Racists please apply here for a job at the White House

Here is a shocker, Stephen Miller - a senior advisor to the President - is a racist. I guess it is not that surprising given the fact that the current resident of 1600 Pennsylvania Ave. is a raging bigot himself. Why wouldn't he surround himself with an openly White Nationalists like Stephen Miller.

Open-minded people have always known Miller was a racist white nationalist, but additional proof has surfaced recently according to the Southern Poverty Law Center.

In 2015, while working for Senator Jeff Sessions from Alabama, and in 2016, while working on the Trump Campaign, Miller exchanged over 900 emails with Breitbart "News" - an Alt-right website that traffics in conspiracies and hate. In these exchanges with Breitbart editor at the time, Katie McHugh, Miller encouraged Breitbart to use White Supremacist websites to draw from for their "news" coverage. Miller referenced popular White Nationalist websites, and books as his evidence as to why the OTHERS must be kept from coming to the United States.

Katie McHugh, who worked for Breitbart from 2014 to 2017, was fired by Breitbart and decided to renounce the alt right movement and released the emails to the Southern Poverty Law Center. 

SPLC article about Miller

Miller is the architect of the Trump policies at the border like the separation of children from their parents at the border as a deterrent to prevent future LEGAL asylum seekers from coming to the U.S. This racist has spent countless millions of dollars caging children at the border and their parents separately instead of allowing them to work here and contribute into the system until their asylum hearings. Beyond being wildly racist, this policy is fiscally stupid. Another example of a party that claims to be fiscally conservative, spending ungodly amounts of tax payer money recklessly.

Miller is not only trying to curb what he calls illegal immigration, but being a racist, he is also trying to curb legal immigration from countries he thinks undesirables come from. He wants to prevent all non-whites from coming to the United States, which by definition makes him a racist. He wants to prevent their admittance into the United States strictly based on the color of their skin and religious affiliation, which violates the U.S. Constitution in countless ways.

Miller further wants to violate all current existing immigration laws. For example he wants and has currently put an end to temporary protected status which was passed by George W. Bush. The Bush-era policy made it ok to give protective temporary status to people fleeing disasters like hurricanes or earthquakes. Miller and his puppet Dumb Donald most recently prevented Bahama refugees from coming to the United States after a hurricane devastated the islands - you know - because they are black. They also ended protective status for Haitian refugees who were here following the Haiti earthquake, you know because they are black, and on and on and on.  

The White House as usual has lied about this fiasco, and called the SPLC a smear organization when in fact they just provide statistics often provided by the FBI and other government organizations. The SPLC also fights hate, teaches tolerance, exposes hate groups and seeks justice for all people. Again, another example of the most dishonest White House in the history of America like no one has ever seen before - to steal a term from the current resident of 1600 resident at Pennsylvania Ave.

If you are a Trump voter and feeling like I am attacking you personally, don't. I do not believe all Trump voters are racists or bigots - although clearly some are - but you need to come to the realization that you voted for one, and that he brought all his bigoted friends with him to the White House. Make America Racist Again. Maybe we can put MARA on a hat and everyone can wear that for 2020 while we all goosestep through Washington D.C.

GOP hypocrits

For the better part of my 43 years on this planet, the GOP has been the party of hardcore foreign policy hawks who were anti-Russia and anti-Iraq and -Iran and anti-communist China and North Korea. That has been the case dating back to Ronald Reagan, whose tough stances on communism helped bring down the former Soviet Union, and who played a critical role in freeing American hostages from Iran.

I have heard for years the likes of John McCain, whom until his dying day I harbored a great deal of respect for, push back against the former and current communist states. McCain's "friend" Lindsey Graham also appeared to be one of those hawks, as were most of the Republicans.

My how times have changed.

Lindsey Graham has become a puppet for Vladimir Putin, allowing the illiterate moron in the White House to make maneuver after maneuver that has helped the likes of Putin, Assad in Syria, Erdogan in Turkey and the North Korean dictator among others. Despite these horrific moves by 45, Graham has done little more than occasionally admonish Dumb Donald. Very ineffectual Lindsey!!!

If it was just Graham, than I could offer the party a slight pass, but he is not alone. In fact, Moscow Mitch McConnell has allowed a communist company to invest money $200 million in his home state of Kentucky. Low-information Congressmen like Jim Jordan (Ohio) and Devin Nunes (California) - both soulless men - have both carried the water for Trump, and by extension Putin and sold out our Kurdish allies. The next terrorist attack is on you fellas.

Lets review, these men are offering the criminal in the White House a pass for holding back defense money for the Ukraine. That money was being used to fight off the Russians, who are currently warring with Ukraine. That sentence, because it is true, makes both Ronald Reagan and Charlie Wilson rollover in their graves.

Remember Charlie Wilson was a GOP Congressmen who helped appropriate ungodly sums of money for Afghani rebels in the 1980s to help fight the soviets, who at the time were invading Afghanistan.

