Joe Manchin, Kyrsten Sinema & John C. Calhoun Walk Into A Bar…

Joe orders a Black Russian, Kyrsten orders a White Russian, and John C. Calhoun orders a filibuster.

Nobody got any drinks.

West Virginia U.S. Senator Joe Manchin, a Democrat in his 2nd term has an illustrious history as a public servant which began with election to the state’s House of Delegates, then to the State Senate, and from there to statewide office as WV Secretary of State, and then as Governor.

In a June 6, 2021 Op-Ed published in the Charleston Gazette-Mail, he announced his opposition to H.R.1 – the “For the People Act of 2021” – ostensibly because of a wholesale lack of Republican support for it, including opposition to the idea of eliminating the filibuster.

Among other things, the bill would unify election law throughout the 50 United States by establishing uniform standards for federal elections, establish non-partisan independent state redistricting commissions in all 50 states, establish a Federal Judicial Code of Conduct, outlaw any action that would “corruptly hinder, interfere with, or prevent another person from registering to vote” or assisting another to register to vote, mandate “motor voter” registration when applying for a driver license, prohibit partisan voting registration “dirty tricks” to cull voters without their knowledge, require voter-verified permanent paper ballots, mandate early voting, as well as numerous other significantly beneficial improvements to national security and election law.

Relatedly, Arizona Senator Krysten Sinema, a Democrat two years into her first term, has announced her opposition to eliminating the filibuster – a procedural tool most often used by the minority to thwart legislation, by requiring at least 60 votes to proceed, thereby preventing it from even being discussed, in order to effectively kill the prospective measure.

The Senate’s 2 Independents – Bernie Sanders of Vermont, and Angus King of Maine – caucus with the Democrats, and in the case of now-rare tie votes, the Vice President Kamala Harris would cast any tie-breaking vote… if it weren’t for the filibuster – which has now degenerated into a mere threat, with no real “action” required to “activate” it, per se. It has become the quintessential model, and most public example of, pathological passive-aggressive behavior – doing nothing (the passive behavior) to control, or manipulate others (the aggressive behavior).

Back To The Future

At one time, or another, Republicans and Democrats have separately expressed desire to eliminate the obstructionist tactic of the filibuster, which was not supported by the Founders, but rather, was a response to Vice President Aaron Burr’s criticism (shortly after his indictment for the murder of Alexander Hamilton) that the Senate’s rules were a mess, with numerous rules that duplicated each other, and in particular, singled out the “previous question” motion. So, when the Senate met the next year in 1806, they eliminated the “previous question” motion of parliamentary procedure, which functionally ceased debate using a simple majority vote… because Aaron Burr told them to.

Deleting that rule did not immediately cause filibusters to break out all over, but merely made it possible for them to happen — because there was no longer a Senate rule that could have enabled a simple majority to cut off debate. It was only several decades later in 1837 that the minority exploited the insufficient limits on rules of debate, and had the first filibuster.

There were three essential reasons why the filibuster was so rare, and infrequently used before the Civil War, because:

1.) The Senate operated by majority rule, and Senators expected that matters would be brought to a vote;
2.) The Senate had little work to do in that era, and there was plenty of time to wait out any opposition, and;
3.) Voting coalitions in the Senate were not as polarized as they later became.

Catch-22

As our nation grew, and added states, so did the Senate add more members. With growth, came increased work. And by 1880, every Congress had at least one episode of filibustered obstructionism, most of which were unconcerned with important matters of the day, and instead were focused upon trivial, inconsequential matters.

So, when filibusters did occur, Senate leaders tried to ban them. Throughout the 19th and early 20th centuries Senate leaders tried to reinstate the “previous question” motion – but they failed repeatedly – and ever since, have long sought a procedure to end debate on any given matter.

More often than not, senators gave up any hope for reform when they became aware that opponents to the elimination of the filibuster would kill any such effort at changing the rules to eliminate the filibuster — ironically, by filibustering — thereby putting the majority’s other priorities at risk. Because they were unable to reform the Senate’s rules, leaders developed other innovations such as unanimous consent agreements, which measures were an option of second resort for managing a chamber which by then, was prone to filibusters.

In response, the Senate changed… but not by much.

“Unanimous Consent” agreements emerged like mushrooms after a springtime rain shower. And then, cloture was created in 1917 during the waning days of World War I. Not “simple majority” cloture, but “supermajority” cloture. The Senate filibustered for 23 days following President Woodrow Wilson’s proposal to arm merchant marine ships during WWI. It also ground to a halt all other work in the Senate. The President criticized the Senate by saying it was

“the only legislative body in the world which cannot act when its majority is ready for action. A little group of willful men, representing no opinion but their own, have rendered the great government of the United States helpless and contemptible.”

In response to President Wilson’s withering criticism, a bipartisan Senate committee was formed to negotiate the form of the rule. Five of the six Democrats supported a simple majority rule; one Republican supported a supermajority rule; and one Republican preferred no rule. Negotiators then struck a compromise:

1.) Cloture would require two-thirds of senators voting;
2.) Opponents promised not to block or weaken the proposal, and;
3.) Supporters promised to drop their own proposal for simple majority cloture — a proposal which was supported by at least 40 senators.

Rule 22 – the cloture rule, to cease filibuster by a two-thirds majority vote – was adopted 76-3, on March 8, 1917.

Just Say No

Without Senators Manchin and Sinema’s support on vital bills forwarded from the narrow Democratic majority House, it’s practically assured that Republicans – who control 50 Senate seats – will once again, control movements of all legislation, despite the fact that when they were in control as the majority, they “circled their wagons” and got things done, even with Democratic opposition.

And, at a recent press event in his home state on May 5, 2021, Senate Minority Leader Kentucky Republican “Moscow” Mitch McConnell said,

“One hundred percent of our focus is on stopping this new administration.”

So, it very much looks like the Senate’s legislative “Grim Reaper” is back to his old manipulative tricks, despite being in the minority – just because he can.

Prophecy Fulfilled

As many political scientists, politicians, and analysts have observed, increasingly, the formerly Grand Old Party is losing grassroots support on a broad basis. But, it’s not as if such problems weren’t predictable. On February 1, 1993 Washington Post Reporter Michael Weisskopf wrote that:

“The gospel lobby evolved with the explosion of satellite and cable television, hitting its national political peak in the presidential election of Ronald Reagan in 1980.

“Unlike other powerful interests, it does not lavish campaign funds on candidates for Congress nor does it entertain them. The strength of fundamentalist leaders lies in their flocks. Corporations pay public relations firms millions of dollars to contrive the kind of grass-roots response that Falwell or Pat Robertson can galvanize in a televised sermon. Their followers are largely poor, uneducated and easy to command.

““The thing that makes them powerful, is they’re mobilizable. You can activate them to vote, and that’s particularly important in congressional primaries where the turnout is usually low. Some studies put the number of evangelical Americans as high as 40 million, with the vast majority considered politically conservative,” said Seymour Martin Lipset (d.2006), professor of public policy at George Mason University.”

What Michael Weisskopf wrote caused such an outrage and an uproar, so much so to the extent that the Post was moved to write some type of retraction as a “correction.”

It’s always easier to ask forgiveness, than permission.

But, what Weisskopf wrote about the predominately Rural, Republican-voting, White Protestant Evangelicals – that “Their followers are largely poor, uneducated and easy to command” – was true then, and it’s even more true now.

Folks don’t get mad because of falsehoods, or scurrilous accusations.

They get mad because of truth.

While campaigning for the Republican party’s nomination, after winning Nevada’s Republican caucuses on February 23, 2016, the later-45th President exclaimed, “I love the poorly-educated!”

Of course he does — because they’re too stupid to know when they’re being played for a fool. And he played them like a fiddle – like Nero, while Rome burned.

The once-Grand Old Party has demonstrably become the Party of Poorly-Educated, Low-Skilled, Poorly-Paid and Often-Impoverished, Rural Working Class Whites who watch and believe Fox News like religion – especially men – who twice voted for Trump, still believe his Big Lie, earn well under $50K annually, and increasingly vote Republican – against their own best self-interest.

They support candidates whose exclusive guiding political philosophy is to refuse endorsing higher wages, healthcare, education, and other matters of direct concern to them and their families, and magically believe that a privatized, laissez-faire free market everything will solve all problems. They are becoming, or have become, a minority voting bloc whose interests are not represented by the political party for which they increasingly vote.

They are, in essence, deluded.

We’re Going Down

In the few days before the January 6 insurrectionist attack upon Congress at the Capitol, led by far right-wing extremist Kentucky Republican Representative

Banana Republicans Go Off Half-Cocked

The idiom to “go off half-cocked” came from incidents in which a flintlock or matchlock gun would fire prematurely, before the trigger was pulled.

As used in modern context, it means:

• to take a premature or ill-considered action; to act too soon, prematurely, or without reflection;

• to do or say something without preparing for, or thinking about it;

• to go into action too early, or without thinking.

That certainly seems to be the case with several Banana Republicans recently. Banana Republicans lead Banana Republics, right?

An article published last week by the notoriously unreliable British tabloid “The Daily Mail” – which is infamous for habitually and recklessly publishing sensationalistically inaccurate fear-mongering stories – stated a deliberate lie which falsely claimed that President Joe Biden’s climate proposals would deliberately limit Americans’ red meat consumption.

Shortly after that scurrilously false story was published, numerous

Up You Go! Goldman Sachs Predicts 8% American Economic Growth

“We have raised our GDP forecast to reflect the latest fiscal policy news and now expect 8% growth in 2021 (Q4/Q4) and an unemployment rate of 4% at end-2021 — the lowest among consensus forecasts—that falls to 3.5% in 2022 and 3.2% in 2023.”

The la$t time U.$. GDP hit 8% growth wa$ in 1951.

The la$t time U.$. GDP hit 8% growth wa$ in 1951.

The last time U.S. GDP hit 8% growth was in 1951.

(Just wanna’ make sure you see it CLEARLY.)

https://www.msn.com/en-us/money/markets/bidens-stimulus-will-lift-us-growth-to-8-this-year-goldman-sachs-says-without-factoring-in-another-2-trillion-spending-package/ar-BB1eBQrg

• Goldman Sachs lifted its 2021 US growth forecast to 8% from 7.7%, citing new stimulus for the boost.
• The bank also expects Biden and Democrats to pass at least $2 trillion in infrastructure spending.
• That sum could hit $4 trillion if the deal includes education, child-care, and health-care spending.

Goldman Sachs joined its Wall Street peers in revising its US economic outlook on Saturday, pegging an increasingly bullish forecast to Democrats’ latest stimulus package.

The team led by Jan Hatzius now expects US gross domestic product to grow 8% in 2021 on a fourth-quarter-to-fourth-quarter basis, according to a note published Saturday. That’s up from the previous estimate of 7.7%. The bank’s full-year growth estimate climbed to 7% from 6.9%.

The current-year projection largely hinges on President Joe Biden’s stimulus plan, as Goldman had initially expected a $1.5 trillion deal to reach Biden’s desk. The $1.9 trillion plan signed by the president on Thursday will accelerate the nation’s economic recovery through

Impeachment v2.0 Day 3: The Devil Made Me Do It

“Trump told us to do it.”

Trump’s MAGA supporters rioter-insurrectionists who were assembled at the White House Ellipse Park January 6, 2021 quickly became violent exclusively because they believed that Trump was asking them to do so – that they were doing his bidding.

“He said, ‘Be there.’ So I went and I answered the call of my president.”

House Impeachment Managers cited social media posts, recorded video, and court documents which reflected as much.

