Tag Archives: MAGA

crime news

Trouble in MAGA land? Awww!

There appears to be trouble brewing among the MAGA morons who comprise much of Donald Trump’s base of support.

It involves whether Trump should release information related to the late Jeffrey Epstein’s prison term after his conviction on charges involving sex trafficking and the selling of children into prostitution.

Trump at first said he would release the information to the public. Now he’s back away from that pledge. What’s more, he has pissed off the MAGA cabal that still seemingly adores this idiot.

I’m not entirely clear on why the MAGA cult wants the info released, other than there might be some dirt tossed on many of Trump’s political enemies. Epstein reportedly kept some sort of “black book” on people he serviced with young women. One of them might have been his pal … Donald John Trump.

Trump once said he wanted the information released. Now he’s cowering. The MAGA morons are angry with their guy.

Do I really care that the MAGA loons might be about to jump from the Trump ship that appears to be listing significantly in these roiling political waters? Not really. It does highlight one of the inherent problems that Trump has displayed ever since he entered political life in June 2015. It is his unwillingness to speak the truth.

House Speaker Mike Johnson, a true-blue MAGA moron, wants Trump to release the information. Johnson has some supporters backing his insistence that the Epstein files are open to the public. What is Trump going to do? Beats the bejeebers out of me.

I do know that he is handing Democrats tons of ammo to use against him as they seek to regain control of Congress in 2026.

Hey! Come to think of it … that’s why I care about this brewing conflict!

Donald Trump

How does he do this?

I am headed for the great beyond eventually, although I am not wishing for any sort of exit sooner … as I would rather it occur much later.

Before I check out of this world, I am going to seek to understand how people I consider to be reasonable, intelligent, well-read and blessed with the ability to discern right from wrong can continue to stand behind the charlatan who is masquerading as president of the United States of America.

They support this Republican In Name Only even as he:

  • Embraces dictators, tyrants and killers around the world.
  • Grants full pardons to individuals who attacked our government on 1/6 and inflicted harm to police officers.
  • Cuts off international aid aimed at preventing terminal illnesses.
  • Stands behind the lying Russian goon and then denigrates our own intelligence network that determines that Russia sought to influence the 2016 presidential election.
  • Selects unqualified and unfit members of a Cabinet he runs.
  • Violates at every turn the oath of office he took to protect and defend the Constitution.

There’s probably more to list. You get the idea.

What perhaps is equally baffling is how Donald Trump has managed to buffalo these aforementioned folks into believing a single thing that flies out of his overfed pie hole.

That brings me to what might be the million-dollar question. Which is more frustrating, that millions of Americans continue to slather up this guy’s lies or that Donald Trump, the man with no commitment to anyone other than himself, is able to persuade his followers that he is “one of them”?

He isn’t. Donald Trump is unique. There can be no one else on Earth who can manage this kind of political stunt work.

national news

The Age of Political Perversion

Welcome to a new age that I will call the Age of Political Perversion, where perverts hijack the tenets of our democratic republic for their own nefarious aims.

The perverts say they love the flag, but a few hundred of them used Old Glory to assault police offices in the nation’s Capitol on 1/6, inflicting serious bodily harm in the process.

They claim to be evangelical Christians, yet they throw their support behind a man who has admitted to cheating on his wives, admitted to groping women in their private areas and has been found liable for the sexual assault on a woman who accused him of raping her.

They say they cherish family values but now support efforts to separate children from their parents over alleged illegal entry into the United States.

They call themselves “strict constructionists” of the Constitution, but then challenge a free and fair presidential election and seek to overturn its result.

We’re going to celebrate our nation’s birth. It’s been more than two centuries since we tossed aside the ham-fisted rule of the British monarchy. Our nation’s founders established a secular government devoid of any reference to a specific religion. Yet many of our founders’ descendants contend this is a “Christian nation” founded on the principles espoused in the New Testament. The founders were men of faith but they kept their faith to themselves and purposely established that there “shall be no law” establishing a state religion.

I love the flag. I salute Old Glory whenever possible. I am going to fly it in front of my home tomorrow. Let us remember, though, that the flag is a symbol of freedom and liberty. It isn’t a sacred piece of merchandise. Its sacred qualities lie in the liberty it represents.

So, when the president of the USA decides to hug and kiss Old Glory — which the current guy did a few years ago — he only furthers the perversion of the movement that follows his every lying word.

Happy birthday, America. Many of us still love you.

national news

Get ready for some serious pain

I am going to doff my proverbial cap and proclaim that Donald J. Trump did the nearly impossible by persuading enough Republican members of Congress that it was in their best political interest to approve Trump’s “big, beautiful bill” that gives tax cuts to rich folks who don’t need them while yanking money away from programs that help millions of other Americans who need the assistance.

I don’t recall Trump ever campaigning for the issues he managed to accomplish with this legislation. He never said he would slash Medicare and Medicaid while giving more tax cuts to the mega-wealthy. He never pledged to gut the USAID funds that help feed starving children abroad. He didn’t say he would all but destroy the social fabric of our government.

