Tag Archives: Trump

America Worst? (With Trump It’s Not “First”) Save America–Get Out and Vote!

October 30, 2018 John Maberry 2 Comments

The #MAGAbomber, brought to you by Donald J (for Jackass) Trump.

Was it Steve Bannon or Stephen Miller that appropriated “America First,” Lindbergh’s Nazi sympathizer slogan from the 1930s? No matter, Trump eagerly adopted it. What results is America Worst. Trump is the laughingstock of the world and America is looked down upon by developed nations. Instead of being the shiny city on the hill, America is in danger of being regarded as the sh**ty city on the hill.

What does MAGA really mean? I came up with Making America Grievously Abhorrent. I’ll bet you can come up with a better one. Let me know in the comments.

When he says, he is a Nationalist, he implicitly means he is a White Nationalist. He distinguishes himself from Globalists, which can be an economic term but is also a code word for Zionist financiers–or an anti-Semitic smear. He encourages violence against protesters at his rallies and against others. The racism, xenophobia and religious intolerance that Trump repeatedly espouses gives free rein to right wing extremist violence.

In addition to the MAGAbomber, Trump is ultimately responsible for these other attacks from just the last week–the anti-Semite shooter at the Pittsburgh Synagogue and the Kroger shooter that would have killed people at a Black church if he could have got into it. Since Trump’s ascendance, white nationalist terrorism has increased dramatically.

Sarah Sanders said (Monday, 10/29), “I think the president had a number of moments of bringing the country together. . . .” Well, that’s for sure—more and more people in America are coming together opposing Trump’s imperial presidency, his cruelty, his corruption, his lying, his racism, his misogyny and more.

What can we do, coming together in opposition to Trump? We can vote. Democrats and true Independents may not take over Congress completely, but just defeating the corrupt Trump sycophants that make up the GOP Trump Cult would make America better. Let’s restore a modicum of decency, morality, honest and integrity to America. Let’s elevate America’s status in the world to somewhere near what it used to be.

Perhaps Trump will be impeached by a Democratically controlled House, but he could not be convicted and removed by a Senate even if the Democrats won a majority. Well, maybe–if the Mueller report and additional indictments are strong enough. Not likely to happen. Maybe Trump will have a stroke or heart attack? With his diet and lack of exercise (he drives golf carts onto the greens!) it’s possible. Time will tell.

But what’s the scariest Halloween costume you could imagine? A person with a Trump mask holding a newspaper heralding his reelection in 2020—now that’s a real horror!

So vote NOW to give him a clue of what’s to come and maybe he’ll leave voluntarily if it gets to hot in the White House.

America's Future, Legal, Politics

The Sum of All Fears–Loss of Privileges

October 4, 2018 John Maberry 13 Comments

How DARE you accuse ME?

RAGE and more RAGE

Remember, as Kavanaugh says, “What goes around comes around.” Only, however, if Democrats, Independents and what few remaining principled Republicans with a conscience vote in Democrats in the midterms. Then we will see karma in action.

The cloture vote is at 10:30 am ET on Friday. The vote to confirm, IF cloture passes, will be around 5 pm on Saturday. People MUST call, visit or otherwise exhort their Senator to vote no on Friday. Kavanaugh is unfit to sit on the US Supreme Court.

He is a liar
He is an unbridled partisan–not capable of reaching independent decisions apart from his Republican ideological beliefs and treating others impartially
He may have a drinking problem and may be guilty of sexual assault
He is temperamentally unfit–as his rage showed during the hearing last Friday

One might argue that his rage stemmed from being falsely accused. While possible, he certainly didn’t stop at protestations of innocence. Oh no, Sam Seder summed it up a few days ago on an MSNBC show explaining the roots of the rage. What I prefer to call a trifecta:

Male Privilege
White Privilege
and Class Privilege

Who–that is not White, male or upper class can question him about his behavior from his youth?

