#118 - The Coward-in-Chief

In these politically divisive times, it was not the least bit surprising that we saw the possible, attempted assassinations of two former presidents, another presidential candidate, a former vice president, workers at a major news network, a billionaire, and a congresswoman, just to name a few….

I truley dont think that President Trump wants to see violence inflicted on anyone, including his political opponents. I don't. But his comments on this incident sound hollow.

He claims this is the time to come together, but when he fails to speak from the heart about the potential bomb victims, simply reads a scripted teleprompter during the day, and then jokes about it at night, his words, his actions actually shout “I don’t care”.

His child like behavior, his bullying, his propensity to lie and lie again, his hateful and divisive comments day in and day out all betray him.

So, it’s impossible to believe that he wants to be president to all Americans, that he truly cares about those who disagree with him and that he has any genuine interest in unifying the country. Impossible.

The proof point to my statements above resides not just in the President’s statements and actions over the years, but also very succinctly in his opening remarks on Wednesday regarding the suspicious packages and devices mailed to “current and former high ranking government officials,” as he described them.

Current and former high ranking government officials...

Is that best you got Mr. President?

Yes, yes it was. Trump was unable to personalize this terror attack and name the cadre of potential victims who coincidentally compose a large part of his political opposition and the foils for his boogeymen politics, so instead, he did his best to sweep it under the rug and blame his favorite foil, Fake News

President Trump had a golden opportunity to show Americans that he could be a great leader, an honest man and a caring individual, but he couldn’t do any of those things. Because he is incapable of doing so. If he really wanted to unify us, he would have called the potential victims here to reassure them he would do everything in his power to investigate the matter, but there were no such calls.

Even more astounding, he wouldn’t even utter the real names of the potential victims here. Barack Obama, Bill Clinton, Hillary Clinton, Joe Biden, CNN, Eric Holder, George Soros, Maxine Waters and others

And it happened AGAIN today when the President addressed the arrest of the alleged bomber. There was no mention of the names of the potential victims.

Trump has had no issues denigrating all of these individuals over and over again at his campaign rallies and in his Twitter feed. But now, strangely enough, he can’t remember their names. Really?

Contrast that to the day when Steve Scalise, the Republican Congressman, was shot by a deranged left leaning partisan, Trump had no problem remembering HIS name that day.

But I’m not surprised. To name the potential victims would be a perceived acknowledgment that maybe all of his hateful and vile political rhetoric over months and now years against these very individuals had possibly, just possibly been a motivating factor in the creation of these devices by this clearly deranged individual. To do so, would be to admit that he was part of the problem.

But he couldn’t do it. Our leader couldn’t do it.

To my Republican friends, I will absolutely agree that there are whack jobs on both sides of the aisle, there clearly are, and they all need to stopped. But please, don’t insult my intelligence and tell me President Trump wants to bring us together. Please. Nothing could be further from the truth.

Like the cowardly bomber who hides behind the cloak of anonymity, our cowardly president hides behind his own cloak of lies and deception.

This coward is simply incapable of admitting the truth, even to himself.

#117 - Saudis Speak, Trump Jumps

Jamal Khashoggi, a Washington Post journalist, and former Saudi royal insider who began writing articles critical of the Saudi royal family and Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman in particular, disappeared on October 2 after he went into the Saudi Arabian consulate in Istanbul, Turkey.

Video shows Khashoggi entering the consulate to obtain paperwork to marry his Turkish fiancé but his fiancé, who was waiting for him outside, said he never came out.

It has been widely reported that Turkish authorities believe 15 Saudi men arrived in Istanbul on private planes on October 2 and were connected to the disappearance -- and that they had high-level connections to the Saudi government. To be clear that was 15 men… and a bone saw.

Despite pressure from Turkey, the United States and the entire international community, Saudi officials have, for two weeks now, denied that Khashoggi had disappeared inside their consulate, calling accusations that he was killed there, "lies and baseless allegations."

