chaos and confusion.” I believe it was former Florida Gov. Jeb Bush who encapsulated the theories into a package.

Jebbie was right. Events of the past few weeks have forced the twin-pack of principles to the front of our attention. The war in Iran has been a textbook study in chaos and confusion. Trump launched the war in a fit of chaos. Now he appears ready to end it in a state of confusion.

Reports are out that Trump might be willing to stop the fighting without regaining control of the Hormuz Strait, through which about 20% of the world’s oil flows its way to the global economy.

I want to be clear. I want the fighting to stop. I don’t want to sacrifice the lives of young Americans in a war that has no expressed purpose, goal or exit strategy. However, Trump’s reported consideration of ending the war without a Hormuz agreement also is troubling. The cost of gasoline is a premier cause of inflation. It affects the cost of jet fuel, of fuel to power our trucks and rail locomotives, of the processing of food and virtually all the goods and services we consume.

I believe that Iran could declare victory if we stop the bombing with the strait still in Iranian hands. Does anyone really want that to happen? We are watching a demonstration in real time of what happens when you start a war without a long-term strategy to end it.

It’s what happens in a government run under the twin principles of chaos and confusion.

economic news, Joe Biden

Trying to un-boggle my mind

My mind is in a constant state of bogglement as I watch Donald J. Trump try to blunder his way through the maelstrom he keeps creating.

I am left with a question that has no obvious answer: How does this individual look himself in the mirror and pass all this chaos, confusion and catastrophe off as someone else’s problems that he inherited upon being elected to a second term as POTUS?

The economy was rocking along under President Biden’s firm hand. Now it’s on its heels, thanks to Trump.

The nation was at peace (more or less) with the rest of the world. Then Trump goes to war with Iran.

Fuel prices were inching down under Biden. Now they’re spiraling into deep space.

Inflation was in check under Biden. Today, well … enough said about that.

And still, Trump’s delusion continues to dictate what flies forth from his yammering puss. Ah, but good news can be found if we look for it. It rests with a public that is seeing through the lies, the deception, the hypocrisy.

Donald Trump, to quote former New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie — and one-time Trumpkin — is committing political suicide. Christie’s advice to the rest of us? Leave the POTUS the hell alone!

local news

‘No Kings’ not limited to progressive bastions

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Allow me to stipulate this much about the No Kings protest movement, which is that it isn’t limited to the People’s Republics of Austin, Berkeley or Boulder, Colo.

It is alive and well in Donald Trump-friendly venues such as, oh let’s see … McKinney, Texas.

I just came from lunch near where nearly 1,000 protesters were lined up on the western side of U.S. 75 and the northern side of U.S. 380 in the Collin County seat. They were marching, chatting amiably and carrying signs — many of which were downright clever.

The protesters are angry with the policies being pushed forward by Donald John Trump and his cabal of goons.

I had heard earlier today that the protests scheduled for throughout the nation would likely be the largest single-day political demonstration in U.S. history. Well, I took a look at the crowd gathered in Collin County this afternoon and based on what I saw I could conclude that if such a turnout was to occur in the heart of Trump Country, then the predictions of the largest-ever protest are likely to be true!

Folks are angry over the lack of “affordability,” the end of health care for middle-income Americans, the assault on woman’s rights to control their own bodies and now, on the war with Iran that Trump launched without a game plan for ending it or even a purpose for starting it.

They gathered today across the land. They gathered in mighty throngs in communities known to be anti-Trump in attitude. And they were present in places known to be more friendly to the POTUS in places like Collin County, Texas.

The message I am receiving from the widespread discontent? Donald Trump’s influence over the nation looks for all the world like a dying species.

national news, national security

War then is different from war now

I have just binge-watched a Netflix documentary on World War II, thinking it would offer a poignant reminder of how a nation can be drawn into war, dedicate itself to defeating a determined enemy and then rebuild itself and the enemy it has just destroyed.