That is what Congress has signed on to do. The Senate needed a tie-breaking vote from Vice President J.D. Vance to send the bill to the House. And the House needed to get a first-class bullying job from Trump to send this piece of sh** legislation to Trump’s desk for his signature.

What’s next? I suppose we now have the 2026 congressional election coming up. There must be a formula for turning Congress over to the control of the opposition party that actually cares about the entire country, rather than just those who support what passes for the Republican Party … and the RINO in Chief.

I will offer a left-handed tribute to Trump for defying all the odds and getting his fellow nation-haters to climb aboard the clown car that now governs us.

Congressional Democrats, meanwhile, have been exposed as a powerless collection of men and women who cannot find their backside with both hands. House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries set a House record for speaking for the longest stretch ever. Big deal. Congressional elections are coming up next year. This is the best opportunity voters will have to change the dynamic in Washington and restore some semblance of compassion in a government that today demonstrated that it has nothing to offer.

military news, national news

One and done? Hah … !

Donald J. Trump no doubt is hoping for a “one and done” bombing mission against Iran’s nuclear weapons project.

He likely won’t get it. Instead, Iran is vowing to strike back at U.S. interests and most certainly against Israel. The question for Trump then becomes: What shall this country’s follow-up entail? More air strikes? Boots on the ground?

I am suspicious of Trump’s decision to send the B-2 bombers over Iran. I join him in praising the skill and precision exhibited by the aviators who carried out the mission. They dropped about a dozen bunker buster bombs weighing about 30,000 pounds apiece. Submarines launched Tomahawk missiles at the nuclear targets once the aircraft had completed their mission.

I do not want the United States to go to war against Iran. Under no circumstances should we commit our forces to fighting an enemy dedicated to our destruction, not to mention the destruction of Israel … which began this conflict some days ago with missile and drone attacks against the Iranian nuclear sites.

The political consequences of this event are staggering. Democrats in Congress say Trump has committed an impeachable offense by acting without prior consultation with Congress, which they say is spelled out in the Constitution. They are joined by the MAGA mob that says Trump campaigned for election on the promise to end “endless wars.” Spoiler alert: Don’t wait for the MAGA morons to join an impeachment movement against Trump.

These are dangerous times, ladies and gentlemen. We’ve been through them before. I could blow this off as a one-and-done deal, except that with the current POTUS, one never — not ever! — can predict what he’ll do.

national news

Our system will hold up!

I am running out of ways to say what I believe in my heart about the strength of the governmental system our nation’s founders devised in the late 18th century.

We had a spirited discussion in a worship study this week in the church I attend. It turned to the events in D.C. and whether Donald Trump was going to destroy the republic and create a dictatorship. I sought to remind my friends, many of whom have that concern, that the founders created an imperfect governing document, but imbued in it the ability to withstand crises such as what many of us believe is unfolding.

I reminded my friends of Gerald Ford’s wisdom spoken minutes after he became president in August 1974, that “the Constitution works.” I said that it worked in that moment. I believe it will withstand the tumult being stirred at this very moment.

My faith in our founders’ wisdom is about all I have left on which to rely. I reminded them that we endured a Great Depression, engaged in two world wars, killed 600,000 of our own citizens in our Civil War, slogged through four presidential impeachment trials and watched our government fumble, bumble and bamboozle its way through various and sundry crises of various sizes and importance.

What has remained intact through all of that? The Constitution of the United States of America.

I want this foolishness to stop as much as the next guy. I am using this blog to seek to wield some influence toward that end. We have an election coming up in a little more than a year from now. Another one will follow two years after that. We have the power to enact fundamental change … just as the Constitution grants it to us.

military news

The MAGA morons are right! Who knew?

Never in a zillion years would I have imagined saying what I am about to say … which is that the MAGA cabal that powered Donald Trump to the U.S. presidency are correct to object to any direct American involvement in the dispute between Israel and Iran.

This dispute inside the Republican Party is an amazing thing to witness. Trump campaigned for the presidency vowing to end our involvement in wars seemingly without end. Yet now he is pondering whether to launch air strikes against Iran with the aim of destroying the country’s capability to develop nuclear weapons.

Which is the reason why Israel hit them hard in the first place!

Some Republicans are lobbying Trump to launch the strikes. The MAGA crowd says Trump would break a key campaign promise by doing so. The MAGA goons are right! Can you believe I just said that? Neither can I.

Israel already has plenty of military capability to defend itself against Iran. It also has the know-how to strike military targets. The mission that began this exchange was years in the planning and the Israeli Defense Force decided the time is right now to hit the Iranians hard. So, it did.

Not only did the Israeli air force strike hardened targets, it managed to kill key Iranian military leaders it had identified.

Trump said he will decide within two weeks whether to launch strikes that could include huge bunker-buster bombs that only the United States can deploy.

