Tag Archives: Nancy Pelosi

medical news, national news

Why not invite Democrats to that bill-signing, Mr. President?

Donald John “The So-Called Unifier in Chief” Trump signed an important bill into law today.

It was the coronavirus pandemic emergency response bill approved by overwhelming bipartisan majorities in both chambers of Congress. The Senate approved it 96-0; the House approved it by a voice vote, thanks to some procedural maneuvering orchestrated by Democratic House Speaker Nancy Pelosi.

But …

Pelosi or other Democrats were nowhere to be found in the Oval Office today as Trump signed the bill into law.

Hasn’t he promised to unify the country? Hasn’t he pledged to work with Democrats as well as Republicans to “make America great again”? I believe the fate of this bill, which Trump supported after at first opposing it (while blaming Democrats, naturally, for wanting to load it up with unnecessary provisions) depended on Democrats as well as Republicans.

Oh, but of course Trump is still enraged at Pelosi because the House speaker engineered the impeachment of the president. That’s his rationale, although he hasn’t said it directly.

This individual’s petulance makes me sick.

medical news, Uncategorized

Ain’t no ‘panic’ being conconcted here, Mr. POTUS

Donald Trump continues to make me sick to my stomach.

He has joined a leading right-wing radio blowhard, Rush Limbaugh, in suggesting that national Democratic Party leaders are seeking to create panic among Americans over the coronavirus outbreak.

I just want to remind the president that the coronavirus is a deadly strain of infection that has spread around the world. It has now touched every continent on Earth … except Antarctica.

I am also one who doesn’t want to see the markets reacting as they are reacting. My retirement fund is disappearing before my eyes. I don’t know if it’s coming back. I hope it does, but — as Trump himself is fond of saying — you never know.

Instead of blaming the other party, Mr. President, I prefer to hear you say with some detail what you’re intending to do to help stem the infectious tide that is threatening to overtake us.

No more giving short shrift to the medical experts who say we’re heading for a potentially serious pandemic. No more platitudes — and that’s all they are — about our “very smart” medical minds. No more handing off the leadership of this fight to a known science denier, none other than Vice President Mike Pence.

Trump called House Speaker Nancy Pelosi “incompetent” and said she is whipping up the frenzy to stir opposition to his administration. Good grief, man! Get over the impeachment thing!

Concentrate on the crisis of the moment and turn the medical geniuses loose to find some answers to how we cope with this frightening medical emergency.

religious news

POTUS drags politics into National Prayer Breakfast

I have been aghast at what I heard Donald John Trump say this morning at the National Prayer Breakfast.

The event is designed to be an ecumenical gathering of all faiths. From what I’ve seen of it in the past, it generally steers far and wide from politics. Then again, that was before the Era of Trump, who today dragged the Prayer Breakfast into uncharted territory.

“I don’t like people who use their faith as justification for doing what they know is wrong.” The target of that jab was U.S. Sen. Mitt Romney, R-Utah, the lone GOP senator to vote “guilty” on one of the impeachment counts leveled against Trump; indeed, Sen. Romney is the first senator in U.S. history to vote against a president of his own party in a Senate trial..

Romney is a devout Mormon, the 2012 Republican presidential nominee. He spoke of his faith while announcing his findings that Trump had, in Romney’s mind, abused the power of his office. Trump was having none of it, actually challenging the sincerity of a fellow American’s religious faith.

Despicable, indeed.

House Speaker Nancy Pelosi also drew some heavy fire from the triumphant president, who said he doesn’t like someone “who says ‘I pray for you’ when they not that is not so.”

What’s more, Pelosi was sitting on the dais just a few feet away from Trump when he made the catty remark.

I should say as well that Pelosi has been known for decades as a dedicated and devout Roman Catholic. She has said that she prays for the president, for the country, for its government leadership. I guess Trump was having none of that as well.

Sickening.

What I suppose makes this even more disgraceful is that this president has virtually no relationship with Scripture. He uses religion as a political tool, a doctrine to be bartered.

So he has decided to politicize what historically has been a non-political event that aims to cite the value and power of prayer.

God help us.

national news

POTUS, speaker have destroyed their working relationship

It now seems almost quaint to look back on how speakers of the House and presidents of opposing political parties managed to set aside their partisan differences for the greater good.

I can recall Democratic Speaker Tom Foley working with Republican President George H.W. Bush; then we had Republican Speaker Newt Gingrich and Democratic President Clinton finding a way to balance the budget; Democratic Speaker Tip O’Neill and Republican President Reagan had a legendary personal friendship that transcended their political differences.

What we witnessed Tuesday night was a shattered relationship that looks to me to be beyond repair.

Republican Donald Trump walked to the podium in the House chamber to deliver his State of the Union speech. He handed Speaker Nancy Pelosi a copy of his text; Pelosi extended her hand, but Trump refused to shake it. Then at the end of the speech, Pelosi stood up and tore up the text.

Those two acts embody the government dysfunction at its worst.

