I DESERVE A BREAK TODAY!!!
My last post was my two hundredth since I began this blog, and was NOT about our current political situation or the sad state of our nation. Rather I chose an uplifting topic, one that most all of us with families can relate to entitled “BOND OF BROTHERS”. As I write this post today, in late July, I am going to be putting it and the rest of the world on hold for about ten days, beginning on Thursday. We will be traveling to Scarborough country, Panama City Beach, Florida for my sister in law’s sixtieth birthday celebration, a family get together involving some of the brood, maybe a little golf, a lot of beach time and reading, but most of all-NO POLITICS!! No discussions, no posts to write and a total lack of concern by being surrounded by literally hordes of Trump supporters-I for one am tuning it all out!!! For the next couple of weeks, anyway. Have you heard of “TRUMP DERANGEMENT SYNDROME”?? ? Let's start with what Trump Derangement Syndrome means. Urban Dictionary offers up this handy definition: "Trump Derangement Syndrome (TDS) is a mental condition in which a person has been driven effectively insane due to their dislike of Donald Trump, to the point at which they will abandon all logic and reason." This aptly describes my current state of mind, with the ongoing Russia investigation and the constant attacks on those responsible, from Robert Mueller to the DOJ and the FBI, the recent incredulous performance by POTUS in Helstinky and his complete apparent capitulation to Putin, the incredible politics of the REPUBLIKAN Congress, including the fraudulent tax bill to the stacking of SCOTUS and the destruction of our environment, Trump’s incredibly inept “CABINET OF CLOWNS”, A Vice President who believes in fairy tales next in line to become POTUS and trade wars breaking out on all fronts!!! Who isn’t suffering from “TDS” at this point, less than two years into his presidency?!? If you’re not, you’re not paying attention!!!! At any rate, the world and its politics can turn without me for a couple of weeks. It’s time to recharge the batteries in more ways than one!! I believe part of CROOKED DONALD’S strategy is to just simply wear people out with his non stop verbal assaults and questionable policy directives, combined with his propaganda allies at FAUX NEWS and his barrage of lies and misinformation through stooges like Sarah “HUCKLEBERRY” Sanders and “THE RUNAWAY BEER TRUCK”, Rudy Guiliani. Judging from the reactions of a lot of people, I would say his strategy is working. We can’t afford two more years of this buffoon and his cronies, much less six more!! I need to recharge my batteries for the coming fight in November, one that MUST be won in order to stem the tide of TRUMPISM and its resultant ruination of our country. I urge everyone to do whatever is necessary to keep up the fight! Until then, adios amigos-see you in a couple of weeks!!! Maybe I’ll see Joe on the beach!
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BOND OF BROTHERS This post is something of a milestone for me-number TWO HUNDRED since my original “WAR ON COLE” blog was launched over a year ago in 2017. Instead of focusing on the political dialog which has been typical of the majority of my posts in the era of CROOKED DONALD and his administration, which needless to say supplies an endless supply of fodder for me and every other media outlet from FAUX NEWS to VICE NEWS, I choose rather to dedicate this post to my brother, and all the brothers out there. There is no stronger bond on this earth than that between brothers!! We’ll just skip the growing up a couple years apart in a Catholic grade school and high school part and move right to our pregnant girl friend(s) and the introduction to adulthood. You’ve all been through the highs and lows, from the absolute ass whipping he gave you when you deserved it to the first time he told you about sex! We’ll skip to the part where the younger brother married his girl first, one with a substantial family pedigree, in more ways than one. While I went on the fast track to Los Angeles and back, my brother partied like in was 1999 (it was actually more like 1969!!) and was something of a rebel, involved in union activity and in general rebelling against the system. I remember one party he had in particular, when he came in the door carrying several bags of groceries and party goods for an impromptu gathering he decided on after another drug induced night at the apartment. He had told me after smoking pot (God forbid!!) the night before he was broke, and I asked him how he could afford to pay for a party? He stated he had floated a check, and that it was “the American way!!” Meanwhile, when my brother in law was unexpectedly killed in an automobile accident, it was me that was asked to give his eulogy, not my brother. Having just moved from California to North Carolina, and working for a division of ITT, the very soul of corporate Amerika in the 1970’s, I was more than on top