“MAD” MATT BEVIN’S WAR ON WOMEN
The latest in the ongoing crusade by Kentucky Governor Matt Bevin to deny women’s rights is the passage of an appropriations bill at the eleventh hour which included a resolution regarding the funding of teacher’s pensions, a hot button issue for teacher’s whose demonstrations at the state Capitol of Frankfort prevented the legislature from passing the bill straight up. So what do they do?? Try to sneak it through in a last minute late night session under the radar as an amendment to an appropriations bill. And of course “MAD” Matt tweeted out his support for the legislation, while our Democratic Attorney General, Andy Beshear, will file a lawsuit alleging the entire process of passing this bill was unconstitutional. Such is the state of politics in our Commonwealth as well as the country in general, using teachers as pawns in apolitical process which has been aimed at taking money out of their pockets from the very beginning!!! Fact number one-seventy five per cent of teachers in Kentucky are women. Fact number two-ever since he took office, Bevin has been on a mission to deny women their right of choice by attempting to close down every clinic in the state on dubious technical grounds, as well as supporting those such as Kim Davis who would also deny the gay and lesbian community of their constitutional rights as defined by the Supreme Court of the United States. He also championed a Medicaid requirement for certain aid recipients to have to “work” for their so called “entitlement”, another direct slap in the face to single mothers in need trying to support a family. And all the while he claims to be a Christian. What he is an a right wing demagogue who believes his mandate (only thirty per cent of Kentuckians even bothered to vote in his election!!) entitles he and his Republikan cronies to institute policies that suit only their agenda, which is to give breaks to any corporation that supports them financially or otherwise at the expense of all of the rest of us, including the poor teachers. These are people who have to purchase their own school supplies, out of their own pocket for crying out loud!!! And Bevin and the Republikans want to take from them and give the money to an aluminum company as an incentive to locate in Ashland??? What’s wrong with this picture?!? We should have seen what was coming with CROOKED DONALD when the Republikan base elected Bevin as our Governor because two thirds of Commonwealth voters couldn’t be bothered to go to the polls and exercise their constitutional right to cast their ballot. And now, our teachers, the people we entrust every day to educate our children and grandchildren, to say nothing of the ever present risks they now face every single day in their classrooms, are the ones being asked to pay the price. It’s not right. I HOPE THEY WALK OUT LIKE TEACHERS IN WEST VIRGINIA DID TO STAND UP TO A BULLYING LEGISLATURE!! AND "MAD" MATT.
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SEE THREE P O(h)!!!
Just when you thought the “CABINET OF CLOWNS” and other CROOKED DONALD appointees couldn’t get any worse, along comes the news that the President named his personal White House physician, Ronnie Jackson, to become the new Veteran Affairs Secretary. The reason behind naming a man with absolutely no experience in running ANY organization, much less a $186 BILLION Department (which would be the fifth largest corporation in America if it was a private company) was that Trump thought “he looked like he just came from central casting”. Seriously. And he spoke glowingly about Trump’s health, despite the fact the man is obviously overweight and his dietary staple is Mickey D’s!!! That sent a great message to our already obese population, Doctor!! I have nothing against this gentlemen. We all thank him for his military service and career, which has been distinguished. But none of it could in any way prepare him for the job of running the Veteran’s Administration, a daunting task at best considering its current state of affairs. Even the VFW is skeptical, promising to “watch the confirmation hearings with interest”. Me too!! This follows on the heels of Trump’s personal pilot, John Dunkin, being touted for the job of FAA Administrator. The following information comes from “AXIOS”. Dunkin, it must be noted, does not possess the traditional resume for someone who would normally be considered for this position. He is not a current or former elected official, nor does he have extensive government experience. So what makes Dunkin suitable for the position of ensuring the safety of the American aviation system? Well, one