Naiveté, Ignorance or Fear

Trump’s Trip to Asia

It is clear to anyone watching or reading about President Donald Trump that the Russian investigation looms large over him. Trump cannot travel around the world without being asked about his relationship with Russian and, specifically, Vladimir Putin. Our leader answers those questions with confused rhetoric instead of providing a simple, clear and concise response.

Donald Trump said he believed Putin’s response to the question of interference in the US election. Trump failed the test of the great deal maker and helped propel responses from former intelligence chiefs and his own team. Former Director of the Central Intelligence Agency, John Brennan, said that Trump was showing his naiveté, ignorance or fear.

There is some part of our great Orange Leader’s brain that compels him to continue repeating a claim, even after he himself has diluted the assertion with doubt. After Trump makes a statement, experts rush in to help clarify his thoughts. He then finds some wiggle room to get out of the lie or create a misrepresentation. Afterward he returns to the original claim, either in his speech or on Twitter. One could say that he has an inability to learn or a huge capacity for telling lies.

In Japan, Trump said that no one ever received the red-carpet treatment that he got. Clearly, the Donald doesn’t know that an Emperor in Japan must be referred to as “His Majesty the Emperor” and that no foreigner would ever get, in terms of ceremony, what the royalty of the country would receive. His comments show total naiveté. He is not as special as he believes and his comments to the contrary display his gross Ignorance on the world stage.

The notion of our president’s fear is an interesting observation, and one that I also hold. When Trump comes face to face with a person of power, he tries to make them like him. He does this in the name of getting things done but, in the long run, it makes people uneasy. As soon as Trump starts talking, he says downright stupid things about his hosts and their country or company. He’s like an abusive father who must denigrate a child to establish his power. In his mind, Trump believes this is love.

There is a bit of naiveté, ignorance and fear in every one of the Trump supporters. I assume they get most of that from Trump. He never takes time to think, adlibbing his way through life and chuckling inside every time he believes he has gotten away with something. He wears his ignorance like a badge. Our great Orange Leader proudly proclaims to getting his information from watching TV shows and news networks. He says he hates the media, but bases his theories on shoddy reporting and stories that have no basis in facts. He literally, uses “fake news” to govern, and his cult sees nothing wrong with whatever he does. What have we become as a nation?

Trump displays his fear outwardly. It’s easy to spot. He openly kowtows to leaders he’s not supposed to like, and treats our ally leaders with a dose of disregard and disrespect. Trump clearly indicated that he “believed Putin” when he said he didn’t interfere with our elections, and then he attacked those who were critical of him back home. He called former administration people “political hacks.”

But then, truth entered the picture. CIA Director Mike Pompeo said that he stands by US intelligence assessments that Russia meddled in the 2016 election. Trump, backed into a corner, retreated with, “What I said there is that I believe he believes that. And that’s very important for someone to believe. I believe that he feels that he and Russia did not meddle in the election.” And then, in truly Trumpean style, he adds, “As to whether I believe it or not, I am with our agencies, especially as currently constituted with the leadership.”

Some say that Trump is being played by Putin. I have said Trump will be played by anyone who compliments him, genuflects, grovels or kisses his big fat ass. Anyone who can get Trump’s brain chemicals oozing messages of gratification can acquire whatever they want. When confronted, Trump simply changes what he said. When caught in a lie, his plan is simple, decide whether to double-down on the lie or change the words to mean something else. He is truly naïve, ignorant, afraid, and, I would add, delusional.

New Book about Terrorism

One of the most eye-opening stories about terrorism. The famous cable TV talk show host, Jonas Bronck, leaves New York on his quest to find truth. He finds himself in the middle of terror and personal torment in the name of journalism. He once again asks, If God Could Cry, would he be crying for us, or with us?

Now available on Amazon.

I DON’T BLAME CHINA

Trump Flip-Flops on Relationship

Blame is the core psychological posture for our President Know-It-All. The Donald sees himself as the only one without sin while everyone else has made all the mistakes that he must fix. In fact, he’s diminished America in front of world leaders by saying that we have been weak in the past. Trump’s need to position himself by self-promotion and boasting doesn’t make him more respected. It makes him small.

President Trump’s trade policy can be summed up like this, “You suckers have been given a free ride and, from now on, you assholes are going to pay more for everything.” If you open with an insult, how do you manage to muster any kind of esteem for your country or yourself? He paints us as ugly Americans to those all those watching him. I am truly ashamed of him.

China was one of the many whipping boys on the campaign trail for Donald Trump. He said they were raping us. Mexicans are rapists. Chinese are rapists. This is a disturbing common theme for Trump. Now, he blames everyone who has come before him in our country for such bad deals as he congratulates China while standing on their soil. He toasts them for taking advantage of us? What a strange faulty logic from a man who screamed for more than a year about how bad China was. Boy, he really showed them.

In a sense, Trump is setting up China’s President Xi Jinping as the good guy, so that he can get something from the Chinese leader. He wants Xi Jinping to stomp on North Korea and do his dirty work in the war of words with Kim Jong-un. Kim is not a leader, he is considered a god. Xi Jinping is a leader for life, surely Trump is more envious than respectful of both these men. In turn, they see Trump as a temporary inconvenience and a grumpy buyer of products. Trump will be gone long before either of these leaders melt into the earth they rule.