“I Answered the Call of My President.”

Impeachment Managers also extensively documented that several months BEFORE the election, Trump was laying the groundwork for convincing his cult of followers that the November presidential election was fixed, and that his victory was stolen because of

Radicalized Religion Has Come Home To Roost In America

There’s a saying, that one becomes like the object their hatred.

In which case, many Evangelical and other sects of Christendom have become like the radical Muslims that they so despised and feared.

Haters are not isolationists, they seek to join groups of others, which for them, provides strength, and anonymity, with diminished, or absent accountability or responsibility.

Dr. John R. “Jack” Schafer, Ph.D. is a retired FBI Special Agent, now Professor at Western Illinois University in the Law Enforcement and Justice Administration (LEJA) Department. While with the FBI, he served as behavioral analyst assigned to the FBI’s National Security Behavioral Analysis Program. Dr. Schafer earned his Ph.D. in psychology at Fielding Graduate University, Santa Barbara, California, has authored numerous articles and books, conducted research, is a consultant, and lectures domestically, and internationally.

Through his behavioral research, that found that, among other things, that “Hate masks personal insecurities. Not all insecure people are haters, but all haters are insecure people. Hate elevates the hater above the hated. Haters cannot stop hating without exposing their personal insecurities. Haters can only stop hating when they face their insecurities.”

His 7-stage model of hate is:

Stage 1: The Haters Gather
Stage 2: The Hate Group Defines Itself
Stage 3: The Hate Group Disparages the Target
Stage 4: The Hate Group Taunts the Target
Stage 5: The Hate Group Attacks the Target Without Weapons
Stage 6: The Hate Group Attacks the Target With Weapons
Stage 7: The Hate Group Destroys the Target

Dr. Edward Ludwig “Ed” Glaeser, Ph.D., is the Fred and Eleanor Glimp Professor of Economics in the Faculty of Arts and Sciences at Harvard University Kennedy School of Government, where he has taught since 1992. In 2004, he authored a paper entitled “The Political Economy of Hatred,” which stated in part that, “People say that they hate because the object of their hatred is evil. Hatred relies on people accepting, rather than investigating, hate-creating stories. Hatred declines when there is private incentive to learn the truth.”

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theconversation.com

How Self-Proclaimed “Prophets” From A Growing Christian Movement Provided Religious Motivation For The Events January 6 At The U.S. Capitol

by Dr. Brad Christerson, PhD
January 12, 2021 – 8:24am EST

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In addition to symbols of white supremacy, many of the rioters at the Capitol on January 6 carried signs bearing religious messages, such as “Jesus Saves” and “In God We Trust” while others chanted “Jesus is my savior and Trump is my president.” In a video interview, one of those who breached the Senate floor describes holding a prayer to “consecrate it to Jesus” soon after entering.

Many white evangelical leaders have provided religious justification and undying support for Trump’s presidency, including his most racially incendiary rhetoric and policies. But as a scholar of religion, I argue that a particular segment of white evangelicalism that my colleague Richard Flory and I call Independent Network Charismatic, or INC, has played a unique role in providing a spiritual justification for the movement to overturn the election which resulted in the storming of the Capitol.

INC Christianity is a group of high-profile independent leaders who are detached from any formal denomination and cooperate with one another in loose networks.

Prayer Marches

In the days and hours leading up to the storming of the U.S. Capitol on Jan. 6 the group Jericho March organized marches around the Capitol and Supreme Court building praying for God to defeat the “dark and corrupt” forces that they claimed, without evidence, had stolen the election from God’s anointed president – Donald Trump.

Jericho March is a loose coalition of Christian nationalists formed after the 2020 presidential election with the goal of overturning its results. Leading up to and following the Capitol violence, their website stated: “We are proud of the American system of governance established by our Founding Fathers and we will not let

Will POTUS Joe Biden Reverse Trump’s Corrupt Pardons?

WashingtonMonthly.com

Can Trump’s Pardons Be Reversed?

by Holly Brewer and Timothy Noah

President Ulysses S. Grant did it, and George W. Bush, and the Constitution would seem to encourage it.

January 22, 2021
2:07 PM

We’ve seen a lot of hand-wringing about President Donald Trump’s eleventh-hour marathon of glaringly unethical pardons, but only a little consideration (see 1-here, 2-here, 3-here, 4-here, and 5-here) about whether the Constitution permits them. A decent case can be made that it does not—and that at least some of these pardons can be reversed.

The relevant passage is Article II, Section 2, in the so-called “Commander-in-chief clause.” The president, it says, “shall have Power to grant Reprieves and Pardons for Offences against the United States, except in Cases of Impeachment.” Nobody knows precisely what that means, but Trump has been under impeachment and awaiting Senate trial — for the second time — since January 13, 2021.

The most interesting real-life precedent for restricting a president’s right to issue pardons concerns President Andrew Johnson, who in March 1868 became the first of three presidents to be impeached by Congress, and two months later became the first to win Senate acquittal.

In March 1869, Johnson, on his last full day in office, pardoned Jacob and Moses Dupuy, who’d been convicted of defrauding the Internal Revenue Department, and Richard C. Enright, who’d been convicted of conspiracy to defraud the government. On assuming office, Johnson’s successor, President Ulysses Grant, reversed all three by calling back the U.S. marshals out delivering the pardons. A fourth pardon that Grant meant to reverse, to one James F. Martin, was permitted to stand because Martin had it already in hand, according to the late P.S. Ruckman, Jr., a political scientist at Rock Valley College in Rockford, Illinois. Grant’s reversal of Moses Dupuy’s pardon was challenged in court and upheld on the technical grounds that Dupuy never received it. (Ruckman, an expert on presidential pardons,

POTUS Joe Biden Hit The Ground Running, Busy Doing The People’s Work On Inauguration Day

On his Inauguration Day, following taking the Oath of Office, President Biden kept his campaign promise, signed at least 15 Executive Orders and other executive directives, all designed to protect American citizens from abuses of various types, to bring America back into accord with its international neighbors, and to begin strengthening the weaknesses created by the previous failed administration.

The first three Executive Orders were signed on camera from a room adjoining the Oval Office for such purposes.

1.) MEMORANDUM FOR THE SECRETARY OF STATE THE SECRETARY OF HOMELAND SECURITY
SUBJECT: Reinstating Deferred Enforced Departure for Liberians
https://www.whitehouse.gov/briefing-room/presidential-actions/2021/01/20/reinstating-deferred-enforced-departure-for-liberians/

2.) Pausing Federal Student Loan Payments
January 20, 2021
https://www.whitehouse.gov/briefing-room/statements-releases/2021/01/20/pausing-federal-student-loan-payments/

3.) Proclamation on the Termination Of Emergency With Respect To The Southern Border Of The United States And Redirection Of Funds Diverted To Border Wall Construction
January 20, 2021
https://www.whitehouse.gov/briefing-room/presidential-actions/2021/01/20/proclamation-termination-of-emergency-with-respect-to-southern-border-of-united-states-and-redirection-of-funds-diverted-to-border-wall-construction/

4.) Executive Order on Ethic Commitments by Executive Branch Personnel
January 20, 2021
https://www.whitehouse.gov/briefing-room/presidential-actions/2021/01/20/executive-order-ethic-commitments-by-executive-branch-personnel/

5.) Modernizing Regulatory Review
January 20, 2021
https://www.whitehouse.gov/briefing-room/presidential-actions/2021/01/20/modernizing-regulatory-review/

6.) Executive Order on Preventing and Combating Discrimination on the Basis of Gender Identity or Sexual Orientation
January 20, 2021
https://www.whitehouse.gov/briefing-room/presidential-actions/2021/01/20/executive-order-preventing-and-combating-discrimination-on-basis-of-gender-identity-or-sexual-orientation/

9.) Executive Order on Protecting Public Health and the Environment and Restoring Science to Tackle the Climate Crisis
January 20, 2021
https://www.whitehouse.gov/briefing-room/presidential-actions/2021/01/20/executive-order-protecting-public-health-and-environment-and-restoring-science-to-tackle-climate-crisis/

10.) Executive Order on Ensuring a Lawful and Accurate Enumeration and Apportionment Pursuant to the Decennial Census
January 20, 2021
https://www.whitehouse.gov/briefing-room/presidential-actions/2021/01/20/executive-order-ensuring-a-lawful-and-accurate-enumeration-and-apportionment-pursuant-to-decennial-census/

Inaugural Address by President Joseph R. Biden, Jr.

https://www.whitehouse.gov/briefing-room/speeches-remarks/2021/01/20/inaugural-address-by-president-joseph-r-biden-jr/

WhiteHouse.gov

The White House
13-16 minutes
The United States Capitol

11:52 AM EST

THE PRESIDENT: Chief Justice Roberts, Vice President Harris, Speaker Pelosi, Leader Schumer, Leader McConnell, Vice President Pence, distinguished guests, and my fellow Americans.

This is America’s day.

This is democracy’s day.

A day of history and hope.

Of renewal and resolve.

Through a crucible for the ages America has been tested anew and America has risen to the challenge.

Today, we celebrate the triumph not of a candidate, but of a cause, the cause of democracy.

The will of the people has been heard and the will of the people has been heeded.

We have learned again that democracy is precious.

Democracy is fragile.

And at this hour, my friends, democracy has prevailed.

So now, on this hallowed ground where just days ago violence sought to shake this Capitol’s very foundation, we come together as one nation, under God, indivisible, to carry out the peaceful transfer of power as we have for more than two centuries.

We look ahead in our uniquely American way – restless, bold, optimistic – and set our sights on the nation we know we can be and we must be.

I thank my predecessors of both parties for their presence here.

I thank them from the bottom of my heart.

You know the resilience of our Constitution and the strength of our nation.

As does President Carter, who I spoke to last night but who cannot be with us today, but whom we salute for his lifetime of service.

I have just taken the sacred oath each of these patriots took — an oath first sworn by George Washington.

But the American story depends not on any one of us, not on some of us, but on all of us.

On “We the People” who seek a more perfect Union.

This is a great nation and we are a good people.

Over the centuries through storm and strife, in peace and in war, we have come so far. But we still have far to go.

We will press forward with speed and urgency, for we have much to do in this winter of peril and possibility.

Much to repair.

Much to restore.

Much to heal.

Much to build.

And much to gain.

Few periods in our nation’s history have been more challenging or difficult than the one we’re in now.

A once-in-a-century virus silently stalks the country.

It’s taken as many lives in one year as America lost in all of World War II.

Millions of jobs have been lost.

Hundreds of thousands of businesses closed.

A cry for racial justice some 400 years in the making moves us. The dream of justice for all will be deferred no longer.

A cry for survival comes from the planet itself. A cry that can’t be any more desperate or any more clear.

And now, a rise in political extremism, white supremacy, domestic terrorism that we must confront and we will defeat.

To overcome these challenges – to restore the soul and to secure the future of America – requires more than words.

It requires that most elusive of things in a democracy:

Unity.

Unity.

In another January in Washington, on New Year’s Day 1863, Abraham Lincoln signed the Emancipation Proclamation.

When he put pen to paper, the President said, “If my name ever goes down into history it will be for this act and my whole soul is in it.”

My whole soul is in it.

Today, on this January day, my whole soul is in this:

Bringing America together.

Uniting our people.

And uniting our nation.

I ask every American to join me in this cause.

Uniting to fight the common foes we face:

Anger, resentment, hatred.

Extremism, lawlessness, violence.

Disease, joblessness, hopelessness.

With unity we can do great things. Important things.

