Low-Level Volunteer

Trump Thinks He’s a Lawyer

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

The First 200 Days Of Trump

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

SPECIAL COUNSEL LANDS FISH

Trump’s Denials Seem So Nixon-like

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

The First 200 Days Of Trump

NO APOLOGY, NO OFFENSE

Trump Declares His Intelligence

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

The First 200 Days Of Trump

QUITERS AND LOSERS

Trump’s Polluted Swamp

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

The First 200 Days Of Trump

MONEY WHERE YOUR MOUTH IS

Trump Isn’t the Only Rich Person in America

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

The First 200 Days Of Trump

LET THE BUYER BEWARE

Trump’s Inability to Empathize

This past Trump-week was another example of the man’s complete lack of empathy and sympathy for what the human spirit can endure. And, if I may be so bold, the media’s approach to the 45^th President of the United States isn’t up to the task. This was a special moment and the media missed a major point of it all.

As I have offered before, there is a feeling of collective guilt that the press didn’t take Donald Trump seriously from the beginning. They covered him as if he was a circus act coming to town. Believing that the show would soon hit the road, they over-promoted the big, fat elephant. Well now, the elephant is here to stay and is stepping on more than your collective toes. (EPA, BANKS, LAWS, TAXES)

The Niger fallen-soldier tragedy this last week was nothing less than depressing and revolting on very many levels. A reporter asked a fair question concerning the lack of mention from our loquacious leader about the attack and the deaths of four brave men. Why hasn’t he mentioned it in twelve days? And the result? Pure defensive bullshit, a hurry up, “let’s do it now” attempt at face-saving, which was a sheer disaster.

When calling the loved ones of the fallen heroes, Donald Trump managed to make it worse. Our great Orange Leader devastated a family in Florida. Yes, we can all agree that Congresswoman Frederica Wilson, who heard the call, was overly emotional. She raged about the words of our Commander in Chief. Some say it was a political move. Well it’s true that she’s a damn politician and that is what politicians do, but she is also a friend of the family.

What happened next highlights my deepest concern with this president. He lied. He lies all the time. Lying is his defense mechanism. When he is confronted or doesn’t know what he is talking about, he simply makes stuff up, “It was Obama’s fault.” Just what an African-American family wants to hear! Trump created a severe problem, and retired General John Kelly stepped in to manage the disaster.

As the Chief of Staff of this administration, many have said that Kelly is the filter of what gets to the President and the manager of those who work in the White House. I am sure he is doing a great job at that. Just look at how many inept people have been sent away. But seeing him fall on his sword for this clown-of-a-president saddened me greatly. My respect for John Kelly hasn’t been diminished by his actions, but they were motivated by his employment and his remarks will always have a tint of politics in them.

I am the son of a Word War II veteran. My father was a Master Sergeant and served in Europe. Even when he and I argued about Vietnam, I never doubted his mission or his service. I am glad his parents didn’t become Gold Star parents, because that would mean I wouldn’t be here. More importantly, my father taught me the most essential lesson, always tell the truth, no matter what.

Now, I want you to read these next words very carefully, General Kelly wasn’t defending the President. His presentation in the press room yesterday (10-19-2017) was a cry for help, a demand for respect. It was a vastly more intellectual approach to what is happening with this president. John Kelly spoke in code, a code that conveys a message totally different from what the media is dishing out.

First, Kelly explained how someone who has never worn a military uniform or fought in a war can understand that experience. It’s clear that he is trying to work with a President that he must teach. In short, he is working with someone who doesn’t know more than the Generals.

Kelly said many things that we need to comprehend. He’s right about what the country has become and how the things that were sacred in his day are no longer so. His code was a message to his boss. Kelly was crying deep inside about the lack of respect for his personal pain. The military ritual of bringing back and burying our dead warriors was pushed into the spotlight by his inept boss. The saddest thing for me is Donald Trump will never understand the code. He should have stopped talking about this incident and should not have USED General Kelly in an attempt to nullify his mistake.

Let’s analyze the Kelly code, “Hey give this Trump guy a break because he doesn’t know what he’s doing.” I’m very proud that John Kelly told the truth and confirmed what Trump actually said on the call. Trump parroted what two generals said to each other during a moment of grief. Generals talk to Generals in a different way than a President should speak to his people. Both General Kelly and Trump made bad judgements on all sides of this issue. When a person has a limited intellectual capacity and a lack of common sense to craft a message for an audience, then someone must write every word for them. Kelly was, in a way, confessing it was his fault for Trump’s actions.

