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userpic=trumpRecently, there’s been a meme going around that states that Trump is going after Harvard because they rejected Barron, but accepted the Obamas. Now, that meme is pure supposition; Snopes rates it as unverified. To me, the reason that meme is going around is not its accuracy; it is because to the liberal community, it is plausible. That’s the real problem: We’ve come to believe that the President using the power of his office to take personal revenge on those who he believes has harmed him in any way is normal.


It is not.


The job of the President is to ensure that laws passed by Congress are enforced. He doesn’t get to create new laws; he doesn’t get to selectively enforce laws on those he doesn’t like. The President doesn’t get to take punitive action because someone told him “no”. The President doesn’t get to withhold legally authorized funding because a private organization exercised the right of free speech (or allowed a private individual, attending that private organization, to exercise the right of free speech).


It is clear that the President is selectively targeting Harvard. He doesn’t seem to be going after any other university with equal vengeance, so the impression being given is that this is some form of revenge. We don’t know the specifics, but revenge does seem the most logical explanation. After all, his excuse of antisemitism isn’t strongly borne out, nor would it engender this specific response (it hasn’t for other universities where similar speech has occurred). His excuse of wanting immigration records is also not borne out; HHS and ICE should already know the students on Student Visas that are attending Harvard. No, this is clearly punitive. This is a personal grudge.


We elect the President to work in the best interest of the nation, not himself or his family. We’ve already seen numerous examples of where this President is working to benefit his family or pocketbook.  We also expect the President to have a sufficiently thick skin that he can set aside the personal grudges while in office. After all, we didn’t elect a King (or Queen) that can yell “Off with their head” at the slightest provocation.


Harvard has done nothing to justify the response it is getting from this administration. We need to somehow get our congresscritters and the courts to stop this policies of revenge. I may not agree with what the Harvard students have said to provoke the President, but they do have the right to say it.




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This is something I’ve been thinking about writing for days, even weeks. Bottom Line Up Front: I WANT MY TAX DOLLARS TO GO TO WHAT TR*MP IS CUTTING, NOT ELON MUSK’S MINIONS.


The Tr*mp administration is gutting funding to things like scientific research, the arts, humanities, weather forecasting and research, public broadcasting, health initiatives, education initiatives, and such. Well excuse me, but that’s where I want my tax dollars to go. Why is the government cutting these things? Ostensibly, because they are DEI or “Woke”, but really because Tr*mp’s minions think this is the way to “own the libs”, forgetting that Congress authorized this spending, and Congress has the power of the purse. But then again, Tr*mp doesn’t seem to believe he needs to follow the Constitution, and he has no idea what the Declarations of Independence is about.


So with these cuts, will I at least see my taxes drop significantly, so I can donate the funds to these organizations? Nope. Federal spending is UP under Tr*mp: more spending for his golf trips, paying for DOGE and its staffers, and fighting all the lawsuits his actions start? I don’t want my tax funds paying for his golf or DOGE.


Am I at least seeing prices drop from all of this? Nope. With tariffs, prices are going up up up. Food prices. Commodity prices. Paper product prices. Tr*mp is doing this for a political purpose, and has already indicated he doesn’t care if people get hurt, or what people has to pay. In fact, he’s so disconnected he doesn’t even know what people are really paying.


Perhaps it is helping his investment buddies? Again, not really. He’s created such volatility in the market that those depending on the market for income or retirements have seen TRILLIONS in value wiped away. He single-handedly tanked one of the best economies and brought us to the brink of recession. He says his moves are good for business, but business says they are not. Business needs a reliable way to plan, and his volatility has made planning impossible. So they stop spending, especially with the impacts of tariffs — which business can’t afford to absorb (and he threats to take action against anyone who passes them on).


It is clear that this administration’s policy is not the betterment of the nation, or the following of the Constitution. It is operating from two policies, and two policies alone: (1) “Own the libs” — do anything that is perceived to upset liberals, not caring the impacts of those actions; (2) “revenge for political or personal enemies” — use the power of the Federal government to settle personal grudges.


Well, I don’t want to pay for those policies. I want my tax dollars to fund scientific research, the arts, humanities, weather forecasting and research, public broadcasting, health initiatives, education initiatives, and such. Withholding tax dollars won’t fix it (they are taken from my paychek anyway, at least until I retire). Protests in the street, while putting out a good image, will only lead this administration to more forcible suppression. We must push Congress to “grow a set” and do their job: Remind the administration that it is Congress’ job to increase or decrease spending, and that these small agencies are not where the waste is. These cuts impact people, and more than just “the libs”. Most voters in this country support pennies from their taxes dollars going to these efforts.


Congress: Do your job. This cutting and hurting people must stop.


This is the article that prompted this screed: https://www.latimes.com/opinion/story/2025-05-05/national-endowment-for-the-humanities-california-indigenous-history-missions




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userpic=trumpAs usual, ‘de Tr*mp is not thinking things through when he talks about making Canada a 51st state, going so far as to initiate horrible trade wars that only strengthen Canadian pride, but serve to tank the American economy and stock market. As there are a number of points to make here, I’m doing this as a blog post:

  • First, Canada is far too large to be admitted as a single state. But let’s suppose it was. It would add two senators, who are likely Democratic and a large number of representatives. As the size of the House is fixed, this means that many Republican states would lose representatives. The House would likely go Democratic, and be that way for a long long time.
  • More likely, Canada would insist on each province becoming its own state. So, that’s 20 senators, and again a large number of representatives. Not all would be Democratic, but most would. This means both the House and Senate would go Democratic, again for a long time.
  • Canada would never come in with the status of a territory, as that would be a serious demotion in influence. So statehood would have to be approved in advance, and that won’t happen instantly: each province would need to establish an appropriate and acceptable constitution that fit American jurisprudence, and US institutions would need to be adapted to cover the additional territory. We’re talking at least 5 years.
  • Further, new states are admitted only with the approval of the existing states — more specifically, their representatives in Congress. Would a Republican congress vote to dilute their power and to (in fact) give up their majority? I think not. That’s why Puerto Rico, Guam, and DC have never become states: Because the Republicans didn’t want additional Democratic states. So now for them to admit 6 or more in one action. Not going to happen.
  • Trump talks about buying Canada. From whom and with what? Canada is a sovereign nation: there is no one to buy it from. Further, even if their was, where would the money come from. We’re probably talking trillions of dollars. Talk about increasing the budget deficit!
  • Trump also talks about annexing it. There’s precious little in that option that would make Canada want to do it. They have better health care, a better operating government, and a strong economy.
  • So, annexing would need to be done by force. This would make the USA a pariah among nations, just like Russia for invading Ukraine. The Congress wouldn’t support such a war, nor would it be popular with US people. It also wouldn’t be fast or easy, and it would tank Republican chances for holding Congress.

