“MAD” MATT’S WAR ON MEDICAID
I just left the extended care facility (nursing home) where my mother, who is 94 years old, resides, and has been for the last several years. The financial officer at the facility had called me in the morning to advise me that she had received a letter from the state of Kentucky advising her that effective July 1st (tomorrow), my mother was being kicked off Medicaid because she “makes too much money”. The letter was received on Thursday, thus allowing all involved less than three days to resolve whatever issue is being raised by the state. This is so typical of the tactics the Commonwealth of Kentucky uses to move money around-if there are any issues, real or fabricated, payment to the company responsible for the care giving can be put off for another few months. The bigger issue here is the actions and policies of our carpetbagger Governor, “MAD” Matt Bevin. Ever since he decided to run for Governor here because Kentucky was an easy mark, he has been hell bent on destroying any semblance of a social support network, Medicaid in particular, as well as attacking women’s rights by shutting down abortion clinics, orchestrating the passage of legislation through the REPUBLIKAN controlled state legislature at the eleventh hour of the session which would impact the pensions of thousands of teachers around the state and set off massive protests in Frankfort, our state capitol. He has been anti union from the beginning, immediately pushing through the state legislature a “right to work” law upon his inauguration. Thankfully, the judicial system has subsequently slammed the door in Bevin’s face on both the requirement which he had pushed through requiring Medicaid recipients to “work for their money” that was to take effect July 1st and on the legislation passed which slashed teachers pensions, which the court ruled was unconstitutional. Of course, Bevin is appealing both decisions, thus further spending more of the taxpayers money to pursue his right wing Evangelical agenda at the expense of the majority of his constituents. Where is this buffoon from and how did he become our governor?!? He was born in Colorado and raised in New England, neither place of which has ANY resemblance to Kentucky either geopolitically or geographically. He ran against “RICH” Mitch McConnell and was crushed in the primary, then decided to run for governor. He was elected when only 30% or so Kentucky residents decided to vote in the off year election. He never released his tax returns, was involved in some very questionable ethical issues in the purchase of a home in Anchorage and has on a number of different occasions (see the trophy presentation at the Kentucky Derby) completely embarrassed himself and the Commonwealth by his insane rantings. His comments following the teachers rally in Frankfort to protest his pension system legislation would be another prime example, where he stated because the teachers were protesting in Frankfort that childrens lives were put at risk????? He favors big business over the common man as witnessed by his giving away the store to attract a large aluminum plant in eastern Kentucky while slashing social programs like Medicaid. And he does all of this under the guise of being a “Christian” man, leading prayers on the steps of the capitol and supporting the Evangelical agenda at every turn. To me true Christians are judged by their actions, not words, and Bevin's actions do not resemble a man of either compassion or understanding. We’re stuck with this clown for another couple of years. In the meanwhile, state Attorney General Andy Beshear, son of a previous governor and likely Bevin opponent in the 2020 election, has used his office in several instances to block Bevin’s attacks on our safety nets. I would hope that he will run a far more effective campaign, being from a political family, than the previous Democratic opponent to “MAD” Matt, Jack Conway, who ran probably the most ineffectual campaign in Kentucky history. The judiciary will in all likelihood continue to be the balancing point between Bevin’s insanity and the welfare of the people of the Commonwealth, like my mother, who deserve better treatment than being shown the door by a system and Governor bound and determined to dismantle it. In closing, I’d also comment that “MAD” Matt is the most despised man in the state, and that he has virtually no chance of succeeding himself. If he does, my mailing address will change and it won’t be in Kentucky!!!!
0 Comments
JURUS (IM)PRUDENCE
Definition of imprudent: not prudent : lacking discretion, wisdom, or good judgment For those of you wondering where I disappeared to a couple of weeks ago, let me reassure you that I am alive and well and just came off of two weeks of jury duty in my home town of Louisville, Kentucky, Jefferson County to be precise. The experience left me less than impressed with the entire process of jury selection, and also comes at a time when the Supreme Court of the United States (SCOTUS) had another vacancy open up as Justice Kennedy announced his retirement. I will cover both subjects in brief, but I am not reassured by what is happening in our judicial system now and certainly not for the future as Donald Trump and Mitch McConnell realize their lifelong ambitions of stacking the court with conservative judges who will have an impact on our society for years to come, putting such fundamental rights as Roe vs. Wade in serious jeopardy. We have already seen this week the consequences of McConnell’s parliamentary maneuvering which resulted in the appointment of Neil Gorsuch to the bench, with the court ruling in favor of Trump’s Muslim travel ban and also striking a blow against unions with another decision carried by a 5-4 majority, with the deciding vote being Gorsuch’s. First, my civic responsibility as a juror. All I can say after having served (?) for two weeks, is that I was selected to be considered for a jury only ONCE in those two weeks, and then I was not selected for that case in a District Court regarding a guardianship issue. Out of a total of ten days of service, I was off for four days, and sent home on five of the other six days by noon. On the day I was involved in the