Tag Archives: Donald Trump

national news, political news

How can GOP go through this change?

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Never, not ever in a zillion years, will I understand what has become of the modern Republican Party.

It has gone from being a party that prided itself on moral rectitude, on so-called “family values” and on insisting that character matters in selecting candidates for our cherished public offices to a cult-following mob of miscreants who tie their hay wagon to the heels of a man named Donald John Trump.

Trump stood before us this week and launched into a never-ending tirade of lies that will not draw a single rebuke from what passes as leadership within the once-Grand Old Party.

His brazenness defies logic.

I’ve already discussed briefly the abysmal performance turned in by President Biden. However, I am not going to join the amen chorus calling on him to step aside.

I am, however, going to call attention to the moral decline of the Republican Party. For the third presidential election cycle in a row, the GOP is nominating a convicted felon, an admitted sexual assailant, a serial philanderer, someone who has been found liable in a court of law for the rape of a woman.

There once was a time when the parties sought to nominate the best among us for our nation’s highest office. Donald Trump represents the worst of us.

If we Americans are so damn stupid to give this guy the keys to the White House once again, then we are in far worse condition as a nation than I ever thought possible.

political news

Stakes are um … huge!

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One week out and I am trying to recall the last time I looked forward to a presidential debate with such trepidation.

I cannot remember when that occurred. Maybe it never did.

President Joe Biden and Donald J. Trump will go toe-to-toe next week in the first of two planned joint appearances.

Biden and Trump are running neck-and-neck. Why is that? That’s beyond me. However, the polling suggests a photo finish this election cycle.

Here is my hope for a debate outcome.

My hope is that President Biden brings his “A” game. That he remains cool, calm and collected. That he reminds viewers of what lies ahead if voters are dumb enough to send the former numbskull in chief back to the Oval Office. That he reminds us that we cannot possibly elect convicted felon to the nation’s most glorious public office. That he tells us of the existential threat to our democracy if Trump is able to give Russian goon Vladimir Putin a free hand in his immoral invasion of Ukraine.

And that he just lets Trump zoom into orbit with his nonsensical rants about The Big Lie and how much “love” was shown during the violent assault on our Capitol on Jan. 6.

This debate could be the game changer that many of us hope occurs.

crime news

Does ex-POTUS want prison time?

It is striking to listen to the bellicose blathering of the blowhard who once served as our commander in chief.

He’s been convicted by a jury of his peers of 34 felony counts. Donald Trump continues to insist he’s innocent of any wrongdoing. He says the jury was rigged. The trial was a sham. The judge is a crook.

Now … why is this important? Because in about a month, the same judge who presided in NYC over the hush money trial is going to hand down a sentence. It might include probation. It might include some time behind bars.

The judge is Juan Merchan, who’s thought to be a meticulous jurist. One of the things I’ve always heard about sentencing procedures is that judges look for contrition among criminal defendants. They look for some semblance of ownership that the defendant did something wrong.

Judge Merchan isn’t getting any of that from this defendant. He’s getting insults, invective, epithets and threats of violent reaction.

All of this makes me wonder if Donald John Trump actually is inviting some prison time.

Don’t you know that July 11 is going to be an extremely big day.

national news, political news

Bizarre season awaits

Ladies and gentlemen, boys and girls, friend and foe we all are standing on the doorstep of the craziest, most bizarre and unexplainable political season in history.

That is no hyperbole. It is for real. It is a sickening reality of the state of the American political system and how it has transformed from a process that selects only the very best men and women among us to run for president to one that perverts the rule of law and allows for a major-party POTUS candidate to challenge the very integrity of the system he could take an oath to defend and protect.

Oh, my. Pass the Pepto.

Donald Trump will face a sentencing hearing on July 11 after being convicted on 34 felony counts of paying a porn actress illegally to keep her quiet about a sexual encounter she said the two of them had in 2006. The 45th POTUS denies it took place. The actress, Stephanie Clifford — aka Stormy Daniels — said it did. The jury believed her account and handed down the 34-count guilty verdict.

Less than a week after the hearing, Republicans will gather in Milwaukee to nominate their next candidate for president. It will be — yes, that’s right — the aforementioned convicted criminal.

Is this utterly bizarre, or what?

