THE PROBLEM WITH RON DESANTIS

Another bottom feeder polictician – grifter

I am sure Ron and Casey DeSantis are nice people away from the bright lights of politics, but I have many political questions for our governor. I wonder whether he respects the rights of children, if he understands the need for equality among “all the people” and whether he supports the sanctity of immigrants in America.

It would be too easy to spray the criticism that everything DeSantis has done as governor was only to further his national political ambitions. It appears that once he got the Governor job, he was living every moment to get another one… in Washington.

As the grandson of Italian immigrants, one would hope DeSantis had more empathy for the immigrant’s plight, but alas, it’s a case of, “We’re in, close the door behind us.” Florida is made up of immigrants and workers from everywhere. Why the constant condemnation of that class? DeSantis’ stunts and statements would have us believe he doesn’t care about what America stands for. Immigrants are people, not political punching bags.

Harassing large corporations that provide thousands of jobs is bad business, while giving another big donor exclusive rights to Covid shots reveals a payoff in the plan. Why did I have to drive four hundred miles to get my shot? Please stop bragging about how great you did. It was just okay.

We hear so much about respecting the rights of parents, but what about the rights of children? From banning Critical Race Theory, certain books and gender realization, DeSantis is kowtowing to the base, not protecting all the kids. One must ask, who decided that a child’s rights could be ignored, besmirched and ridiculed by the state? Will the governor and his wife attend funerals to comfort the parents mourning their trans or gay teen’s suicide due to constant bullying? Sadly, he will not be involved in the problem he exacerbated.

I’m puzzled by the DeSantis political family who rails against liberal elitism but sends their kids to private schools. I assume they think they are fixing education, but so far, they have created far more conflict, drama and fear than advances.

When the governor in his high-heeled cowboy boots rode his white horse into government, he was just a cheap imitator of Donald Trump. His actions, words and deeds since then have shown a man who truly doesn’t care about anyone else’s viewpoint. Florida doesn’t need a baby Trump; we’ve got the real one.

The facts are clear. Mr. DeSantis had no discussions with the families of LGBTQ kids before he handed Tallahassee his abominable bucket of hate: the “Don’t Say Gay” bill. He also had no consultations with the communities of color that he cut up like chum on the beach to gerrymander his way to power. He just did it without the regard for the voters’ rights in those places. If only Ron was honest about it all.

The lack of respect for equality and the Voting Rights Act are just as bad as his ploughing through the policies in education that were meant as safeguards for equality. Getting rid of much of what the New College of Florida was all about, only to suggest that adding sports teams will bring people back to the institution, feels a lot like “Biff” from Back to the Future being put in charge of education. It’s sad that a graduate of Harvard and Yale would see public education as an evil force. Maybe he doesn’t care about kids.

The idea of a “woke ideology” coming to take your freedoms away is much like Chicken Little screaming, “The sky is falling!” I still have no idea what “woke” means, but it’s clearly Ron’s N-word.

The fundamental problems of Ron DeSantis are his obvious desire to rewrite history, control the future and force all citizens to adopt his way of life. If “freedom” is really your north star, Mr. Governor, then why do you keep telling us what to do, how our doctors will treat us and even who to love. The demeaning discrimination on display so far proves he’s a bad governor and would be a horrible president.

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Tattoo Detective: Our Last Hope for the Future

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HOW TO BEAT TRUMP

An Open Letter to the Challengers

Are you in it to win it? Do you think you have an actual chance? You have studied Donald Trump’s every speech, every putdown, every ridiculous conspiracy theory and off-the-cuff remark, yet you come off like an eleventh-grade debate class student, fearful and defensive. He will grab you, crush you, chew you up and split you out.

I hear your bland and stupid statement that the country deserves you and you will make things better, but those who are loyal to the golden calf will only yawn and then change the channel.

Go ahead and meet behind closed doors with your consultants, con-artists and co-conspirators to debate the words you will use when asked certain questions about the fat, orange guy. Tiptoe around him, because if you do otherwise, he will kick your ass.

Your advisors will tell you not to say what you really think, because that will turn off people who don’t believe in the truth. And whatever you do, don’t piss off “the base.” You may think they are the only folks who count because they have gigantic, aggressive online mouths and fingers to tear you a new one, but they’re more like a conglomeration of 14-year-old high school dropouts who have formed a bond based on hate, misinformation and an intense feeling of disenfranchisement. That subset of America has already cast their vote. Ignore them! You can’t win them over and you don’t need them, so stop being so damn timid about them.

So, how can a reasonable person beat Trump to the punch and garner some points in this presidential slugfest? When Marco Rubio ran against Trump in 2016, he based all his comments on a few carefully prepared paragraphs that he recited verbatim. “Little Marco” was up against it, so he decided to pull a “baby Trump” bit by commenting on the size of Donald’s hands. He went low, and Trump just bullied him into submission. If you genuinely want to beat Trump, you must not be afraid to upstage the villain. Yes, the clown carries a spray bottle full of battery acid and it’s your job to face and conquer the beast.

There’s an abundance of history-making Trump insanity — impeached twice and indicted twice, with surely more to come from the overzealous prosecutors in the land. Although this martyr routine appears to be working for the makeup-wearing tough guy, it’s time you find a way to forcefully cut through that.

Ron DeSantis, the governor of Florida, believes he must go to the right of Trump and promises to be a new kind of Trump who can win and get things done. Being twenty-five points behind, however, proves he’s just another baby Trump. As long as voters can get the real deal, why would DeSantis think he can win by selling his bag of lukewarm fascism to America?

The one thing I remember from my early sports playing days was a rough and tumble coach standing before us and not only challenging our strength but asking us that all-important question, “Boys, do you really want to win?” Today I stand before most of you asking that same question.

