ALL THE KING’S MEN
Humpty Trumpty sat on the wall, Humpty Trumpty had a great fall! And all the kings horses and all the king’s men Couldn’t put Trumpty together again!! This children’s nursery rhyme is a perfect analogy for what I witnessed yesterday on the Sunday morning news talk shows as Donald Trump sent out the troops to begin his impeachment defense. I saw Stephen (The KILLER) Miller (roasted by Chris Wallace!), I saw Kevin (JOE) McCarthy, I saw Lindsey Graham “CRACKER”, I saw Jim (NOT like Mike!) Jordan and of course Rudy “THE RUNAWAY BEER TRUCK” Giuliani all desperately trying to put Trumpty back together again after a week which saw the House of Representatives vote to open an impeachment inquiry into the latest scandal involving the whistleblower complaint about his dealings with the Ukraine and his attempts to enlist the aid of a foreign government in order to collect dirt on his political opponent Joe Biden. It was truly a remarkable display of Trump’s classic strategy of “defer and deflect”. Let’s be honest here. Nobody expected these gutless REPUBLIKAN sycophants to do anything BUT defend the indefensible as they have all along for fear of Trump’s retribution and their own political lives. They are mindful of the band playing on the deck of the Titanic as the great vessel slowly sank into the icy depths of the North Atlantic-they’ll just keep playing the same old song until they are under water! I believe that each one of these REPUBLIKANS as well as their cohorts in the facilitation of the most corrupt and incompetent POTUS we’ve EVER had will pay the price for their complete disregard for their Constitutional duties and oath of office at the polls. As well they should. It’s time to vote them ALL out!!! In the meanwhile, Donald Trump has become increasingly more unhinged. His tweet storm this morning ranging from having Representative Adam Shiff, Chairman of the House Intelligence Committee investigating this latest evidence of wrongdoing and malfeasance arrested for “treason” to raising the possibility of a “civil war” in America if he is removed from office is evidence of his falling off the wall. I believe we’ve just seen the tip of the iceberg here-I believe ultimately it will be revealed that the concerted attempts by Rudy Giuliani and others, including “POMPOUS” Mike Pompeo and the State Department to William (DIS)Barr and the DOJ to uncover dirt on Biden’s son Hunter and the subsequent cover up reached the highest levels of our government. If this is not abuse of power, I don’t know what is. And then to withhold critically needed military aid which had been appropriated for Ukraine months earlier by Congress in order to have their government aid Trump in his political campaign, by his own admission, is not only reprehensible but a serious breach of national security protocol. Then we also find out that in the cover up attempt documents were moved into servers which are specifically designated for top secret intelligence information so their content would not be revealed and damage Trump. There are so many other items of wrongdoing throughout the course of Trump’s presidency starting with his inauguration that the Democrats are trying to focus on the one issue that they believe Americans will understand. I believe this is a mistake. I believe EVERY single transgression should be laid out for the American people and prosecuted to the fullest extent of the law, from numerous violations of emolument statutes to campaign finance violations to tax fraud and everything in between. Donald Trump is a criminal, a liar and an extreme threat to our democracy. When a sitting president attempts to use the power of his office to solicit interference in our democratic process, like candidate Trump did with the Russians in 2016, it’s time to remove from power. And now he’s promoting the concept of a “civil war” if he’s impeached. All the more reason to do so. As to the king’s men and their companions in complicity in the REPUBLIKAN party I say this-it’s NEVER too late to do the right thing for your country. Put aside your personal ambition and insatiable thirst for power long enough to consider history will not look kindly on your failure to uphold your oath of office and Constitutional duties when the time came to save our democracy. Trumpty Dumpty’s shell is shattered, and all of the king’s horses and all the king’s men will NEVER put him together again!!!!
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I GOT PLUCKED BY KFC!!!