I was thinking recently of a long-ago time when a vice-presidential candidate was forced to withdraw because of reports he had electro-shock therapy to treat him for depression. The VP nominee was Thomas Eagleton, whom the 1972 presidential nominee George McGovern had selected to run on the Democratic ticket with him. I remember at the time that the media went ballistic over the revelation of treatment; it was successful, by the way. The party, though, got the nervous nellies over it and forced Eagleton to step away. McGovern and the new VP nominee, Sargent Shriver, lost to President Nixon in a historic 49-state landslide.

Now we have this prospect awaiting the next major-party candidate. The POTUS candidate is now convicted of a felony. He is awaiting trial on two federal charges and a third charge in another state court. He has been accused of inciting the assault on our government on Jan. 6, 2021; of hiding classified documents taken illegally from the White House; and of pressuring Georgia officials to “find” enough votes for him to declare victory in that state in 2020.

Are these the kinds of things we now should expect in our presidential candidate? Are we now set to elect this convicted criminal to another term as POTUS?

What in the name of Almighty God have we become if that is the case?

Let us all hold on, gang, for the roughest political ride we’ve ever seen … or likely will ever see.

national news, political news, religious news

Give this man his due … and some grace

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He became the butt of jokes and misdirected criticism back in the day … not so much now that the man you see in this picture is so frail and is grieving the loss of his wife of more than 70 years.

You know him as James Earl Carter, the nation’s 39th president. He served one term in the White House before losing to Ronald Reagan in 1980. Republicans running for POTUS too often paint President Carter’s term as a failure. It wasn’t. His term, though, was damaged grievously by inflationary pressure and by the capture and prolonged imprisonment of those 55 American hostages held by Islamic militants in Iran.

Let’s understand something about this good man. He lived his deep Christian faith. He didn’t just talk about it or pose in awkward and phony photo ops to call attention to it. He rolled up his sleeves and went to work with his wife in building homes for those who needed one.

Jimmy and Rosalynn Carter helped make Habitat for Humanity a household word.

Beyond that, though, President Carter taught us to live life to its fullest and to avoid taking credit for the good work he does. One does not hear this man boast about the work he has done, or how he spreads the teachings of Jesus Christ, to whom he is deeply faithful.

I have seen this social media meme proclaiming that “this is how a true Christian” demonstrates his faith. It shows Jimmy Carter working to build a home and it makes a direct comparison to the phony brand of faith preached by the likes of Republican former POTUS Donald Trump.

The meme is meant to illustrate how this topsy-turvy world has been turned on its ear with political operatives hijacking Americans’ deep religious faith and perverting it for political purposes.

It is utterly anathema to the life that President Jimmy Carter continues to live.

crime news

Accepting the outcome

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Believe it or not, but I am working hard at this moment to accept whatever decision the New York trial jury reaches in the trial to determine whether the former POTUS is guilty of campaign fraud.

It is my inherent belief in the American system of jurisprudence that drives me toward that end.

The former Liar in Chief is on trial for campaign fraud related to the $130,000 payment he made to adult film actress Stephanie Clifford — aka Stormy Daniels — to keep her quiet about the tumble the two of them allegedly took prior to his running for president in 2016.

POTUS No. 45 denies the event occurred, but he paid her the dough anyway. Go figure … eh?

The jury could convict the former Philanderer in Chief on all 34 counts. It could acquit him on all of them. It could convict on some of them, acquit on others. It could get hung up on the “reasonable doubt” issue and produce a mistrial.

I am just a mere spectator. None of us has been in the courtroom. We haven’t heard the evidence. We haven’t witnessed the former POTUS nodding off. We haven’t heard the judge scold the defense counsel for misbehavior.

I am left, therefore, to rely on the system that selected these 12 men and women. They were vetted thoroughly by prosecutors and defense counsel.

The court system is in many aspects our last avenue to learning the truth in high-profile and unprecedented cases such as this one.

You know what I want to occur. For those who don’t yet understand where I come down on this, I’ll just say it up front: I want a conviction. Then again, that’s must me, sitting in the peanut gallery … right along with the rest of the nation.

Whatever the jury decides, I’ll just have to accept it.

Joe Biden, national news

Yes, he will ‘leave’

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Robert DeNiro kinda got ahead of himself today when he launched into a highly emotional rant about the presumed Republican Party presidential nominee.

The two-time Oscar-winning actor said that POTUS No. 45 “will never leave” if he’s elected president in 2024. He said it repeatedly.

Oops. Yeah, he will leave.

