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So What’s Wrong With “Trumpcare,” Mr. President?

March 12, 2017 By John DeProspo 4 Comments

For a man who loves to plaster his name on anything and everything, from skyscrapers to steaks, why is Donald Trump opposed to calling the new Republican healthcare plan Trumpcare?

It’s not as if the new president dislikes what Republicans are offering as a replacement to the Affordable Care Act, a/k/a Obamacare.

“I think we’re going to have a tremendous success,” said Trump when describing the House GOP’s healthcare bill earlier this week. “We’re going to do something that’s great and I’m proud to support the replacement plan released by the House of Representatives and encouraged by members of both parties,” Trump added.

In a tweet on the same day, Trump referred to the new bill as “our wonderful new Healthcare Bill.” But for some reason, neither he, nor his staff, wishes to refer to the proposed legislation as Trumpcare. What gives?

The simple answer is that behind his praise for House Speaker Paul Ryan’s long envisioned legislative dream, he knows the new healthcare plan is a pile of fecal matter.

Opposition to the bill, whose actual name is the “American Health Care Reform Act of 2017”, is coming from all sides.

The American Medical Association, the American Hospital Association and AARP, the nation’s largest advocacy group for older people, are all solidly against the GOP measure.

Many key House conservatives are also not sharing in the love for Speaker Ryan’s healthcare baby.

“It’s Obamacare in a different format,” is how Representative Jim Jordan of Ohio, a member of the hardline House Freedom Caucus, described the bill.

As is always the case with Donald Trump, look at his actions, not his words. If he truly believed the GOP healthcare plan is so great; if it, as he has said, would “expand choice, increase access, lower cost and at the same time provide better heath care,” he’d be slapping his brand all over that sucker!

When Trump does not want to take credit for something supposedly good (especially when it is the result of someone else’s hard work), you can be sure it isn’t.

Photo | headline politics.com

Can A Presidential Election Be Nullified?

March 11, 2017 By John DeProspo 5 Comments

In a largely underreported news story, a group of citizens has initiated a case with the Supreme Court of the United States to nullify the 2016 U.S. presidential election.

A petition for a writ of mandamus has been filed asking the Court to take mandatory action in the name of public duty. The writ – filed Jan 18, 2017 by Diane Blumstein, Donna Soodalter-Toman, and Nancy Goodman – has been assigned a docket number.

The gist of the petitioners’ argument is that under Article IV § 4 of the U.S. Constitution, it is the job of the federal government to keep U.S. territory safe from foreign invasion. The Constitution stipulates, “The United States shall guarantee to every State in this Union a Republican Form of Government, and shall protect each of them against Invasion.”

The petition cites as evidence of such an invasion the Russian hacking of our presidential election and asks that Trump’s victory be nullified on the grounds that cyber-territory in the U.S. was invaded with the intention of altering the results of the presidential election. The petitioners seek an entirely new election.

The High Court has scheduled a conference for March 17, 2017.

While this is good news for those holding out hope that the election results may be undone, legal experts are predicting the petitioners’ chances of prevailing are slimmer than Trump having graduated the University of Pennsylvania summa cum laude.

In a story on the subject, Occupy Democrats described the court action as “a longshot,” later indicating the petition “has a 1% chance of even being heard by the court, let alone of being decided favorably” for the petitioners.

But isn’t the fact the Court assigned a docket number and a conference date a good sign?

No. According to Counsel Press, a consulting firm, the Court’s action is not an indication the Justices have decided the claim has merit and ought to be discussed. A spokesman for the firm even speculated the individuals who filed this petition had a better chance of winning a Powerball lottery than of seeing their petition move forward.

Could all this obvious futility be why the case has remained largely unnoticed?

The bottom line seems to be don’t look for this court to get involved in the 2016 presidential election as it did in 2000 with Bush v. Gore.

Sad.