I get that Pelosi led the House impeachment effort against Trump. Then again, Gingrich did the same thing with Clinton; Newt led the GOP charge against the president, fought like the dickens to get him tossed, but the two of them managed to find a way to work on legislating and governing.

These days? I’m beginning to fear our government might be bleeding from a mortal wound.

national news, Uncategorized

Preparing for the next phase: defeating this POTUS imposter

Now that I have tossed in the towel on the impeachment and removal of Donald John Trump as the current president of the United States, I am intent on focusing my attention on the next task at hand.

That is to defeat this presidential imposter at the ballot box.

Trump is a virtual certainty to survive the scheduled up/down vote on the impeachment articles set for Wednesday afternoon. He will have delivered his State of the Union speech the previous evening. I don’t know what he’ll say, of course; it’s hard to predict what this guy will let fly from the podium. Many eyes will be focused on House Speaker Nancy Pelosi as she “welcomes” the president into the House chamber as well as the reaction from the congressional audience arrayed before Trump.

But what’s done will be done in due course.

I believe firmly that Trump committed two acts that earned him an early exit from the Oval Office: I believe he abused the power of his office by soliciting a foreign government for personal political help and that he obstructed Congress by not allowing key aides to respond to congressional subpoenas.

That’s just me.

Once the Senate decides to keep Trump in office I intend fully to move on. Yes, the Constitution has worked in this process, even though it didn’t produce the outcome I desired.

My major concern going forward is whether the Senate decision will embolden Trump to do even more foolish things, seeking to buttress the power of the presidency at the expense of congressional oversight.

I also intend to remind those who read this blog that a Senate acquittal does not equal exoneration.

So the 2020 presidential campaign will rev up. Democrats will nominate someone. Republicans will send the forever impeachment-scarred president back into the fight.

A sorry spectacle is about to end. I just hope we can avoid an even sorrier spectacle if the nation can find a way to acknowledge the major mistake it made in the first place by electing Donald John Trump to the only public office he has ever sought.

national news

POTUS steps into the Twitter sewer … once again!

You know, as weird as Donald Trump’s retweet of an image involving House Speaker Nancy Pelosi and Senate Minority Leader Charles Schumer was, it seems to almost pale in comparison to the White House press flack’s lame defense of what Trump actually did.

Trump retweeted a doctored picture of Pelosi wearing a Muslim hijab and Schumer wearing a turban. They’re standing in front of an image depicting the Iranian flag. It is captioned “Democrats 2020.”

Trump sought to make some sort of statement about Democrats’ criticism of the air strike that killed Iranian terrorist leader Qassem Soleimani, suggesting that Democrats are soft on those who inflict terrorism on the rest of the world.

Well, of course that is a preposterous claim. Democrats, moreover, haven’t been “mourning” Soleimani’s death.

But then came White House press secretary Stephanie Grisham to defend Trump’s hideous behavior. According to CBS.com: “I think the president is making clear that Democrats have been parroting Iranian talking points, and almost taking the side of terrorists and those who were out to kill Americans … I think the president was making the point that Democrats seem to hate him so much that they’re willing to be on the side of countries and leadership of countries who want to kill Americans.”

Uh, no, Ms. Grisham. Democrats aren’t “on the side of countries” that want to “kill Americans.” They are questioning the intelligence and whether the White House gave enough thought to the consequences of such a significant act.

How about stopping the demagoguery, Ms. Grisham? As for the president, how about … oh, never mind. I’m wasting my time.

national news

Get on with Senate trial and then move on to the next fight

(Photo by Drew Angerer/Getty Images)

My impeachment fatigue is worsening. It’s wearing me out. I am tiring of hearing the same news reports time and again about the upcoming trial of Donald John Trump.

Let’s get the trial done, shall we.

I believe my worsening case of impeachment fatigue is brought on the realization — which I have known for some time, truth be told — that the U.S. Senate will not toss Donald Trump out of the White House. It will not muster up the constitutionally mandated courage to do the right thing and convict him of abuse of power and obstruction of Congress.

Trump is likely to keep enough Senate Republicans in tow to avoid being booted out with a two-thirds majority needed at the end of the trial.

I would say “that’s fine,” except that it isn’t. It’s just the way this hand will play out.

It appears, too, that Speaker Nancy Pelosi, who presided over Trump’s impeachment in the House of Representatives, caved in her demand that Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell guarantee a “fair” trial before she sent the articles of impeachment to the Senate. I guess every politician has limits on his or her patience and I reckon Pelosi reached her limit.

So, what now? We get a trial. Trump stays in office. Then he runs for re-election as the first president ever to do so with the cloud of impeachment hanging over him. How that plays out depends on (a) how adroit Trump is in parlaying himself as a “victim” and (b) how well the Democratic Party nominee is able to articulate the case that an impeachment is a major scar on the president’s legacy.

I will devote much of this blog, therefore, to making the case as well as I can that Donald Trump needs to serve just a single term as president, that the next president will have some major cleanup work to do to restore the dignity of the office.

