“Those who do not learn history are doomed to repeat it.”
George Santayana
  
Retired General John Kelly and other senior Trump’s Administration officials  confirm Donald Trump’s admiration of world leaders is limited to ruthless authoritarians including Putin, Xi, Orbán and Erdoğan, MBS, Kim Jong Un and even Hitler, whom he claims “did …

“A second Trump presidency is the most existential national security threat to our democracy in our lifetime. The global world order that the Greatest Generation fought and died for, then handed to us to sustain, will be severely damaged. Their sacrifices will be squandered if we aren’t there to defend …

“Only a life lived for others is a life worthwhile”
Albert Einstein
 As with his other campaign mistruths, Donald Trump’s claims Georgia Governor Brian Kemp hadn’t been able to reach President Joe Biden to discuss Hurricane Helene’s impacts on his state and Federal agencies were, “going out of their way to not …

“Trump demands that government actors pledge loyalty to him, as opposed to the law or to the Constitution”
Rick Pildes
 
Donald Trump’s rants claiming undocumented immigrants are all recently released criminals from foreign prisons and mental institutions and “poisoning the blood” of Americans and declaring of Haitian immigrants, “They’re eating the dogs. …

If President Biden or Vice President Harris had praised the (fictional) “late, great Hannibal Lecter”, ranted about Haitian immigrants eating peoples’ cats and dogs, described immigrants as criminals and “poisoning the blood” of Americans, quoted Hungary’s autocratic dictator as a personal a character reference, talked longer about the sizes of …

“Never underestimate your adversary,
former President Bill Clinton
 
Democrats celebrated throughout the recent Democratic Convention in Chicago … many already predicting Kamala Harris to win in November, perhaps in a landslide.
On a personal level, she appears to be genuinely grateful for the support she has received since President Biden withdrew from the …

“She [Kamala Harris] is a competent and experienced politician who knows exactly what she is doing and has a very clear idea of her country’s role, of developments in the world, and of the challenges we face,”
Chancellor Olaf Scholz of Germany
 Donald Trump’s campaign is currently struggling for an identity and …

Every choice comes with a consequence. Once you make a choice, you must accept responsibility. You cannot escape the consequences of your choices, whether you like them or not.”
Roy T. Bennett
 The Democratic Party is fast approaching its own Rubicon, or point of no return.  While Trump has been anointed by …

“I believe I’m the best qualified to govern and I think I’m the best qualified to win, but there are other people who could beat Trump, too.”
Joe Biden
 This week’s Republican convention witnesses the coronation of Donald Trump despite having proven he is unfit to return to the presidency.
During and since …

”The coming days are critical …”
President Biden’s alleged comments to some of his staff
 
Already sinking in the polls across the political spectrum, during his recent meeting with Democratic governors President Biden excused his dismal debate performance, in part, on his travel schedule and getting too little sleep; and he didn’t …

“I shall not seek, and I will not accept the nomination of my party for another term as your President,”
Lyndon B. Johnson (March 1968)
Watching last evening’s presidential debate was like viewing a train wreck in slow motion.  As speculated in “For Biden – It’s Show Time”, it was essential the …

“They made up a ‘suckers’ and ‘losers’ statement. So terrible.”
Donald Trump
 
 In today’s “Morning Shots”, William Kristol penned a timely commentary, “Trump’s Latest Lies About His Lies,” excerpting from a recent speech he made at the annual Faith and Freedom Conference.
Trump criticized a 2020 article in the Atlantic, based on multiple …

“the time is now and the place is here and … there are no second chances”
Jeanette Winterson
 
The most important date of this year’s presidential campaign is just a week away when President Biden and former President Trump faceoff in a debate hosted by CNN, where they will not be allowed …

The only thing worse than a liar is a liar that’s also a hypocrite!
Tennessee Williams
 
Contrary to his rants, Donald Trump’s recent conviction was not result of any influence by or direction from President Biden or the Justice Department, but from his own actions!  An impartial jury of 12 average citizens, …

“Between and Rock and a Hard Place”
Anon
 
Candidates running for office face a major challenge, trying to appeal to and appease their base while not alienating swing voters … who ultimately dictate most election outcomes.
President Biden’s campaign continues to struggle with a perception chasm between the actual state of the economy …

“I will have that war settled in one day, 24 hours”
Donald Trump
For close to a year, former president Donald Trump has bragged that if elected in 2024 he would end the war in Ukraine “in one day” and the “deal would be easy.”  When pressed as to how he might …

"The only thing for evil to triumph in the world is that good men do noting!"