Picture if you will a Saturday night in Louisville, KY. You’re wife is out visiting with her sister, and you’re left on your own for dinner. So at 6:30 p.m. you drive a couple of blocks down the street to pick up some good ole Kentucky Fried Chicken. You pull into the drive through line of 5 or 6 cars and realize it might be a few minutes. Then you notice the cars ahead of you maneuvering to get OUT of the drive through line. The lady in front of you rolls down her window as she backs out of line in front of you and mouths these infamous words to you: “they’re out of chicken”!!! That’s correct-they were OUT of fried chicken at a KFC restaurant at 6:30 p.m. on a Saturday night. I will repeat-KFC WAS OUT OF FRIED CHICKEN ON SATURDAY NIGHT @ 6:30 p.m.!!!!! I have for a number of years now noticed the gradual disappearance in the quality of fast food eateries, both food and service. It’s so bad now that every time now I visit one of these establishments I leave disappointed and vowing not to return because the service was so terrible or the food was so lame. You pull up to the drive through at Mickey D’s and you’re lucky if you can understand the person on the other end or they get your order straight. Your sausage and egg McMuffin is burned. I went into a Big Boy restaurant the other day at 1:30 p.m. only to find that they were CLOSING the restaurant at 2:00 o’clock to hold a “team” meeting and that they forgot how to make a Big Boy!!! Not only was I swarmed by employees there for the meeting while sitting at the counter trying to eat but they actually fuc*ed up one of my favorite burgers! I went to a recently opened Hardees a short distance away for a breakfast biscuit at 11:00 a.m. and was told they weren’t serving breakfast anymore despite the fact that their competition serves breakfast all day long! It’s almost enough to make you want to pull a Michael Douglass in the great flick “Falling Down”, where he pulls a gun on the restaurant manager who refuses to sell him a breakfast sandwich because he’s five minutes too late! The Steak and Shake restaurant in a nearby shopping area closed because the service was so slow people stop going there. These are but a few of the examples that come to mind, to say nothing of the countless times my order has been screwed up or the food was unacceptable once you actually got home to eat it. YUM Brands, the owner of KFC and a number of other horrifyingly BAD fast food joints like Taco Bell and Pizza Hut should be ashamed of themselves. Worst of all they are headquartered right here in Louisville!!! You better believe I will be writing them a nice letter including a link to this blog and post.You can make a lot of mistakes running a high volume fast food outlet but the one mistake you CANNOT make is running out of food. I remember a similar experience we had years ago in Franklin, TN when we stopped to eat on the way to Florida at an Arby’s and were told they were “out of roast beef”. Two simple phrases should adequately cover both experiences-OMG!!! And WTF??? All I can say is thank God (pun intended) for Chick-Fil-A and Culver’s, the two bench marks for fast food excellence. After my fruitless foray to KFC, I pulled into Chick-Fil-A and despite a lengthy line was in and out of there in less than five minutes. And Culver’s has some of the finest fast food you’ll ever eat, be it there awesome burger or the pork tenderloin sandwich. The service at both of these establishments is ALWAYS top notch. It appears YUM and KFC could learn a thing or two from these operators-like you NEVER EVER run out of fried chicken on Saturday night!!! I’m quite certain Colonel Harlan Sanders, who is buried right here in Louisville, turned over in his grave last night. He would NOT have been too pleased. Finger lickin good?!? How about out of fricken chicken?!? TIME TO (DIS)BARR BILL!!!
The incredible scandal that has unfolded before our very eyes this week which may well result in the impeachment of President Donald J. Trump has come at us so fast that we may well be served by stepping back and looking into what may just be the tip of the iceberg with this corrupt administration. It now seems very likely that Trump’s toxicity have found its way into virtually ALL levels of his government, including the Secretary of State, “POMPOUS” Mike Pompeo as well as the Attorney General himself, William (DIS)Barr!! These revelations were made public with the release of the whistleblower complaint that is at the center of this latest indication of the depths to which Trump and his flunkies will go to cover his tracks in the absolute myriad of criminal activities which he has undertaken since becoming President. What we know for certain is that Trump did indeed attempt to blackmail the new government of Ukraine by demanding dirt on Joe Biden, his likely opponent in next year’s presidential election in return for desperately needed military aid they required to fend off Russian aggression in eastern Ukraine. He sent his personal attorney, “RUNAWAY” Rudy Guiliani on several clandestine rendezvous with Ukrainian officials in order to try to get the newly elected president to go along with his scheme (apparently with the knowledge of Pompeo). He also mentioned on several occasions that he would also involve Attorney General William (DIS)Barr in the investigation into Biden’s son, an investigation without ANY credible merit according to the actual Ukrainian prosecutor who was involved in the case. Barr has claimed he had no knowledge of any such ongoing conversations and that he had never discussed the matter with Trump. Bear in mind this is the same man who LIED to Congress during the hearings on the Mueller report, so his credibility is questionable at best at this juncture. The actual facts suggest otherwise. The Inspector General of Intelligence naively turned the complaint over to the very people who were being named in it, especially Trump and Barr. It is at this point that numerous individuals, including the Attorney General himself, engaged in a concerted effort to hide the evidence of Trump’s malfeasance by circumventing the system and reclassifying the documents as sensitive and security intelligence instead of the political agenda being pursued by the President to enlist the aid of a foreign government to damage a political opponent. Fortunately, there is apparently a few good people left in the service of our government who recognized the serious nature of the President’s actions and took steps to alert Congress. Anybody who doesn’t believe that Barr didn’t know what was going on and never discussed the issue with the President is either living in a cave