CONGRESS IS THE REAL PROBLEM

Reading is mandatory — logic, not so much

If you thought that just because an individual is elected to Congress, they have a certain level of intelligence, you would be incredibly incorrect. It has become vividly clear that anyone who has enough money, an intriguing rap, the gift of gab or a reasonably lackluster competitor can get elected.

I’ve never looked at popularity polls to determine how well a given Congressperson was doing, but there does come a time when it becomes necessary to judge the work of an elected representative. Unfortunately, we have to wait way too long to do something about electing the wrong person. Thus, the name of this very blog. Yes, we can vote every two years on Representatives and every six years on Senators, but that’s not fast enough in today’s sped-up reality and news cycles. Six years is a wait much too long for undoing a bad Senator.

Recent polling is not good for Congress. Last month, a Gallup Organization survey found that only 28% of those researched approved of the job the House and Senate are doing, while 69% disapproved. And I might add that 3% had no opinion. Who are those people?

2001 set the highest mark in the ongoing Gallup polls. That’s when Congress was voting to go to war in Afghanistan and invade Iraq due to trumped up lies about weapons of mass destruction. This underscores the reality that even when we like them, Congress is often doing the wrong things for the right reasons.

And that brings us to the politics of it all. No member of Congress wants the United States government to default. Any member who does should be arrested and charged with treason, but there’s a word that has lost its power and seriousness. When the former president was told that that some of his allies and administration officials had broken the law, he simply pardoned them. There are members of Congress who think investigating the insurrection of January 6^th is bad for America. Truth is, Republicans fear becoming tarnished should the public come to fully understand their involvement in Donald Trump’s effort to “Stop the Steal.” Really?

Congressional grifters use information gained from subcommittees and intelligence briefings to shape their investments and give themselves an advantage in preserving and increasing their wealth. Sure, they add rules and polices to help their tribe along the way, but they have never passed legislation that makes it hard or impossible for them to profit from their positions in Congress. If they were serious about making America better, they would pass potent regulations about financial disclosure, term-limits and the amount of political campaign contributions they can personally use. The true reason Donald Trump hasn’t declared his candidacy for the 2024 presidential election is to avoid disclosure of the cash in his campaign coffers. He’s a grifter.

When a member of a party, especially a leader or whip, tells his or her caucus how they are going to vote on a bill before it’s even debated, they are no better than the political bosses of the 1940s and 1950s who manipulated their members and thwarted any discussion on the merits of proposed legislation. Have we really grown from there?

Making law requires intense labor and demands tons of reading. When I was working with a local Little League group in Atlanta years ago, I volunteered to revise and publish the rules of the games. What a mistake! First of all, there were different rules for each level of play and all the rules had to be in-sync with the national rules from headquarters in Williamsport, PA. That project ended up as four packets of fifty pages each.

Well, imagine having to go through 1,500 pages over a weekend. That would be like reading three 500-page books. It’s most likely that the average Congressperson never reads an entire budget bill. They direct their staffs to find the things they ardently object too, or the things that are really good for them. The underlying words and meanings no longer have objective analysis until laws are passed. And this playing with the economic status of the country you claim to love just to shit on the other guy’s party, how many US citizens approve of that?

The demonizing of Joe Biden will happen no matter what he does or says. The media seems to like kickin’ old Joe to the ground right now. Sure, his numbers are down but anyone who says the economy is bad is ignoring three major realities.

First, under Donald Trump, Congress passed a major tax cut by restricting the ways corporations house their money. The corporate tax rate was changed from a tiered tax rate ranging from 15% to as high as 39%, depending on taxable income, to a flat 21%. At the same time, some related business deductions and credits were reduced or eliminated. Yes, stocks soared, and corporations bought back stock, but the disparity between the wealthy 1% and the rest of us grew. Yay, score another one for the rich people!

Second, Trump blew the federal response to Covid-19. It was his “Katrina,” only on a national level. His advisers can take some of the blame, but the more he told us it was nothing, more and more of us realized it was truly something, and that something was really, really bad. You can’t go to a restaurant that is closed, and a restaurant without enough employees provides an unpleasant experience. Just like Obama inherited the financial crisis, Biden was handed the challenge of righting a post-coronavirus tanked economy. Sadly, far-right saboteurs think fighting against the vaccine is good for their political gains even while their opinions are killing us.

Third, forced errors like the Afghanistan evacuation, the rising conflict at the southern border and our selling submarines to Australia are front and center. We need to remember that Trump pulled out of northern Syria and 130,000 Kurds, our allies in the fight against ISIS, were forced to flee their homes and hundreds of them were killed. Trump wanted to invite the Talban to negotiate a peace treaty, but he excluded the legit government of Afghanistan. Why were we so surprised when the Taliban took over?

While all the pontificators and pundits are overanalyzing the “Biden Doctrine,” it might make more sense to keep the government open and pay our bills. Why are we tolerating Republican actions to make America weak? It’s just a budget bill, and not any different than Trump shutting down the government because he thought it would hurt the Democrats. He even called it the “Schumer Shutdown.” Let’s see, how did that work out for him? Oh yeah, he’s not the president anymore.

Let’s focus on just one fact. Joe Biden’s approval rating is 43% while that of Congress is 28%. Who is the fairest in the land?

BRAND NEW BOOK

We knew that the great divide in America would have a major effect on the presidential election in the year 2020, but something else was lurking that we didn’t anticipate. The world suffered a global pandemic of Covid-19, and everything changed. The lockdown motivated one author to write MASHED POTATOES: Covid, Cancer & Comfort Food. The cover ironically claims the book is a “humorous” recollection of 2020, but one might ask, “Where was the humor?” This is a work of survival to motivate those who desire to get beyond Covid-19, beat cancer and defend our precious Democracy. The world got Covid, the writer got cancer and we all ate copious amounts of comfort food. It’s time to swallow the truth, survive the madness, take a large spoon and savor some delicious MASHED POTATOES. Get some here.

Book for the Recovery – Build Back Better!

How to Hire Great People: Tips, Tricks and Templates for Success

Great companies hire great people. This short, easy-to-read book will help you recruit, review and refocus your new workers into the style and culture of your company. Motivating people to do great work will manage turnover and keeping good workers at your company will maintain your success. Employee inspiration makes a positive difference in our competitive world. HOW TO HIRE GREAT PEOPLE covers everything, including testing, training, tricks and tips. Follow this guide and you’ll assemble strong teams with smart workers, and you’ll learn some time-tested techniques about how to keep them. Kindle and Paperback Click Here

New Modern Art – Doodles and Cartoon Website

www.thedreamwindow.com

WHY TED LASSO?

Changing American Tastes in TV

When I first heard the name Ted Lasso, I thought he might be a Lash LaRue character from a 1950s cowboy movie. Then I found out this modern-day character is played by Jason Sudeikis and my interest was piqued. I wanted to give the show a try but was disappointed to learn it was on Apple TV+, one of the few video platforms we didn’t have.

While out West for a wedding this summer, my significant other spent some time with her old friend who had Apple TV+ and she watched the first eight Ted Lasso episodes. She got hooked and she bought the Apple gizmo when we got home so we could experience Ted Lasso.

