“I’m a proud democrat, but I will govern as an American president". I’ll work as hard for those who didn’t vote for me as those who did. Let this grim era of demonization in America begin to end here and now."
Joe Biden (November 7, 2020)
The political divides and increasing distrust …
"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 …
“When people fear their government there is tyranny, when the government fears the people there is liberty”
Thomas Jefferson
With just days before the 2020 election, the U.S. Supreme Court has twice within a week decided not to decide whether the Pennsylvania Supreme Court’s ruling to require ballots postmarked on or before …
“We’re signing a health care plan within two weeks, a full and complete health care plan that the Supreme Court decision on DACA gave me the right to do.”
President Trump (July 19, 2020)
Thursday night’s dueling town hall forums provided a stark contrast in tone, content and civility.
Former Vice President Biden’s …
Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof ….”
First Amendment to the U.S. Constitution
Justices Thomas and Alito recently demonstrated ideology holds sway over their alleged “strict constructionist” view of the U.S. Constitution when they lambasted the religious liberty implications of the Court’s …
In James McGinnis’s article, “How Long Will PA Voter Count Take?” he quotes long-time legislator Gene DeGirolamo, “We’ve got to be able to give the people some sense of the results on election night.” and “If we don’t, in my opinion, this could create a constitutional crisis.” The genesis of …
I read with interest Cynthia Fernandez’s front-page piece in today’s Inquirer.
There is one very relevant consideration in this debate which, tragically, receives nary a word. As of June 2020, there were 4,092,963 (47.6%) registered Democrats, 3,290,944 (38.3%) registered Republicans and 1,215,657 (14.1%) registered voters belonging to neither of the …
“Jennifer Griffin should be fired for this kind of reporting. Never even called us for comment. @FoxNews is gone!”
Donald Trump on Fox News reporter who validated the recent Atlantic Monthly article
For a president who says he loves the military more than his predecessors and, without any evidence or military …
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 …
“Do the unexpected. Take 20 minutes out of your day, do what young people all over the world are dying to do: vote.”
Rick Mercer
John Locke, a 17th century English philosopher attacked the doctrine of the “divine right of kings”, arguing legitimate governments depend on the consent of the governed. A …
“The Grand Old Party has become little more than a Trump Booster Club”
USAToday
What in the past has been a presidential nominating convention for the Republican Party was transformed into an infomercial pageant directed by a media savvy President Trump.
Rather than allowing nominations other than Donald Trump, all voices not …
“The problem with US elections isn’t that people are voting more than once, it is too many people are voting less than once!”
The goals of the 2020 election must be two-fold:
To provide the unhindered and easily accessible opportunity for every citizen to vote in the upcoming presidential, Congressional and local …
“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 …
Good News” Story
Mrs. Cleo Hinton Reaching 110 Years Young
On Sunday, June 7th, Mrs. Cleo Gore-Hinton, a resident of the Villas of Shady Brook in Langhorne passed an incredible milestone … turning 110 years old.
The event was celebrated by a parade of over 110 vehicles adorned with congratulatory signs and balloons …
“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 …
"You cannot escape the responsibility of tomorrow by evading it today."
Abraham Lincoln
Shortly after President Trump’s televised signing the $2.3 trillion coronavirus economic stimulus bill, and out of the public eye, it was announced than he had issued a contemporaneous signing statement, “I do not understand, and my administration will not …
“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 …
“Assuming if there's such a thing as reality, if you have a false relationship with it, how can you do anything but fail?”
Jordan Peterson
The Democratic Party, and its “progressives” in particular, are on a course to repeat their 1972 and 1988 presidential debacles!
Sounding like a liberal version of Donald Trump …
“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 …
“The Congress shall have the Power to … provide for the common defence and general Welfare… declare War … and raise and support armies … and make Rules for the Government and Regulation of the land and naval forces”
U.S. Constitution, Article I, Section 8
Predictably, at his latest reelection …
“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 …
“In my great and unmatched wisdom …”
President Trump (Oct 6, 2019)
Donald Trump continues to live in his own alternative universe in which he continually boasts that he alone knows “more than anyone” about almost everything.
When talking about drones over the border, “No one knows more about this technology than I …
“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 …
"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 …
“I revere the American flag as a symbol of freedom. But behind it is something larger — the Constitution.”