We can right wrongs.

We can put people to work in good jobs.

We can teach our children in safe schools.

We can overcome this deadly virus.

We can reward work, rebuild the middle class, and make health care
secure for all.

We can deliver racial justice.

We can make America, once again, the leading force for good in the world.

I know speaking of

Analysis: Trump’s Georgia Phone Call Word Count

When analyzing language, we’re told that the number of times that a word is mentioned often indicates its importance. Samuel Johnson expressed it this way in Rambler #2 (March 24, 1750) by writing that, “Men more frequently require to be reminded, than informed.”

It should also be borne in mind that sometimes, when making a request, or even in casual conversation, per se, language is sometimes “coded,” meaning that one word stands for, and substitutes for another idea, or thought. Consider the 2004 book “I Heard You Paint Houses”: Frank “The Irishman” Sheeran & the Inside Story of The Mafia, The Teamsters & the Last Ride of Jimmy Hoffa” which became a motion picture entitled “The Irishman,” directed by Martin Scorsese, starring Robert DeNiro, Al Pacino, Joe Pesci, Harvey Keitel, and Ray Romano, among others.

The sentence “I heard you paint houses” was euphemistic (coded) language meaning to murder someone, that the person speaking the sentence was inquiring with the listener if the listener was a “hit man,” or murderer for hire, and obliquely, that the speaker wanted someone killed.

Trump’s beverage of choice is Diet Coke. It doesn’t seem to be working.

So, in the same way, when Trump speaks, he only barely hides his intentions. At least that’s the case in this example, though there are others, such as Trump’s now-infamous call to Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky, for which Trump was indicted (impeached), when he said in part,

“I would like you to do us a favor though because our country has been through a lot and Ukraine knows a lot about it. I would like you to find out what happened with this whole situation with Ukraine, they say Crowdstrike… I guess you have one of your wealthy people… The server, they say Ukraine has it. There are a lot of things that went on, the whole situation. … The other thing, There’s a lot of talk about Biden’s son, that Biden stopped the prosecution and a lot of people want to find out about that so whatever you can do with the Attorney General would be great. Biden went around bragging that he stopped the prosecution so if you can look into it… It sounds horrible to me.” 

While the following list is neither the entire, nor complete list, it is a listing of the words that are germane to the topic of the phone call with the Georgia Secretary of State as it pertains to the November General Election in which Trump lost to Biden in that state, for which Trump sought illegal relief from the Secretary of State.

Trump and his hirelings have

Hollow Words from 2017

“For too long, a small group in our nation’s Capital has reaped the rewards of government while the people have borne the cost.

“Washington flourished – but the people did not share in its wealth.

“Politicians prospered – but the jobs left, and the factories closed.

“The establishment protected itself, but not the citizens of our country.

“Their victories have not been your victories; their triumphs have not been your triumphs; and while they celebrated in our nation’s Capital, there was little to celebrate for struggling families all across our land.

“That all changes – starting right here, and right now, because this moment is your moment: it belongs to you.

“It belongs to everyone gathered here today and everyone watching all across America.

“This is your day. This is your celebration.

“And this, the United States of America, is your country.

“What truly matters is not which party controls our government, but whether our government is controlled by the people.

“January 20th 2017, will be remembered as the day the people became the rulers of this nation again.”

– newly elected President Donald J. Trump, Inaugural Address, January 20, 2017, Washington, D.C.

None of that was true.

None of that has been true.

None of that is true.

Contrary to what the Liar in Chief said, neither he, nor the Banana Republican Party, have made America great again.

Of course, the logic of his campaign slogan – “Make America Great Again” – is illogical, and inherently contradictory, because

In his last days in office, Trump gives to the rich.

Good-for-nothing bastard.

The late Reverend Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. had something to say about such abuse:

Whenever the government provides opportunities in privileges for white people and rich people they call it “subsidized” when they do it for Negro and poor people they call it “welfare.”

The fact that is the everybody in this country lives on welfare. Suburbia was built with federally subsidized credit. And highways that take our White brothers out to the suburbs were built with federally subsidized money to the tune of 90 percent.

Everybody is on welfare in this country. 

The problem is that we all too often have socialism for the rich and rugged free enterprise capitalism for the poor. That’s the problem.”

From a sermon entitled “The Minister to the Valley,” February 23, 1968, from the archives of the Southern Christian Leadership Conference.

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Scores Of Private Charitable Foundations Got Paycheck Protection Program Money

https://www.npr.org/2020/12/16/946739398/scores-of-private-charitable-foundations-got-paycheck-protection-program-money

Scores of private charitable foundations, set up by some of the nation’s wealthiest people, received money from the federal government’s Paycheck Protection Program, which was created last spring to save jobs at small businesses as the coronavirus tanked the economy.

NPR has identified at least 120 foundations that collectively received more than $7.5 million in PPP funding. That’s a small slice of the overall program, which disbursed about a half-trillion dollars, but some of the foundations are linked to individuals of considerable means: An oil magnate, a cable television tycoon, a dermatologist called the father of modern hair transplantation, and an aviation entrepreneur who founded companies with annual sales of more than a billion dollars.

President Trump speaks as Jovita Carranza, Administrator of the Small Business Administration; Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin; and Ivanka Trump, advisor to the president, listen during a Paycheck Protection Program event in the East Room of the White House on April 28, 2020.

Recipients also include the Walt Disney Family Foundation, the

100% Accurate: Dr. Jerrold M. Post, MD Predicted Trump’s Election Loss Behavior

“Should Trump win, as he did in 2016, he will make it a much bigger win and talking about the fraudulent election support on the Democratic side. But should Trump lose narrowly, I think we can be assured that he will not concede early. Trump may not even recognize the legitimacy of the election.”

–– Dr. Jerrold M. Post, MD, former Director of the CIA’s Center for the Analysis of Personality and Political Behavior, Chief Psychological Profiler, in Salon interview December 2, 2019

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WashingtonPost.com

CIA Psychological Profiler Who Labeled Trump “Dangerous” Dead Of COVID-19 Aged 86

By Sydney Trent

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As a pioneering psychological profiler for the Central Intelligence Agency and later as a consultant, Professor Dr. Jerrold M. Post, MD plumbed the lives, leadership styles and, at times, the mental illness of foreign heads around the globe. Over decades, his expertise and instincts were greatly in demand, especially at the White House.

The Yale-and-Harvard-trained psychiatrist advised former President Jimmy Carter about how best to negotiate with Menachem Begin and Anwar Sadat before the Camp David Peace Accords. He explained Sadat’s “Nobel Prize Complex” — his desire to be remembered as a great leader — and Begin’s biblical preoccupation and obsession with detail.

Post warned about labeling Saddam Hussein simply as “the mad man of the Middle East,” lest it mislead political leaders into thinking Hussein was unpredictable, when in fact he was not. As an expert in the psychology of terrorism, Post produced psychological profiles of suicide bombers in Israel and opined on the corporate leadership style of al-Qaeda leader Osama bin Laden.

Professor Dr. Jerrold M. Post, MD

And yet in late 2019 — a year before his death on Nov. 22 of COVID-19 at the age of 86 — Post found himself doing what at one point would have been unthinkable – publishing a book about the alarming psychological makeup of an American President.

“He was a Life Fellow of the APA, but he said if they kicked him out, he didn’t care,” said his wife, Carolyn Post. “He felt it was that important and that psychiatrists have a duty to warn.”

By then, Post had had a storied two-decade career as Founding Director of the CIA’s Center for the Analysis of Personality and Political Behavior. He then used his expertise to found Political Psychology Associates, a research and consulting firm that specialized in industrial espionage, counterterrorism and leadership assessment. All along, he lectured as a Professor at George Washington University, wrote 14 books and continued to see patients in a private practice he ran out of the basement of his Bethesda home.

His career success, his family said, was a reflection of an insatiable, roving curiosity and a probing empathy for his fellow humans — qualities that also made him a highly engaging friend and a nurturing husband, father and doctor.

He devoured books about politics and history, with a penchant for

Deluded Donald “Loser” Trump

What is the word used to describe the condition in which someone believes as true something that’s blatantly not true?

By the way, “belief” is only necessary or required when there’s little-to-no evidence to give credence to a supposition – aka “conjecture” – and is similarly differentiated from theory, which is based upon some type, or degree, of evidence.

Deluded – holding to a false belief; deceived thoroughly

Now, while I don’t consider myself to be either a religious, nor spiritual individual, per se, I do happen to be fairly well-versed in (good pun… I know), and know my way around the Judeo-Christian Scriptures, and this passage from 2 Thessalonians 2 seems entirely apropos (in case you’re reading Donald, that’d be “Second Thessalonians, chapter 2”):

verses 9-11
“The appearing of the lawless one, whose presence is according to the working of the Adversary, will be attended with various types of power, signs, and false amazements. Silly and naive people will be fooled by his evil deeds. They could be preserved from harm, but because they will refuse to love the truth and accept it, consequently, they will be covered over themselves with a deluding influence so that they will believe what is false.”

The three men who wrote that?

The Apostle Paul, his sidekick Silas, and Paul’s disciple/apostle Timothy.

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Trump’s Legal Team Cried Vote Fraud, But Courts Found None

By Maryclaire Dale
November 22, 2020 GMT
PHILADELPHIA (AP) — As they frantically searched for ways to salvage President Donald Trump’s failed reelection bid, his campaign pursued a dizzying game of legal hopscotch across six states that centered on the biggest prize of all: Pennsylvania.

The strategy may have played well in front of television cameras and on talk radio. But it has proved a disaster in court, where judges uniformly rejected their claims of vote fraud and found the campaign’s legal work amateurish.

In a ruling late Saturday, U.S. District Judge Matthew Brann — a Republican and Federalist Society member in central Pennsylvania — compared the campaign’s legal arguments to “Frankenstein’s Monster,” concluding that Trump’s team offered only “speculative accusations,” not proof of rampant corruption.

Now, as the legal doors close on Trump’s attempts to have courts do what voters would not do on Election Day, and deliver to  him a second term, his efforts in Pennsylvania show how far he is willing to push baseless theories of widespread voter fraud.

Rudy Giuliani, President Trump’s personal attorney and lead attorney for his re-election campaign, speaks to the media at a press conference held in the rear parking lot of Four Seasons Total Landscaping company – adjacent a sex shop and crematorium – on November 7, 2020 in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. The press conference took place just minutes after news networks announced that Joe Biden had won the presidency over Donald Trump after it was projected that he had won the state of Pennsylvania. (Photo by Chris McGrath/Getty Images)

It was led by Rudy Giuliani, Trump’s personal lawyer, who descended on the state the Saturday after the Nov. 3 election as the count dragged on while the President played golf. Summoning reporters to a scruffy, far-flung corner of Philadelphia on Nov. 7, he held forth at a site that would soon become legendary: Four Seasons Total Landscaping – not the luxurious Four Seasons Hotel.

The 11:30 am. news conference was doomed from the start.

At 11:26 a.m., news outlets had

Sore Loser Trumpians Violate Law, Create Problems In Milwaukee County, Wisconsin Vote Recount

This is your President, America. Revel in the moment when you elected an incompetent idiot.

Surely, this surprises exactly… NO ONE.

Perhaps we should take to calling POS45 the Liar in Chief/Liar n’ Thief, either “Loserman,” or “L-POTUS” for Loser-POTUS.

Remember: In the topsy-turvy surreality world of the Narcissist in Chief, losers win, and winners lose – and he never loses.

America, you voted for a goddamn sicko, a genuinely mentally ill motherfucker, who has weakened America in the eyes of her enemies, and in the eyes of her allies.