General Kelly told Trump the words he heard when learning of his son’s death, “He was doing exactly what he wanted to do when he was killed. He knew what he was getting into by joining that one percent. He knew what the possibilities were because we’re at war.” These are not the words a grieving mother or wife wants to hear. Trump never spoke the fallen soldier’s name during the conversation, truly horrible.

So, this is over, right? Kelly called a cease fire. No, that won’t work for the orange person is in the Oval Office. Trump decided to lie rather than simply admit said he didn’t convey a proper message. A soldier’s life isn’t a “let the buyer beware” reality. If Donald Trump was a real man, he would publicly apologize for misusing his words. He really should just stop talking about it, but he won’t; he can’t.

This morning, the great Orange Leader tweeted again: “The Fake News is going crazy with wacky Congresswoman Wilson(D), who was SECRETLY on a very personal call, and gave a total lie on content!”

Your obsessive-compulsive nature to continue to lie about the most sacred and sad things guarantees you the top position, Donald. You are the winner. You are Number One. You are the worst President ever!

The First 200 Days Of Trump

WHAT IS PATRIOTISM?

Trump’s Attempt to Modify Meanings

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

The First 200 Days Of Trump

CORKER AND THE CHAOS

Trump Has No Discipline

All those people who predicted that Donald Trump would not be fit to be president, were right. And all those people who sit back and say nothing about the risk Trump poses to America should be ashamed of themselves. Bob Corker, the junior United States Senator from Tennessee, has been outspoken about the politics, people and policies of this White House. And for his honesty, he is now the target of a substantial tweet campaign by the Presidential bully.

This was the President of the United States on Twitter this weekend: “Senator Bob Corker ‘begged’ me to endorse him for re-election in Tennessee. I said ‘NO’ and he dropped out (said he could not win without my endorsement). He also wanted to be Secretary of State, I said ‘NO THANKS.’ He is also largely responsible for the horrendous Iran Deal! Hence, I would fully expect Corker to be a negative voice and stand in the way of our great agenda. Didn’t have the guts to run!”

There are many lies and a few exaggerations in his words, but the Donald doesn’t care if anyone knows he’s lying. Trump has weaponized lies throughout his career, and becoming President has not changed his modus operandi. Bob Corker would have made a great Vice President, one who wouldn’t go along with being played like a puppet by the Commander and Chief. The stunt at Lucas Oil Stadium by Mike Pence wasted tons of jet fuel and two perfectly good seats. Spineless Pence really couldn’t be in the stadium with protesters? What a wimp.

While Trump and Pence orchestrated this trick to get NFL protests back into the news, the real focus should have been on what Bob Corker was saying in his tweets over the weekend: “It’s a shame the White House has become an adult day care center. Someone obviously missed their shift this morning.” And the New York Times caught up with Corker to get some additional thoughts: “Senator Bob Corker, the Republican chairman of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, charged in an interview on Sunday (10-8-2017) that President Trump was treating his office like ‘a reality show,’ with reckless threats toward other countries that could set the nation ‘on the path to World War III.’”

When defending Rex Tillerson and the other adults in the administration, Jim Mattis and John Kelly, Corker said those people help separate our country from chaos. And that brings us to most important part of this article.

Why does this President create chaos? Why would someone with so many important priorities, policies and legislative agendas on the line waste his few brain cells on this nonsense?

There is a little quoted statement by Richard Nixon that fits here: “Do you want to make a point or do you want to make a change? Do you want to get something off your chest, or do you want to get something done?” Trump is a lot like Nixon, only not as smart.

Trump is beyond tone-deaf. He psychologically vomits so much that we clearly see his disturbing mental makeup. His staff, his cabinet and his Vice President have all chugged the Kool-Aid and will back him on whatever he says or does, no matter how extreme or ridiculous. Will the Generals? Will the Congress? And, most importantly, will the Supreme Court?

Why do we want a President who spends so much energy on the NFL, rather than focusing on the domestic and global threats? Donald Trump is a dinosaur and we all know what happened to that species. He moves too slowly on vital issues and is distracted by dissent from the least important people. Critical remarks and entertainment control his judgement and lead to the on-going disorder and bedlam. This is more than embarrassing, it’s downright dangerous.

We should read Corker’s words again, “…could set the nation on the path to World War III.” Is this what we want? Trump must go, even at the risk of having a totally weak-willed white guy from Indiana in the Oval Office.