The only current challenger who is acting as if he really wants to defeat Donald Trump is Chris Christie. He’s telling the truth and he’s not trying to please Trump voters at all. I’m sure there are experts, statisticians and soothsayers telling him this is the wrong approach but, seriously, what other path to beating Trump exists?

If the rest of you want to beat Trump, you will have to talk louder and more directly in ways that might be uncomfortable. I’m looking at you, Mike Pence. You cannot bring yourself to say that Trump was not a good president even though he cajoled his fans to see you in a bad light and threaten your safety. I get the “turn the other cheek” Biblical stance, but really Mike, if you cannot stand up to Trump how are you going to deal with a real dictator like Vladimir Putin? Your pussyfooting will get you nowhere.

The question of whether a challenger, if elected president, would pardon Trump is revealing. If one says they will pardon him, that is the wrong answer. It means they feel what he did wasn’t wrong or it was wrong, but they want to “heal” the country. There’s only one answer to that pardon question that makes any sense, “NO.” Trump is not above the law, and he should be held accountable. Your ticket to 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue does not have PARDON HIM printed on it.

There is probably more dirt to dig up on the Donald, but don’t think you are going to convince his loyal fans he’s bad for them. However, you must criticize him openly, directly and by name. You must point out our critical need for someone we can trust in the White House. Trump’s biggest flaw as a potential president is he’s a liar. He doesn’t know right from wrong or truth from a lie. Get right up to the microphone and say, “This man is clinically ill and cannot be trusted to run the greatest country in the world” Lay it out directly or get the hell out of the way of someone who will. The fundamental goal is branding Trump as a LIAR!

Stop wasting our time with your lack of clarity and deflections. Trump is a bad human being and should not be reelected. If you cannot say that, then you are not really running for president. You don’t want to win. You are just masturbating in public and wasting jet fuel flying around the country playing the fool.

Why are you not going after Trump? Are you going to admit to the coach you really don’t want to win the game? Stop being so damn weak!

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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!

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SCIENCE IS BACK, BABY!

Trump’s Lasting Contributions

Back in my schoolboy days, when I was not daydreaming in class, I did learn a few things, such as Isaac Newton’s third law: “To every Action there is always an equal Reaction: or the mutual actions of two bodies upon each other are always equal and directed to contrary parts.” I should hate Mr. Newton for inventing calculus and formulating the theory of universal gravity. One gave me bad math grades and the other forces me to avoid exercise.

Donald John Trump, soon to be a one-term President, has done a lot of bad things during his term in office. He did have a few good ideas, but those were cursed by his bombastic and distorted messaging. He stepped on his own accomplishments and drove people in the media and his opposing party to propagate contrary opinions and strong arguments against him. That’s on him.

Many Americans and people of other nations believe that Trump and his administration are anti-science. The White House downsized and deemphasized global pandemic experts, and their lack of emergency planning sent a clear message about the administration’s disrespect. When Trump pulled out of the Paris Accord, he told us many times that he doubted the reality of climate change. He went so far as to theorize that China invented the movement to hurt the US economy.

When a young Swedish environmental activist named Greta Thunberg complained about Trump’s dismal view on science, he replied with this tweet, “She seems like a very happy young girl looking forward to a bright and wonderful future. So nice to see!” but he then followed that gracious comment with this, “So ridiculous. Greta must work on her Anger Management problem, then go to a good old-fashioned movie with a friend! Chill Greta, Chill!” Trump never addressed her science concerns or the fact that some of the world’s smartest people have warned us all that things will get worse.

Trump’s primary leadership failures were his outrageously dismissive comments, advice and hands-off approach during a global pandemic. His lies are stacked up next to the dead bodies caused by his malfeasance. It wasn’t 15 people on that day he told us it would soon be down to one, then zero. It was a lie when he said the coronavirus was no worse than the flu, and he doubled down on another lie by saying the pandemic was a hoax created by the Democrats to hurt him.

During a long and unhelpful press briefing on Sunday March 29. 2020, Trump claimed that he and his administration could say, “We all together have done a very good job if the number [of deaths] is limited to 100,000 – 200,000.” The prediction that 100,000 people would die was bluntly presented and devoid of any emotion or empathy. With Trump, the main message of everything he said was all about how it affected him and “his” people.

Donald Trump’s disastrous delusions share the common points of being anti-science and anti-global. Instead of rolling up his sleeves and tackling the problem like a real president, he expelled his energy by blaming China for the virus. In the middle of the COVID crisis, Trump wheeled out a doctor with no background in infectious diseases who urged Americans to swallow the ridiculous “herd immunity” theory. It was yet another colossal mistake that killed more people. This president told all of us we should wear a mask, and then didn’t do so himself. He also pitted American against American and encouraged fringe militia groups to protest shutdowns and mitigation efforts in many cities.

A phrase often heard during these times is “follow the science.” Here in Florida, a scientist was fired for refusing to fudge virus figures to help the governor open the state much earlier than he should have. Meanwhile, Trump’s little army of sycophants charged into the Michigan capital building with guns. It’s clear that Trump has problems with science, facts and things humans cannot control. A virus isn’t a Democrat, it’s a demonic parasite out to kill us. More and more people want to know about the “science” of things because of Donald Trump. It’s a force pushing back in the opposite direction, and the main reason Trump will be gone on January 20, 2021. He didn’t show up for science class and got a big, fat F.

Now he wants credit for the vaccine. Okay, Fat Boy, you did it! You contracted the virus and you survived because of our friend medical science. Without the exotic and experimental treatments you received, it’s likely you would have died. When the Donald told us how much he loves clean water and pure air, we saw right through his transparent lie. It was just another Trump con to smooth the way for his EPA to open lands for destructive mining and development.