These same soulless men have allowed Erdogan to invade Syria and commence a genocide of our Kurdish allies. Trump, did I mention he is a criminal, has tons of business interests in Turkey, said nothing as Erdogan decided to "clean out" the Kurds from northern Syria. And of course the GOP, after some minimal grumbling, has allowed Turkey to go unpunished. And for those of you who think sanctions on Turkey are enough, you would be wrong, because it has not slow Erdogan in the slightest.

What has happened to the GOP is SICK and TWISTED. I have never seen 250 white men cower to one man like this since Nuremburg. The Republicans, in fear of losing their House and Senate seats, will back a buffoon who has no idea what he is doing, and will sell out American foreign policy. No seat in Congress is worth selling out your principals and soul for.

So the next time you hear some Republican somewhere making the case that they will maintain the legacy of the great Ronald Reagan or George HW Bush or John McCain, remember, it's just a corny line they are feeding you to steal your vote.  

Russians invest in Kentucky article

End of DACA?

The Supreme Court heard arguments this week that could put an end to DACA (Deferred Action on Childhood Arrivals) and some believe that the Trump and the GOP, who spent the last three years packing the courts and very little else, might even win this case. How Tragic!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

First of all, this would be a huge betrayal of these young people. When Barack Obama instituted this program through executive order in 2012, he and the United States government issued a call for these young people, who came here as children through no fault of their own, to come out of the shadows and in good faith register with the U.S. government and in return they could go to school and work and contribute to the system. The promise was that if they kept their nose clean, they would not be deported.

It must have been hard for these 790,000 youngsters to do that, but they did so assuming that the US government would honor its word. However, they could not have anticipated was that a lying sociopathy like Donald Trump would ever be elected by America's low-information voters - FOX viewers and Rush Limbaugh-listeners, and thus upend the program.

Let's face it, these young people did go to school and work and created businesses, and now some are employers themselves. Dreamers contribute $42 billion each year to GDP, contribute $1.7 billion in state taxes and $1.4 billion in federal taxes. If they were deported, you can eliminate that revenue and it would also cost remaining taxpayers $10 billion to remove them.

The Supreme Court, despite being tainted by Moscow Mitch McConnell, must do the right thing here, and if they fail to do so, Congress must pass legislation to protect these Dreamers, which 86 percent of Americans agree with. They are good for the country, as are most immigrants, and it would be a monumental betrayal to deport them. The Democrats in the House of Representatives have passed H.R. 6 which would protect the dreamers permanently, but McConnell failed to put it to a vote in the Senate.

I know I say this a lot these days, but I have never felt more ashamed of my country than I do right now. I ask the Supreme Court to please restore order to this Trump-infected and diseased land.

 
Watch the video below for some of the dreamers' stories

Good Bye Truth

Today, Shep Smith, a 23-year veteran of FOX "News" abruptly resigned his position as one of the last real news anchors and journalists reporting the truth on that channel.

Smith, reportedly left, because he had seen enough. Smith tried every day to report the truth based on the facts, and the FOX "news" audience hated him for it. They would rather listen to the likes of Sean Hannity, Lou Dobbs, Mr. Judge Jeanine Pirro and Laura Ingraham (The real fake news No. 45).

The group I mentioned above might as well be working for North Korean state television, better known as Trump TV. They make up the news, leave key points out and when in doubt say things like "what about Clinton or Obama."

There is no liberal media conspiracy against you! You are the conspiracy. I am SOOOO tired of so-called conservatives playing the victim, or calling liberals godless, while at the same time voting for a man to lead the nation who has done enough to earn three seats in hell.

Lou Dobbs had the audacity to say that Donald Trump will gone down as one of the greatest Presidents ever. Are you kidding me old man? Does he earn that distinction for the Wall he has built, or the children he separated from their families at the border, or is it for the GENOCIDE he greenlighted in Syria. You don't need to take my word for it victims. Lindsey Graham is sponsoring a bill in Congress that will receive 98 votes in the Senate. 98!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Condemning this moron's actions.

I know how you feel Shep! You make the argument based on facts, and the low-information voter screams back at you, "fake news". It is like shoveling s*** against the tide. I, for one, Shep am glad you left. FOX "news" is a joke and you are better than that.

Smith was trying to stay on so some of the Fox audience could get a counter to the Dobbs and Pirro's of the world, and I sure he was hanging on because he loved FOX. After all he was one of the originals dating back to 1996. However, different ideas can not survive in the echo chamber of Fox "News" and thus leaving was the right call.

Here is wishing Shep Smith the best. He is a class act and great news man and JOURNALIST. I graduated from Journalism school, and know a good journalist when I see one.

When Shep is ready, I am sure he will have a job within minutes at any of the real news organizations. Shame on you FOX and Rupert Murdoch for allowing this channel to be commandeered by the Alt-Right.

