Month: August 2017

If Joe Arpaio Ran For US Senate, He Would Be Oldest First Term Elected Senator At Age 86 And Seven And A Half Months!

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Donald Trump is suggesting that former Maricopa county Sheriff Joe Arpaio, just pardoned by Trump, run for the Republican nomination for the US Senate against Republican critic Senator Jeff Flake next year in Arizona.

Whether Arpaio would actually take such a step is unsettled, and it would seem that Arpaio would be unlikely to win the nomination or election, with both Flake and Senator John McCain highly critical of him, and of Trump’s pardon of the controversial former Sheriff in Phoenix.

However, were Arpaio to run and be successful, he would be the oldest first term U S Senator ever elected in American history, at age 86 and 7 and a half months in January 2019, making him older than the oldest members of the present US Senate, California Senator Diane Feinstein and Utah Senator and President Pro Tempore Orrin Hatch of Utah.

Previously, only two US Senators were sworn in at an older age than Arpaio would be, but both were appointed to finish out a term, not elected by popular vote.

Andrew Jackson Houston of Texas, son of the famous Sam Houston, served by appointment for 67 days to fill a vacancy from April 21, 1941 to June 26, 1941 as a member of the Democratic Party, and he was 86 years 10 months and 1 day old when he became a member of the Senate. His brief term ended with his death, and he had been ill most of the time while a Senator, mostly being in a hospital during his tenure in the upper chamber. His death came five days after his 87th birthday.

Rebecca Felton of Georgia was the first woman to serve in the US Senate, and the only one to date from Georgia, and the oldest person ever sworn in to the US Senate, at age 87 years, 3 months and 24 days old, and serving only one day in the Senate as a Democrat from November 21 to November 22, 1922. Her husband had served in the House of Representatives, and Rebecca Felton had been a prominent reformer in the Progressive Era, an advocate of women suffrage and equal pay for equal work for women, as well as prison reform. However, at the same time, Felton supported white supremacy and had been a slave owner in her younger years, and had spoken in favor of lynching of African Americans, so her so called “Progressivism” had major shortcomings. She died at age 94 in 1930.

Donald Trump Has Serious Mental Illness: No Compassion, Empathy, Sympathy, Sincerity, Decency, Only Self Serving Glorification!

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Donald Trump is a horrible human being, and the crisis of Hurricane Harvey proves that he has no ability to demonstrate compassion, empathy, sympathy, sincerity, or decency, but rather only self serving glorification.

He visited Corpus Christi and raves about the size of the crowd, not seemingly realizing they are not there to see him, but are simply victims of a horrible natural disaster which has torn from them all their earthly belongings, and in some cases, the lives of their loved ones.

He does not talk about the victims, including the police officer who was swept away, and the family of six with a similar fate.

He does not embrace anyone and spend time commiserating with them, something Barack Obama did after Superstorm Sandy in 2012, the Charleston Church Massacre in 2015, the Sandy Hook Massacre in 2012, and so many other tragedies.

He does not put his arms around people and give a passionate speech as Bill Clinton did after the Oklahoma City Bombing in 1995.

He does not unite us as Ronald Reagan did after the Challenger Astronaut disaster in 1986.

The man is seriously mentally ill, and his inability to be the Uniter In Chief after a great tragedy disqualifies him to be President of “all of the people”.

Trump may be the President of the “deplorables” who only care about themselves, about money, and about hating everyone not like them.

But this man is a disgrace to the human race, and his wife wearing inappropriate footwear to a flood zone and the best clothing possible so she would look good for her husband, is a reminder of the King of France, Louis XVI, before the French Revolution, and the reported utterance about the masses: “Let them eat cake!”

There are no redeeming qualities about Donald Trump, and he will go down for sure as the most despicable and disgraceful President ever, a national nightmare foisted on us by the outdated Electoral College, and the selfishness and narrow mindedness of 78,000 people in Michigan, Wisconsin, and Pennsylvania.

Sadly, it will take a long time to undo the damage Donald Trump has wrought in just over seven months, but the push to remove Trump by impeachment, or use of the 25th Amendment, Section 4, or resignation must move forward full scale, as every day he is in the Oval Office, he undermines the nation and the international community!