Tr*mp is a transactional guy. What’s in it for him? Why is he doing this? It would be much better to figure that out, and negotiate a treaty that is win-win for both sides. Knowing how Tr*mp thinks, this is likely all just a negotiating tactic to bully Canada into rolling over and putting their ass in the air for Tr*mp to f— them. Canada, however, is far too smart for that. More likely, the Beaver will recognize the BS, and will remain strong and steadfast. Meanwhile, the US will have tarnished, perhaps forever, the relationship with one of our strongest neighbors.

Now, Mexico, might be a different story. But we all know how Tr*mp feels about Mexicans.

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userpic=trumpThe age of American Exceptionalism is over. Tr*mp, and his administration, killed it.

Over the weekend, I’ve been reading the tea leaves, so to speak, and thinking about America’s future and the impact of Tr*mp, 45/47. My conclusion is that Tr*mp is serving as the catalyst that moves American from the “Shining Beacon on the Hill” to a sovereign nation, like any other. Let me explain.

For much of its history, America was just like any other sovereign nation. But during the 20th Century, thanks to WWI and WWII and what came right afterwards, America assumed a leading position among other countries. Thanks to the work of folks like Roosevelt, Truman, Eisenhower, Kennedy, and Johnson, America began a leader. We resolved worldwide conflicts. We were the leader in science, in medicine, in industry. Our statecraft resolved conflicts; our humanitarianism saved lives. We were the refuge for those persecuted. We were a beacon of justice, a nation where liberty and justice was truly FOR ALL.

Donald Tr*mp, and his minions, have killed that in a few short months. It is unclear if we will ever climb back up that mountain; indeed, to listen to a large portion of the country, they don’t want us to climb back. They think “America First”, but by that they mean “America isolated and self-sufficient”. In that isolation, they don’t realize what they have lost. Here are some examples.

  • Europe. Tr*mp’s horrendous treatment of Ukraine and Zelinsky, who has been a long term ally and who had agreed to give up their nuclear weapons in exchange for promises of American protection, has stunned Europe. More importantly, it has spurred Europe into action. The nations of Europe, working together, are developing a peace plan for the region and will present it to the US and Russia. Europe is also planning to spend more for its own defense (defence), realizing it can no longer depend on America. Is that good or bad? Hard to say, but it does mean that America is no longer the leader in that region that it once was. It is also bad for American defense companies, who were making a lot of money selling arms and munitions to Europe. If America is untrustworthy and imposing tariffs, they may also decide that locally-made is better.
  • Middle East. Tr*mp’s notion of buying Gaza and turning it into a resort has pushed the Arab nations into action, and they are meeting to devise their own plan for the rebuilding of Gaza. This would push out Hamas, and install a new Palestinian Authority 2.0 to govern the region. This could ultimately be a good thing and might bring stability to the region, although the longer term impact on Israel is harder to say. But, I think, if Gaza and the West Bank are governed by a group with no Hamas ties, backed by all the other Arab nations (including those Israel has peaceful relations with), there might be a solution. But the key thing is: America will be on the sidelines of that solution.
  • North America. Tr*mp’s treatment of Canada and Mexico may very well draw these two countries into a tighter alliance, if only for protection. This alliance could spread to the other democratic nations of Central and South America. None of these countries trust Tr*mp.
  • Medicine. RFK Jr. has shut down medical science at NIH, and slowed work on new vaccines. But the health issues will not go away, and others will pick up the slack. I expect to see European consortiums and private industry establishing standards. I see the UN taking a role in selecting the flu vaccine for each year. I see other nations picking up the skills to investigate pandemics and develop solutions. In short, the Tr*mp administration’s abandoning of health science will remove America from the leadership position and make it a follower, just like most nations. America will become, at best, a middle-tier nation instead of the leader in technology and research.
  • Science. Tr*mp’s shutdown of research at NSF and similar agencies will have significant impact on America’s standing in the research community. We will lose funding for students in the industries to attend conferences and learn from others. We will see less research funded. The net impact of this is that other countries will pick up the slack and the leadership. We’re already seeing this with research from China and South Korea, and we will likely see similar growth from India. This adds to the already strong work coming out of Europe and the FSB countries. Remember that this research has been the source of American innovation — not just NSF research, but research done through groups like DARPA and for DOD projects — and this American innovation is what created things like the Internet. No more. The next big innovations will likely come from somewhere else. America as the innovation leader will be no more.
  • Weather. Tr*mp may gut NOAA and the NWS because he is afraid of climate change research, but weather and climate isn’t going away. Other nations will pick up the slack and the science, and will become the leaders in the field. This is an area I can see Canada picking up the mantle, especially for North America, because accurate weather is required for commerce. In the short term, there will be big impacts in lack of preparation for incoming storms, and people will be killed.  This will also impact the American aviation industry; pilots and air traffic controllers depend on accurate weather information to establish flight plans.  Shipping depends on ocean weather. Our commerce will suffer.
  • Humanitarian Aid. People have, and will, die in response to Tr*mp’s abandonment of USAID and similar support. This creates a void that other countries will step in to fill — most notably, China. This is what is referred to as Soft Power, and China excels at this. It will move more countries into alliance with countries like China, India, and Brazil, and reduce America’s influence. NGOs will also pick up the slack, as will faith-based initiatives.

In the longer term, Tr*mp’s initiatives may well do some of what he wants: Isolate America, make America focused on itself. It may reduce some spending, but nothing all that significant. It will certainly increase the grift and fraud from the American oligarchs, but that’s the subject of a future blog post. It will increase the power of Russia, especially as the US reduces the efforts it was taking to stop the interference of Russia in US affairs, where Russia has long wanted to interfere in our elections and control our computer systems.

Will it make America Great Again? No. It will make America less significant globally. We’ll be just another nation, not the leader of the free world. Tr*mp will have abandoned that mantle, and he will have abandoned it in such a way that we never might get it back completely.