Snatching defeat from the jaws of victory

After 2 days of the Turkish assault on the Syrian Kurds, more than 300 Kurdish fighters are dead and God knows how many civilians have perished.

The clown who currently resides at 1600 Pennsylvania Ave., besides doing nothing for us domestically besides pointing out people's differences and make his base angry, has found a way to take a successful situation in Syria and turn it in to an outright defeat. STUPID!!!!!

The U.S. had found a way to keep a small number of U.S. troops on the ground and the Kurds were fighting the terrorists for us. All we had to do was keep Turkey, led by a thug, at bay while the Kurds did their work. Now, not only will terrorists go free because of the Ignorant Mr. Trump, but we will NEVER be able to get any people in the middle east, or around the world, to trust us or work with us.

This "moron" as Rex Tillerson called Trump has done this before. The U.S. agrees to the Paris Climate accords and he pulls us out. NO better answer by the way. The U.S. negotiates TPP free market agreement in Asia. Dummy Donald pulls us out and instead creates a trade war that is killing American farmers and American consumers, raising the cost on all of us. The U.S. had a nuclear agreement with Iran, scumbag Donald pulls us out and now Iran is increasing their nuclear production.

What is Congress waiting for? Are they waiting for this lose cannon (Trump) to destroy the world?

IMPEACHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

SYRIAN BETRAYAL

Donald Trump has committed the ultimate act of betrayal of the United States and needs to be removed yesterday. This non-sensical buffoon, who has NEVER read an intelligence briefing or report, decided unilaterally and abruptly to remove the small number of U.S. troops from Syria, and in the process completely destabilized the region.

REMEMBER, this is why General James Mattis resigned his post as Secretary of State in protest. The distinguished veteran resigned after Trump threatened to do this the first time.

Yesterday, Turkey decided, predictably, to move into northern Syria and began what will amount to a genocide of the Kurds (our allies) who helped us fight ISIS successfully. That's correct. The President of the United States is looking the other way as the Turks, led by another dictator, begin an ethnic cleansing of the Kurds. GROSS!!!!!!

Secondly, with the Kurds being slaughtered, and having to defend themselves against this threat, the ISIS terrorists they were holding, are now free to resume their horrific activities. The President who once claimed that President Obama was the "founder of ISIS", is now letting more 10,000 terrorists free. DESPICABLE!!!!!!

EVEN Lindsay Graham, who has been the ultimate sycophant for this uninformed dolt in the White House, among other Republicans came out to thrash the Trump administration for this move. Hey Lindsay, where have you been? You created this monster by allowing him to getting away with murder time and time again, and now you have blood on your hands. The fact of the matter is the blood of our allied Kurds are now on the hands of the Trump collaborators.

If the Republican Party had called out this monster early on when he was ripping babies from their mother's hands at the border, or when he was attacking gold-star families, or when he was forming a love affair with Putin or Kim Jong-Un, maybe we could have stopped this monster.  

TRUMP IS A JOKE and always has been. It was funny, I guess, to some people when he was claiming that anyone who didn't support his criminal activity was committing treason, or funny when he said he had fallen in love with Kim Jong-Un. None of which is actually funny. However, this for me is the final straw. This man needs to be removed immediately because he is a dangerous and reckless individual.

The most disturbing part of this is that he is willing to sacrifice human lives in order to distract the public from his criminal activity, the activity for which he will be impeached. This move in Syria might well be a tactic to get the public to look over there and don't look here where all the criminal activity is.

I do not recognize this America. SHAME on us as a nation if we don't act to defend our allies and our constitution which is losing more and more meaning with each passing hour.

SHAME ON YOU Climate Deniers

It took a 16-year-old from Sweden and other youngsters like her to push the governments of the world and this week's UN Summit to finally start paying some sort of attention to the global crisis that faces humanity. I fear these so called leaders will continue to do nothing as the climate spirals out of control. 

The current occupant of 1600 Pennsylvania Ave, despite Greta's emotional plea for change on the environment, couldn't be bothered to stay more than 15 minutes. What a sorry excuse for a leader he is. President Obama met with Greta and started taking steps to reduce America's climate footprint, and Trump has since backed out or reversed all those positive steps. He pulled the United States out of the Paris Accords and overturned all the regulations that Obama put in place to protect the environment. 

As recently as last week, No. 45 (the Dumpster fire that is Donald J. Trump), decided that California could no longer have high standards for CO2 emissions. Republicans use to be in favor of states' rights. In fact, they still would perpetuate the myth and have us believe that they are in favor of states' rights, except when it comes to things that they don't like. 

For example, they will tell you it is each individual states' right to decide on abortion, not the Federal government, or that it's each states' right to decide on gun regulation, not the Federal government, or they would tell you that it's each states' right to choose their own health care laws, not the Federal government, but in this case, when their greed is so pronounced, they would have you believe that each state does not have the right to choose on climate regulations for their respective state. 