or watching FAUX NEWS or a member of Trump’s base, who will go down in flames with him to the bitter end believing that he was the victim of a left wing socialist conspiracy plot to overthrow his administration from day one. The facts suggest otherwise-that he and his appointees have flouted the rules of law and governance since the day of his inauguration nearly three years ago and he finally stepped too far over the line with this latest brazen attempt to circumvent our democratic process, like he did in 2016. Nearly half of America now supports impeachment proceedings. As the impeachment inquiry moves forward through the House Intelligence Committee in the next few weeks, I’m absolutely certain there will be much more damaging information revealed about what has gone on in the Trump White House, the incredible abuses of power, the unbridled greed and graft and the total disregard for the Constitution of the United States. One of the individuals that I believe will be held accountable for his actions and behavior in this entire sorry episode will be William Barr, and deservedly so. I have NEVER trusted this man since the day Trump introduced him to replace Jeff Sessions, a man that Trump absolutely despised for recusing himself from the Russia investigation and appointing Robert Mueller as Special Prosecutor. My suspicions have been confirmed. Not only did Barr whitewash the findings of Mueller’s report in such a fashion that it appeared that Trump wasn’t guilty of ANY wrongdoing when in fact Mueller’s investigation revealed TEN different examples of obstruction of justice which could have been levied against him, it was also Barr’s DOJ that narrated the report’s overriding theme that a sitting president could not be indicted. And Trump thought he was free and clear to, according to his own interpretation of Article Two of the Constitution (probably the only part of the entire document he ever laid eyes on!) do “whatever he wanted to” including blackmailing our allies for political gain and attempting to subvert our democratic process to insure his own reelection in 2020. He was sadly mistaken. The worst part of this latest chapter in the dismal failure of Donald Trump’s presidency is the reaction of REPUBLIKANS like Lindsey Graham “CRACKER”, Jim (NOT like Mike!) Jordan, Kevin (JOE) McCarthy and other Congressional members and the House Democrats that number just over a dozen or so who are putting their own political agendas ahead of the good of the country. History will not be kind to them if they continue to try to protect a POTUS who has gone so far beyond the pale he MUST be removed from office. And where, pray tell, is “MOSCOW MITCH” in all of this?!? Hiding in his office sitting on any legislation that would benefit America in order to further his political agenda, like meaningful gun regulations or election security, that’s where!!! He is a gutless coward and I will do everything I possibly can to convince my fellow Kentuckians that this man’s shelf life has expired and it IS indeed time for a change. It will be very interesting indeed to see where the road leads from here, but it doesn’t appear the drive will be one that either Trump or his cohorts in crime (literally) will enjoy very much. Make America Great Again???? You’ve got to be FUC*ING kidding me!!!! One man and his corrupt ways and amoral policies have torn our country asunder, and it’s time to start putting it back together again. To those who say it’s all an exercise in futility to bring impeachment proceedings against CROOKED DONALD because the REPUBLIKAN controlled Senate won’t convict him I say that they haven’t studied history, and that those who choose for their own selfish political or personal gain to stand with Trump will indeed pay the price in the next election. America and the world have had enough of this immoral charlatan and his divisive and corrupt policies and actions. IMPEACH! Now. THAT will make America great again. THE RUINATION OF “RUNAWAY” RUDY’S REPUTATION
The very sad tale of the utter meltdown of a once great man continues with former NYC Mayor Rudy “RUNAWAY BEER TRUCK” Giuliani (this great nickname was given to him by Mika Brzezinski of "Morning Joe") in his misguided service to Donald Trump. In the last several weeks his appearances on nightly talk shows on CNN but mostly FAUX NEWS, like last night, have led one to wonder: a) is he suffering from dementia?; b) did he pull the beer truck over en route and tip a few? c) Is he a pathological liar like his client? d) Is he just plain stupid? e) A combination of ALL of the above?!? The latest round of appearances were meant to dispel the controversy surrounding Trump’s attempts to withhold appropriated military aid to Ukraine in exchange for dirt on his political opponent Joe Biden and his son, who once served on the board of a Ukrainian company. Giuliani recently returned from there on a mission whose intent, by his own foolish admission, was to convince the Ukrainian government to investigate Biden on behalf of Trump. He said as much in a CNN interview with Chris Cuomo, who’s questioning made Giuliani look like the utter buffoon he’s turned into while serving as CROOKED DONALD’S personal attorney. He said he did it and was PROUD of it. This ill advised remark is what precipitated the entire inquiry into the now infamous phone call with the Ukrainian President. Last night on FAUX he was bumbling and stumbling like a defensive tackle running 70 yards with a fumble recovery over the soft ball lobs the anchor was handing him, and at one point demanded that one of the people in the discussion be “taken off” when he didn’t like his line of questioning. Trump, who at one point had determined that Giuliani was “unfit” to serve as Secretary of State (I believe he thinks he IS the Secretary of State!), must at this point truly rue the day he brought this man aboard. While he has indeed served as the perfect spokesman for Trump’s never ending barrage of misinformation, lies and the classic “defer and deflect strategy” the president employs on a regular basis, I have to believe that his shelf life is past the expiration date. I believe now with the formal impeachment proceedings now being undertaken by Speaker Pelosi and the House of Representatives as a result of this latest brazen breach of national security and political protocol, that “RUNAWAY RUDY’S days are indeed numbered in the service of his golden idol, and that he will end up in the Trump dumpster like so many others who have sold their very souls to him. I’ve said it before. I for one was uplifted and impressed with the way Rudy Giuliani dealt with the horror of 9/11 