But in recent days Turkish authorities have indicated they have audio and possibly video recordings of Khashoggi’s apparent torture. Needless to say, the disclosure of such evidence put a huge dent in the Saudi’s already weak attempts at plausible deniability, but they did hold a huge trump card (no pun intended), they happened to be closely allied with the President Trump

President Trump, who along with son in law, boy wonder, Jared Kushner have had some well publicized business dealings with Saudi Arabia and have also permitted a $110 billion arms sale to the Saudi’s which they would like to see completed. Trump claims it’s all about jobs, but greasing the skids for the Saudis certainly wouldn’t hurt any future business opportunities for Trump World.

So it was no surprise that after Trump spoke with the Saudi king on Monday, that he immediately jumped into reality TV mode and began offering up new story lines to throw some shade to the Saudis and thus protect ….all of his transactions.

"It wasn't like there was a question in his mind. The denial was very strong," Trump told reporters outside the White House, adding that the King "firmly denied any knowledge" of what happened to Khashoggi, adding “But his was a flat denial”

Of course he denied it. Why wouldn’t he?

But it gets better. Offering up an alternative to the common belief that Khashoggi was murdered by agents of the Saudi Regime, Trump said that " it sounded like it could be rogue killers,. Who knows?”

Sure, who knows?

Sure, maybe it was Rogue Killers

Or maybe it was China.

Or maybe it was some guy sitting on his bed weighing 400 pounds,

Or maybe it was just deju vu, all over again….

#116 - Ford v. Kavanaugh, Part 4, the Finale

I watched Trump’s ceremonial swearing in of Brett Kavanagh as Associate Justice of the Supreme Court on Monday night, and I thought to myself that Trump’s victory was now complete. Oh, I don't mean Kavanagh’s nomination. No, that’s small potatoes. That’s just a tiny piece of the puzzle. No the Trump victory of which I speak is much larger than that. It was Trump’s outright theft of the Republican Party, founded by Jefferson and Madison, which has played such an important role in our country over the last 225 years. The theft of this once great American institution was now complete. Donald Trump had won. And the real irony here, was that the real victims, the Trump Republicans, thought this was a good thing ….for them.

This is my fourth and, I am expecting, will be my last post on this incredibly divisive topic that has gripped the country for the better part of the last couple of months. And the only certain thing I have concluded, the only thing, is that there are no winners here. Sure, Republicans got a small chest-bump from the approval of Kavanaugh to the Court, but let’s get real. It should have been a cake walk, and it was anything but.

I have said that reasonable people on both sides of aisle will have different takes on the issues brought forth in the Ford v. Kavanagh. That’s understandable as this alleged event happened over 35 years, when both of them were young teenagers. But that hasn’t stopped Republicans and even Democrats from doing what they do best, playing politics.

Beginning with McConnell’s failure to move Merrick Garland’s nomination forward with 10 months to go in Obama’s term, we see Dianne Feinstein’s delay in surfacing the Ford story, followed by Cory Booker wanting to play Spartacus or Tony Curtis, I’m not sure which, then we have Lindsey Graham’s maniacal rant, and it was all topped off by an investigation by the now, all of a sudden…incredibly talented FBI. Apparently they are no longer the cause of THE Witch Hunt…until tomorrow or the day after anyway.

It was one shameful exhibition after another, and it all went according to the script of our reality TV president.

When Clarence Thomas’s nomination was approved back in 1991, then President George H.W. Bush’s instinct was to calm the waters, knowing that it was important to bring the country together. I know, because I listened to his 17 minute introduction of Thomas. Bush began his speech with the opening “Welcome all” and there was no reference to the contentious battle over the nomination. There was no desire to stoke the divisiveness that had ensued, and in the year that followed, while Bush was on the campaign trail for re-election, he chose to ignore the battle over Justice Thomas. Looking back on that now, we didn’t know how good we had it. We now have a deeper appreciation for Bush’s actions, which were filled with equal parts integrity, compassion and patriotism, and stemmed from his strong desire to be President to all Americans. Please, allow me to say that one more time…all Americans. I’m sorry, it just feels so good, I can’t help myself. That’s the way it used to be anyway. Yes, those were the good ol’ days.

