Tag Archives: Donald Trump

crime news, national news

Will we actually ‘lock him up’?

A gentleman I have known for more than two decades — a retired journalist who lives in South Australia — has mentioned a particular scenario he would like to see play out regarding the 45th president of the United States.

My friend wants to see Donald Trump arrested, dressed in an orange jump suit and tried for treason against the United States of America. Indeed, my far-away friend believes it’s still possible even as Trump wiggles and writhes in the face of growing pressure from federal and state authorities looking into his myriad business dealings.

Oh, and then we have the 1/6 riot, the insurrection that Trump incited that horrendous day in the final two weeks of the presidency he was about to vacate.

My friend and I exchange messages from time to time and he regales me with his view that Trump presents an existential threat to this great nation. He and I are on the same page as it regards the former Insurrectionist in Chief.

I am still clinging to the notion that an indictment might be coming — perhaps soon — from the Department of Justice. It might involve a charge of sedition against the individual who once swore to protect the Constitution. Sedition, of course, is the act of undermining the government, which Trump — to my mind, at least — did on 1/6 when he exhorted the rioters to “take back” the government.

I am going to wish the best for the investigation into Trump’s knowledge of the 1/6 riot. The “best,” in this instance, would be for congressional and DOJ investigators to cross enough t’s and dot enough i’s to bring a criminal indictment against a man I consider to be a rotten criminal.

johnkanelis_92@hotmail.com

national news

Another big date looms

We have just marked the first year since the 1/6 assault on our democratic system of government and now we’re about to take a look back at another landmark date that — to my mind — is actually worth celebrating as an “anniversary.”

This coming Thursday will be one year since Joseph Robinette Biden Jr. became the 46th president of the United States. His predecessor wasn’t there for the ceremony. He had jetted off to south Florida to stir up the brew known as The Big Lie about President Biden’s election in November 2020.

The very idea that we’re still talking about POTUS 45 is remarkable in the extreme. I don’t know if that’s by the ex-Liar in Chief’s design or if it is the result of the media’s lust for sensational headlines.

But … here we are, talking about the seditious moron who masqueraded for four years as our head of state and our commander in chief.

Good grief. So help me I want him to disappear. As long as he continues to make news — and I am afraid it’s legitimate news, given the stakes involved — I will feel the need to comment on what he’s doing, saying and plotting against the government he once swore an oath to protect.

My fondest hope is that the feds come up with enough evidence to warrant his arrest. I am actually fantasizing over the sight of him being hauled off in cuffs and leg irons.

Hey, do you remember how he ridiculed police for protecting bad guys’ heads when they loaded them into police cruisers? Another fantasy would be to see the cops rough him up the way he wanted them to treat street thugs.

Well, I want to wish the current president well as he embarks on his second year in office. Yeah, the first year has had its ups and downs. I remain strongly in his corner as he moves us farther away from the dark era of his immediate predecessor.

johnkanelis_92@hotmail.com

DC riot

DOJ files landmark sedition charge … wow!

So, just how serious is the U.S. Department of Justice in its pursuit of who did what and when during the 1/6 insurrection against the federal government?

It has filed sedition charges against the leader and founder of the ultra-right wing group Oath Keepers in an unprecedented allegation that the group sought to topple the government in an effort to overturn the 2020 presidential election.

The main target is a North Texas resident, Stewart Rhodes, founder of Oath Keepers who faces a potential 20-year sentence in a federal prison if he is convicted of the charges leveled against him.

This is a big deal, man!

According to CNN.com: Attorney General Merrick Garland had balked at the earlier efforts to bring the seditious conspiracy charge. But in the months since, people briefed on the matter say FBI investigators and DC federal prosecutors have spent much time building the case, at least in part with the help of cooperators and the benefit of internal communications among the Oath Keepers.

Takeaways from the landmark sedition indictment against the Oath Keepers – CNNPolitics

I have heard from critics of this blog who have suggested that there have been no “insurrection” charges filed against any of the defendants accused of participating in the riot on Capitol Hill. Attorney General Merrick Garland has rendered that point moot with the charge against Rhodes and others.

The DOJ probe took a year to complete, which suggests to me that the AG made damn sure to cover every possible detail before announcing the indictments.

The investigation into this hideous event is sure to pick up a head of steam. It certainly should. The House select committee is moving forward with its own probe into what transpired on that terrible day. It is issuing summons to members of Congress and is getting push back from the Trump cult members of Congress who are resisting requests to talk to the panel.

Are the walls closing in on the former president, the guy who incited the riot with his call on the Ellipse on 1/6 to “take back our government”? I certainly hope so.

I applaud AG Merrick Garland for demonstrating an astonishing level of courage in following the law, as he said he would, “wherever it takes us.”

johnkanelis_92@hotmail.com

media news

Trump got more than he deserves

One aspect of the National Public Radio interview that Donald J. Trump gave deals with the conduct of the interviewer juxtaposed with the treatment he got from the subject of his interview.