What we Americans must understand is that none of these world leaders respect Donald Trump. They laugh at what he says, but they are also cautious about his proposals. They know that what he says today can change at any moment. Where Trump wants to add ten thousand coal jobs, China has moved ahead of us in renewable energy jobs. According to Forbes Magazine, “China accounted for roughly one quarter of the world’s total $329 billion of new energy investment last year.” Why would any American President let this happen?

According to NPR, “In May, for example, our exports to China totaled $7 billion, and our imports from China totaled $29 billion. That is indeed a big deficit. But that $29 billion in imports is tiny compared with the overall size of the U.S. economy: Our economic output is well over $1 trillion per month.”

For America to turn this around, we would have to create companies and factories to make the products that are sold in US stores like Wal-Mart. Our manufacturing would be more expensive and the increased prices for those Made in America products would be passed along to the America consumer. Once again, the middle-class would be paying for corporate investment.

I used to buy shirts made in Wisconsin until we could get T-shirts for one-third the price from Vietnam. By the way, I didn’t change companies, they just moved their manufacturing. This is the reality of what happened to American products. When Trump claims that these companies will bring their money and manufacturing back to the USA after he lowers taxes, no one asks him, “Why would they do that?”

Why would a company spend so much money to build an infrastructure here? American companies already pay little or no rent for the buildings overseas and the workers are payed small wages with no healthcare or retirement insurance. Believing that US corporate management is more patriotic and profit-driven is false. It’s very much like the “trickle-down” theory that as rich people get more money they just naturally flow it to the middle and lower class. That has been proven WRONG so many times in history that it’s insulting to human beings to even suggest it.

When Trump is face to face with the leaders of countries he has dissed in the recent past, he shows a different face. Yes, Donald Trump is two-faced, which logically makes him a two-faced liar. That’s a fact.

I would suggest that when something negative comes up about trade in the near future, Trump will once again say bad things about China. When King Jong-un publishes another put-down of Trump or launches another ICBM, Trump will say Xi Jinping is not doing enough about Kim and that he will stick it to them with trade. Predictably, the parody president pageant continues.

Trump doesn’t need a Chief-of-Staff General babysitter. He needs a shrink. In the end, we all will realize that our great Orange Leader has actually made America less great. The problem is we don’t have a great leader we can plug-in, but we should surely should pull the plug on this one.

New Book about Terrorism

Now available on Amazon.

Elephant, Donkey & Jackass

Two Parties, No Leadership

Living in New York City, it was very convenient for Donald Trump to be a Democrat. When Trump saw no viable way to create a reform party, however, he decided to jump over to the red side of the realm. His hostile take-over of the Republican party made some people happy, but even though the insiders and old-line conservatives knew how risky he was, they remained silent. They deserve exactly what they got.

Trump found himself half-way around the world this week when tragedy hit a small Texas town. He dodged questions about gun control legislation by offering a position that if we had tough gun laws the good guy with a gun wouldn’t have been able to stop more carnage. Amazing how our great Orange Leader ignores the point that if we had better gun laws that were properly executed, we could have avoided the bloodshed in the first place. Of course, Trump doesn’t want to go up against the NRA. They buy ads for him. They have him in their pockets.

Analyze the words that have been coming out of the mouth of the 45^th President of the United States during this “goodwill” visit to Asia, and you will think he is merely an arms salesman. And, of course, a good pitchman never tells the prospective buyer about the dangers of what he is selling.

Trump has no answer for gun violence in America and he has nothing new to say about how to resolve the North Korean challenge. He moderates in front of some audiences, while being all bravado and rude when addressing his base. Why would anyone believe what he says? One of the CNN pundits called him “vague,” which is code for he doesn’t say anything of value.

Like a true politician, the Donald thinks you will not remember his last lie if the new fabrication gets him re-elected. Like most soulless politicians, his inconsistencies are shadowed by the cult of personality effect. He tells his followers that elitists are bad, while being the ultimate elitist pig. Really, he gets two-scoops of ice cream, but everyone else in the room gets one.

Last night in Virginia and New Jersey, we learned that Democrats won their races for governor. It wasn’t because they were Democrats, as much as they presented a moderate choice against those Republicans who will never stand up to Trump. Local politics are local, and that means the personalities of those running matter most. Many people voted for Trump one year ago because they hated Hillary. Lots of Democrats are turning out in these state elections because they do not like Trump.

Americans are becoming complainers. We sit around and post our anger, angst and aggravation about the most banal and unimportant things online. We have the freedom to say whatever we want. Trump actually, in his actions and words, teaches people to speak out, act out and do stupid things. If Trump thinks he is getting too many negatives thrown at him, it’s his own fault. He’s set the bar and we are jumping over it.

As I have said before on these pages, all political parties use the same playbook. When in power, you try to ram through what you think is best. When the minority, you block anything the other party proposes. The dog chases its tail and gets hungrier doing it.

We know that both parties have elements of corruption and, if confronted will lie just like our President. In a perfect world there would be no parties, just people, but the infrastructure of government in this country has been shaped for a two-party system. Even Independents must declare with which party they will caucus. This forces independent thinking into a box.