Donald Trump and his dedicated followers of merry men have made the calculated choice that they don’t want or need to represent all Americans, they have opted for minority rule today. And they are thrilled with the results. But as these Trump Republicans will eventually learn, it’s very easy to go down this path now, but good luck trying to reverse course.

There was so much wrong with Kavanaugh’s swearing in ceremony, it can’t be captured in one post. So I will just focus on the opening line of this pseudo campaign rally where Trump introduced Kavanaugh stating that “On behalf of our nation, I want to apologize to Brett and the entire Kavanaugh family for the terrible pain and suffering you have been forced to endure”.

On the surface, independent observers might find this comment as fair and acceptable, if only there was some compassion exhibited for all the others who were hurt in this process as well, but there was none. They were not mentioned or referenced. They were simply forgotten.

There was no apology on behalf of the country for Christine Blasey Ford for her pain and suffering. Worse, in the days leading up to the final vote, Trump had gone on the offensive, mocking Ford’s inability to remember certain facts from her ordeal, and he and the mini-Don, Donald Trump Jr. went on to lament the injustices caused to their kind, the real victims in all of this, angry (and entitled) white men.

There was no apology on behalf of the country for Renate, you know Renate of the Renate Alumni, who apparently received special commendation from Kavanaugh, Squi and all the other guys with 14 references in their Georgetown Prep yearbook. Kavanaugh claimed his reference related to their attendance together at a social event, but it would have been more believable if he just claimed they were bridge partners.

Renate Schroeder Dolphin told the New York Times days earlier “I learned about these yearbook pages only a few days ago, I don’t know what ‘Renate Alumnus’ actually means. I can’t begin to comprehend what goes through the minds of 17-year-old boys who write such things, but the insinuation is horrible, hurtful and simply untrue. I pray their daughters are never treated this way. I will have no further comment.”

Can you blame her? But President Trump offered no apology on behalf of our nation for Renate.
Because there was no sympathy, no compassion, no acknowledgment for the pain and suffering by the other Americans hurt in this process, when Trump closed his introduction asking “us to renew the bonds of love, loyalty, and affection that link us all together as one great American family.. let us pray that all of America's children will grow up in a country that is fair, and just, and safe, and strong, and free.”

...the only ones who heard it, were the Trump Republicans…and they believed it all.

Thus, Trump’s victory this night was complete. His takeover of this once great institution was over. The Republican party was no longer recognizable, even to itself,

President George H.W. Bush who understood the importance of being President to all Americans was now 94, and in weak and in failing health. Sadly, the same could also be said of the few real Republicans still out there, many of whom are my friends.

I shall miss them all. I shall miss my friends.

#115 - Ford v. Kavanaugh, Part 3

For a brief moment, fresh air filled the room of the Senate Judiciary Committee and we were catapulted back in time to a place where Republicans and Democrats could sit in a room together and ….not want to rip each other’s eyes out, or so it might have seemed

The truth is one voice, just one voice, toggled from the right to the center, perhaps for only a brief moment, but it was enough to put a temporary hold on the madness that was about to be perpetuated by Republican leadership.