NIMBy means “not in my backyard.” It represents a person who objects to something perceived as unpleasant or hazardous in the area where they live, especially while raising no such objections to similar developments elsewhere. As long as the virus stayed in China, Trump didn’t care, but when it came here, he wasted no time starting the blame game. We don’t care about the water being polluted in Pennsylvania by fracking unless we happen to live next door, but when the cheaper water in Flint, Michigan hurt children, we awakened. Trump’s constant thundering against globalism has warped the minds of many Americans, yet they rush to Walmart to buy another something made in China.

Globalism and science are here to stay. Trumpism has taught us that the man was wrong about mostly everything. Remember when he said no one loses a trade war? That was another lie. Ask the soybean farmers who were foreclosed and put out of business. As for judging the success on Donald Trump against COVID, well his “effort” was a total fucking failure.

More kids will look at science differently now. I often said that my kids experienced great financial comfort in our family, but it’s their memories of some really bad times that will drive them for the rest of their days. They know they must save their money, work hard and always have a Plan B. Joe Biden is now America’s Plan B, and we all need to work hard to help him succeed with everything he faces.

I predict more kids will get into science and care more about the environment because of the opposing forces of Greta and Trump. Our kids will remember wearing masks and wondering why they had to. The first step in learning is asking “why.” Why so many fires? Why so many floods? Why so many deaths? Perhaps chemistry and calculous will be exciting to those kids who will become our future doctors and scientists. I guess we can thank Donald Trump for his ignorance. If being dumb means dying, the motivation to learn must be greater.

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GIVE ME THE CREDIT!

The Donald’s Delirious Defect

I competed in a lot of sports when I was a kid. Between hockey in the winter, baseball in the summer and football in the fall, I was constantly on the field and working hard to win. Most of my coaches preached the old maxim, “There is no ‘I’ in team.” We all learned the lesson of teamwork; the game is not about any individual.

When I grew and began working, I became wary of any manager who spoke in terms of “I did this” or “I decided that” or “I am the sole decider.” A person who constantly micromanages hardly ever asks their workers what they think. When there is success, they take the credit, but when something goes wrong they blame someone else. This is the hallmark of poor leadership.

This headline comes from Forbes, the well-respected magazine and website, “Trump Takes Credit For Vaccine Created By Others, Including Immigrants” The story points out that after the election Trump alleged that Pfizer withheld the positive results of the vaccine trials to hurt him politically. In fact, the pharmaceutical company did not receive the results of the trials until November 8, 2020, five days after the election. While Trump and his COVID infected lawyers are running around like decapitated chickens claiming huge election fraud, Trump is trying to take credit for a vaccine that he had no part in developing.

Yes, the US government stepped up and guaranteed payments for a certain number of doses, but that is something the NIH, CDC and Homeland Security could have pushed through using their budgets. I am amazed at how my Republican neighbors are quick to point out that Joe Biden had nothing to do with this vaccine. Yes, okay, true, but then Biden isn’t the president yet. How can you blame someone’s inaction in a process when they weren’t involved? It’s equally absurd that anyone would applaud the guy in the White House even when there is an “I” in vaccine. Thousands of people worked on this cure for decades, but the fat orange guy has no time to name them. He’s far too busy shoving them all aside as he stomps his way to the front of the line.

Do you remember the time when Trump pushed others aside to get farther ahead in line at the NATO Summit? If you forgot that moment, here’s the video to refresh your memory. Was that move obvious, totally, and it was not only embarrassing, but a great demonstration of Trump’s fragile ego. It’s ironic that the Donald denigrated NATO and its members for years, but when the cameras were on, he tried to look like a leader.

Trump’s actions, words and deeds regarding the COVID-19 global pandemic have been shocking and abysmal. They have led me to a new stance on the man’s competence. If you don’t believe Trump screwed us, I have no need to argue with you. It’s just a waste of energy and time to explain a truth you will never see. When the person at one of Trump’s “super spreader” rally events said, “I’m not afraid of COVID. We all got to go sometime,” I wonder how they would feel in a hospital ICU gasping for their final breaths. What a terrible way to die.

The farcical and fucked up way Trump’s legal team is shitting on democracy and our Judicial Branch is unforgivable, but our system of checks and balances will survive even if only one of its three pillars stands. When the Supreme Court was asked to take up the faulty, flimsy and fallacious case brought by US Congressman Mike Kelly, they didn’t take much time to render a decision. Kelly and his suit sought to throw out 2.5 million Pennsylvania mail-in ballots, attempting to undo President Donald Trump’s election loss there. The Supreme Court slammed the door in his face.

The Order on the Pending Case read: “The application for injunctive relief presented to Justice Alito and by him referred to the Court is denied.” Now, don’t get focused on Justice Alito’s name, that’s just a formality denoting the person who processed the application, not an indication of the order’s authorship. Because the order had no opinions, either pro or con, it’s clear the application was not considered at all but merely swatted away like an annoying fly buzzing around the lemonade pitcher on the back porch.

Since Trump wants credit, let’s applaud him for pissing off judges, spreading COVID to more than 52 members of his inner circle and being a buffoon on the international stage. Judge Emmet Gael Sullivan, who serves as a judge of the Washington D.C. United States District Court, wrote a 43-page opinion on the dismissal of the Michael Flynn case. He made the point that even though Donald Trump pardoned the lying, former Security Advisor, it doesn’t mean Flynn is innocent. Sullivan alluded to the possibility that Flynn could still be prosecuted because specific crimes were not listed in his pardon. That would be a challenge to the power of a presidential pardon, and someone should go down that road.

