It Stinks To High Places...

 

 

 

   Does anyone find it strange that the president hit the ground running thirty seconds after the Attorney General hung "his version" of the Mueller Report on the wall?

 

   And it was as if the president knew what was in Attorney General Barr's four-page song sheet of  "for Trump's a jolly good fellow" before anyone else did.

 

   As of this date, the president swears he has not laid eyes on the Mueller Report, but I find that a bit strange.  Why is he in such a jolly mood?  The Barr report was a masterfully-written job of "cooking the books" that would make Al Capone's money guy green with envy, but what about that nearly 400-page report by Robert Mueller?  Isn't the president even one little bit curious - and worried -  about what's in there?

 

   Trump is just too darn bubbly.

 

   Could it mean that what the AG Barr scribbled is all America is going to see?

 

   Could twenty-two months of investigations by Mueller and his team all be for nothing? 

 

   Look, umpteen Trump campaign officials are in prison or on their way.  And don't tell me nothing happened when Donny Jr. and others met with Russians in Trump Tower.  Russian oligarchs, military agents, and cyber hackers were indicted by Mueller.  All of our intelligence agencies know that the Russians interfered with our election.  One Trump official was found to have given Russian officials polling information.  And hundreds of other charges, not the least of which was Russia hacking into the Democrat National Committee's computers and emails.

 

   Nope.  Trump is too damn happy if you ask me.

 

   The "fix" was in.

 

   We found out in 19974 that Nixon's cover-ups were even worse than the crimes he committed. 

 

   So why haven't we remembered that?

 

   Give the total Mueller Report (minus the national security stuff, of course) to the American People.  It belongs to them - not Trump, not Barr,  and not to the Republicans in Congress!

 

 

 

 

 

 

   

Is It YOUR Country or Is It OUR Country?

An Opinion by John Watson

   The only way to understand what has really happened to us as a nation is to look at it from a place high above the carnage and bloodletting
instead of from the bowels of our political party rhetoric.

 

 

   How did we let a man, so narcissistic and so unqualified, to even run for the office of President of the United States in the first place? 

 

   This office is more than simply the guardian of our "shinning city on the hill," but it is a beacon of hope for other countries as well.  That is not a boastful claim - it is a promise to all who wish to achieve the same freedoms we hold so dear.

 

   However, as we stumble in our pursuit of finding a new leader, we don't just cause ourselves irreparable harm but we do serious harm to our image in the world. 

 

   Whether Donald Trump is guilty of impeachable offenses is not yet known, but he is guilty of so many character flaws that the more serious offenses seem secondary.  America has many intelligence agencies to investigate whatever crimes were committed in the attack on our election by an adversarial country.  Also, any crimes that were committed by domestic agents for the president in association with foreign agents will be handled by our FBI and others.

   We know that all of our intelligence agencies are firmly aware of the attacks on our election process.  Nearly 200 domestic charges, some of which have led to indictments, many have been found guilty, and some are now in prison.  We await word on whether they acted alone or were under the direction of our president. 

   But, let's look at what we know for sure.  This president has many serious character flaws that make him unfit for office.  There is no doubt about that because it is on display every time he steps in front of a microphone and television camera. 

   There are many flaws to point out, but here are a few:

 

  

   His grotesque style of speaking is that of an uneducated person.  Many refer to him as "buffoonish."
  

   His truthfulness is severely lacking.  Lies are being fact-checked at an alarming rate: Always daily, and even hourly.

   His narcissistic manner displays an attitude of "everything is about me."  And, "everything must go through me." 
  

   His attacks on all who would dare question him are menacing.  Comments of being "Childish" or "bullyish" come to mind.
 

   He refused to turn over his tax returns as all of his predecessors have done.   Many believe there may be serious issues hidden therein.
 

   He refused to relinquish his business dealings and, instead, turned them over to his children.  Two of his children are also part of his administration, which makes all of his/their dealings stained, or questionable at the very least.

   He has had several private meetings with two of our worst adversaries - Putin of Russia and Un of North Korea - and we have no record of their conversations.  When our House Committee ask for details, the White House stonewalled the request.  Subpoenas will be served next.

   These are serious issues for our country.  They are issues that were beyond the scope of Special Counselor Mueller's field of investigation, but they are not beyond the charges of crimes in the Southern District of New York, and elsewhere.

   They are definitely not beyond the scope of the Legislative Branch of our government, either.

      And, if we approach it like Americans instead of political party animals, they shouldn't be beyond the scope of we, the people, as well!
 
 
 

    

  

 

     

  
  

Hate is a Four-Letter Word

 

 "I don't hate you...I just don't like that you exist."

Gena Showalter, Seduce the darkness 

 

 

    It seems to me that everyone understands the definition of the word "hate," but an equal number also thinks that hate only resides in the dark hearts of others. 

 

   Many years ago, I had an employee who enjoyed telling folks who proclaimed, "I hate that (inanimate object)" by telling them, "You can't hate something that can't hate you back."  However, we can, evidently, hate those "things" that can hate us back.

 

   In today's world of hate, it is now being weaponized to divide people.  And we need look no further than our own administration in Washington D.C.  From the earliest days of Donald Trump's campaign for the presidency, he pulled together a group of  hard-core "toughs" who came to be known as his "base."  There were raucous and fed off the outlandish tirades of their leader.  In time, their leader began feeding off the thuggish ways of his "toughs" and so began a campaign that ended in the Oval Office.