He is entitled, as a White male, to dominate and subdue women when he chooses to. Take a look at his wife, seated behind and to his right. At times, during his raging opening statement at the Judiciary Committee hearing, did she not display the long-suffering face of a spouse. A spouse who has endured many such rages at home when she didn’t fulfill his expectations–a late dinner, kids misbehaving, etc.? Did she not relive those experiences and wish he wasn’t reenacting them for national audience? I’m not a profiler, but that’s what I saw on her face.

He is entitled, as member of the wealthy upper class to not be questioned about his behavior by those beneath his station.

Kavanaugh is not alone in his rage. How much did he resemble, speak like and behave like Donald Trump? Oh, he didn’t have the orange face and Barbie hair of Trump–but he nearly outdid his so-called President after all those practice sessions at the White House.

Lindsey Graham could have been Kavanaugh’s clone in his belligerency, his outrageous anger. They are all of a piece. Then, in conjunction with Trump, they orchestrated a sham “investigation” which interviewed a handful of people and followed up with no one. Then those same Senators in a chorus said there was no corroboration to the charges against Kavanaugh–of course not, the FBI was instructed to find none!

All those aging White men in the Senate. Those Trump voters. They worry about the rising tide of women. First they got the right to vote–now they’re running for office in increasing numbers. They’re speaking out and demanding justice for sexual harassment and want equal pay in the workplace–even promotions!

First will come the rise of women. That’s what the Kavanaugh nomination is all about. To stave off the rise of women and reassert male control over reproduction–which, after all, is the main purpose of women (along with fun) from the dominant male perspective.

Next will come the inevitable minority status for Whites (it will take some time, but demographic trends say it will happen). Trump, with the able assistance of his White Nationalist copywriter Stephen Miller, is working hard to keep Brown people out of America. In aggregate with Asians and Blacks the nonwhite population will eventually make Whites a minority. Alas! That’s what the immigration battles are about. That’s what the limit on refugees is about. And that’s what the wall is about!

The class warfare, that filthy rich right-wingers cry out about whenever the subject of more taxes for the rich comes up. That change in America may not come this century, if ever. The Koch Brothers, Sheldon Adelson, and others want Kavanaugh in place to keep Citizen United case and other means to ensure that money controls who gets nominated and elected to office.

In the unfortunate case that Kavanaugh is confirmed, it will be a stain on the Supreme Court. It can be remedied however, if the Democrats gain control of Congress (or at least the House). Then they can proceed to investigate not only Trump and his administration, but Kavanaugh as well. Justices of the Supreme Court can be impeached.

Well, Jeff Flake lived up to his surname and Susan Collins will be turfed out of office in 2020. Meanwhile, we can hope karma will catch up with Kavanaugh.

America's Future, Book Reviews, Politics

Fear and Roulette–Two More Books Reviewed

September 20, 2018 John Maberry 12 Comments

Before we get into the book reviews, have you noticed how much weight Trump has put on? You can see it in his cheeks and his waistline. Stress can make you eat more of that KFC, burgers and fries. No doubt he has plenty to be stressed about, eh? Manafort, Cohen, the Kavanaugh appointment and when will the indictments drop. Not to mention what 2019 will be like with the Democrats in charge of the House and now maybe the Senate too–especially with the way the Republicans are now and will be treating Christine Blasey Ford.

Fear: Trump in the White House by Bob Woodward
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

An amazing book that reads very quickly and easily as a novel does. Except, there is little fiction here–except perhaps in the beliefs of Donald Trump and people like John Dowd. As I finished, I found photos, footnotes, source material by chapter and an index that added another 25% or so to the page count. So, no fiction on Woodward’s part.

As for Trump, consider the old adage, “Don’t confuse me with the facts, I already have my mind made up.” In Trump’s case, he is never confused with facts–he has his own and rejects all others. Here’s a shortened quote from page 138.

“Mr. President, can I show this to you?” Cohn fanned out the pages of data in front of the president. “See, the biggest leavers of jobs—people leaving voluntarily—was from manufacturing.”
. . . .
Trump wasn’t buying it.
. . . .
Several times Cohn just asked the president, “Why do you have these views?”
“I just do,” Trump replied. “I’ve had these views for 30 years.”