Where does it end? How do we get out of such an engagement? And how many young American lives might we lose in this effort?

Listen to your political base, Donald Trump. They are correct!

national news, political news

Shades of earlier intraparty battles

I am amazed at the level of surprise expressed by the talking heads over the growing rift between the MAGA wing of the Republican Party and the rest of once-Grand Old Party.

Why, they just cannot believe the party that is so loyal to Donald J. Trump would turn on itself over whether to go to war with Iran or to resolve the growing problem with immigration.

Really? You cannot believe it? Those of us of a certain age remember another time when another great American political party damn near tore itself to shreds over the conduct of the Vietnam War.

The Summer of Love was anything but amorous when I graduated from high school in 1967. Democrats tore at each other’s throats over the war. It was the Doves vs. the Hawks. A lot of young men were torn about whether to join the war effort or dodge the whole thing. I didn’t get caught up in the struggle. Uncle Sam called on me the following summer and I did my duty.

The nation was torn asunder by the rebellion within the great Democratic Party. The Hawks followed the dictates of President Johnson, who had his allies in Congress. The Doves became smitten first by Sen. Eugene McCarthy and then Sen. Robert F. Kennedy.

That was then. The MAGA wing is angry with others within the Republican Party. This time it’s MAGA vs. The Establishment Wing of the GOP.

Where am I going with this? I don’t know, eaxcept to remind you that the country’s internal makeup is strong enough to withstand these internecine battles. The TEA Party once rose to challenge the GOP establishment. My goodness, the very nation declared war on itself in the 1860s over the issue of slavery and it survived once the killing stopped.

I don’t give a crap about the MAGA dipshits who have aligned with our nation’s adversaries in Moscow and who think the current POTUS is a man of character and achievement.

However, none of this new to the nation that was founded on the principle of dissent and seeking “redress of grievances.”

national news

News watching: testament to futility

Some of you might recall an earlier blog post in which I declared my intention to consume less news from TV because if found it (a) boring and (b) not very informative.

My semi-boycott is continuing. I’m home alone these days with just my two puppies — Sabol and Endo — and we spend time talking to each other, although I do most of the talking to them. The TV is turned off.

Occasionally, though, I switch it on to kinda/sorta get caught on the day’s events and on occasion I find myself watching a congressional hearing featuring one of Donald Trump’s sycophantic Cabinet picks.

Then it dawns on me why I launched the boycott in the first place. Invariably, this happens: a House member or senator — usually a Democrat — asks a question of the witness who then proceeds to traipse down some rhetorical path where the congressperson doesn’t want to go. The witness tries to continue on that path, the House member or senator seeks to steer them in another direction. They talk over each other — at the same time! As a general rule, the questions asked are relevant; the answers, such as they are, veer away from the point.

To be clear, neither party has a monopoly on this form of rhetorical evasion. Democratic Cabinet members have been hectored and harassed by Republican members of the House and Senate. I watched it unfold during the Biden and Obama administrations. I get that this a bipartisan affliction.

The here and now, though, is what is revelant. Trump has selected an array of ignoramuses for the Cabinet. They don’t know policy. They don’t care about details or even about facts. As I have pondered the lack of quality among these men and women, it occurs to me they reflect the ignorance and apathy of the nimrod who selected them.

I’ll stay current with events as they unfold. I just won’t rely on TV to deliver the news. We have plenty of legitmate news organizations to tell us their version of the truth. It falls on each of us, though, to parse through it all and discern our own version of what’s right.

crime news

What’s next from Trump?

A dear friend from Germany, an astute follower of American politics, sent me a message overnight that wondered: Now they are handcuffing U.S. senators. What is next, my friend?

To my friend, Martin, I have no answer. I don’t know who’s next or what’s next as we watch Donald Trump’s administration lay waste to the rule of law.

Allow me to put this into a bit of perspective.

Trump pardoned hundreds of traitorous mobsters for the crimes for which they were convicted relating to the Jan. 6, 2021 assault on our Capitol. Many of those pardons were convicted of assaulting police officers, of injuring others and of desecrating the halls of Congress while seeking to disrupt the certification of the 2020 presidential election.

Just this week, U.S. Sen. Alex Padilla, D-Calif., attended a town hall hosted by Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem and was placed in handcuffs and thrown onto the ground to silence him from pursuing his constitutionally guaranteed right to protest government policy.

What in the name of justice is wrong with this picture? Damn near everything I can consider!

We are witnessing the piecemeal dismantling of our rule of law by a presidential administration bent on the idea that Trump’s views are the only views that matter. Anyone who protests them can become subject to the kind of mistreatment that befell Alex Padilla.

To think that Trump would have us believe that people around the world admire this individual’s conduct is to believe that the sun will rise over the western horizon tomorrow morning.

I will have to remind my German friend that our Constitution remains strong and that millions of Americans join me in hoping it is strong enough to withstand this frontal assault.