thing leaps out immediately. He has served as Trump’s personal pilot for more than two decades. As for his other qualifications, well, as one supporter told Axios: “John Dunkin isn’t just a pilot,” the administration official told me. “He’s managed airline and corporate flight departments, certified airlines from start-up under FAA regulations, and oversaw the Trump presidential campaign’s air fleet, which included managing all aviation transportation for travel to 203 cities in 43 states over the course of 21 months.” According to Axios, Dunkin told Trump that if a pilot was in charge of the FAA, flight delays would not happen. Have you stopped laughing yet? I hope so. Because this is serious stuff. It might seem like a yet another bit of Trump nonsense and craziness, but the Dunkin saga highlights how the current administration is breaking down traditional norms of American governance on multiple fronts. Whether it’s ludicrously inappropriate presidential appointments, flouting of long-held governance customs or stuff that reeks of self-dealing, it seems as though there is a new example almost every day. So what we have here are the “THREE P’s”…the PREZ, HIS PILOT and the PHYSICIAN!! Sounds like it could have promise as a new reality series-C 3 P O(h!!) Another incredible example of the absolute mockery CROOKED DONALD is making of our government. The qualifications of these two individuals for the positions for which they are being considered are negligible, but it would mean they would fit right in with the other buffoons Trump has appointed into all levels of government. These are mostly white males in their fifties or older who are nothing if not loyal to Trump, a virtue he obviously holds above all others when considering anybody for any job. Their combined track record (or lack thereof) speaks for itself, that these positions require experience and a commitment to governance that people like SCOTT PRUITT and BEN CARSON and ERIC ZENKE and on and on DO NOT POSSESS!!!! They are ruining our country, ladies and gentlemen, and the faster we get rid of them the better off we will all be. MEET MIKE “I’M A LITTLE DENSE” PENCE,
RELIGIOUS ZEALOT AND VEEP (OMG!!) I was joking with someone the other day about the ongoing issues facing CROOKED DONALD and his tenure in the Oval Office, from Robert Mueller’s Russia investigation to the sordid details of the Stormy Daniels affair, and how the old adage “be careful what you wish for” might be appropriate. I have been detailing for many months now about how inept and corrupt this administration is and how we need to impeach Donald Trump. Then I watched John Oliver (love this guy!!) do a bit on Mike Pence, our Vice President and the next in line to succeed Trump, and I began to realize that we are left with an impossible choice…..the DEVIL or GOD?? Although on the surface it would seem an easy choice, it really isn’t so simple. Where CROOKED DONALD is guilty of lying, cheating, stealing and adultery to name a few of the Commandments he has violated, MIKE (I’M A LITTLE DENSE”) PENCE, a religious zealot to put it lightly (he claims he talks to God!!) stands on his Bible and says nothing. How does this behavior square with his Evangelical beliefs and preaching? By what possible rationalization or religious spin could you condone this abhorrent behavior??? That is issue number one. HYPOCRISY!! Pence’s supposed mentor, James Dobson, of Focus on the Family, is an absolute nut job who still touts the belief that homosexuality is a curable disease and offers classes to reverse the effects of it!! If you really want to get the absolute scoop on exactly who Mike Pence is and what he stands for I highly recommend an article in the October 2017 issue of “NEW YORKER” magazine. It goes into every facet of his life and career and what drives him, and unless you are one of the thirty percent Trump base or an Evangelical, it will scare the holy crap out of you (pun intended)! Pence is a demagogue who panders to the one per centers especially, and uses his religious convictions to promote his own conservative Evangelical agenda, which is NOT in tune with main stream America. I’m not knocking the man for his religious convictions-that is a right every American has to exercise-religious freedom. But when that freedom is used as a bludgeon to beat non believers into submission or take away their rights as determined by the Supreme Court, it is no longer a right but a weapon. This is the problem I have with all Evangelical types-I’m not interested in being converted and don’t subscribe to your radical ideologies with regards to women’s rights, separation of church and state or support a POTUS who is an adulterer, liar, cheat and thief!! I don’t want to hear your vision of Utopia, and I’m tired of hearing “IN GOD WE TRUST”. If that’s true, it appears he has decided to look the other way, because the anti Christ is now in power!!! If Pence were to assume the Presidency, I guess we really would have to trust in him!!! GOD HELP US EITHER WAY!! “SPANKY” and HIS GANG
