national news

Trump campaign strategy has taken form

Donald Trump’s campaign theme has taken form. It is clear now what Trump intends to do while seeking re-election as president of the United States.

He is going to denigrate, degrade, disparage his Democratic Party foe, Joseph Biden. Donald Trump will not offer a clear vision for the future. He won’t tell us what he intends to do during a second term. Trump likely won’t even boast about what he allegedly accomplished during the term he is serving.

I have seen the TV ads that Donald Trump has approved. They speak to Biden’s mental acuity. They say the former vice president “is slipping.”

Well, I am not going to defend Joe Biden’s mental snap, other than to say that I believe he has plenty left in the tank to compete head to head against the Liar in Chief.

I have no intention of offering this critique of Trump to prompt him to develop a winning strategy. I do not believe he is capable of crafting a theme on which to run for re-election. He instead is wired to pummel straw men. He continually lambasted Hillary Clinton in 2016 over the email matter, suggesting nefarious motives for her use of a personal server while she was secretary of state.

Trump likely will copy that page from his winning playbook strategy in 2020. Joe Biden’s team must be aware of it — and I have no doubt it is — must be prepared to answer every single innuendo that Trump intends to hurl against the proverbial wall.

Donald Trump’s political career by all rights should come to a screeching halt once they count all the voters’ ballots cast on or before Nov. 3.

How might Biden respond? I hope he intends to tell us how he would react to crises and pledge to improve on the feckless, reckless and pointless response to the COVID-19 crisis we’ve seen from the Trump administration. I also hope he intends to speak passionately to the issue of civil rights, which is a topic that is foreign to Donald Trump.

Donald Trump is likely to bring the nastiness to a full boil quickly and will sustain it during the length of what looks to me to be the most vile presidential campaign in memory.

media news

Blog streak goes on and on

I feel like bragging for just a moment about this blog I write.

High Plains Blogger has posted musings for the past 357 days. That’s at least one per day for nearly a year.

Why is that worthy of a bit of braggadocio? I guess it’s just because I feel like bragging about it.

The blog once surpassed a year in the number of consecutive days in which a blog item had been posted. Then technical difficulties got in the way. I had to go a full day without posting a blog item while the hosting outfit I hired worked through the problem. They fixed it in short order and so I started a new streak.

I hear occasionally from friends of mine who say they “marvel” at the volume of items I post. Well, that comes from friends. My adversaries don’t offer that kind of comment. That’s OK. I get it.

I am blessed — or cursed, depending on how you might consider it — with an abundance of time. Retirement allows me to vent, to rant, to pontificate, to offer a perspective on this or that. And so … I do.

I am not into writing daily just to keep streaks alive. I have quite a bit to say on a number of topics. The president of the United States, quite clearly, occupies much of my time these days. I’ll stay on his a** for as long as it takes.

Meanwhile the streak goes on.

legal news

William Barr: a profound disappointment

It is time for some disclosure on my part.

Jeff Sessions’ departure as U.S. attorney general was maddening in one respect: Even though I didn’t approve of his selection in the beginning, he did follow the law by recusing himself from the Russia investigation into Donald Trump’s 2016 presidential campaign; when Trump fired him, he did so only because Sessions did the right thing and it spoke volumes about the corrupt intent within Trump.

Then came the appointment of William Barr. I was glad to see Barr get nominated. Why? He served as AG during President George H.W. Bush’s term in office and acquitted himself well in the early 1990s. I had hoped that Trump had found another grownup to join the Cabinet.

It didn’t take long for Barr to prove to me that he swilled the Trump Kool-Aid and would become a shill for the Carnival Barker in Chief rather than representing the best interests of the nation he took an oath to protect. How about that sham summary he provided after Robert Mueller issued his findings on collusion with the Russians during the 2016 campaign. You get my drift, right?

The firing this past week of the Southern District of New York U.S. attorney, Geoffrey Berman, sealed the deal for me. Berman was canned because he was investigating Trump’s business affairs. You can’t have that going on, Barr seemed to suggest. He fired Berman, who had refused to resign. Or maybe Trump told Barr to do it. Whatever, it doesn’t matter. The clumsy and ridiculous display of obvious political a**-covering exposed Barr once again as a toadie for Donald Trump.

My understanding of U.S. attorney appointments is that they are recommended by U.S. senators or House members to the Justice Department, which then passes the nomination on to the Senate, which confirms the appointment. The firing of Berman was done far outside the lines of propriety.

So, the drama continues and it will continue to unfold for as long as Donald Trump pretends to be president of the United States.

We need to get him out of the Oval Office … and be sure he takes William Barr with him.

national news

Smooth transition? Will it occur?

I am resisting the temptation to get too far ahead of myself as I ponder the upcoming presidential election.

It is hard, given my intense desire to see Joe Biden beat Donald Trump like a drum and boot the POTUS’s sorry behind out of the White House.

Still, I am prone these day to wonder what the next presidential transition will look like. Will it be the “smooth, peaceful transition” that presidents and former presidents talk about when they sing the praises of our form of government?