WWII, of course, produced the Greatest Generation of Americans, some 16 million of whom signed up to get into the fight for the nation’s life. My father was one of those 16 million, enlisting on Dec. 7, 1941, the very day we were attacked by Japanese air and naval forces in Pearl Harbor, Hawaii. Dad is long gone now, as are most of those patriots.

The multi-part series showed remarkable footage from the worldwide battlefield fought on four continents: North America, Asia and Africa. I was struck by a quote delivered to our enemies by President Franklin Roosevelt, speaking on the eve of our nation’s full entry into the fight against the tyrants who sought to conquer the world. “Our enemies asked for it,” FDR said, “and now they are about to get it.”

And so they did get it. Full force.

If we fast-forward about 85 years to the present day we find ourselves in a war that we started. A succeeding president decided to engage in an act of war against Iran. Unlike FDR, who responded by asking Congress to “declare that a state of war exists,” Donald Trump has decided to flout the constitutional requirement that presidents should follow if they are to commit young Americans to combat. We have commenced a war that few Americans want, even fewer of us know the game plan. But we’re in a war. Make no mistake.

I watched this documentary expecting to draw these comparisons. I’m glad I did. Watching this film from start to finish reminds me that the U.S.A.’s founders knew how to limit a president’s power to take this nation to war. If only the current commander in chief was smart enough to grasp it.

business news, crime news

Corruption anyone … anyone?

Let us revisit one of the chief concerns some of us — including yours truly — raised about whether Donald Trump’s real-life experience qualified him for the public office he sought in 2016.

I said then that Trump’s only professional experience was aimed at enriching himself. He had no public service experience under his belt. His sole aim was to make lots of money, no matter how he managed it.

Now comes this latest allegation of deep-seated corruption within the Trump administration. It has been alleged that someone within the White House is using insider-trading information to enrich themselves just prior to major policy decisions coming from inside the West Wing.

These only are allegations, but with so many of swirling around the POTUS, given his proven history of self-enrichment, they seem to have this ring of validity. They need careful examination.

The Iran war is an example of the kind of insider trading that seemingly is going on. Just prior to the president making a key announcement regarding peace talks or the suspension of bombing of Iranian targets by U.S. and Israeli jets, we hear about thousands of oil-related shares changing hands. Just like that — boom! — huge profits are taken by traders who act just prior to these announcements being made public.

Coincidence? Hmm. Seems like a huge stretch to me.

The question to which I will demand answers is this: Does any of this involve Donald Trump and his family?

media news

No more bitching about Trump’s behavior

Once, a long time ago, when my sons were teenagers, I pledged to them I wouldn’t offer them unsolicited advice. I made the declaration for two reasons.

One was that I was tired of repeating myself, as I would tell them the same thing over and over; it did no good. Second, I said that if they wanted advice they would have to ask for it and if I gave it I wanted them to take my advice seriously and act on it.

I have more or less found myself in the same position these days with the president of the United States. I am on the verge of declaring I am finished complaining about his boorish behavior. Two reasons stand out.

One is that he is unlikely to read the comments of a chump blogger in North Texas who has been saying for more than a decade that Donald Trump is unfit to be POTUS. He is unfit morally, temperamentally, and experience-wise. What’s the point? Second, even if he were to read my blog posts, he is highly unlikely to act on anything I have to say.

I more than likely have said more than I need to say about Trump’s hideous reaction to the death of former FBI director Robert Mueller. I likely also have repeated myself a bit. What’s the point, therefore, in stating the obvious about Donald Trump. Most of us know he’s a slug, that he lacks humanity.

I suppose I’ll have to concentrate on the POTUS’s deeds. Or his misdeeds … you know?

Then again, someone without a scintilla of shame won’t be moved by anything anyone would say about the actions he takes.

national news

How do you shame the shameless?

How in the world does one heap shame on an individual who shows zero sign of shamelessness, one who seems to care little — if anything — about what others think of decisions he makes?