of my game. My wife stood to inherit a large sum of money from her father upon his passing, and all was good in the world. As it turned out, that false narrative proved to be about as short lived as my marriage. Then something began to happen. I have written a previous post entitled “CONFESSIONS OF A QUITTER” wherein I described my regression from leader in training to follower, and at the same time my brother began to realize that his brains could be used for something other than planning the next party. He went into business for himself as a financial planner, became certified to the highest levels of his profession, became a responsible parent, even though divorced (second one in, first one out!) and a high school football referee, and in general became the man he is today. I urge you to check out his blog, entitled “LIVING IN THE BUCKET”-http://livinginthebucket.blogspot.com. It’s worth reading and will give better insight into his life's philosophy. Since I have returned to Louisville many years ago and gone through a number of sales jobs with average success, my brother has succeeded probably beyond his own imagination, which is saying something, believe me! When I was down and out from losing a job, my brother was there to take me to South X Southwest in Austin, an incredible experience. He was there to support me with a music mix when I lost another job, and pushed me into doing things like hiking and camping which took me out of my comfort zone and into his world, for which I will be forever appreciative. My brother was diagnosed with Parkinson’s a few years ago, and has reacted to that over time by doing what he does best-understanding the objective, learning all you can about the subject matter, and planning a route of attack (or to hike). He dealt with it and continued to move ahead with his goals and objectives. Then a few months ago, out of the blue, he was diagnosed with melanoma. In absolute top physical condition, stricken with two horrific afflictions that would slow or stop lesser individuals. But my brother keeps pressing ahead-we met for the All Star baseball game the other night, which has become a years long tradition of ours where we wager one or two or three $2 bills-that;=’s right, a TWO DOLLAR bill! This is my brother in a nutshell, folks-the money itself means nothing (unless we’re talking financial planning!!) but the fact that you actually have to work to find a two dollar bill to pay off the bet means EVERYTHING!! At any rate, I dedicate this post to my bro and all the other brothers out there who know that there is one person in the world who will stand with you when everybody else walks away, and it’s him. Thanks for being there for us, and thanks for all of the great memories. Your spirit will indeed live on long after you are gone, and for that there are a lot of grateful people, including me. THE SPY WHO LOVED ME….A NOVEL BY WAYNE LaPIERRE
As if the recent performance of “LAP DOG DONALD” in Helsinki as he cow towed before his handler, Vladimir Putin and the world wasn't enough, we now also know through another indictment issued in federal court that a Russian operative by the name of Maria Butina, has infiltrated high ranking officials in both the Republikan Party and the NRA at the express direction of the Russian government for purposes of influence. I have taken the following excerpt from “Rolling Stone Magazine”: A new federal court filing, arguing for Russian national Maria Butina to be held without bail on charges that could carry more than a dozen years in prison, includes jaw dropping details of sex and deception that make her career as an alleged Russian agent read like a plotline from The Americans. The document, a “memorandum in support of pretrial detention,” alleges that Butina communicated with the Russian intelligence agency that replaced the KGB: “The FBI believes that the defendant was likely in contact with the FSB throughout her stay in the United States.” (Butina has pled not guilty.) In addition, the memorandum alleges Butina was in a romantic relationship with “Person 1,” an American with close ties to the NRA that several media organizations, including NPR and the Washington Post, have suggested is longtime Republican operative Paul Erickson – a conclusion consistent with Rolling Stone’s own reporting. “Butina, age 29, and U.S. Person 1, age 56, are believed to have cohabitated and been involved in a personal relationship during the course of Butina’s activities in the United States,” the document reads. The court filing adds, however, that Butina “appears to treat that relationship as simply a necessary aspect of her activities.” In support of this conclusion, the memorandum states: “For example, on at least one occasion, Butina offered an individual other than U.S. Person 1 sex in exchange for a position within a special interest organization.” Butina and Erickson are central figures in Rolling Stone’s investigation into the years-long Russian infiltration of