Trump is a true Piece Of Shit 45.

Maybe, if the world is lucky, if there’s any justice at all, after he leaves office, he’ll be indicted at the Federal and State levels, prosecuted and convicted, and bankrupted. Hell… maybe even he’ll die, or be incapacitated quickly.

Oh!

And THANKS for praying for him!

“Let his years be few; let someone else take his position.”
Psalm 109:8 (NLT)

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Wisconsin Officials: Trump Observers Obstructing Recount

By Michael Tarm
Saturday, 21 November 2020

MILWAUKEE (AP) — Election officials in Milwaukee County, Wisconsin’s most populous county, reported that so-called observers with the Trump Campaign were interfering with legal operations by obstructing the recount of legally-cast ballots, and were also attempting to obstruct a recount of the presidential results by objecting to every ballot tabulators randomly pulled to count.

Trump requested a recount in the heavily liberal counties of Milwaukee and Dane hoping to “undo” the Democrat Joe Biden’s victory margin of 20,600 votes. Never in state history has there ever been a recount in elections with such a large margin of victory, and legal experts say that Trump’s strategy is widely perceived as attemping an eventual court challenge, part of an effort in 6 key states – AZ, GA, MI, NV, PA, WI –  to “undo” his election loss.

Milwaukee County Clerk George Christenson said that a steady stream of constant complaints by Republicans in Milwaukee County was significantly delaying the recount, and that many Trump “observers/objectors/obstructors” were violating rules by constantly interrupting vote counters with questions and comments.

Remarking that observers from the Trump campaign “clearly don’t know what they are doing,” he characterized their bad behavior saying “that’s unacceptable.”

Milwaukee County Election Commissioner, Tim Posnanski, reported to his fellow commissioners that Trump campaign representatives were violating rules by

Forced To Read Truth

Dissociated from reality, the Current White House Occupant continues demonstrating how mentally deranged he truly is.

Just totally unhinged.

I’ve written previously that the phrase “the pathology of the American presidency” is something which I never imagined thinking, or saying, much less writing.

And yet, here we are.

The so-called “mainstream media” remains entirely too kind to the sitting President, by steadfastly refusing to call him a liar. Instead, what we get

Fact Checking Thom Hartmann –OR– Did Trump Really Do/Say That?

“Fact checking” is a relatively new phenomenon, having become necessitated by the seemingly incessant barrage of lies, falsehoods, fabrications, exaggerations, and otherwise untrue remarks, comments, statements, insinuations, and innuendo of the President and those in the near vicinity of, and within the orbit of his warped, demented, corrupted, and perverted “inner circle.”

Had there been no POS45 President, there’d have been no need for “fact checkers,” per se – at least not in the sense to which we’ve so quickly become accustomed to them… including their imposters.

Thom Hartmann

The comments of most people can be taken at face value, that they’re true, and if they’re exaggerated, at least the exaggeration is clearly understood by the listener/hearer. And even if the content shared was biased, that too, was clearly understood, even if it was reported upon, relayed or conveyed by a third party – disinterested, or not.

As an aside, in that vein of truth-telling, there are at least two entertaining and fun-to-watch motion pictures which stories are based upon the premise of truth-telling. In one, everyone in society tells the truth, or at least is incapable of lying, save for one individual – Ricky Gervais, in the 2009 comedy “The Invention of Lying.” In another, the protagonist is temporarily rendered incapable of saying anything other than the truth – the 1997 comedy “Liar Liar,” starring Jim Carrey.

But as we have all sadly come to understand – some later, while others early on – is that when Donald John Trump speaks, he is “not holding to the truth, for there is no truth in him,” and when Donald John Trump “lies, he speaks his native language” with a forked tongue. And according to those who continue to track his prevarications, as of the last update August 27, 2020, the Current White House Occupant had uttered a total of 22,247 false or misleading claims in 1,316 days as the nation’s Chief Executive.

Regarding assertions that the Current White House Occupant is neither racist nor bigoted, the axiom “the apple doesn’t fall too far from the tree” applies, because there is extant a news record and official public record of his father’s June 1927 arrest at a KKK rally described then as a “near-riot” which occurred in conjunction with that parade/rally.

Not only that, but there’s the persistent fact and inconvenient truth of the Justice Department’s 1973 Federal racial housing discrimination lawsuit against him, his father, and their company, all of which is a very embarrassing matter of public record for him.

And then, there’s his continued recalcitrant adherence to the false idea that the “Central Park 5” were guilty of the particularly brutal beating and repeated raping of a 28-year old White female jogger, a 1989 case in which 5 young Black & Hispanic male teens ages 14, 15, and 16, were (falsely) accused, convicted, sentenced, and imprisoned for a crime they did not commit. Later, in 2002, after serving their sentences, DNA evidence and analysis cleared them all, and the true solitary culprit – a previously convicted rapist – was found. The young men’s convictions were all vacated, and they shared a $41 million settlement.

Despite the overwhelming and incontrovertible abundance of evidence of their innocence, the nation’s current Chief Executive maintains the false assertion of their guilt. Perhaps the Earth is flat, after all, eh?

And then, there’s the matter of a Federal Class Action lawsuit against him and his eponymous, now-defunct “university” which evidence found was nothing but a scam, a fraudulent, deceptive, shyster, high-pressure bait-and-switch criminal organization, which case was eventually settled for $25 million.

“You belong to your father, the devil,
and you want to carry out your father’s desires.
He was a murderer from the beginning,
not holding to the truth,
for there is no truth in him.
When he lies, he speaks his native language,
for he is a liar and the father of lies.”

– Jesus of Nazareth, as recorded in John 8:44 (NIV)

But again, more the point, and that being the veracity of remarks made by Thom Hartmann, a longtime renown liberal radio show host, and author, and speaker. 

In his November 5, 2020 column “Even Losing Will be a Business Opportunity for Trump” Thom Hartmann wrote in part:

“When Donald Trump first decided to run for president, he confided to friends that his real goal was to get publicity for his brand and squeeze a larger payment out of NBC for his TV show. He even bragged that he’d be the first person to make money running for the White House.

“Once he unexpectedly won,

Republicans Caught Suddenly Growing Backbone

In response to the President’s most recent false claims made at a quickly-convened 2:35 AM Wednesday early morning campaign press conference in the White House, that counting legally-cast ballots in states like Pennsylvania “is a major fraud on our nation,” numerous Republican leaders have suddenly not only openly contradicted his false and maliciously scurrilous remarks, but blatantly repudiated them in some cases. For some, it’s a rare occurrence to criticize him, or to bite the political hand that feeds them, for those presently in office.

In pertinent part, he said,

“So we won there, we lead [present tense] by 76,000 votes, with almost nothing left. And all of a sudden, everything just stopped. This is a fraud on the American public. This is an embarrassment to our country. We were getting ready to win this election… frankly, we did win this election. So our goal now is to ensure the integrity for the good of this nation. This is a very big moment. This is a major fraud on our nation. We want… the law to be used in a proper manner. So we’ll be going to the U.S. Supreme Court. We want all voting to stop. We don’t want them to find any ballots at 4 o’clock in the morning and add them to the list, okay? It’s, it’s a very sad… it’s a very sad moment. To me, this a very sad moment. And… we will win this, and as far as I’m concerned, we already have won it. So I just want to thank you.”

• Republican Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell of Kentucky:
“Claiming you’ve won the election is different from finishing the counting.”

• Former New Jersey Governor Chris Christie on ABC News:
“There’s just no basis to make that argument tonight. There just isn’t. All these votes have to be counted that are in now. You have to let the process play itself out before you judge it to be flawed. And by prematurely doing this, if there is a flaw later, he has undercut his own credibility. So I think it’s a bad strategic decision, it’s a bad political decision, and it’s not the kind of decision you would expect someone to make tonight who holds the position he holds.”

• Illinois Representative Adam Kinzinger replied on Twitter:
“Stop. Full stop. The votes will be counted and you will either win or lose. When the results are confirmed, we must accept the outcomes with respect for our democracy.”

• Florida Senator Marco Rubio remarked on Twitter:
“Taking days to count legally cast votes is NOT fraud.”

• Maryland Governor Larry Hogan:
The President’s remarks are

SCOTUS Fun Facts!

Merrick Garland was nominated to the Supreme Court by President Barack Obama in March 2016. The Senate never voted on his nomination.

Led by Republican Senate Majority Leader “Moscow Mitch” McConnell, the Senate took no action on POTUS Barack Obama’s nominee Merrick B. Garland on March 16, 2016.

The last time the Senate had NOT considered a SCOTUS nominee was 61 years 4 months 8 days prior with Harlan Johnson, who was nominated by Dwight D. Eisenhower on November 9, 1954.

The first nominee to have NO ACTION taken upon his nomination was…

NPR F***s Up

Today, A.C. Barrett was administered the Constitutional oath as a Justice on the U.S. Supreme Court by SCOTUS Justice Clarence Thomas.

She must still be administered the oath of office.

It’s only her SECOND job as a judge.

And she hasn’t even been a judge a total of 3 years yet!

Not even!!

Can you say “GREENHORN”? “Wet behind the ears”?

Recall that she came from the 7th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals – her first job as a jurist, which Trump also gave her. No doubt, he’ll expect something in return.

Yesterday, the Senate confirmed her nomination along a party line vote, 52R-48D.

It only took 31 days from nomination to confirmation for the Republican Senate Majority Leader “Moscow Mitch” McConnell of Kentucky to ramrod her through the process – a record time. She must like being

POTUS & FLOTUS Test POSITIVE For COVID-19

🎯BULLSEYE!!🦠☠️

The “October Surprise” is right on time!

Not to worry… a cup of bleach oughta’ clear it right up!🤣
Or some hydroxychloroquine.🏴‍☠️
Sarcasm purposely intended.

Why does this NOT surprise anyone – not even one iota?

When it comes to the matter of the eventuality of his infection, for quite some time numerous individuals have maintained that “the booms are getting closer,” a colloquialism meaning that sooner, or later, the “booms” will find their target.

It’s disturbing that

The Nixon Prophesy

Recalling that even a broken clock is correct twice daily:

“Standing in this same place a third of a century ago, Franklin Delano Roosevelt addressed a nation ravaged by depression and gripped in fear. He could say in surveying the nation!s troubles: “They concern, thank God, only material things.”

“Our crisis today is in reverse.

“We have found ourselves rich in goods, but ragged in spirit; reaching with magnificent precision for the moon, but falling into raucous discord on earth.

“We are caught in war, wanting peace. We are torn by division, wanting unity. We see around us empty lives, wanting fulfillment. We see tasks that need doing, waiting for hands to do them.

“To a crisis of the spirit, we need an answer of the spirit.

“And to find that answer, we need only look within ourselves.

“When we listen to “the better angels of our nature,” we find that they

Sen. Lindsey Graham on SCOTUS pick: “I want you to use my words against me.”

“I want you to use my words against me:
If there’s a Republican president in 2016,
and a vacancy occurs in the last year of the first term,
you can say ‘Lindsey Graham said,
‘Let’s let the next President,
whoever it might be,
make that nomination,”
and you could use my words against me,
and you’d be absolutely right.”

– South Carolina Republican Senator Lindsey Graham, to the Senate Judiciary Committee March, 10, 2016

https://www.c-span.org/video/?c4907933/user-clip-sc-sen-lindsey-graham-judiciary-committee

BACKGROUND: Supreme Court Justice Antonin Scalia had earlier died unexpectedly during his sleep while on a hunting trip in Texas on February 3, 2016, thus creating an opening on the nation’s highest court. Within an hour of the national notice of Justice Scalia’s death, Senate Republican Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (KY) had issued a statement to the effect that he would not grant any consideration (floor vote) to any nominee from President Barack Obama.