Of course, the problem of opinions no based on fact is well known about Trump and illustrated often within the book. I won’t spoil the fun of reading more of them.

You’ve undoubtedly seen many interviews or excerpts about the book. You’ve also read or heard about the many faults of Trump and the way his White House operates. Woodward offers chapter and verse on most of them, such as these (and many more):
—The chaos and the predatory relationship among staffers
—Trump’s short attention span, unwillingness to read more than a few paragraphs
—His laziness, coming to work at 10:30 or 11:00 and not knowing what’s on his agenda for the day despite a briefing book provided the night before.

The book also details all the legal battles, the effect of the Mueller investigation on Trump and much more.
Like information that hasn’t been detailed in the news.
For example, the alliances of some staff members with others. Woodward also confirms stories like those in that anonymous Op Ed, about how some people kept stuff from Trump to protect the country.

My only disappointment is that the book had, by the necessities of editing and printing, stopped in March. But then the news has covered so much more that’s happened since. While Woodward has has provided details confirming many things already knew, he goes further in fleshing them out and giving us new stuff. Fear is a good title in many ways.

Russian Roulette: The Inside Story of Putin’s War on America and the Election of Donald Trump by Michael Isikoff
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

By the time I finished reading this, I already knew virtually everything that the book contained. That said, the work that went into this is impressing. Not only that, but it came out before all the content was widely known. It remains a great resource for those doing their own research and potentially using the information for blog posts and the like.

View all my Goodreads reviews

America's Future, Politics

Fear: Trump in the White House and 9/11

September 11, 2018 John Maberry 2 Comments

I preordered the Kindle version of Woodward’s book, which notified me of delivery to my account at 10:15 last night. I guess Amazon is on Eastern Time; I’m in the Mountain Zone.

Is it a coincidence that Simon and Schuster released this book by Bob Woodward on 9/11, the anniversary of America’s worst attack since Pearl Harbor? I think not.

I have already posted three commentaries on the events of 9/11, their personal connection to my family (2008, 2011 and 2014) and how my Buddhist faith applies. This will be my fourth post on the subject, in which I will explain my lack of coincidence comment and how times have changed–for the worse, politically. Some snippets from those prior posts will help explicate things. I’ll start with the 2014 post.

At the outset, I offer my profound sympathies to those who lost friends and loved ones to the actions of Osama Bin Laden’s terrorist followers. . . . While death comes to us all, it is disturbing when it comes unnaturally at the hands of another. From my Buddhist perspective, this is a function of karma–the effects one receives as a result of causes one has made.

My wife, who worked as a civilian for the Department of the Army, had applied but failed to get a job at the Pentagon a few years before the 9/11 attack. Here’s an excerpt from the 2008 post.

The location of the section she applied for was at or near the point of the plane’s impact on 9/11. Several people in the section, including the person who did get the position, died in the attack that day. . . . Karma is a strange thing, which we cannot fathom or explain completely. . . . I empathize with those who lost loved ones on that day even as I feel great appreciation that my wife didn’t get a promotion that would have killed her.

The clip below comes from the 2011 post. In the immediate aftermath of the 9/11 attack, a bipartisan fervor swept the the nation, during which Democrats and Republicans united in support of efforts to care for survivors and rebuild. The unity and bipartisan cooperation lasted perhaps 18 months.

More than ever, we all need to remember the sacrifices of those who died on 9/11 and as a result of the aftermath. More than that, we need to rekindle the compassion and cooperation that briefly enveloped America.