It is you, Mitch McConnell, and you, Kevin McCarthy, and you, Dumpster fire, that Greta and those of her generation will never forgive for their blatent inaction. SHAME on all of you!   

Kill em all and let the Christian Right sort em out!

Donald Trump and his puppet Bill Barr at the "Department of Justice" - what a joke to call it that - have decided to reinstitute the death penalty in federal cases.

This is the most absurd issue in American politics. It is amazing that in 2019, I still hear people on Washington Journal (C-Span) calling in and saying "let's electrocute them, fry them, or hang them." We are one of the few countries on earth that still do two things that are gross. First, we don't provide health care to all and we pay out of pocket for "health insurance" yet still have a deductible, co-pay and lifetime limits. Secondly, we still have state-sponsored murder in the form of the death penalty.

If you could guarantee me that everyone who was put to death was guilty as sin, well I might buy your old testament argument of "eye for an eye". Old testament, so old, it's before Jesus. However, statistics show that one in nine people on death row are innocent. Hundreds of people on death row have been exonerated either in the nick of time or posthumously - meaning they have already been killed by your government - the same politicians you all claim to DESPISE.

The most mind-boggling thing about this is that I have to hear so-called evangelical Christians tell me that it's okay to put people to death, but yet hear them lament about abortion. Which is it? Are you really pro life or are you just full of it. They make so called Christian arguments like an "eye for an eye" but I would retort with Jesus' teaching of "turn the other cheek". It's not like we are setting criminals lose. They are still serving prison sentences. They are being punished.

The Christian right will also say I am a "bleeding heart" but how do you explain to the family of an innocent person who was executed by a corrupt politician, "oops we made a mistake". Shove your apologies, along with your "thoughts and prayers" every time a gun-toting, second-amendment maniac, murders 59 people at a concert, 49 in a night club, or 26 people in a church just to name a few.

Former Governor Rick Perry (Republican of Texas - highest death penalty state in the union) had a chance to issue a stay of execution in a case in 2004 where a man was put to death for killing his three children in a fire (arson). It turns out the local fire marshal was wrong, it wasn't arson at all, and the science proved it. How do you fix that Mr. Perry? Maybe now that we've established that Mr. Perry is a murderer, we should put him on death row to? Of course, I am being deliberately provocative here to make a point. Politicians get to decide who lives and who dies, but they can act with impunity and without consequences. Regardless of what I think of Mr. Perry's decision, I don't think he should be on death row, after all I am against this antiquated idea of punishment, but instead put governor Perry in jail for life for murder.

The rules apparently only apply to some people. Justice. what a joke. Justice only belongs to the people who can afford it. If you have no money, you have no justice. If you're wealthy though, you get sweetheart deals like the one Jeffrey Epstein got from the federal prosecutors in Florida all those years ago - a 13-month sentence. Outrageous! OJ Simpson cleared of double murder, only because of the legal dream team. Justice belongs to those who can afford it, and it makes me sick to think how many people are currently on death row right now or rotting in prison, claiming their innocence, and no one cares.

Well they got a trial, so the jury must have been correct in their decision. However, how many people got a public defender who has 70 clients and doesn't really care about your case. OJ had Kardashian, Shapiro, F. Lee Bailey, Cochran. Anyone charged with a crime would be happy to have one of those lawyers, he had all 4 among others. Justice belongs to those who can afford it. FULL STOP.

Until we can actually level the playing field in the justice system, we can not have a death penalty. Someone can be in jail for 20 years, and be exonerated by DNA, but at least they are still alive. You can apologize for that, you can give them $20 million dollars - a $1 million for each year we stole from you. After all, money is America's favorite way to apologize. You can't apologize to a grave stone for getting it wrong, you can't fix that.    

An American disgrace.

As if it was not disgraceful enough that the current administration in the White House has adopted a policy of cruelty toward LEGAL asylum seekers, the department of Homeland Security has opened an investigation into a private Facebook page for Customs and Border Protection agents who use the social media platform to spew hatred and post despicable memes.

That's right! The people who are at the border being detained are LEGAL asylum seekers according to the current laws. If you present yourself at a point of entry of the United States, you are LEGALLY claiming asylum. FULL STOP!!!!

If migrant groups of 30,000 people marched through Mexico and presented themselves at the border for LEGAL asylum, according to the law, you do not detain them for more than 72 hours! Now, just because someone claims asylum, does not mean the United States has to grant them asylum, but you do have to give them a hearing (according to current law).

Instead of following the law, 45's administration is slow-walking these asylum seekers, and making sure than they stay on the Mexican side in tent cities. Cruel enough, right? WRONG. The very small number of people each day they are letting cross the border, are being detained. In addition to that, they are being separated from their families to deter future asylum seekers from coming to the United States.

