Donald Trump: Thousands of lies and still going strong

PROGRESSIVE STREET/Where Liberals Walk:

July 11, 2019: Since lying seems to be what Donald Trump does, and he is certainly known for it around the world, how many lies will it take to win the 2020 election? And can the Democrats summon the strategy to beat this megalomaniac? As an aside, would you agree that Trump makes Karl Rove look like a Sunday school teacher when it comes to lying? He is already lying that "he has better support among key demographics — women, Hispanics, young voters — than he actually does."

When I Google "Trump's latest lies," I get 55,400.000 hits. I also get a treasure trove of deception, dishonesty and disinformation, most all associated with the Oval Office lunatic, Donald Trump. On one site I found a report from the Washington Post that said Trump had made 10,000 “false or misleading claims” since entering the White House. 'You were indicted for one,' Nicolle Wallace told Trump who had just said, “I don’t do cover-ups,” re. Nancy Pelosi's charge.

Jimmy Kimmel on Donald Trump 2,000 lies...

And the most interesting was a site by a former card magician exclaiming, "How Trump Gets Away with Lying, as Explained by a Magician." Ben Chapman continues, asking these questions, “How does he just keep lying?” “He can’t possibly get away with this again.” “Why do people still trust him?” Chapman has his own opinion of Donald Trump...

"Our current Administration has shown an unprecedented disregard for the truth, and many Americans are flabbergasted at how few people are disturbed by this disregard. As a former card magician — and therefore someone with a bit of experience deceiving audiences — I have developed some strategies to catch other people in their lies."

His strategies are very interesting, starting with, "1. Dress for the Occasion."
With five in all, you will gradually begin to visualize the subject of his piece, then see the actual picture of Donald Trump. I wouldn't bestow T-rump with the credibility of a magician, but he has certainly developed some of these tactics, turning them into the implements of his warped mind. Ben Chapman's site is well worth your time, providing unique insight into the Donald Trump psyche.

But, back to the original question, "Can Democrats beat Trump lies in 2020?" Here's where it stands right now...

"The Trump campaign has been spending about $1 million weekly on Facebook and Google ads. In comparison, the Biden campaign spent about $75,000 last week. The Trump team knows that the online world is where their campaign thrives and they also know that they can expect little to no regulation from Facebook even when their ads are a direct violation of Facebook policy."

Distortion and deceit without regulation, a strategy that hearkens back to Karl Rove's handling of the George W. Bush campaign. And yes, the Democrats employ their own version of deception but nowhere near as blatant as Republicans, especially Donald Trump, the world's most egregious liar. The best example recently is a fake Joe Biden website run secretly by an operative working for the Trump campaign. Not even sure Karl Rove would do that.

Donald Trump: Supporters help make him the scam artist he is

PROGRESSIVE STREET...Where Liberals Walk

July 10, 2019: When I see a headline like the following: "Trump’s fake patriotism was sophomoric and insulting — so of course his supporters loved it," it makes me worry about the future of this country. It also cuts to the core of what is wrong with the United States; an uninformed gang of morons is running it with their elective power to put someone like Donald Trump in the White House. And, it looks like pictures of a large crowd at his July 4th speech are valid, even more distressing.

This man, no matter how low his morals or how many times and hour he is caught lying to the public, and his loyal followers, by the way, is still the head of the most powerful country in the world. And for whatever bizarre reason, maybe it is sheer luck, it hasn't yet happened. No, we haven't suffered a major catastrophe caused by this egotistical maniac, but according to Yale Psychiatrist, Brandy Lee, we are getting closer and closer to Trump armageddon.

Salon's Lucian Truscott, in an opinion piece said...

"Donald Trump’s Fourth of July speech was sophomoric. The fly-overs were anemic. The pairs of Bradley fighting vehicles and M1-A2 tanks were practically invisible. Everyone was soaked to the skin. They even played the hoary redneck anthem, 'I’m Proud to Be an American.'”

"But the crowd loved it."

