So tired of all the negative crap about Journalism and journalists, all the lies and phony baloney. The business of Journalism, may have lost its way as sales, promotion and new media pushed out the traditional reporters and editors, but there are still thousands of us out here, committed to the truth. Thousands of us who spent our lives dedicated to enlightening and educating our viewers and readers. I have no regrets about how I spent my life, working to ferret out the truth and then sending it on its way for the betterment of humankind. We need to stand tall for who we are and spit in the eye of those who promote falsehood.
Why the smear campaign against Joe Biden? Haven’t he and his family given enough to the country, with Joe offering a lifetime of service, and one of his sons dying from a condition possibly acquired while serving overseas? Shouldn’t the nation be grateful?
I agree that he may have been too old to run for that second term. I was among those thinking he shouldn’t do it. I hoped he wouldn’t do it, but he did. And with a couple of exceptions, he did a pretty good job. Far better than this current president, who unleashes a wrecking ball on our democratic form of government at every turn, recently returning from the Arab world, not with any new substantial treaties, but with bags of loot and the offer of a “free” 747 luxury jet the Quataris clearly no longer need or want. Or they wouldn’t be giving it away as a bribe to DJT.
By now we should all be getting it. Donald J. Trump, has turned his back on our allies while appearing to support the enemies of democracy, like Vladimir Putin, with whom he is clearly enamored. A tyrant and dictator, who puts up a front of keeping the door to peace talks open, while launching a drone attack on old ladies in a van in Ukraine. And children in the street. And thousands of other Ukrainian non-combatants.
As for Netanyahu, and the continued slaughter of Palestinians, who knows what Trump currently believes, as his push for any given policy is erratic at best, apparently changing on a whim from one hour to the next as his need to become America’s first dictator continues?
If ever there was a U.S. President, whose mental fitness should be called into serious question, it is Donald J. Trump. And that, makes it all the more curious that media outlets just recently launched what appears to be a campaign against the past administration of Joe Biden. A man whose family has already given so much, only to be smeared while in retirement.
I admit to being a Democrat. A very bad Democrat, who switched from my former lifetime status as an Independent upon moving back to Maryland, which has a closed primary, making it necessary to join a party or be shut out of voting in the State’s antiquated primary elections. By my way of thinking, that makes me something less that one of the “party faithful.” I am a Democrat out of necessity, not because I back the party’s platform.
Millions of Americans, I believe, really do put the general good of the country ahead of personal passion for one special interest issue or another. Consequently, a great many Americans feel left out of the process, with Republicans peddling fear, hatred and lies, while Democrats, appear to represent nothing short of the old “tail wagging the dog” scenario, with a few far left special interest cliques running things. It may not be entirely true, but in politics, appearances can be all important to the outcome.
For Donald John Trump, the one overriding personal passion appears to be open self-aggrandizement. He isn’t even trying to hide it, as he appoints unelected lieutenants to attack our hard-won freedoms, our democratic institutions, paid for with the blood of our ancestors, while he tries to intimidate the judiciary into inaction through overt threats in the media. A media, which, in its infinite wisdom, has currently turned its focus to a critique of the job Joe Biden did, rather than the questionable mental condition of this current president, who has been diagnosed with malignant narcissism, and other conditions, by mental health professionals with impeccable credentials. Warnings a nation in denial continues to largely disregard.
Compared to Trump, Joe Biden was sharp as a tack and a great patriot, who gave nearly all he had and then continued to give even more. Yes, he failed to lock down the border and lower grocery prices. At the same time, he pulled the country out of the Covid pandemic and the economic crisis it created. Unlike Trump, who appears to be obsessed with improving tax cuts for the nation’s wealthiest citizens regardless of the impact his actions will have on our middle-class and the poor. There really is no comparison between the two. Joe Biden, cared for America. Trump, cares only for Trump, and refers to those who put country first as “suckers and losers.”
Setting aside any number of violations of constitutional law, like repeated violations of due-process and sending out masked federal goon squads with questionable warrants to break into private property and kidnapping people from the streets, the emoluments clause alone should be enough to put an end to Donald Trump’s tenure in the Oval Office.