Alas, for the last 15 years, division and derision have instead enveloped America. The 2016 election gave us Donald J. Trump–the most corrupt, ignorant, incompetent, racist and unfit person ever to occupy the White House. He did so only with the able assistance of Vladimir Putin’s agents, James Comey’s inappropriately ill-timed announcements about investigations of Hillary Clinton’s emails and Clinton’s own inept campaign strategies–not to mention voters who stayed home. Then there’s the antiquated Electoral College. Continue reading Fear: Trump in the White House and 9/11 →

America's Future, Politics

Brett Kavanaugh Confirmation Hearings

September 4, 2018 John Maberry 2 Comments

Brett Kavanaugh Withdraws His Nomination to US Supreme Court

WHAT? Impossible you say! Well, stranger things have happened. Read on to see why it could happen.

Confirmation hearings begin today. Will any Republicans oppose him for fear of his taking any opportunity to overturn Roe v. Wade? Will any vulnerable Democrats up for reelection in November support him for fear of losing their office?

Basically, the question is can anyone stop this runaway train to another appointment by the Treasonous Trump. Here’s another option–let’s all encourage Kavanaugh to withdraw his nomination.

Why would anyone, given the chance to be a Justice of the Supreme Court, abandon that opportunity? Most often, it comes from some discovered scandal heretofore unknown–a scandal that likely dooms the candidate. Put that aside, that’s not the gist of my argument.

Trump, our so-called President, is currently a subject of a criminal investigation–an investigation that will demonstrate that he won election through felonious means. It’s highly likely that Trump will be impeached within a few months after Kavanaugh’s confirmation hearings. Whether convicted in the Senate or not, unless pardoned by Vice-President Pence, Trump will likely be convicted of crimes that will put him behind bars.

Kavanaugh, if confirmed, will be remembered as the Justice appointed by an impeached and imprisoned President. If I were Kavanaugh, I’d get out now, before any votes on his nomination are taken.

Richard Nixon, he of Watergate infamy, appointed FOUR people to the Supreme Court–including Chief Justice Warren Burger. None, however, were appointed after the Watergate scandal. So those Nixon appointees never faced the sort of guilt by association that Kavanaugh could.

NOTE: Stay tuned for more indictments from Special Counsel Robert Mueller–coming soon to your favorite news source.

America's Future, Legal, Politics

Nixon Resigns on this day, 1974–Trump Next Year?

August 9, 2018 John Maberry 7 Comments

Thanks to a reminder on cable news last night, I realized that an anniversary had arrived–Nixon formally tendered his resignation at noon on the 9th of August, 1974. Facing certain impeachment (and a conviction in the Senate) he had no other choice.

I still have copies of the complete coverage by the Washington Post that day. I watched the news from the student lounge at GULC, early in my first year of law school. A school where Sam Dash, Chief Counsel of the Watergate Committee, served as an adjunct professor. I cheered at the coverage and scoffed at then prominent newsman John Chancellor’s pronouncement of the sad day for America and that no one was celebrating at this departure. How wrong an assessment! I wasn’t the only one rejoicing.

So many cabinet officials, so many staff and even his first Vice-President went to jail. Spiro Agnew was simply a grifter, like “all the best ~~people~~ criminals“ hired by or appointed to the Trump administration. Nixon himself avoided jail, pardoned by his second Vice-President–Gerald Ford. That act assured that Ford would NOT be reelected after assuming office.

My prediction: many more members of the Trump administration will wind up behind bars than did those who worked for Nixon. But that’s a story for another day.

Here’s the scenario for Trump’s exit next year, based on my assessment of what will come of the Mueller investigation:

Indictments of Americans will come early in September for conspiracy and criminal acts associated with the Russian interference in the 2016 election (see my predictions about that earlier this year; I’m thinking of adding Bannon for his leadership at Cambridge Analytica and confirming Brad Parscale–NO family members or in-laws in September)
HOWEVER, Mueller will not issue a final report with recommendations to Congress in September or October mentioning Trump
Trump will NEVER sit down with Mueller voluntarily, NOR will Mueller issue a subpoena to Trump before the midterm elections (more below) ordering Trump’s appearance in front of the grand jury
Manafort will be convicted in his first trial, will plead guilty in the second one (scheduled for September) based on Trump’s promised (out of fear, not loyalty) pardon
The Democrats will take control of the House with a massive mandate in the midterms–the Senate is a possibility, but not highly likely
Depending on Trump’s actions, reactions and tweets after the indictments and the midterms, Mueller may issue a subpoena to Trump in mid-January–as the next Congress is seated
More likely, Mueller will NEVER issue a subpoena to Trump because Mueller gave Trump ample opportunity to appear voluntarily AND Mueller already has everything he needs for both conspiracy and obstruction without hearing from Trump
Not only that, but Trump will have become a target, not a subject of the investigation–meaning he shouldn’t appear before the grand jury
Mueller’s final report with recommendations will be issued after the midterms–I believe (perhaps hope is more accurate) this will be in mid-January, after the next Congress takes office
Mueller’s final actions will include additional indictments, naming Trump as an unindicted co-conspirator; he will cite Trump as having obstructed the investigation and participated in conspiring with the Russians
With no Russo-Publicans left to protect him in the House,Trump will be unable to tolerate the investigations which will ensue–investigations in the House (whether articles of impeachment are voted or not) which will undoubtedly include examination of his personal and business tax returns
He will resign by the summer of 2019–perhaps 45 years to the day, from Nixon’s resignation

America's Future, Politics

Is It Mueller Time Yet?

August 2, 2018 John Maberry 2 Comments

If not now, when! Well, it might take some more indictments. We can hope and pray that the conspiracy (NOT collusion, for non-lawyers) counts are forthcoming by September–avoiding the midterm hiatus.

Meanwhile, at one and the same time, these TWO things happened.

Trump says AG Sessions should end the probe
His attorneys say Trump is still considering sitting down with Mueller for a Q & A

Seems a little dissonant, doesn’t it? Well, what else should we expect from Trumpworld. Here’s the tweet, from Wednesday, August 1, that you’ve all seen, or heard unless you live off the grid.

This is a terrible situation and Attorney General Jeff Sessions should stop this Rigged Witch Hunt right now, before it continues to stain our country any further. Bob Mueller is totally conflicted, and his 17 Angry Democrats that are doing his dirty work are a disgrace to USA!

Various media reports attribute the tweet to receipt of Mueller’s recent offer to provide some written questions in advance of the live interview and a reduced number of questions in the latter. However, obstruction of justice would still be part of the meeting. Not good, says Rudy, No-No.

The second item comes from the NY Times, very close in time to the Mueller offer and Trump’s tweet. I, for one, usually assume the New York Times reporters know of what they speak. One might be forgiven for doubting their report—but from what we know about Trump’s ego and (very mistaken belief) that he is a great dealmaker, they are likely quite correct.

Mr. Trump has told advisers he is eager to meet with investigators to clear himself of wrongdoing, the people said. In effect, he believes he can convince the investigators for the special counsel, Robert S. Mueller III, of his belief that their own inquiry is a “witch hunt.” See the full Times story here.

Seriously? Trump is going to win over Mueller?

Of course, Trump IS narcissistic and delusional. He also has this transitory memory about his own opinions–moment by moment. Remember when the sexist perspective about the changeability of women’s minds? Well, one might be excused from thinking that Trump must have some gender dysphoria (if the sexist perspective were true, instead of simply a male bias LOL).

Speaking of his “attorneys,” Giuliani is working for free—well, you get what you paid for the saying goes; Jay Sekulow may be a small step up in legal acumen from Michael Cohen (who graduated from Cooley Law School? , while Sekulow graduated from Mercer University, tied for 128^th law school in the US, behind such big name universities as Mississippi, Idaho, Louisville, Montana, etc.)

But back to Mueller time. Fear and loathing are growing in the White House as trials, blowback from his behavior, bad economic moves and general incompetence is constantly reported on by all but Trump TV (AKA Fox News). Like what? Oh, you know, don’t you?

