Putin’s Candidate

“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 …

Congressional Allegiances in Question

"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 …

What is His Ultimate Goal?

“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 …

Trump’s America After Me Campaign

“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 …

Trump in His Own Words

"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 …

The Greatest Threat Facing America

“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, …

An Ominous Warning

“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 …

Where Are the Patriotic Republicans?

“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 …

No Person Is Above the Law

“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 …

And the Next Speaker Could Be ….

“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 …

It Can Happen Here

“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 …

An Ongoing Threat to Our Democracy

"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 …

Our Nation’s Institutions Under Attack

“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 …

The Cost of Patriotism

“… 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 …

No American Can Be Above the Law

“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 …

What Does It Mean to be a Patriotic American

"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 …

An Open Letter to President Joseph R. Biden

"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, …

Democracy is Not a Spectator Sport

 

"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 …

Putin’s Ukrainian Invasion … A Defining Moment for the GOP

“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 …

Trump’s Comments – A Dire Warning

“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 …

Trump – the GOP’s Ultimate RINO

"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 …

Lacking Moral Principles

“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) …

A Case for Impeachment Jury Tampering

“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, …

An Impeachment Trial Accomplishes Nothing

“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. …

Our Republic Under Siege

“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 …

Donald Trump’s Attempted Coup

"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 …

A Time to Heal

"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 …

A Lightweight President Goes AWOL

"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, …

Trump’s Fantasies Are A Danger to Our Republic

"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’s Praise of Trump’s Handling the COVID-19 Pandemic Crisis

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 …

Trump Again Tries to Circumvent the Constitution

“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 …

A Clear Case of Dereliction of Duty

“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 …

Presidential Accountability On Trial

“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 …

It Can’t Be The President’s Fault

"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 …

Trump’s COVID-19 Failure of Leadership

“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 …

Trump Politicizing the Corvid-19 Crisis

“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 …

Do We Really Want an Autocratic and Unanswerable President?

“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 …

Now is Not the Time to Impeach the President

“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 …

Warren has Trump and the GOP Salivating

“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 …

Where Are Our Nation’s Patriots?

“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 …

The Democratic Party’s 2020 Conundrum

­“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 …

Where are the Republicans Who Believe in America

“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 …

From the Mouth of Donald J. Trump

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 …

The President Discovers the Constitution

“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 …

Trump Simply Doesn’t Understand or Like America

“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 …

An Insecure and Self Absorbed President

"Being president doesn't change who you are, it reveals who you are."

Michelle Obama

In the wake of the recent publication of the British Ambassador to the United States, Sir Kim Darroch’s confidential assessment of Donald Trump as “inept,” “insecure,” “diplomatically clumsy”, “mired in social scandal” and “uniquely dysfunctional,” (observations with which …

An Emboldened President … Dangerous for Our Democracy

“I believe 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 usurpations.

James Madison

Attorney General Barr concluded the “Mueller Report” exonerated President Trump, his associates and campaign of collusion with Russia during the …

To Impeach or Not To Impeach

“The only conduct that merits the drastic remedy of impeachment is that which subverts our system of government or renders the president unfit or unable to govern.”

Charlies Ruff

With the release of the redacted Mueller Report, some Democrats have renewed calls for the House to begin proceedings to impeach President Trump.  …

Congress Must Support and Defend the Constitution

“There are more instances of the abridgement of the freedom of the people by gradual consent and silent encroachment of those in power than by violent and sudden usurpations.”

James Madison

 

Given Mitch McConnell cannot prevent the Senate from voting on a House passed resolution to overturn President Trump’s declaration of a …

A Needless Government Shutdown

“I will be the one to shut it down. I’m not going to blame you for it.”

President Donald J. Trump

 

One wonders why the president and his Republican Senate cronies have seen fit to shut down so many federal government agencies, putting some eight hundred thousand workers out of work or …

An Open Letter to Donald J. Trump

“The whole aim of practical politics is to keep the populace alarmed (and hence clamorous to be led to safety) by menacing it with an endless series of hobgoblins, all of them imaginary.
H. L. Mencken
 
Dear President Trump:
Immediately after your election, your defenders and detractors alike opined perhaps you were new …

Trump’s Cohen Raid Meltdown and Syrian Response

“They broke into the offices of one of my personal attorneys … an attack on our country and what we all stand for”
Donald Trump (April 10, 2018)
 
President Trump’s explosive tirade over recent FBI raids on Michael Cohen’s office, home and hotel suite should come as no surprise.   Again, Trump has …

POTUS is Living in an Alternative-Fact Universe

“There should be no doubt that Russia perceives that its past efforts have been successful and views the 2018 midterm US elections as a potential target for Russian influence operations.  Frankly, the United States is under attack.
 Dan Coats, Director of National Intelligence
Whether on the subject of Russian interference with our …

Our President’s Problems with Truth and Lack of a Moral Compass

“You are entitled to your opinion. But you are not entitled to your own facts.”
Daniel Patrick Moynihan
 John Dowd’s, President Trump’s attorney, assertion, “The President cannot obstruct justice because he is the chief law enforcement officer … and has every right to express his view of any case,”  is frightening to …

Presidential Tweets Rife with Irresponsible Views and Fake News

“It’s very sad that Republicans, even some that were carried over the line on my back, do very little to protect their President,”
Donald J. Trump
 
President Trump’s recent tweets provide unmistakable evidence he has forgotten, does not understand or chooses to disregard the oath that he and all other federal officials …

President Trump … A Leader in Name Only

“I used to say, ‘Go out and get the best people, and trust them.’ Over the years I have seen too many shenanigans, and now I say, ‘Get the best people and don’t trust them.’”
Donald Trump (2000)
As the country prepares to celebrate its 241st birthday, President Trump continues to be …

An Open Letter to President-Elect Donald Trump

 
“United we can solve our problems and divided we have nothing.”
Louis Farrakhan
 
Early on the morning of November 9th of this year, you spoke to the American people.
“Now it’s time for America to bind the wounds of division.  To all Republicans, Democrats, and independents across this nation, I say it is …

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