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This morning, while in the shower, I was musing about a post I had read on FB about 15 minutes earlier. Of course, I can’t find it again, but the post was about DOD schools in Europe removing posters and textbooks about the accomplishments of blacks, women, and minorities. This was being done in response to the DEI Executive Order. We’ve seen similar things happening over the last two weeks. Posters of women cryptographers being covered at the National Cryptological Museum. Pages on the Tuskegee Airman being removed from DOD site. Numerous examples of the accomplishments of minorities being scrubbed from the collective consciousness.

So my mind went to the question of  why this is being done. And the answer that I came up with is the erasure of history: the eventual end goal is to celebrate only the accomplishments of European White Men, probably Christian. This allows the narrative to be promoted that minorities have not contributed anything, and are therefore worthless. We all know what we can do with worthless things. Yup, they are planning to go there.

The train of thought then went to a different station. It was then thinking about all the names we have out there celebrating these folks. Names on buildings. Names on highways. Names on streets. There was a brief muse on how Trump and the new DOD Secretary want to return Confederate names to DOD bases. Why? Do you have to ask at this point?

But it then returned to all these minority names on schools and buildings. These are much harder to remove, and each name will prompt some to ask the question: “Who was ______?”. The answer to that, my friends, is good danger and good trouble, for we can show the value of minorities.

So we must now intensify our naming efforts. Name those schools. Name those highways. Get the names carved in stone. Make them hard to erase. Work your hardest to prevent the erasure of history.

Oh, and why *this* userpic. If you know TGOV, if it about two women cross-dressing to get around society’s conventional restriction on men.

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userpic=divided-nationThere are so many articles I want to discuss, and I don’t want to inundate FB with multiple posts, and BSky has a character limit, so a blog post it is:

I don’t know how, but Trmp and Musk, and their cohorts, need to be reigned in. They must learn that Congress controls the purse and how is it spent. They must learn that the President is NOT a king, and his princes are not all powerful. They need to be reminded that the Constitution is above all, and that oaths are to the Constitution and the laws therein, and not a specific individual.

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userpic=trumpAnd to think it has been only a week. Le sigh.

Trmp has been a busy little boy, trying to root any any whiff of DEI in the Federal Government, and through being a bully, almost everywhere else too. But I don’t think Trmp, or his allies, have put a lot of thought into it. Their belief, it seems, is that DEI means that unqualified people are getting the job simply because they check some boxes, and qualified people (which in Trmp’s eyes mean white males) are not.

That is nonsense.

All DEI does, primarily, is get applications into the door. It helps make all people aware of job opportunities, so they will apply. After that, they still need to meet the requirements of the jobs. Assuming all the job requirements are met, the employer is free to pick whomever they want. Sometimes, that’s the white guy. Sometimes, it’s not. Further, diversity is often more than just protected characteristics: It can mean picking people with different background, or different experiences, or different schools. All that leads to a better workforce. But the key thing is: all these people are equally skilled.

So what is Trmp really after? It becomes clear in his gutting of the Lyndon Johnson era EO: He wants to gut equal opportunity. He wants the freedom to discriminate. This is shown in his gutting of the investigative arms that would prosecute discrimination claims. His executive orders claim they are equal opportunity, but if someone discriminates, they can get away with it.

He’s also taking the time to gut offices related to accessibility and accommodation. That’s going against the ADA, and there will be likely lawsuits against that. Of course, the legal team in the DOJ that would prosecute such cases … dismissed.

In doing all of this, he’s being true to what he has always been: someone who is against minorities (which is well known in his real estate dealings), and someone who is against those differently abled (remember his mocking of Biden’s stutter or the disabled reporter). We also know his attitude towards women.

This leopard never met a face he didn’t like to eat.

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Folks: With the start of the term of Trmp, the FUD (Fear, Uncertainty, and Distrust) machines have been running full bore. I’d like to urge people to calm down, and encourage people to get past the hyperbole, and to learn the facts of what is actually being done. It is simultaneously not as bad as is being made out to be, and is worse than you might think. As with everything Trmp, the noise and the swirl of what he does often sucks the oxygen out of the room, and serves to hide even more nefarious and significant items.

So, let’s take a deep breath, and go through some recent items and see what is really happening. This is a distillation of a number of recent posts on FB; I’m doing it as a blog simply because I can’t stand the artificial character limits of Bksy, X, and similar services. It also collects some thoughts that have been swirling around my head.

First, let’s look at some of the hyperbole that’s swirling in the ether:

  • Male and Female. Regarding the EO about the government only recognizing Male and Female (and the fact that they wrote the EO wrong, referring to conception): Remember that a number of states once tried to legislate π to be 3. That didn’t work: You can’t legislate nature. Be authentically you, and do your best to ignore the government friction. It will eventually pass, and you are strong enough to outlast it. Always remember that Diplomacy is the art of saying “Nice, doggie” until you can find a big enough stick. They may think they have won, but nature will always win out.
  • What Do You Mean I’m Following Trmp? There’s a big furor on FB about people who suddenly discover they are following Trmp, and believe it is some form of Zuck-Conspiracy. It isn’t. It is what happens during the transfer of an administration. The old administration’s accounts are archived, new accounts are created for the new administration (POTUS, FLOTUS, VPOTUS, WH, etc.), and most importantly, the followers and friends of the old administration’s accounts are copied to the new accounts as a starting point. That’s what happened. You likely followed Biden’s POTUS account, and that transferred over. Simply unfollow, and block if you wish. BTW: If you are worried: Go to your profile. Click on Friends. Then click on Following. Review the list of who you are following, and prune appropriately.
  • Birthright Citizenship. This is an example of the excess I’ve seen on MSNBC, and here on ‘da webs: Trmp is trying to overturn the 14th Amendment. Here I urge folks to read things more carefully. The 14th says: “All persons born or naturalized in the United States, and subject to the jurisdiction thereof, are citizens of the United States and of the State wherein they reside.” Trmp is trying to reinterpret the “subject to the jurisdiction thereof”, which has normally been held to apply children of ambassadors and such, in a very different way. He’s trying to say it applies to children of undocumented folks, or folks here on tourist or short-term visas where the other parent isn’t a citizen. It also wasn’t effective immediately. That likely won’t fly with the courts, and remember that I said the courts are going to be our most effective avenue of attack. But what he is doing is more nefarious, and is not attempting to ignore the amendment completely.
  • Prescription Drug Prices. There are posts going around claiming the Trmp’s EO rescinding Biden’s EO on Prescription Drug Prices undoes the cheap insulin and medicare drug out of pocket caps. That’s not true. Those were part of the Inflation Reduction Act, and EO’s cannot override laws. Read this Reddit chain of discussion. It notes that the primary impact is to halt development of cost-reduction models to reduce drug costs. Without the implementation of new models focused on reducing costs, Medicare and Medicaid beneficiaries might continue to face high out-of-pocket expenses for prescription drugs, possibly affecting access to certain medications. But it doesn’t change the law. Snopes goes into this in more detail.