This conflagration of Trump-lovers was kept well away from their idol, with the VIP seats clustered around T-rump, close enough to blow smoke, well, you know where. These are the same VIP seats that, with such little demand, the Trump aides ended up giving the tickets to anyone who would take them. Truscott commented, "The crowd adored the man who delivered his fourth-grade-level history lesson in robotic, singsong cadences..."

Other nations who put on gigantic displays of their clout to impress their people are no doubt marveling over the fact that what Trump did was "the cheapest, lamest, most pathetic display of military might ever put on. It was Trump’s. He was all that mattered." Pathetic. And Salon had a recommendation for the Dems...

"The Democratic candidates for president should get tapes of Trump’s 'Salute to America' and make watching it mandatory within their campaign operations. Trump’s speech sounded like it had been written by the 'creatives' at Hallmark, and that was the point."

Truscott closed with...

"We are not the country we like to think we are. Trump won in 2016. 'Make America Great Again' carried the day for him. His 'basket of deplorables' turned out for him. They can do it again."

And that is a challenge that should convince every Progressive/liberal to make their way to the polls early in 2020.

PROGRESSIVE STREET/Where Liberals Walk: Jeffrey Epstein, Donald Trump, Alex Acosta/Trouble in Paradise

Alex Acosta-Jeffrey Epstein

July 9. 2002: Donald Trump, well, you know the infamous liar of the Oval Office, but do you know his Labor Secretary, Alex Acosta, who signed off on a non-prosecution agreement with Jeffrey Epstein more than a decade ago? Yes, the Jeffrey Epstein who was just jailed for child sex trafficking, and who was a friend of Donald trump, another pal who hung out with him at Mar-a-Lago. But the new focus is on Acosta who investigated Epstein in 2008, letting him off the hook with a plea deal.

Bloomberg reports, "The Justice Department said in February that it planned to investigate 'allegations that Department attorneys may have committed professional misconduct in the manner in which the Epstein criminal matter was resolved' in Florida. Here's the deal...

"Later that month, a federal judge ruled that the same group of attorneys broke the law by not telling Epstein’s victims that the plea deal existed. The Miami-based prosecutors had prepared a 53-page federal indictment against Epstein, but his deal allowed him to plead guilty only to a state charge of soliciting a minor for prostitution. He served 13 months in a Palm Beach prison that allowed him to leave six days a week to work. The deal also granted immunity to any of Epstein’s potential co-conspirators, who otherwise might have been swept up in his abuses."

 MSNBC’s Mika Brzezinski picked up the story asking, "whether President Donald Trump’s secretary of labor might be personally implicated in the Jeffrey Epstein child trafficking case." A former federal prosecutor, Mimi Rocah, said...

“It is a travesty what Jeffrey Epstein was allowed to get away with, that he sexually abused and raped — himself and allowed others — so many young girls. That is one of the most serious federal crimes I have ever involved in prosecuting. I mean, we are talking about 10, 15, 20 years in prison, and he got a slap on the wrist.”

When asked if Acosta, who, because of his association with the case has been asked to resign and refused, personally allowed Epstein to get away with raping and trafficking young girls, Rocah replied "Yes," without hesitation. Brzezinski wondered then just what Alex Acosta had to gain by cutting Epstein loose, was he involved in the escapades? Rocah had no evidence of this but "was aware that that Alex Acosta was very close with attorneys who were representing Epstein."

If Acosta wasn't personally involved with Jeffrey Epstein's shenanigans, he was certainly guilty of the "old boys' network," as described by Rocah, that released a sexual predator on the street to continue his trysts with underage girls. Hopefully, the U.S. Attorney’s office in Manhattan will finally put a stop to this.

PROGRESSIVE STREET...Where Liberals Walk: Donald Trump buddy, Jeffrey Epstein, in jail for child sex trafficking

July 8, 2029 

Trump and Epstein with unknown women

The man who sits in the Oval Office today, Donald Trump, has been accused of rape, sexual assault, and sexual harassment, including non-consensual kissing or groping, by at least 22 women since the 1980s. There were three widely reported instances of litigation, and, of course, there was the Access Hollywood tape during which Trump made the statement...