Senator Jeff Flake, the outgoing Republican Senator from Arizona got up from his chair a few minutes ahead of the planned vote to move the nomination of Brett Kavanaugh to the Supreme Court out of the Committee, walked past the row of Republicans to the Democrats, and tapped Democratic Senator Chris Coombs from Delaware on the shoulder, motioning in a way to say “Let’s talk”

What followed was an agreement to put the floor vote on Kavanaugh’s vote on hold for seven more days while more inquiries could be made into Kavanaugh’s past

The delay occurred

(i) because in the ever growing shadow of the Me Too movement,  Christine Blasey Ford in describing an alleged sexual attack by Kavanaugh when Kavanaugh was 17 and Ford was 15 sounded…..believable and

(ii) because no independent third party (FBI) had done anything….ANYTHING to investigate the claim of the alleged sexual attack and

 (iii) because Kavanaugh had dodged and equivocated about his drinking in high school and made up comments about ralphing and the Renata alumni which came across as deceitful because years later he was embarrassed by the poor behavior he once exhibited…. as one of the cool guys at this prestigious private school.

Through it all, our ever mercurial President showed numerous sides of his chameleon like skin

First he said he saw Ford’s testimony and said it was compelling and she seemed like a very fine woman

Then two days ago, he began to shift the focus stating that "It is a very scary time for young men in America, when you can be guilty of something you may not be guilty of. It’s a very scary situation where you're guilty until proven innocent,"

But later that same evening at another campaign style rally, he went into full attack mode openly mocking Ford’s allegations of Kavanaugh’s sexual attack. Just about everyone on Planet Earth, including all the Republican members in Congress, was appalled that Trump would stoop so low, AGAIN, everyone except the Trump supporters in the room that night who cheered him on during his rant and raised their “Women for Trump” signs a little higher...

Reasonable people on both sides of the aisle will debate whether Kavanaugh is suited to be a Supreme Court Justice long after the final vote is taken, whichever way it goes, but one thing is certain.  Anyone who thinks the Me Too movement has gone too far, need only look at the shameful commentary of our President and the Kool-Aid drinking supporters at that rally to realize that Me Too still has a long way to go.

We should all note that this final point has only now become so crystal clear because of the good conscious of Senator Jeff Flake.  

And for that Senator, we thank you.

#114 - Trump in Love

“I was really being tough, and so was he. And we would go back and forth. And then we fell in

love, okay? No, really. He wrote me beautiful letters, and they’re great letters. We fell in love”

Those were the words of President Donald J. Trump at a Make America Great Again campaign

rally in Wheeling, West Virginia on Saturday speaking of his latest love affair.

Oh, this was no ordinary love affair. This was not a superficial fling with a former Playboy Bunny

or a one night stand with porn star. No, this new found love, as unexpected as it, was with

North Korean dictator Kim Jong-Un.

On some level, it had the potential to be the feel good story of the year, the prototypical ‘Boy

meets dictator, is awed by unrestrained power, wants to be just like him, and professes his

undying love for this moody, but clearly misunderstood, mass murderer” story.

I mean, we’ve all seen this movie before, haven’t we? I can’t think of one right now, not off the

top of my head, but surely Hollywood has written this plot line before, somewhere, sometime.

Surely…

In the Age of Trump, there are no rules, and there is no story so absurd, that it should be

considered an impossibility. But when Trump spoke these words, his MAGA supporters began

laughing at first, reassuring me, that there was still hope for these folks, that they too saw the

absurdity, that they too were all in on the joke. But only a few seconds passed and they

realized Trump was serious, and so they stopped laughing, and began to cheer their glorious

leader … crushing my foolish hopes and kicking them to the ground.

So why do I think this particular love affair is destined for the trash heap of insincere romances?

Maybe because Trump has been divorced twice already and is well on his way to his third,

maybe because he doesn’t know anything about real relationships, maybe because it’s always

about him or maybe it’s because I just don’t think you can trust murderous dictators, even the

ones who are in love.

Strange as this may seem, Fox News must have similar sentiments, marking a tuly unique alignment of the stars, because so far, 48 hours or so after Trump's statement of devotion,  their homepage featured no headlines devoted to the stunning statement. 

Still, wouldn’t it be nice if Trump and Kim were truly in love? Wouldn’t it be nice if their love

proved to be real, and we had a fairy tale ending, ….and they all lived happily ever after?

Yes, yes it would.

But pigs don’t fly… be they domestic or foreign.