disability case I was home by 2:00 p.m. In Jefferson County, jurors are paid $12.50 per day. Yes, you read that correctly. The parking across from the courthouse is $8.00 (including a whopping $1.00 discount for jurors!!), the gas required for me to commute the twenty six mile round trip to the courthouse downtown is roughly $5.00 and then throw in lunch and a bottle of water or a cup of coffee and your expenses are over $20.00. So the entire process is a financial hardship for all concerned, especially those whose employers choose not to pay them for performing their civic duty (it should be mandatory that they have to pay employees who are called to serve), to say nothing of the colossal waste of time it entails for the vast majority of those who do actually participate. Many of those who are summoned simply do not even show up, and for the most part the judges have been reluctant to use their power to issue contempt citations to those who fail to show. This has resulted in an imbalance in the racial make up of jury pools, an issue currently under study. I had previously served as the foreperson on a jury panel in a murder trial some twenty years ago, and that experience left me feeling very uneasy about having just sent men away to incarceration for twenty years of their life, despite the fact that the evidence against them was beyond a shadow of a doubt. I really didn’t want to be involved in another, and thankfully I wasn’t. The fact of the matter is that the overwhelming majority of the fine people I met while serving had no desire to be there. I question just how much justice is being doled out when all anybody wants to do is be excused from the panel!! I read while doing some research that the state of New York pays prospective jurors $40.00/day. Kentucky certainly is not New York, but the state should at minimum pay prospective jurors enough to cover their daily expenses, say $25.00. I feel the real solution to the seemingly haphazard and wasteful process of jury selection lies elsewhere, however. Perhaps an all volunteer juror pool, with higher pay and shorter cycles would solve the problem, like in the military. One thing is for certain, though, based on my experience-THERE HAS GOT TO BE A BETTER WAY JEFFERSON COUNTY! I have one acquaintance, who sits on the Kentucky Supreme Court, another a Family Court judge in Pike County, Kentucky. Maybe they will help me to better understand why the system seems so broken. Now to the SCOTUS situation. I have previously written several posts detailing the unprecedented parliamentary maneuvering Mitch McConnell crafted to block Obama’s nominee, Merrick Garland, from even getting a vote on the Senate floor (what happened to “advise and consent”???), claiming that the American people deserved their opportunity to vote on the issue and forestalling the appointment on the grounds that Obama was a “lame duck” President. None of this has anything to do with the Constitutional process which specifically outlines the methodology for choosing a Supreme Court Justice because it is so critical to our entire democratic system of checks and balances. McConnell and the Republikans (and it must be said a few Democrats) blatantly disregarded the Constitution in order to pursue their own narrow conservative agenda. Has Garland been confirmed, and with Kennedy’s announced retirement, Trump would have been able to appoint a conservative judge who would have effectively balanced it out. Instead, as a result of McConnell’s outrageous political tactic, the court will now be right leaning for a very long time. The list of potential candidates on Trump’s list is as lily white and politically and judicially conservative as Trump himself. The Democrats will kick and scream mightily in the process, but the fact of the matter is that there isn’t much they can do to stop what’s coming next. Democrats who voted for President Trump's first nominee to the Supreme Court, Joe Manchin of West Virginia, Joe Donnelly of Indiana and Heidi Heitkamp of North Dakota, met with the president Thursday to talk about the Supreme Court, I doubt it will do any good. So folks, get ready for the next decade or so of a SCOTUS that leans so far right it could be called the “Leaning Court of D.C.!!! I can’t wait to see what decision they hand down next-appointing CROOKED DONALD POTUS for life?!? We’ve all been screwed, and the Evangelicals and right wingers and racists are all celebrating their glorious victory!! TRUMP MEETS WITH TEN WORST DESPOTS, HOLDS PRESS CONFERENCE
And we think the conversations would go something like this. 10. IDI AMIN-killed approximately 300,000 Ugandan citizens. It was an “honor” to meet AMIN, Trump said. What surprised the American most about his counterpart? “Great personality and very smart—good combination,” he said. “I learned that he’s a very talented man. I also learned that he loves his country very much.” He added that IDI was “a worthy negotiator … a very worthy, very smart negotiator.” The president continued to gush during a press conference and in interviews. 9. POL POT-responsible for between 1.5 and 3 MILLION deaths in Cambodia, or approximately 25% of the population. It was an “honor” to meet POL POT, Trump said. What surprised the American most about his counterpart? “Great personality and very smart—good combination,” he said. “I learned that he’s a very talented man. I also learned that he loves his country very much.” He added that POL was “a worthy negotiator … a very worthy, very smart negotiator.” The president continued to gush during a press conference and in interviews. 8. GENGHIS KHAN-killed millions in establishing the great empire. It was an “honor” to meet GENGHIS KHAN, Trump said. What surprised the American most about his counterpart? “Great personality and very smart—good combination,” he said. “I learned that he’s a very talented man. I also learned that he loves his country very much.” He added that GENGHIS was “a worthy negotiator … a very worthy, very smart negotiator.” The president continued to gush during a press conference and in interviews. 