"All the news we deem fit to print"
Donald Trump recently went out of his way just to shake the hand of Kim Jong Un at the DMZ. Is this cozying up to the North Korean leader a way of making his current flame, Vladimir Putin, envious or just a not-so-subtle signal he wants to start seeing other dictators?
Trump did recently receive a lovely letter from Kim. According to sources, Trump claimed no one writes “beautiful letters” like the North Korean strongman.
Photo | kevin lamarque/reuters
After her breakout debate performance in this week’s Democratic Presidential debate, questions have started to swirl over Kamala Harris’s “blackness.” Is the woman who calls herself the second African-American woman to serve in the U.S. Senate really “black?”
Kamala Harris was born to an Indian mother and a Jamaican father on October 20, 1964, in Oakland, California.
The Merriam- Webster dictionary defines black as: (1)”of or relating to any of various population groups having dark pigmentation of the skin” (2) “of or relating to African American people or their culture.”
The same dictionary defines “African American” as: “an American of African and especially of black African descent.” Colloquially speaking, however, many people define “African American” as simply a black American.
Under definition #1, since Jamaicans are considered a population group having dark pigmentation of skin, Kamala Harris is black. Under definition #2, Kamala Harris may or may not technically be an African American. However, it should be noted most Jamaicans are of full or partial black African descent.
So let the controversy over Harris’s “blackness” begin! Some critics have gone so far as to claim, while she may be black, she is not dark enough to be a “black” role model!
Answer: Kamala Harris is black.
Photo | elle.com
The first 2020 Democratic presidential debate went off last night without a hitch (OK, except for some technical difficulties with the sound system). All 10 candidates gave predictable answers, with no one making a major gaffe.
The hope of any candidate on a crowded debate stage is to come up with one memorable line (answer) that caps off his or her performance. Gov. Jay Inslee did just that … he nailed it! Towards the end of the debate, Chuck Todd asked the candidates, “What is the greatest geopolitical threat to the United States?”
While most of the other candidates gave pat answers (China, climate change, nuclear weapons, Russia), one presidential hopeful, Inslee, answered, “The biggest threat is Donald Trump. No question about it.”
Bingo! The audience at the Adrienne Arsht Center for the Performing Arts in Miami went wild with applause. Inslee actually had the nerve to say what many non-Trump cultists believe and desperately wanted to hear from a candidate’s mouth.
While it is very unlikely Inslee with be the eventual Democratic presidential nominee, it was still refreshing to see the Washington governor stick his landing by sticking it to Donald Trump!
Photo | latimes.com
The breaking news is everywhere: “Mueller agrees to testify before House committees.”
Former Special Counsel, Robert S. Mueller III, will testify in open session before the House Judiciary and Intelligence Committees on July 17.
Yet Robert Mueller is not the upstanding patriot some are portraying him to be. What Mueller has done is to simply agree to honor two subpoenas.
After weeks of negotiations between Mueller and House Democrats for his voluntary testimony, House Committee Chairmen, Jerry Nadler and Adam Schiff, were forced to issue subpoenas for Mueller’s testimony.
Mueller made it clear in a rare public statement in May that he did not wish to testify publicly about his investigation. He said his report spoke for itself … my “report is my testimony.”
“He was and is deeply reluctant to come testify, but nonetheless he has agreed to respect the subpoena,” said Schiff.
Schiff made it clear this is not a “friendly” subpoena.
“I don’t think the Special Counsel’s Office would characterize it as a ‘friendly subpoena,'” said Schiff. “He did not want to testify. He made that very clear.”
Chairman Nadler, during an interview on CNN Tuesday night, said that he is not worried that the White House or Department of Justice will block Mueller’s testimony.
“No, I’m not really worried about that because Mueller is an honest, upstanding citizen and he will testify in response to the subpoena that we issued,” Nadler said.
So the best that can be said of “Bobby Three Sticks” Mueller is that he is not defying a subpoena as many other potential witnesses have done.
After all, Mueller is a former Eagle Scout!
Yet it should never have come to this (subpoena).
Photo | theatlantic.com/REUTERS/Jim Bourg
Nancy Pelosi is intent on carrying out her “clever by half” slow-walking of the constitutionally mandated impeachment proceedings against perhaps the most vile and corrupt individual ever to occupy the White House.
One of the Speaker’s “main reasons” for tamping the brakes on even beginning an impeachment inquiry is that it would rile up Trump’s base. Hey, you wouldn’t want to stir up a hornet’s nest, right?