And while everyone is up in arms about the above (and don’t forget all of his attacks on immigration, which were expected), a number of significant things have been below the RADAR, but are very significant:

  • Artificial Intelligence. One of Trmp’s first EOs rescinded a bunch of Biden’s EOs — one of which was the EO that put guardrails on the use of AI. The next day, he announced a new AI initiative, which his buddy Musk is pissed about. This may be one of the most dangerous under-the-radar things, as AI can be really misused. Biden’s order required developers of AI systems that pose risks to U.S. national security, the economy, public health or safety to share the results of safety tests with the U.S. government, in line with the Defense Production Act, before they were released to the public. The order also directed agencies to set standards for that testing and address related chemical, biological, radiological, nuclear, and cybersecurity risks. Biden’s order came as U.S. lawmakers have failed to pass legislation setting guardrails for AI development.
  • Cybersecurity. Not only did Trmp pardon the founder of Silk Road, a drug and cybercrime locus, but he cleaned out the DHS Cyber Review Board. This will delay an ongoing CSRB investigation into the Salt Typhoon hacks, which involved a wide-ranging Chinese infiltration into a number of telecom providers in the U.S. and around the world. Trmp is also effectively killing the Privacy and Civil Liberties Oversight Board, which is related to privacy issues.
  • Water in California. Trmp is also overhauling water rules in California. He issued a memo that memo calls on the Secretary of Commerce and the Secretary of the Interior to develop a new plan within 90 days “to route more water from the Sacramento-San Joaquin Delta to other parts of the state for use by the people there who desperately need a reliable water supply.” Trump apparently is asking his agencies to override the latest version of the water delivery rules, years in the making, that the Biden administration, with the support of Gov. Gavin Newsom’s administration, announced in December. Trmp thinks this would have helped in LA’s fires, even though the local reservoirs were already at capacity.

Are there things to be worried about, and that are perhaps worth hyperbole? Sure. There’s the fact that Trmp stylizes himself as a King and wants the trappings and the power. The courts will help fight back on that. There are his moves to end DEI, and even more so, to set aside anything in the government that ensures there will be no discrimination (including EOs that go back to Lyndon Johnson). If we had progressed enough that those initiatives weren’t necessary, that would be one thing. But with the rise of Whte Nationalist groups, emboldened by the pardons, expressing a desire for retribution and planning to bring back their groups, there is reason for fear. There are the broader impacts his moves will have beyond the government, such as restrictions he will place on government contractors. There is the clear discrimination that his administration will bring to the marginalized members of society.

Trmp’s MO is to distract us with the meaningless outrage, preventing us from organizing and pushing back in the areas where it really matters. PAY ATTENTION. Remember that we are the fact checkers. We should be checking everything, even the outrage and memes on our side, so that we can focus our outrage, power, and funds where it matters and is most effective. It is up to us to keep our focus on the fight for the next two years, when we can build the case that we must retake Congress to check Trmp.

===> Click Here To Comment <==This entry was originally posted on Observations Along the Road as Calm Down! It's Worse Than You Think! by cahwyguy. Although you can comment on DW, please make comments on original post at the Wordpress blog using the link to the left. You can sign in with your LJ, DW, FB, or a myriad of other accounts. Note: Subsequent changes made to the post on the blog are not propagated by the SNAP Crossposter; please visit the original post to see the latest version. P.S.: If you see share buttons above, note that they do not work outside of the Wordpress blog.

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Today, on the van ride home, we discussed an interesting scenarios: Suppose we hold the election in November, and the Democratic nominee resoundingly wins the popular vote, and wins the electoral college. Donald Trump refuses to accept the result of the election for whatever reason his ego comes up with, declares a “national emergency”, suspends Congress, and refuses to leave his office.

A large number of the Blue-leaning states consider this to be an unconstitutional act, and decide that he has abdicated his oath of office. They declare themselves to be the real United States of America, proclaim their loyalty to the original Constitution, and inaugurate the duly elected President and Vice President based on the electoral college results. They reconstitute Congress, with whatever Representatives and Senators from their states who wish to remain in the new Western United States of America and Eastern United States of America (from both parties), in a new location. They retain whichever Justices of the Supreme Court wish to come over. States hold special elections to fill vacancies, and (quite likely) DC and Puerto Rico are admitted as states. A good portion of the military would also likely come over, as they are more loyal to the Constitution than the President.

Is this secession?

After all, the “new” United States are loyal to the Constitution, have as leadership a President and Vice President that were elected following that Constitution. On the other hand, the United States of Trump have suspended the Constitution, and are following a President that holds office without authority of the vote, and only by virtue of his suspending and ignoring the election results.

Would we see a civil war where the “new” US (the USA) tries to regain the Trump-loyalists (UST)? Probably not. Would the UST try to wage war against the “new” USA, or would they have the attitude of “good riddance” to the Liberals and RINOs? How might property and facilities be divided?

One might think this is far-fetched, but I do think it is a possibility if Trump refuses to leave. Note that this is NOT the scenario where Trump gets elected and attempts to suspend the Constitution. A secession in that case is more problematic: although there is loyalty to the Constitution, you do have a duly-elected President. Although, if there is an investigation that shows the vote was tampered with and Trump really didn’t win the election, then it might happen.

Interesting thought experiment.