7. IVAN THE TERRIBLE-Russian Czar who was brutal, sadistic and cruel, responsible for millions of deaths. It was an “honor” to meet IVAN THE TERRIBLE, Trump said. What surprised the American most about his counterpart? “Great personality and very smart—good combination,” he said. “I learned that he’s a very talented man. I also learned that he loves his country very much.” He added that IVAN was “a worthy negotiator … a very worthy, very smart negotiator.” The president continued to gush during a press conference and in interviews. 6. KING HEROD OF ISRAEL-Killed Jesus, but an Israeli. Enough said. It was an “honor” to meet HEROD, Trump was an “honor” to meet Kim, Trump said. What surprised the American most about his counterpart? “Great personality and very smart—good combination,” he said. “I learned that he’s a very talented man. I also learned that he loves his country very much.” He added that HEROD was “a worthy negotiator … a very worthy, very smart negotiator.” The president continued to gush during a press conference and in interviews. 5. CALIGULA-Roman empire that was known for his sex orgies and mass executions by Crucifiction, including the Apostles Peter and Paul. It was an “honor” to meet CALIGULA, Trump said. What surprised the American most about his counterpart? “Great personality and very smart—good combination,” he said. “I learned that he’s a very talented man. I also learned that he loves his country very much.” He added that CALIGULA was “a worthy negotiator … a very worthy, very smart negotiator.” The president continued to gush during a press conference and in interviews. 4. BENITO MUSSOLINI-Italian despot who was Hitler’s sidekick and responsible for thousands of executions and deaths in his own country. It was an “honor” to meet BENITO, Trump said. What surprised the American most about his counterpart? “Great personality and very smart—good combination,” he said. “I learned that he’s a very talented man. I also learned that he loves his country very much.” He added that MUSSOLINI was “a worthy negotiator … a very worthy, very smart negotiator.” The president continued to gush during a press conference and in interviews. 3. MAO ZEDONG-Founder of the Chinese Communist party and responsible for resultant purges rumored to have killed more than FIFTY MILLION of his people. It was an “honor” to meet MAO, Trump said. What surprised the American most about his counterpart? “Great personality and very smart—good combination,” he said. “I learned that he’s a very talented man. I also learned that he loves his country very much.” He added that MAO was “a worthy negotiator … a very worthy, very smart negotiator.” The president continued to gush during a press conference and in interviews. 2. JOSEF STALIN-brutal Russian dictator also responsible for political purges by the Communist party which killed millions of Russian and later Soviet citizens. Killed more people than Adolph Hitler. It was an “honor” to meet JOSEF, Trump said. What surprised the American most about his counterpart? “Great personality and very smart—good combination,” he said. “I learned that he’s a very talented man. I also learned that he loves his country very much.” He added that STALIN was “a worthy negotiator … a very worthy, very smart negotiator.” The president continued to gush during a press conference and in interviews. 1. ADOLF HITLER-German dictator responsible for World War II, the Holocaust and untold millions of deaths. It was an “honor” to meet ADOLF, Trump said. What surprised the American most about his counterpart? “Great personality and very smart—good combination,” he said. “I learned that he’s a very talented man. I also learned that he loves his country very much.” He added that HITLER was “a worthy negotiator … a very worthy, very smart negotiator.” The president continued to gush during a press conference and in interviews. You get the idea. The man has no moral compass whatsoever. He is both delusional and dangerous, a bad combination as evidenced by this list. TRUMP MAKES(up) HISTORY WITH NORTH KOREA SUMMIT
Let’s give Donald Trump credit for his summit meeting with N Korean dictator Kim Jong-un-he was able to accomplish something that none of his predecessors since Dwight Eisenhower have been able to do-meet face to face with the N Korean leader to try to resolve the fifty year old stalemate on the Korean peninsula that had us on the brink of a catastrophic war just a few short months ago. Mike Pompeo, the Secretary of State, is also to be commended for his role in bringing about these talks. Now the REAL negotiations will begin, not the photo op that was Singapore. And before we get too euphoric, let us recall N Korea’s past history of lying about their program to both George W. Bush and Bill Clinton, so the actual denuclearization of N Korea remains to be seen before we can proclaim “mission accomplished”. Now to the rest of the story, as Paul Harvey used to say. As is the case so often with Trump, he can never leave things alone. So he had to have a news conference where he lavished praise upon Kim Jong-un. Here are just a few of the things he had to say about him. President Trump, in an interview Tuesday with Fox News’ Sean Hannity, complimented North Korean leader Kim Jong-un after their Singapore summit as a “strong guy” and a “great negotiator,” and argued his once-fiery rhetoric directed toward Kim worked. “He’s got a very good personality, he’s funny, and he’s very, very smart,” Trump said of Kim in the interview that aired Tuesday night. “He’s a great negotiator, and he’s a very strategic kind of a guy.” Now let us review the record of the track record of the same Kim Jong-un from a human rights stand point. The following information was taken from the New York Times. People accused of political crimes are arrested and sentenced to prison camps without trials, while their families are often kept in the dark about their whereabouts. Up to 120,000 inmates were in the country’s four major political prisons in 2014 and were subjected to gruesome conditions, according to the United Nations report. Prisoners are starved, forced to work, tortured and raped. Reproductive rights are denied through forced abortions and infanticide. Some are executed — sometimes in public. Hundreds of thousands of political prisoners have died in the camps over the past 50 years, the