Blowing up the Iran deal because it was so bad and then saying he was available for a meeting with Iran’s President Rouhani—with no preconditions (of course, because HE could strike a better deal. LOLLLLLLLLL!
Meeting with North Korea’s Kim Jong Un one on one AFTER blowing up the Iran deal—which famously led to Trump’s announcement that North Korea no longer posed a nuclear threat (except satellite photos show they are still working on their ICBMs)
Meeting with his boss, Vladimir Putin (one on one) for two hours or more and virtually genuflecting by words) to Putin (at the subsequent Helsinki press conference
The tariffs he has imposed are already costing jobs and substantial lost revenues to American workers and companies—but then Trump doesn’t really understand economics or international trade (too bad his daughter is Ivanka and not Clarissa)
Michael Cohen may spill the beans that Trump not only knew about but approved the June 2016 meeting with the Russians (can you say conspiracy?)
The zero tolerance policy that Americans and the world regard as extraordinarily cruel and barbaric
The Manafort trial–NO COLLUSION! Says Trump—of course not, this is the tax evasion and bank fraud case (all Rick Gates fault, Manafort lawyer’s opening says—what, Gates filed Manafort’s taxes, bought all those suits and the ostrich jacket for his boss, opened all those bank accounts in Cyprus in Manafort’s name? Seriously?)
That’s just SOME of the recent stuff—Mueller IS closing in and Trump is FREAKY FRAID!

So, which will come first—Mueller’s report recommending impeachment or the Ultimate Trump Tantrum? What might that be, you ask. Well, I’ll save that satirical prognostication for another post. Feel free to offer YOUR guesses. With Trump, anything may be possible—mooning America from the White House balcony, perhaps, as his end draws near. Yes, pun intended. Don’t expect Trump to go out smiling with the two handed victory wave from Marine One like Nixon did.

America's Future, Politics

Kafka, Zappa, Orwell, Vonnegut–what would they all say about Trump?

July 26, 2018 John Maberry 8 Comments

What we need is a latter-day Dali to paint Trump in his alternate universe. A picture, after all, is worth a thousand words. The surrealist image of Comrade Trump could suffice.

He has gone more bonkers than ever before after the Helsinki debacle and resulting backlash. Forget the deplorables meme, it’s only ignorables that continue to deny Trump is Putin’s Puppet after his sycophancy in Finland.

What did he and his boss agree to? No one knows–probably not Trump himself. Only his gut, perhaps–which is easily confused, overfilled as it is with burgers, fries and KFC washed down with multiple diet sodas.

Did Putin decline that September White House visit? Or did Trump really listen to Ryan and McConnell–who likely told him they’d like not to have this lead-in to the midterms.

“Bonkers” Bolton says the event is off until after the Mueller “Witch Hunt” is over. Pence probably won’t want to entertain Putin, do you think?

Putin said he DID favor Trump in the 2016 election and he DID direct staff to help that happen. With all the indictments of Russians corroborating that–the Witch Hunt epithet gets crazier every time a Trump or his flunkies say it.

After introducing the bill to impeach Rod Rosenstein, Jim Jordan says he wants to run for Speaker of the House. That hardly seems a likely outcome–unless they have one in the Duma. Especially if Putin is directing his people to work to get Democrats elected in the midterm. Wow–no more reality TV shows; Trump should shoot for a late night comedy gig after he’s thrown out of office.

Meanwhile, what should we call the “Freedom Caucus”? The Commie Caucus? The Russo-Publican Caucus? The Emperor Trump Caucus? Jordan will just have to wrestle with that–perhaps in the House locker room, eh?

A little bit late, Ivanka is folding her fashion tent so she can focus on her work in the White House. Seriously–ROFLLLLLLLLLL.

Melania says, through her spokesperson, she will watch whatever channel she wants (after hubby complained about her watching CNN on Air Force One).

Edvard Munch’s The Scream might capture the agony of parent’s and children separated by Trump’s “Zero Tolerance Policy”–which would be better termed a “Zero Humanity Policy.”