Republican Senator Chuck Grassley of Iowa, Chairman of the Senate Judiciary Committee, had made his intentions known that he would follow the so-called “Biden Rule,” which referred to then-Delaware Senator Joe Biden’s speech on the Supreme Court confirmation process, given June 25, 1992 on the Senate floor. [C-SPAN linked video]

NOTE: Senator Biden’s verbatim remarks on Thursday, June 25, 1992 may be found in the Congressional Record, Volume 138, part 12, beginning on page 16307, and continuing through to page 16321. At that point, Senator Strom Thurmond of South Carolina began to make his responses, all of which are found on page 16321. The file may also be downloaded from this site here: Congressional Record Senate 6-25-1992 Biden–Reform of Confimation Process speech aka “Biden Rule”

In that speech, Biden argued that then-President George H.W. Bush should wait until after the November General Election to put forth any nominee to any potential Supreme Court vacancy which might arise during the summer, or if not, should establish a precedent, and nominate a moderate whom would be acceptable to the then-Democrat-controlled Senate.

Republicans later began to refer to that concept as the “Biden rule,” though Biden reiterated that he had always thought that the President and Congress should “work together to overcome partisan differences” when considering judicial nominees.

South Carolina Senator Lindsey Graham, (R)

Linked above from C-SPAN are South Carolina Republican Senator Lindsey Graham’s full remarks (approximately 6 minutes) to the Senate Judiciary Committee on March 10, 2016 on the matter of consideration of SCOTUS nominees in an election year.

In his remarks, he noted that he had voted FOR Elena Kagan, and Sonia Sotomayor NOT because he agreed with them ideologically, but because he thought they were qualified.

In those same remarks, he also warned also of an increasing tendency of the Senate toward rancor, like in the House of Representatives, and of ideological partisanship accompanying judicial nominees, some of which COULD in the FUTURE be significantly detrimental to the nation because of a nominee’s unfitness for the bench, and an ideological unwillingness of the controlling party to compromise, or for an unwillingness of dissenting members in the controlling party to vote against an unqualified candidate put forth by the controlling party.

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C-SPAN VIDEO DESCRIPTION: The Senate Judiciary Committee held a business meeting on whether to hold a hearing on a Supreme Court justice nomination to replace Justice Antonin Scalia. Committee Chair Chuck Grassley (R-IA) said

Trump Signs Peace Deal With Nations Not At War

Not to worry.

It’s just another episode of the Trump Surreality Show.

You haven’t missed anything.

“We say enough to our conflict, after years of not fighting each other, finally we’ll bring calm to Dubai’s surrounding areas,” the Netanyahu character sarcastically begins.

The opening line derided the fact that the so-called “peace deal” was in fact between two countries who had never been at war.

“Unlike Begin, I didn’t compromise on anything,” the Israeli figure continues, referring to former Prime Minister Menachem Begin signing a peace treaty with Egyptian president Anwar Sadat in 1979.

If you really want to know what people think about their politics, and (mis)leaders, look at their humor.

So, here’s what Israelis think about the not-really-a-peace deal the Carnival Barker in Chief manipulated today.

It’s just

Will Trump Attend Biden’s Inauguration?

GOP candidate wanna-be for the Presidential nomination, Donald Trump at Ames, Iowa Family Leadership Summit, Saturday, July 18, 2015.

At this point, that’s the only question remaining.

America, what further evidence do you need in order to kick Liar in Chief, Asshole in Chief, POS45 Donald John Trump to the curb?

Why in the hell did you ever elect such a low-life scumbag in the first place?!?

Seriously.

Why?

Whose lies did you believe – his, or Jerry Falwell, Jr.’s?

Or both?

Recently (Friday, September 4, 2020), Jeffrey Goldberg, Editor in Chief of The Atlantic, quoted at least 4 separate unnamed military sources who were present in 2018 when Trump, as POTUS said of his decision not to attend a memorial ceremony in Aisne-Marne American Cemetery near Paris in 2018,

“Why should I go to that cemetery?
It’s filled with losers.”

Read Jeff Goldberg’s article in The Atlantic. How could anyone support Trump? pic.twitter.com/xqfnklmCBq

— Major General (ret) Paul Eaton (@PaulDEaton52) September 4, 2020

Three different sources with direct knowledge of the event, said that in August 2018, when Senator McCain died, Trump said to his senior staff,

“We’re not going to support that loser’s funeral.”

Later, when he saw that flags had been lowered to half mast, eyewitnesses said that Trump became enraged and said,

Donald’s Daily Death Count

AT LEAST

183,068

KNOWN DEAD

FROM

COVID-19

BECAUSE OF

DONALD “DJ” TRUMP.

 

VERY NEARLY 6 MILLION INFECTED.

 

ALL BECAUSE OF TRUMP.

What Happens When Trump’s Corona Virus Disease-19 Meets Influenza-2020?

Remember: It’ll “miraculously disappear” when the weather gets warmer, and “we totally have it under control.”

Of course, none of this is real.

It’s all just “fake news,” folks.

Nothing to see here.

Move along.

And what if, and when, it mutates?

When folks get COVID-19 -and- the seasonal influenza?

Because IT WILL HAPPEN.

There’s not just a HIGH likelihood that it will.

IT WILL HAPPEN.

Then what?

Remember ebola?

What if SARS-CoV, aka coronavirus or COVID-19, had been Ebola?

We and the world would’ve REALLY been fucked.

Given that the Current White House Occupant POS45 obliterated and practically eliminated the entire organizational infrastructure for biological terrorism and other biothreats to national security, it could happen.

It’s poised and ready to happen.

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NOTE:

On July 20, 2017 Reuters reported that White House Homeland Security Adviser Thomas Bossert told the annual Aspen Security Forum that “We have not had as a country a comprehensive bio-defense strategy ever. It’s high time we had a bio-defense strategy,” and noted that retired Navy Rear Admiral Tim Ziemer was contributing to the development of the strategy as Senior Director for Global Health Security and Biothreats, National Security Council, and served in office April 2017 – May 8, 2018.

Tom Bossert, Assistant to the President for Homeland Security and Counterterrorism January 20, 2017 – April 10, 2018

Bossert noted that the Bush and Obama administrations took steps to address biological threats to National Security after

Donald Trump: An Accidental President

Donald Trump was never serious about becoming president, and campaigned exclusively as a lark, in order to better position himself in upcoming contract negotiations with NBC.

Thus said Howard Stern at least 3 years ago.

While it may have been a topic of some minor discussion earlier – and therefore not discussed much at all – Howard Stern, radio “shock jock” and self-described “King of All Media” – has been a long-time friend of the Current White House Occupant, the Liar in Chief himself, Donald J. “DJ” Trump.

As such, when Trump told Stern his plans, Stern said he advised Trump not to run, and later, again advised him to drop out of the running to become the Republican party’s nominee.

Trump has been a guest on Stern’s eponymous “The Howard Stern Show” many, many, many times. And socially, away from the microphone, Stern and Trump have enjoyed a long-running friendly relationship. Suffice it to say, Trump and Stern are intertwined – not quite inexplicably, or even inexorably, but definitely inescapably.

With over 24 appearances over 20 years, it would be reasonable to say that Trump has some level of relationship with Stern.

And, as you might imagine, there’s

Trump Announces COVID-19 Cure

President Trump announced to little fanfare or global acclaim, that he had discovered a cure for COVID-19.

The world’s leaders took no notice, neither did global news gathering and reporting interests.

Neither did the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, nor the Food and Drug Administration – which recently publicly stated that they have withdrawn their temporary emergency approval for experimental use of the prescription medication hydroxychloroquine to treat COVID-19, and stated officially that ” FDA has revoked the emergency use authorization (EUA) to use hydroxychloroquine and chloroquine to treat COVID-19 in certain hospitalized patients.”

President Trump has frequently touted hydroxychloroquine as a treatment and/or cure, and has frequently boasted that that he takes it himself to protect against COVID-19 infection.

Why did he do that?

Self interest.

On April 6 this year, the New York Times wrote that “Mr. Trump himself has a small personal financial interest in Sanofi, the French drugmaker that makes Plaquenil, the brand-name version of hydroxychloroquine.”

So when Trump announced that he’d found a cure for COVID-19, one might understand why he received little-to-no acclaim.

His solution and cure for the novel coronavirus COVID-19 SARS-CoV-2 was utterly simple, however.

And yet,

Donald Trump… Bless his heart.

Two thoughts.

1.) I am no fan of the current President.

2.) The Current White House Occupant is not only a blithering idiot, and utter incompetent, but is a dictatorially-inclined abuser and bully.

That’s why he demands “loyalty,” rather than honesty and expertise. He micromanages, and fires anyone whom has any disagreement with him – no matter how minuscule.

And to be certain, as I have maintained for years, and continue to maintain, I am not now, nor have I ever been a member of any political party. I’m a GDI – God Damn Independent.

That’s also why ALL polls relating to his job performance/approval rating during the past 4 years have ONLY briefly – March 25 – April 6 this year, and May 15 – 19 – been above 46%.

That’s 12 + 5 days = 17 days. Only 17 days out of 1618 calendar days. Expressed as a percentage, that’s 1.0506%.  In 4 years 5 months 5 days, that’s only 1 day out of every 95 days has been a day in which he had the approval of more than a minority of Americans – 46% – not even a plurality.

The majority – 54% – have never approved of his performance.

Not even once.

The highest his approval rating has been is 47.4% which occurred, oddly enough, on April 1, 2020.

Most of the time, his approval rating has floated between 40% and 44%. It’s now at 42.3%, with the lowest being 37.1% on December 16, 2017. Even his beloved Fox News has found that 1207 Registered Voters who were polled May 17-20 this year overwhelmingly disapproved of him by a 10 point margin, 44 to 54.

In fact, in the totality of all polls conducted since the term of his presidency began, by well-known, highly respected, and legitimate polling organizations such as Gallup, Pew Research, Marist College, Quinnipiac University, Harvard-Harris, Reuters-Ipsos, Emerson College Polling, Monmouth University Polling Institute, etc., the OVERWHELMING and EXCEEDINGLY VAST MAJORITY of all polls conducted since the first one which was done by Reuters from the period 1/20-1/24, NONE have ever been over 3 %age points spread.

So, it’s not even close.

But moreover, the claims made about him – that he is racist, and bigoted – merit examination, and warrant genuinely serious consideration.

And it is in that vein in which we must ponder the question:

Is Donald Trump racist?

The aphorism “the apple doesn’t fall too far from the tree” is apropos here, because his late father, Fred J. Trump, was a well-known racist, and was once arrested at a Ku Klux Klan rally in New York City. And though at the time, it was not “front-page news,” per se, the report of his arrest was a matter of record which was published in the New York Times, and is validated by now-public Census records which verify his address, which was also published in the story.

A Washington Post story about the matter dated February 29, 2016 by Philip Bump, National Correspondent, stated in part, that:

“The predication for the Klan to march, according to a flier passed around Jamaica beforehand, was that “Native-born Protestant Americans” were being “assaulted by Roman Catholic police of New York City.” “Liberty and Democracy have been trampled upon,” it continued, “when native-born Protestant Americans dare to organize to protect one flag, the American flag; one school, the public school; and one language, the English language.”