I’ve always liked Jason’s approach to humor, so I expected quality comedy, but after watching the first season I realized a number of things were happening with Ted Lasso.

First, the premise isn’t new. It’s similar to the Charlie Sheen movie Major League, which was released in 1989 when Sheen was still funny. Both feature a woman who takes over a professional sports team, but the similarity ends there. The woman in the Sheen film wants to grow her franchise for profit while the Lasso woman wants her London soccer team to fail to anger her ex-husband. To that end she brings aboard Mr. Lasso, an American college football coach from Kansas City who knows nothing about soccer, a game known as football in the UK.

I had an epiphany watching Ted Lasso win seven Emmy Awards the other night. Americans are moving toward different kinds of entertainment and sources of distribution. Maybe it’s not such a remarkable observation. After all, technology has been driving the migration away from over-the-air television during the last ten years. But thinking about the many aspects of how Americans now consume entertainment made me realize just how profound the changes are.

Network TV is no longer satisfying people, especially those who can afford multiple platforms like Netflix, Amazon Prime, Hulu, Paramount+, Disney+, Peacock, Apple TV+, Sling, YouTube and, well, I could go on, but I’ve made my point. Smart TV’s have enabled the use of those applications at the touch of a button, but it’s not just technology that drives binge watching, it’s the content.

Ted Lasso came along at a fortunate time. We fell for this guy who’s been forced to be away from his family back in Kansas City, perhaps reminding us of FaceTime with our kids and family during Covid. In a sense, the soccer team members are Ted’s kids, and he is trying to give them fatherly advice, even when in the beginning of the series, they totally disrespect him. Lasso knows nothing about soccer but that doesn’t matter. He was brought in to destroy the franchise.

Ted Lasso is a story about redemption. The lead character’s analogies, metaphors and daily doses of shortbread biscuits brought to his boss are totally misunderstood by the locals, but he slowly grows on them. The success of the show has also spawned social media and exploitation experts to give us things like this.

It’s not a sports story as much as it’s a “dramedy” filled with tons of pop cultural references that are easy to miss if you aren’t watching closely. Corny pun driven quips flash by to keep the pace fast and crisp. Clever writing like, “This place reminds me of that movie Once. I liked it so much I watched it twice!” will make you laugh.

The show was developed by Sudeikis, Brandon Hunt, Joe Kelly and Bill Lawrence. The lead actors are totally involved in the writing, as was true with Jason’s roots in Second City and SNL. Unlike most shows, the characters’ lines are not created by a committee of writers and the language is not shaped or censored by attorneys and network suits. The writing technique gives characters their natural vulgarity and relatability. They also have kids using adult language that throws viewers off at times and, well, is funny.

There are some truly heart moving moments in the show. I find myself feeling for these people despite my natural blocking of predictive emotional heart plucking or equally obvious embedded lessons being dispersed. Why is this? Could it be, just damn good writing?

There is a certain vulnerability to Jason’s portrayal of Ted Lasso. The hyper-positive “Pollyanna” outlook of the man, which is magnified by his “cracker” over the top southern accent, keeps you wondering if Ted is the ultimate goldfish out of water or if he’s playing everyone for what they want him to be. As he slowly evolves from “wanker,” to “semi-respected wanker” and you root for him. In our age of cynicism and division, we can see the globalism of the team as well as the divide between the Americans and Brits, but mostly we go along for the ride. Lasso affects everyone, and even lacking success, he makes them feel good about themselves. Instead of a preacher, a politician or even a spouse, we all want to be around someone who rises above the shit of everyday life.

As I watched shows like The Crown, The Queen’s Gambit, Hacks and Mare of Easttown win most of the awards, the influence of British writers, actors and producers on American entertainment became obvious. Then it truly hit me. Oh my God there were no awards for ABC, NBC, CBS, FOX or other US network shows. We shouldn’t judge an entire medium based on awards, but people were missing the point while yelling “Oscars and Emmys so white.” The audience was way ahead of the award shows.

Over-the-air networks still have millions of viewers, but they focus on competition shows like The Bachelor, Dancing with the Stars and The Voice along with one-season, second-class sitcoms. Perhaps this should come as no surprise. As viewers’ language and community standards change, network TV cannot “go there.” Sure, shows like Blackish are funny, but they fall short of the quality of humor that can be seen for a small monthly fee. We are changing and how we spend our entertainment time is also changing. The only network shows I regularly watch are the late-night talk shows, nightly news, and true crime shows like Dateline, 20/20 and 48 Hours. I’m sure there are many other just like me.

TV has always been used as an escape and the streaming platforms offer better escapes now. Just as Howard Stern left over-the-air radio to be able to say what he wanted on satellite radio, many talented people are now escaping to HBO, Apple, Hulu, Showtime, Amazon Prime and other streaming networks to share their uncensored and authentic stories. The success of Ted Lasso is the canary in the coal mine. The video streaming services have become the renewable entertainment sources of today and tomorrow.

BRAND NEW BOOK

Book for the Recovery – Build Back Better!

How to Hire Great People: Tips, Tricks and Templates for Success

New Modern Art – Doodles and Cartoon Website

www.thedreamwindow.com

THE COUP THAT COLLAPSED

Trump Stoked an Insurrection Based on Lies

Everything that Donald Trump has said and done shows he is one pure-ass fake. Some might call what I am about to state here treason, but I will speak my mind without fear of intimidation or party affiliation, unlike those spinless Republican Senators who will not convict the former President of crimes against America.

In a different time and age, Mr. Trump would have been brought into magistrate court, charged with treason and shot on the public green the next morning. I’m not saying we should do this today, but he should know that had he lived in France during the two decades after that country’s revolution, he would have been beheaded. Sedition, treason and insurrection were not crimes one could argue away in court.

Most of America has now seen the freshly released images of the Capitol Hill riot on January 6. If Donald Trump is not to blame, then who is responsible for those crazy people who stormed the Capitol? Is it Facebook, Twitter, Reddit, 4Chan, 8Chan or maybe Charlie Chan? Could it have started with Carlos Danger and Anthony Weiner’s dick pics, or has it simply “been brewing for some time now” as I hear endlessly from the puckered pieholes of pundits and prognosticators reading the grievance tea leaves in Russian restaurants? They are all full of shit, just like Trump and his ludicrous lawyers.

I say they are stupid. Why? Trump lawyer Bruce Castor actually offered these words in the halls of Congress during the impeachment trial, “We are so understanding of the concept that people’s minds can be overpowered with emotion, where logic does not immediately kick in, that we have recognized examples that otherwise would be hearsay and said that, no, when you’re driving down the street, and you look over at your wife, and you say, ‘Hey, you know what, that guy is about to drive through the red light and kill that person,’ your wife can testify to what you said, because, even though it’s technically hearsay, it’s an exception, because it’s the event living through the person.”

Okay, let me wipe some of this horse shit off my shoes before I launch into my own personal rant. What the fuck does any of that mean? I can only assume that he’s trying to plant a seed that the bad things you will hear about are being were told by people who don’t know what they are talking about, so just ignore them. YES, that must be it! Trump’s personal lawyers are saying that there is nothing to see here and we should ignore hearsay even when it comes out of the ex-president’s mouth.