"You know I'm automatically attracted to beautiful—I just start kissing them. It's like a magnet. Just kiss. I don't even wait. And when you're a star, they let you do it, you can do anything ... grab them by the pussy. You can do anything."

Any woman voting for T-rump after hearing that is devoid of any self-respect.

Billionaire financier Jeffrey Epstein was arrested Saturday evening on suspicion of trafficking dozens of underage girls as young as 14 in the early 2000s. Here's what Donald Trump had to say about Epstein in a tweet...

“I’ve known Jeff for fifteen years. Terrific guy. He’s a lot of fun to be with. It is even said that he likes beautiful women as much as I do, and many of them are on the younger side.” - Donald Trump, 2002

You have to read Kat Tenbarge's article in Business Insider to see all the gory details, and they bounce out at you one after the other. Like the foursome at Mar-a-Lago, Trump, Melania, Epstein and his British socialite girlfriend, Ghislaine Maxwell...

"Politico reported that a woman who claims to have been a part of a sex trafficking ring run by Epstein was recruited directly from Mar-a-Lago in 1999 by Maxwell, where the woman, who was then 15-years-old, worked as a locker room attendant."

The Daily Beast reported that "Epstein trafficked dozens of minors in New York and Florida between 2002 and 2005, according to three unnamed law enforcement sources." The pervert friend of Donald Trump is "already a convicted sex offender, having allegedly molested dozens of underage girls in Florida before signing a 2008 secret plea agreement that allowed him to avoid federal prosecution and jail time." Apparently Epstein has plenty of friends.

And, of course, there was the Stormy Daniels affair, where Trump made a generous payoff to keep her mouth shut during the 2016 election. First he lied about the payment, letting his attorney Michael Cohen take the heat, eventually admitting reimbursing Cohen $130,000. 

A lying, conniving madman in the White House with the support of a double-digit gang of followers, the kind who will come out in the rain to hear him babble on about the Continental Army taking back airports in the Revolutionary War. Pathetic!

Read more about Donald Trump's sexual exploits on Wikipedia.

NEWS DIGEST: The tweeting madman is Donald Trump

July 7, 2019: PROGRESSIVE STREET...Where Liberals Walk  

It's the second time we've heard a single "fast radio burst" from a galaxy across the universe. Although we don't know what causes these FRBs we do know that this one came from a "galaxy, similar in size to our own Milky Way galaxy and is 7.9 billion light-years away. Is it some advanced extraterrestrial civilization--scientists can't rule this out--and somehow technology can be harnessed to contact them, pleading that they come and take Donald Trump away? Please!

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Could you do without $55 million and 5 million voters? (NRA 2016 campaign activity) Not if you are Donald Trump, candidate for president of the United States. The wheels are coming off the National Rifle Assn. (NRA), and with the recent closing down of their NRATV propaganda machine, they are likely to be hard put for cash. A rich donor is after head gun nut Wayne LaPierre and Madonna recently did a video on gun violence. Looks like Trump is in even more trouble.

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George Conway's simple formula to beat Donald Trump in 2020: Constant attacks on Trump personally and politically by Democrats that will eventually cause the Oval Office idiot's meltdown. It's so simple but so obvious. Anyone who has observed this man since his inauguration knows that he cannot take criticism on any level. How this shakes out with Conway's wife Kellyanne Conway as one of Trump's closest advisers is anyones guess and could actually fit into the equation.

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On the surface it would appear that Donald Trump had a reasonably large crowd for his July 4th speech. No crowd size has been confirmed but pictures show the people alongside the pool. This, however, calls into question why Trump's staff felt the need to hand out VIP tickets to Trump’s Fourth of July rally to anyone who will take them. Politico said the WH staff was desperate to entice people to come, and yet pictures available show a sizeable gang of T-rump blind sheep minions. Questionable?