Edmund Burke

Tragically, the Republican Party of Lincoln, Teddy Roosevelt, and Reagan, to which my parents belonged their entire lives, has for all practical purposes ceased to exist. 

Today, the majority of Republicans in both the House …

“The American people are suffering as a result of what’s happening at the border … and someone running for president ought to try and get the problem solved, as opposed to saying, ‘Hey, save that problem!  Don’t solve it!  Let me take credit for solving it later.’”

Republican Senator Mitt Romney

The …

“Since narcissists deep down feel themselves to be faultless, it is inevitable that when they are in conflict with the world they will invariably perceive the conflict as the world’s fault.”
M. Scott Peck

Lest anyone doubt presidential wannabee Donald Trump’s priorities, his rhetoric makes it crystal clear addressing such critical issues …

"I have a gut, and my gut tells me more sometimes than anybody else's brain can ever tell me."

Donald Trump

On January 20, 2017, Donald Trump spoke the following words, "I do solemnly swear (or affirm) that I will faithfully execute the Office of President of the United States, and will …

“There are more instances of the abridgment of the freedom of the people by gradual and silent encroachments of those in power than by violent and sudden usurpation.”

James Madison

Ask any politician, political commentator, or cable talking-head about the greatest threats facing America and you will predictably hear China, Russia, Iran, …

“I love the poorly educated”

Donald Trump  (February 23, 2016)

It is not surprising the leading Republican presidential candidate limits his campaign stops to adoring crowds who, without any evidence, believe his lies about a stolen election, Democrats being socialists, the Justice Department has been weaponized, and his victimhood.

Discarding his vengeance-filled litany …

“It’s a very detailed indictment and it’s very damning.  But I do think if even half of it is true, then he’s toast”

Former Attorney General Bill Barr

In the wake of his 37-count indictment, Donald Trump launched a predictable tirade, again baselessly claiming the 2020 election was stolen and portraying himself …

“There shall be one rule of Justice for the rich and the poor; for the favorite in Court, and the Countryman at the Plough.”

Samuel Adams

Trump avoided criminal liability during his presidency based on a Constitutionally-questionable 1973 DOJ memorandum which concluded “indictment or criminal prosecution of a sitting President would impermissibly …

“The House of Representatives shall chuse their Speaker and other Officers”

U.S. Constitution – Article 1, Section 2

With only 213 Democrats elected during the mid-term elections it would seem the Party will have no realistic say in the election of the chamber’s next Speaker. 

Kevin McCarthy, the current frontrunner, has demonstrated he’ll …

“The object of life is not to be on the side of the majority, but to escape finding oneself in the ranks of the insane.”

Marcus Aurelius

In 1935, during the depth of the Depression Sinclair Lewis published a novel in which the average American’s political ignorance and complacency resulted in a …

"Republicans cannot both be loyal to Donald Trump and loyal to the Constitution,"

Congresswoman Liz Cheney

With the House Select Committee investigating the January 6th 2021 insurrection and assault on the U.S. Capitol about to release its final report and the U.S. Justice Department; District of Columbia; States of Georgia, Florida and …

“I’ve done nothing wrong.”

Donald Trump  (time and again)

Had Donald Trump not transferred hundreds of classified (many marked SECRET, TOP SECRET and TOP SECRT//SCI) and other documents which, pursuant to the Presidential Records Act of 1978, are legally the property of the United States to his home at Mar-a-Lago in January …

“… for meritorious contributions to the security or national interests of the United States”

Presidential Medal of Freedom Criteria

Yesterday, Americans witnessed the price an individual often pays for exhibiting true Patriotism.

Sadly, the vast majority of Republicans continue to embrace the former president’s “big lie” about a stolen election, ignore his attempted …

“The President, Vice President and all civil Officers of the United States, shall be removed from Office on Impeachment for, and Conviction of, Treason, Bribery, or other high Crimes and Misdemeanors.”