It is disgusting how the administration is handling the crisis at the border, but now he have confirmation of something that I have known for a long time, and that is that a large number of CBP agents are in fact cowboys who hate immigrants. Nearly half of CBP agents in this country belong to this private Facebook group "I'm 10-15", who joked about the sexual assault of Congresswoman Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, and about the deaths of migrant children at the border, because little children dying is apparently funny to some of these so-called Border Protection agents.

With Congress members present at some of these border facilities, the CBP agents, a large-majority of them men, were less than respectful to the women detainees, and I am being kind in the way I said that, so imagine what they are like when Congressional leaders are not around.

Today is July 1, and as of tonight, the heads of CPB should be fired, and any agent found to be a member of this despicable group on Facebook and has posted any disparaging and hateful remarks should be fired tomorrow. You have freedom of speech in this country and I am using it now, but working at CBP is not a right. If you can be fired from the private sector for posting hateful garbage on your social media, than you definitely should be fired from a government job. It's okay, the cowboys can go bag to the piggly wiggly where they clearly belong working for minimum wage.
 

First ones in the books: Healthcare

The first set of Democratic Presidential debates is in the books, and the one issue that stood out to me was health care.

Our health care system might be one of the worst in the world. We, as a nation, spend the most money and have mediocre results when compared to what we spend.

I, like many, have an employer-based healthcare plan and it is atrocious. I pay the insurance company roughly 6 percent of my earnings in good faith every pay period and they reward me with deductibles, co-pays and life-time caps. And to makes matters worse, the protections for pre-existing conditions is under assault since the election of the least-informed president in American history in 2016. On top of deductibles, co-pays and life-time caps, insurance companies (which I think only serve as catastrophe insurance) can charge more if you have been previously diagnosed with high blood pressure for example.

The candidates vying for the Democratic nomination have two plans on health care from what I was able to garner after watching four hours of one-minute answers over the last two days, and dare I say it, Barack Obama had this right way back when.

Some candidates, the Medicare-for-all candidates, appear to want to outlaw private insurance and make just a government-run healthcare system. The others favor a public option. Where have I heard that before? Oh yeah, it was originally part of the Affordable Care Act, but it was removed so the ACA could get the votes back in 2010. Removing the public option was a mistake, and that's why the ACA has struggled to work.

I support the public option plan. It gives people choice when it comes to health care. If a person likes their employer's healthcare plan, keep it. If they do not, they can buy into the public option (a Medicare-like system). However, in order for the public option to work, the option offered must dispose of deductibles, life-time caps and co-pays.

If the government takes 6 percent of my earnings and gives me healthcare where I don't have to worry about co-pays, and deductibles, sign me up. My mother is on Medicare, and she receives no bills for her healthcare, and I wouldn't mind paying for that same piece of mind. I pay six-percent now and get very little in return.

Real reform on healthcare is long overdue, and this reform to ACA would be a huge step in the right direction. Don't believe me, just look at the polling on ACA.

SCOTUS does what???

It's official, the Supreme Court of the United States is no longer unbias or impartial.

In fourth grade, or so, my teachers gave us a civics lesson, and they explained that the reason Supreme Court justices receive life-time appointments was so they didn't have to be beholden to a political party, president or even the electorate and thus could make decisions completely based on the law. What a load of you know what!!!!!!!

We have seen just how political and contentious a Supreme Court selection has become. We have even seen Mitch McConnell hold a Supreme Court justice seat open for six months - in complete violation of the U.S. Constitution - to prevent a moderate justice from being appointed by Barack Obama. Obama appointed Merrick Garland, who was a member of U.S. District Court of Appeals for D.C. Garland was confirmed to D.C. Court by the Senate in 1997 by a 76-23 vote, but yet he did not even receive a judicial committee hearing in 2016, let alone a vote. Mitch McConnell swore to uphold the Constitution of the United States and again is in violation.

We are all old enough to remember just what a debacle the Brett Kavanaugh hearing was. I'm not going to go into further detail about this hearing because I can not say definitely whether Kavanaugh was guilty or innocent of the charges of sexual assault, but what a mess those hearings turned out to be regardless or your opinion on Justice Kavanaugh.

All that being said, the Supreme Court today ruled on yet another decision that boggles the mind and they did it strictly on a party-line vote. The conservative justices voted 5-4 that the federal courts DO NOT have a role to play in terms of Partisan Gerrymandering.

For those of you who do not know, Gerrymandering is when the party in power in a given state redraws the congressional district lines in such a way to ensure that they remain in power. So if you think you live in a democracy, surprise, you do not. The Supreme Court should rule on this and make Gerrymandering unconstitutional. FULL STOP! This seems clear as day to me, and it transcends party, because both sides have used this to stifle democracy. Yet the Supreme Court does nothing.