Photo | REUTERS/Larry Downing

In Effort To Improve Image, Trump Introduces White House Dog

March 6, 2017 By John DeProspo 3 Comments

With the ever-deepening Russian scandal looming over him, Donald Trump, on Friday, introduced a new member to the White House … his dog. Some say this is a calculated move to deflect attention from the controversy surrounding his administration and to endear him to dog lovers everywhere.

“I’d like for you all to meet my new best friend, Boris,” said Trump. “He is a mix Black Russian Terrier and Mexican Chihuahua.”

The adorable pooch was an instant hit with the assembled White House press corps..

One journalist asked Trump if he named his dog after the late Russian president, Boris Yeltsin.

“No,” said Trump. “I named him after my favorite childhood cartoon character, Boris Badenov, from the Rocky and Bullwinkle Show.”

If Trump’s aim was to distract the press from the political storm engulfing his presidency, he missed the mark.

“Sir, with all due respect, and with all that’s going on, should you be naming your dog after a fictional Russian spy?” asked an intrepid reporter.

“When are you people going to understand this whole Russian thing is a ruse perpetrated by Obama and the Democrat Party?” snapped Trump. “It’s a set-up to distract the American people from all the fabulous accomplishments of my administration.”

“Why aren’t you reporting about the illegal Obama wiretapping of my office at Trump Tower?” asked the new president.

Someone yelled out from the back of the room, ”Because it is not true. Only yesterday James Comey, your FBI director, asked the Justice Department to publicly reject your wiretapping allegation.”

Trump pretended not to hear the reporter’s answer. Instead, he took a biscuit out of his pocket and threw it up in the air. Boris, eyeing the treat, jumped to snatch it.

“Boris and I are going to be best friends and the American people are going to love him as much as me,” said the newly-minted dog lover. “They just have to get to know him.”

“I have to admit, I was never a dog person, but just look at that face!” exclaimed Trump as he prepared to leave with Boris for another weekend golf trip to Mar-a-Lago.

Photo | ohmldog.com

Caution – this could be fake news!

Trump Eats Steaks Well-Done … If Only We Had Known Sooner!

March 5, 2017 By John DeProspo 5 Comments

How a person eats his steak matters. If we had known Donald Trump likes his meat well-done … and with gobs of ketchup … he might still be just another crass billionaire.

Food experts say eating steaks with even a little bit of red in them is better than eating steaks without. It’s a simple matter of science, a chemical and physical truth … the result of an alchemy of fat and protein and salt, and the way matter transforms when subjected to heat, and the way our bodies connect the chemicals of taste to the chemicals of pleasure.

Of course, we now know Trump’s fondness for science and facts. Very tenuous. Sad.

It seems Trump persists in eating shoe-leathery meat despite, no doubt, the urgings of steakhouse chefs, well-intentioned servers, friends, family, critics, thousands of magazine articles, hundreds of cookbooks, and the entire collective wisdom of thousands of years of gastronomy, all of whom saying Try it, you’ll like it.

But no, Trump is too stubborn to try something different. If only there had been some forewarning!

A person who won’t eat his steak any other way but well-done is a person who won’t entertain the notion that there could be a better way. This is a bad trait for anyone, especially a president.

For the President of the United States of America, a man who is the most powerful person in the world, to categorically reject external input can be disastrous.

“It’s only steak” you say. But no, it’s actually much more. It’s everything. It’s a choice to silence experts who suggest a different way, to dismiss their course corrections, to reject the very notion that expertise outside one’s own can have value!

But we should have known our headstrong president eats food in non-recommended, unorthodox ways.

In 2011, long before he entered the presidential race, Trump was spotted having lunch with Sarah Palin at a New York pizzeria.

The life-long New Yorker ate his pizza with a fork and knife!

Photo | firstwefeast.com

With End Near, Trump Has No Choice But To Play To His Base

March 4, 2017 By John DeProspo 6 Comments

“And now, the end is near and so I face the final curtain …”

– My Way, Frank Sinatra

They say everything has a beginning, a middle and an end. We may be witnessing the end of the Trump presidency.

