In Friday's editorial section of the Wisconsin State Journal
of September 6th, there was an opinion piece by John
Kass, columnist for the Chicago Tribune, an
unabashedly right leaning newspaper. It was titled
'Warren should break some eggs, drop out, back
Sanders'. Mr. Kass purports to advise the Democrats
on how to defeat Donald Trump in 2020. His theory
is that Joe Biden, even though he is leading in the
polls and has been ever since he joined the race, is
unelectable. no matter that most polls have him
trouncing Trump by double-digits across the
country.
Kass feels that Warren should 'do the right thing',
drop out, and encourage her supporters to back -
wait for it, Bernie Sanders - immediately, if not
sooner. His justification, the progressive Democrats
remain split between Sanders and Warren which
leaves the door open for Biden to capture the
nomination. Now I have to agree with Kass that
Biden would make a poor choice for president,
but not for the same reasons. He would, however,
make a great candidate, and most probably could
win in 2020.
But Biden is not what the country needs right now,
if ever, his time has come and gone. He represents
the past, and many people are waxing nostalgic
for the past. I don't mean the past of fifty years
ago, when white men ruled, and women and people of
color were second class citizens, I mean the 'no
drama Obama' years. When civility and good
taste were de regurrre, and America had the trust
and respect of the world. But Thomas Wolfe had
it correct, 'you can't go back'.
The Trump administration has changed America, and
for that matter, a great deal of the world. Pandora's
box has been opened and I'm not sure there is even
hope left. Trump has elevated dictators and despots,
and denigrated our oldest and most trusted allies. The
new president, whom ever it will be, will have to deal
with what is left of the shambles of America's foreign
and domestic policies. That person will have to earn
back the trust of our friends and enemies. America
once again will have to be open to the world. The
present administration's policies are to withdraw
within our boarders as if the oceans that insulate us
cannot be breached in a matter of hours, and to build
walls that keep the world at bay. "America First" is
the cry!
It is as though Trump is trying to obliterate everything the
prior administration had done, like he can erase the memory
of a black president, and assure his base that he will not
allow them to be second, ever. And Biden is running to
restore everything the Obama, and previous presidents
had done. But that is not presidential policy to run a
campaign on, and looking back is not going to take
America into the future.
But Bernie Sanders is not the answer either. Kass says
that Sanders has the 'necessary authenticity', whatever
that is. If he means that Sanders has been around for
a long time and is as old as mold, he is right there.
Perhaps he has the stamina to withstand the rigors of
a long campaign, but will he have anything left to give
the presidency is the question? Even if, and this is a
BIG if, the Senate turns in 2020, Sanders would have
a difficult time getting his agenda passed, it is socialism
even in the eyes of the most progressive Democrats. Yes,
the younger voters love him, who doesn't love Santa Clause?
If, however, the Senate remains in the hands of the
Republicans, and Mitch McConnell is still Senate Majority
Leader, we will face another four years of stalemates or worse.
So, Kass asks Elizabeth Warren to give up her lead and bow
to the more 'electable' male candidate. As is that isn't insulting
enough on its premise, let's go back to the 2016 campaign. When
it became apparent that Bernie was not going to get the
nomination - and you can argue the righteousness of that outcome
all day - did he graciously concede and throw his support to
Clinton? Not on your life, his ego wouldn't let him, he was riding
high on adulations and reveling in it. By the time he did concede,
and half-heartily asked his 'Bernie Backers' to think about supporting
Clinton, it was too late. Sanders is partly responsible for Trump
being in the White House today. Sanders is an Independent, perhaps
he should try running on that ticket.
Now let's look at Elizabeth Warren, she has moved up in the polls
and is either second or third behind Biden and Sanders, depending
on which poll you favor. She is energetic, intelligent, articulate,
personable, and she connects with the people she talks to. But Kass
said her big drawback is that she claimed to have American Indian
heritage. Warren was born in Oklahoma; I defy you to find any native
Okie who doesn't have American Indian in his family tree somewhere.
I'm sure her family told the story through the generations of a great
uncle or grandfather who wore a headdress and fought the 'blue bellies'.