As for today, the needy guy in the Oval Office wants us to praise him for all the vaccines coming our way, even though his malfeasance is one of the major reasons why every state in the union is suffering with record numbers of daily cases, hospitalizations and deaths.

Trump’s need to take credit for the COVID vaccines is tantamount to my taking credit for the six Superbowl victories of the Pittsburgh Steelers. I was there, cheering, wearing my team shirt and being loyal to the club and its players. I tell you, people, IT WAS ALL ME! I am the smartest football fan and the most stable genius motivator of victory in the history of American pro football and, dammit, I want credit. Sure, there are some years when my team doesn’t win, but that’s not my fault. Sometimes the players don’t get it done, but when they win it’s all me.

If that sounds irrational, then you get it. If you believe me, I have some vaccine in the trunk of my car. Only $500 a shot. You in?

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STOP MAKING THINGS UP

Trump’s Insidious Truth-Bending

The President of the United States is claiming that foreign nations or domestic bad actors broke into our election systems to change the vote counts against him. Now you might think I am exaggerating this, but here’s a Twitter quote from the man himself: “REPORT: DOMINION DELETED 2.7 MILLION TRUMP VOTES NATIONWIDE. DATA ANALYSIS FINDS 221,000 PENNSYLVANIA VOTES SWITCHED FROM PRESIDENT TRUMP TO BIDEN. 941,000 TRUMP VOTES DELETED. STATES USING DOMINION VOTING SYSTEMS SWITCHED 435,000 VOTES FROM TRUMP TO BIDEN.” Let me add some clarity to his words. Dominion Voting Systems is a corporation that makes and sells electronic voting hardware and software. Dominion is a Canadian company with US Headquarters in Denver. They have strongly and convincingly refuted Trump’s claims.

Internet messaging protocol suggests a person posting in all caps is SCREAMING! So, our crazy, current president is screeching his claims of fraud. His tweet inspired action in the intelligence community and they quickly responded with a news release. The group, including the Department of Homeland Security’s Cybersecurity & Infrastructure Security Agency (CISA) and the National Association of State Election Directors, issued what appears to be a definitive coda to the 2020 vote.

“There is no evidence that any voting system deleted or lost votes, changed votes, or was in any way compromised. All of the states with close results in the 2020 presidential race have paper records of each vote, allowing the ability to go back and count each ballot if necessary. This is an added benefit for security and resilience. This process allows for the identification and correction of any mistakes or errors.” Do you know what? I’m going to believe these guys and not the President.

We are 69 days away from removing this narcissist from the White House. Most believe he will never concede to Biden or admit that he lost. As he has done over the last four years, Donald Trump seems to take joy in making things up, even if they embarrass our country or mislead our allies. Everyone in the world knows this man cannot be trusted, and many of them are lining up to phone Uncle Joe and congratulate him. They know it’s over; why doesn’t Trump?

This just in: the Pennsylvania law firm to bring the suit against the state wanting them not to count any mail-in ballots that arrived late but postmarked before or on Election Day, withdrew from the case. In the motion filed at 11:53 p.m. on Thursday, Porter Wright lawyers Ronald Hicks and Carolyn McGee — who work out of the firm’s Pittsburgh office — said the campaign was “in the process of retaining and causing other counsel” to take over the case. The attorneys said they and the campaign had agreed on the withdrawal, but Hicks and McGee were vague about the reason for their exit. I guess one cannot just make things up in court?

It’s shameful that the US State Department is not forwarding messages they receive addressed to President-Elect Joe Biden. It reminds me of a romantic breakup in high school, where two immature ex-lovers take inappropriate steps when ending their relationship. Yes, Donnie, it’s hard to take but can’t you suck it up? Everyone in the world thinks you’re a cry baby, even the Republicans.

Not letting GSA Administrator Emily W. Murphy execute the transition paperwork to facilitate activities, budgeting, office space and, most importantly, daily national security briefs for Biden is a childish, high school maneuver that will be challenged today by several high-ranking Republicans. The President is more focused on firing people he doesn’t like before Christmas, than fighting the virus or facing the fact that he lost the election! Get over it, Donald!

Truth-bending is just as harmful as lies, and some of his supporters say it’s just Donald’s “cute way.” The truth is, Trump’s main method of operation is always based on made up stuff because he won’t take any time to understand the truth. I’m sure you have known people who grab onto a belief early in life and then make it a focus. A well-respected businessman once told me to never trust a man who smokes a pipe. Okay, lots of smart and worthy men smoked pipes but this guy locked onto that one incorrect belief.

I have this thing about Trump’s makeup. A few men in my past wore makeup. One professor I studied under wore a light covering on his face. I always thought he was covering up his closeted homosexuality. I worked in theater and was around a great deal of makeup in those days, but that had a purpose of entertainment. Why is Donald John Trump orange? Seriously, why? When he holds his hands up near his face you can see the vast difference in hue between his mug and fingers.

The lawsuits and the scam of raising money to help him save America from this “rigged election” precisely align with his usual ways of dealing with life challenges. He never looks in the mirror, takes off his makeup and calls it a day. He is driven to call people late at night to bolster his frail and damaged ego. What is most disturbing is the way his rhetoric and deceit have been adopted by other people in high places. When Texas Lieutenant Governor Dan Patrick was confronted with the findings of the Heritage Foundation that no widespread voter fraud was uncovered in America, he bluntly blurted, “They are wrong.” That’s it, Dan? That’s all you have? Where’s your evidence or proof? Remember, the Heritage Foundation is a conservative think-tank that picked all of Trump’s Supreme Court nominations. Just saying something is NOT TRUE doesn’t make it so. It makes the person speaking the words look stupid.