His questionable mental health is another issue, which may outstrip all the others. It is however, of little meaning, lacking Republicans with the spine to take action against a man who is turning out to be America’s version of mad King George III of Great Britain.
Who can possibly agree with Trump’s latest mad proposal, to somehow “move” a million Palestinians from Gaza to Libya? How to get them there and what to do if they don’t want to go, little details like that, apparently never crossed Trump’s mind. Or what’s left of it. Maybe he feels that just thinking about it will make it happen? Maybe he’s “hearing things” again?
As DJT becomes increasingly irrational, establishing crypto currency funds his anonymous admirers can dump millions of dollars into in the hope of influencing his administration, while he demands that Canada becomes the 51st state and that the United States should act, possibly militarily, to annex Greenland and Panama, in short, acting in a fashion that is in the country’s worst rather than its best interest, a few Republicans appear finally to be waking up to the fact that something needs to be done, possibly before the mid-terms. Hopefully, their numbers will grow.
To assume we’ll get through this by any means other than removing DJT from office, like trying to wait this madness out, could be a fatal assumption for American Democracy. Complaining about the job Joe Biden did, is nothing but a diversion from what Trump is doing. Our media needs to stop falling for it, and go after the real problem, the old guy who is currently in office, not the old guy who is no longer there.
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(News of Joe Biden’s cancer diagnosis was released just hours after this piece was posted.)
I just received the following from the University of Minnesota Alumni Association. It is frightening, disgusting and sad.
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“Higher education in the United States is facing a time of rapid change. The University of Minnesota remains steadfast in its values and mission of teaching, research and outreach. Last week, University President Rebecca Cunningham reaffirmed the U of M’s commitment to advocate for students, faculty and staff as the U of M serves the state of Minnesota and the world.
Recent federal policy changes are impacting the University of Minnesota and I’m writing to keep you, our valued alumni, updated. On Friday, President Cunningham informed the University community that a graduate student was detained off-campus by U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement officials. In addition, the University has received a number of stop-work orders for federally funded research grants, including the Midwest Antiviral Drug Discovery Center, which is based at the University and includes 16 other research institutions nationwide. The center develops the next generation of antiviral drugs for pandemic-level viruses.”
It’s frightening to watch DJT as he continues doing his reality show routine with regard to the recent Signal chat controversy. One wonders whether reality has anything to do with DJT’s mindset, or if he simply reacts to each new situation with the same technique of denial and intimidation.
Beyond their abysmal performances before the Senate and then the House Intelligence committees, with top intelligence officials showing a remarkable loss of memory function, Trump’s top lieutenants were made to appear even more questionable, with the release of an article in “Wired,” stating that Trump’s National Security Advisor Mike Waltz, had made his Venmo list public, with 328 names on the list. Waltz, is also alleged to be the person who put the Signal group chat together, with top Administration officials discussing an attack on Yemen soil, with an editor for the Atlantic, included in the chat over unsecured phones.
Former U.S. Ambassador to the U.N., Susan Rice, made a particularly interesting observation, noting that no military advisors were included in the group – other than the Secretary of Defense, who leads the military for the White House, as opposed to being a member of it. One would think active duty military would be included in a group meeting about an ongoing attack, although that might have thrown a wrench into the works because active military personnel would surely have demanded that the call should be conducted through secure channels? Meaning, everything would have been on the record.
With such a massive public boondoggle, why can’t DJT just admit that they screwed up? It appears he has a systemic problem limiting his ability to function, witness his second tour in office which is looking more and more like a “revenge tour.” We should all be very afraid. He’s already snatching people off the street and sending them to prison in another country with no due process – which happens to be a constitutional guarantee. If he’s doing that to unknown persons who are alleged to be gang members, how long will it be before his political opponents begin disappearing?
With the entire Republican caucus cowering in fear, who will stand up and stop it from happening? One imagines this must be how it felt to be in Germany in the 1930’s, as bit by bit, freedom was erased by fascism.