More fun next week, as Manafort’s first trial starts. Maybe more Michael Cohen tapes too. Could he have a copy of that Moscow hotel room tape? Only Putin knows for sure–and he’s not talking until Trump starts misbehaving.

America's Future, Applied Buddhism, Politics

Another Birthday–of a Different Sort

July 17, 2018 John Maberry 4 Comments

Forty-one years ago I formally committed to the Buddhist faith I practice today. I will confess I was somewhat less diligent at first than I am now. But events came along that offered the opportunity to deepen that faith–such as the threat of death from my prospective father-in-law. That came a more than two years later, enough time for me to soon conclude that the most appropriate response was to quickly get more serious about my practice.

I didn’t miss my morning or evening sutra recitation and related prayers for the next three years. I’ve only missed them on a few occasions since–maybe once or twice a decade due to illness or other special circumstance.

My book, Waiting for Westmoreland details more about the threat and how we overcame it–leading to the happiness of all parties concerned. The book also informs the reader how I learned that the way to make the world a better place was to reform myself. Until Buddhism, I had become a cynical idealist after my innocence was lost in Vietnam. Then my remaining illusions were shattered by Watergate.

Eventually, I realized that reforming America’s legal and political systems weren’t sufficient to cure the country’s ills. Still, politics has its place–when properly applied, humanistically. When it’s not, the results can be catastrophic for a nation. Corruption, racism, economic inequality are just a few of the problems. When you add in leaders who are incompetent, ignorant, suffering from personality flaws, quite possibly mental disabilities and worse, the nation is at peril.

The logline of this blog is “Seeing things as they really are, without the illusions or delusions.” That comes, in my belief, from my Buddhist faith and practice. But one doesn’t need to practice my faith to see Donald Trump for who he is. Anyone with the slightest awareness can see the wrecking ball he as taken to America. I won’t belabor those points previously posted here and covered on a daily basis by US and World media. I just want to focus on two points:

What must Putin have on Trump
GOP aiders and abettors to Trump’s treason

One can no longer conclude it’s simply Trump’s mental capacity and other lacks that are to blame for his fawning support of Putin. It’s not America First–it’s Putin or Russia First. As many commentators have said, what Trump said and did yesterday in Helsinki amount to treason. There’s no need to rehash the coverage. Putin laughed off the very question of him having something on Trump or his family. So what could it be that not only keeps Trump from EVER speaking or tweeting a word critical of Putin and now, engaging in treasonous behavior? It must be much more than a “pee tape” Maybe:

An IOU for millions or even billions of rubles owed to Russian mobsters/oligarchs or recorded conversations confirming it–NAH, that’s not enough
An adult video of Melania–NAH, even if there were one, Trump really wouldn’t care
An audio (or even a video) recording of Trump grabbing a Miss Teen USA contestant by the p***y–no Putin couldn’t have that, even if it might have happened
Solid evidence of Trump having sex with a minor and Cohen fixed it with a payoff–not enough
What if the sex with a minor involved drugging her, like Cosby allegedly did–now we’re getting into serious stuff
Some other perverted sex which ended in serious injury or death to a possibly unwilling participant and Putin has proof–well that could be it, but that’s getting a little farfetched (but knowing Trump, maybe not)
The only way we’ll ever know is if Trump crosses Putin, which he apparently views as more dangerous than impeachment or jail–so whatever it is, it is REALLY bad

Here’s the irony the GOP aiders and abettors–Jim Jordan and Mark Meadows are co-founders of the so-called “Freedom Caucus.” Like Trump and on his behalf, they attack Mueller, Rosenstein and the FBI. They ask for documents to help is defense against the “Witch Hunt” that is producing indictment after indictment proving Russian agents hacking and interfering in the 2016 election on the behalf of Trump. Rather than promoting freedom, they are tacitly, if not expressly, supporting Russia’s attacks on America. They should be impeached from Congress if they are not voted out and invited to join the Duma! (The lower house of the Russian Federal assembly). Perfect! They’re all US House members now. They can move to Russia in 2019; the next election for the Duma is 2021.