Article II, Section 4

During his 2016 presidential campaign, then candidate Trump bragged, “I could stand in the middle of 5th …

"Patriotism consists not in waving the flag, but in striving that our country shall be righteous as well as strong."

James Bryce

It is fitting on the 246th anniversary of the signing of the Declaration of Independence to reflect on what it means to be an American patriot.    

Survey any random group …

"The fabric of democracy is always fragile everywhere because it depends on the will of citizens to protect it, and when they become scared, when it becomes dangerous for them to defend it, it can go very quickly.".

Margaret Atwood

June 24, 2022

Dear President Biden:

Since January 2017, our fragile democracy has been, …

"The greatest danger to American freedom is a government that ignores the Constitution."

Thomas Jefferson

Sadly, Republicans have stonewalled reasonable and meaningful, overwhelmingly popular gun control legislation, complaining about losing Constitutional Second Amendment rights.  Yet, they’ve been quick to embrace a dangerous and delusional ex-president who frequently violated his Constitutional oath of …

“Now is our moment to meet and overcome the challenges of our time.”

President Joe Biden – State of the Union Address

March 1, 2022

Since the 2020 election, the Republicans Party has attempted to rewrite history, whether echoing Trump’s baseless claims about a stolen election or redefining the deadly January 6th assault …

“they are being treated so unfairly."

Donald Trump (January 29, 2022)

As the 2022 mid-term elections approach, Donald Trump continues to focus on his big lie that the 2020 election was stolen from him!

Perpetuating allegations of election fraud, Trump has taken a page from “Mein Kampf’s” rulebook: never allow the public to …

"He's all about himself.  He's not about building or supporting the party."

Paul S. Ryan

Donald Trump’s latest assault on Republican fundraising efforts should be a wake-up call and remove all doubts as to where his loyalties lie!

He delayed the first COVID stimulus checks until his name could be printed on …

“We were discussing their strategy for tomorrow, and we were sharing our thoughts, in terms of where the argument was and where to go,”

Senator Ted Cruz

At the outset of the Senate Impeachment trial of Donald Trump, each of the body’s 100 members (the trial’s jurors) declared, “I solemnly swear (or affirm) …

“The intentional effort to influence the outcome of a juror’s opinion, vote or decision by unlawfully communicating with the juror in either a direct or indirect manner, outside the scope of legally permitted courtroom procedure.”

Definition of Jury Tampering

Once the results of the 2020 election became clear, Donald Trump became consumed, …

“Prudence means understanding your situation, seeing what good can be accomplished in it, knowing what options are both morally legitimate and likely successful—and then pursuing the wisest goal in the wisest way”

Brian C. Collins

Unquestionably, President Trump’s words and actions were the catalyst for the mob invasion of the nation’s Capital. …

“We will never give up; we will never concede”

Donald Trump (January 6, 2021)

In the wake of Wednesday’s violent demonstration and lawless assault on the Capitol building questions must be asked … and answered.

Concerns Trump can still wreak havoc on our democracy and imperil our national security has initiated calls for …

"So look. All I want to do is this. I just want to find 11,780 votes, which is one more than we have. Because we won the state."

Donald Trump (January 3, 2021)

Despite White House claims President Trump is “doing the work of the American people”, he has spent the past …

"Our Anerican republic will endure only as long as the ideas of th emen who founded it continue dominant"

James Russell Lowell

Republican politicians must stop pandering to the president and his delusional belief he won the 2020 election and begin a process of helping to heal a dangerously divided nation.

As the …

"Don't talk to me that way."

Donald Trump (November 26, 2020)

While answering reporter’s questions for the first-time since the election, President Trump went on an angry tirade about massive voter fraud, horrible Republican governors and state election officials who certified accurate vote totals showing Joe Biden won and then falsely claimed, …

"Everyone is entitled to his own opinion, but not his own facts."

Senator Daniel Patrick Moynihan

There seem to be two groups still living in Trump's fantasyland.