the NRA. As we reported in April, Russians exploited the gun group to gain access to top conservative leaders, GOP politicians and the Trump campaign. Butina’s alleged handler, the Russian central banker Alexander Torshin, met with Donald Trump Jr. at the 2016 NRA convention. The federal document refers to this covert campaign, alleging: “The plan was calculated, patient, and directed by the Russian Official” (Torshin). “The FBI has acquired email and other electronic evidence documenting Butina’s work on behalf of Russia, including taskings, reporting, and attempts to be ‘incognito.’” This is the same party and same organization who claim to be the protectors of the Second Amendment and our Constitution who are being completely duped by the Russians and played, just like Putin played Donald Trump like a well used accordion. In fact, their blind allegiance to the premise that it is every American’s right to own an assault rifle or two or three has put our country in further peril of the ongoing Russian attempt to undermine our democratic way of politics and tear apart the social fabric of the United States, pitting one group against another. I’d say based upon what I have seen this week alone, to say nothing of Trump’s lame performance in the previous eighteen months regarding Putin and his ambitions, that strategy is succeeding very well. I’m sure Putin is happy to accept an invitation to the White House, why wouldn’t he when he has Trump dancing on a string like a puppet, and now we find out his operatives have infiltrated the very government and special interest groups who are supposed to be protecting us and our rights. The NRA should be held accountable. Their very credibility and that of their maniacal spokesman should be called into question by anybody who considers themselves a true patriot. And those politicians who support their right wing agenda should be voted out of office come November. But we all know they won’t be, not by this POTUS or this Congress, both of whom they have in their pocket. We also know Wayne LaPierre and his gun toting buddies are in somebody else’s, and his name is VLADIMIR PUTIN!!!! He already has strict gun control in his country. All the guns are his. TRUMP IS GUILTY OF TREASON
Definition of treason: Treason against the United States, shall consist only in levying War against them, or in adhering to their Enemies, giving them Aid and Comfort. If the press conference I just witnessed in Helsinki with POTUS Donald J. Trump and Russian President Vladimir Putin whereby Trump refused to hold Russia accountable for the outright attacks on our democracy and instead called out his own law enforcement and intelligence communities isn’t an act of treason, I couldn’t imagine what would constitute this high crime against our republic. The time for discussion is now over. Trump confirmed everyone worst fears, that Putin REALLY does have tapes, and as such holds complete and total sway over his every action with regard to Russia. It’s time for all of those gutless Republikans who have stood on the sidelines for months during this investigation or actually attempted to protect Trump during it that need to stand up for the United States of America. We cannot afford two more years of having this dangerous and delusional individual responsible for ruining our country, which he is on a crash course to do! Not only did he not castigate Putin over the election interference, he didn’t press him on any other significant issue-Crimea, Syria, Ukraine, the British poisoning of a former KGB agent and subsequent collateral death of an innocent civilian. Putin was essentially given a free pass from the so called leader of the free world (not anymore!!), and in the rear view mirror Trump leaves NATO and the EU in tatters, much to the Russian leaders delight!! This entire trip couldn’t have been scripted to go any better for Putin, so perhaps it was all along. It’s time to put aside partisan politics and defend our freedom. EVERY SINGLE member of Congress now needs to stand up and be counted, regardless of past differences. We are talking about the very future of our country at stake. The time has come to institute IMPEACHMENT proceedings against Donald J. Trump for high treason against the United States of America. The entire world witnessed it for themselves today in HELSTINKY-the man is UNFIT to be POTUS and unfit to be called the leader of the free world. He isn’t by any stretch of the imagination. IMPEACH DONALD J. TRUMP FOR TREASON AGAINST THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA. SOMETHING STINKY IN HELSINKI!!! Let me make sure I have all of the facts straight, ma’am. The President of the United States of America, Donald J. Trump is meeting in Finland with Vladimir Putin, President of Russia. POTUS insists on holding a one-on-one meeting with his Russian counterpart, with no other people in the room. There is in reality no stated purpose to this summit talk between these two egocentric