 

   To some, it is questionable as to who yelled fire in the theatre first, but they definitely came to rely on each other for the thus-far-successful "hate baiting" schemes.

 

   It is amazing to me that one president, a few of his ilk in the inner circle, a few hard-core of the Grand Old Party (fully understanding that most of the GOP do not see him as a member of the party, but rather a leader of his own "band of renegades"), and a relatively handful representing his "base" are able to commit mutiny on America.

 

   How did this happen?

 

   Better to ask, "Who let it happen?"

 

   Hate is rearing its ugly head around the world.  And if that isn't frightening enough, think about the fact that our president is being quoted by many of these hate groups and individuals!  He is being seen as the spokesman for White Supremacy.

 

   Too many young people in America - and around the world - believe that a place where people of different color, religions, lifestyles, and ethnicities is wrong.  And, worse yet, they feel driven to change the landscape. 

 

   Isn't it time for someone to grab the reins of this runaway horde of haters before we all go over the cliff?

 

   For instance, like both parties of congress? 

 

  

 

  

 

  

 

 



Need We Be Reminded?

 

 

 

   Fellow Democrats...do we need to be reminded of what happened to the Republicans in 2016?

 

   Remember when they came out from under rocks, gravel piles, and woodwork?  Remember how there were so many they couldn't get them all on one debate stage and had to have a "lesser important" grouping the next night?  Remember how they staged a recasting of the old science fiction movie, "They Eat Their Own" and began chewing up and spitting out their fellow Republicans?

 

   And worst of all, we remember who won the childish battle of "King of the Hill."  Their cannibalistic melee finally went one opponent too far and they ended up with the "bad seed" still standing. 

   We Democrats have to be so much smarter than that.

   So far, we have a wide selection of presidential candidates from which to choose.  Race, gender, and religion are all on display.  But we must choose carefully, according to who we think can honestly win the general election. 

   To  my thinking, there is even a more important issue to address.  Take a good look at what Trump and his administration has done to America - and to the world.  They have degraded and insulted our allies while heaping praise on our adversaries.  We will have a lot of "cleaning up" to do by our next president and those qualified people with whom he or she will choose to bring into their Cabinet and inner circle.

   This will take someone with people skills to soothe those we have hurt;  someone with solid experience to assure our allies that once again we will always have their back, and someone with a strong will to once again face up to our adversaries.  At home, we will need someone who can show that this country will recognize all of the people - not just the rich and mega-rich few.

   This candidate can not be a "newbie" to America Politics.  They must show wisdom, maturity, stability, and a renewed hope for the "American Dream" that our current administration kicked into the ditch two years ago.

   In short, we need the exact opposite of what we now have in the Oval Office and those scattered throughout the Cabinet Positions and beyond.

   We can't just look for the glitter...today, we need to look for the solid gold.  We need to bring America back to those things that made her the "Shinning City on the Hill."

   And most of all:  WE NEED TO VOTE!







 

    

The New GOP Boogeyman Under Our Beds...

An Opinion by Watson

 

 

   "If we had some bacon, we'd have some bacon and eggs...if we had some eggs."

 

   We are going to hear about those pesky, unpatriotic sub-Americans called "socialists" until doomsday.  It will be the GOP mantra screeched from the mountain tops.  It will be attached to every election contest from coast to cost.  The Republicans will tattoo it on everything that walks, crawls, and slithers. 

 

   However, they will never tell us the definition of exactly what today's socialist believes.

 

   There are approximately 400 people in the United States that have as much wealth as the income of the lower 60% in our country.  If you aren't close to a calculator, let me give you the total number of people that 60% would represent:  Approximately 192,000,000.

 

   Now, if you are a capitalist, you will shrug your shoulders and say, "Capitalism is good for America."  That's about as far as they can see, too.  The truth is, capitalism is good, but like anything else, it is good only when attained under the same rules and regulations that are applied to everyone.

 

   Thus, the disparity between the classes must beg the question:  So why did the capitalists insist on a tax cut for only those wealthy old guys and gals when it's obvious that the tax cut is costing the rest of the country $1.5 Trillion!  The capitalist will drag out his guitar and play you a few bars of his tune, "trickle down."  That tune, however, has never won any awards for truthfulness.

 

   The democratic brand of socialism brought us Social Security, Medicare, Medicaid, Unemployment Benefits, Workers Compensation, Forty-hour week for workers, Child Labor Laws, Women's Right to Vote and other Women's issues, and literally hundreds of other "socialist" ideas. 

 

    The GOP is warning us to look out for those pesky socialists.  They're out to send our nation into bankruptcy.  Never mind that we are trillions of dollars in debt just since Trump came into office.  His trillions for tax cuts for the rich and demands for billions to build a border wall are but a few of his tax and spend "capitalist" ideas.  But mention money for clean energy, climate change work, infrastructure needs, better health care for our people, lower prescription costs, livable wages for our workers, cheaper tuitions for our college students, cleaner air and water....the list is nearly endless...and still we get nothing but lip service from the Republicans.    

 

   So, tighten your seat belts because we are going to hear the word "socialist" ad nauseam from now until election day. 

 

   Just remember, however, what brought us to this point.  It takes two to tango....but the GOP wasn't taught how to put one foot in front of the other and chew gum at the same time.