“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 …
“Be careful what you wish for …”
Adage – author unknown
Supreme Court appointments can be a president’s most important and enduring legacy. While rarely registering on lists of voter concerns, the untimely passing of Justice Scalia has made such appointments toxic political fodder for presidential wannabees!
Under the Constitution, a president’s term …
“You can’t be neutral in a public-sector union”
Rebecca Friedrichs (2016)
It is clear that the Supreme Court is likely to overturn its 1977 ruling in Abood v. Detroit Board of Education which affirmed that a union shop, legal in the private sector, is also legal in the public sector. They found …
” the rancor and suspicion between the parties has gotten worse instead of better.”
President Obama (January 2016)
While President Obama lamented on the increasing polarization during his Administration, he needs only to look in the mirror. His demonizing those who disagree with him, unwillingness to compromise other than on his terms …
“Agency shop” laws, which require public employees to pay union dues as a condition of employment, violate well-settled principles of freedom of speech and association.”
Plaintiffs in Friedrichs v. California Teachers Association
It is clear that the Supreme Court is likely to overturn its 1977 ruling in Abood v. Detroit Board of …
If your actions inspire others to dream more, learn more, do more and become more, you are a leader.
John Quincy Adams
What do the crop for presidential candidates really believe?
In the wake of the Fox News, CNN and CNBC Republican debates and CNN Democratic debate, there has been much justifiable criticism …
“The more I see the representatives of the people, the more I admire my dogs.”
Alphonse de Lamartine (1850)
The current impasse between Governor Wolf and the Commonwealth’s Republican-controlled Legislature represents our government at its worst!
So polarized are the major players they simply ignored their respective obligations to enact a balanced budget …
“Those who don’t know history are destined to repeat it.”
Edmund Burke (1729 – 1797)
Islam means “submission to the will of God”; its fundamental tenet, “There is only one God, and Muhammad is his prophet.”
Since the September 11th attacks, a debate has raged over whether Islam is a “religion of peace” …
“I disapprove of what you say, but I will defend to the death your right to say it.”
Voltaire (attributed- circa 1764)
The assassinations of the editorial staff of Charlie Hebdo, a Muslim policeman and four French Jews is simply the latest in an escalating string of brutalities committed by Islamic militants …
“The very essence of a free government consists in considering offices as public trusts, bestowed for the good of the country, and not for the benefit of an individual or party.”
John C. Calhouun – Speech on February 13, 1835
President Obama’s November 21st Executive Orders on Immigration were an “in your …
“Congress has become the “broken branch” of government, marked by extreme partisanship and few achievements.”
Cato Institute – January 2011
A friend recently lamented about frustrations his daughter was having in planning her daughter’s wedding. Chief among the challenges was where people would sit at the reception. “Obviously, so-and-so can’t be at …
“The greatest danger to American Freedom is a government that ignores the Constitution”
Thomas Jefferson
Speaker Boehner’s announcement to seek House authorization initiating a lawsuit against the president is long-overdue by Congress in light of their solemn oath to “support and defend the Constitution”.
A system of checks and balances between the three …
“The fact that unintended consequences of government regulation are usually (but not always or necessarily) negative is not an accident.”
Freakonomics
On April 14th 2014, Michigan lawmakers endorsed a call for a constitutional convention (to require the federal government to balance the budget) pursuant a scenario inserted into Article V of the …
“You should protest about the views of people you disagree with over major moral issue and argue the down, but you should not try to silence them, however repugnant you find them. That is the bitter pill free speech requires us to swallow.”
Julian Baggini
This past week, the New Jersey Motor …
“I do solemnly swear (or affirm) that I will faithfully execute the Office of President of the United States, and will to the best of my Ability, preserve, protect and defend the Constitution of the United States.”
Presidential Oath of Office
US Constitution – Article II, Section 1
The President, all members of …
Relying on the government to protect your privacy is like asking a peeping tom to install your window blinds.
John Perry Barlow
Read more at http://www.brainyquote.com/quotes/keywords/privacy.html#lSxBojgVIZorW82A.99
“Relying on the government to protect your privacy is like asking a peeping tom to install your window blinds”
John Perry Barlow
In the aftermath of recent the disclosures …
“No democratic government can last long without conciliation and compromise”
The Wisdom of Benjamin Franklin
While the federal government remains “sort of” shut down (although Congressional and White House personnel continue to get paid while visible programs affecting average folks, children and veterans are always targeted in such situations) and our national …
Christine Brennan’s September 12th USAT0day OpEd plea for the Washington Redskins to change their name as, “if only some Native Americans think it’s racist … It’s racist”, is yet another sad example of selective political correctness and displays her lack of appreciation for the very rights which make her profession …
Christine Brennan’s September 12th USAT0day OpEd plea for the Washington Redskins to change their name as, “if only some Native Americans think it’s racist … It’s racist”, is yet another sad example of selective political correctness and displays her lack of appreciation for the very rights which make her profession …
With the 50th anniversary of Dr. Martin Luther King’s “I Have a Dream” speech, there is a deafening silence over the Administration’s threats to bomb Syria, an action which can only be defined as an act of war. However, under our Constitution, only Congress has the power to declare war, …
“Power tends to corrupt, and absolute power corrupts absolutely.”
Lord Acton in a letter to Bishop Mandell Creighton in 1887
While many people have differences of opinion over the policies of the Obama Administration, so long as the Executive Branch acts within the limited scope of its authority as granted under Article …
“I believe there are more instances of the abridgment of the freedom of the people by gradual and silent encroachment of those in power than by violent and sudden usurpations.”
James Madison (1788)
The President, members of Congress, Supreme Court Justices and federal officials swear to “support, preserve, protect and defend the …
“No democratic government can last long without conciliation and compromise.”
Samuel Elliot Morrison – “The Wisdom of Benjamin Franklin” (1961)
While the leaders of our Republic have engaged in divisive and often virulent disagreements since John Adams ran against and defeated Thomas Jefferson, such disputes were generally between individuals. However, during the …