and the devastating impact it had on his city. He behaved in those dark days like a leader should behave-acting in the best interest of his constituents and moving NYC forward from the tragedy. Where has that man gone? He has been replaced by a seemingly punch drunk buffoon who is nothing more than a complete sycophant to the most corrupt and dishonest POTUS to EVER occupy the White House. His feeble attempts to defend the endless litany of serious offenses and breaches of protocol committed by his client have done more harm than good. He’s a great guest for FAUX NEWS on a regular basis, which tells you all you need to know about them. Roger Ailes would be proud of their performance last night too, with their on air morons like “INSANITY” Hannity citing any possible reason they could grasp onto that Trump’s actions with regard to the phone conversation were not a serious offense, certainly not one that was impeachable! Donald Trump’s history tells us how he operates-he lies in the open and then attempts to spin the narrative to his own either himself or thru the sycophants and yes men he has surrounded himself with like Steve “The MUNCHKIN” Mnuchin or Lindsey Graham “CRACKER” (another one who is a mere shadow of the former man and politician he used to be, having also sold his soul to Trump in return for a free pass to reelection.) Today he release the “transcripts” of the conversation he had and they reveal precisely what he has been denying all along-he absolutely DID ask the Ukrainian leader to dig up dirt on Joe Biden and had intimated through other comments that hundreds of millions in desperately needed military aid and equipment might be withheld if he didn’t cooperate. In essence he was doing just exactly what he told George Stephanopoulos of ABC he would do-elicit help from a foreign government to help him secure the election in 2020. In this case it’s Ukraine. In 2016 it was Russia. There is no mystery of conspiracy here. It’s obvious that the President of the United States of America, Donald J. Trump, was directly involved in a serious breach of the protocols of national security and must be held accountable. He should be impeached. In the meanwhile, stay tuned. If you happen to catch an interview with “RUNAWAY” Rudy on FAUX NEWS on another network news channel, tune in for the sheer entertainment it will afford as you consider the a) through e) options I outlined above regarding his behavior but consider the source and don’t take anything this washed up has been says seriously. Nobody else does these days. THE “SELF” DESTRUCTION OF KU
Was there anybody besides me the last year or so who wondered why Bill Self, the basketball coach at Kansas, was still coaching his team while Rick Pitino was fired and a couple of other assistant coaches actually went to prison over the federal probe into corruption in college athletics on a widespread scale? Yet despite the questions regarding his integrity and that of his program the university continued to support Self and his claims of innocence. The day of reckoning arrived yesterday for Bill Self and KU. The University of Kansas received a notice of allegations from the NCAA on Monday that alleges significant violations within its storied men's basketball program, including a responsibility charge leveled against Hall of Fame coach Bill Self. The notice includes three Level 1 violations tied primarily to recruiting and cites a lack of institutional control. It also includes notice of a secondary violation in football tied to then-coach David Beaty that involved the use of an extra coach during practice. While the document does not go into detail about what the basketball program is accused of doing, Kansas was among the most prominent programs swept up in an NCAA probe into a pay-for-play scheme that began with an FBI investigation into apparel company Adidas . A former Adidas employee testified that he made payments to the family of one Kansas recruit and the guardian of a current player. Text messages presented in court revealed a close relationship between Self and the Adidas employee. The school said in a statement that it "strongly disagrees with the assertion that it 'lacks institutional control.' In fact, the university believes the record will demonstrate just the opposite." Kansas had been in the NCAA's crosshairs since early this summer, when Vice President Stan Wilcox said at least six schools were likely to receive notices of allegations for Level 1 infractions. North Carolina State was the first of them, getting a notice July 10 of two violations, including a failure-to-monitor charge leveled against former coach Mark Gottfried. Arizona, Auburn, Creighton, Louisville, LSU and USC have also been under the microscope. Level 1 infractions are considered the most severe by the NCAA, and often include postseason bans, the forfeiture of wins and championships and the loss of scholarships. But the notice itself is only the beginning of a process that can often take more than a year — the school typically sends a response to the NCAA enforcement committee, setting off an exchange of information. Self is in deep trouble no matter how hard the University tries to spin the story or throw whatever legal barriers they can against the NCAA for whatever period of time. The NCAA will win and Self and his reputation as well as KU’s will be remanded to the trash heap. And the same thing holds true for guys like Sean Miller of Arizona and Bruce “the Black” Pearl of Auburn, who competed for the national championship last year. They have managed to escape the long arm of the law by having assistant coaches take the fall but I believe their days of reckoning are also at hand. They are cheaters who got caught, just like Pitino at Louisville. They should be expelled from the sport. It’s not the first dance for either one of them. The “Just Win Baby” mentality of college coaches and boosters and alumni at the highest levels of sport involving pay offs and bribes is coming to a screeching halt. The very future of their domain is at stake here, lest the NCAA cede their power and authority to Nike or Adidas, which appears to have been the driving force behind this scandal. Freaking shoe companies and their multi million dollar endorsement deals-all because the NCAA refuses to acknowledge the need for REAL change in its policies toward athlete remuneration for their services beyond scholarship money. It’s no wonder the parents of some of these recruits have no problem accepting large amounts of cash to persuade their young prodigy to take his talents to Lawrence or Auburn or Louisville-they need the money to support themselves and their sons. The NCAA rules regarding such meaningless BS as accepting a free meal are a joke and the entire spectrum of what is and is not deemed appropriate behavior by all parties needs to be revisited. In the meanwhile, Bill Self, Sean Miller and Bruce Pearl will be on the sidelines as long as they keep bringing in those big dollars and prized recruits to make their institution proud! And shame on these schools, their administrations and supporters who would rather win than play by the rules. And oh, BTW, the tired adage of “everybody does it” doesn’t hold any water either. Everybody DOESN’T "JUST DO IT". And those that do should be held accountable. Period. End of report. TIME TO TALK TERM LIMITS