You will hear the word “Repudiation” used to describe what happened in New Jersey and Virginia, but the real tipping point with Trump will come when Democrats win House and Senate seats. That is where the real power is but, so far, we haven’t seen the DNC make any bold statement or show any real marketing prowess. Donna Brazile’s book promotion may have created some more anti-Hillary sentiment, but she will never displace the top Clinton hater: Donald Trump. People have already forgotten her book.

What Trump tweeted once he knew that Ed Gillespie was going to lose in Virginia sums it up, “Ed Gillespie worked hard but did not embrace me or what I stand for…” Only a low human kicks a guy when he’s down. But what makes this rather insolent is the fact that Trump recorded a robocall for Gillespie. According to Politico, it goes something like this, “If you let Ralph Northam be governor, he will be a total disaster for your state. Northam is weak on crime, weak on immigration, and as your lieutenant governor, Northam has driven your economy right into a ditch.” Wow, maybe Trump doesn’t remember he recorded that pitch for the loser.

Even Breitbart blamed Trump for the losses because he’s not getting more done with Congress. If the Bannon people bankroll Alt-Right candidates to challenge incumbent Republicans in 2018, that could the reason more Democrats get elected.

In the end, historians will write that Donald J. Trump was more destructive than Teddy Roosevelt when, in 1912, he created the Bull Moose Party and cratered the Republican Party. But Teddy Roosevelt gave us protected lands and a grand national park system, while Trump is attempting to sell off those same parks and destroy the environment.

The Democrats desperately need to find a strong moderate who is articulate, intelligent and can give people the feeling that we are all in this together. Without a strong personality to bring us together as a nation, Trump will get a second term. That is unless the Donald gets convicted of some terrible treasonous blunder. If only Nixon was alive and could walk him through it.

New Book about Terrorism

Now available on Amazon.

COWARDS AND CONFEDERATES

Trump’s Challenges Come Quickly

There should come a time in a man’s life when he realizes that it’s all bigger than him. And those around him who try to please him should start thinking about what it all means. The mimicry and monotone regurgitation of what the president says, without application of some thinking, is disappointing on an intellectual level.

While General John Kelly was on Fox News trying to explain why the Confederate soldier statues should remain part of American life, another man was executing an attack against Americans in New York City.

John Kelly’s idea that our Civil War was created primarily because of the failure to compromise is the very definition of “false narrative.” The American Civil War was a conflict between states; some wanting to maintain free labor (SLAVES) while other states, loyal to President Lincoln and the American Constitution, wanted to liberate the slaves. The more Kelly speaks, the more he sounds like a Trump puppet, with little foundation in logic and history. Sadly, he is not the adult in the room, just another closed-minded attendee at the day care center.

Once again, the United States of America has been attacked and the debate starts anew. Trump’s morning tweet, predictably, wrongly places blame: “The terrorist came into our country through what is called the ‘Diversity Visa Lottery Program,’ a Chuck Schumer beauty. I want merit based.”

Yes, Mr. Know-It-All President, it’s the Democrats’ fault. We aren’t sure how long it will take before Trump ties Obama to this heinous act but, really, doesn’t this prove that the concept of banning people from certain countries is a total fallacy? And even if we implement a merit based system, how would that stop someone who wants to do harm from getting into our country?

Is it too soon to talk about the Travel Ban? Okay, Pakistan, Afghanistan, Kyrgyzstan and Uzbekistan are countries that have had some influence on those who committed terrorist attacks in the USA. However, none of those countries are on the current travel ban. Countries aren’t responsible for terrorism; a radical version of a religion and crazy people carry out terrorism.

Tell me how you are going to keep crazy people from killing us, Mr. President. As you attempt to figure that out, your travel ban does nothing. Quit tweeting and find some smarter people to advise you. You don’t need to honor Confederates any more than you should honor cowards who want to kill us. It would be probably good to mention here that 620,000 soldiers died from combat, accident, starvation, and disease during the Civil War. When people die, we shouldn’t honor the killers.

I spent two years writing a book about terrorism. If God Could Cry, is a fictional work but deeply researched. It explains why terrorism happens around the world by following the experience of a television journalist through one year of facing terror. Donald, I would suggest that you read this book if you would like to gain some knowledge about terrorists and the dogma that drives them.

As the news about a terrorist’s acts of violence using a rental truck in New York broke yesterday (10-31-2017), my heart broke and my mind traveled back to Paris, Nice, London, Orlando and San Bernardino.

I lived in New York when 9/11 took place, and I will never forget my feelings that day. As people grasp for meaning, the “C word” comes up, calling the perpetrators “cowards.” One meaning, a person who lacks the courage to do or endure dangerous or unpleasant things is augmented by a second meaning, excessively afraid of danger or pain. You see, if you believe you are going to heaven where you will be given paradise because you killed an infidel, you probably are not acting like a coward in your mind. Killing another human being doesn’t make you brave or a coward, it makes you immoral.