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Four important things to remember this election season:

  1. You will not find a candidate that 100% matches your political positions. This means you must compromise on the candidate that comes closest, remembering that…
  2. Any broad policy initiatives must be approved by Congress, and will assuredly change. As we keep reminding those who support Trump: the President is not King. There is only a limited amount that can be done through Executive Order. Most policy needs to come through Congress, and all appropriates need to come through Congress — and bold broad initiatives, such as healthcare, required funding. This means that whatever position the candidate takes will not make it into law in exactly that form. Don’t think you’ll get “Medicare for All”, for example, as that likely won’t make it through Congress.
  3. ANY of the Democratic candidates is better than Trump. This is a key point to remember. Any of the Democrats will respect the role of Congress and the role of the diplomatic and intelligence communities. None will attempt to be autocratic like Trump. So you don’t like Bloomberg because he’s a rich oligarch and buying the election? Even at that, he’s better than Trump. Don’t like Bernie because he’s an angry old white man? Still better than Trump. Don’t like Pete because of his corporate connections and inexperience? Still better than Trump. Don’t like Biden because of his gaffes and history? Still better than Trump. Always remember: ANY of these candidates is better than Trump.
  4. Not voting is a vote for Trump. Thinking of sitting out the election because you don’t like the Democratic candidate that was nominated? Think again. Not voting gives more power to the people voting for Trump. So unless you think having Trump in office is better than than whomever is the Democratic nominee is, make sure you get out to vote.

and here’s the little bit more:

  1. A Democratic Senate Solves Many Problems. It is vital we take back the Senate, so if you live in a state where a Republican senate seat is on the ballot, vote for the Democratic candidate. If we have over 51% in the Senate, we can do another impeachment trial — but this time with witnesses. If we can get near 2/3rds, there is the possibility of removing Trump from office even if he is reelected. Having a Democratic senate will also allow House initiated legislation to finally reach the President’s desk (winning the White House means nothing if legislation gets blocked in the Senate), and provides a real check on the power of appointment — especially of judges.

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Recently, I’ve had a few friends post articles or pen screeds implying that the reason Democrats do not like Trump is because of his course language.

My reaction to that is to call “Bullshit!” Much as I wish he behaved with more decorum, we’ve had Presidents that spoke coursely before, from Lyndon Johnson to Richard Nixon. If Trump’s worst aspect was his language, I could live with it.

These friends equally go on about how they love his support of life (meaning his current stance on abortion, as he certainly doesn’t sanctify all lives), and his support of Christian values (while not living them himself, which they indicate is acceptable citing King Cyrus).

My reaction to that, again, is to call “Bullshit!”. The job of the President is to uphold the Constitution. That’s the oath that is sworn at inauguration, not an oath to the Bible. The Constitution explicitly states that there shall not be a state religion, nor shall the government interfere with the practice of your religion That means religion is a personal matter for YOU to do. The President should not be dictating one religions beliefs over anothers. If you don’t believe in abortion, then don’t have one.

What offends me from this President is not his language. It is his blatent disregard for the Constitution and the separation of powers. It is his lack of respect for Congress, his lack of respect for Judges that don’t agree with him and side with the law. It is his abuse of his position to take actions that would have been unthinkable for any other President. It is his thinking he is above the law. It is his failure to represent the entire nation instead of just his base.

And for those who proclaim his support of Christian values: what he promotes is decidedly UN-Christian. To my understanding, Christ taught to take care of the poor and the suffering. If the poor or suffering aren’t in a womb, Trump would throw them in the street and cut their welfare. The Bible teaches us to treat the stranger with respect. Trump insults the stranger. Christ threw the moneylenders out of the Temple. Trump embraces the moneylenders and big business, and helps them take advantage of the people even more.

For this particular Impeachment charge, Trump may be acquitted by the Senate. He was able to manipulate the Republican senators in a partisan way to keep evidence hidden and suppress the facts. He prevented a true investigation of his behavior. If President Obama or Clinton had attempted such obstruction, well … let’s just say there is a double standard at play. But it is important to remember that the Senate voting to not remove him from office is not an acquittal of the charges — merely a demonstration that they didn’t want to establish the precedent of removal. Even acquittals by a court doesn’t mean innocence — unless you believe that OJ was really innocent and is still looking for the killer. They sometimes mean the court was just skillfully manipulated by shady legal tricks in front of the bar, or corruption or pressure tactics behind the bar.

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userpic=divided-nationReading the news while eating lunch brought up some general observations on the impeachment circus:

  • The Republicans need to think beyond this moment and this President, and consider very carefully about what they are doing and the precedent they are setting. Pendulums swing, and eventually they will be out of power. Do they want a Democratic president, whom they believe to be abusing their power, to be able to be tried for impeachment and suppress all evidence and arguments in Congress? Do they want that Democratic president to be able to withhold witnesses? If this had been Bill Clinton, or a President Hillary Clinton, how would they have felt? One would think, if they weren’t under the cult of personality around Trump, that they wouldn’t want to be setting this precedent for the Democrats to abuse in the future.
  • The voting public needs to watch this process carefully, and ask the question: If the President was innocent of these charges, why wouldn’t he be having those who can prove his innocence going in front of Congress to make the case? Why is he suppressing all witnesses and all exonerating information? These considerations won’t make any difference to those already under Trump’s cult of personality (his diehard base), nor will they make any difference to the diehard Democratic base. However, those Republicans moderates who have been tolerating this President need to ask themselves those questions: Why isn’t he out there bringing in counter-witnesses that prove his innocence? What is he hiding?
  • Lastly, all voters need to consider this circus when determining their votes for their House and Senate representation. Especially for the Senate: they took an oath to be bipartisan, and to objectively consider the evidence. What does this say about their trustworthiness when they fail to keep that oath: they fail to allow bi-partisan evidence to be presented, and they fail to objectively obtain and review evidence.

There may be a long game at play here. Even though this attempt to remove Trump may fail, it is likely that Democratic control of the House will remain, and the Democrats may take the Senate. If that happens, and if Trump is reelected, there will be more impeachment charges … and this time, the subpoenas will fly, and all the dirty details will come out (unless Trump finds some excuse for an emergency and suspends Congress — which he can do under the Constitution). If that happens, we need to be really scared (although that does not give the President the power of appropriations or to make laws).

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userpic=trumpLet’s start off with the basics: Soleimani was not a good man. The world is a better place without him. But this is NOT how you do it.

Here’s the key point: Although he directed terrorist groups, he was not a “terrorist leader” unaffiliated with a government. He was a top General in the Iranian military — a country that Congress has not declared war against.

Just imagine if China or some other country with whom we have testy relations launched a drone strike against one of the members of the Joint Chiefs of Staff and killed him while he was in another country. How would we react? Would we treat that as an act of war?

