Tag Archives: Mark Kelly

political news

This ‘ticket’ deserves an early look

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As a general rule I don’t think one bit about potential presidential tickets this early in an election season, but I am going to make an exception today.

I keep seeing social media memes that suggest a potential Democratic ticket comprising California Gov. Gavin Newsom and Arizona Sen. Mark Kelly might be in the making. I’ll make this admission, which is that such a notion sounds pretty appealing to me. I happen to think a lot about both men.

I hear that Newsom has his foes in California, as he governs the state in a kind of spotty fashion. He has emerged as an articulate foe of Donald Trump … who won’t be on the 2028 GOP ballot. He has crafted a humor campaign against the Republicans that pokes fun at Democrats, drawing bipartisan laughter.

I should state here that the chatter has Newsom running for POTUS, Kelly for VPOTUS.

I’ll admit, too, that of the pair Kelly has emerged as the bigger media star. Trump has singled Kelly out as a seditionist, claiming he should face the death penalty if convicted of a “crime” that involves him declaring that military personnel must not obey “an unlawful order.”

It’s particularly laughable that Kelly would be targeted in this manner. The senator graduated from the U.S. Merchant Marine Academy, served for 25 years in the Navy, flew 39 combat missions in Iraq, flew four times aboard space shuttles and has been elected to the U.S. Senate. The man has led a full life … all of it committed to public service.

I won’t commit to undying devotion to this Democratic tandem. Kelly has to win re-electiion to the Senate next year, which I believe he will do. He has lashed out articulately against Trump’s foolishness. As for Newsom, well, who knows if some skeletons emerge from the governor’s closet?

It’s still early and I am willing to suggest there will be a lot of Democrats — and Republicans — seeking the keys to the White House in 2028.

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How in the world did we elect this guy?

Never, not ever, in the history of the U.S. of A. have Americans had to witness an elected president who is so ignorant, so damn filled with hatred of his political enemies, who is such a pathological liar continue to function as the ostensible leader of what we used to call the free world.

Donald Trump has declared what amounts to war on Democrats in the Congress, threatening with death for speaking the truth about why service personnel should resist following illegal orders. One of them, Sen. Mark Kelly of Arizona, has been singled out as a particularly egregious target of Trump’s retribution campaign.

Kelly is a retired Navy captain, a former combat aviator, husband of a congresswoman who was nearly killed by a gunman in an assassination attempt, a former astronaut who has flowin space on four missions. He is a patriot. Kelly serves with honor and humility. He has spoken the truth. He dissents from Trump’s public policy … which the Constitution guarantees in its First Amendment.

Trump is ignorant of all of that. He doesn’t give a crap about the Constitution. He blindly accuses Sen. Kelly of commiting sedition, which carries a death penalty if convicted.

And yet … this nation somehow managed to elect this idiot to a second term as POTUS.

Kelly is not the only Democrat in power who has drawn Trump’s petulant anger.

Kids, we are living in a dangerous era in this nation’s long history.

The only recourse we seem to have at this moment happens to the federal court system, which appears to be stiffening its spine at just the right moment. Congress is rolling over for Trump’s idiocy. Trump has populated the executive branch with yes men and men. That leaves the court system to stand tall against this individual’s moronic overreach.

I have heartened by the actions of a Trump-nominated federal judge who tossed aside the indictments of former FBI director James Comey and New York AG Letitia James, calling those indictments pure political revenge brought by a U.S. attorney who is unqualified to hold her job.

Right there you have an example of the Constitution doing its job. I am clinging to the hope that it remains strong and that the courts stand firm against the Trump’s frontal assault on the rule of law.

national news

Kelly for VP

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Never have I stated my preference for whom a presidential nominee should choose as a running mate … until now, maybe.

I figure it’s a personal choice. I also know that it’s everyone’s business who gets the nod because when we cast our ballots, we do so for the presidential and vice-presidential candidates. Let us never forget that the VP is next in line to the top job in case the president cannot serve.

Vice President Harris has been thrust into the role of Democratic Party presidential frontrunner, courtesy of President Biden’s sudden withdrawal from his re-election campaign. Time is short. Harris must make her choice known no later than Aug. 7.

Chop, chop …. as they say.

So, who should she select? One name surfaced immediately after Joe Biden announced his decision to step down.

Arizona U.S. Sen. Mark Kelly.

Kelly has a been a Democratic star since taking office in 2023. He has disagreed with Biden administration border security policies. By and large, though, he’s been faithful to the party hierarchy.

Kelly is a former astronaut, having flown aboard shuttle missions until NASA grounded the fleet.

And no mention of Kelly can be done without noting that his wife, former U.S. Rep. Gabby Giffords, was grievously wounded in a shooting that thrust her husband immediately into the world of becoming a household name as he rose to speak on his wife’s behalf.

I am grateful beyond measure that Giffords is still with us and has made tremendous progress in regaining her ability to communicate.

I shall be frank. Mark Kelly’s Arizona roots are critical, too. Kamala Harris will need that state if she is to be elected POTUS. Time is not her friend.

Donald Trump

Ex-astronaut: Space Force ‘redundant’ and ‘wasteful’

That settles it. Donald Trump’s idea of establishing a new military branch is a non-starter. If you’ll pardon the pun, it shouldn’t get off the ground.

He wants to create a Space Force, which would operate in outer space. According to one notable former astronaut, the idea is “redundant” and “wasteful.”

So said Mark Kelly, a former shuttle and International Space Station astronaut. I want to add that Kelly also is married to former U.S. Rep. Gabby Gifford of Arizona, who was gravely wounded  when she suffered a gunshot wound to the head. Kelly and Gifford have become staunch gun-control advocates and have become as well staunch foes of Donald Trump.

That all said, Kelly offers an expert’s view of this Space Force idea.

“There is a threat out there,” Kelly said, “but it’s being handled by the U.S. Air Force today, doesn’t make sense to build a whole other level of bureaucracy in an incredibly bureaucratic [Defense Department],” he added.

The Space Force idea is too expensive, especially at a time when we’re acquiring even more national debt and while the annual budget deficit is exploding. Moreover, it makes no sense to duplicate the efforts to patrol outer space by existing military branches, which — by the way — are the finest in the world.

Let’s ground the Space Force before it takes off.