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The tweeting madman is Donald Trump, says Daily Beast, and uses the revolving door handling of the census question by this nutcase to explain what it's like to work for a psychopath. It a'int easy as Joshua Gardner, special counsel at the Department of Justice, who told the court the question was out, knows. Now it's back in because the maniac thinks he can beat around the courts with an executive order. Commerce Secretary Wilbur Ross himself was in on the "outing" decision. Washington has never been so much fun.

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NEWS DIGEST: Ivanka Trump for president?

July 6, 2019: PROGRESSIVE STREET...Where Liberals Walk  

Over 200 major U.S. and international corporations have signed an amicus brief and submitted it to the Supreme Court last Tuesday with the argument that excluding sexual orientation and gender identity from federal civil rights law “would undermine the nation’s business interests.” More than 7 million employees are involved and the companies account for over $5 trillion in revenue.” It's another great mark for the movement.

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Millions of NRA members are asking why they should fund an outfit rife with financial mismanagement and apparent insider beak-wetting, signaling an organization that appears to be rotting from the inside out. The top lobbyist, Chris Cox quit, and one of the NRA's largest donors is calling for the head of top gun nut, Wayne LaPierre. The New York Post says....

"It’s a welcome blow to the lucrative 'nonprofit' racket of milking moral outrage."

The NRA does have our "thoughts and prayers."

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France had an all-time high temperature of 114.6 degrees last week, no doubt a result of "human-induced climate change.” With a climate change catastrophe facing us, backed by notable scientists, Donald Trump forges ahead shattering environmental protections now in place. Here's how...

"Since Andrew Wheeler was made acting EPA director in July, he has issued a series of controversial environmental rollbacks. Wheeler is a former coal lobbyist who replaced Scott Pruitt." See more reasons.

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Robert Mueller testimony before Congress could send Donald Trump postal. Trump's own biographer, Tim O'Brien, said, “This is a man who has lived dangerously for decades by flirting with the boundaries of propriety, legality and civility." According to Yale psychiatrist Bandy Lee, losing the control Trump has had for years could make him extremely dangerous, "an alarming worst-case scenario for the man who commands the most powerful nuclear arsenal in the world."

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Ivanka Trump for president? You have to be f***ing kidding. Although she might not be any worse than Mike Pence, which I can't even remotely fathom him being electable, you have to consider the warped mind of Donald Trump and his claim on the Oval Office throne. There has been talk that he wouldn't vacate the White House if he lost in 2020, and he has even mentioned running a "forever" campaign for the presidency. Ivanka could be his ace in the hole.

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July 5th, 2019: Blowhard dictator reviews his troops

If it weren't for the fact that Donald Trump mentioned in his July 4th speech that the Continental Army took over the airports (in 1775, or 1812 what airports?), something which gave the whole world a laugh, the fact that he pretty much stuck to his script, plus the fact that apparently pictures reveal he had a relatively decent crowd, even in the rain, otherwise the whole ceremony was a disaster. Here's the statement on 1775...

“The Continental Army suffered a bitter winter of Valley Forge,” he continued, “found glory across the waters of the Delaware and seized victory from Cornwallis of Yorktown. Our army manned the [unclear]. It rammed the ramparts. It took over the airports. It did everything it had to do. And at Fort McHenry, under the rockets’ red glare, it had nothing but victory. And when dawn came, their star-spangled banner waved defiant.”

But the fact that he has always craved power, even from his first childhood, which has carried over into this childhood, where he dreams of being a strong-arm dictator like his idol, Kim Jong un. With tanks, parades, flyovers, all the things that despots do. It's all way out of line since the U.S. is and has been in a mode that does not encourage conflict, rather peace. But this all fits with T-rump's latest crusades in isolationism.

The Raw Story said, "Trump’s disastrous July 4th speech walloped as ‘middle-school story time from hell,’" RS quotes writer Molly Jong-Fast from Daily Beast...

“It was a speech that had all the excitement of an excerpt from one of Bill O’Reilly’s YA history books,” Jong-Fast wrote. 

Jong-Fast went on to criticize Trump's lack of any oratorical skills, which all tyrants must have, something the Oval Office lunatic replaces with bullshit, riddled with endless lies. Salon ended its piece with...