Many a family legend has been disproved by DNA testing. Warren has
apologized to those people who might have been offended by her claim,
and her apology was accepted without question.
So let's look at Donald Trump, he has said his father was born in a little
town in Germany. Yeah, not unless the Bronx was a part of Germany. Fred
Trump, Donald's father, was born in the good old USA. Where is the
hue and cry at that whopper? Trump has been credited with well over
12,000 deliberate mis-statements - or as I like to call them, bold face
lies - and it doesn't seem to raise an eyebrow, yet Kass feels that one
inadvertent mistaken statement should disqualify Warren from the
Democratic nomination...REALLY!
As far as the debates are concerned, I do believe that facts will out-
weigh ad hominin attacks and juvenile name calling. And the force
of Warrens positive outlook for the country will overcome the dour
predictions of doom from the other side. You know why? Because
she has a plan for that!
I'm just sayin'.
Friday, September 6, 2019
Monday, September 2, 2019
What is Wrong with Being Right?
Let us begin with the premise that not everything
is all right or all wrong, and that is correct as far
as it goes. But some things are more wrong than
others, and there must be an end to the equivocation
that the Republicans and the Democrats are the same
when it comes to what is right and what is wrong.
But then who is to judge, when thirty-nine percent
of the voters believe what the president is doing
is right, and the Republican Party is so afraid of
that thirty-nine percent that they refuse to stand up
and defend their principles.
The evangelicals, who chose to overlook what is
wrong, to achieve what they think is right are
perhaps the greatest hypocrites of all, secundum
quid. This president was a flawed candidate from
the start. Beginning with alluding to the size of
his penis on a presidential debate stage, to stating
he could shoot someone on 5th Avenue and not
lose a vote, to publicly stating that he was a sexual
predator, the list goes on. Yet these good
Christians, who disavowed one president for
having a consensual affair in the White House,
fully embraced this thrice-divorced man who
confesses to having no religious beliefs at all.
This man who was born with a silver spoon in
his mouth - that might explain his problem
with the English language - had convinced millions
of poor and disadvantaged, and for the most part
uneducated, mostly men, that he would fight
for them. He, the outsider, would take on the
establishment in Washington and 'drain the swamp'.
He has fueled hatred and bigotry, made fun of the
disabled, and incited violence during his campaign
speeches.
Right or wrong?
But Donald Trump is not the cause of our current
malaise, he is the result of the backlash from Obama's
election. There were millions of people across the
South and some 'rednecks' further north, who were
furious that a black family was in their White House.
The Senator from Kentucky, Mitch McConnell,
gathered his minions together and vowed to not pass
any of Obama's legislation and to make sure Obama
was a one-term president. So it began. It ended
with McConnell refusing to bring Obama's nominee
to the Supreme Court, up for approval before the Senate.
Merrick Garner was an eminently qualified jurist,
but he never even got a hearing.
Right or wrong?
It didn't take long for Trump to establish the fact that
he was biased against certain 'other' religions. One of
his first acts was to restrict immigration from
predominately Muslim countries. A gift to the
evangelicals who helped elect him. Many of those
who were seeking immigration were families of the
local men who had helped in the war effort in
Afghanistan and were now in danger because of it.
Right or wrong?
The second group who benefited from the Trump largess,
were the top two-percenters. A massive, unfunded tax
cut was passed through a Republican House and Senate.
The beneficiaries; the top earners and corporations. A nod
to the millions in campaign contributions that went to Trumps
election victory. The tax cut was sold as an economy booster,
even though the economy that Trump inherited was humming
along nicely, it expanded the deficit by trillions of dollars and
was against everything the Republicans stood for.
Right or wrong?
There has been an exponential increase in hate crimes since
Trump has been campaigning. The White Supremacists have
been emboldened by the actions and words of this president.
As when a group of peaceful demonstrators were mowed down
and one was killed, in Charlottesville NC during a Unite the
Right rally. The Unite the Right is an alt-right, neo-confederate,
neo-fascist group. Trump took to the microphone and said there
were "good people on both sides". No, there weren't Mr. Trump,
one side was in favor of overthrowing the government using
violent means, and the other side thought that they were wrong
and were peacefully carrying signs saying so.