If a person lies to their attorney, and their lawyer then presents that lie as a defense in a court of law, that doesn’t make it any less of a lie. His attorneys are going try to sell the Senators and the American public a premise that Trump was merely using his First Amendment rights while talking to a group of really good people and he bears no responsibility for what they later did on Capitol Hill. Okay, let’s examine that. There are only two conclusions one could draw from that scenario. One, Donald John Trump is such a bad communicator that no one understood what he was saying or, two, the group assembled that day was so stupid they misinterpreted him.

Trump’s more than 11,000-word speech, complete with audience reaction, is right here, Donald Trump JAN 6 2021 Speech should you wish to read it. Without a shadow of doubt, his words were an incitement to insurrection. His detailed, final pitch to sell the big lie about election fraud also featured a compendium of grievances of those who have so mistreated him. Poor baby. In his final act, the martyr stood before his adoring crowd saying it’s time to take back your country, be strong and fight like hell. And let’s not forget that there is nothing good about hell.

Trump used the words “fight” or “fighting” 27 times, but only used the word “peaceful” once. It came near the end of his 75-minute speech, “We have come to demand that Congress do the right thing and only count the electors who have been lawfully slated. I know that everyone here will soon be marching over to the Capitol building to peacefully and patriotically make your voices heard.” So, there is the “out” that his lawyers will argue for 16 hours at trial. Really? That’s it? The other 11,000 words don’t matter?

To delegitimize the rightfully elected 46^th President of the United States, Donald pulled this one out of his index box of hate and lies, “I just spoke to Mike [Pence]. I said, Mike, that doesn’t take courage. What takes courage is to do nothing. That takes courage, and then we’re stuck with a president who lost the election by a lot, and we have to live with that for four more years.” Yes, Mr. Trump, that is how elections work. You should remember; you won one.

Mike and Karen Pence Rushed Away from Danger

Trump’s berating of his Vice President and confrontation with his inability or desire to break the law could have cost Mike Pence his life, along with those of his daughter and wife. Not only did Trump stir up the mob’s viciousness, he also directed their ire to Mr. Pence. But it didn’t end with his spoken word, Trump made it worse by tweeting to the insurrectionists at 2:24 PM, “Mike Pence didn’t have the courage to do what should have been done to protect our Country and our Constitution.” So, the Donald turned up the heat on Pence as the mob was in the Capitol building screaming, “Hang Mike Pence.” Loyalty?

What if the pack had captured and murdered Mike Pence? Would the Republican Senators then be more likely to convict this loser of a president and disqualify him from ever holding Federal office again? That’s a tough question, but it gives me no certainty they would convict. Their vote is always for sale and Donald Trump bought it with lies, fear and intimidation. No man or woman should have that much power.

Donald Trump’s attempted coup failed, just like most of what he tried to do as president. Hundreds of thousands of people died from COVID because of his lack of comprehension, terrible messaging and misguided policies. And five people died because of the insurrection. He should be tried in criminal court, with testimonies of those who were in the room with him as he watched the riot on TV. How did he act then? What did he say? Donald John Trump intended to upturn the results of a valid election, and we must do everything we can to make sure such a thing never happens again. Ten years in jail for the perpetrator just might be a good deterrent for future presidents.

Book for the Recovery – Build Back Better!

How to Hire Great People: Tips, Tricks and Templates for Success

Kindle and Paperback Click Here

The book that tells it like it is…

Gold, God, Guns & Goofballs: If you only read one chapter of this book, try “Take a Knee for America” and think about our never-ending conflicts between minorities and the police. I’m not asking you to take a stand but having a deep and honest conversation about why some people think the way they do would be productive. This is a book for the moment which seeks to start a conversation about peace. And if you are worried about social media, you really should check out the chapter called “Social Media Menace.”

Get the Kindle Version HERE. Or order your paperback edition HERE.

ULTIMATE ABUSE OF POWER

Trump’s Pardon of Bannon & Others

Every morning, I read a passage of dialog from the Broadway musical A Thousand Clowns. “I gotta know what day it is. I gotta know what’s the name of the game and what the rules are without anyone else telling me. You gotta own your own days and name ’em, each one of ’em, every one of ’em, or else the years go right by and none of them belong to you.”

I know that if I break a rule, I will have my day in court, and if found guilty of a crime, I will certainly do the time. With that in mind, it’s numbing and discouraging to realize that a single person in America has the power to overrule a judge or jury. The power to pardon was awarded to the United State president by our founding fathers. It was intended as a means of intercession when corruption, partisan political rancor or other such nonsense put an innocent person in jail. Things changed when President Gerald Ford gave Richard Nixon a preemptive pardon, which set an absurd precedent that a person who hasn’t even been convicted can be pardoned.

Let’s examine the case of Steve Bannon, whom Donald Trump just pardoned. Bannon was an officer in the United States Navy for seven years, and after his military service he landed a plum job as an investment banker at Goldman Sachs. In 1993, he became acting director of the research project Biosphere 2, which was a total failure because its hubristic, pseudo-scientific experiments never accomplished their mission.

Then, Bannon became an executive producer in Hollywood and between 1991 and 2016 he produced 18 films. Because of his early investment in Castle Rock Entertainment, which produced the phenomenally successful TV show Seinfeld, Bannon will never need to work again.

In 2007, Steve Bannon co-founded Breitbart News, the far-right website he described as “the platform for the alt-right.” In 2016, Steve joined Donald Trump’s campaign as the Chief Strategist, and then after the election he was named Senior Counselor to the President. That position latest only eight months when Trump realized that Bannon was a destructive force and dismissed him.

After Bannon left the White House, he and Trump continued to talk, and it seemed there was unity between the philosophies of the two men. In many post-White House interviews, Bannon was extremely supportive of his Frankenstein monster.

So, why does Steve Bannon need a pardon? It begins with this lead story in the in the August 20, 2020 edition of the New York Times, “Stephen K. Bannon, President Trump’s former adviser and an architect of his 2016 general election campaign, was charged on Thursday with defrauding donors to a private fund-raising effort called ‘We Build the Wall,’ which was intended to bolster the president’s signature initiative along the Mexican border.”

Seven men In the Trump administration were charged and or convicted of felonies, including Paul Manafort, Michael T. Flynn, Michael D. Cohen and Steve Bannon. All of them except Michael Cohen were awarded pardons and will go free. Interestingly, Cohen turned on Trump publicly and reverse logic indicates if one says nice things or nothing about Trump, they’re awarded a get-out-of-jail card.

I get miffed and aggressive when I see someone get conned out of their hard-earned savings. I know people who have given their money to swindlers who claimed their investment would double or triple in months, but eventually learning they were the victims of a Ponzi scheme. Bannon attained large investments by using the President’s words that a wall was on the southern US border to protect against the murderous caravan that was coming to get us. Allegedly, Bannon and his co-conspirators skimmed millions off the top of those investments for themselves.

Why do I care that Steve Bannon was pardoned? It’s just my silly, middle-class mentality that people who hurt others should be punished. Even if they don’t go to jail, they should be made to pay back the money they stole and apologize to their victims. In the case of Bannon, none of that will happen now. I am even more frustrated because the broke-dick wall was erected too close to the river and parts of it washed out during a flood. Investment dollars were in the coffers and the wall failed to deliver on its promise of security. Bannon and his crew are just like those shyster aluminum siding sales guys who bilk families out of their savings.