With a number of investigations into Trump’s Russia ties already under way, and a few more likely to come, the new president seems to be circling the wagons and preparing for the final battle.

In an almost predictable move, Trump is deflecting in a way he knows has always worked for him … Obama bashing. No, the latest accusation isn’t as wild as when he claimed Obama was literally the founder of ISIS. But this new one is up there in craziness.

In a series of tweets, Trump is accusing the former president of illegally spying on him during the campaign by wiretapping Trump Tower.

Terrible! Just found out that Obama had my “wires tapped” in Trump Tower just before the victory. Nothing found. This is McCarthyism!

Is it legal for a sitting President to be “wire tapping” a race for president prior to an election? Turned down by court earlier. A NEW LOW!

I’d bet a good lawyer could make a great case out of the fact that President Obama was tapping my phones in October, just prior to Election!

How low has President Obama gone to tapp my phones during the very sacred election process. This is Nixon/Watergate. Bad (or sick) guy!

No one knows for sure the source of Trump’s information but there is word that it stems from a recent Breitbart article. But can the National Enquirer be ruled out?

Trump knows the end is near. His seemingly irrational tweet storm is likely intended to keep his loyal supporters rallied around him no matter what information comes to light.

Call it a form of damage control.

While Trump may lose the White House, he does not want to lose those loyal followers who will believe whatever conspiracy theory is being peddled to them.

Trump needs them for his next venture … unless his Twitter access is hampered by prison walls.

Photo | Josh Haner/The New York Times

Sessions Rains On Trump’s Parade

March 2, 2017 By John DeProspo 2 Comments

After Donald Trump’s masterful tour de force in front of a joint session of Congress just two days ago, his Attorney General, Jefferson Beauregard Sessions, is today dominating the news.

Instead of talking about the skillful way Trump was able to read from a teleprompter during his first address to Congress, we are instead discussing Sessions lying to Congress.

News outlets are reporting that Jeff Sessions, during his confirmation hearing, lied to Congress under oath about communications with the Russians. Instead of Trump basking in the afterglow of his prime-time performance, we have Sessions squirming in the aftermath of possible perjury.

Sessions issued a statement denying he lied to Congress. In a tweet late Wednesday, Sessions said, “I never met with any Russian officials to discuss issues of the campaign. I have no idea what this allegation is about. It is false.”

Sessions does not deny meeting twice with the Russian ambassador to the United States, Sergey Kislyak, during the presidential campaign. But he denies those meetings had anything to do with the Trump campaign.

The White House has rejected the latest bombshell to hit the Trump administration, claiming the reports are just an effort to undermine, and deflect from, Trump’s impressive showing before Congress.

“This is the latest attack against the Trump administration by partisan Democrats,” a senior administration official said, according to CNN.

“Sessions met with the ambassador in an official capacity as a member of the Senate armed services committee, which is entirely consistent with his testimony.”

Trump has not personally weighed in on the Sessions controversy, instead taking to Twitter to brag about how much his election victory has improved the economy.

“Since November 8th, Election Day, the Stock Market has posted $3.2 trillion in GAINS and consumer confidence is at t 15 year high. Jobs!”

Unfortunately for the new president, this story is not going away anytime soon. Not only are both Republicans and Democrats asking Sessions to recuse himself from the DOJ’s probe into Russian hacking of the 2016 election, but some Democrats are asking for the Attorney General to resign.

Photo | nbcnews.com

Most Cringeworthy Moment During Trump’s Address To Congress

March 1, 2017 By John DeProspo 12 Comments

Last night, Donald Trump delivered his first speech to a joint session of Congress. And in many ways, it had all the hallmarks of the typical Trump campaign speech … a lot of promises, a number of verifiable lies and a total lack of substance.