On the subject of morality, one must look into their own soul to find their moral core. I don’t need or want a president to tell me about God or Cowards or Confederates. I already know what I think about them. Trump isn’t even thinking for himself. He is a bird on the limb of a tree, speaking mindlessly like a parrot. Here’s proof: “Senator Chuck Schumer helping to import Europes (sic) problems” said Col. Tony Shaffer. We will stop this craziness! @foxandfriends”

Just because our great Orange Leader can quote a talking head on Fox News, that doesn’t make the words right, true or appropriate. Trump has given the keys of the Executive Office to a news network run by an Australian. Now I have nothing against Australians, but you have to be kidding me. Donald chooses to reinforce his dogma by quoting half-baked theories rather than just picking up his damn phone and calling the State Department. He holds his phone in his hand to tweet, but its proper use escapes his feeble mind.

Here’s what President Donald J. Trump must figure out. Is Fox News using him, or is he using Fox News? If The Donald continues to ingest poison, he will slowly lose the ability to think, assuming he ever had that talent in the first place.

Low-Level Volunteer

Trump Thinks He’s a Lawyer

Donald Trump constantly acts in ways that would give even the youngest lawyer heartburn. He attempts to litigate and impeach people before he knows all the facts. This jumping of the gun might be his way to secure a win, but it disqualifies him as a credible contestant.

One of the things I learned early in business was emotional reactions to things and events must be confined. When attempting to sue someone for what I thought was wrong-doing, I blasted off what I thought was a stern letter laced with sarcasm and creativity.

When the letter was attached to the response from the other side’s law firm, I was accused of being “cavalier.” My offhandedness, it was explained, would be used against me in court. Trying to understand this, I asked, “Why is that bad?” And my thoughtful lawyer explained, “You come off as arrogant. Most judges and juries usually side against people who are arrogant.” Lesson learned.

This week, we had two top campaign officials indicted on money laundering and conspiracy against the Unites States. We also had one person, who the United States District Court for the District of Columbia calls a foreign policy advisor to the Donald J. Trump campaign, plead guilty to charges of false statements to the FBI.

The Donald, with no restraint, attempted to handle this bad situation as if he was running a TV show, rather than legally managing a major scandal in his administration.

This morning (10-31-2017), the President of the United States tweeted, “The Fake News is working overtime. As Paul Manafort’s lawyer said, there was “no collusion” and events mentioned took place long before he came to the campaign. Few people knew the young, low level volunteer named George, who has already proven to be a liar. Check the DEMS!” Aside from the over use of ellipses, exclamation points and missing punctuation, Trump is indeed being arrogant and cavalier.

Words seem to have different meanings for our great Orange Leader. Collusion, a word he always spells correctly, is a secret agreement or cooperation between two or more people, especially for an illegal or deceitful purpose. You know, like acting in collusion with the enemy. That is more like treason. Donald Trump is a deceitful human being.

It’s interesting how Trump uses the term “young” in a disparaging way when talking about someone who seems to be a problem for him, but never uses that when talking about his son-in-law and daughter, who I guess are high-level volunteers. Allegedly, they don’t take paychecks from the government.

The leader of the free world, in the most arrogant way, has no problem saying that someone is “already proven to be a liar.” Of course, anyone convicted of lying to the FBI is a liar, which is why they must arrange a plea deal. But the Donald didn’t bother to read the statement of offense. The feds are claiming that his actions impeded the investigation into the Russian government’s interference in the 2016 election.

Okay, that would mean that someone from the campaign had contact with the Russians. This is something Trump, already proven to be a liar, has denied from the beginning. Papadopoulos’ plea proves that there was communication and the nature of those emails and discussions fall into the category of deceitful purpose.

The people involved in this caper surely know who the “overseas professor” might be and, of course, the identity of the “high-ranking campaign official” the complaint lists as the person Papadopoulos was talking to inside Trump-world.

On or about May 21, 2016, George P. emailed that “high-ranking campaign official” with the subject line, “REQUEST FROM RUSSIA TO MEET MR. TRUMP.” (I added the caps). Now, within the scope of arrogance and high-handedness, this also stacks up as blatantly stupid. With Trump and his minions claiming that the Russia-Trump scenario is a hoax with false narrative launched by the cunning Democrats, the name Russia sure shows up a lot in the cross-talk of the campaign. They seem to have been obsessing on Russia before obsessing on Russia was the fashion.

On October 5, 2017, George Papadopoulos pleaded guilty to these charges and part of that deal means he will get no more than six months in jail, rather than five years. The fines will also be reduced. The court will determine his sentence, but the court is not bound by the plea agreement or the sentencing guidelines. Yes, the court has the final decision Mr. Trump. This is the way America works.

OF NOTE: Something was hand-written into the agreement. Papadopoulos cannot use the Freedom of Information Act to gain access to documents (this part was written in) “for the duration of the Special Counsel’s investigation.” If Trump fires Mueller, George would be able to write a tell-all book about what happened.

In the final analysis, someone who sat with Trump, advised Trump and was called an advisor by Trump himself, willfully and knowingly made a material false, fictitious and fraudulent statement to agents of the Federal Bureau of Investigation. I guess the word, “Fake” is not a legal term.

Some call this the new beginning and one more crack in the dam of deceit, distraction and obstruction. The name Papadopoulos will be haunting President Pumpkin for more than just this Halloween. One person’s trick, is another person’s treat. Mueller knows what he is doing and we will eventually get to the very bottom of this horrific White House, which 61% of America is already booing.