Impeaching Trump would also allow the master con man and media manipulator to play the “martyr card,” all to the detriment of a Democrat winning the presidency in 2020. And since the Senate will never vote to remove Trump from office, what’s the point?
Yet what Pelosi fails to recognize (or give enough credence to) is that by not doing her job, she is demoralizing her very own base. The same group that swept Democrats into power in the 2018 midterm elections on the hope and promise of holding the lawless Trump to account.
Pelosi’s calculated move of letting Trump twist in the wind for as long as possible could very well be the reason Trump gets re-elected in 2020.
Just like in 2016 when many Democrats were so disillusioned by the corrupt way the Democratic National Committee did everything to help Hillary Clinton get the Democratic presidential nomination, they just might sit out the 2020 election or vote third party.
When you add that very real possibility to the fact that Trump and his Republican cohorts will do everything in their power to stay in power, you have the recipe for electoral disaster for Democrats in 2020.
Disillusionment, in political terms, can often lead to voter cynicism and withdrawal. It gets people to believe there just is no justice and all politicians are the same (crooked). It’s the old “politics as usual” syndrome. It goes directly to the “I hate politics, a pox on all your houses” way of thinking.
Nancy Pelosi, as shrewd a politician as she is, may just resign many Democrats to the belief their vote doesn’t matter. The thinking could run along these lines: “We came out in droves in 2018 to give Democrats the power to remove Trump and you did nothing!”
Time is of the essence. An official impeachment inquiry needs to begin ASAP. Or Democrats run the risk of a demoralized and disillusioned blue electorate in 2020.
Photo | nypost.com
Reprint from moronmajority.com
As he gears up for his re-election campaign, Donald Trump has warned that the U.S. would experience an epic stock market crash if he were not returned to the White House.
While this unsettling prediction has gotten the bulk of media attention, there are also a few other catastrophes Trump has warned about if a Democrat were to win the presidency in 2020.
Here is a list of what might take place, according to Trump, if a Democrat wins the next presidential election:
Some are calling Trump’s warnings irresponsible and outrageous. Others are saying it’s just Trump being Trump. You know, fear-mongering to juice up his base.
OK, Trump may have gone a little overboard with some of his predictions. It’s highly unlikely we will be invaded by spacemen from Mars … but, really, would it be such a bad thing if everyone flossed each day?
Photo | qz.com
Donald Trump is either begging to be impeached or is totally clueless about what constitutes a crime (or, more likely, just doesn’t give a damn).
In broad daylight, for the entire world to hear, Donald Trump stated if offered dirt by a foreign power on a political opponent, he would take it.
In an ABC News interview, Trump told George Stephanopoulos he wouldn’t necessarily call the FBI if approached by foreign entities with information on his 2020 opponent: “It’s not an interference. They have information. I think I’d take it.”
To Donald Trump’s way of thinking, it’s just good old-fashioned oppo (opposition) research, right?
Coming as a complete shock to both Democrats and Republicans, the man currently occupying the Oval Office is actually inviting foreign powers to help him win in 2020 … again!
But isn’t this par for the course?
Remember when candidate Trump made a direct appeal to Russia to hack Hillary Clinton’s emails and make them public?
“Russia, if you’re listening, I hope you’re able to find the 30,000 emails that are missing,” said Trump, referring to emails Clinton had deleted from the private account she had used when she was secretary of state. “I think you will probably be rewarded mightily by our press.”
If Trump’s latest statements on accepting foreign interference in our elections don’t tip the scales in favor of starting impeachment proceedings, I don’t know what will.
Unlike Richard Nixon, who did his lawbreaking in private, Trump chooses to commit his crimes on national TV!
But then again, why not? He did promise to be “the most transparent” president ever.
I’ll give him credit for keeping at least one campaign promise! But seriously, Madam Speaker, you are turning the House, and its constitutional duty to impeach a lawless president, into a joke. Political calculations be damned!
I know. We’ve become so inured to Trump’s lawlessness that we just add the latest wrongdoing to the ever growing “Trump bulls*it mountain.” But this latest disregard for the sanctity of our elections is a bridge too far.
How long does the list of “high crimes and misdemeanors” have to get before you, as Speaker of the House, say “enough is enough” to this brazen criminal occupying “The People’s House?”
It is way past time to do your job.
Photo | abcnews.go.com
Donald Trump has committed enough impeachable offenses to remove 10 presidents from office. Yet Speaker of the House, Nancy Pelosi, does not want to start formal impeachment proceedings. We’ve all heard her reasoning: (1) The public doesn’t want it; (2) He’ll never be impeached anyway; (3) It turns Trump into a victim; and (4) It will badly tear apart an already divided country.