Here’s the deal that DeNiro has declined to acknowledge. POTUS 45 is 77 years of age, just a bit younger than President Joe Biden. No human being is immortal. No one! We all meet the same fate, which is that none of us gets out of here alive.

Sooner or later, the former Liar in Chief is going to croak. He’ll be gone. We won’t have this old man to kick around any longer. Eventually, it’ll happen. Eventually!

Do I wish that moment will arrive sooner rather than later? Hah! As my dear Mom used to say: I’ll give you three guesses … and the first two don’t count.

military news

Do you really support this moron?

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Memo to my MAGA friends, acquaintances and those I see with bumper stickers on their pickups ….

Do you really and truly want to support an individual who has labeled those of us who have worn our country’s military uniform “suckers” and “losers”?

The former POTUS launched an unhinged, incompetent rant against judges, legal foes, jurors and the very judicial system as his way of paying tribute to those who died in service to the country. Memorial Day is a special day for the former Moron in Chief.

He denigrated the late Sen. John McCain’s service during the Vietnam War because he “got caught” and spent all those years as a POW. He has smeared the character of a Gold Star Family whose son died an Army hero in the Iraq War. He once told his former fixer/lawyer Michael Cohen that those who went to war in Vietnam were “stupid.”

Here he is. He is competing for the presidency yet again. How does the MAGA movement, comprising individuals I will presume support those who fight for our country, react to their hero’s rants? They give him an unfettered pass.

I have to ask: Does he speak for you, or does he speak only for himself?

I know the answer. He speaks for the cult followers. The good news as I interpret it is that the cult base isn’t growing. It well could be shrinking. Distressing, though, is that their volume remains full-throated.

I will go to my grave wondering how in the world the MAGA movement can possibly support an individual who is incapable of paying appropriate tribute to those who serve our great country.

I mean, to “make America great” requires a faithful commitment to public service.

national news

Head vs. heart

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My head and my heart have declared all-out war against each other and today I got a chance to verbalize my concern over that inner struggle with a good friend of mine.

Tom asked me today about how I think the current political struggle is going to play out. He meant the presidential election … even though he didn’t say it. He didn’t have to say it.

My ticker is pulling hard for Joe Biden’s re-election as president of the United States. He remains on top of his game. Do I worry about the occasional gaffes, misstatements? Hell no! I make many of the same mistakes as he does. I happen to believe I am still bringing my “A game” to this business of blogging.

My noggin, though, suggests a different outcome could be on tap this November. The man President Biden defeated in 2020 wants his old job back. What he intends to do with it simply scares the living sh** out of me!

He vows to sic the Justice Department on the media and on his political “enemies.” He said he might pardon those accused of storming the Capitol on Jan. 6; he calls them “political hostages,” and not the criminals they have been accused of being and in some cases convicted of being.

POTUS 45 pledged to bring in the “best people” to serve with him when he was elected in 2016. The “best people” turned out to be a gang of bumbling nimrods who didn’t know whether to sh** or wind their watches. The next batch would be a gang of blind loyalists who will swear an oath to be loyal only to the man who selects them and not the Constitution they all should swear to support and defend.

I told Tom that my heart hopes for all its worth that this country is smarter than to allow this moron anywhere near the Oval Office. I also said my head tells me I might be overselling out nation’s collective intelligence.

God help us if my noggin wins this war!

Donald Trump

Some issues defy reason

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Some issues in this world of ours simply defy the human brain’s ability to process certain facts.

For example: How does one justify supporting an admitted sexual assailant, a serial philanderer, an individual who never has sought forgiveness, and someone who denigrates prisoners of war, people with handicaps and a Gold Star family whose son died a hero?

I will go to my grave never understanding how POTUS No. 45 continues to generate the kind of support he gets from the MAGA cult base that latches onto his every lying pronouncement.

It does, though. And throughout all of this weird presidential campaign, the former dipsh** in chief is continuing to cling to a small, and statistically insignificant lead over the current president who in actuality has accomplished more in his first term than any other POTUS in US history.

I am done making political predictions. I have told friends and loved ones far and wide that the former liar in chief cannot possibly be elected POTUS again. I might be wrong. I am holding out, though, for some truth-telling to finally crack this numbskull’s veneer.

I will admit that my hope is beginning to take on an air of desperation. The puzzle, though, remains as to precisely how this moron continues gin up the support he has out here in Voterland.