I find the number of white-collar criminals on the Trump list of pardons interesting. It’s part of the Trump foundational philosophy that Mary L. Trump outlined so perfectly in her book about her uncle. Donald’s father Fred preached an anti-IRS, antigovernmental mantra that eventually led to his brainwashed son barking orders at his rabid followers to storm the Capitol Building.

Trump’s presidency enforced the heartfelt belief of many Americans that there are two rule books, one for the rich, entitled and connected and the other for everyone else. Here is something all those Trump-loyal Republicans need to realize; Today they must separate themselves from this man who just left the White House. They must disassociate the party from the man. As for Ted Cruz and Josh Hawley, they are not Trump and would be wise to stop acting like him.

And just before I posted this, Trump remembered that he forgot one more person to pardon. This tweet was posted, “New: Trump has pardoned Al Pirro, who was convicted of tax fraud. Pirro has previously worked with Trump on real estate deals and is the ex-husband of Fox host Jeanine Pirro.” She must have called him and screamed “bloody Mary” murder when she saw that her husband’s name wasn’t on the list.

We must address the pardon power of the president for the future. The chief executive should have to stay the crime, the date range of when it was committed and why they gave the person a pardon. A simple, “I like his wife!” would do.

The seriousness of America’s situation would not be resolved with jail time for Steve Bannon, but for many of us that would be a positive indicator that justice works in America. The stench of Trump will take time to dissipate, but in the meantime, we should focus on the future. Let’s try to heal the hurt of a corrupt and useless president and let only good thoughts in. Let’s stop building the wall and joyously celebrate the reality that America survived a total fucking idiot of a president.

Book for the Recovery – Build Back Better!

How to Hire Great People: Tips, Tricks and Templates for Success

Kindle and Paperback Click Here

THE PRECEDENT TRUMP IGNORED

His Departure Will Make Us Stronger & Greater Again

President Donald Dumbass forgot that he needed to win an election to stay in office. He didn’t believe he would triumph in 2016, so he never bothered to write a victory speech. Then for the next four years he adlibbed and lied his way through the most important job in the world. On the eve of the 2020 election, Trump really believed he would win. In fact, he said he would lose only if the election was rigged.

This stratagem, however, did not eliminate Trump’s need to gain the greatest number of votes, and that didn’t happen despite his lies to the contrary. There is something to be said about liars in America. Consider one of the greatest con artists in the history of the United States. He was so good at what he did that we gave his name to the concept of his scheme, Ponzi.

Charles Ponzi lived in Boston, Massachusetts in the early 1900s. The scam he developed was based on one lie that he exploited for years. He claimed he was buying US Postal stamps for a lower price in one country that had a devalued currency and then selling them here in the USA for a higher price. The people who were swindled never saw the stamps; they simply believed. Ponzi fooled them into thinking he was doing masterful work and convinced them their money would double in a short time.

Ponzi bilked people out of substantial amounts of money, their life savings in some cases, then used those investments to pay off earlier investors. Had anyone done the math they would have understood the impossibility of his high-volume stamp purchases in Europe keeping ahead of the quickly fluctuating currency rates. While he may actually have made money for a while, the scheme was not sustainable.

Ponzi eventually was charged in the US with mail fraud. He served more than twenty years in jail, until he was deported. He died in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil in 1949. To put Mr. Ponzi’s dirty deeds in perspective, Bernie Madoff’s 2008 schemes cost his investors more than 53 times as much as Ponzi swindled from his believers.

Donald Trump either did or didn’t do many things during his term in office that must now be examined and reformed to improve and stabilize our government and the presidency. Let’s take a look.

First is the issue of transparency. In a story released over the weekend, we learned about Trump’s administration hiding information, destroying files and blocking Inspectors General from doing their jobs. American Oversight announced their document preservation initiative to ensure the Trump administration complies with federal public record laws. They’ve previously obtained more than 800,000 pages of documents from the Trump administration through public records requests and lawsuits, and they are prepared to litigate under the Freedom of Information Act and the Federal Records Act to ensure that outgoing Trump administration officials do not remove or destroy documents. The fix was in from the very beginning as administration workers moved various electronic files to super secure servers to hide Trump’s activities. Assuming those electronic assets haven’t been deleted, President Biden can and should declassify them.

Just as I was putting the final touches on this post, this story appeared in the Washington Post, “The Trump administration bailed out prominent anti-vaccine groups during a pandemic. Five groups got more than $850,000 in PPP loans to help small businesses through the pandemic.” These recipients are the very people who are trying to convince people not to take a vaccine while the US Government is spending billions on inoculations to end a pandemic. Let’s find out how these decisions came about and revamp the process accordingly. Stephen Mnuchin, Secretary of the Treasury, was supposed to insure this didn’t happen.

We need to take a good, long, hard look at presidential pardons. Should their absolute power be retained going forward? Debtors’ prisons never existed in America because of the way Great Britain abused them throughout their history to incarcerate innocent people. It’s now clear that we must maintain a certain level of punishment for those who have wronged society. A president should not be allowed to award a pardon to any government official found guilty of heinous or corrupt activities while in office. This will take a Constitutional amendment.

The idea that Trump could appoint a political operative to the position of head lawyer for the NSA right before he leaves office is an outrageous overreach and violates the intent of the appointment system. Can a new president fire the person in such a position? It appears that Trump’s actions are intended to handcuff President-Elect Biden as he assumes office. Why should such behavior be tolerated? The House, Senate and White House will soon be in the hands of Democrats. Hopefully, they will eliminate bad policies and executive orders and replace bad federal agents with qualified appointees so we can get our country moving in the right direction.

I would love to see Congress pass a resolution that says nothing Trump did while in office sets a precedent. He did so very little that was authentically worthwhile that ignoring everything would not be a big mistake. We also need to tear up those agreements and treaties he signed that are not keeping America safe.

Here’s a great story from Bloomberg News showing how we lost Trump’s Trade War with China. Read it for yourself. Trump’s maneuvers to lower the trade deficit didn’t work. The deficit was actually higher than it was in 2016. Worse yet, China’s retaliatory tariffs on our goods saddled average Americans with higher prices and damaged the profits of our farmers and manufacturers. And what about Trump’s bragging that he demanded that China buy more of our goods? Well, about half of his $172 billion goal was not realized during his term in office. Maybe it’s time for Congress to scrutinize all of Trump’s treaties and give the people a say in these issues, just like states have referendums.

We should not have to adhere to anything Trump said or did while he was in office. We need to open all the files, study his conversations and see his tax returns to know exactly how he governed. Without a full understanding of what he did, there will be no way of stopping such bad things from ever happening again. We need to understand Trump’s corrupt behavior and learn from it so we can devise proper governance guidelines for our future. Then we need to make sure Donald John Trump goes to jail.

Book for the Recovery – Build Back Better!

How to Hire Great People: Tips, Tricks and Templates for Success

Kindle and Paperback Click Here

The book that tells it like it is…

Get the Kindle Version HERE. Or order your paperback edition HERE.