despots, one who will probably not survive another two years in office as a result of the direct involvement of the other, who helped bring him to power in the first place. Although nobody has yet to uncover the so called “smoking gun”, the widespread belief among law enforcement and the intelligence community is that Putin, through his Russian intelligence operatives, has the goods on Trump, and has had for quite some time. Nobody is sure if the “goods” are sexual in nature or financial or both or more, but there is no other reason that a sitting President would be so deferential to our biggest enemy, a country and an individual who are desperately seeking to undo our democracy, and so far succeeding brilliantly, with Trump running interference. Consider these two items. The Mueller investigation, the so called “witch hunt”, has already been responsible for the issuance of dozens of indictments against Russian operatives AND individuals from the Trump campaign, several of whom have already been convicted of actual criminal behavior. Trump has steadfastly refused to believe his own law enforcement and intelligence community assessments that Russia was INDEED responsible for hacking into our elections dating back to 2012 and possibly before and certainly attempting to influence the 2016 presidential election as well as other Congressional races involving attacks on Democratic candidates. He says he is not guilty of collusion, but has spent the last two years trying to cover up his actions and those of his campaign. My guess is that Trump would have been content with a slap on the wrist to Putin, who of course has also denied any Russian meddling or involvement. Now the latest Mueller indictments, with the very specific evidence presented, leaves no doubt as to Russian involvement, and puts POTUS in the position where will have to come down hard on Putin or risk further cries of treason and impeachment. The second item to consider is Trump’s wrecking ball that left NATO battered and bruised, Germany wondering when they became part of Russia, the British Prime Minister undermined and trashed and the Queen herself completely disrespected by this American blowhard and buffoon, all in the space of a few days. Throw in a EU trade war for good measure to protect two dying industries, steel and aluminum, and thereby jeopardize thousands of farm and other jobs and cost us billions of dollars in additional dollars which will impact ALL Americans in the long term, the repudiation of the Iran Nuclear Deal, The Paris Climate Accord and demonstrations by literally thousands upon his visit to the U.K., and CROOKED DONALD has essentially done in less than a week what Putin himself hasn’t been able to accomplish in nearly twenty years at the helm. Trump seems intent on destroying the relationships that took almost seventy years to build for the sake of improving relations with a country that has been our sworn enemy since the 1950’s. He wants to improve relations with a murderous thug who through his days in the KGB and as Russian President has been responsible for murders, assassinations, imprisonment of political rivals, the illegal and unilateral annexation of Crimea and the invasion through his mercenary forces of Ukraine, which also resulted in the shooting down of a civilian airliner that cost hundreds of innocent lives. And he would do so at the expense of long standing relationships with the democratically elected leaders of Great Britain, France, Germany and other NATO allies. It just doesn’t add up by any logical measure. So with no agenda and no expectations, this appears to be just another photo op for CROOKED DONALD. He’ll have his meeting with Putin, hold a press conference condemning the Mueller investigation and the ongoing “witch hunt” and then heap praise on Putin as “a really great guy!” Just like his disastrous meeting with Kim Jong-un in Singapore last month, Putin will come away from this meeting knowing what the rest of us already know-Donald Trump is a CHUMP!!! While there are indeed reasons to improve our relations with Russia, now is not the time. The summit should have been cancelled the moment Mueller informed Trump of the forthcoming indictments, which was last week, as a number of members of Congress have noted. But then our illustrious President wouldn’t have the opportunity to share the world stage with the man who holds sway over him just like the “Baby Trump” did over London this past weekend!! It will be interesting to see how this story develops. In the meanwhile, there is something fishy in HELSTINKY!!! MUELLER TRUMPS CROOKED DONALD The latest news that Robert Mueller issued a total of sixteen more indictments in the ongoing “witch hunt” into Russian meddling in our elections, now no longer allegations but cold hard facts provided by one of CROOKED DONALD’S favorite targets lately, the FBI, on the very eve of his ill conceived and ill timed “summit” with Putin, is an absolute stroke of genius. Not only