The fact that most Americans can’t define Fascism and have little or no idea what due process is, makes us particularly vulnerable. Putin, must be delighted.
You’ll know we’ve gone over the cliff and into the abyss, should DJT succeed in shutting down the free press or discrediting it to the point that the mainstream media, the traditional media, loses all credibility. It feels like we aren’t that far away.
What follows, is a post from the Paynesville Historical Society Museum, Paynesville, MN, dated July of 2021. I felt compelled to post it as it feels as though our freedom is currently under threat. There is perhaps a renewed need to better appreciate what others have given to “support and defend” against the threat of Fascism, so that we may continue to breathe the air of a free country.
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Earl Grave, World War II Veteran – Earl Grave built his cabin on Lake Koronis in 1964; when he retired in 1988, he added onto the cabin to make a year-round home. He has been active around Paynesville, including golfing in a few leagues, until he turned 93. Earl is now 95 years old and continues to enjoy spending time at Lake Koronis. In August 2000, Earl shared his experiences as a Marine in World War II. The following is a portion of the interview, in Earl’s words: “When I turned 18, I knew I was going to be drafted so I decided to join the Marine Corps. In my day everybody was patriotic. I thought it was my duty to serve. That’s just the way it was.The Marine Corps let me finish high school. In 1944 when I came out of high school, within a week, I got on the train and went to San Diego. We traveled on a real old passenger train, and we had assigned seats. There were no berths for us, we were given a pillow and had to sleep in our seats. When we got there some of us had a bunch of red bumps on our arms. We didn’t know what they were but were told they were from bed bugs.We were issued sea bags and clothes. Later on we were shown how to pack it. Everything was organized and there was a lot of discipline. This was kind of an eye opener for everyone. Boot camp was good for us because we learned discipline. In the Marine Corps you never really had any rights. You did what you were told to do. From boot camp I went to Camp Pendleton. There we had training in 60 mm mortars and demolitions – explosives. We had to be careful not to shoot each other. I went from Camp Pendleton overseas to Maui where our main base was. We had training there such as mock landings and then I went to Iwo Jima.Our D-day in Iwo Jima was February 19, 1945. I can remember that very well. We had spent way over a month at sea on board a troop ship in a convoy. As we went, we picked up ships. Almost all the ships zigzagged because of submarines. On the way we’d do exercises. We slept in bunks that were five high with just room for you to lay between the person above and below you. We lived in that for over a month. I don’t know how many guys were on the troop ship, but we were packed. I know when we would have enemy in the area, they’d cut the ventilation off. We’d be down below deck, and you could hardly breathe down there. A lot of times you’d wake up with pains in your chest from the heavy air. We had a large convoy going to Iwo Jima. We were offshore a long ways and they shelled the living daylights out of that island. The morning we went in, we were awakened at 3:00 a.m. It was the only time in the Marine Corps that I was given steak and eggs for breakfast. As we ate you could hear the roar of the shelling on the beach. It almost looked like a lightning storm. You could see the smoke all along the shore of the island.After we had our breakfast, we got all our gear on and were ready to go. We went in waves. They put a net over the side of the ship and you lowered yourself down into the landing craft. One wave would go in and then another would come in at intervals behind them.There was a lot of debris on the beach and a lot of dead. We were trained to move off the beach. The instinct is to bunch up; people are that way. We spread out and went up the beach the best we could. A lot of men came off those ships. We poured in and went up the beach, moving in the best we knew how. But they (Japanese) were zeroed in on the beach and they shot artillery out of caves. Of course, they were hard to see. Every tree was shredded and there was nothing left on that island except caves and rock. They had all been blasted off with guns and artillery. I remember when I dug in the beach there, we got in a way and with a shovel we dug foxholes. We tried to reorganize at night. The volcanic ash had very hot steam coming up from it. If you were in a low area, it was very hot. My clothes got soaking wet from the moisture coming out of the ground. I got rid of some of my gear that first day. I kept my poncho, my shovel, ammunition, and some food and a canteen of water. You had to carry just as little as you could because it was hard going. So, that