THE CALM BEFORE THE STORM

Trump Speaks, You Should Listen

It would be too easy to call this guy a “moron,” but we might want to remember that he tends to do everything he says he will do, and he is the President of the United States. But while everyone is trying to analyze the assassin who took 58 lives in Las Vegas, it might be time to keep our eyes on the man in the White House.

The reason most experts are having trouble wrapping their minds around what happened in Vegas is because we rarely must deal with older, rich, white guys having lots of guns and ammunition. We cannot put his actions into the racially motivated box, or the angry immigrant box or the reason we need a wall box. It has not been referred to as “domestic terrorism,” why?

Donald Trump has his fingers on the nuclear codes. We want to believe that this older, rich, white guy wouldn’t use that ultimate power without a logical discussion and game plan. As we learn of the conflicts inside his administration, however, there is an uneasy feeling that logic is not in play here.

Last night (10-5-2017), with military families gathered around him for a photo op at the White House, out of nowhere, the president asked, “You know what this is?” A reporter suggested that Trump tell them, and he replied, “Maybe it’s the calm before the storm.” When pressed to explain himself, he said only, “You’ll find out.”

There is a big difference between a “bully” and a “moron” and it’s possible that one person could be both. Bullies act to keep the power of fear over their victims, but maybe all the cable news channels repeating that Tillerson called Trump a “moron” has forced another part of the Donald to the surface.

Gelotophobia is a fear of being laughed at, and is a type of social phobia. No one wants to be ridiculed, but some people have an exceedingly deep fear of being laughed at and their actions are driven by this fear.

After mixing narcissism and gelotophobia into the brain of a pathological liar, you get someone like Donald Trump. He has to be front and center, and when he says things that seem to be non-sequiturs, we should listen. They can be revealing forecasts of things to come. Trump believes everything he says and he might even have somewhat of a god complex, an unshakable belief and inflated feeling of personal ability, privilege, or infallibility. Does the Donald derive a sense of power with his predictions?

Certainly, you could say he was talking about Hurricane Nate that might be hitting the US this weekend. He could also have been talking about his problems the press is stirring up with this Secretary of State, Rex Tillerson. Perhaps he was suggesting a future military action somewhere in the world. Perhaps he was hinting that pulling out of the Iran Nuclear deal would cause such a fuss that it could be classified in storm terms.

On these pages in the past, we have written about the uncertainty that our great Orange Leader brings to the table in the form of his unpredictability. He may think of it as red meat for his base, but the rest of America doesn’t want to swallow the unknown. Most citizens want their leader to be honest, open and upfront with them.

What we and the whole Republican party now realize is that Donald J. Trump is not a mass appeal person. He was created by conning New Yorkers, inflated by reality TV and blown up into a political character by using Twitter to stir conspiracy theories and self-absorbed opinions. Nothing about him is authentic.

It’s overwhelming to me that we are debating whether his most important cabinet member called him a moron. It is depressing that Trump, who wasn’t voted into his position by a majority of Americans, is allowed to disregard 61% of the nation who disagree with the way he’s handling things. I am not going to wait around to see if he is right. America should say, “You’re fired,” as soon as possible.

Mike Pence (next in line) is another bozo on the bus. Paul Ryan (second in line) can make some sense, but his dogma is apparent when it comes to facts and actions. The person who makes the most sense in the Republican party is the guy who pitched himself for President on his record of getting things done. Sadly, he failed to cut through the circus of Donald Trump. I’m talking about John Kasich. How do we make him President?

Donald Trump will go down as the most colorful and worst US president in our history. But we should listen to him. This is the calm before the storm. The storm will be a constitutional crisis of his own making. Mueller is getting all the facts and when we learn what really happened, we will once again be forced to take sides. Perhaps this time, the majority opinion will prevail?

The First 200 Days Of Trump

THEY ALREADY BOUGHT HIM

Can Trump Challenge the NRA?

The most powerful lobby in Washington has Donald Trump tucked securely in their pocket. When it comes to politicians in Washington, it’s always open carry season and the Donald is just another politician.

Even though our President can talk about an “act of pure evil,” he doesn’t want to talk about guns, yet. He may never do anything about guns, but that should not surprise anyone. His underlings talk about how bad Chicago is, rather than answering the one special question they refuse to face. How do you control guns? How do we as Americans stop the carnage, as Trump called it in his inaugural address?

If you are taking the time to read this post, you have time to look at this incredible page that was created by the Washington Post. Just take a moment to think about this grave reality we allow.