Unfortunately, this is not a isolated incident for the Supreme Court. They have failed time and time again on issues that 90 percent of the electorate would think are no brainers - Citizens United comes to mind. The Citizens United v Federal Election Commission (2010) decision basically allows people with a lot of money to contribute as much as they want to a political campaign because according to the court, that person, or corporation, which the court deemed a person, has the right to freedom of speech. WHAT? Thanks to Citizens United, if I contribute $100 to a candidate, they are less likely to listen to my thoughts, when person B or corporation B gives that candidate $100,000. Citizens United did not level the playing field, it minimized my first amendment right, because I do not have $100,000 to give to a candidate.

If you think Citizens United was not partisan, than you have not been paying attention. The conservative justices, seeing their party shrink and their influence wane, decided to give some of their pals more influence. Almost as disgraceful as America's biggest Congressional disgrace, Mitch McConnell.

Flood the swamp

Donald Trump made a lot of promises during the 2016 election. Anyone who was paying attention at the time knew that he was lying to the American people repeatedly. Among the countless lies this charlatan told us was that he was going to "drain the swamp." This snake-oil-salesmen tested the phrase at a few rallies, and when his loyalists began chanting it with regularity, it stuck. Of course the idea that this felonious president was going to get rid of corruption in Washington D.C. is just laughable. He has had a number of hand-picked cabinet members resign due to scandal in just two years. The Trump crime syndicate makes the Teapot Dome Scandal of the Warren G. Harding administration of the early 1920s, look like romper room. The list of scandals is to long to enumerate in this blog post, but here are some of the headliners:

National Security Advisor - Michael Flynn, of lock-her-up fame, likely on his way to jail for lying to the everyone, but specifically the FBI.

Health and Human Services Secretary - Tom Price, spent over $1 million dollars of tax-payer money on private flights. Not to mention the fact that he used his position on House committee's to pick winners and losers in the stock market, and one of the winners was a company he had personally invested $15,000 in. Information Trump had before picking him to run HHS.

Price Scandal - USA Today

EPA Secretary - Scott Pruitt, multiple ethics scandals.

Pruitt Scandal

This brings us to the latest violator of law under the Trump Administration, Kellyanne Conway. Conway, advisor to the Liar-in-Chief, has repeatedly violated the Hatch Act according to the 17-page report issued by the Office of Special Counsel, who is a permanent independent federal investigate and prosecutorial agency charged with overseeing violations of the Hatch Act among others.

The US Office of Special Counsel, run by a Trump-appointed Republican, recommended in its 17-page report that Conway be fired for being a repeat offender of the Hatch Act.

The Hatch Act, passed in 1939, was designed to prevent people who worked in the executive branch of the government from getting involved in electoral politics, and Conway has repeatedly broken this law by criticizing candidates running for office, and using her position to influence voters. She even has mocked the Hatch Act by telling reporters, "let me know when the jail sentence begins"

Hatch Act

Of course, this White House, dripping with felons, came to Conway's defense today. It remains to be seen if the pressure on Conway will lead to her dismal or resignation, but if recent history is any indication, Trump will say something outlandish and the focus will move elsewhere, and the Conway controversy will be forgotten. BUT let's be clear, she broke the law, and this "drain the swamp" President will do nothing about it because this is his sycophant.

MAKE AMERICA GREAT AGAIN - Remember when America was great and being run by criminals, who saw themselves as above the law.

This is still America right?

I want to be clear on this topic for full disclosure sake because the argument I am about to make has nothing to do with the underlying issue of abortion, but instead has to do with the citizens' right to make law in this country via referendum.

So for full disclosure sake: I am personally against abortion because of my faith, but I also believe in a women's right to choose. I favor bans on abortion after a reasonable amount of time (16-18 weeks), which a women a chance to realize she is even pregnant. I also favor exceptions in the case when taking the pregnancy to term could be medically harmful to the woman. There are also reasonable exceptions to be made in the case of rape and Incest especially, since the women or child, might not come forward right away because of fear.

THAT BEING SAID:
The state of Missouri decided today unilaterally that two abortion referendums would not be allowed to proceed to the petition stage for the 2020 ballot. Missouri's Republican Secretary of State Jay Ashcroft said he could not allow the referendums on abortion because Missouri had passed one of the recent heart-beat bills, and part of those bills was declared an "emergency", meaning he has no choice but to prevent it from going to the petition stage. WRONG!

The Missouri law states the following. It is legal to get an abortion in the first 8 weeks of pregnancy. After 8 weeks only medical emergencies would allow for a legal abortion. Rape and incest are not exceptions to the 8-week ban. The law also states that in the case of a minor trying to have a pregnancy terminated, they would need to get notification to both parents, which in some cases might be impossible!

Ashcroft's argument is that because a law has been passed, that it can't be put to a referendum. That is complete garbage. Referendums that change law happen in every election cycle in every single state in the Union. In my state, citizens recently passed a recreational marijuana bill via referendum, much to my objection, that changed existing law. It was illegal prior to the referendum, but the citizens choose to change that law. SO ASHCROFT's argument is pure hokum. One of the proposed referendums was actually submitted by GOP Mega-donor David Humphreys, which tells you that their is not a consensus on this issue even among the far right. Humphreys teamed up with the ACLU (American Civil Liberties Union) on this issue. According to the St. Louis Post-Dispatch, the ACLU has filed suit to stop Ashcroft's attempted violation of the Constitution.