The March On Washington 1963, Plus 54 Years: Backtracking On Civil Rights And Civil Liberties!

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Fifty four years ago, The March on Washington occurred, with the most famous moment being the Reverend Dr. Martin Luther King Jr delivering his “I Have A Dream” speech before a crowd of whites and African Americans estimated at a quarter of a million people.

The march was impetus for the passage in the following two years of the Civil Rights Act and Voting Rights, with Lyndon B. Johnson picking up where John F. Kennedy left off.

Now, a half century later, the great progress on civil rights and civil liberties has suffered backtracking, partly by the right wing Supreme Court, and partly by the policies of President Donald Trump.

It is very disconcerting and even tormenting that the progress made has been reversed.

But that means the battle to restore and expand what makes America a democracy must not be abandoned because of setbacks, but rather pursued with renewed energy and commitment, in order to fulfill the dream of Martin Luther King, Jr.

All National Parks And Monuments MUST Be Preserved As Is, And In Fact, Expanded! Mining And Drilling Is Not The Energy Future!

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The review by Interior Secretary Ryan Zinke of our national parks and national monuments, at the direction of President Donald Trump, has led to proposals to cut down some national monuments in the Western states, while not eliminating any, as was originally feared.

While it is somewhat good news that the aim now of the Trump Administration is to do less damage to our national parks and national monuments, it is totally unacceptable to cut down ANY of the national parks and monuments.

Instead, these parks and monuments need to be preserved as is, and in fact, expanded!

Mining and drilling is NOT the energy future, and we should not damage any of nature’s great blessings, or interfere with Native American ancestral grounds and artifacts.

One of the great blessings of the American continent is that we have great natural wonders, fantastic scenery, and wonderful access for all Americans and people from foreign nations to spend time in nature.

We have many Presidents to thank for this, starting with Theodore Roosevelt and the Antiquities Act of 1906 onward, and being from both political parties, and we should not allow Donald Trump, who has no regard for nature or for tradition, to commit any damage on the jewels represented by our national park and national monument system.

No industrial or corporate machinations in the name of greed and profit should ever come over nature, and hopefully, future Presidents of both parties will add to our blessed system begun more than a century ago!

The Trump Pardon of Sheriff Joe Arpaio An Outrageous Miscarriage Of Justice, And Encourages Abusive Law Enforcement!

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One of the multitude of outrages of the Donald Trump Administration is his pardon of former Maricopa County (Phoenix) Sheriff Joe Arpaio, who was about to be sentenced for his conviction of crimes perpetrated while he was in office for 24 years from 1993 to 2017, including mistreatment of prisoners, mistreatment of women, abusing the 4th Amendment, racial profiling of Latinos, and general abuse of power.

Trump pardoned Arpaio before sentencing, and without a review of the case by the Justice Department, and we now know Trump tried to stop the prosecution, interfering with Attorney General Jeff Sessions, who refused Trump’s attempt.

If this is not obstruction of justice, and abuse of power, then nothing is!

And it encourages abusive law enforcement, as it is a outrageous miscarriage of justice that Arpaio avoids accountability!

This man in the White House is out of control, and might be signaling Michael Flynn and Paul Manafort not to worry, that he will pardon them if they refuse to cooperate with Special Counsel Robert Mueller, which, if true, would be further evidence of obstruction of justice and abuse of power.

Trump, by trying to prevent Mueller’s investigation, is clearly showing signs of guilt on Russian Collusion, and yet his followers continue to assert there is no such collusion.

The nation is suffering under this corrupt President, and let us hope the Mueller investigation is nearing the point of bringing charges against the most corrupt President in American history!

No Discrimination Should Be Allowed Against Transgender Military, As They Are, Willingly, Sacrificing For Their Country, And Should Be Honored!

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Donald Trump has shown just how biased and prejudiced he is, by declaring that Transgender military personnel shall be forced out of the military, and any recruitment in the future shall be denied.

For a person who was a draft dodger in the 1960s to do this shows just how despicable a human being Trump is, as transgender military has served in our armed forces, and some have won special honors and recognition, and the vast number of military people do not care about this issue, as long as one is fit and ready and willing to serve with honor for our country.

At a time when so few men and women volunteer for the military, to deny those who wish to serve and sacrifice, as many have in Iraq and Afghanistan, is truly a mark of the lack of patriotism of Donald Trump, whose only loyalty is to money!