The First 200 Days Of Trump

These daily diatribes from a delusional blogger give you a day by day overview of the 45th President’s first two-hundred days in office. Follow Donald Trump through the tough times on his way to impeachment. Kindle Version HERE, or Get the printed book now, CLICK HERE.

SPECIAL COUNSEL LANDS FISH

Trump’s Denials Seem So Nixon-like

There have been moments in time when corruption bubbles up from the swamp and people’s reputations become soiled forever. The Russian Probe has produced two arrests, but what else looms in the future?

In the past, we had the Teapot Dome Scandal, a bribery incident from 1921 to 1922, during President Warren G. Harding’s administration. Secretary of the Interior Albert Bacon Fall did a deal for Navy petroleum reserves at Teapot Dome in Wyoming and two locations in California for private oil companies at low rates without competitive bidding.

This would be like someone giving a $300 million no-bid contract to a new company with only two employees located in the state of the Secretary of the Interior to repair the electrical grid in Puerto Rico. While the headlines screamed corruption, Secretary Zinke attacked the “dishonest media” for asking questions about a shady Whitefish Energy contract. Really? The company is based in the same small town that Ryan Zinke calls home and we are to believe there wasn’t anything fishy?

We had Watergate, which Richard Nixon claimed was a “witch-hunt” – does that sound familiar? That scandal was described by the White House as a third-rate burglary, but morphed into the reality that the President of the United States was involved in a cover-up. Nixon was forced to resign by his own party days before he was to be impeached.

Then we had the Iran-Contra Affair that occurred during the Ronald Reagan administration. This was a complicated scheme to supply weapons to Iran, which then was an enemy of the US, in hopes of securing the release of American hostages held in Lebanon by Hezbollah terrorists loyal to the Ayatollah Khomeini, Iran’s leader. Reagan’s men then took millions of dollars from the weapons sale and routed them, along with guns, to the right-wing “Contra” guerrillas in Nicaragua. In 1986, Lebanese magazine Ash-Shiraa published a series of articles that exposed the weapons-for-hostages deal. I guess they were the “dishonesty media.”

There were almost a dozen people charged for their involvement in Iran-Contra, from the Secretary of Defense, the National Security Adviser, Secretary of State people to CIA personnel. All were convicted for their involvement or perjury. They were all pardoned by George H.W. Bush. And this is the way our government works.

Today, the former manager of Donald Trump’s campaign, Paul Manafort, and his associate, Rick Gates, have been charged with a 12-count indictment that says they conspired to defraud the United States with money laundering activities, illegal tax schemes and foreign lobbying deeds. In short, they had more than $75 million flow through offshore accounts and managed to, according the indictment, launder $21 million so far with their schemes.

And this just in, according to the Washington Post: “Former Trump foreign policy advisor George Papadopoulos pleaded guilty earlier this month to making a false statement to FBI investigators who asked about his contacts with a foreigner connected to Russian officials, and the agreement was unsealed Monday (10-30-2017).” So, there were contacts with Russians during the campaign. FACT.

The good news for Trump is neither his campaign nor the administration was mentioned in this indictment. Most experts believe that Special Counsel Robert Mueller, III has only made his first move and people around Trump should take any request for information very seriously. And, oh yeah, don’t lie.

For those people who have a great desire for impeachment, you should focus on how the White House reacts to these charges. Donald Trump, who says he knows more than lawyers, continually distances himself from Manafort and over-amplifies the distractions. His morning tweet says it all, “Sorry, but this is years ago, before Paul Manafort was part of the Trump campaign. But why aren’t Crooked Hillary & the Dems the focus????? …Also, there is NO COLLUSION!”

Ty Cobb and his murder of attorneys have taken the bull by the horn and are attempting to spin this Mueller thing away from Donald Trump. But in the end, no one controls Trump and that will be his downfall. If he is the only person to really know, then knowing anything about these crimes is a crime itself.

Today is not the end, it is only beginning. At worst, Trump is just like all those other scandal makers in the White House. Deny involvement, blame someone else, and if someone took some pain for you, pardon them. For a “law and order” President, the Donald seems to have no respect for law.

For now, we know, at least, the President of the United States, Donald J. Trump is an extremely poor judge of character.

The First 200 Days Of Trump

NO APOLOGY, NO OFFENSE

Trump Declares His Intelligence

I’ve always thought people who never admit any error or wrong-doing must live such perfect lives; he said sarcastically. And of course, when asked if you have any regrets, most people can think about things that they would have done differently.

A simple apology is a regretful acknowledgment of an offense or failure. Even sub-human species in the world show a bit of regret and seek reconciliation. They exchange forgiveness for the well-being of the herd, or tribe. Even Baboons seem to have a feeling of relief when an offense has been put behind them with an apologetic effort or reparations payed. Here’s some of my food, now let’s move forward.

It amazes me that an adult human, Donald Trump, lives by some mythical pronouncement that he never has to apologize because he never does anything wrong. Equally as puzzling is what he said yesterday to reporters, “You know, people don’t understand. I went to an Ivy League college. I was a nice student. I did very well. I’m a very intelligent person.”