This is why Trump’s attempt to “wag the dog” — to distract attention from his impeachment and draw attention to himself is so bad. His failure to think ahead, to think about the potential consequences of the action, has put the entire nation in danger.

There are many ways that this nation could have taken out Soleimani without it appearing to be a military operation approved by the President. That’s called finesse, and it is how you prevent war. But this President things only about himself and his popularity with his base, and how to look good in the news. He doesn’t know finesse.

The Iranian leadership has put a high bounty on Trump’s head. Just imagine the repercussions if someone takes them up on that offer.

They say they will only hit military targets. But again, imagine the repercussions if they do and American soldiers are killed. We, of course, will escalate … with a country that will not hesitate to do a small demonstration of their nuclear capability.

So suppose they make this personal, and go after a Trump property. Imagine how Mr. Ego will respond. Again, not good.

So suppose they take to the cyber-realm, and work against Trump in the election. Even that is fraught with peril, for it then provides the argument for him to invalidate the election results. After all, it’s OK if Russia meddles on his behalf, but for a country to work against him…

Although Soleimani’s death is a good thing, I can’t see how in the long run, anything good comes from this.

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userpic=divided-nationOver the last week, a number of political thoughts have been swirling around my head. I think it is time to get them out:

  • While on a drive recently, I was binge-listening to the latest season of the Start Up Podcast on Church Planting. They had a very interesting episode on theology of evangelical churches. One standard position is “complementarianism”, which is the view that women is complementary to man, and that they should never have a leadership position. For the evangelicals, this may have been an unspoken reason why Hillary was unacceptable, and why there is so much hatred of her assuming leadership. But that’s the past. What is the lesson here?  Namely, a man of any color is more acceptable to them than a woman would be. If our goal is to retake the White House — which is a must in 2020 if not before — we need to keep this in mind when choosing candidates. We must take care to not needlessly shoot ourselves in the foot.
  • In fact, it would be astute of us to understand exactly why Evangelicals support Trump, despite all his faults. Here’s a good explanation. Here’s a real telling quote: “They want the return of Protestant privilege in American culture. The loss of Protestant privilege, and the reality of religious plurality, is driving them crazy.” For all their protestations about Sharia law, they want a Christian nation where Christians have the privilege, and those who are not are second class citizens. I’m not sure there is a way to turn these folks around, unless they can believe there is a different anointed candidate that will press their goals. What is the lesson here? We must work on the non-evangelical Christians — those who believe in what Christ actually said and did, as opposed to evangelical beliefs, and demonstrate how Trump is not building a better world.
  • Trump is also using fear to bring his supporters to the polls, implying that Liberals will use violence to overturn all he has done for the evangelical community. We know that is not the reality, but fear is a powerful motivator. What is the lesson here? We must work to counter that, and use all means necessary to turn out the vote: get people registered, help them get to the polls, and get all those who have been sitting on their hands not voting to get out and vote and make a difference.
  • We need to learn how Trump voters see themselves, and see the Liberals. Here, the name Dinesh D’Souza is critical. D’Souza’s latest movie, Death of a Nation, compares Donald Trump to Abraham Lincoln, and his Democratic opponents to Nazis. Yes, you’ve read that right. I have friends on FB that believe it — and this is what feeds into the fear of AntiFa. They don’t recognize the party ideological swap that occurred in the mid-1960s as a result of the Southern Strategy. What is the lesson here? We must continue to demonstrably counter — with patience — their view of Liberals. We need to demonstrate there isn’t a unified thought, and just as with Conservatives, there is a broad spectrum of views.
  • We’ve all commented on how many Trump supporters seem to have drunk the Kool-Aide, and think whatever he does will benefit them. I know many such supporters who are on limited means who have partaken that beverage. Yet he is making life more expensive. His tariffs on imported vehicles and parts will make even US made vehicles more expensive, and the new trade deal with Mexico will make them even more expensive. Will this awaken them? Probably not. What is the lesson here? We must keep hammering home how Trump’s policies are making things more expensive, and how wages are not increasing enough to compensate, making the economic condition of lower and middle classes worse (while the rich are getting richer).
  • One thing I’ve noted from many Trump supporters is an attitude of … not quite hate, but of “get off my lawn”. They seemingly are angry at everything: liberals, taxes, other people, society. Trump speaks to them because he reflects anger — his whole “schtick” is to intentionally do things that piss off the people he does not like, and to revel in their reactions. What is the lesson here? As Liberals, what must our response be to this? First, we must not react with anger in return, for that is the reaction that they want. We must learn to deflect that anger, and infuriate them even more by being nice and reasonable in response. Remember: Don’t feed the trolls. Set the example, and attract the moderates who are tired of the anger.
  • We’ve seen lately how Trump is angry at Google for returning more negative results about him. Setting aside the question of why the President is bothering to search himself online (narcissist, me thinks), what he doesn’t understand is that it is just an algorithm, one that returns what is out there on the web, and giving priority to links on sites that have proven themselves over time to be trustworthy. Algorithms can only return what is out there, and there is much less on the web that is positive about Trump, and the sites that are positive about Trump get much less links. What is the lesson here? If you have a blog, link to reputable articles only. If you are on Facebook, share reputable articles. Help the algorithms find the truth, simply by posting the truth.

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As I continue the process of clearing out the news chum, here is a collection of articles that should serve as political incendiary catalysts, sure to light that political spark of discussion:

  • Nobel Laureate Economist Says American Inequality Didn’t Just Happen. It Was Created. Quote: “Those with power used that power to strengthen their economic and political positions, or at the very least to maintain them. They also attempted to shape thinking, to make acceptable differences in income that would otherwise be odious.”
  • Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez is a Democratic Socialists of America member. Here’s what that means. Just as Trump was a whistle to the hard right folks, Bernie Sanders was a whistle to the hard left. We’ve seen the growth of a subgroup in the Democratic party called the Democratic Socialists. This isn’t a particular party, and it isn’t your father’s socialism. Further, it doesn’t add up financially.
  • Why Are Jews So Pro-Choice? Abortion / Choice. It is one of the driving forces of those on the right to oppose it. But it is also one of those areas where those who aren’t that ilk of Christian feel they are having a Christian moral shoved down their throats. Here’s an explanation of the Jewish position.
  • I Was Fired For Criticizing Trump. We have a President who seems to feel any criticism of him is fake, and he’s convinced some in the news profession that criticism is not allows. What happens when a liberal editorial cartoons runs into a change of ownership at his paper?
  • How to be an uncivil Trump resister without leading a vigilante mob. We’ve all heard the calls for civility. But when should you be uncivil, and how?
  • Immigration in America. Think immigration is a new problem? It is both what made America, and what some claim is destroying it. But do you understand it? Here’s a visualization of immigration to America as the rings in a tree trunk.
  • Trump’s Republican Party, explained in one photo. A real T-shirt at a Trump rally read: “I’d rather be Russian than a Democrat”. This captures what Trump’s identity politics has done to America, and how it can destroy this country. Since when has the Russian system of government with its dictatorship, false democracy, and draconian laws been better that what we have in America, even with the opposition party? I wrote about this with respect to Israel and their new National law about Jews coming first a few weeks ago. Identity politics — in which one group is 100% right and the other group is subhuman — is destructive.
  • Remaining Trump Supporters. What camp do you fall into: (1) Too arrogant to admit Trump was a mistake; (2) Too embarrassed to admit it; or (3) Too dumb to see it?
  • Fake News (no link here — just look at any Trump tweet). A challenge of the day, for those who purport that the news is “Fake”: Find multiple verifiable sources demonstrating a pattern of false news from the source claimed to be fake, other than the one making the claim that it is fake. A couple of times is human error: there needs to be a verifiable ongoing pattern of falsehood, from sources across the spectrum that can be verified.  Note: Bias is different than Fake. Biased news can have the bias filtered out, but is ultimately based on the truth and that underlying truth can be verified. Fake news is false and untrue, and cannot be verified.

As I say, “ready, set, discuss”.

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userpic=divided-nationPresident Trump has just met with the leader of North Korea, and we need to be very very careful and be cautious…

…lest we shoot ourselves in the foot.

Perhaps I should explain. When I got up this morning, I was greeted with a barrage of posts from my friends on the right talking about the achievements of Trump in North Korea. I was also greeted from a barrage of posts from the left dismissing everything Trump has done there — he’s sold us down the river, he’s doing this to get a hotel, he’s doing this because I loves Kim, he’s being naive. Reading both side, it started this post welling up in me.

To my liberal and progressive friends, I want you to think back to those wonderful days when Obama was President. Are you in your happy place? Good. Now, think about how you felt when the right — the opposition to Obama — dismissed anything and everything he did. How in their book, Obama was a disgrace and it was impossible for him to get anything — a-n-y-t-h-i-n-g — right. How did that make you feel? How receptive did that make you to anything the other side side? How did that contribute to the growing divide between the left and the right?

Most of you are too young to remember Richard Nixon. He was a President during the Vietnam War, the man behind Watergate, and the only President to resign. He was an ardent anti-Communist, the VP under Eisenhower, at the height of the Cold War. Yet it was Richard Nixon that first went to China, and got us talking to that nation. It was often said, “Only Nixon can go to China”.

It may be that “Only Trump could go to North Korea”.

Whether initiated by the Democrats or the Republicans, talking to your enemy is a good thing. Establishing the dialogue. Remember when we were all in favor of it when Obama was President? Remember how we wanted him to talk to North Korea, but it was dismissed as dangerous by the right because he was too naive? Remember.

If we, as progressives, do not acknowledged the few things that Trump somehow does that are movements in the correct direction, anything we say will be dismissed out of hand. I like to say that even a broken clock tells the correct time twice a day. Think of Trump as that clock. If Trump is able to open a dialogue with North Korea, he has achieved something. He may not be the reason the dialogue has opened, but if it serves to increase understanding between the two countries, if it reduces nuclear tension, that that’s a good thing. More important, if we do not acknowledge it as good thing, we will be doing something the Democratic Party has been expert in: self-sabotage. We won’t need the Republicans to lose us the upcoming the elections, we can do it to ourselves. We did it in 2016, and we can do it again.

It is vital for the success of this nation that we do not self-sabotage, that we acknowledge that “Only Trump could go to North Korea”.

There are also some important things to remember:

First, Trump and Kim have supposedly signed an agreement. But remember, if it is a treaty or an agreement, Congress must ratify it. How many treaties have past Presidents signed that Congress never ratified, and thus the country was never committed. Right.

Second, it could very well be that Trump is doing this so he can personally gain by building in North Korea. That, actually, is neither here nor there. Remember what I’ve said about collusion: It could very well be that Trump didn’t collude with Russia. Collusion means there is conscious working together to achieve a particular goal. But two organizations can have the same goal and not work together. Russia could have been working to get Trump elected and to get Trump in power for their own reasons — and that includes behind the scenes subtle manipulation of Trump. But that doesn’t mean that Trump was working with them; he just had the same goal. This is the same way that “Independent PACs” can work to get a candidate elected without being in coordination with the candidate’s campaign. Similarly, Trump might be doing this for the personal gain, but that doesn’t mean the end result might not also lower the tension in the region.

The key point here is this: If we are so “knee-jerk” that we can’t acknowledge an occasional stumble into success, we (i.e., we progressives) will be dismissed out of hand by the other side. That, in turn, will make it even harder for us to gain any concessions or make any compromises. It will further solidify the divide in this nation. It could very well keep Trump in power and hurt the Democratic party.

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userpic=trumpThe Internet-verse has been filled today with commentary about Trump’s statement that he can pardon himself but he won’t, and how this is such a miscarriage of Presidential power and such. I call Bullshit. Most of these folks don’t understand what the Constitution actually says; they are pontificating based on what they think it says or what they want it to say. A few points of clarification, based on my admittedly limited knowledge in these areas:

  • The only thing the Constitution prohibits the President from doing is pardoning from impeachment. It also restricts the pardon to be for Federal crimes.
  • Whether the President can pardon himself has never actually been tested. Presidents before have followed normal behavior and haven’t run into this.
  • Whether the President cannot be indicted while in office has never actually been tested. Presidents before have followed normal behavior and haven’t run into this.
  • However, what is clear is that even if the President does pardon himself, he can still be impeached and removed from office. Impeachment and removal is a pretty bad stain on one’s reputation, even with a pardon.
  • If the President does pardon himself, that is an implicit admission that something was done for which a pardon was required, increasing the likelihood of removal from office.
  • If there is enough material to indict and convict the President, there is likely enough evidence to get him impeached and removed from office.
  • Once removed from office, the President is no longer the chief law enforcement officer and can be indicted and convicted, unless pardoned for the specific crime.
  • Once removed from office, the President can be indicted and convicted for state crimes, and can still be subject to civil suits and damages, even if pardoned for Federal crimes.