Building the big beautiful wall got mentioned, as did bringing back manufacturing jobs from abroad. And, of course, we heard once again of the need to “repeal and replace” Obamacare with “reforms that expand choice, increase access, lower cost and at the same time provide better heath care.” About the only thing missing was a guaranteed cure for cancer!

But the most bizarre moment of the evening came when Trump talked about the raid in Yemen that took the life of Navy SEAL William “Ryan” Owens. Trump invited the dead soldier’s widow, Carryn Owens, to the gathering. She was seated next to Trump’s daughter, Ivanka.

Trump praised the fallen soldier, saying, “Ryan died as he lived: a warrior, and a hero — battling against terrorism and securing our nation,” while Carryn Owens was overcome with tears. “I just spoke to Gen. Mattis, who reconfirmed that, and I quote, ‘Ryan was a part of a highly successful raid that generated large amounts of vital intelligence that will lead to many more victories in the future against our enemies.’”

Unfortunately, many military analysts consider the raid a failure … a botched mission poorly planned and executed. Trump has recently blamed both his own military and Barack Obama for the raid gone bad … everyone but himself.

After a long … very very long …. standing ovation for the sobbing widow, the man who cares so much about records, ratings and crowd sizes went off script, saying Ryan Owens was looking down and was “very happy because he just broke a record” for a standing ovation!

The fallen hero, who might still be alive if not for a very questionable operation, is very happy because he broke a record for standing ovations? How totally insensitive. How totally Trump.

Owens’s father, Bill, refused to meet with Trump after his son’s body was brought back to the U.S. because of his anger over the raid, which marked a rare use of American ground forces inside Yemen. He has called for an investigation.

“Don’t hide behind my son’s death to prevent an investigation,” Bill Owens told The Miami Herald. “I want an investigation. … The government owes my son an investigation.”

With our current president, who seems to never make mistakes, and a Republican-controlled Congress, it is unlikely the grieving father’s request will ever be met.

Photo | businessinsider.com

Trump To Skip Correspondents’ Dinner But Does Not Say Why

February 26, 2017 By John DeProspo 6 Comments

Donald Trump has tweeted he will not be attending this year’s White House Correspondents’ Association dinner slated for April 29^th, making him the first president to skip the event in over 30 years.

Trump tweeted:

I will not be attending the White House Correspondents’ Association Dinner this year. Please wish everyone well and have a great evening!

Notice something missing?

The usually “straight-talking” president fails to give a reason why he will not be attending the usually festive event. He does not even offer a plausible “alternative fact.” Sad.

This has caused many pundits to speculate about Trump’s possible motive.

The conventional wisdom seems to be that Trump does not want to confront the national press, who he has repeatedly called “fake news”and “enemy of the people.” Some are calling the president a coward.

While that may be a possibility, I believe the answer is more basic.

The man simply does not have a sense of humor. And when he does attempt to make a joke, no one can tell for sure if he is trying to be funny or announcing some actual policy proposal!

We got a glimpse of Trump’s standup routine at the annual Alfred E. Smith charity dinner in New York last October. His material, and delivery, was so bad the crowd booed the then GOP presidential nominee.

Many have wondered whether our president has the ability to be funny or even knows how to laugh. He certainly has shown an inability to laugh at himself.

Remember Barack Obama’s brilliant take down of Donald Trump at the 2011 White House Correspondent’s Dinner hosted by Seth Meyers? As Obama was delivering his killer material, the camera kept focusing on a stone-faced Trump. Obama succeeded that night in turning Trump into a laughingstock.

If Trump were to attend the press dinner, that would undoubtedly invite comparison to Obama’s silky smooth performances at past events and his ability to take a joke.

No, there really isn’t any wonder why Trump has decided to take a pass. He’s just not up to the job of being comedian in chief. The thin-skinned president, for sure, does not want to be the butt of jokes that might hit too close to home.