Most of the truly intelligent people I have met in my life never bragged about their smarts. Oh, yes, there was that one guy who was so impressed with himself he had the Mensa logo on his business card, but he was the exception. And, quite frankly, as smart as that guy thought he was, he was a horrible business person who had no people skills and made more mistakes than the average Joe. His father owned the company.

So, yes, intelligence may be overrated, but if Donald Trump is so smart why does he say and do such stupid things? I’m serious. Why would a grown man with the most powerful job in the world, with tons of money at his fingertips, ever expose his weaknesses? He is a perfect example of an insecure person who displays it every time he speaks. He does this so often that he really should apologize to every smart, secure person.

Warren Buffett enrolled in Wharton’s undergraduate program in 1947 and dropped out in 1949. He must have known something because he is number two on the list of Forbes richest for 2017, with Bill Gates at #1 and Jeff Bezos at #3. According to Forbes, “Trump’s net worth fell $600 million to $3.1 billion over the past 12 months. His net worth was estimated at $3.7 billion a year ago. This year, Trump was number 248 on the Forbes list, down from 156 in 2016.” But, he was a nice student; for whatever that is worth.

I’m sure the Donald has no regrets about his financial decrease, since he is now doing the “Lord’s work” as President of the free world. Being dwarfed by these American titans of business is nothing new. Gates, another drop-out, is worth $86 Billion and Buffet clocked in with $75.6 Billion. You have to wonder, what would Buffet be worth if he would have completed his education at Wharton? Jeff Bezos seems to have kept $72.8 Billion and Trump is going the other way. I’m sorry Donald. Can anything console such a smart man like yourself?

So, let’s move away from money because it’s not the only test of a man or woman’s astuteness. Most people reward problem solving in this world. Can you solve problems, or do you create them? When there is a crisis, Trump’s first gut reaction is, “Who can I blame?” That may seem smart to some, but in the end, it displays a desperate need to be right rather than solving problems.

Questioned whether he was involved in the decision on the mission where the four America’s lost their lives in Africa, Trump said to reporters (10-25-2017) “No, I didn’t, not specifically. I have generals that are great generals. These are great fighters; these are warriors. I gave them authority to do what’s right so that we win. That’s the authority they have. I want to win. And we’re going to win.”

Once the Commander in Chief detaches himself from the military, then he is no longer the top guy, militarily. Because Trump has given Generals carte blanche, does he realize that he has emboldened them? In some countries, the separation between the executive leader and the army leads to coups d’état and overthrown leaders. Surely, someone from Wharton BUSINESS School would know this, or maybe not?

If Trump was smart, he would have apologized to Sgt. La David Johnson’s widow and put that behind him. He could have lessened the suffering of Myeshia Johnson and helped heal all four of those families. It would have been a statement that all four soldiers were equal, truly a band of brothers.

The reasons our great Orange Leader cannot apologize are complex. Perhaps the act of apologizing represents a major threat to his basic sense of identity and self-esteem. Apologizing might lead to guilt, which could lead to shame.

Some people, especially liars, think that apologies could open the floodgates to further accusations and conflict. And in the darkest layers of a non-apologizer, admitting any wrong will relieve the other party of any culpability, thus putting them on even footing with the harmed human.

People with this malady often exhibit anger, irritability, and emotional distance and they are extremely uncomfortable with emotional closeness and vulnerability. Daddy didn’t touch him, Mommy always told him he was smart. Mommy said, “Shame on you” and Daddy gave him money.

What America needs is a role-model. We feel better when we admit the truth when we do something wrong. Trump seems to point out what other people have done incorrectly. If he wasn’t involved in a mission that killed four men, will be involved when more lives are in the balance? How many lives gets him in the decision? I’m sorry, but this man is not fit to be a leader. Who put him in charge? Who will apologize to America when things really go wrong? In such a case, there will be a lot of blame to go around.

The First 200 Days Of Trump

QUITERS AND LOSERS

Trump’s Polluted Swamp

What is happening in Washington, DC? With Senators Flake and Corker leaving their offices at the end of this term, they are liberated and able to say what they really think about Donald J. Trump. And what they are saying is the same thing we have been saying here from the beginning of this terrible presidency. But they both stop short of using the “I” word. Why?

When someone declares a leader unfit for office, one would think that they would use any legal method to correct that mistake. But in the world of politics, you cannot accuse someone of being dangerous to democracy and call for his impeachment. Why? Because they are still in the Senate. To use the term, impeachment, you have to back it up.

When you use polite, well-written prose, as Jeff Flake did yesterday (10-24-2017), your words will never be heard by the people you need to convince. The conservative Republicans have bought into this president, partly because they think they can use him to slam through their agenda. That is a fallacy, as they have already realized, but they cannot turn against Trump because of a good-old-boy pledge to party above country.

Donald Trump is not on the same page as the Republican party leaders. If anyone crosses him in any way, he goes after the person without a regard for any possible damage it might do to the Republican brand. Some are so wounded they decide not to run for reelection. What happened to local politics? What happened to political parties? What is happening to America?