I am going to presume Trump agreed to the NPR interview that was broadcast this morning to spread his Big Lie beyond the base of support to which he still clings.

The interviewer, Steve Inskeep, is a professional journalist who enjoys great standing among those of us who love the craft of journalism. Inskeep did a great job maintaining his composure while withstanding Trump’s bellicosity.

He also gave the ex-president far more respect than I believe Donald Trump ever deserved. That’s just me, I suppose, but I believe it to be true.

That’s what journalists do. The speak respectfully to their subjects and give them every opportunity to explain themselves in detail. Trump chose to avoid any detailed explanation of The Big Lie involving allegations of voter fraud, electoral theft and that the 2020 presidential election was “rigged” to ensure Joe Biden’s victory.

A lesser man could have exploded at the viciousness of Trump’s lying. Inskeep, though, is a consummate professional. He knows his job is to give the subjects of his interviews the time they seek to explain their positions.

Except that Trump didn’t deliver any sort of detail. He did not attempt to offer any evidence of the specious allegations of vote fraud … because there is no evidence to offer.

Trump hung up the phone on Inskeep after nine minutes of haranguing and hectoring and interrupting him while he sought to ask probing questions.

Through it all, Steve Inskeep kept his composure and acted the part of the consummate professional. He did his job.

johnkanelis_92@hotmail.com

media news

Way to go, NPR!

Steve Inskeep, National Public Radio’s main voice on all things political, deserves a high-five, an atta boy and a round of applause for the way he sought to press Donald J. Trump on The Big Lie he keeps alive.

NPR had secured a 15-minute interview with the former POTUS. Inskeep got about nine minutes’ worth of Q&A in before Trump decided he had heard enough questions about The Big Lie. So, he hung up on Inskeep.

The interview is a classic case of Trump continuing to lie, continuing to evade and continuing to produce zero evidence of what he has alleged: that the 2020 presidential election was “rigged” and “stolen” from him through “widespread voter fraud.”

Steve Inskeep sought to get Trump to explain himself, to offer any shred of evidence for the serious allegations he has leveled. Trump, to be candid, was hideous in his assertion of fraud.

My goodness, he couldn’t even stay on topic when responding to specific questions that Inskeep would toss at him.

‘He’s gone. OK’: Trump hangs up on NPR after host presses him on election lies (msn.com)

It was weird that Trump would agree to talk to NPR in the first place. I mean, he has labeled media that aren’t part of the propaganda wing that promotes the lies he puts forth as “the enemy of the people.” NPR is as down-the-middle as any media outlet one can name. I know what you might think, which is that conservatives consider NPR to be a liberal/progressive media organ. Bullsh**! 

Trump demonstrated why he is so insufferable. Inskeep, meanwhile, demonstrated the qualities of solid journalism, which Donald Trump simply cannot tolerate.

johnkanelis_92@hotmail.com

local news

Feeling unprecedented anger

1 Comment

What in this weird world is it about Donald J. Trump that makes me respond with such visceral anger at anything that expresses support for this guy?

And what is it that makes me do things I wouldn’t have dreamed of doing in response to other politicians with whom I have disagreements?

Case in point …

I ventured into a convenience store the other evening in Princeton, Texas, where I live. I went there looking for a bag of chips to satisfy my munchy craze. I picked up the chips, turned to pay and then I noticed a rack full of Trump propaganda. There were Confederate symbols, bumper stickers that said, “Let’s go, Brandon,” one that said, “Fighting terrorists since 1861,” one that pitched a “Trump 2024” campaign. There were an assortment of other materials pronouncing support for this clown.

I put the chips back on the shelf and walked out. I have since vowed I never will darken that convenience store ever again.

So help me, I have not yet come to grips with the intense anger I feel toward this guy. My goodness, he came within a whisker of destroying the presidency, he lost an election and then sought to overturn the results of that free, fair and legal balloting. Why? Because he cannot stand the notion of losing an election to a better man.

He is vengeful. Trump is as crooked as a dog’s hind leg. He is an amoral narcissist with delusions of godhood.

Wow! OK, I feel better now that I got that off my chest.

johnkanelis_92@hotmail.com

DC riot

Doing one’s job cause for cheer?

All I can do these days is sigh over the knowledge that two Republican members of Congress who are doing the job to which they swore an oath have become heroes among those of us watching from a distance.

Yes, that would be Reps. Liz Cheney of Wyoming and Adam Kinzinger of Illinois. They are serving on the House committee examining the 1/6 riot that sought to block the certification of the 2020 Electoral College count.

Let’s ponder this for a moment.

I have saluted Cheney and Kinzinger for standing up to the threats, bullying and coercion coming from the Trump Cult wing of their party. They are seeking the truth behind the insurrection and have been highly critical of the ex-POTUS.