“It’s not clear from the context what role Fred Trump played in the brawl. The news article simply notes that seven men were arrested in the “near-riot of the parade,” all of whom were represented by the same lawyers.”

Fred Trump, Donald Trump’s father, was arrested at a Ku Klux Klan rally in New York City, on Memorial Day 1927. “Brawls erupted in New York led by sympathizers of the Italian fascist movement and the Ku Klux Klan. In the fascist brawl, which took place in the Bronx, two Italian men were killed by anti-fascists. In Queens, 1,000 white-robed Klansmen marched through the Jamaica neighborhood, eventually spurring an all-out brawl in which seven men were arrested. One of those arrested was Fred Trump of 175-24 Devonshire Rd. in Jamaica.”

A contemporaneous story published about the matter in the “Daily Star noted that Trump was detained “on a charge of refusing to disperse from a parade when ordered to do so.””

As well, when he was aged 27, Donald found himself – along with his father – named in a lawsuit by the U.S. Department of Justice.

The charge?

Racial discrimination in housing practices.

Fred Trump, as enumerated in the 1930 U.S. Census. The address listed for “Fred C. Trump” is the same address given for Fred Trump in the 1927 story of his arrest at a KKK rally in the Jamaica neighborhood of New York City.

“In October 1973, the government accused Fred and Donald Trump of violations of the Fair Housing Act of 1968 at 39 Trump-built-and managed buildings in Brooklyn, Queens, and Staten Island.

“The Trumps were drowning in evidence of systematic racial discrimination. On at least seven occasions, prospective tenants had filed complaints against the Trumps with the human rights commission, alleging racially discriminatory patterns and practices. 

“Investigative journalist Wayne Barrett, writing in the Village Voice, reported that the evidence of racial discrimination against the Trumps was overwhelming.”

For 2 years, the Trumps fought the suit with an attorney whom Donald met in a bar while cruising for sex – “Le Club, located on 55^th Street on the Upper East Side of Manhattan, an exclusive watering hole for demimondaine café society” – Roy Cohn.

---

---

“During their 63 years of marriage, Fred carried on a long-term affair with his secretary, according to Burleigh [journalist Nina Burleigh in her book Golden Handcuffs: The Secret History of Trump’s Women], who writes that Fred “was such a man of habit that he took her to lunch at the same Italian place near his office in Brooklyn for years.” Trump biographer Harry Hurt wrote that Fred was nicknamed “King of Miami Beach” for his rampant philandering in South Florida back in the day. But Donald himself judged it as a strong union: “I always told my father I made more money than him but he had a very successful marriage, he really did.”“

– Elise Jordan, “How Donald Trump’s Mother Did—and Didn’t—Shape His Life,” Vanity Fair, May 7, 2020

From: “Crossing the Line: How Donald Trump Behaved With Women in Private,” by Michael Barbaro and Megan Twohey, May 14, 2016, New York Times

Again, the apple doesn’t fall too far from the tree.

Some have asserted that support of Trump among the Black/minority community is/was significant, and helped in great part to put him into the White House. There’s no evidence to support that claim.

One only need examine his administration for STRONG anecdotal evidence. Dr. Ben Carson, MD is the token Black in his administration, and serves as head of the Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) – an agency often associated and affiliated with minorities.

Thank DJ Trump!

Today, 976 people in the United States DIED of COVID-19.

At this rate – 976 per day – it’ll only be 8.75 more days until we SURPASS ALL American DEATHS in WWI – 116,516.

Thanks, Trump.

Trump: A Made-for-Teevee President

Apparently, the Current White House Occupant (CWHO) thinks that he’s fooling you.

But hopefully, you know the saying:

Fool me once, shame on you;

fool me twice, shame on me.

The origin of the “fooled me once, shame on you…” adage is from an 1817 book entitled “The Court and Character of King James, Written and Taken by Sir A. W., Being an Eye and Ear Witness,” p52 (Sir Anthony Weldon)

POTUS George W. Bush couldn’t get that saying right when he visited East Literature Magnet School in Nashville, Tennessee September 17, 2002 – his remarks are interestingly entirely apropos to today and befitting the CWHO:

“There’s a lot of talk about Iraq on our TV screens, and there should be, because we’re trying to figure out how best to make the world a peaceful place. There’s an old saying in Tennessee — I know it’s in Texas, probably in Tennessee — that says, fool me once, shame on — shame on you. Fool me — you can’t get fooled again. You’ve got to understand the nature of the regime we’re dealing with. This is a man who has delayed, denied, deceived the world. For the sake of liberty and justice for all, the United Nations Security Council must act, must act in way to hold this regime to account, must not be fooled, must be relevant to keep the peace.

Part of the American history teaches us that we must lead toward a more peaceful world. Part of the history of the world shows that as threats develop, we must deal with them before they become too acute, unmanageable. Part of our history is, is that we’re a peaceful people. We love and long for peace, that we want peace for generations to come. But sometimes we must act in order to achieve the peace.”

It should be noted as well, that there is SIGNIFICANTLY IMMENSE irony in those remarks which are entirely apropos and befittingly descriptive of this POTUS – the Current White House Occupant.

The CHWO is without question “… a man who has delayed, denied, and deceived the world” – AND the American people.

The self-congratulatory whitewashed video POS45 had made of himself in that act was more like

President Trump Weaponizing COVID-19

President Trump, and his Attorney General William Barr are weaponizing COVID-19.

In a conference “pastor call,” AG Barr recently said that “I think the intransigence on this makes me feel that undergirding some of this is really animus against religion.”

United States Attorney General William “Bill” Barr

However, earlier on Tuesday, April 14, at a press conference, Mr. Barr had confirmed that law, and Supreme Court (SCOTUS) decisions state explicitly that Constitutionally-guaranteed freedoms are not absolute, and permit reasonable limits to them.

“In exigent circumstances, when the community as a whole faces an impending harm of this magnitude, and where the measures are tailored to meeting the imminent danger, the constitution does allow some temporary restriction on our liberties that would not be tolerated in normal circumstances.”

In that same statement, he also stated clearly that, “government may not impose special restrictions on religious activity that do not also apply to similar nonreligious activity.”

Mr. Barr’s April remarks were in a DOJ-issued a “Statement of Interest in Support of Plaintiffs” dated April 14, 2020 in “Temple Baptist Church, et al” v “City of Greenville, et al” Mississippi, filed in the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Mississippi, and states in part that, “This case raises issues of national public importance regarding the interplay between the government’s compelling interest in protecting public health and safety from COVID-19 and citizens’ fundamental right to free exercise of religion.”

His remarks are also borne out in other documents dating from October 2014 in the Library of Congress written by Andrew M. Winston, Legal Reference Librarian referencing Supreme Court (SCOTUS) cases which have found that “the First Amendment does not provide the right to

Trump Lies About COVID-19

POS45 lies to Americans about COVID-19 testing… among many other things.

The President Liar in Chief continuously falsely claims (diplomatic language meaning that “he lies“) that no other nation has done more testing for COVID-19 than the United States.

THAT IS BLATANTLY FALSE!

NUMEROUS and various sources attest that
the President
Liar in Chief’s
claims are
unquestionably
100% pure LIES.

The Liar in Chief plays the American people for fools, that they do not, and cannot understand that a nation with a higher population could have a lower testing rate than a smaller nation, both by percentage of population tested, and by per capita testing.

For example, a nation with a 1,000,000 population which tested 100,000 people (10%), naturally has raw testing numbers higher than a nation of 10,000 people who tested all 10,000 (100%) of their residents.

The per capita ratio for the two nations would be 1 per capita for the 100% testing, and 0.1 per capita for the 100,000 people with 10% testing.

Even the Guam Daily Post acknowledged his farcically absurdist claims in a story headlined as “Trump claims US leads the world in testing; Numbers show that’s not true” by writing,

“The United States as of Sunday had completed nearly 9 million coronavirus tests, according to the Covid Tracking Project. While an enormous number, the amount is equivalent to 2.74% of the U.S. population and does not give a full representation of the virus’ reach within American society.

“There are far higher levels of per-capita testing in other parts of the world. In tiny Iceland, the figure is a 15.4%, but that amounts to about 54,000 tests across a population of 352,000 people.

“Yet major industrialized economies with large outbreaks also have fared better in testing than the United States: Italy has conducted tests equivalent to 4.31% of its population, and Germany is at 3.35%. The United States also is still behind its northern neighbor, Canada, where its 1.09 million tests are now equivalent to 2.95% of the county’s population.”

As well, Dr. Fauci, MD testified before the Senate Health Committee via online remote video teleconference today and contradicted practically everything that the Liar in Chief POS45 has claimed, that the United States is leading the way with more testing than any other nation, and that COVID-19 is “under control” in the USA.

Bluntly, that is utter bullshit.

Confirmed Coronavirus Cases and Deaths by Country and Territory

The coronavirus COVID-19 is affecting

Trump’s Made America GREAT Again!!!

Editor’s annotation appears in the conclusion.

GREAT job, Mister President!

Way to go, Republicans!

We’re Number 1!

Trump has made America GREAT AGAIN!

Now, let’s Keep America Great Again!

COVID-19 Morning Update May 12

We can’t let the Democrats get in the way of Republican success!

Over 1,347,936 Confirmed Cases of COVID-19, and increasing daily!

In fact, MORE than ANY OTHER NATION in the world!

And the best part?

COVID-19 Nightly Update May 11

More deaths than any other nation, as well!

In fact, now, with 80,684 confirmed COVID-19 deaths, soon America is on track, and will soon have MORE than the TOTAL Deaths of the United Kingdom (32,141), Italy (30,739), and Spain (26,744) COMBINED – 89,624!

And face it… a few folks will have to die to KEEP AMERICA GREAT!

COVID-19 Morning Update May 11

But their sacrifices will NOT be forgotten!

They’re PATRIOTS and HEROES on the FRONT LINES of the ECONOMY!

They’re Warriors for Wall Street!

We can’t let the Made in Wuhan Chinese Virus stop us!

We’re NUMBER 1!

Dow Jones Industrial Average 12-31-1970 to 5-12-2020

And the precious Stock Market is STILL HIGH!

Even with the present minor downturn and slight course correction, it’s HIGHER THAN IT’S EVER BEEN!

Trump has MADE AMERICA GREAT AGAIN!

And we MUST KEEP ON MAKING AMERICA GREAT AGAIN!

WHO CARES ABOUT UNEMPLOYMENT!?!

Just more FAKE NEWS by Never Trumpers!

FOUR MORE YEARS!

“We are gonna win, win, win. We’re going to win with military, we’re going to win at the borders, we’re going to win with trade, we’re going to win at everything. And some of you are friends and you’re going to call, and you’re going to say, ‘Mr. President, please, we can’t take it anymore, we can’t win anymore like this, Mr. President, you’re driving us crazy, you’re winning too much, please Mr. President, not so much, and I’m going to say I’m sorry, we’re going to keep winning because we are going to make America great again. I will not let you down.”
— Republican Presidential candidate Donald Trump Friday, May 20, 2016, 145th annual NRA convention, Louisville, KY

“We’re going to win. We’re going to win so much. We’re going to win at trade, we’re going to win at the border. We’re going to win so much, you’re going to be so sick and tired of winning, you’re going to come to me and go ‘Please, please, we can’t win anymore.’ You’ve heard this one. You’ll say ‘Please, Mr. President, we beg you sir, we don’t want to win anymore. It’s too much. It’s not fair to everybody else.’” Trump said. “And I’m going to say ‘I’m sorry, but we’re going to keep winning, winning, winning, We’re going to make America great again.”
–– Republican Presidential candidate Donald Trump, Thursday, May 26, 2016, Rimrock Auto Arena at MetraPark, Billings, Montana

“We’re gonna’ win with trade, we’re gonna’ win with health, we’re gonna’ win at so many levels! We’re gonna’ WIN! WIN! WIN! You’re gonna’ get so tired of winning, you’re gonna’ say, ‘Mr. President, PLEASE! We don’t wanna’ win anymore! It’s too much!’ And I’m gonna’ say, ‘I’m sorry! We’re gonna’ keep winning! Because we’re gonna’ make America great again!’”
— Republican Presidential nominee Donald Trump days before the November 2016 General Election

---

“THE EMPLOYMENT SITUATION — APRIL 2020

“Total nonfarm payroll employment fell by 20.5 million in April, and the unemployment rate rose to 14.7 percent, the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics reported today. The changes in these measures reflect

Trump: “Disinfectant Injection Inside Does A Tremendous Number On the Lungs.”