Senate Majority leader Mitch McConnell
Pandering to a cornerstone of the far right’s political agenda, as Donald Trump, who loves political theater while continuing to treat the presidency like a reality show and …
“The Constitution requires a process other than the criminal justice system to formally accuse a sitting president of wrongdoing,”
Robert Mueller (May 2019)
Special Counsel Robert Mueller’s final report stated, “The evidence we obtained about the President’s actions and intent presents difficult issues that would need to be resolved if we were …
“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 …
“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. …
“We should begin orientation by getting to know one another,"
Dean Phillips (Rep. MN)
As public approval of Congress has hovered below 30% over the past 45 years, it is high time Congress take steps to improve the way it operates. Perhaps that is why the House recently appointed a bipartisan Select …
“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 …
“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 …
“First of all, nothing at the Trump organization was ever done unless it was run through Mr. Trump.”
Michael Cohen
It began with admissions of criminal conduct by Michael Flynn, Rick Gates and George Papadopoulos and now encompasses a growing number of people who have been members of Donald Trump’s inner circle, …
"Those who would give up essential Liberty, to purchase a little temporary Safety, deserve neither Liberty nor Safety."
Benjamin Franklin
Echoing Donald Trump’s knee-jerk reaction to news of the shooting at the Tree of Life Synagogue, the Philadelphia Inquirer's Mr. Bykofsky argues that “good guys with guns”, now becoming commonplace in schools, …
“It’s not the FBI’s role to investigate Ford’s claims”.
President Donald J. Trump
Senate Judiciary Committee Republicans seem committed to send Brett Kavanaugh’s nomination to the Supreme Court to the full Senate next week despite recent allegations he may have committed a prior sexual assault; and while thousands of pages of his …
“You see the Nazi platform in the early 1930s and what was actually put out there … and you look at it compared to like the DNC platform of today, and you’re saying, man, those things are awfully similar, to a point where it’s actually scary,”
Donald J. Trump, Jr.
Donald J. …
“Why can’t we just invade Venezuela?”
President Donald Trump
Astonishingly, there has not been a single word of outrage from any member of Congress, Democrat or Republican, to recent revelations that in August 2017 President Trump asked top foreign policy advisers about the possibility of invading Venezuela during a meeting on diplomatic …
“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 …
“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 …
“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
To the framers of our Constitution the issue of personal privacy was not of overriding concern. Rather, the absolute right to …
“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 …
Failure is simply the opportunity to begin again, this time more intelligently”
Henry Ford
House Intelligence Chair Nunes’ release of a Republican-drafted factually misleading memo accusing the FBI and Justice Department of improperly using their surveillance authority against the Trump presidential campaign while suppressing a dissenting Democratic minority report is indefensible!
When Americans …
The actions of people—and especially of government—always have effects that are unanticipated or unintended.
The Law of Unintended Consequences
The so-called tax reform and job creation bill working its way through Congress has no chance of producing the type of tax relief or job growth that the President and his Republican minions …
“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 …
The NFL players taking a knee are “very disrespectful to our country.”
President Donald Trump (September 30, 2017)
The furor over athletes taking a knee, raising a fist or sitting during the national anthem or people burning the Flag continues unabated, with President Trump fanning the flames those believe that such actions …
“Get that son of a bitch off the field”
Donald Trump (09/22/2017)
Referring to NFL players who have followed Colin Kaepernick’s lead and taken a knee during the national anthem, President Trump’s recent rants demonstrate he has clearly forgotten his oath of office to, “preserve, protect and defend the Constitution of the …
“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 …
“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 …
“Democracy must be something more than two wolves and a sheep voting on what to have for dinner.”
James Bovard (1994)
By the 2010 census, our nation’s population had grown to 308,745,538. Buried in that figure are changes in the populations of the fifty states. The Constitution mandates Congressional seats be apportioned …
“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 …
“Those who expect to reap the benefits of freedom must undergo the fatigue of supporting it.”
Thomas Paine
The report Vice Presidential candidate Mike Pence’s charter plane ran off the runway at LaGuardia raises the spector of the death or incapacitating medical problem happening to a presidential candidate or their running mate …
“Public enlightenment is the forerunner of justice and the foundation of democracy. The duty of the Journalist is to further those ends by seeking truth and providing a fair and comprehensive account of the events and issues.”
Society of Professional Journalists’ Code of Ethics
The reporting on last evening’s Republican presidential debate …