So, folks, please think things through before pontificating on subjects. Not every statement is what it appears to be.

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userpic=trumpTwo thoughts on the current kerfuffle regarding Sarah Huckabee Sanders and Michelle Wolf:

  1. I think it is wrong to make jokes about anyone based on how they look (or other similarly protected categories) … ANYONE. In terms of doing it in a political venue: If you would be bothered if the “other side” did it to you, don’t do it to them. There’s plenty legitimate things (actions) to poke at and make fun of.
  2. I think it is wrong to attack the messenger when it is the message that bothers you. If Trump had sent a member of his staff that actually creates policy in some way, go for it on that policy. But SHS is just a mouthpiece attempting to report on that policy; she doesn’t create the policy. You can make fun of over the tops effort to defend the policy, but attack Trump if you disagree with the policy. Again, remember the real source of evil.

In this day and age — the age of #MeToo and worries about cyberbullying — I find that much of what passes for comedy is veiled bullying by those who were likely bullied in school. I’m referring to comedy that makes fun of people for their attributes, looks, size, intelligence, job, etc. Perhaps it is fun in the moment, but it is teasing and bullying none-the-less, and we are better than that. I prefer the gentler humor of folks like Bob Newhart, Red Skelton, George Carlin, Steven Wright, and such. There may be an argument that that aspect of the Correspondent’s Dinner might have outlived its day. I’d disagree with that — the last thing we need to do is censor reporters — but I do believe the comedy that is fun needs to poke at the message and the press/newsmakers role with respect to it, and not do attacks on the messengers.

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userpic=divided-nationEarlier today, a politically conservative friend of mine posted the following cartoon from Legal Insurrection:

Sourced from https://legalinsurrection.com/2018/01/branco-cartoon-love-trumps-hate/
 

My initial reaction is the situation pictured will be about as successful as the “Hate Obama/Clinton” strategy was for the Republicans in 2016.

I’ll let that sink in a minute.

But seriously, the picture highlighted a problem and perception that I have with our progressive, resistance movement. Far too many of us are just as knee-jerk in our hatred of Trump as the Conservative side was of Obama. Look at the memes from groups like Occupy Democrats making fun of Trump. Look at the posts on Pantsuit Nation with people in fear of Trump. As you read memes from our progressive groups, ask yourself if they are the same types of memes you might be seeing from the Conservative side against Obama or Hillary. Hell, you’re still seeing them from that said against Hillary.

An aside to any Conservative reading this: We’ve given up on Hillary; you should too, and let her fade back into the historical record.

We are better than that. I like to think that liberals and progressives are well educated and critical thinkers (which is why we’re liberals and progressives). I like to think that we have in-depth knowledge of the issues; that we take the time to learn the nuances and complications before we tweet. We shouldn’t need to sink to sophomoric name calling, fat shaming, slut shaming, ad hominem attacks, and all the other silliness that I see.

The issues in the upcoming elections are critical not only to our nation, but to the world. They are complicated issues — health care, climate change, treatment of women and minorities, religious freedom, equality, economic class warfare, and much more. I like to believe we have the better positions. I like to believe that we can represent and discussion those positions, and win based on the strength of our arguments — even in the face of conspiracy theorists. Certainly, in a fact based discussion, we can demolish Trump’s position and expose them for what they really are, and who they do and do not benefit.

If our platform for 2018 and beyond is simply hatred of Donald Trump, we’ve lost. We’ve let partisanship eclipse our intelligence and common sense. Let’s win the upcoming election not by dropping down to the level of hatred, but by rising up to the level of intelligent political discourse where we take the time to listen to the other side, and use our intelligence and critical thinking to refute their arguments and to convince them of the correctness of our positions.

Hatred never wins. Well, except when you manipulate the electoral college and district boundaries.

===> Click Here To Comment <==This entry was originally posted on Observations Along the Road as A Lunchtime Rant: Ohm on the Range by cahwyguy. Although you can comment on DW, please make comments on original post at the Wordpress blog using the link to the left. You can sign in with your LJ, DW, FB, or a myriad of other accounts. Note: Subsequent changes made to the post on the blog are not propagated by the SNAP Crossposter; please visit the original post to see the latest version. P.S.: If you see share buttons above, note that they do not work outside of the Wordpress blog.

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userpic=trumpEver since the report came out on the President’s health, the liberal groups I read have been in an uproar? “How could it be true”, they ask. “They’ve got to be lying about his weight — I demand to see a girth certificate“, they jest, while posting pictures comparing the President to athletes.

C’mon folks. As they say, “get a life”. This is a distraction, a diversion. There are more important things to focus on. Consider:

  • Does it really make a difference if the President is obese, other than to make fun of him? They say, when he sits around the White House, he sits around the White House.
  • As for mental health: Be careful what you ask for. Although a President with mental impairment does make a case for invoking clause 4 of the 25th Amendment, that likely wouldn’t happen anyway, and I hope you’re not wishing that the leader of the free world is crazy. Perhaps you’re scared that maybe he isn’t crazy and knows exactly what he is doing. I find that a lot scarier, given what he is doing. Further, passing a mental acuity test doesn’t mean he has the right skillset to be President, or that he has sound judgement, which is different than smarts. Mental tests don’t just personality issues or things like self-aggrandizement or narcissism.

As I noted, the health issue is a diversion, a focus of our attention away from issues like DACA, the President’s racism, and the potential illegal, impeachable acts that are being investigated by Mueller. Don’t let yourself be distracted.

===> Click Here To Comment <==This entry was originally posted on Observations Along the Road as Girth Certificate? Really? by cahwyguy. Although you can comment on DW, please make comments on original post at the Wordpress blog using the link to the left. You can sign in with your LJ, DW, FB, or a myriad of other accounts. Note: Subsequent changes made to the post on the blog are not propagated by the SNAP Crossposter; please visit the original post to see the latest version. P.S.: If you see share buttons above, note that they do not work outside of the Wordpress blog.

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June 2025

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