The answer is hidden somewhere in the weeds. I can’t find it. I’ll keep looking until I do. Donald J. Trump, of course, is the shameless individual about whom I am referring. His latest act of supreme snarkyness involves his response to the death of former FBI director Robert Mueller. “Good,” Trump said, “I’m glad he’s dead.” Let’s remember a couple of things here. No one in Trump’s family ever has worn the nation’s military uniform. Donald Trump infamously got a physician to sign off on a claim of bone spurs that kept the future POTUS out of serving during the Vietnam War. And yet … This pile of pig dookey rejoiced in the death of a man who volunteered for duty in the Marine Corps, served in Vietnam, was wounded with a rifle shot in the leg, was cited for valor many times, came home and then led the FBI as the agency was tasked with investigating the terror attack of 9/11. Trump has been vilified by Democrats and Republicans, by liberals and conservatives over his remarks about Mueller. Does it seemingly pierce what passes for his heart? Not that I can tell. Trump is a sociopath. Pure and simple. He has no moral compass. He is guided by nothing resembling an overarching philosophy. He is totally self-consumed, self-absorbed and full of self-aggrandizement. I fear the English language lacks the terminology that ever can penetrate this clown’s narcissistic shell.
crime news

Trump’s heart is MIA

This likely isn’t an original thought, but I’ll treat it as one since it just popped into my noggin … which is that whatever is pumping blood through Donald John Trump’s overfed body cannot possibly be a human heart.

The POTUS is shown himself to be a heartless cretin with not a single ounce of decency, of compassion, of empathy toward those who are suffering over the loss of a loved one.

It’s now known throughout Planet Earth what Trump stated minutes after learning that former FBI director Robert Mueller had died: “Good,” Trump wrote on social media, “I’m glad he’s dead.”

The POTUS’s critics have been all over this ghastly statement. You can take this to the bank as well: Someone — probably many folks — are coming up with prepared remarks to deliver the day Trump leaves this world … and they likely will mirror much of what Trump said about Mueller.

Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent sought to give justification for this hideous act by suggesting that “no one knows” about the pain that Trump and his family have endured. What the hell … ? That’s supposed to justify what a president of the United States says about the death of an American patriot, a war hero and the second-longest tenured director of the nation’s federal investigative agency?

Donald Trump’s heartless behavior has been put on full display and he deserves every bit of scorn that will be thrown his way.

national news, national security

Who’s the hero and who’s the fraud?

Let’s see … Donald Trump laid out his boorish qualities after Robert Mueller died today at age 81.

Mueller was the former FBI director who served as special counsel tasked with examining whether Russia interfered in the 2016 presidential election, which Trump won by a whisker.

Trump responded to Mueller’s death by declaring on social media, “Good. I’m glad he’s dead.”

Let’s take a brief look at the men’s history, shall we?

Young Donald Trump couldn’t be bothered with serving his country during the Vietnam War. He found a doctor who could tell the draft board that Donald suffered from bone spurs in his feet. He didn’t serve during the war. Trump went on to inherit a bunch of cash from his father to start his own real estate business and pursued a career in self-enrichment prior to his election in 2016 as POTUS.

Young Bob Mueller heard that his best friend and roommate had died in battle in the Vietnam War. Mueller then enlisted in the Marine Corps and served in combat during his entire tour in ‘Nam. He received a Purple Heart for battlefield injuries and was cited for valor throughout his career in the USMC.

Mueller came home, graduated from law school and then was appointed FBI director by President Bush right after the 9/11 terror attacks on New York and Washington, D.C. Mueller turned the FBI into a terrorist-hunting organization and helped lead the war against international terrorism.

I am compelled to ask: Who between these men is the patriot and who is the patsy? Who has contributed to this nation’s greatness and who is leading it into oblivion?

Donald Trump has said he’s glad Mueller’s life has ended? What a disgrace!