Tag Archives: Obama

The Trump Stain

The American Presidency will forever be stained by Donald Trump. We have had incompetent Presidents. We have had corrupt Presidents. We have had somewhat racist Presidents. We have never had all of the above in one man. Trump is not only dangerously incompetent, he now confirms and unreservedly validates the assumptions and charges of his deeply flawed moral character.

If the Republican party does not reject him, does not isolate him, they too will be stained. If those foolish people who accepted positions within his cabinet and the White House itself do not resign, they too will forever be stained. 

Steve Bannon, Stephen Miller and Sebastian Gorka are not responsible for Trump’s positions on race and religion–he is. They may refine his narratives. They may inspire and facilitate. But they don’t initiate his outbursts–that’s all him. They declaim against the “deep state,” all the while propounding their own “dope state”–or perhaps I should say “hate state.”

Former President Barack Obama recently shared a quote from Nelson Mandela that has become the most liked tweet in Twitter history:

“No one is born hating another person because of the color of his skin or his background or his religion … People must learn to hate, and if they can learn to hate, they can be taught to love … For love comes more naturally to the human heart than its opposite.” 

This tells us that there are a great many people who share Obama’s views of humanity–and reject Donald Trump’s perspective. Inferentially, we can conclude that Trump learned to hate from his father Fred, who was arrested during a KKK march in 1927.

Does Trump have RAHOWA tattooed across his buttocks where no one but Melania can see it? Perhaps he wears 88 brand Depends. There, we can’t have a post about Trump without some satire, despite the gravity of current events. 

America will survive. The sooner Trump is forced from office, the quicker it’s recovery and reascendence can begin. You can help this along by recognizing that friends don’t let friends tolerate Trump–let alone support him. Difficult as it may be, we all need to communicate with friends and family–especially those deluded ones that have no problems with Trump. We need to urge them to tell their friends and coworkers (yes, I know, we’re not supposed to talk politics at work but this is a special case) to pass along the need to quit if you work in the Trump administration. That you need to demand he be removed from office, as soon as possible.

All right, one more satirical interlude. Trump’s slogan is Make America Great Again. He wants to harken back to America’s more seriously racist and misogynistic past. Why not go back even further. Remember, this is humor. 

In Colonial America, miscreants might be placed in stocks. Shame meant something then and townsfolk could hurl insults, tomatoes or rotten fruit at them. That would be fitting for Trump, don’t you think? Of course the Secret Service wouldn’t allow that to happen to Trump–at least while in office. Besides, we’re too civilized now. But if it could happen after he’s out, maybe we could add tarring and feathering? For someone who lives in such a dark past, it seems fitting, doesn’t it? Alas, the courts wouldn’t permit such a thing. But Trump would most likely be fine with it–if it were done to someone else.

More Really Fake News

This is satire. All “news” on THIS post is FAKE unless indicated otherwise. OK, there is a shred of truth to some–I’m sure you’ll figure out which is which won’t you? Any resemblance to public figures is intentional; for all others it’s coincidental.

It’s mostly about Trump, his associates and allies. But isn’t mocking people’s names a little juvenile, you ask? Well sure it is, but that’s for verisimilitude. Trump may be 70, chronologically, but he has an emotional maturity of a 13 to 15-year-old.  

It’s difficult to successfully satirize Trump. How would you mock the Three Stooges? Trump is not only funny, he’s dangerous. But since the media and many politicians not only take him seriously but are actively trying to normalize him after all the stuff he’s said and done, mockery is what’s left for me to do. So here’s the New Year’s Eve edition of Really Fake News. 

 

Kellyanne Corncob, every surrogate and the entire Trump team continues to reject the notion that the Russians hacked the DNC. Even if they did, she says, Obama’s sanctions against the Russians are politically motivated to “box him [Trump] in.” Trump himself asks if the US knew the Russians did it, why didn’t the Obama administration impose the sanctions long ago? Trump et al, say it’s all to delegitimize his election. [Really? Nothing to do with national security?] Obama reportedly says, behind closed doors, that he doesn’t need to delegitimize Trump’s win–Trump’s been doing a fine job of that all by himself.