With the present day nightmare in Washington unfolding daily before us, there’s a subject matter that I haven’t heard too many of the politicians talk about (for obvious reasons!) and that is term limitations. What we have now is governmental gridlock with different parties with different agendas controlling the Legislative Branch, A President and administration that are completely oblivious to either the norms of governance or any ethical standards and a Supreme Court that has become completely polarized and politicized. We have nearly every single politician in D.C. concerned about one issue that seemingly overrides every other-their own reelection!!! This in turn leads to trying to maintain the staus quo, which obviously is no longer viable. Think about it. We have politicians being bought and sold by corporate Amerika, the NRA , oil and gas interests, chemical manufacturers who use the power of their campaign contributions to influence decisions that these elected officials are supposed to be making in the interest of the people they represent. Why? To get themselves reelected. Period. We have a President who is willing to go to any length necessary to win reelection in 2020, including breaking the law and inviting foreign intervention in our democratic process, just like he did in 2016 with Russia and Wikileaks. We have Supreme Court Justices appointed FOR LIFE who are now nothing more than appointed political hacks for the party that controls the WH and Senate. For life. What other job in the entire world is one where you get appointed for life?!? (Unless you are the president of China.) The last two REPUBLIKAN appointments have been tainted with controversy, from the maneuvering of Senate Majority Leader “MOSCOW MITCH” McConnell to get Neil Gorsuch appointed over Merrick Garland to the sexual harassment allegations that hang over Brett Kavanaugh to this day. And now they will continue setting policy on the most important issues of our time for decades. I have been wondering why “NO BALLS” Nancy Pelosi has thus far refused to institute an impeachment inquiry into the incredible wrongdoings of Donald Trump, such as the latest incident involving withholding appropriated military aid to a key NATO ally, Ukraine unless their leadership dug up dirt (or manufactured it like he and his allies are doing right now) on Joe Biden and his son. The answer came this morning while I was listening to “Morning Joe’s” panel discuss the subject. It turns out that Pelosi has been trying to protect her caucus members who are from districts that the Republikans or Trump had won in 2016 and that might be vulnerable if they vote for impeachment. Once again, instead of doing the right thing and the duty the Constitution defines, politicians base their decisions which affect the very security of our nation on their own political calculations. I have a very simple solution, one that will take most of the PAC money, lobbyists, political calculus and the never ending campaigning (we are still over a year away from the election and already people are weary of the entire process!!!) out of play for the most part and insure that a far greater number of Americans become involved in the political process. It will also remove the self perpetuating politicians who are only interested in getting reelected from the process and allow new blood and fresh ideas to take the place of stagnation and members who have served for literally decades. My idea is passage of a Constitutional Amendment that will limit the term of ALL national political offices, including Congress and the presidency to FOUR YEARS. SCOTUS Justices would be appointed for a period not to exceed SIX YEARS. That’s it, plain and simple. Once the time in the office has been served, your country thanks you for your service and somebody else will step in to take your place through the normal political process. You may no longer serve in a federal political capacity once you have served your term out. What would this do to alleviate the quagmire we are currently stuck in? Trump wouldn’t have any reason to break the law, politicians would be able to vote the will of their constituency without fear of retribution from special interest groups or the president and the Supreme Court would be less politicized and less polarized, thus able to more fairly determine the laws which govern us. A good deal of the PAC money would be taken out of the process when these groups like the NRA realize they are only buying somebody for four years instead of thirty, like with “MASSACRE MITCH”. That’s my suggestion. It’s time “we the people” took back our own government. This is one way to start. Your comments or suggestions would be welcome. There HAS to be a better way, don’t you agree????? MATT BEVIN’S “MAD” REELECTION CAMPAIGN
I just saw “MAD” Matt Bevin’s latest campaign commercial, and it indeed confirmed what I have been saying all along. The only way he can possibly win reelection is by riding Donald Trump’s misguided popularity in the Commonwealth (and riding on Air Farce One with him!) and by running an incredibly negative ad campaign against his Democratic gubernatorial opponent Attorney General Andy Beshear fueled by out of state REPUBLIKAN PAC money which will end up being in the millions of dollars. The charade has already begun, as evidenced by Trump’s recent visit to Louisville to support Bevin at a fund raiser and the several attack ads that have run thus far. The REPUBLIKAN party has sunk so low and has such little regard for the intelligence of the voters that they feel entitled to say or do anything in order to maintain their current hold on state government, from the governor’s office to the legislature. The latest Bevin ad focuses on the immigration issue. It claims that as a result of Andy Beshear’s position on issues like sanctuary cities, Kentucky will be, wait for it…….over run by “HORDES” of MS-13 gang members (featured prominently