Friends, this just boggles my mind.

Seriously.

It’s mind-numbing to even imagine what the 45th White House Occupant Moron in Chief said yesterday.

In the daily COVID-19 briefing, POTUS suggested that injecting disinfectants and light into the body would cure COVID-19.

Here’s the transcript from the White House website:

THE PRESIDENT: Thank you, Bill.

Q Mr. Bryan —

THE PRESIDENT: Thank you very much. So I asked Bill a question that probably some of you are thinking of, if you’re totally into that world, which I find to be very interesting. So, supposing we hit the body with a tremendous — whether it’s ultraviolet or just very powerful light — and I think you said that that hasn’t been checked, but you’re going to test it. And then I said, supposing you brought the light inside the body, which you can do either through the skin or in some other way, and I think you said you’re going to test that too. It sounds interesting.

ACTING UNDER SECRETARY BRYAN: We’ll get to the right folks who could.

THE PRESIDENT: Right. And then I see the disinfectant, where it knocks it out in a minute. One minute. And is there a way we can do something like that, by injection inside or almost a cleaning. Because you see it gets in the lungs and it does a tremendous number on the lungs. So it would be interesting to check that. So, that, you’re going to have to use medical doctors with. But it sounds — it sounds interesting to me.

So we’ll see. But the whole concept of the light, the way it kills it in one minute, that’s — that’s pretty powerful.

Steve, please.

In response, the Food and Drug Administration issued a Tweet which stated

“Do not use disinfectant sprays or wipes on your skin because they may cause skin and eye irritation. They are intended for use on hard, non-porous surfaces.”

As well, Reckitt Benckiser, the British company that makes Lysol® and Dettol®, issued a Tweet and press release which warned the public that

COVID-19: A Work In Progress

Active COVID-19 cases per nation ranked hierarchically as shown on the Johns Hopkins dashboard Sunday morning 8AM CST, 29 March 2020.

Good morning!
¡Buenos días!
Guten Morgen!
Bonjour!
早上好！Zǎoshang hǎo!
おはようございます！
Ohayōgozaimasu!
صباح الخير!
Buongiorno!

As I write this Sunday morning, March 29, 2020, it’s just a few minutes after 0800. More precisely, it is now 0811 CST DST.

“The Angel Of Death Victorious,” 1924 by Herman N. Matzen (1861-1938), Cleveland area artist/sculptor, Lake View Cemetery, Cleveland, OH, Haserot family plot.

According to figures available through the Johns Hopkins University COVID-19 dashboard this morning, the United States now has 124,686 ACTIVE cases of COVID-19 novel coronavirus.

Yesterday, very nearly exactly 24 hours ago, there were 104,837. And, based upon calculations made the data, I had written that,

“If that pattern continues to hold, we could expect to see at least 127,902 cases by Sunday, 29 March 2020.”

While that exact number – the 127,902 which I calculated – has not “officially” been reached, the 2.54644% increase difference between the calculated estimate, and the actual figure, is numerically – if not also statistically – insignificant.

Further, 124,686 is 97.4855% of 127,902, which means there is but a 2.5144% difference between the two figures.

The point being…

We are effectively there now.

At this juncture, there seems to be – or, more accurately, there has been shown to be – no suggestion, nor hint of a lessening of the rate of increase, especially in the United States, of infections with COVID-19 novel coronavirus, and quite likely will not be for at least several more weeks.

So, let’s move along to other critically important, and very related matters.

“…pre-symptomatic shedding may be typical among documented infections.”

— Science (magazine), 16 Mar 2020, the journal of the American Association for the Advancement of Science on SARS-CoV2, aka novel coronavirus, or COVID-19, in an article entitled

USA Now Has MORE COVID-19 Coronavirus Cases Than China Ever Did

I can hear it now –– the chants of the Faux Noize talking head dingbats saying loudly in unison… “We’re number 1! We’re number 1!”

According to information as of 0600 CST DST Friday, 27 March 2020, provided through Johns Hopkins University Dashboard, the United States has 85,991 active and confirmed COVID-19 coronavirus cases, while China – which has 1 BILLION MORE PEOPLE, has NOT reported any additional, or new cases – experienced 81,894 such cases.

So, let’s put this in perspective, shall we?

The United States Census Bureau reports that American Population is estimated be very nearly 330,000,000 – 330 million.

Chinese Population is estimated to be 1,389,618,778 – that’s 1 BILLION, 389 million, 618 thousand, 778.

India’s Population is estimated to be 1,311,559,204.

The US Population is only 23.7475% that of China.

Or, expressed another way, China has 321.0965% MORE people than the United States.

So… WHY is it that the United States has 5.0028% MORE COVID-19 infection cases than China?

Seriously…

WHY!?!

WHAT has been done, or what has happend which has led us to this point?

Well… that’s an EXCELLENT question!

The POTUS – that’s Donald John Trump – has killed, slashed and burned, many biosecurity programs which would have helped protect American Public Health.

Here’s what Forensic News wrote:

“On his second full day in office President Trump instituted a federal hiring freeze that stayed in place for nearly 90 days. In the weeks after the freeze was lifted, nearly 700 positions sat vacant at the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). According to researchers and officials interviewed in May 2017, the freeze affected “programs supporting local and state public health emergency readiness, infectious disease control, and chronic disease prevention.

“Many of the unfilled jobs are high-level positions, at least GS-12 and above… Several positions are in the Office of Public Health Preparedness and Response, which regulates some of the world’s most dangerous bacteria and viruses and manages the nation’s stockpile of emergency medical countermeasures. Others include positions in the director’s office, infectious disease offices and the office for noncommunicable diseases, injury and environmental health.

”To make matters worse, the Trump administration took months to fill numerous senior positions that are critical to responding to an outbreak. A permanent Director of the CDC was not appointed until July 2017, six months after taking office, and the top position at the U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID) remained empty for nearly eight months. Second-in-command positions also remained empty across health-related agencies: Within the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS), there was no Assistant Secretary for Health for over a year, no Assistant Secretary for Preparedness and Response for eight months, and no Director of the Office of Global Affairs for five months. USAID just received its first permanent deputy administrator last year, in 2019!

“In addition to the dissolution of global health security units, the NSC has experienced unprecedented turnover during Trump’s administration. There have been four National Security Advisors (in addition to two acting NSAs) in Trump’s three years in office. This is compared to Barack Obama’s three NSAs in eight years and two in George W. Bush’s eight years. Trump has had five Deputy National Security Advisors in 3 years, while Obama had four in eight years and W. Bush had three in eight years. Trump has had four Homeland Security Advisors (plus one acting HSA) in three years compared to two in Obama’s eight years and four in W. Bush’s eight years. “

But WAIT!
THAT’S NOT ALL!

Yeah… you guessed it.

It’s POS45’s fault.

The BUCK STOPS with him.

Or… does it?

“Yeah, no, I don’t take responsibility at all, because we were given a set of circumstances and we were given rules, regulations, and specifications from a different time. It wasn’t meant for this kind of an event with the kind of numbers that we’re talking about.”
–– POTUS Donald John Trump, Friday, 13 March 2020, White House Rose Garden news conference

POTUS Harry Truman succeeded to the Office of the President upon the death of POTUS Franklin Delano Roosevelt, who died in his FOURTH term in office.

“The President is merely the most important among a large number of public servants. He should be supported or opposed exactly to the degree which is warranted by his good conduct or bad conduct, his efficiency or inefficiency in rendering loyal, able, and disinterested service to the nation as a whole. Therefore it is absolutely necessary that there should be full liberty to tell the truth about his acts, and this means that it is exactly necessary to blame him when he does wrong as to praise him when he does right. Any other attitude in an American citizen is

The BUCK STOPS here! But not for Trump (POS45) who REFUSES to accept responsibility for his actions.

POTUS “Give ’em HELL!” Harry Truman (1884-1972) succeeded to the Office of the President in 1945 upon the death of POTUS Franklin Delano Roosevelt (1882-1945), who died during his FOURTH term in office.

Speaking at the White House Rose Garden for over an an hour, Trump was also asked if he took responsibility for the lag in making tests available for the coronavirus COVID-19… despite the fact that he dismantled government-spending programs related to fighting the spread of global diseases.

Trump replied,

“I don’t take responsibility at all.”

Remember when there was accountability, responsibility, ethics, honesty, and even virtue in the White House?

Yeah.

It was a Democrat – Harry Truman – FDR’s VP, whose desk sign read,

“The BUCK STOPS here!”

According to research by Foreign Policy magazine, Trump’s budget cuts included:

• Cut $15 billion from the disease-fighting operating budgets of

Dear Bernie, Pick Elizabeth Warren as your VP running mate NOW!

Bernie should announce that he’s choosing Warren for his VP running mate.

U.S. Senators Bernie Sanders (VT-I), and Elizabeth Warren (MA-D).

Ideologically, they’re 2 peas in a pod. Her supporters would (or, at least should) DEFINITELY support Bernie, even since she is no longer running, and would most assuredly pitch in if he named her as his VP choice.

However… the VP is a politically dead-end job, since in the history of our nation, aside from succession, ONLY 5 VPs have ever been elected in their own right.

Only 13 former Vice Presidents have ever been POTUS, who all arrived in office either through succession, or through election apart from succession.

Here’s the break-down:

• A total of 8 POTUSes have died in office – 4 from natural death, and 4 assassinations.

• The majority of VPs who ever became POTUS (8/13) were from a President’s death, so that leaves 5.

• A total of 5 POTUSes were former VPs – Adams, Jefferson, Van Buren, Nixon, and G.H.W. Bush.

It’s worth repeating:

Only 5
former Vice Presidents
were ever
elected
as
President.

That’s 5/45, or 11.1%.

However, the United States Senate website states this about Senators:

“To date,
16 Senators have also served as
President of the United States.
Three Senators,
Warren G. Harding, John F. Kennedy, and Barack Obama moved directly from the U.S. Senate
to the White House.”

That’s 16/45, or 35.5%, of all POTUSes who were ever a Senator.

And 3/16, or 18.75%, were elected as POTUS directly from the Senate.

Historically, and statistically, it doesn’t look good for Biden.

Liz could

Trump wants GA Rep. Doug Collins for DNI?

Representative Doug Collins (GA-9, R) of Gainesville, is the ranking member of the House Judiciary Committee.

Numerous reports have stated that POS45 is considering Georgia’s U.S. Rep. Doug Collins, a Republican of Gainesville to become the next Director of National Intelligence.