I love the new nickname for CROOKED DONALD circulating around D.C. following the Stormy Daniels interview on “60 Minutes”-“SPANKY”, after she claimed he asked her to spank him with a rolled up magazine (closest he has ever come to reading??). I’m sure for a man who so values his reputation and has an ego the size of Stormy’s cup that this nickname will not sit well!! Back in the day, there was a television series called “Our Gang”, which featured a character named “Spanky”. I would liken CROOKED DONALD and his “CABINET OF CLOWNS” to the cast of characters represented in this television series, with “SPANKY” being the lead character and Ben “Farina” Carson as his black side kick. The rest of the cast of characters, Chubby, Wheezer, Buckwheat and Froggy and others could easily represent Scott Pruitt, Betsy Devos, Eric Zenke and Steve Mnuchin, the charter members of the “CABINET OF CLOWNS” “SPANKY” has assembled. Others in the program could include members of Congress, like “CRYIN” PAUL RYAN and “RICH” MITCH MCCONNELL. A real cast of comedic buffoons who make us want to cry instead of laugh!! I’m quite certain Sarah “HUCKLEBERRY” Sanders would have a part to play, too, as would other key members of the Trump team like Kellyanne “C WORD” and DR STRANGELOVE, the new National Security Advisor. While “OUR Gang” ran for quite some time on television, I’m afraid the shelf life of this new reality series will not last so long. In fact, it would be very surprising if it lasted the full four years of the original contract due to a thing called impeachment!! So enjoy the show while it lasts, we may never see another cast of characters like this in Washington! As the man said, “you can’t make this sh*t up!!! BIG BROTHER WILBUR IS WATCHING!!
The news that the Commerce Department, under the disastrous direction of WILBUR (I’M the BOSS) ROSS, intends to ask a question regarding citizenship on the 2020 census, has the mark of Trump’s anti immigration policy written all over it. It is not only incredibly offensive; it has also been ruled to be unconstitutional in previous court decisions. Now the State of California through their Attorney General has already sued the Federal Government to block the question from appearing on the census form. I realize the census is a necessary tool for the governance of our country, but to attempt to use it as a tool to weed out illegal immigrants or others was never the intended purpose-it is a count of people, period. It’s absolutely naïve to believe that any illegal immigrant or other individual who doesn’t want to be counted for whatever reason is even going to respond to this census by mail. Would you write your own deportation order??? It also has the discriminatory bent of the Republikan anti immigration agenda written all over it. With this administration and CROOKED DONALD’S “CABINET OF CLOWNS”, nothing should come as a surprise. Commerce Secretary Wilbur Ross is as shady as Trump, as questions into his business dealings with Russian oligarchs revealed during his bogus confirmation hearings. His attempts at negotiating a trade deal with China were so botched Trump had to impose trade tariffs and risk a trade war over steel and aluminum. He is another former hedge fund manager who manipulated the financial markets to his personal benefit at the expense of the rest of us, and now he is a member of Trump’s inner circle. He fits right in, doesn’t he? My suggestion regarding this census and the question is very simple, like so many of the solutions I have proposed in the past regarding these type issues. If the Commerce Department insists on putting this question in the form, and the conservative leaning courts rule in their favor, I say just throw the form in the garbage. What is Ross going to do (he’ll be long gone by 2020 I can assure you!), throw all of us in jail??? It’s hard to imagine a more incompetent or inexperienced group of Cabinet members than those that Trump has assembled, and their continued efforts to dismantle our democracy must be fought at every turn. I hope the State of California succeeds with their lawsuit. Stay tuned. You can’t make this sh*t up!!!!! TREASURY SECRETARY STEVE MN(UR)CHIN NEEDS A LESSON IN CONSTITUTIONAL LAW!!