The impeachment fatigue, I am hoping, will dissipate once we get a Senate verdict. Then I’ll be ready to move on to the next battle.

Let’s all get ready.

national news

Waiting for the next ‘trial of the century’ … to date

It now appears that Americans won’t have too much longer to wait for the next trial of the century.

Pass the popcorn and the Pepto.

Donald Trump is about to stand trial in the U.S. Senate on grounds that he abused the power of the presidency and obstructed Congress. The House of Representatives impeached him on those grounds. The vote was largely partisan. The vote at the end of the Senate trial figures to be equally partisan. Trump will not be tossed out of office.

Dang it, anyhow! That’s how the system works.

House Speaker Nancy Pelosi announced today she will send the articles of impeachment to the Senate next week. She has instructed House Judiciary Committee Chairman Jerrold Nadler to prepare for the selection of House “managers” who will prosecute the case against Trump.

OK, it appears that Trump’s escape from conviction is a done deal. Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell, who is going to violate the oath he and his colleagues will take to be “impartial” in their deliberation, has declared his intention work hand in glove with the White House. He’s taking his cue from Trump’s legal team.

There might be witnesses called. I say “might,” because it’s not assured. It damn sure should be required.

Trump sought a political favor from a foreign government, Ukraine. He wanted that government to announce an investigation into Joe Biden, a potential 2020 presidential campaign foe. If it did as he asked, Trump said he would send military hardware to Ukraine to assist in its fight against Russia-backed rebels.

Abuse of power, anyone?

Trump also has instructed his key aides to refuse to answer congressional subpoenas to testify before House committees during their “impeachment inquiry.” He has usurped Congress’s constitutional authority to conduct oversight of the executive branch.

Obstruction of Congress? Anyone? Hmm?

I believe he has committed both acts. They are impeachable. They have earned him an early exit from the Oval Office. Except the nation’s founders set the bar quite high for that to occur: Two-thirds of the Republican-controlled Senate needs to agree with yours truly; the Senate will fall short of that high standard.

But … at least the trial will be over. Then our attention can turn to the election. It will be a barn-burner.

I am ready to rumble.

Uncategorized

No on dismissal; proceed to a Senate trial

My goodness. We’ve traveled a great distance already down this road, and now a member of the U.S. Senate wants to dismiss the impeachment charges leveled against Donald J. Trump?

Republican Josh Hawley of Missouri, are you serious? Show me the reasons why, if you dare.

Hawley is arguing that the delay in sending impeachment articles from the House of Representatives to the Senate has negated the charges filed by the House. I don’t believe it has done anything of the sort.

The House impeached Trump on abuse of power and obstruction of Congress. House Speaker Nancy Pelosi wants the Senate to conduct a thorough trial, with witnesses brought before the upper chamber. Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell so far isn’t budging; he’s pushing for a quick trial with no witnesses.

Sen. Hawley says he’ll file a motion to dismiss the charges. No trial, said Hawley. He needs 51 Senate votes to dismiss it; he isn’t likely to get them. Nor should he.

The House traveled a lengthy road to file the impeachment charges. The case needs to be decided by the Senate.

You may count me as one American who wants to McConnell and Senate Minority Leader Charles Schumer to find some common ground. Settle on the rules for the trial, enabling Pelosi to transmit the articles of impeachment.

Let this case proceed … with witnesses.

national news

C’mon, Mr. POTUS, you’ve been impeached

I don’t know what kind of game you’re playing, Mr. President, but let me be as crystal clear as I possibly can.

The House of Representatives has impeached you on two counts: one for abuse of power, the other for obstructing Congress.

I watched the vote happen this past week in real time. So did millions of other Americans. One former Republican voted to impeach you; two Democrats bolted on one count, three of them voted “no” on the other one.

Still, the impeachment stands for the record. It stands for history. You’re going to your grave eventually “impeached president,” or words to that effect, on your obituary.

I don’t get this strategy you and your legal team are employing, suggesting that Speaker Nancy Pelosi’s refusal to send over the impeachment articles immediately to the Senate means you aren’t actually impeached. Of course you are!

It’s a silly game designed to confuse everyone. I trust your lawyers know better, but then again they work for you and are obligated to do your bidding while they represent you in this matter.

Your lawyers are citing the arguments of a Harvard law professor who says that until articles are submitted to the Senate, there is technically no impeachment. What the heck does that mean? The articles are going to the Senate, Mr. President. The speaker simply wants some clarity on the nature of the trial the Senate plans to conduct before she sends ’em over. The Senate will get them in due course. I want them sent over sooner rather than later, too.

How about ending this idiotic game-playing? Let’s get down to brass tacks: Your task is to persuade us — including me — that you really didn’t ask Ukraine for political dirt on Joe Biden and that your blanket order to deny cooperation with congressional subpoenas aren’t impeachable offenses. I believe they are.

You’ve been impeached, Mr. President.

So … with that I wish you a Merry Christmas.

We’ll see you on the other side.