Along with them Louie “Goober” Gohmert, who has a brain the size of a peanut. Trey “Benghazi” Gowdy, who spent two years and millions of dollars trying to prove (without success) that Hillary Clinton was responsible for the deaths in Libya. NO ONE was charged with anything as a result of Gowdy’s waste of time and money. The list could go on and on. Some, perhaps, are good people, as Trump might say about Mexicans. For those, maybe just throwing them out of office might suffice; Gowdy, wisely isn’t running–he’s looking to become a model for those commercials looking for the scruffy man.

America's Future, Politics

Trump and Putin–on the 4th of July, Is America Still Independent?

July 4, 2018 John Maberry 5 Comments

On Saturday, June 30th, I attended my first rally in many years. Silver City turned out maybe 250 people–it is a smaller town. Named for the silver mined here a hundred years ago, it could now as easily refer to the hair color of many residents. Like me, most of the attendees were in their sixties and seventies years of age.

We weren’t reliving the era of the sixties and seventies, when we protested against the Vietnam War and celebrated with a strong sense of schadenfreude, Nixon’s resignation concluding Watergate. Most of us on Saturday, were reinventing those earlier days in a new era. The era of the first American President elected by Russia. Well, OK, he wasn’t literally voted in by Russia–but without their help he likely wouldn’t be in office today.

Yes, as Hillary claimed in a pre-election debate, Trump IS a puppet. Just look at the way he genuflects before Putin–castigating American allies, subverting the G-7, the EU, NATO, etc.

Soon, Trump will attend a NATO conference, during which he will more than likely insult America’s allies even more than he did at the G-7 meeting. Allies whose products he is placing tariffs and other trade barriers on that will cost American jobs, cost American farmers and other producers lots of lost sales and American consumers more money for all sorts of goods. But hey, a trade war is simple and easily won (WRONG!)

The Senate Intelligence Committee confirmed unanimously that the US intelligence community’s conclusions. Russia “meddled” in America’s 2016 presidential election in hopes of electing Donald Trump. Such a limp word, meddled, that hardly conveys the depth of Russian’s intervention and attack America’s democratic process.

Trump still fears to fully accept this fact publicly–“mustn’t anger Putin,” he thinks to himself.

How many Russian oligarchs, government officials, celebrities, etc., attended Trump’s inaugural events to celebrate our so-called President? Orders of magnitude more than in any other inaugural. Doesn’t that confirm his status as Russia’s puppet–an American President elected by Putin himself?

Following the NATO conference, Trump will meet in Helsinki with Vladimir Putin. Reports are that some of the face time will include one-on-one discussions with only the two “leaders” and their translators (at least this time Trump is supposed to have an American translator–unlike that other meeting). What do you suppose they will discuss? Here’s my guess:

Coordination of which candidates in the 2018 midterms that Trump wants Putin to slam via social media bots, etc., and which ones he wants Putin to support
Coordination on ruckuses to raise in advance of the midterms–immigration, racial animosity, attempts to split the various wings of the Democratic party
Possibly which Supreme Court nominee Putin would prefer–despite the fact that the meeting is on the 16th and Trump says he will announce his own choice on the 9th (watch for a change in that announcement)

It’s hard to imagine this America is the one the founding fathers created so many years ago. We revolted against a king and now there are those who appear sanguine in Trump’s escalation to a throne and are happy to hold a sycophant’s court to assist him.

The people at the rally I attended, like many of those in the modern era of resistance against the would-be-king, were discussing the pragmatic efforts they will be taking, like calling, visiting, and otherwise connecting with their elected officials. Marching in the street is NOT the sum total of their resistance. They will also be working for candidates that won’t be doormats for Trump. If you live in a America, consider whether fireworks and festivities should be the sum total of our celebration of independence. If it is, the days of democracy are numbered.

Here’s my take on making Trump’s campaign slogan a success:

The author wearing his newest shirt — Trump behind bars–a success!