The good news is that Donald Trump won’t be president forever, despite the reported claims that he wishes it could happen. The best news is that he’ll exit the Oval Office for the final time on Jan. 20, 2021.

I have watched a number of videos in the YouTube archive of such events. I have seen the manner in which President Clinton handed over the reins of power to George W. Bush; how President Bush did the same to Barack Obama; and how President Obama did as well to Donald Trump.

All those outgoing presidents spoke well of their successors. They wished them good luck and Godspeed. They all embodied the uniqueness of our form of government, how presidents of opposing political parties can set aside their differences and work toward something that resembles a smooth transition.

How in the world is the current president going to react when his challenger defeats him? Yes, I shudder to think of this, but how might he react to the ascent of the next president in 2025?

I believe it is fair to speculate that if Biden beats Trump this November that the incumbent ain’t going to go quietly, with dignity, with grace and with good wishes for his successor. Has there been any example of that kind of comportment from this president? I haven’t seen it. Have you? 

Either scenario — whether the transition occurs next January or four years from now — is enough to send chills up my spine.

I’ve spent a good deal of blog space trashing former national security adviser John Bolton for refusing to tell us what he saw “In the Room Where It Happened” when it really mattered. However, he was asked how Donald Trump should be remembered.

Bolton said he hopes he will be remembered as a “one-term president” who didn’t damage the office beyond repair. I want to add that I also hope that Donald Trump would accept voters’ decision quietly … and just disappear.

national news

Next stop: Arizona … another embarrassment on tap?

Donald John Trump went to Tulsa, Okla., to restart his re-election campaign. He bragged about all the folks who would jam the BOK Arena. They didn’t. He stood in a venue that was two-thirds empty.

Now he heads for Arizona to look at the construction of The Wall along our border with Mexico. He’s going to speak at a church, or so I have heard.

The Tulsa gathering was stunted reportedly over fear of the pandemic, the lack of social distancing. Maybe, too, Trump’s shtick is wearing thin.

What’s going to happen in Arizona, an actual swing state that Trump might lose to Joe Biden this fall? I guess I should mention that COVID-19 infections are spiking through the Arizona roof at this moment.

I want yet another humiliation for Donald Trump, who invites this kind of scorn simply because of the ridiculous boasting that precedes these events.

medical news, national news

Trump was joking about ‘less testing’? Sure, I believe it … hah!

Donald John “Knee-Slapper in Chief” Trump has no discernible sense of humor that any of us can detect.

He rarely guffaws. From what I have read he doesn’t watch movies. He lacks any semblance of self-deprecation. However, the dude does have this annoying habit of relying on others’ excuses for the stupidity that flows out of his pie hole.

He told that sparse gathering in Tulsa, Okla., over the weekend that we ought to have “less testing” of the COVID-19 virus because it would drive down the number of people being infected. I saw him say it. He didn’t wink at the audience. He didn’t say, “Just kidding, folks.” He let the idiocy stand.

Oh, but then comes that trade “expert” who comments on matters far from his wheelhouse. Peter Navarro said Trump’s remark was “clearly tongue in cheek.”

We’ve heard this dodge before from Trumpkins who seek to cover The Donald’s ample backside. He blurts out something stupid and his team of sycophants says, “Aww, he was just kidding. Making a joke. He was being ‘sarcastic.'”

We are asked to buy into that baloney. This guy says so many stupid utterances, he lies with such astonishing frequency that we cannot believe anything, not a single thing that he says. Nor can we believe the efforts of his team to cover his a** when he blurts the idiocy out.

This is the same guy who said he preferred that a cruise ship full of passengers remain stranded off shore because letting them come ashore would drive up his COVID-19 infection “numbers.” He said that, too, with a straight face!

So we’re asked to believe that this Tulsa trash talk about “less testing” to detect the killer virus is a joke?

State news

Don’t wait too long to shut it down, governor

(Photo credit should read MANDEL NGAN/AFP/Getty Images)

“To state the obvious, COVID-19 is now spreading at an unacceptable rate in Texas, and it must be corralled,” (Gov.. Greg) Abbott said during a news conference at the Texas Capitol in Austin.

There you have it. The Texas governor is beginning to sound alarmed — although it’s of the “somewhat alarmed” variety about the pandemic that is showing new signs of life … and is bringing more death to human beings in Texas and around the country.

“Corralling” the virus needs to occur, to state the other obvious element of this story.

Abbott has been blaming young people for being cavalier about the threat the virus is bringing. He said they aren’t observing “social distancing” guidelines.

For the life of me I do not understand why the governor doesn’t issue an order requiring businesses to mandate face masks among everyone who enters their establishments. Nor do I get why he resists local governments from mandating social distancing, restricting occupancy, demanding that Texans behave in a manner that limits the spread of the killer viral infection.

He’s not doing that. Abbott today said that Texans should take voluntary measures to avoid becoming infected. Voluntary? How is that going to work, governor. The state opened up its beaches and Texans rushed to Gulf Coast by the thousands, ignoring social distancing recommendations.