has Mueller listed specific Russian individuals, but has detailed their concerted efforts to influence elections dating back to 2012 in races from the Presidency to the U.S. House of Representatives in Florida. And of course, Trump is blaming it all on Obama. At the same time, incredibly, House REPUBLIKANS, led by Freedom Caucus (more on this little hate group later) Chairman Mark Meadows and also including Ohio Representative Jim Jordan, himself under investigation for the cover up of sexual abuses in the Ohio State wrestling program while he was head coach, are preparing to file legislation impeaching Rod Rosenstein, Deputy Attorney General responsible for overseeing Mueller and the ongoing investigation!! At the very time that this year old investigation is beginning to bear fruit with numerous indictments being handed down and more surely on the way which prove beyond ANY doubt that Russia did indeed hack our 2016 election and was involved in attacking our electoral process long before then, the REPUBLIKAN House Freedom Caucus wants him impeached!!!! Instead of focusing on the ongoing national security threat posed by the Russians, they want to protect CROOKED DONALD and his corrupt Presidency at any and all costs, including this absurd attempt to derail Mueller and his team. The Freedom Caucus, also known as the House Freedom Caucus, is a congressional caucus consisting of conservative and libertarian Republican members of the United States House of Representatives.[1][3][2] It was formed in 2015 by what member Jim Jordan called a "smaller, more cohesive, more agile and more active" group of conservative Congressmen,[12] and is currently chaired by Rep. Mark Meadows. Many members are also part of the much larger Republican Study Committee.[12][13] The caucus is sympathetic to the Tea Party movement.[14] The Freedom Caucus is considered the farthest-right grouping within the House Republican Conference.[15][16] . This information tells us all we need to know about the members of this group-right wing conservatives with an agenda that in no way reflects the views of the majority of Americans, who will do ANYTHING to protect their hero, CROOKED DONALD. In the meanwhile, Trump has bumbled his way across Europe, insulting everybody from NATO to Queen Elizabeth along the way before he was planning on meeting with his “friend” (blackmail buddies???) Vladimir Putin, the murderous thug who is behind all of the attacks on our democracy. He is also responsible for the assassination and imprisonment of his political rivals, the murder of an innocent civilian in England resulting from the attempted assassination of a former KGB operative, unilaterally usurping Crimea, having his mercenaries invade the Ukraine and also shoot down a civilian airplane that resulted in hundreds of innocent lives being lost. While Trump claims he has every intention of calling out Putin over the election meddling, nobody really believes that he wants a one-on-one so he can tongue lash Putin. Mueller’s indictments now change everything. Putin can no longer claim, as he has all along, that the Russians had nothing to do with interference in our electoral process. We now have cold hard evidence to the contrary, and he MUST be held accountable. If Trump had our national interests at heart (which he doe NOT), he would have cancelled this so called summit over these indictments. However, we can only assume there are other motives behind this meeting, and they have nothing to do with election meddling. More likely the conversations will revolve around the secrets of Trump’s past that Putin holds over him like the Trump baby blimp flying over London. This can be the only explanation for CROOKED DONALD’S insistence on a one-on-one, and now the entire agenda changes thanks to Robert Mueller, a true American hero. Trump MUST hold PUTIN accountable, and there must be consequences for his actions. If not, I agree that we should begin impeachment proceedings immediately…not against Rod Rosenstein, another American hero, but Donald J. Trump, POTUS. TREY (OH MY GOWDY) and the REPUBLIKAN WITCH HUNT
I just witnessed probably the most disgusting display of Republikan partisanship and vitriol I’ve seen to date in the Peter Strzock House Oversight Committee hearings chaired by Trey (OMG) Gowdy, the Republican Congressman from South Carolina. This little weasel (and boy is he EVER!) and his cohorts spend NINE hours of your money questioning the FBI agent over the text messages he exchanged with a colleague during the 2016 presidential campaign disparaging Donald Trump. This is the same House Committee, mind you, that found NO EVIDENCE of Russian collusion in that election, repeatedly refusing to hear key witnesses, attempting to subpoena classified documents and otherwise conducting themselves in such a partisan manner that Democrats on the Committee felt compelled to release their own report, which completely contradicted the findings put forth by Gowdy and his cohorts