first night in the foxhole I got so hot that I couldn’t stand it. What I did was take an empty gas can, which was part of the debris on the island, and I laid that in the foxhole, and I laid on it. I practically cooked; it was so hot.As we went up the island we ran into pillboxes (gun emplacements with machine guns or artillery in them) and tried to get around them. We didn’t have many tanks, but we had our own flamethrowers and bazookas. We got the heck shot out of us many times. When we found dead Marines, we’d just lay a poncho over them. We always tried to help each other. They would come up with a jeep to pick up the dead and the wounded. I don’t think anyone realizes what combat is like until you’re there. I didn’t either until it happened. I was scared but you’re trained to fight. You either fight or you die. We would be up on the front line for a day or so and some would get wounded or shot. Then usually, in the evening, our squad would move back about 100 yards and another squad of Marines would move up and relieve us so we could get a little breather. I would get so tired at time I think I could sleep standing up. I was on Iwo Jima twenty some days. We had to reach the far side of the island. When I enlisted, I never really thought about the Marines being the first guys in combat. I think when you’re young you don’t think about the dangers of war. The island was only about three miles across and five miles long. The reason the island was important was for our airplanes to have a place to land. Even before I was off the island, airplanes were landing. We got to the far end of the island and we had a lot of casualties. There weren’t many guys left. When we came off the island I’ll never forget when we got on board ship. It was such a weird feeling, you were so used to walking, sitting and sleeping on the ground that it felt strange. We were a ragged looking bunch when we came off the island. A lot of us had our elbows worn through our dungarees and knees through our pants. I never had my shoes off once. My skin had rotted. They didn’t hurt and I never really thought about those things too much. We were too busy looking out for our own and everybody’s hide.I don’t think anyone can understand or be able to imagine how it was to be in the war. You get that sick feeling once in a while. You do a lot of praying and after I came off the island some of us were pretty goosy. You might be sitting at a table eating and then some little noise squeak or sound reminds you of noise associated with artillery shell and you’d dive to the ground or under a table. Your reflexes would do this automatically which you would have no control. Then you’d feel like a dummy when you’d see the people staring at you. It took me a month to stop reacting like that. People don’t really realize what freedom is. All I could think about is, “Boy, isn’t it going to be something just never to be shot at, to be able to walk down the street and breathe good fresh air, with just nobody wanting to kill you.” Most of us take it for granted that we live in a free country. You don’t really know what freedom really means a lot to people, especially people who have never had it. I don’t regret being in the Marine Corps. It was some of the best part of my life, but I wouldn’t want to go through the war again. We were just a bunch of young guys together who were doing what we thought was right.”
Turkey and Israel are on the verge of civil wars because of far right extremism. In Paris, tens of thousands are in the streets protesting the far right and racism. French President, Emanuel Macron, is calling together a “coalition of the willing” on the 27th, to help defend Ukraine, by taking a stand against Vladimir Putin and the Russians – backed presumably by their old friend and apparent ally, Donald J. Trump.
Would Israel, be on the verge of a civil war had Kamala Harris been elected rather than Trump? Probably not. It’s doubtful she would have been able to do anything about the situation in Turkey, but she would have at least tried.
If only DJT were able to connect the dots. Instead, he’s attacking our institutions of higher learning, closing the Dept. of Education and threatening to shutter Social Security. He was about to give the keys to the Pentagon to Elon Musk, before his misstep was narrowly averted after being exposed by the New York Times. At the same time, like an angry child, he revoked the security clearances of true American patriots.
Would we be having any of these issues had Kamala Harris been elected rather than Trump? No. Instead, Kamala Harris, is one of the American patriots who has had her security clearance revoked by Donald Trump.
A piece in the Washington Post, indicates that tax revenues could drop by as much as 10%, following the Trump/Musk campaign to free the government of fraud and waste. Another piece, this one in The Guardian, points to problems for the U.S. tourism industry facing “drop offs” as Trump’s new “immigration agenda deters travelers.”