 

More breaking news on the Russian Front (Putin and Trump, that is).  An anonymous source linked this NSA intercept of a recent call between Trump and Putin.

“Hey, Vlad baby, thanks for that smart move with the sanctions. That will make it easier for me to remove them after I’m in the White House–soon to be the Trump House, hahaha.”

“Donny, don’t worry about the sanctions Obama imposed. We can handle them for awhile. Wait a few months before you remove them all–and the other ones about Crimea and the Ukraine. If you act too quickly, you’ll have trouble with Congress.”

“Are you sure you can stand them, Vlad?”

“Absolutely, Donny boy. Just remember, we’re always here for you. If you do get in trouble–like being impeached for conflicts of interest with all your business dealings, you can move to Russia. We treat our oligarchs very, very well here. You can make as much money as you want without annoying laws and regulations hemming you in. You could finally become a billionaire for real!”

“How about a reality TV show on RT?

“Sure, no problem. But you’ll want more than that won’t you? Resorts, casinos, golf courses and more–right? Just get rid of those sanctions in a few months. ”

“Right. OK, but if I’m going to dump those sanctions, I’ll need approval for several projects up front. Donald Jr., will be in touch about them.”

“Sure, we can do that. But be careful about calls like this. We can’t help you if you go too far and get charged with treason!”

“Hey, I’ll be President. No conflicts. I can do whatever I want. Say, you really didn’t do that hacking did you?”

“No, of course not! You trust Infofarce, the National Enquirer, WhiteBark and Sean Insanity don’t you?”

“Oh sure. That’s why I don’t bother with those stupid PDBs. I’m smarter than those intelligence agencies!”

 

Turns out Israel’s proof that the Obama administration orchestrated the UN Security Council Resolution condemning Israeli settlements comes from Trump associates. This according to hacked emails recently released from WackyLeaks. The emails are between David Friedman (President-Elect Trump’s nominee for Ambassador to Israel), Alicia (formerly Alex) Jones and Roger Stone. The emails show that the three conspired to frame Obama, John Kerry and Samantha Powers to embarrass them and kill the “two-state solution.” Trump, Friedman and Israeli leaders are turning cartwheels at the thought of building still more settlements. Israel’s reflexive response by Netanyahoo on down, castigating Obama, came exactly as expected.

 

Breaking News from WhiteBark (formerly known as Breitbart), courtesy of Sean Spicer. The Trump Inaugural Committee has changed its mind about accepting the offer of Russian punk group Pussy Riot to perform their hit video, [NOTE: this video is NOT safe for work] “Make America Great Again,” at inaugural events.

“Well, we heard Trump was having trouble getting A-listers to perform, so we figured he must be desperate by now,” according to a spokesperson for the group.

After viewing the performance on a smartphone in the Trump Grill, a shocked committee member fell over in a dead faint into a plate of so-so food. Too bad the tweet from Trump’s BFF Vlad, “Nyet, nyet!” arrived too late to save the committee member from embarrassment.

In other inaugural News: The Committee confirmed that Ted Nugent  will replace 16-year-old Jackie Evancho in singing the national anthem.  Evancho had to cancel for unspecified reasons. Nugent’s version might best be called the Star Strangled Banner. [Caution: He’ll be strapped, so NO booing].

 

News from Communications Director/Press Secretary Sean Spicer: Tweets from Trump will continue throughout his presidency–[for however long it lasts]. News media are encouraged to follow @unrealDonaldTrump as he plans to have news conferences only annually. Whenever he has insults, boasts or policy announcements (foreign or domestic), that’s where to find them, according to “Hot Stuff” Spicer.  “Hot Stuff” and others in the Trump organization  transition team administration will continue to provide interpretation, translation or explanation of what they think Trump actually means by the tweets. No one can be sure, of course.

“All the better to be unpredictable,” Trump says in his own words. “Eff ’em if they can’t take a joke.”