United Nations report found. In addition to the political camps, North Korea also operates prisons for those accused of ordinary crimes. Some prisons are short-term labor camps. Others hold prisoners who face long-term torture, starvation and other suffering. Since Mr. Kim assumed power in 2011, taking over from his father, Kim Jong-il, he has consolidated his power through executions. In the first six years as leader, he has ordered the executions of at least 340 people, according to the Institute for National Security Strategy, a think tank arm of the National Intelligence Service. In 2016, Kim Yong-jin, the deputy premier for education, was killed in front of a firing squad after showing “disrespectful posture” in a meeting. Hyon Yong-chol, a general over the armed forces, fell asleep in a meeting. He was executed with an antiaircraft gun. Family is also not off limits. One of Mr. Kim’s uncles, Jang Song-thaek, was convicted of treason. He was then executed with antiaircraft machine guns, and his body incinerated with flamethrowers. Kim Jong-nam, Kim Jong-un’s brother, was fatally poisoned at the Kuala Lumpur airport last year. Kim Jong-nam, the estranged brother of the North Korean leader, was killed last year in a very public way: near a check-in counter at Kuala Lumpur International Airport in Malaysia. Two women were seen on security cameras walking up to him and rubbing a substance on his face — a chemical warfare agent known as VX, the United States later determined. Kim Jong-nam was dead within minutes. The women were arrested, but the United States said evidence showed that North Korea was responsible for the attack. According to the United Nations report, which was prepared by its Commission of Inquiry and is more than 300 pages long, North Korea “operates an all-encompassing indoctrination machine that takes root from childhood to propagate an official personality cult and to manufacture absolute obedience” to Mr. Kim. Independent thought is bred out and propaganda glorifying the state is plentiful, the report said, as is propaganda intended to “incite nationalistic hatred toward official enemies” like Japan and the United States. Christianity is deemed a ‘serious threat’North Korea considers the spread of most religions dangerous, but Christianity is considered a “particularly serious threat” because it “provides a platform for social and political organization and interaction outside the realm of the State,” according to the United Nations report. Christians are barred from practicing their religion, and those caught doing so are “subject to severe punishments,” the report found. North Korean leaders also conflate Christians with those detained in prison camps, those who try to flee and “others considered to introduce subversive influences,” the report stated. In interviews with The New York Times in 2012, four North Koreans said that they had been warned that the gulag awaited those who spoke to journalists or Christian missionaries. “If the government finds out I am reading the Bible, I’m dead,” one woman said. In its 2018 World Watch List, the Christian group Open Doors ranked North Korea the worst nation in the world for Christians, and in a statement last week, the group called on Christians to take part in 24 hours of prayer and fasting on Monday ahead of the meeting between Mr. Trump and Mr. Kim. ‘Deliberate starvation’ as a play for power two million to three million people were believed to have died during an extended famine in North Korea in the 1990s, The New York Times reported in 1999, around when the country began to recover. At the time, North Korea used food as a tool to enforce political loyalty, prioritizing its distribution based on who was most useful to the nation’s political system, the United Nations report stated. Advertisement More recently, the inmate population in North Korea’s political prison camps has been culled through “deliberate starvation,” the report found, adding that suspects are also starved “to increase the pressure on them to confess and to incriminate other persons.” When the 2014 report was conducted, it found that hunger and malnutrition were still widespread problems among the general population, and deaths from starvation continued to be reported. That prompted the United Nations commission to raise concerns that another mass starvation could occur. “Laws and policies that violate the right to adequate food and freedom from hunger remain in place,” the report said. That, my friends, is the rest of the story. The man who Trump is praising to the high heavens is destined to burn in the caverns of hell for his actions. I can only imagine what CROOKED DONALD would have to say about Attila the Hun, Caligula, Hitler, Stalin or Pol Pot-"great guys and strong leaders?"!? His moral compass does not point north folks!! TIME TO END THE WAR ON TERROR
I was watching the conclusion of the outstanding Oliver Stone series on Netflix entitled “The Untold History of the United States” and its commentary on the ongoing conflicts with which we have been actively engaged for over fifteen years now following the attacks on the World Trade Center and the Pentagon on September 11, 2001. All of this undertaken under the blanket term “war on terror”, as described by George W. Bush, on whose watch the worst terrorist attack ever perpetrated against our country was committed. The ensuing military action in Afghanistan, undertaken under the guise of eliminating Osama Bin Laden and his Al Qaeda jihadists, has now been spread across the globe, in Africa, Asia, Central and South America and the Philippines to name just a few. The one fact that caught my attention in this entire episode was the fact that the United States now has an active military presence in over one hundred and fifty countries out of the total of one hundred and ninety two United Nations member countries!!! I have written a previous post describing “THE NEVER ENDING WAR”, one in which I have noted that in my sixty seven years on this planet, we have been at war in one country or more for over FIFTY years!!! The only time we weren’t at war was during the administration of Jimmy Carter and for a brief period of time under Bill Clinton, both