HOW DEEP IS THE THREAT?

Trump’s Inside Job Surfacing

How long will it take to heal the nation? Can we tamp the threats and fear that Donald Trump has brought to us? Many Trump loyalists in Congress, even after being attacked by insurrectionists, believe that nothing major happened and the President bears no responsibility for all of his lies and actions these past four years.

Are they trying to give Trump a pass for the damage he has done? Why are they resisting wearing masks in the Capital? Are they dashing around metal detectors to avoid being outed for caring firearms into Congress? Who are these people? We are no longer in the 18^th century when disputes were decided by duels.

An Axios/IPSOS poll showed that among those Republicans who consider themselves “traditional,” 42% would like to see Donald Trump as their candidate in 2024. Trump has been impeached twice, and faces a chance of being convicted of insurrection by the Senate after Joe Biden’s inauguration. Wake up people! We must convict Donald Trump to ban him from our political blood stream forever.

Unsettling facts are emerging indicating that the attack on the Capitol Building may have been planned and organized, which is the true definition of conspiracy. The Washington Post has reported a very disturbing inference that the violence might have been an “inside job.” The Philadelphia Inquirer took it to the next level, “Weeks before a mob of President Donald Trump’s supporters stormed the U.S. Capitol, right-wing activist Ali Alexander told his followers that he was planning something big for Jan. 6, 2021. Alexander, who organized the “Stop the Steal” movement, said he hatched the plan — coinciding with Congress’s vote to certify the electoral college votes — alongside three GOP lawmakers: Reps. Andy Biggs, Ariz., Mo Brooks, Ala., and Paul Gosar, Ariz., all hard-line Trump supporters.”

According to the reporting, their stated goal was to “change the hearts and the minds of Republicans who were in that body, hearing our loud roar from outside.” Did their rally get out of control, or did someone give them permission to attack? I genuinely believe the protest would have been contained, had not President Trump told them to march to the Capitol and be strong, words that rabid minds translated into “Attack!”

This is not a unique idea. In May of 1604, a handful of Catholic dissidents in England — Guy Fawkes, Robert Catesby, Tom Wintour, Jack Wright and Thomas Percy — met at the Duck and Drake inn in London. Catesby proposed a plan to blow up the Houses of Parliament with gunpowder. Afterwards, all five men purportedly swore an oath of secrecy upon a prayer book. The men were part of a movement that wanted to kidnap the king, kill him and replace him with another king who would be more open to Catholics. How did that turn out?

By the time of the conspiracy, Fawkes was calling himself Guido rather than Guy. He also used the alias John Johnson while serving as caretaker of a cellar that was located just below the House of Lords. The group’s plan was detonating large barrels of gunpowder under the House to blow it up. An anonymous letter that warned a Catholic sympathizer not to go to the State Opening of Parliament was the beginning of the end of the conspiracy. The letter’s recipient requested the authorities to investigate, and this led to discovery of the plot. To this day no one knows who wrote that letter. Here in 2021, we have sophisticated means of investigation and evidence gathering. Might this uncover a scheme of three Congressmen to overthrow the US government?

New Jersey Congresswoman Mikie Sherrill posted a Facebook video saying she witnessed members of Congress leading what she called “reconnaissance tours” of the Capitol the day before the deadly attack. Who are these Congress people? Do we have traitors in our midst? Can the bodies of our government ever be safe with members bringing guns into the building and not wearing masks during a pandemic? Full disclosure is needed and, might I add, a special prosecutor.

Ms. Sherrill’s story has been corroborated. Here’s a quote from the Washington Post, “[Florida Representative] Debbie Wasserman Schultz said in an interview that I do know that, yes, there were members that gave tours to individuals who participated in the riot.” Did these Congress people know about the plan?

Guy Fawkes is portrayed as a revolutionary hero today, largely due to the influence of the graphic 1980s novel “V for Vendetta” and the 2005 movie of the same name. They depicted protagonist Fawkes wearing a white face mask. Here in the United States we don’t depict John Wilkes Booth as a hero because he was an insurrectionist and assassin.

Treason, sedition and insurrection are taken seriously in our country. When found guilty, we typically execute operatives of such acts, but we are getting ahead of ourselves. Any elected official who was involved in any way with the insurrection must be removed from Congress. Those people who encouraged and supported Donald Trump’s lies and fraud should at least be censured. All those who participated in the attempted coup should incur maximum penalties. We need to clean up this mess, then work on a national plan of intervention and prevention.

American law enforcement has been extraordinarily successful dealing with organized crime over the years. I’m not saying that they always got their man, but they weeded out the mob bosses and lunatics who thought it was okay to kill those they didn’t like. No matter how much money or power a person has, they are not above the law.

Imagine an individual who ran into a packed theater and yells, “Fire!” when there was no fire. People panicked and were killed trying to get out of the building. The argument that there wasn’t a fire is irrelevant; the legal argument will be based on the intent of the person causing the panic. Did they understand that their words would lead to such a tragedy? Did they yell the warning because they had some deep-seated grievance with those in attendance? Was the scream meant to strike fear or just a stunt? Maybe the yeller wanted to demonstrate their power over others. All such possibilities must be considered as we judge whether words and actions of the 45^th President of the United States caused death and destruction at the Capitol.

This may go beyond a federal insurrection. It could also be a deep state conspiracy inspired by President Trump, facilitated by some members of Congress and executed by a vicious mob of militant supporters who were brainwashed into action. Should a trial find that he was responsible, Donald John Trump must be held accountable with a conviction and punishment.

Book for the Recovery – Build Back Better!

How to Hire Great People: Tips, Tricks and Templates for Success

Kindle and Paperback Click Here

The book that tells it like it is…

Get the Kindle Version HERE. Or order your paperback edition HERE.

MESSAGE FOR THE ORANGE PUMPKIN

Don, go away, you’re no good for me (or anyone)

Last night I powered down my cell phone because the constant barrage of breaking news alerts was driving me crazy. I needed to lock our asshole president out of my mind and life for a bit. Now this may seem like a non sequitur, but I get depressed when I go to the grocery store and see people not wearing masks. It saddens me to think my fellow citizens don’t care about life, but then I realize they don’t know any better because the large man in charge says masks are unnecessary. At times I wonder if I might be taking it all too seriously. For years I have been writing about how Donald Trump is bad for America, but every time another of his acts exposes himself for the authentic jerk he is, I get angry all over again. For example, take his latest onslaught of pardons. Trump would absolve Hitler if Adolf said nice things about him.

I wish I could form a mental blockade to impose a Trump blackout, but that’s not going to happen. He’s so needy for publicity and attention he will always find a way to make news and noise. It’s just not likely that he will ever melt away like snow in Florida. I wake up refreshed, fetch my local paper, read the letters to the editor and get set off all over again.

Let me share this one, “Lest we forget, here is a reminder of some of the accomplishments of the Trump administration during Donald Trump’s four years in office.” Okay, I must take a deep breath here and prepare to handle each of these allegations.