Without facts and evidence, no one should believe anything Trump says. I cannot believe I am saying this about a US President, but it’s true. Trump lies about almost everything. Those times he uses an unrelated fact to “prove” an untruthful statement are nothing more than lies. It’s similar to the way some believe that that saying, “All Lives Matter” defeats the slogan Black Lives Matter, which they fear means “White Lives Don’t Matter.” A bad cop, regardless of race, is a bad cop. I don’t have to add that “not all cops are bad” to soften the danger or reality of bad cops.

The best thing now would be some adult forcing Trump into normal order so our long-standing traditions can move us toward a peaceful transition. I don’t need to see Joe and Don sitting in the Oval Office, awkwardly and uncomfortably posing with each other. I don’t need to see Donnie and Melania standing behind the Chief Justice swearing in Joe Biden in as the 46^th President of the United States. Those things would be nice, but realist-me understands they are not likely.

Nothing about Trump is nice. We wish him well, but good riddance! “Don’t let the door hit you where you sit.” Oh, and see you in court, Donald!

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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.

WHAT TRUMP HAS TAUGHT ME

Little Donnie Dictator & the Sycophants

It might be funny if this fiasco of a president didn’t hurt so many with his words, actions and policies. The lunatic in the White House has clearly shown us that we have some serious flaws and cracks in our democracy that need to be repaired and reformed. I do think Little Donnie Dictator & the Sycophants would make a great name for a punk rock band.

If I stand far back from the vapid and endless discussions on cable news, which they’ve perfected into an art form, I can objectively see some strategies for making America stronger. Here are some starting points.

First, it’s time for us to review the distance between our Founders’ intent and the reality of life today in the United States of America. We should think about the three branches of government and do everything we can to preserve the checks and balances while establishing clear definitions of the duties of each branch.

Here’s a short civics lesson. The Legislative Branch makes the laws. Congress is made up of two houses, the Senate and the House of Representatives, with a slight whiff of checks and balances between the two. The Executive Branch enforces the laws and spends the money appropriated by Congress in a legal way that benefits the citizens. The Judicial Branch interprets the laws as they apply to disputes in the nation, but If the Judiciary gets out of its lane then Congress should step in and make a law. The president has the power to veto if Congress goes too far, but the genius of the Constitution gives Congress the power to overrule the president. Both the Congress and the Judiciary have the power to check a president’s unconstitutional acts. The Supreme Court can rule and the Congress can impeach.

The always polite and positive first leaders of our nation never thought that a president was a king so they gave the holder of that office an amazingly long arm. Part of this stems from a belief that a president would never be so ruthless as to work with a foreign power to undermine our country. The intent of the Foreign Emoluments Clause was making sure Congress knew about any titles granted, money given or valuables exchanged for something from another country and, in a sense, either approved or disapproved. The lack of teeth in this clause must be reformed. By law, any member of the federal government, including the president should be compelled to give up any ownership or financial connection to another country or even donations which could be exploited for favor.

Because Donald Trump withheld his tax returns, we don’t know if he owes money to a foreign entity. We need a new tax law to insure all presidents and candidates for the office release the last ten years of their tax returns. The need for such a regulation shows the current president’s lack of respect for that custom. When a tradition doesn’t work, we must make a law. We cannot afford to have another Trump. Ever.

Like the power of transparency, oversight is a good thing, but it must now be redefined with the current experience in mind. Congress has the power to ask for a person’s legal testimony, and they have the power to subpoena a person to appear before them, but we need to establish a hardline on compliance. The evil corruption of FBI Director J. Edgar Hoover and Senator Joseph McCarthy may have made Congress more careful about “witch hunts” and federal interventions, but the pendulum has swung too far to the other side.

Think about this. According to Forensic News, “The White House leads the count [of those who refused to appear], followed by personal associations of Donald Trump and the Justice Department. Attorney General William Barr refused to comply with five demands addressed directly to him, three of which were subpoenas.” So, the man in charge of the Department of Justice refused three subpoenas. If you or I did that we’d be arrested and put in jail. The Trump administration has blocked or refused to comply with 82 House Committee requests for testimony and/or documents.

This must be changed, and anyone subpoenaed who refuses to appear before Congress should be charged and jailed. They are free to plead the Fifth, but they must appear. It’s time Congress gets some respect, even though many say they don’t deserve it. We should be a country of laws.

Now let’s look at reform of the Supreme Court. Those who work in law and order might say that nothing is broken, but over time its appointed justices seemed to be stamped for life with a certain political bias or leaning. Just as I am writing this piece, the Supreme Court sent a ruling back to a lower court regarding a lawsuit filed by a police officer who claimed he deserved damages from the man who led a 2016 Black Lives Matter protest in Baton Rouge, Louisiana. The BLM leader countersued, claiming his protesting was protected by the First Amendment. The Court sent it back to the state, giving Louisiana the opportunity to decide if their constitution would allow recovery. Why? If this lawsuit is permitted to go forward, wouldn’t anyone be able to sue Donald Trump for everything he has done to gin up the power of right-wing militias and white neo-Nazi groups?

The court wants to move slowly, and that is probably good. They shouldn’t care who the president is, but they also should not allow their political viewpoints to guide their rulings. For example, Brett Kavanagh doesn’t like Hillary Clinton. How do I know this? He admitted it during his hearing, which should have disqualified him. That brings us to this harsh reality. No job in any of the three branches of the federal government should be for life.