Is that reason to cheer them? In a better world it wouldn’t matter. They are just doing their job, which is to protect the Constitution. They took an oath to do that. So did all members of Congress. So do presidents of the United States.

It’s a sad time when we can find reasons to applaud and cheer members who are doing what they are charged to do.

Kinzinger is a lame duck; he isn’t seeking re-election this year. Cheney is facing a GOP primary challenge in Wyoming. I want her to win, not because I like her politics, but because she is one of so damn few Republicans who favors the oath she took to do her duty over any blind fealty to a cult leader.

johnkanelis_92@hotmail.com

national news

11th Commandment? Goner!

Donald J. Trump might be the only major Republican political figure who never invokes the principles espoused by the godfather of the current conservative movement: Ronald Wilson Reagan.

That’s no surprise, though, given that Trump has no knowledge, let alone appreciation, for what Reagan brought to the country upon his election as president in 1980 and re-election four years later.

It also explains why Trump has trashed Reagan’s cherished 11th Commandment, which he stated as “Thou shalt not speak ill of other Republicans.”

You see, Trump is harvesting a handsome bit of political cache by trashing Republican officeholders and those who seek to hold office. If they aren’t loyal to Donald Trump, then they’re “losers,” or “has beens,” or “disgraceful human beings.”

Don’t misunderstand me. I didn’t vote for The Gipper either time when he ran for president. I wasn’t much of a fan of him, although I did develop a good bit of empathy for him and his family when he told us he suffered from Alzheimer’s disease; I remember vividly that poignant letter he released to the public on Nov. 5, 1994, announcing he would recede into the shadows to fight the illness that eventually claimed him a decade later.

But real Republicans usually find something common ground with what President Reagan espoused. Plus, they have remained somewhat faithful to the 11th Commandment.

Trump, though, is not a real Republican and isn’t faithful to anything on this good Earth other than his own ego.

johnkanelis_92@hotmail.com

DC riot, national news

Ready for grim remembrance

(AP Photo/Jose Luis Magana)

Let’s be clear: Tomorrow will be a day of grim memories; there will be no cause for celebrating an “anniversary” of an event that still roils our political system.

It was a year ago that an angry mob stormed Capitol Hill. You know what happened next, so I won’t belabor the point with this blog post.

What we are learning in the year since has been Donald Trump’s response to it. How he did nothing for 187 minutes after the insurrectionists first breached the Capitol grounds. We also have heard about the multiple takes it took for him to complete a video in which he said he “loved” those “special people” who wanted to “Hang Mike Pence!”

What’s more, we have heard how his oldest children, Ivanka and Don Jr., implored Daddy POTUS to stop the rioters, to call them off, to end the violence. Daddy Donald did nothing. He is, therefore, complicit in the damage brought to the Capitol and to the lives that were harmed — and lost! — in the melee.

This gives us reason to cheer? Hardly! The men and women who stormed the Capitol were not patriots by any measure or any way you can define the term. They were intent on destroying our democratic process. They were traitors to the nation.

So, too, was the lunatic who incited the riot.

johnkanelis_92@hotmail.com

Uncategorized

Prepare for shellacking

1 Comment
(AP Photo/Charlie Riedel)

Dear Mr. President … it’s been a while since I’ve addressed you in a blog post, but here comes a warning for you.

Prepare for an electoral “shellacking,” to borrow a phrase, in the midterm election later this year. President Obama called a similar event in the 2010 midterm that cost y’all control of Congress; Republicans seized control of the legislative chamber. But I don’t need to remind you of that.

Nor do I need to remind you what happened in 2012, when you and the president got re-elected.

The shellacking you can expect to take this year doesn’t portend political doom for the administration you lead. Yes, I am aware your polling doesn’t reflect lots of good cheer for you.

Bear in mind, though, that the liars on the other side of the great divide continue to keep outshouting the truth-tellers.

The economy is recovering at a brisk pace; I feel it and sense it. We have been hit once again by another variant spawned by the coronavirus pandemic, but my gut tells me we’re going to end 2022 in much better health than we are entering it. We have some challenges around the world with which you must deal, but I will continue to have faith in your own legislative leadership experience that I believe will guide you as you confront them.

Much depends, surely, on whom Republicans nominate for the presidential run in 2024. I am sure you heard what Sen. Lindsey Graham — the guy who once described you as one of the “most decent men God ever created” — said about Donald Trump. He said the next election is “Trump’s to lose.” I am maintaining my faith in Americans’ good sense that we won’t go down that path again.

Then again, I also am going to cling to my skepticism that Trump actually runs again.

So, I wish you well in this new year, Mr. President. I stand with you.

I just want you to prepare early for the remarks you will have to give when they count the votes for the midterm election. A “shellacking” appears to be coming your way. Don’t feel you’re the only POTUS to suffer such an indignity. Others have been dealt serious defeats during their first term in office.

Don’t surrender. There well could be a revival at hand, too.

johnkanelis_92@hotmail.com