Tag Archives: GW Bush

local news, military news

What if Trump shows up … ?

Two weeks from takeoff from Love Field and I am beginning to run some things through my noggin and I should vanquish them … because none of them could actually take place.

Then again …

I am leaving on Sept. 11 for an overnight trip to Washington, D.C. I will be one of 45 veterans taking part in an Honor Flight, an event devised to salute military veterans for the service they gave to the country. I served for two years in the Army, from 1968 until 1970. I was sent to Vietnam for a time to work on airplanes and then assigned to the tactical operations center in Da Nang.

I came home and was greeted mostly with shrugs from friends. I didn’t get any “thank you for your service” greetings from strangers. That’s all changed. No longer do we treat service personnel as being at fault for our planners’ failures.

Honor Flights are designed to demonstrate a nation’s gratitude. Some of us on this trip are old enough to remember how we were treated when we completed our service in S.E. Asia.

OK, now about those thoughts.

Our trip coincides with the 25th year since the 9/11 attack by terrorists. My thought involves the four former presidents of the United States, all of whom should be honored for the work they did to bring the terrorist in chief, Osama bin Laden, to justice.

Will any of these men be around to greet us, or to receive our thanks for their service to the country? That’s what I am hoping will happen. Furthermore, I have a bit shared history with one of these gentlemen. I met then Texas Gov. George W. Bush in a personal 90-minute session I had with him in the summer of 1995. I have been hoping to see him again and remind him of that meeting and hope he remembers me.

The 9/11 attacks occurred during the first year of his time as president.

Barack Obama was on duty when the SEALs found bin Laden in May 2011. I have seen viral videos of him greeting veterans on earlier Honor Flights. Maybe he can find some time to do it again. Bill Clinton felt bin Laden’s wrath in 2000 when al-Qaeda terrorists blew a hole into the Navy destroyer USS Cole. Joe Biden was in the Situation Room as vice president the night of the SEAL raid. The former 46th president is ill with cancer, so I don’t expect to see him … but I would love to shake his hand and thank him for his 50 years of public service.

That brings us to the current president. What if he makes an appearance? My gut struggles with my brain. I detest the guy who is in office now. I respect and revere the office he occupies. What would I do if were standing in front of me? I would shake his hand … and that’s all I will say about that.

Will any of this occur? Probably not. I just wanted to let you know once again that am taking part in this Honor Flight with great pride and thanks of my own.

national news

Obama center is now open!

Barack H. Obama today opened his presidential library, museum and educational center in Chicago … and it seems to carry an extra layer of significance.

It’s likely not the contents within this center, but rather the atmospherics surrounding its opening.

The Obamas — Barack and former first lady Michelle — invited three former presidents and their wives to the event. They stood proudly with the 44th president. They were President Bill and Hillary Clinton, President George and Laura Bush and President Joe and Jill Biden. And, yes, there was a conspicuous absence. There was no sign of Donald and Melania Trump.

Therein lies the atmospherics that tend to give this presidential museum opening its special significance.

Donald Trump, through his hideous conduct over the course of more than a term in office, has disqualified himself from event of such joy and accomplishment. Now we have the war he started with Iran, which is about to end (in a fashion) and the belief by many Republican pols and leaders that this country got taken to the cleaners. Think for a moment about this notion: Trump started a war, then backed away from it without gaining anything from the stated goals Donald Trump sought when he started dropping bombs and firing missiles.

Trump’s absence from this joyous event should serve notice to him — not that he’ll pay a shred of attention — that the world is going to function without him. He is becoming more of a lame duck every single day he remains in office.

national news

Listen to your predecessors, Donald!

Barack H. Obama and Joseph R. Biden have been laying waste to Donald Trump’s performance in the office they once held … and with ample reason.

They both left legacies worth cherishing and emulating. Trump has called them two of the worst presidents in U.S. history. I beg to differ. I consider them both two of the best men to serve as commander in chief and head of state.

Obama has been particularly eloquent in his assessment of Trump. He chastises the POTUS for feigning toughness by being “rude to people” and denigrating others. A third Democratic former president, Bill Clinton, has been a bit quieter than his successors. Clinton did speak about some of the subjects he covered in a closed-door congressional committee hearing. It is clear that Clinton thinks next to nothing about the mess that Donald Trump has concocted.

The fourth living ex-president, George W. Bush, has been relatively quiet. He once told a TV talk show host, Ellen Degeneres, that he wouldn’t “be chirping” his criticism of presidents who follow him. He said that presidents hear enough criticism during the normal flow of business during the work week. He said a president needs to be strong to lead this massive, diverse and sophisticated nation. Criticism only weakens that person.

In a way, I kind of prefer the George Bush method. Sure, he can think ill thoughts of Trump. He needs not express those thoughts out loud. It’s always been understood that presidents walk away not just from the residence at 1600 Pennsylvania Ave. They also turn their back on the debates that rage on.

Those who speak out, though, have wisdom to back them up. If only Trump would listen and heed them.

environmental news, Joe Biden, national news

Politics turns ugly in times of need

Don’t you just hate the gamesmanship that develops among politicians when disaster strikes communities, and even entire states? I do. It drives me batty.

For example …

President Biden traveled to Florida to examine he wreckage brought by Hurricane Idalia. Biden is running for re-election. One of the candidates wishing to succeed him is Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis, one of a thundering herd of Republicans seeking his party’s nomination.

Biden says the federal government “will take care of Florida.” He added that “I don’t know” what the governor’s plans are during his brief visit to the “hurricane state.”

This kind of crap seemingly occurs all the time. Politicians seeking high public office just don’t dare be seen on camera cozying up to other politicians against whom they might be running.

Do you recall the time in 2012 when Superstorm Sandy devastated New Jersey? Democratic President Barack Obama went to the Jersey Shore to see the damage. Republican Gov. Chris Christie greeted him and was photographed — get ready for it — with his arm around the president’s shoulder. 

The response from Republicans was astonishing, to say the least. How in the world could a GOP governor be so damn friendly to a Democratic president who was just doing his job as the nation’s consoler in chief? 

How about the time Republican President Bush embraced then-Democratic U.S. Senate leader Tom Daschle after delivering his speech to Congress after the 9/11 terrorist attacks? Or when he sought to console New York’s Democratic Sen. Charles Schumer by cupping Schumer’s face in his hands on the floor of Congress?

It’s common knowledge, of course, that we have only president at a time and that individual is on call 24/7 to respond to emergencies when they occur. One of the occurred this past week in Florida and Joe Biden is answering that call. Why does it matter one damn bit whether the governor of that state is running for the office that Joe Biden now occupies?

It shouldn’t matter!