 

Recent tweets from Donald Trump’s twitter account [@unrealDonaldTrump]

Sunshine today across Florida. We’re at Mar-a- Lago. Looks great for picnics, walks and more. Thanks for the fine weather Donald!

Rain today at Mar-a-Lago. Obama’s trying to ruin my New Year’s celebration. Sun will shine on me everywhere from January 21st!

Insulting media rumors are TOTALLY UNTRUE. Melania NEVER calls me Beavis. She’ll be giving a news conference soon denying media lies.

 

Anonymous post on Facebook backs up the Beavis rumor. What started as another review of the Trump Grill in Trump Tower wound up including parts of an overheard conversation between Melania and Kellyanne Corncob,

“Beavis keeps jumping ahead of Barron when they’re playing Nintendo or PlayStation—whatever that stupid game thing is. He’s supposed to wait his turn but he gets so impatient. Just like becoming President. He wants to be in charge right now.”

“Oh, you shouldn’t call your husband “Beavis,” Melania.”

“Why? He acts just like Beavis; getting all excited when he hears the names for women’s body parts! Especially when he’s with Bannon and they see someone young and pretty.”

“Oh, I don’t believe that! I never hear anything like that when I’m around.”

“Uh, well . . . Anyway, the two of them even look like Beavis and Butthead, especially Donald.”

Beavis and Butthead
By Source, Fair use, https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?curid=33921887

Donald Trump and Steve Bannon

 

 

Carl Paladino face pasted on a foal's behindCarl Paladino insists that his name is Paladino and NOT Palamino.
This despite making comments about Barack and Michelle Obama that lend credence to the notion that he is at least a horse’s ass.
Note: the paragraph that follows and the block quote below are actual news–NOT fake news.

Trump’s former New York campaign co-chair hoped that Barack would “die of mad cow disease” and “Michelle would turn back into a male and go live in a cave in Africa.” In a statement reported by the Albany Times Union, Paladino [AKA Palamino] said,

“It has nothing to do with race. That’s the typical stance of the press when they can’t otherwise defend the acts of the person being attacked.”

Meanwhile, Alicia Jones (of Infofarce.com) and Rush (AKA The Cheesy Chub) Limberger are reportedly fighting over who will get to have a midnight tryst with the Buffalo horseman. Perhaps they can find a secluded barn for the three of them.

Aleppo–a Time to Act

Damaged buildings in Syria, from CNN website
Damaged buildings in Syria, from CNN website

ISIS/ISIL, Bashar al Assad, Russia, rebels of every stripe, the U.S. and the UN. Just some of the players in Syria. The problem has been finding rebels to support that might take down Assad but that weren’t ISIS or Al Qaeda. And to avoid what happened in Iraq–getting rid of Assad without leaving the country in worse shape after all. ISIS may be on the run, but now with Russia aiding Assad more and more, atrocities in Aleppo (and no doubt elsewhere) get worse. See this article from Gayle Tzemach Lemmon on CNN.

When war crimes are happening daily, can the world afford to wait? As a Buddhist and a person who values diplomacy over war, I am loathe to suggest more U.S. military involvement. But can we expect the UN to help? Not in time. Can we just let Russia roll? One has to believe that Sergei Lavrov has been playing John Kerry for a fool on the cease-fire. I camped on the Mall in Washington, DC with Kerry when he was a leader of the Vietnam Vets Against the War. Many years after that I included my antiwar sentiments into a memoir, Waiting for Westmoreland, that also explained how I came to accept the responsibility to change myself in order to make the world a better and more peaceful place. But Buddhism doesn’t indulge the “turn the other cheek” principle of Christianity. Self-defense and defense of others is always a legitimate thing in Buddhism.

Perhaps President Obama is waiting until after November 8th, when his lame duck status is not only certain but won’t inconvenience Hillary Clinton. Were she in office right now, she would likely institute a no-fly zone over Aleppo and might be willing to challenge Russian and Syrian aircraft who violate it. We can assume Trump would do no such thing and would let Russia aid Syria until all opposition to that brutal dictator and war criminal Assad was crushed and he regained complete control of Syria.