The writer, whose name I will keep anonymous, says that Trump kept us out of wars. Well, the act of getting into a war is serious and should be done only if we need to defend our country or help our allies. The so-called success of war avoidance is a terribly low bar for any president. Yes, we didn’t have a war under the Donald but he facilitated global conflict by selling arms and equipment to warring nations. He pulled out of Syria, which was nothing short of abandoning our allies, the Kurds. Obama didn’t get the US into any wars, but he was chastised for leaving Iraq too early and creating ISIS. So, what will probably happen as the result of Trump’s withdrawal of troops from troubled, unsettled conflicts? More war! GRADE: D

Next, there’s the claim that Trump oversaw the Abraham Accords, normalizing relations between Israel and two Arab states, the United Arab Emirates and Bahrain. The term “oversaw” is a long stretch. Yes, Israel is trying to play nice in the Middle East but, from the beginning, the goal of the Trump Administration was bringing peace to the region. How will establishing normal diplomatic relations with just a couple of Arab nations bring the Palestinians to the table? GRADE: C+

The writer boasts about Trump’s insistence that NATO countries pay their fair shares of the costs for their own protection. Okay, that’s fair, but realize this is not nations giving money to NATO but rather increasing spending on their military assets and agents. Should any nation demand that the US increase or decrease our military budget we would be repulsed and offended but, okay, time for more guns and bombs. GRADE: B

Our esteemed letter writer continues with a group of deeds and triumphs that can be placed under one heading, Immigration. The letter says Trump got Mexico to keep asylum seekers in their country until their US hearings come up, to strengthen its US border and to work with Central American countries to slow the exodus of their citizens. I guess this would be a reasonable achievement for those who subscribe to the anti-immigrant, xenophobic viewpoints of this administration, but let’s not forget that Trump also separated children from their parents at the border. His Attorney General said that abhorrent policy would deter others wanting to seek asylum. This is less a win and more a sinful, immoral myopia. We must never forget that we are a country of immigrants! GRADE: F

Now, here’s a claim that profoundly pisses me off. The writer alleges that the Clean Power Plan, which Trump repealed, would have increased our electricity bills and he adds that our energy needs were kept affordable by Trump’s abandonment of the Paris Climate Agreement. This is total bullshit. The extreme weather events and catastrophes caused by climate change will cost us more money. In fact, deploying solar energy in a sunshine climate like Florida would lower energy costs significantly. Someone drank all the Kool-Aid, kids. GRADE: F

Our unnamed letter writer concludes his missive with compliments about how Trump confronted China over the theft of American intellectual property and unfair trade practices, how he imposed sanctions on Russia and closed some of our consulates there and how he kept our oil prices low, which hurt the Russian economy.

Okay, I’ll take these things in order, or should I say odor, because they fail the smell test. The first point is rather funny. All the people at “state” and “justice” said Russia was behind the hacking of government servers, but Trump insisted it was China. So, the “confrontation” Trump and his sycophants lowered on China’s head did nothing to stop Russia and China stealing from us.

As for Russians and oil, Trump has bragged about the USA being energy independent due to our large supplies of oil and natural gas. So, how did sanctions against Russia help our gas prices, which are set by OPEC and Trump’s friends in Saudi Arabia? The truth is Trump has gone easy on Russia and used China and Xi as props during his overly long rally speeches. We have not become stronger in foreign policy under Trump. China’s economy grew despite COVID and North Korea has a nuclear bomb. GRADE: F

The final contention of our reader/writer is Trump helped speed the record-breaking development of COVID-19 vaccines. He says, “As bombastic and irritating as Trump is, a lot was accomplished during his tenure.” REALLY? This comment is totally disqualified and no GRADE is low enough. The claim of Trump speeding vaccine development would be like me taking credit for the Pittsburgh Pirates beating the New York Yankees in the 1960 World Series. After all, I watched the game on TV.

With more than 323,000 people dead from this wretched virus, a total failure in medical supply chain management, no national policy to defend the US from the pandemic and the administration’s ongoing disregard of expert recommendations for virus mitigation, these past four years have seen America at her worst. The things Trump has said on TV and in his tweets have made matters worse, not better. Because of his lack of action and unconvincing language, Donald John Trump has killed Americans. The man doesn’t deserve to be praised; he should be indicted for malfeasance and put in jail. Maybe someone will pardon him.

All of us want COVID to go away. While that would be great, some of us just can’t wait until the Donald goes away because he’s been bad for America. Perhaps he merits a participation trophy, but don’t try to sell me on any grand accomplishments. My 401K lost a ton of money, I can’t see my grandkids this Christmas, and he’s going to be playing golf. I hate him. Merry Freaking Christmas, Mr. Soon-to-be Ex-President!

[EDITORS NOTE: There will be no blog tomorrow, MERRY CHRISTMAS!

Looking for a great holiday present sent directly…

These books are available from AMAZON and delivered right to your door. Something for the everyone in the family.

LETTER TO 70 MILLION PEOPLE

Trump Must Stand Down, Work on Transition

One of those phrases people say too much is “change is the only thing that is inevitable.” Of course, nothing stays the same. Without change, humankind would have been wiped out long ago. Today, once again, we are all facing the reality that change is underway.

Politics have been likened to war, but people die in war. The coronavirus was compared to the flu, but many more died from COVID. With this opening, I would like to address the 70 million people who voted for Donald Trump.

Dear Fellow Americans,

First, I know how you feel. Yes, that might sound hollow, but it’s true. Right after Barack Obama was elected president in 2008, the Republican Leader of the Senate said that his sole focus would be making sure Obama was a one term President. That comment troubled me. I thought it was not only highly disrespectful to the millions of people who voted for Obama but also unproductive given that Obama just happened to be the first African American elected to the highest office in America. See, politics is somewhat like war.

After the Civil War, President Abraham Lincoln directed his generals to let the Confederates return to their homes unharmed. That was more than gracious; it was a healing moment. Sadly, it didn’t help Lincoln because he was assassinated by a hardcore Southern radical.

You are in the rapture of hero worship, which is a real thing. Heidi Schlumpf wrote an article in the National Catholic Reporter nine years ago titled Dangers of hero worship. Heid wrote, “As humans, we love stories. That’s why Jesus told parables, and why his own story has fascinated for centuries. Let’s just be sure to put our worship where it belongs — on God.” This is also my message to those who have invested so much emotional energy in Donald Trump. They gave his campaign tons of money and their purchase of flags, signs and stickers to show their loyalty created a moneymaking industry. Donald Trump is not God. He’s just a man with a large and convincing pitch.

Trump has lied to you so much, and I can understand your difficulty comprehending facts. You didn’t compare his words with any reasonable data. You could have done that, you had TV and an internet connection, but you failed yourself by relying on the words of others on Trump’s approved list. I watched a ton of Fox News during the election returns and was mystified about them calling the state of Arizona for Biden so quickly. Just like stubborn Trump, Fox would NOT take their projection back to a pending status. Yes, their partner, the Associated Press, motivated the forecast but it was a prime example of forcing a fact rather than waiting for the truth.

Perhaps I have digressed. This letter isn’t about the news channel you watch. It’s a sincere attempt to lead you to reality. The same process that declared Trump a winner in 2016 was used this year, but because Trump cannot accept the outcome you won’t either. The Donald is dictating what you think. How is that American? Believe in the country first, not him. It’s supposed to be America First, not Donald Trump.