The fact that Secretary of Defense James Mattis is given the leeway to make decisions on those military personnel, who are transgender and serving, should lead to Mattis ignoring Trump, and the top military people should inform the President that they will not discriminate against anyone willing and able to serve.

The next thing we could expect from our President is to ban gays and lesbians, and say that women cannot serve in front line military positions, so this is a slippery slope.

This action of Trump, and the possible future actions, would fulfill the “wet dreams” of right wing extremist Phyllis Schlafly before her death last year, and also of the extreme right wing lunatics of the Alt Right and of the Tea Party Movement.

Trump continues to disgrace the oath that he took as President!

Trump’s Public Opinion Rating Continues To Fall Despite Growing Economy, And A Growing Fear Of His Mental Instability

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Donald Trump’s public opinion polls continue to plunge, down to the low 30s, and likely to fall further over time.

This is happening despite the growing economy, including the stock market, low unemployment. and strong job growth.

Trump has been very irrational in his behavior, and it is starting to become an issue discussed on cable news, whether the President is fit to serve, with much evidence that he is often inattentive; wanders off at ceremonies when he is supposed to remain present; and rages and fumes so much about the unfairness of how he is treated by fellow Republicans, who are pushing ahead on the investigation of his Russian collusion. And his public speeches are very unnerving as he makes a fool of himself, and demonstrates how much of a massive liar he is, and the horrible disposition he puts on display.

It is not uncommon for men and women in their 70s to start having mental issues, as the brain ages, but we are not talking here about just any man or woman, but the President of the Unites States, who has control of the nuclear codes, but may indeed be delusional.

Such a condition could undermine the entire country, and so it is time for Vice President Mike Pence and the cabinet, all loyalists to the President, to arrange a mental exam by psychologists and psychiatrists, as to the mental state of Donald Trump.

The nation comes before Donald Trump’s own ambitions and desires, and it is the responsibility of Pence and the Cabinet to put loyalty to the nation ahead of their support of Donald Trump!

Trump’s Constant Attacks On Journalism Will Lead Some Crazy Trump Supporter To Perpetrate A Crime Against A Journalist!

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The Founding Fathers understood the role of Journalism.

Abraham Lincoln understood the role of Journalism.

The same situation existed for Theodore Roosevelt, Franklin D. Roosevelt, and every other President before and since FDR, until now we have a President, Donald Trump, who wishes to curb the First Amendment guarantee of freedom of the press.

No President, and no public figure likes when he or she is criticized, attacked, exposed, for one’s shortcomings, and sometimes illegal acts.

But the right of the people to know the facts, the truth, and be aware of investigations of their public officials, is sacrosanct.

In a totalitarian dictatorship, the first thing that disappears is freedom of the press, and in many such nations historically, journalists become victims of crooked and corrupt leaders.

By Donald Trump attacking journalists as “bad” people, as un-American, as people who are lacking in patriotism, he is endangering all journalists and bloggers, as there are unstable people in society that hang on every word of a demagogue, such as Trump, and are ready to “mete out justice” against such “criminals”, meaning stalking and harming them, with the purpose of murdering them as their mission to help their “devoted” leader.

If any journalist in the Trump Administration time period is harmed, Donald Trump is responsible for it by his inciting of whackos who believe he is God’s gift to America, and he should be held accountable, as an accessory to the crime if such evil event occurs.

Let us hope and pray that we survive the Trump Era without more loss of life as at Charlottesville, Virginia!

Donald Trump: Dr. Jekyll And Mr. Hyde Of American Politics, Making Him The Most Dangerous President In American History!

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Donald Trump is the oddest person ever to be President of the United States.

He loves himself to the extreme; brags about his apartment in Trump Tower and his estate at Mar-a-Lago in Palm Beach, Florida; keeps on reminding us that he is President; makes the most weird faces imaginable; rants and raves when things do not go his way; and does not have a decent bone in his body.

He is a psychopath and sociopath, with control over the nuclear codes, a terrifying prospect, that he has the power, all by himself, to destroy the world or any part of it, in a fit of rage.