The first includes all but twenty-odd Republican members of Congress who can’t utter the words, “Biden won.”  They’ve placed loyalty to a narcissistic demigod above their …

Marc Thiessen begins his recent OpEd piece, “Harris casting doubt on a pre-election vaccine is shameful”, claims “Democrats have accused President Donald Trump of endangering the public health …” and that “Trump will deservedly get credit” for such a timely vaccine.  If Trump’s recommendations to not wear masks, medicate with …

“Respect for the law and protection of the integrity of the democratic process warrant the exclusion of illegal aliens from the apportionment base”

Donald Trump (July 21, 2020)

After being rebuked by the Supreme Court when he tried to have the 2020 census exclude undocumented aliens, President Trump has predictably sought new …

“The Bucks Stops Here!”

President Harry Truman

If any military commander knew, or should have known, about potential threats to the safety of the men and women serving under their chain of command and failed to take actions to protect his forces they would be guilty of dereliction of their duty.  If …

“A body of men holding themselves accountable to nobody ought not to be trusted by anybody.”

Thomas Paine

During recent trips to a Honeywell plant in Arizona and an Owens & Minor warehouse in Pennsylvania  both supplying Personal Protective Equipment, President Trump stood out by not using a face mask; showing disrespect …

"I'm going to be working for you. I'm not going to have time to go play golf."

Donald J. Trump, August, 2016

On May 5th, ABC’s David Muir, whom I greatly admire, had a one-on-one interview with President Trump after he’d toured a Honeywell facility in Arizona making Personal Protective Equipment for …

“America Doesn’t want a King Trump”

Piers Morgan

In November 2019, U.S. intelligence officials warned a contagion sweeping through China was altering lives and business and posing a mortal threat to its population.  By January, senior White officials tried in vain to warn the president about the looming danger to America as …

“It’s going to disappear. One day — it’s like a miracle — it will disappear.”

President Donald Trump (February 26, 2020)

Driven by a primal urge to constantly be the center of attention and bask in the adulation of adoring supporters President Trump sought a substitute for his near non-stop campaigning as …

“Concentration of executive power, unless it's very temporary and for specific circumstances, let's say fighting World War Two, it's an assault on democracy.”

Norm Chomsky

Perhaps the most disturbing statement to come out of the Senate impeachment trial of President Trump was made by the aging Harvard professor Alan Dershowitz who has …

“No man is above the law and no man is below it: nor do we ask any man’s permission when we ask him to obey it”

Theodore Roosevelt

After listening to the highly-respected State Department and other officials who appeared before the House Intelligence Committee it became evident President Trump held-up  military …

“Be careful what you wish for, you may receive it.”

W. W. Jacobs

Surprisingly, I find myself in agreement with the Washington Post’s Marc Thiessen whose “Warren’s surge is good news for Republicans” piece appeared in today’s paper.  His premise that while Warren is claiming the economy is not working for ”working …

“we mutually pledge to each other our Lives, our Fortunes and our sacred Honor.”

Declaration of Independence  (July 4, 1776)

Having revisited Independence Hall and the National Constitution Center in Philadelphia, I am reminded despite their sometimes significant regional and partisan differences, 56 men were literally willing to risk their “Lives, Fortunes …

­“Elections determine who is in power, but they do not determine how power is used.”

Paul Collier

With the third Democratic debate now history and the first primaries less than six months away, the unmanageable and unrealistically large field of twenty-four announced candidates was narrowed to ten, a number likely increase with …

“I am the Chosen One!”

Donald J. Trump  (August 21, 2019)

With each passing day, Donald Trump demonstrates he neither understands nor likes nor America.  He openly disparages the work of our nation’s intelligence agencies while giving a pass to Putin, MBS and other despots; hates our system of Constitutional checks-and-balances; shows …

Can the author of these quotes be believed and does he really represent America and our national values?

"I will build a great, great wall on our southern border, and I will have Mexico pay for that wall. Mark my words."

“Trade wars are good, and easy to win.”

"I could stand in …

“I have an Article II, where I have the right to do whatever I want as president.”

President Donald Trump

Until recently, President Trump has ignored the Constitution, particularly as it establishes three co-equal branches of our government.  I assumed this was the result of his never having read or understood it …

“Why don’t they go back and help fix the totally broken and crime infested places from which they came”

President Trump (July 13, 2019)

For the past 2½ years I have assumed Donald Trump’s rambling Tweets and political agenda were aimed at simply placating and revving up his base.

However, his recent tirades …