in crime. This is also the same Committee that spent over seven million dollars of taxpayer money on the Benghazi investigation involving then Secretary of State Hillary Clinton, which also came up empty. All of this for one simple purpose-to protect the most corrupt and deceitful POTUS we’ve ever seen and their own positions of power, which are likely to slip away following the upcoming mid term elections. To his credit, Peter Strzock’s testimony, deportment and composure during this political carnival sideshow was exemplary and lent credence to his professionalism. Of course he had a lapse in judgment by doing something millions of us were doing at the time-hoping like hell Trump didn’t become our next President!! His mistake was texting on his FBI phone rather than his personal one. For this he was admonished and taken off of the politically linked investigations of Trump and Clinton, so he paid his dues, so to speak. His strong and forceful defense of the FBI and his fellow agents struck right to the core of the real issue-that these Republikans, led by an absolute snake in Gowdy, will sacrifice any institution, including those tasked with protecting us and our country every single day, in order to promote their own ideologies and agendas. I don’t have much faith that the people of South Carolina (beautiful state) will vote this buffoon out of office anytime soon-after all, this is the same state that started the Civil War! However, the Blue tsunami that is coming in November will hopefully flip the balance of power in the House, and guys like Gowdy will be relegated to the trash heap and committees which have little relevance to the urgent needs of our nation. It is absolutely incomprehensible to me to witness what I saw this morning, and to think that these are the people responsible for running our country right now is terrifying to me!!!! Meanwhile, POTUS arrives in England and immediately trashes the P.M. and undermines her government, this after tearing down NATO and before his one on one with his great friend, Putin. And the beat goes on……….. THE WORST WING and the FIGHT HOUSE
I just concluded a couple of things that motivate me this morning. The first was the performance of POTUS at the NATO Summit in Brussels, truly one of the most abysmal performances by an American President on ANY stage. I also just concluded the fifth season of “THE WEST WING”, with two more to go. I had written a previous post entitled “THE EAST WING” in referencing the comparison of the good and decent people and democratic ideologies portrayed on the show versus what we actually see taking place today under Donald Trump, with his “CABINET OF CLOWNS”, advisors who come and go faster than we can forget their names, his lying Press Secretary Sarah “HUCKLEBERRY” Sanders and the continuous stream of lies and misinformation that spew forth daily from this White House. Just this morning, on “Morning Joe”, Joe Scarborough, to his infinite credit, actually fact checked Trump’s carnival like press conference in REAL TIME as he tried to take credit for things he didn’t do and laid out his narrative with a bunch of lies and mistruths regarding NATO defense spending. The results were astounding! Virtually all of the so called “facts” CROOKED DONALD referenced in his news conference were essentially BULLSH*T!! And Scarborough was right on the money when he stated that the only takeaway that Trump’s supporters will take away from the entire fiasco is that Trump rode in and saved the day again!! Saved us from the evil alliance that has essentially kept Russian dreams of westward expansionism in check and trading partners who have been screwing us for years-this is the narrative CROOKED DONALD will promote with his base. The next act in this ongoing and horrifying reality show is his meeting with Putin in Helsinki next week. POTUS wants a one on one, with no other participants. Perhaps he’s going to get back the video tapes or the audio tapes Putin has been holding over him all these years, or maybe he’ll let him build a fabulous hotel right in the heart of Moscow with all of his Russian oligarch buddies. Putin is a murderous thug just like Kim Jong-un of N Korea, and both men have played Trump like a second hand fiddle. Since the demise of the former Soviet Union and the “glory” days of the cold war, Putin has wanted to dismantle NATO by any means possible. Now POTUS is doing it for him free of charge. Putin unilaterally usurped the Crimea and had his mercenaries invade Ukraine and shoot down an airplane killing hundreds of innocent civilians. He headed up the KGB, and was directly and personally involved in the hijacking of the 2016 presidential election and the cold blooded attempted murder of a former colleague in England, which has subsequently resulted in an innocent civilian’s death! This is the man that Trump wants to call his friend, and cozy up to in Finland. He will not address any of the real issues with Putin because he can’t for fear