Tag Archives: Trump

crime news, Donald Trump

ICE needs to lose the masks

I am going to make another run at a topic I raised a while ago, but it’s important enough to repeat.

What’s more, I have found some help in a high place to further the argument I want to make … which is that Immigration and Customs Enforcement thugs need to get rid of the masks and start enforcing immigration laws with humanity, not brutality.

Gordon Sondlund was U.S. ambassador to the European Union from 2008 to 2020. He supports Donald Trump’s view that immigration laws need to be enforced vigorously. Frankly — and don’t be surprised — so do I. However, the implementation of that policy has gone far into the weeds, off the rails. ICE agents have gone too damn far in enforcing the law.

They are hiding behind masks. “A confident nation does not hide its face when it enforces its laws,” Sondlund writes in an essay published today by the Dallas Morning News. “It does so openly and stands behind what it does.”

ICE goons are deployed in Democratically controlled cities by Trump to ferret out what Trump says are criminals who are here illegally, preying on innocent victims. They have beaten U.S. citizens, arrested them, separated children from their parents. They have shot at least two Americans to death. They are donning flak vests, camo outfits, all the equipment they need to restrain individuals. They are behaving like bullies.

Homeland security officials say the agents are covering their faces to protect them from reprisals. What an utter case of bullsh**!

Sondlund writes, “If officer safety is the concern, the solution is professionalism, not concealment. ICE agents should display their names or badge numbers clearly. All operations should include body cameras with audio, activated as a matter of policy. Local police … operate under these standards every day. Federal immigration enforcement should do no less.”

U.S. law enforcement operates in the open, Sondlund writes. “Authority is not hidden,” he states. An open approach to law enforcement “is not a concession to critics; it is a core feature of legitimate governance,” he declares.

He said, though, that “masks erode that legitimacy. They transform lawful enforcement into something that appears secretive and militarized. They invite comparisons the administration does not want and does not deserve.”

There you have it. Just lose the damn masks, ICE, and treat the people you serve with humanity. I could bet real American money such a change would bring far more cooperation than condemnation.

national news, political news

MAGA did it! Elections are work of demons!

If I were wearing a cap at this moment, I might be inclined to doff it in salute to the MAGA cult that comprises the bulk of what remains of the Republican Party.

Why the salute … even though it is a left-handed, fingers crossed tribute?

The MAGA morons seem to have successfully cast the American electoral process into enough doubt as to bring whole sale changes in the way many states conduct them. Texas is one of them. We’ve returned to paper ballots in Texas, tossing out the electronic ballots that used to streamline vote counting. We also have to provide photo ID when we go to the polls to vote.

It’s all been in the messaging and MAGA’s stern discipline in staying on message as it tells lie after lie after lie about the 2020 presidential election being “stolen” from Donald J. Trump. The MAGA cult is continuing the lies and they stick in the gullible minds of millions of Americans.

What saddens me endlessly is the damage that MAGA has done to the millions of hard working local and county officials across the nation who ensure that these elections are conducted freely, fairly and legally. I’ve worked some of the finest public officials in two states over the years covering elections and I have found them all to be men and women of good conscience. They did their jobs well and in accordance with state and federal laws.

MAGA is having none of it. Neither is their MAGA moron in chief, Trump, who just this week assailed the conduct the 2020 election. It is no coincidence, I should add, that the local jurisdictions Trump cited are those run by Black officials. Racism, anyone … anyone?

I believe the midterm election will be run legally. I place my faith in the men and women I know who are on the front line protecting our right to free and fair elections.

And the only election rigging I have seen has occurred in the Oval Office.

national news

ICE is making me very angry!

The more images I see of immigration thugs roughing up American citizens while searching for people to deport to Timbuktu, the angrier I become.

The testimony of Americans victimized by these goons is piling up. They have killed at least two Americans who were protesting Immigration and Customs Enforcement tactics. One of them, Alex Pretti, was shot at least 10 times by ICE goons while lying face down on the pavement. He was motionless.

These tales of horror are going on unabated. The president of the United States is saying nothing about the mistreatment being leveled against U.S. citizens. Donald Trump and his chief aides are condemning the protesters who, I should mention, are acting within the rights of free speech and expression guarenteed by the U.S. Constitution.

Yet this repression continues. ICE is kidnapping children, separating them from their parents. ICE agents dressed like hooded and masked goons are injuring Americans because they are operating with the full endorsement of the dipshit in chief.

I am not one to march in the street to protest. I prefer to make my protests known through this venue. I speak often and with considerable passion about what I perceive to be the wrong direction we are heading. If I see more ICE continue to harangue Americans in this horrific fashion, I just might be tempted to join a protest against ICE.

These goons have gone too far.

national news

Resignation possible?

Let us explore briefly something that virtually no one is saying out loud, but which lurks as a possibility as we ponder the future of the Donald Trump administration.

First, I’ll set the table.