If Ashcroft believes that his argument is sound and supported by the people of his state, let them VOTE! I believe whole-heartedly that citizens are much better equipped to vote on a law via referendum that will impact their lives before I would put that in the hands of some partisan hack of either party!!!

Ashcroft unilaterally turns down petitions
Ashcroft article
Humphreys article on proposed referendum:
Humphrey article

Contact Jay Ashcroft
600 West Main St.
Jefferson City, MO 65101
info@sos.mo.gov
(573)-751-4936

D-Day remembrance

Yesterday, June 6, 2019, marked the 75th anniversary of the most consequential military operation in human history. The allied endeavor, designated Operation Overlord, included more than 5,000 ships carrying 160,000 allied soldiers to a heavily fortified, 50-mile stretch of coastline in northern France known as Normandy. The success of this invasion would determine the future of the allied effort in World War II. The beachhead was necessary to give the allied forces a toehold on the continent of Europe, which would serve as a staging point for the push to Berlin.

American, Canadian and English soldiers stormed the beaches of Normandy, codenamed Omaha, Utah, Sword, Gold, and Juno. On Omaha Beach alone, Allied forces - mostly Americans - suffered 2,000 casualties by day's end. These soldiers, mostly young men in their late teens, put their lives on the line, and some made the ultimate sacrifice, in order to preserve freedom around the world. Their sacrifice must never be forgotten. Take the time today to thank a veteran for their service, and before you lay your head on the pillow take time to pray for the souls of those who provided the freedom we enjoy as Americans.

I have added some video clips on the history of Designated Day. Take the time to watch and comment if you feel so inclined:

Franklin D. Roosevelt's D-Day Prayer

Veterans, in their own words, tell the story of Omaha Beach:

God Bless all our soldiers serving around the world, and god bless the United States.

Mueller finally Speaks out

"If we had confidence the President clearly did not commit a crime, we would have said so. We did not," Mueller said.

I have long held the belief that deceitful Donald can not be impeached for the simple reason that this action would serve only to make this narcissistic liar a martyr. Previously I felt that the only way this current occupant of the oval office should be removed from his temporary lodgings was via a resounding defeat at the ballot box. I know what you are saying. Even if he is defeated in 2020, many of his supporters will claim that some deep state conspiracy rigged the 2020 election so that their megalomaniac couldn't win re-election. Of course none of that is true, but they will claim it, and I even heard a young woman at Justin Amash's townhall last night in his district claim that it would lead to civil war. This is what the crazy rambling of a privileged idiot leads to, a woman claiming that the removal of Donald Trump, a proven snake-oil salesmen, from office, for his litany of crimes, would result in civil war. Thanks Donald.

However, being a student of history, a lover of the Constitution and American democracy, I am starting to be pulled away from my entrenched no-impeachment position. If he can commit crimes with impunity, rebuff Congressional subpoenas and hire an Attorney General, Bill Barr, who already committed perjury in front of Congress, and get away with all of it, than we might as well use the Constitution as kindling. It has not meaning!!! What next? Is he just going to start defying the Supreme Court when they inevitably rule against him in case after case related to these congressional subpoenas. Watch out Neil Gorsuch and Brett "Bart" Kavanaugh. The President is just one bad ruling away from referring to you in a tweet as those nine-angry Democrats in the Supreme Court.

Something must be done about this pathological liar in the White House. I do not envy Democrats because they will be brutalized by this monster for even suggesting impeachment, but it's looking more and more like the only course of action. And to make matters worse, even if they do impeach him in the House of Representatives, finding 20-25 Republican Senators to remove him from office is a herculean task. It will never happen, because the cowards in the Senate with R's next to their names drank the cool aid by buckets. They are completely afraid of this man, and I am not sure why. After all he is a "moron" just ask Rex Tillerson - former Secretary of State for Donald Trump.

Given the cowardice of most Republicans when it comes to this matter, I must tip my cap to Justin Amash, a 39-year-old member of the House from Michigan, who decided to let the world know that he is in favor of impeaching Trump and let the political blow back fall where it may. Members of both parties could learn a great deal from this profile in courage. Amash said that after reading the Mueller report, which can be found at the bottom of this post in its redacted version, impeachment was the only answer. So I say to you, read the report, watch Mueller's explanation and give me your feedback on what the right course of action is.

Mueller report pdf

China is not paying!!!!

Regardless of what you think regarding the effectiveness of tariffs, I can tell you one thing for certain. Tariffs are not paid by the country that you impose the tariff on. This means when you impose a 25 percent tariff on goods made in China, the tariff (or tax) is imposed on the item when it reaches our ports of entry. This tax is paid by the American company who is importing the items, and usually that tax or price increase is passed on, in full or in part, to YOU - the consumer. It's a tax on YOU and ME!!!!!!