Yet I’m more than a little skeptical about Madam Speaker’s song and dance. I believe the real reason Pelosi is against formal impeachment proceedings is that she wants Donald Trump to be the Republican presidential candidate in 2020.
If Trump were to be removed from office (a very big “if” considering Trump’s nearly unanimous support among Senate Republicans) we would end up with a President Mike Pence. Come convention time late next year, it is very unlikely Republicans would want Pence as their party’s presidential candidate. It is more likely they would go with a Romney, a Kasich or some other “moderate” Republican who would throw his/her hat into the ring. In other words, there just might be a more formidable opponent for the Democratic nominee.
Forget the myth that Trump would be a strong candidate for reelection. If Trump remains in office, after another year of Congressional (and state) investigations uncovering even more dirt, he would be a wounded duck going into the 2020 contest. This is exactly what Pelosi wants.
Proof that Trump is already in trouble, and not as daunting as some would like you to believe, comes via the most recent Quinnipiac University poll showing, if the election were held today, Trump fares badly against the top Democratic presidential hopefuls:
Former VP Joe Biden over Trump 53 – 40 percent
Vermont Sen. Bernie Sanders over Trump 51 – 42 percent
California Sen. Kamala Harris over Trump 49 – 41 percent
Massachusetts Sen. Elizabeth Warren over Trump 49 – 42 percent
South Bend Mayor Pete Buttigieg over Trump 47 – 42 percent
New Jersey Sen. Cory Booker over Trump 47 – 42 percent
Trump never rises above 42% against any of the Democratic contenders in this national survey. Buttigieg and Booker besting Trump?
OK, while this poll is encouraging for Democrats, it’s very early in the game. And let’s not forget there is a thing called the Electoral College to contend with, along with voter suppression, hacked voting machines, foreign interference, voter fraud and other factors that could impact the 2020 election.
Yet, if I’m right, Nancy Pelosi is giving many reasons why not to impeach Trump … except the real one.
Photo | cnn.com
On June 6, 1944, 75 years ago today, Allied troops landed on the beaches of Normandy as part of Operation Overlord. Code-named Operation Neptune and often referred to as “D-Day,” it was the largest amphibious invasion in history. The operation began the liberation of German-occupied France from Nazi control and laid the foundation for Allied victory in World War II.
Today, as part of the 75th-anniversary commemoration of D-Day in Normandy, France, Donald Trump delivered a well-written, and well-received, speech in front of a group of WWII veterans.
During his speech, Trump hailed “those who fell” saying “we honor all who fought right here in Normandy. They won back this ground for civilization.”
Yet this is the same man who, in describing the deadly 2017 neo-Nazi riot in Charlottesville, Virginia, said there were “very fine people on both sides.”
During his presidential campaign, Trump refused to condemn the Ku Klux Klan or disavow the endorsement of former Klansman David Duke.
So, yes, Joe Scarborough, gush over what a fine speech Trump delivered today (“the strongest speech of his presidency”) but let’s not forget those were words read from a piece of paper. They are unlikely heart-felt sentiments of our commander in chief.
To get a better idea of what was on Trump’s mind during the preparation for his big D-Day speech, listen to Dana Milbank of the Washington Post (For D-Day, Trump recalls the heroism of … Donald Trump).
On the night before Trump’s speech, Milbank writes about what was really on Trump’s mind … Bette Midler:
President Trump, staying at the U.S. ambassador’s residence in London, was up early Wednesday morning and already thinking deep and profound thoughts on the theme of the day: himself.
“Washed up psycho @BetteMidler was forced to apologize for a statement she attributed to me that turned out to be totally fabricated by her in order to make ‘your great president’ look really bad,” he tweeted.
It was 1:30 a.m.
So great, Trump delivered an appropriate speech. But let’s not forget what Trump is all about … himself , his money and his power.
Photo | carlos barria/reuters
The Brits don’t like Donald Trump. Massive protests took place today, the second day of Trump’s three-day official visit to London.
A giant blimp of a diapered “Baby Trump” and a large talking Trump robot sitting on a toilet, texting, were among the most outrageous props used by demonstrators on Tuesday.
Yet, if you believe Trump, the English love him!
“There were thousands of people cheering,” said Trump. “I don’t see any protests. I did see a small protest today, very small. So, a lot of it is fake news, I hate to say.”
With such a misreading of what’s going on around him, the question once again remains: Is Trump merely delusional or just a flat-out, pathological liar?
Some would argue he is both.
Photo | theguardian.com