That old adage, “you are either with me, or against me” seems to have been created in Washington and has now seeped into the body politic of a nation. The division between citizens in this nation is one of the worst by-products of the Trump presidency.

I was speaking with a gentleman about the NFL controversy and I used the term “Black Lives Matter.” He replied, “That’s a false narrative.” I asked, “Is it?” He immediately knew which side I was on and backed off. If you are programmed what to say, you never have to think about what you are saying. Most Republican Trump supporters just mimic what the President or the talking heads plant in their heads. Brainwashed and hung out to dry.

Let’s look at the past ten days. The President of the United States failed to respond to four soldiers being killed in Africa. The press brought it to his attention and asked why he didn’t mention the tragedy. So, Trump made the calls and got caught in bad form and lies, which then dominated the media.

When placing a similar call back in June to Chris Baldridge, the father of a fallen solider, the President learned of Mr. Baldridge’s frustration that his son’s ex-wife would receive a $100,000 death gratuity from the Pentagon, while he would receive nothing. Trump offered to cut him a $25,000 check, which he “forgot about” until the press brought it to his attention. The check was finally mailed, but was dated 10-18-2017.

It was the most glaring example of who Trump really is. Trump related to the sad father’s complaint about an ex-wife and offered a payment of $25,000. The White House was open and upfront about the check mistake, because it made the Donald look good. Will the President be cutting checks for all the soldiers’ fathers?

After speaking with the wife Sgt. La David Johnson, Donald Trump claimed he spoke the serviceman’s name “from the beginning” of the conversation, contradicting his widow’s account of the call. I guess giving your life for your country doesn’t buy you respect. Could it be that Trump can relate only to fathers? Maybe he has a problem communicating with women, especially black women.

This “exclusionary stance” creates a fear-threat component that Trump exploits, which then explodes on the front pages of the newspapers. The words of Donald Trump hold more weight than anyone else’s, and his base then creates a mob mentality which can take down politicians who challenge him.

If the truth be told, Bob Corker and Jeff Flake are not running next year because they know they will be tormented by Trump, brutalized by Bannon and castrated by their own constituents. People on the far right will dismiss anyone who says anything critical about our great Orange Leader. Where is the counter propaganda to this seething idiot?

You cannot say the buck stops here, and then quit. You cannot say you care about the country and then say that you don’t want impeachment. We are the real losers in this scenario. The Koch brothers and Bannon will just line up the people who will do what THEY WANT, and they will pour millions into getting them elected.

In the end, the swamp won’t be drained but simply restocked with a bunch of ideologs who believe America is better without regulations, diversity and constitutional law. The revolution will be televised and those visuals will be bought by those with the most money. It’s a sad day in America when party-shaming keeps honest people from saying what they really feel.

The First 200 Days Of Trump

MONEY WHERE YOUR MOUTH IS

Trump Isn’t the Only Rich Person in America

When someone boasts about an outrageous thing, I always ask, “Are you willing to put your money where your mouth is?” This often challenges that person’s viewpoint. Some people actually do put their money behind causes and claims.

Enter billionaire and environmentalist Tom Steyer who, according to his PR blitz this weekend, is willing to spend $10 million of his own money to call for the impeachment of Donald J. Trump. His not-so-simple goal to oust Trump from office is based on Steyer’s view that the Donald has gotten us close to a nuclear war, obstructed justice and threatened the shutdown of news organizations. But he doesn’t stop there.

Steyer has a website where you can sign up, although, I’m not sure what I signed up for? If you want to take a look, it’s here, or https://www.needtoimpeach.com/ for those with your links turned off. Tom posted his letter of 10-18-2017, so his missive is fleshly minted.

In Tom Steyer’s official statement, he tells us that, “This is not a time for patience — Donald Trump is not fit for office.” He goes on to charge that Trump is exploiting the office of the Presidency for his personal gain, and that his decision to pull out of the Paris climate accords proves he will never be a good president. Tom goes so far to say that Donald Trump is a “clear and present danger to the United States of America.”

Steyer lists things like losing his own party’s faith, holding immigrant children hostage (his action on DACA) and sabotaging the ACA, as reasons for dumping the current President. He adds that the President’s poor response to natural disasters is more proof of his inadequacy in leadership.

He quotes the Constitutional expert Noah Feldman, who Mr. Steyer says has already laid out clear legal and historical foundation for impeachment. Quoting Alexander Hamilton’s argument that “high crimes and misdemeanors” could be defined as “abuse or violation of some public trust.” Good one, Tom.

I sent Tom Steyer a message this weekend suggesting that his organization buy a bunch of my DONALD TRUMP: Repeal, Replace, Impeach books and send one to each congressperson in Washington. After all, we tracked Trump in his first 200 days and, contained therein, are many points of why Trump should be removed from office.

The need to impeach Donald Trump is self-evident. He is a destructive, uncaring human being who doesn’t have the emotional maturity to deal with most of his responsibilities. We will eventually learn that Trump has major ties to Russia and is beholding to Russian bankers and the political power structure there.

We will also learn that Trump has lied about everything and speaks untruth any time he feels challenged by anyone. Trump is indeed afraid of what is in his income tax returns, thus his lack of transparency. If you could follow the money, you would see that Trump has too many ties to NOT be guilty of violating the Emolumants Clause of the constitution. If we let this great Orange Leader get away with milking money out of the Treasury, we are no better than Russia. That is exactly how Putin got so rich.