in the opening segment) and other illegal immigrants! The same page from the playbook that his golden idol Donald Trump used in his 2016 campaign. Scare tactics. Paint ALL Democrats as soft on immigration. And sooooooo predictable. I’m curious as to how many people in this state actually consider that illegal immigration is a serious issue for the Commonwealth-I know I sure don’t. Defer and deflect, again, a classic strategy straight from the Trump playbook. “MAD” Matt’s previous attack ads dealt with the issue of women’s rights and his never ending Evangelical quest for the revoking of the Constitutional right of choice for women that featured him and his fifty seven children. It was just as revolting. One of his ads claimed Beshear is not “one of us”, whatever that means coming from the campaign of a true carpetbagger from Connecticut. He touts his economic record in another ad while claiming that we would lose jobs and go backwards under a Democratic administration, but a number of his “deals” to attract investment in Kentucky have drawn scrutiny when it was revealed that a Russian oligarch previously under federal indictment was financing the aluminum mill project in east Kentucky, working with “MOSCOW MITCH” as well. Two peas in a pod. Bevin’s ethics record is typical of nearly every REPUBLIKAN currently holding office, and now he is being investigated for a number of charter air flights using state owned aircraft at taxpayer expense for his own purposes rather than state business. He was also embroiled in a questionable assessment on his Anchorage residence that was under valued by hundreds of thousands of dollars. His deals to attract foreign investment are also being scrutinized. The man is a shyster, plain and simple. He has fought unions at every turn since the day he took office, pushing through a so called “right to work law” as one of his first priorities. Instead of working with the states teachers to solve the pension fund financial crisis, he declares war on them, even to the point of trying to have them punished for their participation in the “sick outs” that they orchestrated in order to prevent the REPUBLIKAN controlled legislature from pulling another eleventh hour political maneuver like they had done the previous session. “MAD” Matt Bevin may have been responsible for bringing jobs to the Commonwealth, but beyond that his record of accomplishments is a big fat ZERO. He is the most unpopular governor EVER in Kentucky, and one poll actually indicated he is the most unpopular governor IN THE COUNTRY!!! Every time he appears in the media he makes a fool of himself and embarrasses the Commonwealth, from his inane remarks regarding school children standing at the bus stop in -20 deg weather to the trophy presentations at the Kentucky Derby. I said at the time of his unexpected election compliments of a terribly weak Democratic opponent in Jack Conway that he was the harbinger of things to come, and then Trump got elected in essentially the same way (apparently they both got help from the Russians, too!). This time around will also be a bell weather indicator of things to come in 2020, and hopefully the outcome will be completely different on both counts. Neither the Commonwealth of Kentucky nor the United States of America can stand four more years of either of these buffoons!!!!! Make your vote count come November and send this nasty little demagogue wanna be packing. He REALLY isn’t one of us!! BTW, there are no “hordes” of illegal immigrants coming to get us. There are no MS-13 gang members in Kentucky. There are no so called “sanctuary cities” in Kentucky either. It’s all REPUBLIKAN BULLSH*T!!! SAYONARA SUMMER SATURDAY SNIPPETS
As we close out the last couple of days of Summer on this warm and toasty Saturday, here are a few more “Saturday Snippets” for your reading enjoyment. Topics will vary. ADIOS A.B.!!! Finally somebody stepped up and did the right thing for once, in this case Robert Kraft, the billionaire owner of the New England Patriots, who was obviously behind the decision for the team to cut ties with Antonio Brown after just over one week. The apparent straw that broke the camel’s back was another woman who had come forward with additional instances of sexual abuse as well as threats and intimidation against her by Brown. Sports Illustrated also reported numerous shady business dealing Brown was involved with where supposed partners were bilked out of money. In short, the dude is a thug. They should have never brought him on in the first place, and if they weren’t aware of these additional claims against Brown WHY WEREN’T THEY??? And I also would point out what a total asshole Bill Beli(PRICK) was through this entire episode. His performance and insistence that it was only about football were not only laughable they were lamentable as well. Just win Baby!!! And finally I would ask the MILLION Dollar question…..where in the hell was Roger Goodell throughout all of this?? Very strangely silent. Another pathetic performance by the man who refuses to do what is right in order to keep the “Billionaires Boys Club” happy!!! At any rate, at this point in time you would have to believe that A.B. is too toxic for ANY team to pick him up. I wrote a post a week or so ago entitled “The Terrible Tale of Antonio Brown” and sadly it appears to have come to fruition. All that talent wasted because he can’t apparently can’t keep it in his pants!!! And how many MILLIONS squandered?!? RUDY GUILIANI, aka “THE RUNAWAY BEER TRUCK” After watching video of Trump attorney (one of a cast of thousands!) and former NYC mayor Rudy Giuliani being interrogated by CNN’s Chris Cuomo regarding his recent travel to and dealings with Ukraine trying to dredge up dirt on Joe Biden I must say I was saddened. I remember on 9/11 and the days, weeks and months thereafter what a truly inspirational leader Giuliani had appeared to be in rallying the city from the most horrible day in its history. And to see him now, having totally sold his soul to CROOKED DONALD, bumbling and stumbling his way through countless staged interviews on FAUX NEWS I feel sorry for him. This is what Donald Trump does to EVERYONE around him-uses them and abuses them until their shelf life expires and then throws them into the dumpster. If “RUNAWAY BEER TRUCK” Giuliani wasn’t inebriated during the CNN interview, maybe he should have been as Cuomo sliced him and diced him up like a carrot going into a salad. If Trump were smart, which he isn’t, he would have recognized Rudy needed to be benched a long time ago. Or in Trump’s preferred vernacular, thrown into the dumpster! With the rest of the