Democrats. The REPUBLIKANS, on the other hand, as part of their overall doctrine, believe it is in our best interest to “fight them over there, rather than on our own soil!” as justification for continuing to intercede in countries like Somalia, Iraq, Afghanistan, Syria and Yemen. If it isn’t in the name of fighting a terror group, like Africa’s Al Shabaab, it is for drug interdiction in Central or South America in countries like Columbia. It is interesting to note that since the attacks of 9/11, our country has been relatively secure from outside terrorist attacks. Those that have taken place were perpetrated by so called “home grown terrorists”, like in San Bernardino, California. The fact of the matter is we were caught totally flat footed by the terrorists on September 11, 2001, and I would strongly urge everybody to read the Pulitzer Prize winning book written by Lawrence Wright entitled “The LOOMING TOWER", which I believe is also being made into a motion picture at present. If only our CIA and FBI had properly communicated instead of allowing petty inter agency squabbles to disrupt the lines of communication, these attacks would never have been carried out. The other outcome of this black day in American history was the passage of the so called “Patriot Act”, which gave the government sweeping new powers to tap phone lines, intercept private e mails and in general sacrificed OUR rights as citizens, guaranteed by our Constitution, in order to attempt to stop further attacks. This legislation was enacted within six weeks of the 9/11 attacks, was rushed through Congress under pressure from Bush and Dick Chaney and other hawkish members of the Bush administration, and in many cases wasn’t even read by members of the House and Senate in their eagerness to demonstrate to themselves and the world that the United States was prepared to do whatever was necessary to defeat this worldwide menace. including sacrificing our own rights. To this day, these tactics continue to be employed by the NSA, CIA and other covert operatives operating under the same blanket of protection. You could actually argue that the day that this legislation passed was the day Bin Laden’s proclaimed war against the United States was won, as we sacrificed those liberties nearest and dearest to us in the name of fighting terrorism. Another entire bureaucratic operation was established following September 11, 2001 under the agency name Department of Homeland Security. This agency is responsible for insuring that our country is safe and secure from further attack, and handles such diverse responsibilities as airport security to border protection and anything in between. Ostensibly, the agency was established to coordinate all information regarding domestic terror following the communication lapses between government agencies prior to the 9/11 attacks, but has grown to be something much larger and more cumbersome as time has moved forward. We somehow or another view our country and ourselves as the provider of global stability and protection for all against the terrorists, many of whom, like the mujahideen in Afghanistan, were once considered to be “freedom fighters” when battling the Soviets during their brutal occupation in the 1980’s but are now called “insurgents”. We send our aircraft and drones around the globe in the name of freedom to eliminate potential foes, and in the process have been responsible for the deaths of literally thousands of innocent people. The fact of the matter is that continued American imperialism is the underlying basis for the vast majority of our conflicts around the world. Al Quada and Bin Laden’s beef with the United States was over the presence of thousands of our troops occupying their holiest of lands in Saudi Arabia, upon whose oil we were so dependent at the time of the first Gulf War. While we deem it appropriate to intervene in local conflicts because we claim or perceive our national security is at stake, the local populace sees things through a different lens, viewing our interventions in many cases as a hostile act. This has happened repeatedly in countries like Iraq, Afghanistan, Somalia and Yemen. It is a cycle that continues to repeat itself over and over, on every continent on earth. Aside from the geopolitical consequences of our militaristic posturing, the outlay of our GNP for military spending has skyrocketed to nearly SIX HUNDRED BILLION DOLLARS in 2017. The cost of our disastrous incursions into Iraq and Afghanistan have cost the United States billions more. In the meanwhile, we have an administration in place slashing social and medical benefits for the poor and needy to say nothing of the homeless population which grows larger every passing day in order to pay for this military outlay. Where are the priorities in this country today? Are we so concerned about defending ourselves from the wolves at the door that we have forgotten the core values of life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness upon which not only our country but human kind is based upon? Our children's educations suffer but we are the largest seller of armaments in the world many times over. Priorities? Isn’t it time to reexamine our strategy in combating this global ideological struggle? Isn’t it time to finally allow our military men and women the respite they so desperately need to rebuild and regroup following nearly fifty years of continuous war and countless deployments? I believe it is worth discussion. Unfortunately, it appears Donald Trump, like each of his predecessors, Barack Obama, George W. Bush, Bill Clinton and George H.W. Bush, has allowed the military to dictate our policies and strategies instead of trying to reverse the actions of the last fifty years of conflict. Not since JFK has a President stood up to the military and demanded that they FOLLOW policy rather than create it. Fortunately for mankind, Kennedy's commitment to peace was stronger than the military's desire for war. It’s time for another President to step up and do what is right and what is REALLY in our best interest as a country. Unfortunately, it appears we'll have to wait at least a couple of more years for that to happen..... TRUMP DECLARES WAR…ON CANADA!!!