I was watching a news segment of Chris Wallace of FAUX NEWS interviewing Treasury Secretary Steve Mnuchin (herein after referred to as Mn(ur)chin, Mnuchin reiterated Crooked Donald Trump’s call for the line item veto after he complained about signing the “Pork Barrel” budget of the century last week. He claimed that Congress could change the law, and was immediately informed by Wallace that it would require a Constitutional Amendment. He appeared not to know this, and stammered that we don’t need to worry about details just change the law!!! Once again, the ignorance of the law and rules of governance completely escape one of Trump’s “CABINET OF CLOWNS!!” This is the same buffoon that posed with his wife wearing money and bragging about his wealth!! There is rumbling around D.C. this week about how Trump is going to fire V.A. Administrator David Shulkin and possibly other Cabinet members. The list of candidates is endless, from Ben Carson, aka Mr. & Mrs. $31,000 dinette suite to EDA’s (Environmental Destruction Agency) Scott Pruitt, who has to travel first class with four security guards because someone yelled at him in an airport to Betsy Devos, the totally clueless Secretary of Education. My suggestion to the President is that HE FIRE ALL OF THEM!!! This “CABINET OF CLOWNS” has done more collective damage in just over a year to our country than any previous Cabinet did in four years under any other President or administration, from deregulating environmental constraints to cutting back needed social programs to undermining our public schools. And to think Trump touted them when first assembled as “the greatest Cabinet of all time!” Another overstated and under delivered promise from the Liar in Chief, CROOKED DONALD!!! And all of the while, the Republikan majority in Congress remains silent about these and other abuses committed by this “CABINET OF CLOWNS”. They remain silent because they have become the party of elitists and mean spirited politicians who are only interested in promoting their own ideological agendas or that of Trump at the expense of the rest of us. After all, in most cases they are the ones who confirmed these incompetent clowns in the first place!! For that, they can all be held accountable come November, even though we have no control over who CROOKED DONALD appoints next to this “CABINET OF CLOWNS”. I’m quite certain there are many unqualified stooges out there just waiting to be called upon by the President, just like all the lawyers and law firms lining up to defend him when Mueller comes down on him like a ton of bricks!!!! The reality show continues…. HOW LOW CAN THE NRA GO??
For anybody who has been on the fence regarding the NRA and how they will do anything to sell more guns and ammunition while hiding behind the Second Amendment and the “CONGRESS OF CLOWNS” they have elected through their campaign contributions (i.e. Marco “POLO” Rubio received over $3,000,000 to his campaign war chest), I would like to have you read the following, taken from “THE HILL”. A host for the National Rifle Association's (NRA) broadcast arm NRATV criticized survivors of the Parkland, Fla., school shooting in a video ahead of the "March for Our Lives" protests against gun violence Saturday. Colion Noir, an NRATV YouTube host, told viewers in his video Friday that he wished the Maryland high school resource officer who shot and killed an armed student during a shooting this week had been at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School on the day of the shooting. Noir addressed the Parkland survivors, saying "nobody would know your names" if their classmates were still alive. “To all the kids from Parkland getting ready to use your First Amendment to attack everyone else’s Second Amendment at your march on Saturday, I wish a hero like [Officer] Blaine Gaskill had been at Marjory Douglas High School last month because your classmates would still be alive and no one would know your names, because the media would have completely and utterly ignored your story, the way they ignored his,” Noir said. “ They’re running Season 5 of their gun-control reality show, featuring the freshest cast of characters yet in their modern march on Washington," he went on. "Except this time for less freedom. These kids ought to be marching against their own hypocritical belief structure.” The NRA and politicians associated with the gun lobby have become top targets for Parkland students seeking gun law reform in response to the shooting, who have accused the organization of having undue control over members of Congress that stifles gun legislation from passing. There it is for all to see. You can make your own