The Texas Tribune reports: Texas has broken its record for the number of people hospitalized with the virus for 11 consecutive days. On Monday, that number was 3,711. Saturday saw the highest number of new daily reported cases yet — 4,430. The positivity rate, presented by the state as a seven-day average, has increased to 8.8%, on par with where it was in late April.

I want to acknowledge that my wife and I are continuing to observe a “shelter in place” policy in our home. We aren’t staying home 24/7. We are taking our recreational vehicle out on occasion, but limiting our visits to state parks; we camp in our fifth wheel and stay far, far away from other RV campers. That all said, we have no intention of entering a restaurant, a bowling alley, a movie theater for any form of recreational activity. Our visits to retail establishments will include face masks, sanitizing liquid and sanitary wipes.

I don’t mention this to suggest that we are paragons of virtue in this crisis. I mention it only to suggest that others could observe the need to take greater care to avoid exposing themselves or others to a virus that could kill them.

If they don’t, then our government leaders need to frighten the bejeebers out of them.

national news

Trump practices a form of political levitation

(Photo by BRENDAN SMIALOWSKI/AFP via Getty Images)

This brand of levitation we keep witnessing from Donald John Trump continues to astound me.

He has returned to the political campaign trail. He convened a rally in Tulsa, Okla., telling us 1 million people sought tickets to the arena. He had the rally, but it was attended by something fewer than 7,000 die-hard Trumpkins.

Trump’s base continues to hold at around 42 percent and yet the man himself doesn’t tell them anything new. He offers no vision of any sort into what he intends to do if — God forbid! — he gets re-elected on Nov. 3.

How in the name of political illusion does this guy pull it off?

I am left to agree with others’ conclusion, which is that Donald Trump has created a cult of personality among Republican faithful voters.

I listened to former national security adviser John Bolton’s interview with ABC News’ Martha Raddatz in which Bolton said Donald Trump is “not a conservative Republican” and that Trump doesn’t adhere to any discernible political philosophy other than what benefits him politically.

The Trump cult of personality has co-opted a once-great political party and turned into something none of what remains of the GOP establishment recognizes. Even the “real Republicans” who serve in elected office seem smitten by the cult.

Maybe I shouldn’t be surprised. Donald Trump promised to shake up the establishment when he ran for president in 2016. He has delivered on that promise, even as so many other campaign pledges have face-planted along the way.

It appears that the shakeup has produced this continuing levitation among the hard-core faithful of Trump’s base.

It gives me pause when I consider whether Joe Biden actually can defeat this fraudulent politician. I am hoping for all I am worth that we can send this clown packing.

International news

No desire to ‘salute’ such horror

Yes, by all means look at this picture.

The message was posted on Facebook I presume by someone who opposes the takedown of Confederate memorials. The text is spot on … until we get to the last line.

Auschwitz stands as a grim reminder of humankind’s cruelty. It doesn’t glorify anything or anyone. Nor do any of the other memorials scattered throughout Europe that take note of the Holocaust and the evil that produced it.

Therefore, I still stand with those who oppose the glorification of the American Civil War and the Confederate States of America’s secession from the Union to fight to preserve slavery.

Those who fly the Confederate flag do so by and large to celebrate what the CSA did, which was to commit treason against the federal government and to bring on the bloodiest conflict in American history.

My wife and I went to Germany in 2016. We stayed with friends in Nuremberg. I had the chance to tour the Documentation Center in the city where Nazi and Japanese leaders were put on trial for crimes against humanity. Our friend in Nuremberg told us that Germans do not fly the swastika to celebrate what the Nazis did; nor do they salute picture of Adolf Hitler. They have erected or preserved these structures to remind the world — and themselves — of the horror that humanity is capable of bringing to itself.

I never will accept the notion that the Confederacy, the Civil War and the reason for fighting it should stand as proud symbol of our nation’s “heritage” and “history.” Sure, keep the statues — but place them in museums and tell the world about the evil they represent.

national news

Toss in ‘hate’ to replace ‘heritage’ and ‘history’

1 Comment

So much for the “heritage” and “history” argument for flying the Confederate flag.

Let’s consider “hate” as well, shall we?

NASCAR driver Bubba Wallace, the only African-American driver among the top tier of drivers in the popular sport, recently led the call for NASCAR to remove the Confederate flag from its events. NASCAR listened and issued an order banning the flag that is the symbol of the Confederacy, the group of states that seceded from the Union in 1861 and went to war with the U.S. of A. They went to war because they wanted to preserve states’ rights to sanction the enslavement of human beings.

Not all of NASCAR’s base of fans is happy with the removal of the flag. They disagree that it symbolizes racism, that it merely reflects people’s respect for their “heritage” and the “history” of the nation.

Well, what do you suppose happened over the weekend?

Someone got into Wallace’s garage at a Southern track and left a noose. Hmm. Heritage and history … my a**!

You know what the noose represents. It represents hate in a raw, despicable form.

Let’s quit the crap about the Confederate flag symbolic importance to people’s heritage and the nation’s history. The flag represents a disgraceful chapter in America’s story.

Commentary on politics, current events and life experience