Let me get this straight. At the G7 summit in Canada, POTUS Donald Trump stated that Russia should be included back into the group, and then after his policies were criticized by Canadian PM Pierre Trudeau (justifiably so) at a news conference, he blows up on Air Farce One (no misprint) and basically declares war on our northern neighbor while in transit to a summit with the world’s most ruthless despot (this is the same man who had relatives torn apart by dogs and shot at close range with an artillery round!!) where he has already declared the outcome will be determined within the first minutes as a result of his super human negotiating skills!!! It plays like a broken record by now, the completely off the rails Presidency of CROOKED DONALD. He staggers from one disaster to another, makes one outrageous misstatement or flat out lie after another to support his false narrative, be it on immigration, trade or any of the other promises he made to his base during the stolen 2016 election. And now he is alienating our closest allies, be they our neighbors, such as Mexico (Who will NEVER pay for a wall!!) and Canada, the entire European Union and England, while at the same time towing Putin’s line by requesting that Russia be reinstated in the G7 group and leaving this key meeting early for a photo op with a brutal dictator who has been responsible for thousands and thousands of deaths in his own country. The one key item to remember in all of this is that Trump is declaring a trade war with these countries is to protect an industry that by the most optimistic numbers less than 150,000 total employees at present. The retaliatory measures that are being threatened by these allies would affect literally every American in the form of higher prices, and in particular just crush one group-the American farmer. The question you have to ask is WHY???? Apparently, in Donald Trump’s world, negotiating tactics involve first blowing up everything in existence and then starting all over again, without any regard for treaties, alliances or loyalties (except to himself) and irrespective be the adversary friend or foe. Everybody is against us, the ‘us against the world” mentality being espoused by his advisors like Bolton. His business career is checkered, to say the least, and belies his claims to be the ultimate deal maker. His strategy has failed as many times as it has succeeded. Only this time we’re not talking about a property in Brooklyn, we’re talking about the world economy. And all the while, the Chinese are literally laughing all the way to the bank. While America and its former allies are torn asunder by Donald Trump, the Chinese are embarked on an economic fifty year plan that will make them the world’s dominant economic superpower within a matter of years. They are expanding their political outreach around the world where the United States is pulling back on a massive scale. It is, plainly and simply, a recipe for disaster for the United States. The Canadians, as Trudeau rightfully points out, have been by our side in every war we have fought since 1812. (Trump also claimed Canada was responsible for burning down the White House during this conflict, another completely false narrative that any second grade history student would know!). And now, in order to elicit a favorable REPUBLIKAN vote in a few of key states like Ohio, Pennsylvania and Wisconsin where the steel industry was once king, he is willing to sell the rest of us down the river. What is wrong with this picture?!? SCOTT (I DIDN’T DO IT!!) PRUITT’S LATEST CHICKENSH*T SCANDAL I got to checking before writing this post about how many times I have written regarding Environmental Protection Agency Administrator Scott Pruitt and the multitude of outrageous expenditures, conflicts of interest and destructive environmental policies since he rode into D.C. on his horse from Oklahoma. I have written about his total disregard for ethical and governmental norms, his abuse of power and his advocacy for any group that will donate money to the REPUBLIKAN coffers no fewer than a dozen times!! And yet the man still continues to work for CROOKED DONALD because he is the epitome of what Trump stands for-no regard for ethical or conflict of interest questions and a burning desire to tear down everything that Obama and his administration worked to build in the eight years he was POTUS. Here is just a sampling of the egregious acts that PRUITT has committed since being appointed last year as taken from an article in “BUZZFEED”: Two high-level officials at the Environmental Protection Agency are leaving after getting entangled in the ethics scandal tied to agency head Scott Pruitt. Millan Hupp, an EPA scheduler who had helped Pruitt find housing and a used mattress from the Trump hotel, is leaving at the end of the week, the Atlantic first reported and Buzz Feed News has confirmed. (When the Atlantic asked the EPA about Hupp’s departure, EPA spokesperson Jahan Wilcox reportedly responded: “You have a great day, you’re a piece of trash.”) Sarah Greenwalt, a senior adviser at the agency, is also on her way out, according to multiple reports. Both Hupp and Greenwalt worked with Pruitt in Oklahoma when he was the state attorney general and followed him to the EPA. The pair of aides received big raises this spring, even after the White House had denied those increases. Since the news of their salaries got out, both Congress and EPA’s internal watchdog have looked into it. There are more than a dozen open investigations — by Congress, multiple federal watchdogs, and the White House — into Pruitt’s EPA. The allegations range from his spending of more than $3 million on an around-the-clock security detail to lobbyists being tapped to plan Pruitt’s international travel, to his use of four different emails for work, to his reported retaliation against workers who questioned him. In testimony before Congress, Pruitt has repeatedly blamed his staff for many of these issues. The latest dust up came Tuesday, when the Washington Post reported that an aide reached out to the fast-food chain Chick-fil-A on Pruitt’s behalf to get his wife a job there. Pruitt confirmed this in a taped interview Wednesday. “My wife is an entrepreneur herself. I love, she loves, we love [Chick-fil-A],” Pruitt said. “Chick-fil-A is a franchise of faith and it’s one of the best in the country and so that's something we were very excited about. We need more of them in Tulsa. We need more of them across the country. It’s an exciting time." Earlier in the week, two House Democrats — Elijah Cummings from Maryland and Rep. Gerald E. Connolly from Virginia — released a letter describing what Hupp had told the lawmakers about her work under Pruitt. Hupp confirmed previous reporting that she had spent several hours across multiple months helping Pruitt find an apartment, including on agency time. She