The children and the citizens of Aleppo can’t wait. If the U.S. needs to shoot down some Russian planes (or believably threaten to do so) then so be it. We need to tell Putin we are ready to hack every computer system in Russia until it’s power grid, its infrastructure and its communication system fails or is completely crippled. Will he believe it? Can Obama bluff him? He’s been calling our bluff for some time. Now we need to call his and do it–NOW. His government hackers have been doing their best to get Trump elected. That interference has to stop. Is that a declaration of war? Probably close to it, but I prefer to call it defense of others. A believable threat has to move him. Putin will only go as far as he thinks he can get away with. He’s not sitting at a console ready to launch nukes. Do you think so? I don’t.

Congress is not in session. Calling them back will likely result in no approval. The UN Security Council won’t approve such action because Russia will veto it. So it’s more than a big political gamble. It could result in big problems for Clinton before the election. Or then again, maybe not. THEN we can sort out who needs to be supported in Syria. Obama can then exit and hand over the mess to Hillary Clinton, who is capable of handling it even if he isn’t willing or able to do it. Enough is enough.

GOP Truculence Persists

From the time Obama entered office in 2009, the GOP has opposed virtually every initiative he has proposed. With little assistance and plenty of opposition, the economic collapse Obama inherited  from his predecessor Bush has been substantially dealt with–ongoing job creation has continued for nearly five years. GDP is on the upswing and interest rates remain low. Housing starts are up and unemployment down. A universal health plan first proposed decades ago by Republican presidents is the law of the land but the hair on Republican heads continues to blaze. One definition of insanity is continuing to do the same thing with an expectation of a different outcome. The GOP-led house has attempted to repeal the Affordable Care Act (popularly/unpopularly known as Obamacare) over 50 times. The act has survived court scrutiny. Now Speaker of the House, John Boehner has said he will sue the president over it. Continue reading GOP Truculence Persists

It’s All Obama’s Fault

It rained today. Weather forecast from National Weather Service said sunny. So who supervises those people at NWS? Obama appointees. It’s his fault my picnic was ruined.

The stock market went down today. I lost money. See, Obama keeps bashing Wall Street, the economy is not as good as if Mitt were President. It’s Obama’s fault I lost money.

My dog is sick. Traffic is too heavy and slow on my commute to work. My wife/husband is angry at me all the time. It’s Obama’s fault–all of it! He is the President–he is responsible for everything wrong with America and with my life! He can’t do anything right! Just wait until Rush Limbaugh and the Republicans take over the Congress and the White House–then you’ll see! No more whining then–just cheese.

Hope and Self-Reliance

Hope is a town in Arkansas, birthplace of Bill, that American president of a few terms ago. “Don’t stop thinking about tomorrow,” the Clinton theme song, expressed how he turned his birthplace into a virtual motto—a cris de couer for all that needed doing, that needed fixing. Bill had hope. He passed it on. Many people had it when Barack Obama took office. Not so many among the GOP, of course. Fewer now than in 2008, even among some fellow Democrats. But that is the way of politics and of people. Many prefer to look to others for hope and inspiration. To look to others for the solution to all that ails them, spiritually, economically and otherwise. A foolish thing to do, that, expecting others to be one’s salvation. More often than not, such misplaced reliance leads to disappointment. Better to find hope within. Better to have faith that through one’s own thoughts and one’s own efforts whatever obstacles one may encounter can be overcome and one’s goals accomplished. Scary though it may be, having such self-reliance, it is and always will be not simply the best way but the only way likely to succeed.

Where is the Compassion on Children Crossing the Border?

Back in the early days of the George W. Bush administration, Bush spoke of “compassionate conservatism.” Examples of such were hard to find, although in the waning days of his 2nd term, came the 2008 law that now is being conflated with the overall immigration debate–protecting children from non-contiguous countries who come here seeking protection from abuses in their countries. So what do we see from Americans in California, Texas and Arizona–perhaps New Mexico as well? Not just NIMBYism (not in my backyard) but callous calls to send thousands toddlers to teenagers back home as if they were none other than illegal border crossers intent on corrupting America with their protest. Congressmen, US senators and even the White House insist few will qualify under the law intended to protect them and want them sent home almost immediately to Guatamala, El Salvador or Honduras.  Citizens block buses transporting them for processing and angrily protest their presence here. As a Buddhist, far be it from me to ask WWJD, but this all seems as far removed from Christian mercy as worshiping Satan. It is important to note, this has almost NOTHING to do with the overall immigration issue [more on that in my next post].  Continue reading Where is the Compassion on Children Crossing the Border?