Unfortunately for Trump, his old nemesis John McCain had the last laugh. Again.

The Blue Angels tribute at McCain’s funeral in Annapolis was in every way more patriotic and inspiring.

So much for Donald Trump and his July 4th debacle.

Justin Amash exits GOP

Amash-Trump

U.S. Representative Justin Amash has been a continuing thorn in the side of Donald Trump, criticizing him on several fronts, but primarily arguing that Trump has “engaged in specific actions and a pattern of behavior that meet the threshold for impeachment.” Donald Trump's response to Amash's opinion piece about leaving Congress was, ""one of the dumbest & most disloyal men in Congress." This coming from the dumbest president ever.

In June, Amash left the conservative House Freedom Caucus he helped found, and it should be noted here that Justin Amash is a loyal member of the Tea Party. Not only was he the first House member to favor Donald Trump's impeachment...

"In February, he became the lone Republican to co-sponsor a resolution in the U.S. House of Representatives to reject the emergency Trump declared at the U.S.-Mexico border to build a wall there, in a stinging reprimand to the president."

Amash is of the opinion that most U.S. voters are not "rigidly" partisan, and they don't feel they are getting the representation they did vote for. He is convinced the Republican Party favors nationalism, a term defined as follows...

"identification with one's own nation and support for its interests, especially to the exclusion or detriment of the interests of other nations."

This is more apparent in Donald Trump's handling of tariffs with countries like China, and the Oval Office lunatic's negotiations with Iran in the nuclear standoff. But most of all it points to the illusion of a Trump massive ego that thinks he can do anything he wants to simply because he is Donald Trump. This is basically a new breed of nationalism spawned by the kind of abhorrent individual that currently resides in the White House.

Yesterday, July 4th, Amash published an opinion piece in the Washington Post...

“Instead of acting as an independent branch of government and serving as a check on the executive branch, congressional leaders of both parties expect the House and Senate to act in obedience or opposition to the president and their colleagues on a partisan basis.”

He followed this with...

“Modern politics is trapped in a partisan death spiral, but there is an escape.”

Justin Amash has been serving in Congress since 2011, and back in May was when he first came out against Trump using the results of the Mueller Report...

Amash said in May that the Mueller report showed Trump had obstructed justice, bucking his party and joining Democrats in castigating the president for his actions. “President Trump has engaged in impeachable conduct,” he said.

 The former Republican is considering running against Donald Trump as a Libertarian in 2020. If he does, he'll have to shed his former life as a Tea Partier, and that won't be easy.

Read more...

July 4th celebration Trump warning to all

Please...Light the fuse-Send him to the moon

Jeff Greenfield on Politico tried to put a positive swing on Donald Trump's 4th of July celebration with three reasons not to worry but one big reason to worry...

"And on a more troubling level, what Trump is doing is wreathing himself in the most potent symbols of American history—delivering a speech on the steps of the Lincoln Memorial, site of the 1963 March on Washington, looking across at a landscape of monuments—without any appreciation for the history that made that whole landscape possible. Perhaps uniquely among American presidents, he sees himself without any connection to the American story, any link to presidents past, other than his manifest superiority to any of them."

The parts above, in bold, illustrate the chronic pathetic nature of Donald Trump.

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HAPPY July 4th to all

We celebrate Independence Day annually on July 4. It is the anniversary of the publication of the declaration of independence from Great Britain in 1776. Patriotic displays and family events are organized throughout the United States. It is a day for going to the beach or the lake, the mountains, hanging out by the family pool, going to your favorite amusement park or just staying at home with family and friends, barbecuing in the backyard. It is not for dictators.

Greg Sargent's piece in the Washington Post portrays the plans of the desperate, totalitarian Donald Trump in another attempt to boost his ego by making July 4th all about him. Supported by tanks and flyovers, this incompetent tyrant will actually close down Reagan National airport in Washington simply for self-gratification. Sargent says...