The California Constitution provides a term of twelve years for state judges. That makes sense. In Pennsylvania, voters narrowly agreed to raise the age limit of judges from 70 to 75, but Oregon voters handily defeated a proposal to repeal the age limit entirely. It will stay at 75 in Oregon. So, the notion of age limits for government workers, like age restrictions for drivers, is not an unreasonable provision. Had there been an age limit, the Supreme Court would have been changed long before Justice Ginsberg passed. Also, the Senate Leader should never be able to stop a nominee’s hearing after being appointed by the president. That is tantamount to one-man fiat without representation, which is certainly unconstitutional, at least in spirit.

Finally, we must resolve this lying thing. Maybe we need a permanent special counsel to challenge any lie being perpetrated a member of Congress or the White House. Yes, we have Inspectors General, but even when they disclose an event that harms another what happens to the wrongdoer? If the president, who is also a liar, doesn’t fire that person our only current recourse is voting him out of office in the hope we can trust his replacement. There must be a better way.

More than anything else, Donald Trump has taught me the true meaning of the word “charlatan.” He has enticed his followers to believe the centuries old myth that Black people are not as smart as white people. His base may not be dumb, but if they cannot see beyond his lies then they are at least not paying attention. If they really believe all of us are better off than we were four years ago, then perhaps they are stupid. Can’t they see that this colossal failure of a man has killed hundreds of thousands of people? If they don’t care about death, they must be a little bit dead already. I know you’re not in that camp. You are smart and have a solid understanding that TRUMP MUST BE DEFEATED!

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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.

DEATH WISH DONNIE

Demented Man Behind the Curtain

Donald John Trump is an endangered species. If we were watching a TV show, this villain would escape from the prison/hospital to infect the populace and create a zombie apocalypse. You know, that’s not far afield from where we are now. Trump is doing everything he can to hurt people, and it’s astounding that old-line Republicans are looking the other way. They are complicit and have lost all control of their dark, dumb, spellbinding cult leader.

I tried to muster some sympathy for the orange pumpkin, but his words and actions have more than angered me. I get it. He’s a showman with all available gray matter directed at his next stunt. This pompous desire for publicity comes at any cost, even his own life. It’s almost as if he has a death wish, but there’s a bigger problem. He’s willing to kill you to get want he wants. I have zero sympathy for this derelict, damaged man.

Here is an idea to consider after all this is said and done. The doctors who attend to the President’s health should NOT be part of the military. That’s patently unamerican. They are under his command and, in this case, are obviously being manipulated for political gain. Shameful.

Now we learn that the White House disagrees with the CDC guidelines and will not permit them to do their job with contract tracing of those who attended recent political events that turned out to be super spreaders. The West Wing is riddled with positive COVID-19 cases, and Trump has decided to go back into his den of disease, mask-less. There are those political figures who repeat, “Nothing to worry about, I’ve been tested.” Getting tested doesn’t mean you are immune; it just indicates that you are negative AT THAT MOMENT. Constant testing does not protect a person. These people are more than idiots; they are putting themselves in harm’s way. Do they, too, have a death wish?

One of the things Donald Trump repeated to famed reporter Bob Woodward is that he wants to play the virus down which, in a sense, is a denial device. Every now and again we all use that trick to fool ourselves. When I see a young person smoking a cigarette, I often toss a snarky remark like, “You know, those things can kill you?” The person usually looks up and says, “I know. I’ve been trying to quit.” It’s immoral using lies to numb citizens to a threat against their health and life. I don’t care about Donald Trump. I just want to reduce unnecessary death in my country.

I don’t want Donald Trump’s opinions on anything. I wouldn’t let him handle my money, I wouldn’t permit him anywhere near my family and I certainly wouldn’t trust him with my health and life. For him to portray himself as an expert on anything, other than being a Trump, is pure fantasy. I have never liked him, respected him, trusted him nor wanted him anywhere near the leadership of this country. From his first day in office, he has demonstrated his lack of concern with the commonwealth and common good of our people. He’s a fool, an ass, a halfwit, a nincompoop, a dunce, a dolt, an ignoramus, a moron, an imbecile, a dope, a dullard and a douche bag. You get the picture.

According to Donald’s first wife, Ivana, Trump studied Adolf Hitler’s speeches in bed at night. Maybe that can help explain his reluctance to putting down Neo-Nazis and white supremacists in this country. Trump admitted to Bob Woodward that he likes the tyrants more than the allies. Why? He couldn’t answer that.

In 1927, Donald Trump’s father was arrested after a Ku Klux Klan riot in Queens, New York. Newspaper articles list Fred Trump, of 175-24 Devonshire Road, as one of those arrested. According to the US Census, Fred C. Trump lived there with his mother. Was Donald’s father a devotee of the KKK or just an everyday Nazi sympathizer, or did he just happen to be in the wrong place at the wrong time? There is evidence that Donald’s father was anti-Semitic, racist and pro-Nazi. Did his son acquire those biases?

Many of us have been in a car with a driver who had too much to drink. The first thing we try to do is get that person to allow someone else to drive. Typically, they are belligerent and difficult and cannot process warnings about dangers on the road ahead. Right now, we have a drooling drunk behind the wheel of the White House who is hopped up on steroids and other COVID meds and he’s not about to relinquish the wheel. Trump says he’s never used drugs, but his grand hospital escape proves that he shouldn’t be left alone with those drugs. He’s addicted to fame, and the steroids will only amplify that human flaw.

Many of the Donald’s supporters are walking away now. The stock market hates uncertainty, but I hate insanity, especially in a person when rules my life. Trump isn’t personally controlling me right now, but if he gets reelected there is no telling what he will do next. I am certain America can never maintain its greatness and regain health with Donald Trump in the White House. If I could push a button to remove him right now … ah, already pressed, didn’t work, yet.

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.

THE ESSENTIAL DEBATE FOR AMERICA

Trump, Biden or the Soul of the Nation?