decisions about gun regulations and the Second Amendment, but I know I’ve made mine-the NRA’s grip on America must come to end, and this type of narrative confirms what I have been saying for months and wrote in a previous post, “THE NRA IS KILLING US ALL”!!! MARCH FOR THEIR LIVES I have been awestruck since the Parkland shootings at the power of these young adults and their collective determination to bring the senseless gun violence terrorizing an entire generation to an end. Seeing literally hundreds of thousands of people around the world demonstrating against the evil forces that continue to promote the sale and distribution of weapons of mass destruction to anybody over eighteen years with cash in his pocket is very encouraging to me and others who favor more sensible gun laws, like banning assault rifles. I’m sure the scenes witnessed around this country have absolutely terrified Wayne LaPierre and his NRA, who surely must realize that their reign of terror is coming to an end. As horrifying as it was, again, to witness the carnage in Parkland, I had a sense afterward that it might have been a tipping point in the battle against the NRA, and I wrote a post about it at the time. Our young adults realized that the stooges who worked for the NRA in Congress would NEVER allow for any legislation that would in any way impede the bidirectional cash flow between them that keeps them in power, and decided that the was a lesson to be learned from the so called “Arab Spring”, whereby millions of people rallied together in various countries to create reforms through social media and large demonstrations of solidarity which the politicians could not ignore. What we are seeing today in the “March For Our Lives” is the culmination of that learning, and I believe it will prove to be extremely effective in persuading those in power that they had better rethink their positions regarding guns and the Second Amendment, behind which they hide claiming an all encompassing right to possess any lethal weapon imaginable-the Supreme Court has ruled otherwise in the past when they upheld the original Congressional ban on assault rifles. My daughter works at a school in Atlanta and is currently in Seattle on a business trip-she texted us pictures of her participating in the MARCH FOR OUR LIVES there. My daughter in law is the Director of a school in Lexington, KY and has to deal with the threat of violence on a daily basis. So when I talk about this issue it is very personal to me. I also have seven grandchildren, from pre school to college level-do I want them growing up in the world these young adults have had to face???? How can we help assist these brave and energetic young adults and victims in their ongoing quest to break the cycle of violence and institute sensible gun regulations which the overwhelming majority of Americans favor? How can we help break the back of the NRA and insure our politicians are not just paid stooges for them? The answer is quite simple, as I have been promoting all along, in the power of the ballot box (assuming it isn’t rigged by the Russians!!). If the candidate(s) is not in favor of stricter gun legislation and ducks behind the Second Amendment, Vote ‘Em Totally Out!!! There is no longer any room for compromise on this issue-the NRA certainly has never wavered in their stated mission of increasing the sale of guns and ammunition!! It’s a shame that our generation and our children’s generation have to learn from this new generation, but it’s a lesson we should ALL take to heart. The power for change lies within each of us, but it won’t be brought forth unless you exercise your privilege to use the power of your vote. Let’s all work together as one to end this cycle of violence and our nations unhealthy dependence upon and infatuation with firearms. There’s no other country on earth like ours when it comes to weapons-nearly one for every one of the three hundred plus million of us, more than the rest of the world COMBINED!! For what purpose???? The government is not coming to take your guns, and there is no zombie apocalypse!! Look at England-the strict gun laws have kept violent crime there to an absolute minimum, as is the case with Australia. We should learn something from these societies instead of continuing to behave like we’re in the Wild, Wild West in a John Wayne movie. There have already been waaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaay too many people killed because of our attitudes toward firearms, and it’s time for a change in our approach. Believe me, these young adults are going to make some changes!!!! More power to them........ TRUMP APPOINTS DR STRANGELOVE!!