Lots of Trump administration workers will lose their jobs within the next 70 days, and then on January 20, 2021 they will all be gone. Oh, you will still see them on TV and hear them on the radio, but they will no longer be affecting your life. I hope you will find your way to working with Joe Biden for positive change. It will be futile to continue riding around in your ISIS-like pickup trucks with the flags of your fallen leader. He has been fired from his job and won’t be around too much longer, despite his false claims to the contrary.

I don’t want to be vindictive or obnoxious. I have already heard from Trump supporters who have asked that I stop calling people “racists” and making fun of Donald Trump. They are asking me to respect the man. Really? I respect those who have earned it. I don’t respect Trump, but I do respect and care for all who voted for him. You have been greatly abused and disrespected. It’s now time for you to break free from this powerful person who wants to control you. Can you?

I have confronted some serious attitudes out there, true resentment. Last July I published a book titled How To Hire Great People. Most people thought I was crazy to write a book about hiring people when so many were being laid off from work. I have always promoted the book as something positive, a work that can help managers become better interviewers so they can find the great people who need work.

I had a surprise earlier. I knocked on one of my neighbor’s doors to give him a copy of my book. He works in finance and I figured that if he liked the book, he might recommend it to his clients. I handed him the book, smiled behind my mask, and said enthusiastically, “We’re coming back in this country!” He replied harshly, “If we even have a country.” I was taken aback, but quickly added, “Did you see the stock market?” He immediately blocked, “That has nothing to do with Biden.” I acknowledged it was triggered by the wonderful claim from Pfizer that their COVID vaccine is 90% effective. As I left, my neighbor said, “That’s all Trump.” I walked away feeling like I took something from him rather than giving him something that took me a year to write.

Why do intelligent people like you believe that electing a moderate Democrat like Joe Biden will make the United States of America crumble? 70 million people are still caught in this web of deceit. Why?

I hope that all those Trump flags can be recycled to make tents in refugee camps in other countries. Perhaps that fabric, no matter where it was made, can do some good. You might want to hang your flag in the garage and hope that the prodigal son returns. I hope you won’t. It’s not too late to liberate your soul. Don’t get pulled into a dark and violent set of values that stand against the Republic. You have a choice. Please join with us, all of us, and let’s get back to making and keeping America great. We want you to work toward the common good. READ MORE, talk less.

And finally, know that we love you. Because Donald Trump received no real love from his sadistic father, he used you in an attempt to get what he needed. Please stand up, while he stands down. Be an individual, a good citizen, and help heal the divide. We will never tell you to go back to where you came from. We will always embrace you. Just stop with all the conspiracy shit, it makes you look dumb. It’s not you. It’s the fake dogma that’s dragging you down. Seek peace and unity, or just be quiet. Peace.

Sincerely,

Dwight C Douglas

Brand New Book for the Recovery

How to Hire Great People: Tips, Tricks and Templates for Success

Kindle and Paperback Click Here

OLD JOE & THE JERK

Pure American Political Graffiti

Most Americans have an aversion to the political season. Every four years it disrupts our lives, goes on far too long and the bombardment of TV spots, direct mail and information overload makes it seem like a giant circus has come to town. Of course, the political process also produces a lot of horse and elephant shit that no one cleans up. I am glad the debates are over, and we are coming to the end of this insanity.

There was no winner at last night’s debate. The Democrats are saying Biden won while Trump followers say their man really landed some punches. All that aside, what we clearly saw last night were the differences between old Joe Biden and the jerk we’ve come to hate, Donald John Trump. Like any two characters in a movie, both are flawed. One is harmlessly competent, while the other is dangerous to our democracy.

Trump is always on defense when it comes to race, racism and racist rhetoric. We heard Joe Biden distance himself from bad decisions of the past. He knows and admits he was wrong in his handling of Anita Hill during the Clarence Thomas’ confirmation hearing. Biden was a major force in the passing of the 1994 crime bill, and he’s played straight regarding its impact on African American men. In the past Joe has said, “There’s another part of my long record that’s being grossly misrepresented: the 1994 crime bill.” Last night, however, he was noticeably direct when saying it was a mistake. That has meaning in a historical context. When looking back at the impact of Ronald Reagan’s policies and executive orders on people of color, you would think Reagan was working for the Klan.

Perhaps Donald Trump’s most unbelievable line during the debate was his repeated statement of, “I am the least racist person in this whole room.” It’s a declaration not only impossible to prove, but nonsensical to any thinking individual. It reminds me of the disingenuous lie often said by a person accused of being a racist, “I am not a racist; some of my best friends are Black.” I have no doubt that Trump is a racist. Here’s an excerpt of a TIME magazine article, “In interviews over the years, Trump has credited his genes for everything from his health to his success, and he’s noted that his children and grandchildren will benefit from them as well.” Once you go down this path, you fall into the trap of what was once known as eugenics, a misguided medical movement of the early 1900s.

This extremely flawed theory was based on the work of British scientist Francis Galton, who concluded that superior intelligence and abilities were inherited. He coined the term “eugenics,” meaning “well born.” Galton theorized that humanity could be improved by encouraging the fittest members of society to have more children. If this sounds a bit like Nazi thinking, you would be right. Trump’s father Fred also believed this to be true, and he taught his kids that they were better than any Black person. My source is the excellent book written by Mary L. Trump, Donald’s niece. You should read it.

Joe Biden is not a racist. He’s just an old man who has experienced the pain of personal loss throughout much of his life. As a political operative, he had an ability to move things forward by bringing both sides together on many issues. I doubt that many of the idiots currently in Congress can be moved off their hidden racist agendas, partisan political dogmas and sick use of power, but, hey, let’s give old Joe a try. What we have now is clearly not working.

Donald Trump is a limited human being, at best. He’s like the game show host who has been parroting the intro line and explanation of how “we play the game” rap which has grown tired, cold and perfunctory over the years. Donald’s endless, repetitive babble leads to the same conclusion; he really doesn’t know what the hell he is doing. He used the debate insult that Obama and Biden built the cages, but no one swings the retaliatory bat with “But, Mr. President, you put the kids in them.” Trump brags about his record on immigration and claims the kids who were separated from their mothers and fathers are being treated very well. REALLY?

Biden landed a good debate punch with this, “I have not taken a penny from any foreign source ever in my life. I have released 22 years of tax returns. You have not released a single year. What are you hiding?” Yes, good question, what is Trump hiding? Few voters care about Hunter Biden. He’s just another offspring, cashing in, like Trump’s kids who aren’t talented, smart or exceptional; they are just Trumps.

Even with new debate rules in place, the Donald interrupted and tried to throw old Joe Biden off the trail, but we aren’t voting for a debate winner. We need a political resolver and uniter. Can Biden unite us? Will Biden unite us? Probably not, but Trump had his damn chance and failed miserably. So much for the myth that we needed a “really good businessman” to run the government. If that was the goal, we should have elected Mitt Romney, who is a great and wealthy entrepreneur. Trump has never been a good businessperson, as the whole world will learn when his tax returns eventually become known.