described other personal favors for Pruitt too, including asking the Trump International Hotel in Washington, DC, if it sold used mattresses and booking his vacation home for Christmas. “Ms. Hupp cooperated with our investigation and should not become the latest scapegoat for Administrator Pruitt’s litany of abuses, his disregard for our nation’s ethics laws, and his refusal to accept responsibility for his own actions,” Cummings said in an emailed statement. He called for the EPA to hand over more documents tied to the ethics allegations, adding, “we need House Republicans to subpoena them if Mr. Pruitt continues to obstruct our investigation.” The House Oversight Committee has interviewed three EPA officials so far as part of its wide-ranging ethics probe: Hupp, Greenwalt, and Pasquale “Nino” Perrotta, Pruitt’s former head of security. All three have left the agency or will be leaving soon. That’s on top of at least two other high-level EPA officials resigning in May: Liz Bowman, the former head of EPA communications, and Albert “Kell” Kelly, the head of the Superfund program. The committee will be interviewing two more EPA employees later this month, Samantha Dravis and Ryan Jackson, spokesperson Amanda Gonzalez told BuzzFeed News by email. Gonzalez declined to comment on the EPA departures. “Scott Pruitt cannot shift the blame for his scandals to his aides or career EPA employees,” Rep. Don Beyer, a Democrat from Virginia, told BuzzFeed News in a statement. “The corruption begins with Scott Pruitt, and it must end with his resignation or firing.” And yet, as previously mentioned, this buffoon and absolute disgrace still has a job. I am in the process of sending my United States Senator, Mitch McConnell, an e mail requesting information as to why this man has been allowed to get away with this incredible list of unethical and possibly criminal behavior. You should do the same, because it appears to me CROOKED DONALD won’t do anything about it, which is typical of the most crooked administration to occupy the West Wing since Ulysses S. Grant!!! NEWS UPDATE: TRUMP lavished praise upon Pruitt and the EPA at FEMA conference!!! I guess that answers that question!!! D DAY PLUS SEVENTY FOUR
Most Americans weren’t even alive 74 years ago; much less a surviving member of the “Greatest Generation” who stormed ashore on the beaches of Normandy in order to liberate Europe from the Nazi jackboot that we later learned was literally responsible for millions of deaths across the continent, including millions killed in Russia and in the Holocaust. There are only a small number of D day survivors alive today in 2018, numbering perhaps a few thousand, all into their 90’s, which means there won’t be many left at all in just a few years. It is imperative that we not let their passing in any way diminish the incredible feats of bravery and heroism that ordinary young American men had no idea they were capable of performed that day. And the many that perished, paying the ultimate sacrifice in the name of liberty. Unless you have been in an actual combat situation, none of us can know what it must have been like for those troops as they watched the ramps drop on their amphibious landing craft on that fateful morning. The consensus is that the opening combat scene from “Saving Private Ryan” is as close to the real thing as has been portrayed in cinema, and it was positively terrifying to watch. German machine gunners, entrenched in pillboxes numbering nearly one hundred unleashed a hellish barrage of lead upon them as soon as the ramps dropped. Many never even made it into the water before being cut to pieces. Many who made it into the water drowned under the weight of their own equipment. Those who managed to make it to shore were either killed by the German defenses or pinned down on the waters edge by them. They had to know what lay before them, and yet they stormed the beach without hesitation, gave up their lives no questions asked. The paratroopers who landed in Normandy either by drop or glider hardly fared any better. Those who weren’t blown out of the sky by German flak guns were dropped in many cases miles from their targets, and in one case on a town held by the Germans that resulted in an unholy slaughter as they fell from the sky right into the German guns. And then many of the gliders crashed upon landing, equipment was destroyed, communications all but non existent and yet, they carried on and carried out their missions. The losses of both British and American Paratroopers was staggering, and would not be equaled before Operation Market Garden, Montgomery’s failed attempt to bring the war to a rapid conclusion a few months after D day. The debt of gratitude the nation and the world owes to these men can never be overstated. If Tom Brokaw wants to call them “the Greatest Generation”, that’s OK with me, too. At any rate, we pay them tribute some seventy four years later and salute their bravery and patriotism. We could use a little more of that today instead of the false bravado and phony flag waving that seems to be in vogue right now. Real heroes and real patriots are judged by history and their actions, not by self aggrandizing from those who never served. IS IT KEVIN McCarthy…or JOE????
I just finished watching House Majority Leader Kevin McCarthy, REPUBLIKAN from California, defer and deflect on a direct question regarding Donald Trump lying on tape about the infamous document he drafted regarding the Trump Tower meeting with the Russians. On two separate occasions, when asked about it, he refused to answer but deflected to the usual stooge sound bites, “the investigation has been going on too long”, “it’s costing too much”, “no evidence of collusion” and so on and so on. I know from recent reports that McCarthy is being considered as a possible replacement for retiring Speaker of the House “CRYIN” Paul Ryan, so I thought it would be worth looking into his background and positions. It really wasn't necessary-I could have guessed it. After reviewing, I can see why CROOKED DONALD embraces this clown. His record on everything from women’s rights to legalized pot to healthcare to immigration to the environment is all straight from the right wing conservative playbook. It’s like the man was cloned as the perfect REPUBLIKAN politician. He embraces the concept of exclusion, has consistently defended Donald Trump from the very beginning in spite of the mounting evidence against him in both colluding with the Russians to steal the 2016 election and the subsequent attempts from the very beginning to obstruct justice by covering it up. It appears that McCarthy is now a part of this effort. There was another famous McCarthy in American politics-Joe from Wisconsin who was responsible for a REAL witch hunt against the American people in his desperate attempt to uncover some grand “commie