The surprise announcement by Donald Trump yesterday that H.R. McMaster was out and John Bolton was in as National Security Advisor came as shock to even him, from the interview I saw him give on FAUX NEWS, a propaganda outlet he has been affiliated with as a contributor for some time now (that’s certainly a strike against him!). His past history is anything but reassuring to a nation desperately seeking stability of some sort from this administration. He was instrumental in convincing George W. Bush to invade Iraq because Sadam Hussein possessed WMD’s (absolute lie!!), and despite the fact that thousands of American lives have been lost there and the country is no more stable now than it was thirty years ago, he remains totally unapologetic for his position or his actions. He once was a paid speaker to a group of neo Nazis. He advocates military action as a solution to the problems with Iran and also N. Korea. The man is both reckless and dangerous, and now he has POTUS’s ear twenty four seven. That’s a very scary thought!! I’m reminded of the classic movie Dr Strangelove which starred George C Scott among others in a scenario where an accidental nuclear exchange is triggered and the National Security Advisor, Dr Strangelove, is absolutely ecstatic about it!! This is what we are getting with Bolton, a man who would rather start a nuclear war than negotiate a settlement on the Iran nuclear deal or discuss denuclearization with Kim Jong-un of N Korea. Oh, and by the way, he’s the THIRD National Security Advisor Trump has had in less than fifteen months in office, because Bolton’s predecessors dared to speak out against Trump and his nationalistic foreign policy agenda. Rex Tillerson, or Rex T. as I referred to him, was an advocate for negotiations-he’s out, fired by tweet!! I keep hearing people say John Kelly is a stabilizing influence on Trump, but I don’t believe he has had ANY effect on Trump’s basest instincts, which are to lash out immediately at anybody who dares to cross him. And now he has a man at his side who will more than feed his ego, he’ll put the missiles in his hands!! Anybody who saw the movie knows it didn’t turn out real well for anybody, and I can’t see this appointment going any other way. This is a very scary moment in our history, folks. PLEASE, ROBERT MUELLER-GET US OUT OF THIS MESS!!!! Only by revealing the true nature of “CROOKED DONALD”, his businesses, his campaign and his administration will the “Congress of Clowns” be forced to act to remove this demagogue from office before he gets us all killed!!! TIME IS RIGHT FOR INDEPENDENT PARTY
I think I might have reached MY tipping point this morning when I saw the exchange of tweets between Joe Biden, a Democrat I have long respected, and POTUS, who basically have bragged about how they would kick each others ass in a fist fight. WTF?!? The White House has now been reduced to a WWF Smack Down show???? And shame on you, Joe Biden, for engaging this philanderer at his own game, the Twitter wars!! This is what our political dialog has become, two of their Party’s supposed leaders resorting to schoolyard bullying tactics over Trump’s obvious disdain for women? Maybe it’s time to rethink our entire political process to some degree. After all, we’ve already seen how easy it is to compromise our current system based upon what the Russians have already accomplished and are doubtless looking to do again as the mid term elections loom. The two party system has broken down, a victim of partisanship that permeates every level of government, from local elections to the highest elective office, including the Executive Branch and the Legislative Branch. These clowns cannot even agree to keep the government open for more than a few months at a time, much less produce any meaningful legislation that benefits most Americans instead of a select few. Donald Trump is destroying the Republikan Party from within, while “Rich” Mitch and “Cryin” Ryan stand by on the sidelines. This party has become the party of the mean spirited elitists who have little regard for the rest of us-just look at “Trumps Cabinet of Clowns” and you will see exactly what I mean. And the Democrats? Joe Biden is left over corned beef hash; Elizabeth Warren has no chance to win the Presidency; Bernie Sanders has great ideas but he’s what, one hundred four years old?? And Hillary Clinton should just ride off into the sunset like Barrack Obama has done. Just like some of the recent Democratic victories in Virginia, Alabama and Pennsylvania, this party is in desperate need of some fresh blood and some new ideas. The old ones have resulted in the Presidency of Donald Trump, a complete disaster for our country so far. They have no apparent strategy or suitable candidate or spoke person who can clearly convey whatever message it is they might have to turn things around. How about an Independent Party with no affiliations to any particular ideology or agenda or corporate sponsors or the NRA or any other special interest groups? How about electing candidates who put the good of the country ahead of their right wing or liberal agendas and are willing to reach across political lines to compromise in order to get ANYTHING ACCOMPLISHED, unlike this “Congress of the Dead”, who have done nothing but pass the most fraudulent tax bill ever perpetrated on the American people, one so bad they have to put ads on television to remind us how great it is!! Let’s get some people in Congress who actually give a sh*t about our democratic process and want to improve the lives of the middle class, the ones who constitute the backbone of our great country. Anything would be better than the Charlie Foxtrot we have in Washington now!! |
About Mike ColeBorn in Hamilton, OH but a proud Kentuckian since age two. One brother and three sisters. Suburban, Catholic middle-class upbringing. Attended Jefferson Community College and Pasadena Community College. Proud father of four and grandfather to seven, and most of all, a concerned American citizen! Are you??? Categories |