We can live a cliché, or we can live a lie, but in America, in my country, we get up every day, pull on our boots and do our jobs. We can believe what we want, and pretty much say what we want, but our actions are typically constrained by one driving, overarching force. It’s something that our fathers taught us, or our mothers demanded from us. It’s RESPECT.

We respect our flag; we respect our neighbors and even if we think the person sitting next to us is a lunatic, we defend that persons’ right to hold and express their viewpoint. The totality of different people and their thoughts is the glue that keeps our country strong, diverse and successful. All of us are all cut from the same cloth embodied by John Adams and Thomas Jefferson, but it’s now clear to me that a traitor to our national respect has invaded our house.

Last night we saw two men debate, not under any sort of a traditional format but in an over the top, blatant perversion of the concept. Political performance art is supposed to help us determine who we should task with leading this great nation. Many times in our history, a presidential debate became more of a damn show and entertainment and less a dialog about ideas and plans but at least they included some productive discourse. However, 2020’s first presidential debate in Cleveland, Ohio last night was a total disaster and waste of time for America.

We hear people talk about the soul of this nation. What exactly is that soul? Some would say it’s a spiritual and immaterial part of our country which forms the immortal essence of who we are collectively as a nation. Others might say it’s the emotional and intellectual energy or intensity living inside all the citizens who call this place home. I believe our country has something beyond the big buildings, big bank accounts and big ideas. We have a spiritual core that keeps us all, well, American!

Last night we saw a desperate child trying to force himself to the front of the stage with nothing but boorish interruptions. He wasn’t even paying close attention, as evidenced by his inability to put forth reasonable rebuttals and lack of a clear, logical path to his next outburst. The President of the United States lacks substance and decorum, and through his shameful performance he embarrassed himself in front of our country and the entire world last night.

Donald John Trump is trailing Joe Biden by as many as ten points in the election polls of some states. Last night we witnessed this frantic man fumbling for a way to claw himself out of the deep, dark, dank, dismal hole he inhabits because of his utter incompetence and lack of understanding. I can’t help wondering what advice Rudy Giuliani and Chris Christie offered Trump that led to this public farce. I liken this bullshit “debate” to a public spectacle of feeding an entire meatloaf to a red bellied Piranha, only to have the fish eat so much and so fast that his entire bulbous form explodes right in front of our eyes.

During the early portion of the debate I started to fact check things I heard, but then realized that was a total waste of time. I didn’t need a motherfucking fact check. What I yearned for was a sock full of high school combination locks to bash the heads and knock some sense into the assholes who have let this Trump-monster out of the box. My anger is directed mostly to the complicit bastards in Congress.

In the more rational light of day, I humbly offer some points about what I learned last night. Donald Trump is a racist who would rather protect right wing crazies with AR-15’s than the rights of all Americans. He’s a fat, fake, mentally challenged, little prince, without any crown jewels. In fact, he’s both financially and morally bankrupt. He stood before the American public last night and lied about his tax returns. What an unpatriotic fool.

He’s not the friend of Black Americans, white Americans or any Americans. He will never hold accountable any police officer who breaks the law because those are “his boys.” How could Trump fairly judge any encounter with law enforcement when he simply believes people who agree with him are right those who disagree with him are the enemy. He sees himself as the top cop with the final word that cannot be challenged. Hey, wake the fuck up America. That is what kings think. Our President’s words and deeds permit and promote the growth of systemic racism.

Donald Trump doesn’t care about the well-being of America. He continues the repetition of a strange mantra about his “plan” to solve America’s pandemic crisis, yet he cannot describe his intention beyond use of the vague word “strongly.” Let’s face it. The Donald has no strategy to solve our terrible COVID crisis. As he said to Bob Woodward, “There’s nothing else that can be done.” Donald Trump is not equipped to make decisions because he’s either afraid of being wrong or he just doesn’t care about you.

Things will only get worse If Donald Trump is given four more years. The bile, hate and lies that ooze from his already stiff, stinking carcass has North Korea, China and Russia circling above us like vultures, waiting to swoop down and fight over the scattered remnants of our nation’s soul.

The headlines speak for themselves: “Lying, Cheating, Barking, Bullying: Donald Trump Hijacked the First Presidential Debate” (Huffington Post), or try this one on, “Donald Trump plunges debate into chaos as he repeatedly talks over Joe Biden” (The Guardian) or how about these shameful thuds, “With Cross Talk, Lies and Mockery, Trump Tramples Decorum in Debate With Biden – Interrupting Joe Biden nearly every time he spoke, President Trump made little attempt to reassure swing voters about his leadership. Mr. Biden hit back: ‘This is so unpresidential.’” (New York Times).

All those were clever but, quite frankly, CNN’s Dana Bash spoke the truth more concisely and precisely, “This was a shitshow!” Now, there are those who will attack and try to blame the debate’s moderator, Fox News’ Chris Wallace, but if you think he had a bad night imagine his late father, Mike Wallace, looking down and smoking a whole pack of Camels watching an unruly, festering, waste of fucking time.

I will be extremely disappointed if Joe Biden doesn’t end this farce with Trump right now. Why should us Americans have to sit through coverage that does nothing to help us know more about Joe Biden and his policies? We already know that Donald Trump is a sleazy, lowlife grifter who should be arrested for tax evasion, fraud and bad hair. When charged, we hope his punishment will include additional jailtime for his excessive, foul looking makeup. I know drag queens who are more attractive than Trump.

There will come a time for a full Trump postmortem, but can we all realize in this moment that this man is worse than Benjamin Harrison, Chester A. Arthur and Herbert Hoover combined? What is he one thing those three men have in common? They were all ONE TERM PRESIDENTS that America survived. We recovered our nation’s soul after those tragic presidencies, just as we will when our current clown President makes his exit from the Big Top.