At the same time, DJT, has alienated our allies, allied us with an international terrorist and is now threatening cuts to Homeland Security. According to Newsweek, “The Trump administration plans to dismiss hundreds of senior DHS officials this week to reshape the nation’s third-largest agency by removing individuals perceived as not aligning with its objectives…”
Even in the heartland, the can be no joy. NBC News reports that “Farmers face steep losses in the middle of Trump’s trade war and funding cuts.”
With each new day, the downhill slide seems to continue, as the Administration “floods the zone” with new activity, much of it, including but not limited to, warrantless searches and mass deportation without due process, quite possibly illegal, setting us up for months and months of litigation.
The temptation is to ignore all that’s happening. The fear though, is that if you do, everything might be gone when you once again start paying attention. In addition, you might be missing all the good news, like word that just rolled in that DJT won a golf tournament at his course in West Palm Beach. The President, considers the win to be a “great honor” the article says.
Of course he does. Another phony golden trophy for the mantle back at the White House.
Woke up this morning with Rome on my mind, an empire that lasted for more than 1,500 years, if you include Constantinople and the east. Even without that, the city state of Rome was around for 500 years. The United States is only approaching 250 years of age but without an eastern empire, and like Rome, we are under a direct threat.
I always believed we’d last much longer than this. If the Romans could survive Caligula and Nero, surely we can survive Donald J. Trump?
The new leadership at the DNC needs to get more speakers on board the bully pulpit train, like Wes Moore, Gavin Newsom, John Larson and dare I say it……Al Franken. Bring back Al.
Chuck Schumer is down for the count and should be kept out of the public eye.
There’s also Andrew Cuomo, probably the strongest speaker, the toughest public personality the Dems have. They need him now more than ever, despite past allegations of sexual misconduct. I have no idea if it’s true, but I can overlook his past if it means saving the Republic from Trump, Musk and their Russian allies.
JFK fooled around, I get it. He also saved the world from a nuclear crisis with his naval blockade of the Russians in the 60’s. Cuomo, an Italian son of Manhattan, may have just the stuff the country needs to beat back the Russians one more time, despite any past transgressions.
Trump treats every day like a campaign. The Dems have got to do the same. The DNC needs to step up and coordinate the effort as the country heads into the fourth quarter of the game. The Dems need to quit snapping at one another and put their best players back on the field.
With each new day it feels like we are closer to living in a dictatorship, with warrantless searches and people being snatched off the street and then being denied due process. These are not just hypotheticals anymore. These are actual events as the rule of law is being set aside, replaced by a new brand of anti-Americanism made possible by a Supreme Court that enabled Donald J. Trump, declaring him to be immune from being held accountable for pretty much anything he does. And he’s doing it, at an ever increasing pace.
But there was more. It was the one/two punch of the Supreme court, first making it possible for anyone to funnel any amount of “dark” money to support any candidate with no transparency through their “Citizens United” ruling. That, first knocked the American ideal down onto the mat, followed by the insanity of declaring the President to be above the law in a country where the rule of law is supposed to be paramount. That, was Lady Liberty, being kicked while she was down.
We do not have a king. Or we had none, until now. Until the Supreme Court, made it possible. Apparently the majority never read the Constitution.
Question: “Will John Roberts and Amy Coney Barrett, step up and save the Republic? It’s an outside chance, but it is, at least, something to hold onto. A flash of judicial conscience with the realization that they can actually save the country from tyranny.
And still there are those who don’t seem to care about any of it. Hopefully, it’s because they don’t understand. Even now, with the U.K. and Germany, issuing travel advisories to their citizens planning on coming into the United States. Advisories about the possible hazards of traveling to the U.S. It’s unthinkable. Impossible. But it’s happening.
Donald Trump, is turning the United States into an international pariah, and Americans are not happy about it. A new study indicates that Finland, a Socialist country, is the happiest place on Earth. Americans are the unhappiest ever, dropping down to 24th place.
Here at home losing our Medicaid, Medicare and Social Security will hurt like hell. Not for millions of younger Americans, of course. Not now. And by the time they realize what they’ve lost, it will be too late. That, however, will be next to nothing compared to the loss of their liberty. But again, odds are they won’t know what they’ve lost until they have no chance at getting it back.