Look at the headlines from the last five years: 59 killed, more than 500 injured in Las Vegas; 49 killed, 58 injured in the Orlando nightclub shooting; 14 killed, 22 injured in San Bernardino, California; nine killed in Charleston, South Carolina; 12 killed, three injured in Washington, D.C.; 27 killed, one injured in Newtown, Connecticut. You can see that we have a problem. And those weren’t all the shootings, there were more. We are so numb to these killing sprees, we hardly notice the shootings that kill three, four or six people. It’s like they never happened.

Another great website is this one: EveryTown. According to this site, 93 Americans are killed with guns each day in America, which adds up an average of nearly 12,000 gun homicides a year in the US. Seven children and teens (age 19 or under) are killed with guns in the US on an average day. You can read the rest and then either go back into your stupor, or start to do something about this.

What role should the President of the United States have in this critical American problem? Candidate Trump bragged about being against the Washington swamp and how he couldn’t be bought by the lobbyists and interest groups controlling Congress. He is being bought, however.

According to the spot and ad research company, Media Monitors, between June 1, 2016 and the election in November of the same year, the NRA bought and placed 28,774 radio and TV political spots that helped Donald Trump get elected. Their message was simple, Hillary Clinton will get rid of the Second Amendment. According to CNN, more than $54 million was spent by the NRA to advance Trump’s candidacy.

Does the NRA think that Trump owes them his loyalty? They certainly do. And Trump feels the need to maintain that relationship and sees the money they give him as quid pro quo for him helping advance a platform of more liberal gun laws.

When the gun store owners sold Stephen Paddock dozens of guns he used to kill more than 59 people, they saw, “No indication or reason to believe he was unstable or unfit to buy the guns at any time.” In short, the firearms were purchased legally. He also bought boxes and boxes of ammo without anyone’s knowledge. And he bought the guns in four different states, therefore no way the police or federal agents would have been warned.

We might be able to track guns used in a mass assault after the event, but it’s impossible to track large gun and ammunitions purchases before these events take place. Why? Because there isn’t a national database of gun ownership. This idea was thwarted by the NRA, which gave large contributions to all the Congressmen and women in key states. The NRA owns Congress.

All the data is on paper and the law is clear. Federal law explicitly prohibits federal law enforcement agencies from: (1) using dealers’ records of sales to establish a centralized system for the registration of firearms, firearm owners, or firearm transactions; and (2) requiring dealers’ records of sales to be recorded in, or transferred to, a centralized facility. Checkmate.

So, that leaves Trump, the great Orange Leader. We know that the Supreme Court has been slanted to the opinion that the Constitution says that no law can be made to restrict gun ownership in America, but what about munitions? Is there a way to modify the law within the spirit of the Second Amendment?

Sad to say, Trump will do nothing about these mass killings. He has been bought. Congress has been bought. The Supreme Court cannot write law, only interpret it. And even with what some researchers say is a decline of support for an assault rifle ban after the election of Trump, we are faced with the same question and the same answer. It’s a blatant lie that restrictive gun laws don’t work, read this.

The question is: Is there is nothing we can do about guns? No is the answer. Stop complaining and reload is what the NRA would tell you. If someone killing 20 grade schoolers cannot get people to act in Congress, what will?

The House has cooked up a good payback for the NRA. It’s a provision called the Hearing Protection Act, which is embedded in the Sportsmen Heritage and Recreational Enhancement, or SHARE Act. This little nugget would eliminate restrictions on silencers, you know the device spies and gangsters use to kill people without any noise. Yes, we have to protect the gun owners’ hearing while giving up protections against organized crime and gangs.

Under the National Firearms Act of 1934, suppressors – along with “destructive devices” such as grenades or rocket launchers, “sawed-off” shotguns and machine guns – currently require federal registration, a special license and a tax of $200. Well, the new SHARE Act would repeal those restrictions and then we can get really crazy using silencers. Without the BIG BANG of a gun, it might take victims and law enforcement longer to determine that a fire arm is being discharged and, of course, the source of the bullets raining down on a crowd. Too soon? I think not.

Donald Trump has no desire to get anywhere close to the sensible gun reform movement. He is not going to budge a finger about guns in support of his boys at the NRA. We will have more acts of pure evil, sponsored by the NRA and Congress. Trump already has blood on his small hands, but the most we will hear from Donald the Dotard is, “Out damn spots.”

The First 200 Days Of Trump