BusinessInsider.com had this to say about the virus policies of our government, “Upwards of 130,000 coronavirus deaths were ‘avoidable’ if President Donald Trump and his administration had acted sooner and implemented widespread public health precautions, according to a new Columbia University report released on Wednesday (10-21-2020).” The Columbia research is probably correct. Trump cannot defend his conduct related to this pandemic.

Trump stated that the virus is not his fault, and he graciously informed us it’s also not Joe Biden’s fault. Trump blames China and cannot understand why they didn’t stop its spread. His statement about COVID-19 containment proves the Donald has no idea what he’s talking about. If China failed to keep it from “getting out” of their country, then the Trump administration did a morally indefensible, hideous, blatantly incompetent job of controlling its spread across this land. Biden kept reminding us how bad the crisis is, while Trump made fun of Joe in his basement. Comic criticism of Joe Biden’s self-quarantine and mask wearing plays to the hard core Trumpers who deny climate change and the danger of this deadly virus, but most people think Biden should wear a mask. He’s an old guy.

Few of us have ever attained a no-cut, four-year, $400,000 contract to run anything, let alone the United States. Now think about this. Some say Uncle Joe is too old, but let’s not forget Trump promised to hire “expert people” to surround and help him. Remember that line, “Only the best people!” Well, he hired all the wrong people. More than 80 folks have left his administration and, oh yeah, some of them are in jail. One almost put a gun into his mouth to get away from Trump.

The real difference between Trump and Biden is simple. Biden will truly hire the best people. We need Joe only to get us through the next four years, repair Trump’s damage and truly make America great again. Make no mistake, that is exactly what he will do. There’s no reason to debate it.

Brand New Book for the Recovery

How to Hire Great People: Tips, Tricks and Templates for Success

Kindle and Paperback Click Here

ADAM FOX & FRIENDS

Sad Truth About Domestic Terrorism

I love my family and my country. Some people have a strange viewpoint on what constitutes “freedom,” along with a desire to enforce their position. I prefer to use the ballot box to make my desires known, while others plot to loot, burn and tear down the establishment. There is no difference between far-left radicals who see violence as the bargaining chip and the far-right who gain power from automatic weapons and secret militias. Well, they just got a little less secret.

Yesterday, the US Justice Department brought charges against a group of radical militias who were intending to kidnap and/or murder the Governor of Michigan, Gretchen Whitmer, and take over that state’s government by force. I have included the 15-page arrest warrant if you are into reading official documents: gov.uscourts.miwd.99213.1.1_1 The highly vocal leader of what could have been an army of 200 men attacking Michigan’s state government was a guy named Adam Fox. If convicted, Mr. Fox could spend the rest of his life behind bars, probably not the freedom he was allegedly fighting for.

Fox and friends were profoundly serious about their desires and plans. The arrest warrant contains the transcript of a recording made during the surveillance operation in which Fox says “We ain’t gonna let ‘em burn our fuckin’ state down. I don’t give a fuck if there’s only 20 or 30 of us, dude, we’ll go out there and use deadly force.” This brings to us a huge and direct question for Donald John Trump, WHY IS IT SO DIFFICULT TO DENOUNCE THESE GUYS?

Trump prefers that his soldiers and heroes never be captured, and he loves radicals who wave his flag, not the flag of the United States. For several years, I lived in a small, upstate New York town. One of my neighbors had a giant “Don’t Tread on Me” flag next to the Confederate flag hanging over his garage. He was a young man in his twenties who grew up in that area, and I always wanted to ask him why he displayed those flags rather than the flag of the United States of America. He moved before I had an opportunity to confront him. Maybe this anti-government attitude could be understood by examining the personal grievances of its proponents.

Many years ago, I marched against a president who I believed was corrupt, and my position was eventually proven correct. Richard Nixon didn’t care about America; he cared about himself. I believe in the deepest part of my soul that Donald Trump is an evil, crooked and uncaring human being, but I am not going to load up a gun and shoot out the capitol and officials in my state. I want a new president because Trump and his boys have screwed it all up. I have three American flags in my front yard. You won’t find a “Tread on me” banner nor any other flag representing misguided, confederate, treasonous slave owners. You know, if we cannot fix democracy without violence then we don’t deserve it.

Instead of Donald Trump and his lapdog Mike Pence bragging about their support of the police and touting the “Blue Lives Matter” defense of systemic racism, they should be condemning those assholes who wield violence to achieve their radical, racist beliefs. Think about this. There is evidence that seven of those arrested men were affiliated with an extremist group known as the Wolverine Watchmen, and the Michigan attorney general accused them of collecting home addresses of police officers “in order to target them.” They were about to go after the police! That’s like late 1960s Black Panther shit. How can the Trump administration not take legal action by arresting these people while convincing the hundreds of other like-minded men across the nation to put down their guns? It’s just another of the many things Trump and Pence have fucked up.

Reports say the Watchmen were threatening to start a civil war, which they believed would lead to societal collapse. Really? These are the kind of people who support Donald Trump and his agenda of hate, racism, xenophobia and, wait for it, anti-Semitic dogma. I almost choked during the Vice Presidential debate when Mike Pence claimed this president could not possibly hold those forms of extreme hatred because he has Jewish grandkids, Sure, it’s like the old trope, “Some of my best friends are Black.” His statement smelled so disingenuous that it attracted a fly.

Recently, an extremely drunken, shirtless man tried to enter a tavern near the Nokomis, Florida beach. The waiters surrounded him and asked him to leave the reception area, refusing to seat the man. Children were in the restaurant and several witnesses said the drunk man laid down on the ground and exposed himself. There is a video of the drama in which the man screams about white supremacy. 36-year-old Nicholas A. Schock shouted, “The Aryan Nation will rule the world,” followed by, “I don’t give a fuck! Call Donald Trump!” Right after that, Mr. Schock walked up to a bartender and smacked her in the face, knocking her out.

I watched this video full of extreme anger and stress. I said to my neighbor, “That is why we need a new president.” His reaction? “No we don’t. That man is just a demented drug addict.” Okay, but what about the Trump stuff? What about the plot to kill the governor of a state? What about the weapons and threats? What about the tolerance for violent, far-right racialization, the constant rebuke of Black Lives Matter and the actions against peaceful protest by citizens saying they DON’T LIKE TRUMP?

Americans have a right to protest and a duty to speak up when they think things are going too far, right or left. When the President of the United States aids and abets enemies of Democracy, he is either a tyrant or complicit and should be charged for his misdeeds and indictments. I would love to sit on that jury, a great duty for us good, democratic souls.

I will never forget or forgive the failures of President Donald Trump. He ignored domestic terrorism, he froze on the COVID-19 crisis and he discounted Russian interference in our elections. He’s a bankrupt human being and a treasonous, old fool who has done nothing to make America great. He’s a liar, and in another place in time, a pike would be involved in his life story. But for now, we VOTE!

The book that tells it like it is…

Gold, God, Guns & Goofballs: If you only read one chapter of this book, try “Take a Knee for America” and think about our never-ending conflicts between minorities and the police. I’m not asking you to take a stand but having a deep and honest conversation about why some people think the way they do would be productive. This is a book for the moment which seeks to start a conservation about peace. And if you are worried about social media, you really should check out the chapter called “Social Media Menace.”

Get the Kindle Version HERE. Or order your paperback edition HERE.