The midterm election in November is shaping up as a possible blowout victory for Democrats. They might flip 30 House seats or more. If they capture the Senate majority, well, that’s just more gravy. Donald Trump then would stand a good chance of being impeached for a third time. He survived the first two impeachments because Republican senators by and large stood with him in the trials that emerged from the House impeachment actions.

Although, 57 senators voted to convict Trump in the second impeachment. It didn’t meet the two-third threshold required for conviction as stipulated by the Constitution.

Just suppose the House impeaches him again. Just suppose it goes to trial. Just suppose there might emerge a core of GOP senators who could tell Trump what many of us want to hear from them. That he cannot win a third trial. He will get the boot.

What does the president do? Does he follow the course that President Nixon did in 1974 when confronted by a group of Republican wise men … and resign?

Article II, Section 4 of the Constitution says an impeachment article could be brought against the entire executive branch. Indeed, many of them have lied through their teeth to protect the president just in the first year of his second term in office. Article II refers to “other high Crimes and Misdemeanors.” The article says impeachment proceedings could be launched against “all Civil officers of the United States.” That would mean the president and vice president. Who takes over were such a stunning event to occur? The speaker of the House would become president. Presuming it would be a Democrat, I’ll go out on a limb and suggest it would be Hakeem Jeffries.

I have no clue on this good Earth as to whether that would happen. I am just tossing it out there for discussion purposes.

Who in the name of sanity knows what Trump will seek to do to continue his usurping of congressional power? I cannot answer that one. Except that if I were a member of Congress I would be outraged at what I see happening to the framework our nation’s founders laid out when they created the United States of America.

crime news

It’s the masks, man … the masks

Of all the issues surrounding the deployment of federal goons disguised as immigration agents, one issue stands out as particularly troubling to this American patriot.

It’s the use of masks to hide the identity of these brutes as they arrest folks on suspicion that they might be here illegally or worse, up to no good at all.

I heard a Donald Trump administration official explain the reason for the masks, which generally are pullover cloths meant to cover all but the eyes. You’ve seen ’em, right? They cover the faces of heavily armed men who are packing guns, stun devices, cuffs and/or zip ties and are wearing flak jackets under their camo shirts. They wear the masks to protect officers against angry protesters,  the explanation goes.

They present a frightening profile of individuals on orders from the top of the federal chain of command to round up crooks, killers and assorted bad guys. Except too many of them have been law-abiding U.S. citizens. And, yes, a couple of them have died after being shot by these goons.

I am trying to square this method of policing by intimidation with what I see every day in the North Texas community where I live and in neighboring cities and towns throughout the area. I see officers engaging in what they call “community policing,” where police interact one-on-one with residents, building trust between taxpayers and The Man. Princeton police engage in a regular session that includes walks through neighborhoods with residents, giving them a chance to ask questions of the cops.

I want to draw that parallel because we are told that Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents are being deployed to “enforce the law.” Their tactics, though, run totally counter to the type of police work I see almost daily in the city where I live. We’re on a first-name basis with many of the police who patrol our streets. In places at this moment like Minneapolis, ICE agents are hiding behind masks … and presenting an image of intimidation and fear.

The ICE presence is, to say the least, an astonishingly bad look for the agency and the officers who now are feeling the rage of a community under siege.

national news, political news

Vote to avoid impeachment?

Donald J. Trump reportedly now is telling supporters he needs their vote to dodge what many have said from the get-go, which is that Democrats are sure to impeach Trump a third time if they regain control of the U.S. House of Representatives in the midterm election later this year.

I will continue to insist that impeachment isn’t necessarily a bad thing. Sure, it seemingly could stop legislation from moving forward if lawmakers get caught up in the drama of a presidential impeachment. Then again, legislation has all but sputtered and died as legislators have battled openly with the administration over matters that have little to do with policy.

So … what’s the diff?

What astounds me is that a sitting POTUS would appeal to his supporters on such a shallow level. Never mind the idiocy that keeps flowing from the administration. He wants to seize Greenland from Denmark; he believes Canada should become an American state; he has taken a sovereign leader captive and vowed to take over Venezuela. He put his name on the John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts; he cheers the notion of Americans losing their jobs; he says not a damn thing about millions of Americans being stripped of their health insurance.

Impeachable offense, anyone? Anyone at all? There are a few of them in the list of misdeeds I have just mentioned.

And, of course, he continues to lie. Bald-faced lies. He says he won the 2024 election in a landslide. He says inflation was the worst in U.S. history when he took office. Holy crap! Dude cannot tell the truth on any issue. Nothing is beyond the liar in chief’s reach!

I think Trump is correct that Democrats will seek to impeach him in 2027. Their failure to do all they can to get this guy out of office will stigmatize them for the rest of time.

economic news

Shut the f*** up about tariffs, Donald

If Donald J. Trump gave a rat’s righteous red-ass damn about ordinary folks — such as, oh, me for example — he would stop yammering about threatening to impose tariffs on countries to get what he wants.