of his entire façade crumbling and the REAL truth to come out regarding his dealings with Russia dating back years ago, since the Miss Universe pageant was held in Moscow. You can draw whatever parallel you want to this narrative, but I’ve already come to my own conclusion in this regard-there can be no other logical explanation for Trump’s entire posture toward Putin and Russia other than blackmail or treason. Ignorance doesn’t count, because that’s a given. Once again I am struck in watching “THE WEST WING” by how far our countries moral standards, political bipartisanship and standing in the world have diminished in less than two years of a Trump Presidency. I recently wrote a post stating we CANNOT afford two more years of this demagogue and his policies of destruction and retribution, and the absolute importance of the upcoming mid term elections in reining this buffoon in. After seeing his most recent performances, both in Singapore and Brussels, a change in direction can’t come soon enough. The man is both an embarrassment and a real danger to our nation’s present and future security!!!! If you watched any of the Brussels news coverage, especially the look on Chief Of Staff John Kelly’s face during his boss’s insane diatribe against Germany at breakfast yesterday, that really said it all-total exasperation and the burning desire to be anywhere else on the planet other than where he was!!! This is what we’ve become in the eyes of our allies under President Donald Trump-an unreliable partner in trade, diplomacy and security. In the meanwhile, Putin and Kim are laughing all the way to the bank and the potato farm!!! NOTE TO CARDS FANS: GET OVER IT!!!
I was watching the local news this morning and heard that a group of former University of Louisville basketball players have filed a lawsuit against the NCAA for the penalties it imposed following the Katina Powell sex scandal and the Rick Pitino “pay for play” FBI investigation (what ever happened there, by the way-does anybody know????). There was also a previous lawsuit files by a group of FANS against the NCAA over the same issues. In both cases, players and fans would have us believe they were the aggrieved parties, not the rules and regulations of the NCAA which were so callously and blatantly disregard by the University and the Athletic Department, headed by King TOM himself. They still want to proudly display the NCAA Championship banner from 2013, which was stripped away as part of the sanctions imposed by the NCAA. They still want gaze upon and caress the Championship trophy so near and dear to them. Well, guess what? The lawsuits are absurdly frivolous, a complete waste of time. The NCAA answers to nobody when it comes to enforcement. The biggest mistake the University of Louisville made was of its own doing, the self imposed tournament and post season ban which prevented the team from participating in the biggest games of their respective careers. It accomplished absolutely nothing. If anybody should be filing a lawsuit, it’s the players from THAT team who should be suing the University!!! I have been, up until the last couple of years, a TRUE BLUE WILDCAT fan. As I wrote in a previous post entitled “ONE and I’M DONE!!”, my interest in both the football and basketball programs has waned considerably, the result of the acceptance of Stoop’s mediocrity in the case of football and Cal’s “one and done” revolving door with only a single banner hanging from the rafters under his regime. There has always been a natural and usually civil rivalry with all of my Louisville fan family and friends over the years. But I must say, honestly, that Cardinal fans collectively are the biggest whiners and cry babies on planet earth! Instead of getting behind the new coach (a man with an impeccable track record) Chris Mack, they choose to whine about sanctions imposed on them which were well deserved. The facts are not disputed-strippers and hookers were offered to recruits; Rick Pitino was directly involved in a “pay for play” scheme with a recruit’s family in the amount of $200,000 in cahoots with Adidos. What am I missing here, folks? At any rate, it was Louisville’s decision to look the other way in order to continue winning and filling Jurich’s and Ramsey’s coffers for distribution (family, friend’s boosters, etc.) within the family. They got caught, and now have to pay the price. One of our society’s biggest issues today is our collective lack of accountability-in the age of Trump, any lie, misstatement or spin is better than admitting to a mistake and moving on. I once lost a really good job because of a mistake I made-instead of trying to cover up my lapse of judgment I admitted my wrongdoing, took my medicine and moved on. I would urge all of my Cardinal fans to do likewise-focus on the future and forget about the past. And please, stop your whining and crying and blaming U of K for everything that doesn’t go your way. It’s not a good look for you. MILITARY TAKEOVER?!?