But Collins has publicly rejected that idea, and said to Maria Bartiromo on Fox Business Network on Friday, 21 February 2020 that, “this is not a job that interests me; at this time it’s not one that I would accept because

Biden whistles past Obama graveyard in New Hampshire Debate.

Yesterday evening’s Democratic Debate in New Hampshire, was the 8th of 12 in an ongoing series winnowing the party’s 2020 field of nominee candidates. The Friday night event which lasted from 8 – 11PM EST was held at St. Anselm College in Manchester, and was sponsored by ABC, WMUR, and Apple News.

Moderators George Stephanopoulos and David Muir of ABC, Linsey Davis, Adam Sexton, Monica Hernandez

Candidates former Vice President Joe Biden, former South Bend, Indiana Mayor Pete Buttigieg, Minnesota Senator Amy Klobuchar, Vermont Senator Bernie Sanders, billionaire businessman/entrepreneur Tom Steyer, Massachusetts Senator Elizabeth Warren, and businessman Andrew Yang rounded out the field.

https://twitter.com/538PollBot/status/1225977849829580801
“58% of Americans are dissatisfied with the size and influence of corporations in 2020 while 41% are satisfied, according to Gallup polling.”

Of course, most people are whistling past their own graveyards, whatever they may be – particularly since most Americans are only one paycheck, one illness, one job loss away from utter devastation and homelessness.

Candidate Biden was consistent throughout the debate, and never ceased to mention that he was with the former POTUS Obama. Clearly, he’s riding Barack’s coattails. Or, at least he’s trying to.

But, let’s look to history to see if we can discern anything of bearing for today.

From an earlier entry titled

GAO: Trump Violated Law

Ukraine, schmookraine.

Who gives a rats rip what Trump did, eh?

Seriously.

And yet, that is precisely the attitude that some have about the matter in which the President has found himself placed, which has also led to his impeachment.

Some say, “Ukraine got their money. What’s the big deal?”

Yet others say, it’s all water under the bridge, or worse.

So, let’s examine the matter more fully in order to understand exactly what’s going on, and what’s at stake.

And, for the most part, we’re going to ignore many remarks the Democrats have been making. Well, at least much of them. We’re concerned with the basis for the claim. As it turns out, the Government Accountability Office (GAO) is also concerned with that matter – that matter being the question, “Did the President of the United States violate any law in the Ukraine affair?”

But before we proceed further, let’s first answer a couple of important questions about the Government Accountability Office:

What is the GAO, what do they do, and what authority do they have?

The GAO states this about their agency:

“The U.S. Government Accountability Office (GAO) is an independent, nonpartisan agency that works for

Reading Democratic Tea Leaves, v.4.0

Of the Democrats, who do you think stands the BEST chance of getting elected?

There are now 4 top-polling candidates:
1.) Joe Biden, former Vice President to Barack Obama
2.) Bernie Sanders, current Senator from Vermont
3.) Elizabeth Warren, current Senator from Massachusetts
4.) Pete Buttigieg, former Mayor of South Bend, IN

No, I do NOT mean a “play it safe,” middle of the road” candidate like the Democrats chose in 2016.

And no, I do ~not~ mean ‘who do you think or hope will get elected,’ but rather instead mean to ask, ‘who do you think has the statistically best chance of being elected?’

Let’s look to history to help us answer that question.

In our nation’s 243-year history, there have been 57 Presidential Elections, 45 POTUSes, 9 of whom ran for second terms and lost, and only 3 since WWII – Ford, Carter, and Bush I.

The most recent one, George H.W. Bush, was Vice President during Reagan’s two terms, and lost to Bill Clinton in 1992.

Historically, since our nation’s founding, 7 of 9 one-term POTUSes who lost re-election have been Republican. The Federalist Party was a forerunner of the modern Republican party, as was the Democrat-Republican and National Republican.

In reverse chronological order, term in office, and party during office, they are:

1.) George H.W. Bush – 1989-93 – R
2.) Jimmy Carter – 1977-81 – D
3.) Gerald R. Ford – 1974-77 – R
4.) Herbert Hoover – 1929-33 – R
5.) William Howard Taft – 1909-13 – R
6.) Benjamin Harrison – 1889-93 – R
7.) Martin Van Buren – 1837-41 – D
8.) John Quincy Adams – 1825-29 – Democratic-Republican/National Republican
9.) John Adams – 1797-1801 – Federalist

Massachusetts Senator Elizabeth Warren – D

Historically as well, Vice Presidents do not get elected as President in their own right.

That means, apart from succession, when VPs have campaigned for the Office of the President, they have not won.

Only 13 former Vice Presidents have ever been POTUS, and arrived in office either through

Trump Unhinged

But, we’ve known that for quite some time.

WYSIWYG.

It wasn’t as if he was participating in a “bait and switch.”

We’ve seen and heard his errant behavior live, 24-7-365 via satellite, cable, and network news, radio and television, for many years, and now, the cash-strapped media for whom he has been a practical godsend – a true answer to prayer for increased ratings and advertising rates – is obliquely questioning his legitimate fitness for office?

So OF COURSE they’re covering him like white on rice!

Once he was impeached, the media scrambled to find out if impeachment had affected his bowel habits – if he was becoming excessively gassy – especially in public; or if instead of smoothly flowing stools, he was experiencing slight constipation.

–//–

Once again, POS45 is mentally obsessed with

Electing a god

Some Republicans and Trump voters/supporters have realized something that the Democrats, in large part, have not:

Their chosen candidate is not perfect – no, far from it.

And, that’s okay.

As I consider Mayor Pete, Massachusetts Senator Elizabeth Warren, former VP Joe Biden, and Vermont Senator Bernie Sanders — the top four Democratic nominee contender-candidates — each one of them has increasingly been attacked, either by another candidate (though not by name), or by the media/press who pointedly critique their ideas and prospective policy platforms as if they were already done, set in stone, or otherwise enacted into law, though those same media critics neither offer, nor point to, nor counter any idea, or offer with any prospective alternative solution(s) themselves.

In other words, rather than offer constructive criticism, the press just bitches, gripes, moans, groans, and complains.

That’s not good.

Somehow, over the years (and more so in recent history), the “media,” as it’s called nowadays, has come to think of, and present themselves as, impartial arbiters, seemingly non-critical thinking, individuals who are neither opinionated, nor fraught with their own biases, however hidden (or not) they may want others to believe that they are. That somehow, they — and only they — know the truth, and only they can be trusted to always tell the truth at all times, in all circumstances, forever and ever… amen.

That’s just simply not the case, nor has it ever been.

The “Fourth Estate,” as it has long been known (though it’s now often simply monikered as “the media”), consists of the Press which

Trump, the illogical president

“President Trump on Sunday renewed his criticism of Fox News, claiming that the network was pandering to the Democratic Party by repeatedly hosting liberal lawmakers to discuss the impeachment inquiry.”

In: Trump: Fox News ‘panders’ to Democrats by having on liberal guests
By: Justin Wise – 12/08/19 03:17 PM EST
From: https://thehill.com/homenews/media/473591-trump-claims-fox-news-panders-to-democrats-by-having-liberal-guests

The story was written in response to the Twitterer Idiot in Chief’s tweet of 8 December 2019 at 11:42 AM which read:

“Don’t get why @FoxNews puts losers on like @RepSwalwell (who got ZERO as presidential candidate before quitting), Pramila Jayapal, David Cicilline and others who are Radical Left Haters? The Dems wouldn’t let @FoxNews get near their bad ratings debates, yet Fox panders. Pathetic!”

Definition: pander – to provide gratification for, or indulgence of others’ desires, especially of distasteful, or base passions, emotions, or vices

Commentary: Given Trump’s illogical reasoning, if Fox News is “pandering” by

More Famous Last Words

It’s still true:

We need a POTUS who’s not a laughingstock to the world.

By the way, the Idiot in Chief tweeted that

Public Admissions of Wrongdoing

So… what do you do when criminals boldly admit their criminal acts on national television?

IMPEACH!

Trump, White House lawn: “They should investigate the Bidens.”
Trump: Ukraine And China Should Both Investigate The Bidens
October 3, 2019
https://www.realclearpolitics.com/video/2019/10/03/trump_ukraine_and_china_should_both_investigate_the_bidens.html
—
Chris Cuomo, CNN: “So you did ask Ukraine to look into Joe Biden?”
Giuliani: “Of course I did!”
‘Of course I did’: Giuliani acknowledges asking Ukraine to investigate Biden
September 19, 2019
https://www.politico.com/story/2019/09/19/giuliani-biden-ukraine-trump-1506009
—
Journalist Jonathan Karl, ABC News: “What you just described is a quid pro quo.”
Mulvaney: “We do that all the time with foreign policy.”
The White House Just Admitted to a Quid Pro Quo with Ukraine on Live TV
October 17, 2019
https://www.gq.com/story/quid-pro-quo-all-the-time
GOP Railing After Mick Mulvaney Admits To Quid Pro Quo Then Pretends He Never Said It
October 18, 2019
https://www.essence.com/news/politics/mick-mulvaney-quid-pro-quo/
—
Trump, White House lawn: “China has started an investigation.”
Trump: Ukraine And China Should Both Investigate The Bidens
October 3, 2019

Trump’s Smoke and Mirrors

“Just remember: What you’re seeing and what you’re reading is not what’s happening.”

– Donald J. Trump, July 24, 2018, addressing the Veterans of Foreign Wars National Convention in Kansas City, MO

https://thehill.com/homenews/administration/398606-trump-what-youre-seeing-in-the-news-is-not-whats-happening-inbox-x

-AND-

Just Remember:

“Pay no attention to that man behind the curtain!”

It’s all fakery.

I’m the great and powerful Trump!

(If ever there was anyone with a “God Complex,” he’s it. And, who would know better – right?)

Only I tell the truth!

And more lies from the Liar in Chief…

“I know more about ISIS than the generals do. Believe me.”
— November 13, 2015, Fort Dodge, Iowa

“There is nobody who understands the horror of nuclear more than me.”
– June 2016

Trump Praises Military Working Dog Smarter & Braver Than Him

Yup.

‘Tis true.

Commander Bone Spurs lavished praise upon a canine trained to work with the Delta Force.

“These dogs are specially selected and trained to handle the most stressful situations while keeping their cool. In the spirit of the Marine Recon motto, these dogs are swift, silent, and deadly. Barking is forbidden. With the secretive nature of their work, much of the information regarding the selection and training of these dogs is classified.”

Barking is FORBIDDEN.

That means Trump is out.

The mother-fucking son-of-a-bitch (apologies to the well-trained military canine) can’t keep his treasonous trap shut, or his goddamn Tweeting fingers of his Twitterific Highness’s mobile phone.

“They are the special forces of military working dogs, attached to special operations forces, such as the Navy SEALS and Army Rangers. Trained to find explosives, chase down human targets, and detect hidden threats, these Multi-Purpose Canines, or MPCs, are also trained to rappel out of helicopters, parachute out of airplanes, and conduct amphibious operations on Zodiac boats. Highly skilled, an MPC named Cairo even assisted in the raid that killed Osama bin Laden in 2011.”

Again, that leaves Corporal Bone Spurs out of the picture.

The Cowardly Cock-a-doodle-doer chickened out of service in our nation’s Armed Services because his rich daddy found a doctor to say that he was unfit for military duty because of “bone spurs.”

And that chicken shit is now President.

“Four times per year, a team of canine handlers, trainers, veterinarians, and other specialists from the 341st Training Squadron at Lackland Air Force Base in San Antonio Texas — the home of the Military Working Dog Program — make the trip abroad to buy dogs. They evaluate each dog to