He did so again overnight, threatening yet again to launch a worldwide trade war over EU and NATO opposition to his desire to annex Greenland. I am watching my retirement income fly out the window today as the markets react to Trump’s bellowing, bluster and bloviating over tariffs.

You see, Trump doesn’t give a sh** about those of us who have worked hard, played by the rules, invested money in markets and hope to have it available to enjoy in our retirement years.

Just shut the hell up about tariffs, you delusional piece of mule dookey.

Donald Trump, national news, political news

Wackiness keeps building

Our fragile world is getting wackier by the day, week, month or whatever measurement of time you choose to identify.

For instance, I saw a poll this weekend — and I believe it’s a reputable one — that said 41% of Americans approve of the job Donald J. Trump is doing as he pretends to run the country. OK, you’ll know by that previous statement that I am not one of the 41 percenters. Those who oppose Trump number in the mid-50s.

Yes, 41% of Americans would still vote for Trump, I presume, even as his retribution tour in his second term as POTUS picks up steam. You’ll recall that he telegraphed that punch during the 2024 campaign when he said he would be the “revenge” and “your retribution” were he elected president.

He has delivered … and then some.

It absolutely astounds me that the dipshit in chief continues to reap the support of 41% of those surveyed. I have been a “never Trumper” since before he entered the political arena in the summer of 2015. He and Melania rode down the escalator and the candidate then announced his intention to ban travelers from Muslim countries from entering the United States and said Mexico is sending rapists, murderers, thieves, drug dealers and sex traffickers to this country.

He’s out of control. He is off his well-coiffed rocker. He is as unfit — maybe more so — to be POTUS as he ever has been. That is just my view. He apparently appeals to other Americans who have swallowed the swill he offers promising them things he cannot possibly do … you know, things like lowering the price of food, ending a savage war in Ukraine and producing a health insurance plan that actually works.

Dude is a con artist.

Donald Trump

Time to work for all of us, Mr. POTUS

Donald Trump keeps insisting wrongly — and stupidly — that he won the 2024 presidential election in a landslide over Vice President Kamala Harris.

He did no such thing. He finished with a couple million more votes than Harris. Yes, he did capture all those “battleground states.” However, his vote total didn’t add up to a majority; he won by a nominal plurality over Harris.

So … let’s toss the landslide talk aside. It just didn’t happen.

This is my way of saying, therefore, that it is time for Trump to govern as the only elected official — oh, yeah, so is VP J.D. Vance — who is elected nationally. If he is going to say that he won in a landslide, then he absolutely needs to pull away a bit from the MAGA cult that constitutes his base of supporters. It fascinates me to no end to watch the MAGA bloc begin to fracture, which tells me that Trump is even weaker than he lets on.

Still, he clings to the fantasy of a landslide victory. If he is going to continue to persuade himself of such idiocy, then he ought to govern accordingly. End the immigration crackdown in major cities; roll back those moronic tariffs; stop insisting we are a Christian nation when we clearly are a secular state; end the fixation with ridding the statutes of the term Obamacare, which MAGAites detest because it carries the name of the 44th president of the United States.

You and I know none of that will happen. Donald Trump isn’t smart enough to figure out that if he’s going to say he won big, then he ought to govern the same way.

crime news, military news, national news

Impeachment: good for nation

If the midterm election produces the result many millions of us want, I am quite sure we are going to get a needed boost to our constitutional democracy … which has taken a battering for the past year under the heavy hand of Donald J. Trump.

The boost well could come in the form of an impeachment of Trump. Yes, it is going to produce plenty of vicious anger. But I am OK with it. Why? Because we are going to have what I hope is an open debate on the usurping of power we have witnessed in real time since Trump took office in January 2025.

That power grab is in itself grounds for impeaching a president who, in my view, has violated the oath he took when he returned to the Oval Office for a second time.

He wants to censure a sitting U.S. senator for speaking the truth about following — or not following — unlawful orders. Trump wants the Justice Department to investigate the Fed chairman on the pretext that he oversaw cost overruns on remodeling the Federal Reserve Board. Trump has sent military personnel into harm’s way against Venezuela without seeking congressional approval. Trump appointed a U.S. attorney unlawfully to launch investigations into a former FBI director and the attorney general for the state of New York.

And this just happened in 2025, the year that has just passed into history’s dust bin.

Democrats appear poised to regain control of the House. It is not beyond the realm of possibility that Senate control could flip, too, when they count the votes for the midterm election.

The debate over the charges that could come forth will be spirited. Probably angry. Maybe even vicious and personal. The Constitution will see us through the pending rough ride.

Our founders built a government that is resilient enough to bend a great deal … without breaking. It is strong enough to endure a presidential impeachment while allowing Congress to do the rest of the work to which the Constitution empowers it.