Many have said that he can be charming or rational at least some of the time, and he can pass that way when he is on script with a teleprompter, which he used to ridicule Barack Obama for utilizing, so that he would say the proper statements, and avoid problems by ad libbing too much.

But when Trump goes off script, he makes a fool of himself, and embarrasses everyone who has a brain and a sense of dignity and proper behavior.

He attacks the news media, which is what keeps us free.

He attacks a reputable US Senator, John McCain, suffering from brain cancer.

He implies that the Democratic party is close to Communism.

He attacks his own party leadership in the Senate, particularly Mitch McConnell, and then expects cooperation on legislation.

All this occurred last night in Phoenix, as he also praised a lawbreaker, former Maricopa County Sheriff Joe Arpaio, and suggested he would pardon him before sentencing.

He could be said to have dual personalities, and really is a split personality. He is really like Robert Louis Stevenson’s gothic novella, THE STRANGE CASE OF DR JEKYLL AND MR. HYDE.

Maybe one fourth of the time, he is Dr. Jekyll, but then the other 75 percent of the time, he is Mr. Hyde, an evil, dangerous man who could destroy the world, and is already damaging the legacy of Presidents since Theodore Roosevelt.

This is a great tragedy for America, and might take decades to reverse, if indeed, we are still here if Trump ever goes completely bonkers and initiates nuclear war!

Donald Trump And Afghanistan: No More Interest In Reform, Only Killing, A Prescription For Disaster!

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Donald Trump’s speech on Afghanistan last night was what this blogger expected: Trump the warmonger, a complete switch from his “isolationist” stand during his Presidential campaign.

It was very predictable, as again, Donald Trump proved to be what he has always been best at being, a massive liar and manipulator of the truth!

The man who was a draft dodger, on the basis of bone spurs in the 1960s, and said his “Vietnam” was avoiding sexually transmitted diseases (STDs) with women at that time of his life, now has become a war President, and is allowing his overly dominant military administration to “charge on” in Afghanistan, after 16 years, the most of any American war, and inability to resolve the matter.

Afghanistan caused the loss of Alexander the Great in ancient times; of the British Empire in the 19th century; and of the Soviet Union from 1979-1989.

It is a “hell hole” with no end, and already 2,400 Americans have died in that war, and the war has also cost an estimate of between $841 billion to $2 trillion dollars, a massive waste of money that has undermined the nation! And over 20,000 men and women have been wounded, many of them seriously, and mental issues have arisen among many of these veterans, and many others who were not physically harmed.

And to top it off, Trump has indicated there is no interest in trying to make life better for Afghan civilians, but rather just to kill terrorists!

That is a prescription for endless, constant war, and bitterness, and continued growth of terrorism for decades on end!

The Taliban control an estimated 35-60 percent of the nation, and opium production in the major province that produces the drug is 80 percent under their control.

The Afghan mentality is that you kill their relatives, for generations after, the goal will be revenge, so a war is unwinnable.

And Trump seems to be stirring up trouble with neighbor Pakistan, a Muslim nation with nuclear weapons, with his hostile rhetoric.

It seems as if Trump has decided to be a warmonger–continuing in Afghanistan, while fighting ISIL (ISIS), and stirring up China with threats of trade wars, while trying to deal with North Korea, without starting a new Korean War or using nuclear weapons on Kim Jong Un; and threatening to break the Iranian nuclear agreement; and also suggesting action in Venezuela; as well as trying to deal with the Israeli-Palestinian dispute, Syria, and Iraq.

All that Trump seems to be able to do is make money all of the time, while promoting American imperialism overseas, insuring engagement in more wars, and spending taxpayer money to glorify himself as a “tough guy” in international affairs, while avoiding diplomacy, and cutting the State Department budget by up to 40 percent, including NOT having many ambassadorial positions filled or even nominated after seven months in office!

Trump is a true proponent of unregulated capitalism and American militarism, precisely what has led to so much turmoil and suffering caused by the top few percent of the population who worship Wall Street and the Pentagon as the answer to all problems in America.

Meanwhile, the white and minority working class become the cannon fodder for Trump’s egotism and narcissism, as he continues to divide America, and has no concern about the tremendous damage he is causing, creating an atmosphere of civil anger and disrespect that has split America like no time since the 1960s, and in many ways, worse than that decade 50 years ago!