conspiracy” to overthrow our government. Now here we are over half a century later and we have another grandstanding McCarthy trying his best to deceive the American public in a desperate attempt to not only save CROOKED DONALD’S ass but to promote his own candidacy for Speaker of the House with White House backing. Trump supposedly refers to him as “my Kevin”, which is probably all we really need to know about him. The importance of the upcoming mid term elections cannot be overstated. It is imperative for Democrats to wrest control of the House from the REPUBLIKANS in order to prevent this goon from becoming Speaker!! As CROOKED DONALD'S buffoon of an attorney, Rudy “RUNAWAY BEER TRUCK” Giuliani stated over the weekend, if REPUBLIKANS retain control of the House, there won’t be any impeachment hearings even if Trump shoots James Comey in the Oval Office!! That in turn would mean another two years on the current path to a diminished global presence except where it is in our military interest to support whatever corrupt or brutal regime is in power, the current isolationist trade policies and resultant price increases which will be swallowed by the American working man and woman while Wall Street buys back more of their own shares, the wealth gap will be further increased, the war on the poor and needy will continue unabated, as will the war on women’s rights, the LGBT community and immigrants. The racial divide fueled by Trump himself and his so called “base” will only grow larger, and the total trashing and sell off of our environmental resources will go unchecked. Gun violence will continue to plague our nation and our school children while the NRA buys and sells more politicians so teenagers can by weapons of mass destruction. This is what Kevin McCarthy represents, America. His right wing, polarizing brand of politics and his blind support of the most corrupt President to ever hold the office is reprehensible, but would make Joe proud!! Is this REALLY what ANYBODY wants????? I really don’t believe it is. Time to make your vote count and put guys like McCarthy back on the street where they belong. Vote ‘Em Totally Out!!! (VETO PARTY) 2018. “RICH” MITCH McCONNELL-DESTROYER OF DEMOCRACY
The Senate Majority Leader, Mitch McConnell of my home state of Kentucky finally spoke out AGAINST something CROOKED DONALD did-his absurd tariffs imposed on Europe, Canada and Mexico to protect the less than 150,000 employed in the steel and aluminum industries. These countries have retaliated against home grown products like bourbon, soybeans and other farm products by imposing their own tariffs, which would obviously be detrimental to the Commonwealth’s economy. This in turn, would be detrimental to his reelection bid scheduled for 2020. That is ALL he cares about! I was reading the other day McConnell is about to become the longest tenured Majority leader in Senate history-that fact alone should tell us all we need to know about the current and recent past history of Congress and its composition. That a totally inconspicuous bookish looking former county executive from Louisville, KY could become the most powerful politician in Washington is almost inconceivable to a guy who grew up in his home town. It is more inconceivable that he has been more responsible for the political nightmare we find ourselves in at present than ANY other individual in the past decade, Presidents included. His actions and those of his REPUBLIKAN cronies in changing campaign finance regulations, obstructing the entire agenda of Barrack Obama for eight years with the glaring exception of the passage of “Obamacare”, and in judicial appointments of right wing conservative judges who will carry out their agenda, including his unprecedented blocking of Obama’s Supreme Court nominee in order to get Neil Gorsuch appointed by President elect Trump instead have completely changed the entire political landscape in America, and I think everyone can judge for themselves the results based upon the current abysmal state of politics in our country. He has stood idly by while Trump has waged war on the poor and needy, stood by while members of CROOKED DONALD’S cabinet have continuously abused their positions with lavish and outrageous expenditures at taxpayer expense, championed the biggest tax fraud EVER perpetrated upon the American public, said nothing about the ongoing investigation into Trump and Russian collusion in the 2016 election and the subsequent cover up. He falsely claims that the “war on coal” and the loss of jobs for thousands of miners were the result of Obama’s policies when in fact it was pure economics that have destroyed coal as a viable energy source (unless you’re Donald Trump, who still champions the cause and gives false hope to those who should be retraining for another occupation instead of believing their old mining jobs will ever come back). He has sold his political influence to whatever corporate bidder is willing to add to the party coffers, including the NRA. But the one time he speaks out is when the actions of POTUS directly threaten his dream of serving for another six years beyond 2020. He could care less about the jobs Kentucky stands to lose if Trump moves forward with these tariffs (that policy changes day to day, so stay tuned!), just the fact that it could cost him votes down the road. The sad fact of life is that the Democratic Party has only ONE true candidate who stands ANY chance of retiring McConnell in 2020, and that is Congressman John Yarmouth. He is a liberal from Louisville who is independently wealthy and therefore cannot be bought and sold like “RICH” Mitch and has a strong Congressional record of achievement. He has never indicated a willingness to go head to head with McConnell, but this might be the opportunity he has been waiting for. Otherwise, the only Democratic candidate who has announced plans to run against him is a Lexington sportscaster with absolutely NO chance of winning an election against McConnell. I hope that the Democrats can mount a strong campaign in the fall and take back the House of Representatives. It is doubtful they can regain a majority in the Senate in the mid term elections, but a Democratic House would certainly act as an additional check and balance mechanism against the actions of the REPUBLIKAN party, “RICH” Mitch McConnell and CROOKED DONALD, for as long as he lasts after the impeachment proceedings commence. Too bad we can’t impeach McConnell-his leadership in the Senate has been an absolute travesty for middle class Americans. His deliberate actions to sway the political balance of power in favor of his corporate donors and those of the wealthiest Americans have helped create the biggest income gap in history, and it will only get worse the longer this insidious campaign is allowed to continue. |
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 |