So when "Deceitful Donald" tells you that we are taking in so much money from the country of China as a result of these tariffs, big surprise, he is LYING!

The United States Constitution grants Congress the power to "regulate commerce with foreign nations, and among the several states." Over the last 90 years, since the passage of the Smoot-Hawley Tariff Act (1930), the congress has handed over more and more authority to the executive branch in this regard.

The Trade Expansion Act of 1962 and the Trade Act of 1974 are prime examples of Congress giving the executive branch more authority when it comes to reduce tariffs or negotiating trade treaties with foreign countries, which are then presented to Congress for up or down votes. 

The reality is that regardless of who authorizes tariffs, these taxes on goods is always a horrid idea. Whether it was the tariffs passed in the early 1800's by Thomas Jefferson, which crippled New England's shipping and trade economy, or the Smoot-Hawley Tariff's passed by Congress in 1930, which lead to a prolonged and deeper GREAT DEPRESSION, tariffs are always a failure, because there in nothing preventing other countries from imposing retaliatory tariffs on the United States. Tariffs do not protect U.S. industries, they just raise prices on goods for all consumers and business. 

TRUMP says "trade wars are easy to win." Spoken by someone who is completely ignorant of our history. NO ONE, I repeat, NO ONE wins in a trade war. 

The answer is not protecting old industry to make it great again, but the real answer is innovation and new industry so that the United States remains the world leader in new industry and technology. 

See the Cato Institute video on Smoot-Hawley

HBO VICE video on Trump's Tariffs and the real world impacts of these tariffs on real Americans!

Prime example of Congressional failures

Here is a perfect example of the gridlock that has completely engulfed D.C.

Since being elected as the majority in the House of Representatives in 2018, the Democrats have passed more than 130 pieces of legislation in just under 4 months. Now I want to make this CLEAR, not all of these measures are good bills, nor should they all become law, but there is no EXCUSE for MITCH McCONNELL - the Senate majority leader - to not take up any of these bills and debate them and send a Senate version to conference committee. Does the Senate plan on doing any work????

"Nobody came (to the Senate) for gridlock," said Senator Ron Johnson (R-Wisconsin). "Members do want to accomplish something."

"Senator McConnell describes himself as the Grim Reaper," said House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-California). "The Senate is the Graveyard" for legislation.

McCONNELL only seems to be interested in pushing through young judges so that maybe new law never has to be passed again, and we can just have a country run completely by extreme justices from both sides, although in this case it's McCONNELL'S judges. 12 Votes were taken this week in the Senate and all of them were appointment votes, primarily for judges. Not a single vote was taken on any legislative matters.

Feel free to contact Mr. McConnell @
317 Russell Senate Office Building
office number 202-224-2541
https://www.mcconnell.senate.gov/public/index.cfm/contactform

DO YOUR JOB MITCH!!!!!!

What voters in this country need, and I have thought this since I was young, is a viable third party that would challenge the two existing parties, and force both Republicans and Democrats to center in order to form a governing majority. I thought we had a real chance at this when Ross Perot ran as a member of the Progressive Party, or when my neighboring state of Rhode Island was forced by the courts to recognize, however briefly, the Rhode Island Moderate Party. Alas, it was not to be. The rules that have been established, not surprisingly by the two existing parties, make it nearly impossible for a third party to get, and remain, on the ballot.

U.S. News and World Report article on the forced removal of the Moderate Party from RI ballots (2019)
https://www.usnews.com/news/best-states/rhode-island/articles/2019-02-11/moderate-party-loses-its-status-as-a-party-in-rhode-island

Here is the link for the underlying article for this post:
https://www.usnews.com/news/politics/articles/2019-05-17/congress-works-but-little-gets-done

Introduction to the New Moderate Party

I am new to this blogging thing, but I feel like I could not remain silent anymore given the status of our nation - a nation that I love a great deal.

With that being said, let me introduce this blog and tell you what you can expect to see.

This is a political blog geared toward the new moderate. Let's begin by defining what a new moderate is. A new moderate is a member of the silent majority. STOP. I am not referring to Richard Nixon's silent majority, but the majority of the country in 2019 who would like to see government work again. We should put that on a hat!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! SGWA!!!

This blog deals only in common sense issues, but I am not going to lie, John Q. Public will lose his mind from time-to-time. I feel this will be therapeutic and that is why I do it. John Q. Public, which if you haven't guessed yet, is me, is a social liberal and fiscal conservative, who would love nothing more for the politicians "running" this country to meet in the middle, and get things done for the real backbone of this country, the people.

Please feel free to share this blog, which is going to give daily takes on the news of the day, with your friends and I encourage interaction and comments. Share the blog at thenewmoderateparty@blogspot.com

more to come.