An exaggeration you say? Just weeks ago, we were the leader of the free world. Now, we’re being regarded as not much more than another banana republic. That’s a flat-out fact. The European Union is drawing up plans for their defense absent the United States.
Those who support this current president should dwell on that for a time before continuing their slow-walk, confidently supporting that which is in their worst interest. Something the Republican Party has been working on for years. Something they may now, finally achieve.
The BBC is reporting that Trump and Putin will be talking about “dividing up certain assets” in regard to Ukraine, without any input from the Ukrainians.
This is beyond belief. How long will it be before all of America realizes just how utterly incompetent DJT truly is as he stumbles forward with his attempt at ending the war Russia started with its invasion of Crimea in 2014, while Elon Musk continues running rampant through the federal government, gutting institutions, ending lives and destroying careers with the stated goal of putting and end to Social Security. A move that will financially cripple millions of our senior citizens.
Musk, is unelected, an immigrant from South Africa. It’s doubtful he has an adequate understanding of our system, much less our traditions, many of which were purchased and then preserved with the blood of our friends and ancestors. Who is he to run roughshod over our institutions, many of which have made the United States, the envy of so much of the world?
For whatever problems we may have, we are still that “Shining city on a hill” that President Reagan, spoke of.
Don’t buy into Trump’s baseless argument that the United States is a mess. We were fine, with a sound and stable economy, able to work through our differences with no threat to the Republic until he came along, supported by Vladimir Putin at the polls and with Saudi money being funneled directly into his family while he promoted Roy Cohen’s immoral philosophy of striking back twice as hard, even when you’re in the wrong.
The truth, is that Donald J. Trump, has a history. Whatever he gets his hands on, falls into ruin. And he now has his hands all over the United States. Trump, moves ahead with the bravado of a monarch, suggesting the annexation of Greenland and Canada. An American dictator, ignoring the orders of federal courts, our very constitutional guarantees, as he thumbs his nose at our legal traditions, the rule of law that gives our system its balance, guaranteeing our liberty.
This is madness. Much of America, was distracted by the false prophecy of fear and hate. It’s time to wake up. We must reclaim our true allies on the world stage and demand a return to the rule of law in America, holding all accountable, including the Chief Executive and those justices of the Supreme Court, who may have been unduly influenced by personal gain. The high court’s past misjudgements can be corrected by the Congress and the Court, acting together as co-equal branches.
Both Republicans and Democrats should be screaming for Trump’s removal from office under the authority of the 25th Amendment before he destroys the United States. Doing any less is to promote the destruction of all we hold dear. The death of our very liberty. The death of the American ideal.
Well, this should be interesting. The following is from the BBC –
“Planes carrying more than 200 Venezuelans deported by the US have landed in El Salvador, hours after a US judge ordered the Trump administration not to do so.
El
Salvador’s president, Nayib Bukele, wrote on social media that 238
members of the Venezuelan gang Tren de Aragua had arrived, along with 23
members of the international MS-13 gang, on Sunday morning.
Tonight, Wednesday the 12th of March, may have seen Lawrence O’Donnell’s finest hour on MSNBC.
Understand, that I am not a fan or follower of Lawrence O’Donnell, but tonight he went after Donald Trump and Elon Musk, in a manner that was reminiscent of Ed Murrow’s attack on Joe McCarthy.
With the truth as his only weapon, and following up on Steve Liesman’s earlier allegation on CNBC that Trump is quite simply “insane,” O’Donnell laid bare the horrendous scam, the horrible attack on American Democracy Trump and Musk are perpetrating. Above all else, he had the courage to call Donald Trump’s mental fitness into question, something most American journalists have either skirted or failed to do despite repeated warnings from numerous professionals in the field of mental health.
Considering the overt threats made against the media by the Administration, what O’Donnell and MSNBC are doing takes considerable courage, both for O’Donnell personally, and on a corporate level, and is in the very finest tradition of broadcast journalism.