garbage. IMPEACHMENT MOMENTUM GATHERING STEAM IN THE HOUSE! Following an entire wasted summer of pursuing the losing strategy of tip toeing around the subject of impeaching Trump and trying to shoot him down with BB’s instead of an AR-15 (that one’s for you NRA!!!!), it finally seems that House Speaker Nancy “NO BALLS” Pelosi is becoming convinced that a full scale impeachment inquiry into Donald Trump and his administration should be undertaken ASAP. With daily revelations forthcoming about wrongdoing or fraud piling up, the situation has become one where it appears Dems have no choice but to act, particularly in light of the latest abuses of power regarding the Ukraine and his 2020 political campaign. While it is indeed true that it is very unlikely that the REPUBLIKAN controlled Senate would ever vote to convict on articles of impeachment seeing as how “MOSCOW MITCH” is just another one of Trump’s boys, it would force these gutless cowards to put there name on a vote that will come back to haunt them next election. And the hearings in the House just might bring to light further improprieties that would perhaps force the Senate’s hand, like trading foreign aid for political favors. Or failing to reign in your BFF Kim Jung un while he further develops his capabilities to inflict serious harm on either us or our allies; or selling out our democratic process to Vladimir Putin in order to steal the presidency-you know, small little items like that. I say get on with it Jerry Nadler, Adam Shiff and Elijah Cummings!!!! And especially you, “NO BALLS”!!! NRA MOCKINGLY NAMES BETO O’ROURKE AR-15 “SALESMAN OF THE YEAR” In case you weren’t aware, Democrat Beto O’Rourke has proposed a ban on assault style rifles, a voluntary buy back (many other Democratic candidates also share these views) but then went as far as saying that weapons should be seized from individuals should the sales ban and voluntary buy back program not work. Almost without exception the other candidates rebuked that position as a part of the party platform, but the REPUBLIKANS of course seized on the opportunity and now are trying to paint ALL of the Democratic presidential candidates with the same brush. And now comes word that the number one public enemy, the NRA, has put out a statement naming Beto O’Rourke as their assault rifle “salesman of the year” for making the statement and facilitating another red neck run on these horrible weapons of mass destruction. To them the whole thing is nothing more than another chance to sell more guns and ammo, and they don’t care how that mission gets accomplished or how many people die in the meanwhile. And they make a joke out of a serious proposal whose only real intent is to somehow stem the tide of gun violence that has permeated our society and cost the lives of hundreds of innocent victims in just the last couple of years!!! Is there anybody else laughing??? McConnell and Trump are eager to rid us of the scourge of e cigarettes, but willing to continue to let the NRA and a vocal minority dictate our nation’s gun policies. Where fewer than ten people have died from vaping, hundreds have perished at the hands of individuals armed with assault rifles. WTF is wrong with this picture??? Every single Congressional delegate who takes ANY campaign contributions from the NRA should be held as accomplices to this gun madness and held accountable at the ballot box. Your life or that of a family member or friend who went out to a concert, or a night club, or a festival, to church or the synagogue might be at stake!!! And that is no laughing matter. WHAT WE HAVE HERE IS “FAILURE TO LAUNCH!!” For all of the tough talk from Donald Trump and his puppet “POMPOUS” Mike Pompeo regarding Iran and the attack upon the Saudi oil production facilities, it now seems that further economic sanctions will be the response of the United States. The Saudis have done nothing in response, other than show what they claim was evidence that Iran was directly involved in the attack. Now Trump wants to send additional military and economic aid to his BFF MBS, who apparently has no stomach for REAL war. He would rather kidnap, torture, murder and dismember innocent journalists instead of fighting against a mortal enemy who launched a brazen attack on his sovereign soil. And as far as our lack of a military response, believe me people like Kim Jung un and Vladimir Putin are watching closely. It would certainly seem that this president also has no stomach for the fight, typical of the schoolyard bully. The Iranians have attacked oil tankers, shot down a U.S. drone over the Gulf and now facilitated a massive attack on another country, nearly cutting Saudi Arabia’s oil output by half. And we do nothing more than give them a slap on the wrist. No matter how successful Trump or Pompeo claim these sanctions to be, they aren’t, plain and simple. The leadership of Iran cannot afford to blink, and they won’t. It appears Donald Trump is the one that blinked, twice! Where is Dr. Strangelove (John Bolton) when we really need him??? Oh, I forgot, Trump fired him too!!! Trump’s entire foreign policy is a disaster, from N Korea to China to Russia to Greenland to Iran and everywhere in between, we have seen failure after failure in policy initiatives and directives, a revolving door of players who should be setting policy instead of “the great negotiator” and each of these spots represent a potential flash point (except of course, Greenland, unless Trump decides to send in “his” military!) that hold serious and inherent risks for us and our allies. (Do we have ANY left?!?) And we have Trump tweeting out that his relationship with the murderous thug Kim Jung un is quote “the best thing that ever happened to our country”???? Are you sleeping better at night like the president promised following his FIRST photo op with the N Korean dictator, the same one who has been personally responsible for the deaths of thousands of civilians, killed members of his own regime and family by such fun methods as saran poisoning in the middle of an airport, feeding them to starving dogs or blowing them apart at short range with artillery??? I know I’m not!!! CUBS LOSE! CUBS LOSE! CUBS LOSE! As the interminably long baseball season winds down these last couple of weeks, I must say I’m glad to see the Chicago Cubs faltering down the stretch in their quest for either a division crown or wild card slot in the upcoming play offs. I could understand the constant underdog mentality of the Chicago faithful following their nearly century old draught without a championship (was it the goat???), but since they won the World Series a few years ago