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LEFT, CENTER, RIGHT

The Trump Divide Widens

One could argue that without Donald John Trump’s candidacy and presidency, we would have sailed along without committing to any particular position along the “left-right scale.” When I first joined social media, I listed myself on Facebook as a “radical Democrat.” When one of my posts was later rebuked by a right-wing hooey, I had a change of mind. The goofball stated that I had no credibility because of my political declaration. Perhaps I was being a weakling, but I deleted my political listing that very day. I would like people to hear me without prejudging according to my tongue-in-cheek quip from the past. In fact, because of Trump I’ve become more radical, not less. It’s all his fault!

The people who have joined the “cult,” as Michael Cohen calls it, possess neither the mood nor the mentality for a thoughtful discussion about why four more years of the orange pumpkin would be bad. See, I did it! I “disrespected” the man by calling him a name, because that is what he’s done to us, to me. I can argue intellectually to delineate the difference between a barb and a substantial act that might harm more that help people. On the other hand, most Trumpettes do not have the capacity or desire to take on facts that are against their preconceived notions. It’s such an ordeal to point out that those very predetermined opinions are incorrect. Trump is not a good guy.

I used to describe political polarity using the image of a giant circle, with 12 o’clock being at the top middle. As you move to the right, or to the left, you traverse the circle until the most radical forms of right and left meet at the bottom, near 6 o’clock. Think about it. Those in the ANTIFA movement are right next to the far-right Neo-Nazi and aggressive militias. Both are into violence and carry weapons they aren’t afraid to use. When local police departments endorse, support or look the other way with the far-right crazies, they are tilting justice toward that political segment. Where should the police department be on the political scale? I hope they would be in the middle, near 12 o’clock, but many aren’t.

The “Blue Lives Matter” campaign is not a cry for help. It’s a general defense of the institution of law enforcement. I get that, but call me a patriotic moderate when I ask why Blue Lives Matter proponents desecrate the US flag to underline their position? In the 1960s, it was an offense to create peace flags by changing the American flag. Why is it okay now? Aside from the fact that Supreme Court Justice Antonin Scalia claimed that burning the US flag was supported under our First Amendment rights, it bothers me when people change the flag. LGBTQ banners did so, and the day has passed when our flag colors were sacred.

At a demonstration in Tampa, Florida over the weekend, the rallying cry of the activists said America needs to be saved from the “destruction and division” being promoted by the left wing. They claim that the far-left is intolerant. Not only is that oxymoronic, it’s a childish reverse response, “No, you’re the idiot.” Unbelievably, the President of the United States has taken the liberty of telling millions of us which other Americans we are supposed to hate. Why? Because he believes that pushing radical people further into their political leanings will somehow help him. Sorry, but I don’t see how that helps at all.

Let me say this as clearly as possible. I would rather not have visceral, emotional reactions to the things Donald Trump says. I would like to see him go away after we elect a true moderate to the presidency, moving us toward healing without the daily desperation and heat blasted forth from the current administration. Trump’s deceitful tweets and proclamations zap energy from all of us, be we left, center or right. We all must decry his ridiculous claims and point out the hypocrisies, otherwise our silence justifies his insanity. Donald Trump is like the drunken uncle who keeps grabbing the young girls at family dinners. We can say he’s losing his mind, or laugh at him for being himself, but in the end he’s just a dirty old man, not President of the United States.

Sure, I tend to lean toward social programs that help people and keep the peace. The intrinsic inner core of my being is based on the Christian principles that we should love our neighbor and help those souls in trouble. Wow, I guess I am a faith-based “radical Democrat.” How can that be? Well, because it’s who I am. Who are you? People on the far-right have a kind of baked-in racism which manifests as a denigration of “lesser beings.” They honestly believe the old “pull yourself up by your bootstraps” to fix your problems, and don’t forget to add the demand, “don’t expect me to pay for it!”

I wrote a book titled “If God Could Talk.” God is a character in the book and, spoiler alert, he speaks. While doing so, he points out some fallacies of the Holy Bible. He’s quite a pro-life deity, and why wouldn’t he be? You can read the book, but I’m always curious about why the far-right and evangelicals are so hell bent on getting rid of Roe Vs. Wade when they have absolutely no desire to pay for the care and education of all those unwanted babies. Sure, adoption is an option, but that will never offset the large population bubble without a pro-choice law left intact.

Now we face a significant national debate about putting far-right conservative judges on the Supreme Court. Why are judges right or left? Why would it matter if there are three or eleven judges on the high court? Shouldn’t a judge simply read the complaint, apply the law and write a well-researched, deeply considered opinion? They know their words will be read for hundreds of years after, and they certainly don’t want to embarrass themselves and the court. The fact that any judge is known for their political leanings taints the court, lowers the faith in justice and gives the President of the United States too much credit. I am not suggesting that we all get a vote, that’s how we got Trump, but there must be a more pure, better way.

If I think your ideas are stupid, I am not necessarily against you. If I concentrate on your opinions, with a fair and balanced perspective, I can still like you while thinking your conclusions are shit. Should your beliefs be harmful to others, I won’t like you — the person. I don’t like David Duke, the KKK guy, because he believes white people are superior to Black people. I won’t shed a single tear when he goes “Bye Bye, in the Car Car.” When someone on the right goes too far, they are dangerous. When someone on the left goes too far, they are dangerous. A person can never be “too moderate.” Think about it. We need moderates right now, not people like Donald Trump, William Barr, Tom Cotton and Ted Cruise. They can all go pleasure themselves while reading QAnon posts. And God forbid any of “those people” ever get appointed to the Supreme Court.

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