Or maybe, just maybe, our vain president has something more important to do that night … like Windex all the mirrors in the White House? Bada bing!

Photo | someecards.com

Trump’s Unrequited Love For The First Amendment

February 25, 2017 By John DeProspo 2 Comments

At this week’s annual meeting of the right-wing lovefest, the Conservative Political Action Conference (CPAC), Donald Trump professed his profound love for the First Amendment.

“I love the First Amendment — nobody loves it more than me,” said the besotted commander in chief.

Unfortunately, the object of Trump’s affection does not love him back.

“How could he love me when he is so mean to me,” said the First Amendment. “If only his actions matched his words.”

The First Amendment has a valid point.

Soon after Trump’s proclamation of love for the much-cherished amendment, White House press secretary, Sean Spicer, barred reporters from numerous major media outlets from participating in a regularly scheduled press briefing. Singled out were: The New York Times, The Los Angeles Times, CNN, BBC, The Huffington Post, Buzzfeed and Politico.

“And it’s not just freedom of the press that I’m all about,” said the First Amendment. “If he truly loved me, he’d love all of me. He hasn’t shown any of that.”

“What about my other guaranteed freedoms?” asked the sometimes misunderstood amendment. “Yes I stand for freedom of expression by prohibiting Congress from restricting the press or the rights of individuals to speak freely. But I also forbid Congress from both promoting one religion over others and also restricting an individual’s religious practices. And don’t forget, I assure the right of citizens to assemble peaceably and to petition their government.”

“I’m not going to be taken in by Donald’s pretty words, his actions go against almost everything I stand for,” said the amendment so beloved by the Founding Fathers that they ranked it first among many. “ Others have claimed to love me but they proved to be bogus lovers. Donald is repulsive to me. Not only do I not love him but I’m afraid he will cause me harm.”

It is unfortunate the First Amendment is so frightened of the new president that it may need to seek a restraining order against the man and his false protestations of love.

Photo | cnn.com.de

Trump: “When I’m Golfing, I’m Working”

February 22, 2017 By John DeProspo 2 Comments

Donald Trump criticized Barack Obama for the amount of golfed he played while president. Now, Trump is coming under heavy criticism himself for the amount of times he has hit the links in only his first month in office.

As of last week, Trump has golfed three weekends in a row … six rounds in 30 days! Because of the apparent hypocrisy, Trump’s staff has tried to down play the number of times our new president has teed it up.

This past weekend, Sarah Huckabee Sanders, a top White House press aide, told reporters Trump had played “a couple of holes” Saturday and Sunday. In truth, Trump played 18 holes with four-time major champion and third ranked player in the world, Irish golfer Rory McIlroy.

When confronted by an intrepid reporter about the inordinate amount of golf he has been playing, Trump replied, “golf is all about business.”

“I play with world leaders and other important people,” said the president. “Some of my best deals have been done on the golf course. When I’m golfing, I am working for the people.”

The reporter asked Trump if he considers Rory McIlroy a world leader.

“No, but he is a very important person,” said Trump. “ I plan to build my presidential library on a golf course. And what better place than Ireland? That’s what Rory and I talked about.”

The president was asked if there was any truth to the rumor he would be inviting Pope Francis to Mar-a-Lago for a weekend of golf. The two men have been at odds with each other ever since Trump entered the presidential race.

“Yes,” said the commander in chief. “ I am inviting the Holy Father to play a round with me. But we have a strict dress code at our club. The Pontiff must wear golf pants and a collared shirt. No dresses are allowed … for both women and men.”

The odds are great that, if Trump remains in office for two terms, he will outnumber the rounds of golf played by two of our nation’s most golf-addicted presidents … Woodrow Wilson at 1200 rounds and Dwight Eisenhower at 800 rounds.

Trump’s staff may try to cover-up the amount of golf he is playing, but they need to do what Trump is rumored to do on the course … improve their lie.

Caution – some of this story may be “fake news”

Photo | latimes.com