Trump is an immoral man who conned the church and evangelicals and used them. He convinced them that he can help save Christianity. I’m not sure why Christianity needs to be saved. I thought it was baked into the concept of a savior driven religion. Our President certainly does little for those of the Jewish faith. He seems to hate Muslims and doesn’t even address the atheists and agnostics. He is certainly not a president for all of America.

With his quest to de-Obama-ize America, Trump hurts people and he will, with the help of his buddy Bannon, eventually destroy the Republican party. This notion that the Trump-Republican tax plan is going to help the middle class is horseshit. The attitude from people like Paul Ryan is, “Let them eat cake” and cast out those who those to try to stop the top 1% from benefiting from no regulations, no taxes, no banking laws, no environmental restrictions and a political dogma that, in the end, will make America less great. We’ll get more poverty, more crime and more guns.

If the people in Congress don’t act now, more billionaires will come to the aid of Tom Steyer and start to water the seed of discontent among the rich and powerful. Without the stock market as a cushion, Trump has done nothing but vomit on the Constitution and piss on the Bill of Rights. I, for one, want to be counted as someone who warned you, America. The stock market is a Ponzi-scheme.

All the Democrats will vote for impeachment, and more and more Republicans would do the same. The writing is on the wall. And it’s not Trump’s wall, it’s the wall standing between them and their future employment in Washington. Will they ever put their money where their common values are? We’ve had many parts of the Constitution tested in our 241 years as a nation, now it’s time to see if impeachment even works. I mean, let’s see if we can actually convict a sitting President and remove him from office. Hey, if you don’t use it, you could lose it.

It’s time to get rid of this mean, thoughtless old fool who is taking our great country down. If 62% of America can rise up and take their country back, we can all rest a little easier at night. And I would put my money where my mouth is. How much does it cost to impeach a president? Where can I make a donation?

The First 200 Days Of Trump

WHAT IS PATRIOTISM?

Trump’s Attempt to Modify Meanings

I grew up in America and anyone who has spent any time with my musings on this blog and the book: Donald Trump: Repeal, Replace, Impeach will know that I am loyal to my country and to which it stands. It can be nicely wrapped in the phase, “Liberty for All.” I truly believe those who stand against anyone or any power that wants to take away our freedom is a hero and patriot. Whether they protect us with a gun or a keyboard or a video, they play an important role in keeping this beloved country on the right path.

Last night (10-16-2017), when John McCain was accepting the National Constitution Center’s Liberty Medal, he warned us of something he feels quite strongly about:

“To fear the world the US has led for the better part of a century and abandon the ideals we have advanced around the globe and refuse the obligations of international leadership for the sake of some half-baked, spurious nationalism cooked up by people who would rather find scapegoats than solve problems is unpatriotic.”

In those words, we have a viewpoint of someone I would have no problem saying is a patriot, and we should be listening to him. Aside from the “Keating Five” scandal, McCain was a member of that shameful group of politicians, he has a wonderful record of service to his country. Rather than parse every detail of his career from military service, P.O.W. story, voting records and failed attempt to become President of the United States, we can simply say that John is not a half-baked nationalist.

While our current Commander in Chief stood before the press for more than 40 minutes yesterday trying to cover up the fact that he has major problems with Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnel, he dropped lies like birds drop poop after a good feeding. Trump sure spent a lot of time talking yesterday. He told us that former Presidents didn’t call or comfort the families of our fallen patriots; a bold-faced lie, just thrown out there. When confronted, he used the old, weak excuse, “I was told that.” When will this guy finally realize he cannot make things up in such a dangerous world? And if you are following along at home, count the number of times he is saying, “to be honesty with you…” which is usually said a lot by insecure liars.

Donald J. Trump is a broken man. I am not sure who broke him, but more and more people want to return him and get their vote back. There is a strange concept happening, when you bring up Trump, unless the person has been lured into the cult and is continually drinking the Kool-Aid, they would rather just not talk about it. There were people in Germany who did the same thing in the late 1930s. No, Trump is not Hitler. Adolf stayed on message and never strayed from his mission. Trump is all over the place. He says he hates the press, but cannot go a day without being on TV. He’s addicted to power and publicity.

Today, his nomination for the position of Drug Czar, which, by the way, sounds like a Russian idea, mysteriously evaporated. Representative Tom Marino, President Donald Trump’s nominee, withdrew his name following reports that he played a key role in weakening the federal government’s authority to stop companies from distributing opioids. We can thank the Washington Post and CBS’ Sixty Minutes for breaking this story and doing the hard work to vet this person. This is why the First Amendment is what makes America great. However, within 24-hours Trump will Tweet more lies to the world and then attack anyone who has a critical thought about his words.

Just as John McCain said last night, Trump would rather find scapegoats than solve problems. I firmly agree. Donald’s actions are cowardly and unpatriotic. He is too busy with his tweets, lies and self-aggrandizement to be a leader of anything, let alone our great nation. It’s time to impeach the son-of-a-bitch; and you can quote me.

The First 200 Days Of Trump