I just watched a part of a CBS broadcast of the PGA Tour, an event now called “A MILITARY TRIBUTE AT THE GREENBRIAR”. It made me curious about how many military veterans actually PLAY on the PGA tour, and the answer is exactly ONE!! Out of a total of one hundred and twenty five card carrying tour professionals. And yet this golf tournaments title would seem to indicate otherwise, wouldn’t it? I've been to the Greenbriar resort in West Virginia, and there are very few men on military pay who could afford to be members here-lunch in the Ryder Cup room was over fifty dollars for three of us almost twenty years ago! I wrote a post a few weeks back about several very questionable sponsors that the PGA tour embraced, corporations like HSBC, which is on record as admitting to having laundered over one billion dollars worth of drug cartel money through their banks and Volkswagen, which was indicted and fined record amounts for cheating on the clean air standards testing for their diesel engine automobiles and spewed tons of poisonous emissions into our atmosphere as a result. Now it’s the military moving in, like they have in so many other areas of our daily lives, or has anybody noticed lately??? Everywhere you turn, some sport or another like baseball or football is paying tribute to the military, with special promotional days and flyovers and flag ceremonies and on and on. The commercials for all the branches of the service, Marines, Army, Navy and Air Force bombard us throughout the course of our television day. Our hometown Kentucky Derby festivities kick off with a massive fireworks display which was the original highlight of the day, but now the military has moved in and the air show seems to be the main attraction. We are constantly assailed on a daily basis with movies and documentaries which continue to glorify the military, and to a great extent, war itself. We are a nation literally born of war. We now have a President who despite not having served never misses an opportunity to himself praise and glorify the military, and has in fact surrounded himself with a number of military men as his closest advisors, like John Kelly and H.R. McMaster. We have been at war now for almost twenty years on a continuous basis and for over fifty of my sixty plus years on this earth. We spend exorbitant amounts of money on our military, but can’t afford a health care plan for our own citizens. The so called "War on Terror" appears to be an open ended blank check for our military to operate with impunity anywhere in the world, in some cases (Niger) without the knowledge of Congress. I myself never served, having been given a 4F (Dependent Hardship) deferment upon the birth of my son in 1969 when I was eighteen years old. Later, when the draft lottery was reinstated, my number was high enough I never had to worry about being called up. However, both of my parents served in the Marine Corps., my brother in law just retired as a high ranking Air Force officer and I currently have a nephew serving with the Air Force in the Middle East. My uncle was a decorated World War II vet as well. So I understand the need for a strong military and thank each and every one of those who have served for their service. They pay the ultimate sacrifice when duty requires it, and for that we owe our freedom and our gratitude. However, I think we need to bear in mind that our military serves at the pleasure of the President and Congress, not the other way around. We should also remember that our military today is comprised of VOLUNTEERS, who recognize their responsibility and the potential of being thrown into harms way should the need arise; which it seems happens quite frequently in our recent past. We equip them with the latest technology to kill our foes and keep our enemies at bay, and we reward their service with life long benefits and adulation. This is as it should be, but we should remember the military is an instrument of our government of the people, by the people and for the people. It’s in the Constitution, a document that Donald Trump seems to have little regard for, so we must be vigilant of his relationship with the military. Like in many other areas of his Presidency, Trump seems to be more impressed with might and muscle than patience and diplomacy, and in the case of N Korea, for example, this could lead to disastrous consequences. JFK pulled us back from the brink of nuclear holocaust over fifty years ago by NOT listening to the advice of his military advisors. Had he listened to them and invaded Cuba, Russian troops with over one hundred nuclear tipped short range missiles and artillery pieces were awaiting them, and in likelihood, a total nuclear exchange between the Soviet Union and United States resulting in the virtual destruction of mankind. We need to continue today to have that civilian oversight which was so key in saving us from annihilation. I’m just not sure we have such a safeguard in place today, and I’m certainly NOT going to sleep better at night knowing that Donald Trump is our Commander in Chief, despite his false narrative on N Korea. The recent comments coming from N Korea indicate that his feeble attempt at diplomacy has failed, which now puts us all at risk of a Trump temper tantrum which results in war on the Korean Peninsula, which would have catastrophic consequences for the region and the world. |
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 |