Right or wrong?
I simply don't know which of Trump's failures to list next,
could it be his vicious tweets directed at his perceived
enemies, his more than 12,000 falsehoods - oh hell, just
call them what they are, lies - his violation of the emolument
clause of the constitution, his self-aggrandizement, his
using the presidency of the United States for personal gain,
his total lack of empathy, his embarrassing behavior on the
world stage, his insulting rhetoric to our allies and fawning
before our enemies. Through it all, he has garnered support
from the Republicans in Congress, they are more than sheep,
they are eunuchs, castrated by the fear of standing up to a bully.
Right or wrong?
Donald Trump, the business tycoon, who squandered his
inheritance and declared bankruptcy six times, has proclaimed
himself a financial genius. He believes he can break China
through tariffs, and bend Xi to his will by sheer wheeling and
dealing. He has told his followers that China will pay for the
tariffs the same way Mexico is paying for his wall. Farm
bankruptcies have doubled in 2019, and family farms are
being snapped up by corporate farms at bargain prices. The
estimated cost to the American consumer from the tariffs
will be close to $500.00 this year alone, and even more if
the new round of tariffs go into effect in September. Still
the Republican Party, which has touted free trade for years,
refuses to call out the president for his recklessness.
Right or wrong?
Some of the most serious charges against Trump come from
the trashing of the environmental protection laws, that were
implemented by previous presidents: cutting restrictions
against coal burning emissions, repealing the clean water
act, reversal of methane regulations. reversing the miles-
per-gallon restrictions on automobiles, opening up the
Tongass National Forest to drilling and forestation. There
appears to be no limit to which this man will go to prove
that climate change is a hoax. He is stealing from our
children and grandchildren their air to breathe and clean
water to drink.
Right or wrong?
Trump has declared himself 'the chosen one', as he cast
his eyes to heaven, he feels he was chosen by God to bring
order to the chaos that is the world today. He quotes the
right-wingers who say the Israeli Jews love him like
the 'second coming', totaling unaware that Jews do not
believe in the second coming. His blasphemy is
boundless, he insults all religions with equal distain.
But above all his shortcomings, the most egregious
is his refusal to do anything about the proliferation
of guns and gun deaths in America. There were
fifty-five mass murders with guns in August alone.
After the killings in El Paso, he declared he was for strict
background checks. That was before he got a call
from Wayne Lapierre. That phone call put a stop
to any talk of background checks. Is there no
price to great to pay to be reelected?
Right or wrong?
So, what is wrong with being right...I just told you.
I'm just sayin'.
is all right or all wrong, and that is correct as far
as it goes. But some things are more wrong than
others, and there must be an end to the equivocation
that the Republicans and the Democrats are the same
when it comes to what is right and what is wrong.
But then who is to judge, when thirty-nine percent
of the voters believe what the president is doing
is right, and the Republican Party is so afraid of
that thirty-nine percent that they refuse to stand up
and defend their principles.
The evangelicals, who chose to overlook what is
wrong, to achieve what they think is right are
perhaps the greatest hypocrites of all, secundum
quid. This president was a flawed candidate from
the start. Beginning with alluding to the size of
his penis on a presidential debate stage, to stating
he could shoot someone on 5th Avenue and not
lose a vote, to publicly stating that he was a sexual
predator, the list goes on. Yet these good
Christians, who disavowed one president for
having a consensual affair in the White House,
fully embraced this thrice-divorced man who
confesses to having no religious beliefs at all.
This man who was born with a silver spoon in
his mouth - that might explain his problem
with the English language - had convinced millions
of poor and disadvantaged, and for the most part
uneducated, mostly men, that he would fight
for them. He, the outsider, would take on the
establishment in Washington and 'drain the swamp'.
He has fueled hatred and bigotry, made fun of the
disabled, and incited violence during his campaign
speeches.
Right or wrong?
But Donald Trump is not the cause of our current
malaise, he is the result of the backlash from Obama's
election. There were millions of people across the
South and some 'rednecks' further north, who were
furious that a black family was in their White House.