Lindsey Graham is a Pissant

Vonnegut. Cat’s Cradle. 1963. In classic Vonnegut form, the character Crosby says,

“A pissant is somebody who thinks he’s so damn smart, he never can keep his mouth shut. No matter what anybody says, he’s got to argue with it. . . . No matter what you say, he knows better.”

A pissant, in the common parlance, is a small man–not so much in stature but in significance, import, perhaps in intellectual weight. In the midst of an international crisis, threatening the security and sovereignty of the nation of Ukraine, on Sunday’s State of the Union show, Lindsey Graham said that

President Obama “should stop going on television and trying to threaten thugs and dictators.” [like Putin] Whenever he does, “everybody’s eyes roll, including mine. We have a weak and indecisive president that invites aggression.”

So, instead of considering the well-being, the safety of the citizens of the Ukraine, Graham plays the pissant, mocking Obama. Contrast that with the sensible, supportive and bipartisan approach from (of all people) House Majority Leader Eric Cantor who released a statement yesterday saying:

“Russia’s invasion of Ukraine violates international law and its long-standing agreements. Russian aggression must cease, . . .

I have spoken to Administration officials to express our interest in working together to ensure that President Obama has the appropriate tools to impose real consequences on Russia for this aggression.”

So, take your pick, pissant or bipartisan patriot. There’s a reason no one expects Lindsey Graham ever to be Commander in Chief. This is the latest example. Facing four Tea Party primary opponents, he has his own small-minded interests at stake rather than international affairs. There are few who could underestimate the political astuteness of the Tea Party, but Graham may be one of them.

Nugent Nonsense

Ted Nugent’s latest rant (that President Obama is a “subhuman mongrel”) fairly takes one back to elementary school for a rejoinder: “It takes one to know one,” I know nothing of Nugent’s parentage, but if you saw and heard the two of them side by side, my bet would be that most observers would find Nugent is more aptly describing himself.  His days as a successful rocker are far behind him, with nothing on the charts for decades; what he is renowned for now are right-wing rants. In April, 2012 Nugent said at an NRA conference, speaking of the 2012 election, “If Barack Obama becomes the president in November again, I will either be dead or in jail by this time next year. We need to ride into that battlefield and chop their heads off in November.” He had an interview with the Secret Service following that. Unfortunately for Greg Abbott, Republican candidate for governor of Texas, Nugent is neither dead nor in jail. Instead he is still around hurling insults at the President. To be insulted by a fool is no great disgrace–to be praised by one is. So it’s Abbott, for whom Nugent is making campaign appearances, that suffers the dishonor–not President Obama. It says something obvious about Abbott that he accepts Nugent’s campaign assistance.

Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell

A break from health care reform. The Obama administration has apparently finally embarked on the repeal of the “don’t ask, don’t tell” policy implemented during the first Clinton administration. Reinforcing the conclusion that he was just as much a politician that will say whatever needs saying to be elected (except he didn’t succeed), John McCain has done a 180 degree turn from his previous position and now is “disappointed” in Joint Chief of Staff Admiral Mullen’s opinion that gays in the military pose no problem. It’s difficult to fathom why McCain needs to curry conservative favor at this point in his political career–at his age and his showing in the last election he has no future in politics. Anyway, assuming the gossip is correct, if Alexander the Great was in fact gay, then why should being gay in the 21st century U.S. military pose a problem? With an all-volunteer service having at least some difficulty getting people to enlist when the real likelihood of posting to a combat zone is high, why discourage gays from joining? It is time to end the charade. Let them in and leave them alone.