that shtick has worn thin as has the constant appearance of Cub fans at rivals ball parks who seemingly outnumber the home team’s fans. I’ve been to two different ball parks to see Cub games where the Cub fans far outnumbered the fans of the Milwaukee Brewers and the Cincinnati Reds and out cheered them as well. So I have just two questions-what’s so special about the Cubs and what’s so special about their fans?? Answer? Nothing. Stay home and cheer at Wrigley all you want. And BTW, you’ll be staying home for the play offs too!!! For the winter. Adios Joe!!! It’s been a fun ride but time to move on. And Cub fans-see you in another town next year (unfortunately). And go Cardinals!!! ALL THE PRESIDENT’S MEN REDUX In watching the utterly shameful “testimony” of former Trump campaign manager Corey Lewandowski before the House Judiciary Committee yesterday, I was reminded of a time some forty plus years ago when “TRICKY” Dick Nixon was embroiled in the Watergate scandal and one of his top henchmen, H.R. Haldeman, appeared before the Senate Committee to testify. He too was belligerent, obtuse and determined to defend his boss to the bitter end. Here is what the Democratic Chairman of that committee had to say following yesterday’s performance, one hundred per cent orchestrated by the White House. House Judiciary Chairman Jerry Nadler told CNN that today’s hearing adds more weight for impeachment. “Article 3 of Nixon’s impeachment was obstruction of Congress, refusing to obey defined congressional subpoenas, pleading imaginary privileges. And obviously that’s what the President has been doing," the Democratic lawmaker said. "Nixon wasn’t foolish to say in advance that he’s going to defy all congressional subpoenas ... and today we saw a witness instructed by the White House completely contemptuous of Congress who refused to answer relevant questions. Just another instance of obstruction of Congress and that’s what Article 3 of the Nixon impeachment was," Nadler added. So apparently I’m not the only one old enough to draw the comparison. Lewandowski, with his military style hair cut and his belligerent demeanor throughout the course of the hearings, from his opening statement to the end, was incredibly Haldemanesque. And the wrongdoing he was trying to cover up pales in comparison to the unbelievable corruption and obstruction that Donald Trump and his henchmen will go to ANY length to conceal. The complete and utter disdain demonstrated by Lewandowski’s testimony (or lack thereof) to this committee was typical of the complete lack of morality and respect for the norms of governance which permeates this White House as well as the West Wing. While the talking heads today are dissecting the political ramifications of this charade, the American people are smart enough to understand Trump’s tactics and to make up their own minds as to whether or not the most corrupt and amoral president and his administration deserve another term in office. Or to finish this one out. I seriously believe that Trump’s arrogance and ego, as well as the “Don” mentality that he and his hatchet men demonstrate time and again will be his ultimate undoing. In the meanwhile, the lies, stonewalling and the despicable REPUBLIKAN defense of Trump will continue. I’ve said it before and I’ll say it again. Speaker Pelosi, ditch the Nancy “No Balls” strategy and impeach this man before he completely destroys our democracy and sets off World War III. The Senate will of course never uphold the articles of impeachment, but each of the REPUBLIKAN sycophants who vote to keep this corrupt and dangerous man in office will be held accountable for their actions. TRUMPED
(Blogger's Note: This is one of my original posts going back almost two and a half years ago. Unfortunately for all of us, things have turned out WORSE than I predicted!!!) They say we get the government we deserve. Well, I don’t know what I did to deserve Donald Trump and the Republican majority, but whatever it was I would do any penance required to turn back time (and Russia and Wikileaks). As hard as it was to garner much enthusiasm for Hillary Clinton, she was obviously far more qualified to assume the duties the office requires and her liberal policies more in line with my political ideology. I wondered as I cast my ballot how anyone could possibly vote in good conscience for the man who said he would “make America great again”; then I recalled a conversation a couple of months previous with my brother-in-law, a retired Air Force general for whom I have the utmost respect, that almost resulted in a physical confrontation, who believed that Hillary was not “trustworthy” and could not keep our most sensitive intelligence information from the hands of those who would do us harm. Thinking about that conversation today, amid the ongoing investigation(s) into just such allegations against the president and his people, it seems almost prophetic in the reverse. Good intentioned people, solid, white middle class people were duped into believing as an outsider Trump could magically transform our government-well, fellow countrymen, he is in the process of doing just that! The Republican Party, of which I was a member for over forty years (until the presidency of George W. Bush, a post for another day), has allowed this President to obliterate any semblance of governance they had envisioned when he swept them into power, completely derailing key issues such as Health Care, Tax Reform, Infrastructure, Foreign Policy while they all grovel at his feet, either unwilling or unable to reign him in. Mitch McConnell-where are you? Paul Ryan, your comments are lamer than a lot of Republican terms in the House and Senate in 2018 at this rate! And meanwhile in DC, all that gets accomplished in more investigating “committees”, while Rome burns in the background. Our country is in grave peril from external threats, such as North Korea, Iran, Russia (duh!) and ISIS, among others, but the biggest threat to our Republic currently resides at 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue (or does he?), and unless immediate steps are taken to curtail his reckless and dangerous policies, we will suffer the same fate as many previous democratic states have suffered-extinction at the hands of a man who came to power by very questionable means but was allowed to consolidate his power until no one could challenge it. I realize our country is deeply polarized from a ideological standpoint on many issues, but the very survival of our democratic way of life is at stake here. WAKE UP AMERICA, before it’s too late!! |
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 |