The Senator from Kentucky, Mitch McConnell,
gathered his minions together and vowed to not pass
any of Obama's legislation and to make sure Obama
was a one-term president. So it began. It ended
with McConnell refusing to bring Obama's nominee
to the Supreme Court, up for approval before the Senate.
Merrick Garner was an eminently qualified jurist,
but he never even got a hearing.
Right or wrong?
It didn't take long for Trump to establish the fact that
he was biased against certain 'other' religions. One of
his first acts was to restrict immigration from
predominately Muslim countries. A gift to the
evangelicals who helped elect him. Many of those
who were seeking immigration were families of the
local men who had helped in the war effort in
Afghanistan and were now in danger because of it.
Right or wrong?
The second group who benefited from the Trump largess,
were the top two-percenters. A massive, unfunded tax
cut was passed through a Republican House and Senate.
The beneficiaries; the top earners and corporations. A nod
to the millions in campaign contributions that went to Trumps
election victory. The tax cut was sold as an economy booster,
even though the economy that Trump inherited was humming
along nicely, it expanded the deficit by trillions of dollars and
was against everything the Republicans stood for.
Right or wrong?
There has been an exponential increase in hate crimes since
Trump has been campaigning. The White Supremacists have
been emboldened by the actions and words of this president.
As when a group of peaceful demonstrators were mowed down
and one was killed, in Charlottesville NC during a Unite the
Right rally. The Unite the Right is an alt-right, neo-confederate,
neo-fascist group. Trump took to the microphone and said there
were "good people on both sides". No, there weren't Mr. Trump,
one side was in favor of overthrowing the government using
violent means, and the other side thought that they were wrong
and were peacefully carrying signs saying so.
Right or wrong?
I simply don't know which of Trump's failures to list next,
could it be his vicious tweets directed at his perceived
enemies, his more than 12,000 falsehoods - oh hell, just
call them what they are, lies - his violation of the emolument
clause of the constitution, his self-aggrandizement, his
using the presidency of the United States for personal gain,
his total lack of empathy, his embarrassing behavior on the
world stage, his insulting rhetoric to our allies and fawning
before our enemies. Through it all, he has garnered support
from the Republicans in Congress, they are more than sheep,
they are eunuchs, castrated by the fear of standing up to a bully.
Right or wrong?
Donald Trump, the business tycoon, who squandered his
inheritance and declared bankruptcy six times, has proclaimed
himself a financial genius. He believes he can break China
through tariffs, and bend Xi to his will by sheer wheeling and
dealing. He has told his followers that China will pay for the
tariffs the same way Mexico is paying for his wall. Farm
bankruptcies have doubled in 2019, and family farms are
being snapped up by corporate farms at bargain prices. The
estimated cost to the American consumer from the tariffs
will be close to $500.00 this year alone, and even more if
the new round of tariffs go into effect in September. Still
the Republican Party, which has touted free trade for years,
refuses to call out the president for his recklessness.
Right or wrong?
Some of the most serious charges against Trump come from
the trashing of the environmental protection laws, that were
implemented by previous presidents: cutting restrictions
against coal burning emissions, repealing the clean water
act, reversal of methane regulations. reversing the miles-
per-gallon restrictions on automobiles, opening up the
Tongass National Forest to drilling and forestation. There
appears to be no limit to which this man will go to prove
that climate change is a hoax. He is stealing from our
children and grandchildren their air to breathe and clean
water to drink.
Right or wrong?
Trump has declared himself 'the chosen one', as he cast
his eyes to heaven, he feels he was chosen by God to bring
order to the chaos that is the world today. He quotes the
right-wingers who say the Israeli Jews love him like
the 'second coming', totaling unaware that Jews do not
believe in the second coming. His blasphemy is
boundless, he insults all religions with equal distain.
But above all his shortcomings, the most egregious
is his refusal to do anything about the proliferation
of guns and gun deaths in America. There were
fifty-five mass murders with guns in August alone.
After the killings in El Paso, he declared he was for strict
background checks. That was before he got a call
from Wayne Lapierre. That phone call put a stop
to any talk of background checks. Is there no
price to great to pay to be reelected?
Right or wrong?
So, what is wrong with being right...I just told you.
I'm just sayin'.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)