"The historians tell us that this is what authoritarian nationalists do. As Harvard’s Jill Lepore puts it, they replace history with tried-and-true fictions — false tales of national decline at the hands of invented threats, melded to fictitious stories of renewed national greatness, engineered by the leader himself, who is both author of the fiction and its mythic hero."

Bingo! That hits the nail right into Donald Trump's head.

But happy 4th of July anyway. 

NEWS ALERT.Big time NRA donor wants Wayne LaPierre dumped

Thank God someone in the gun rights community has finally usurped the nerve to go after the National Rifle Assn. (NRA's) head gun nut, Wayne LaPierre. This maniac is the common denominator for all the gun violence since he took office in 1991. It is his firm belief that everyone in this country should be armed with a gun, take it anywhere he wants to, with every American household claiming its own personal arsenal. This offense is purely to sell more guns to appease the gun manufacturers who generously support him and the NRA.

Here's what David Dell’Aquila, LaPierre's hit man, says...

the NRA’s internal warfare “has become a daily soap opera, and it’s decaying and destroying the NRA from within, and it needs to stop”.

“Even if these allegations regarding Mr LaPierre and his leadership are false, he has become radioactive and must step down.”

Don't you love his description of Lapierre as "radioactive?" 

NEWS ALERT...Alarm going off for recession

A yield curve inverted is predicting Donald Trump's economy is headed for weak or nonexistent growth in the next few years, and little inflation. Yield curves don’t cause recessions, but their inversion can make business leaders reluctant to hire or invest because they’re worried about economic slowdown. The yield curve started to invert in March...

“The alarm’s gone off,” said Campbell Harvey, the Duke University finance professor who first noticed the relationship between yield curves and recessions.

So much for the despot's plans.

WEDNESDAY'S NEWS DIGEST: Carbon dioxide is good for you

PROGRESSIVE STREET...Where Liberals Walk

One source describes Donald Trump's performance at the G-20 Summit in Japan like a circus. In Salon's words, "Ignorant of history and contemptuous of existing treaties, as usual, Trump insulted the host country on his first day." Good start for what would become a "slow-motion train wreck" involving sucking up to Saudi Arabia, ignoring the Khashoggi murder, and Vladimir Putin, ignoring their interference in the 2016 election. Basically, typical, useless, embarrassing Trump conduct.

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Beware of flesh-eating bacteria known as necrotizing fasciitis, which can be caught anywhere the public has been. I know, first-hand, from someone who caught it, they think, in a motel from the toilet seat. It progressed from a dot on the skin to a six-inch grotesque splotch of bleeding flesh in just six days. The person was just minutes from losing a leg, with the doctor at one point concerned the person wouldn't make it through the night. Although left with an obvious scar, otherwise okay now.

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Necrotizing fasciitis kills grandmother...

Trump to lose big in 2020, according to the same people who accurately predicted the Democratic takeover of the House in 2018. Rachel Bitecofer, assistant director of the Wason Center for Public Policy at Public Policy at Christopher Newport University says Donald Trump will lose the Electoral College 297 to 197. She predicted 40 seats won at midterm, and says with the Democrats agitated as they are, Trump isn't likely to pull off another 2016.

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"Carbon dioxide is good for you," says Trump scientist. William Happer. This looney is from the obscure "Heartland Institute, which disavows manmade climate change," but apparently doesn't read authentic scientific studies proving that humans are decimating the earth's eco-system. Obviously just another GOP thing to disrupt those of us trying to save the planet. Happer even pressured NASA to change their climate to conform to Heartland's version. NASA said no!

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William Happer, 'the scientist." on Co2...

Trump's preposterous 4th of July gala for family and friends will feature, as T-rump describes them, the very latest American Sherman tanks. (Sherman tanks haven't been produced since 1957.) It will be necessary to close Reagan National Airport to accommodate the flyovers demanded by the oval office lunatic. Kellyanne Conway even chimed in with reporters questioning their patriotism. And why didn't other presidents do all this? The simple answer is just that they weren't crazy.

NEWS ALERT...Census Citizenship question out

PROGRESSIVE STREET...Where liberals Walk  

Dept. of Justice has just released that the citizenship question will not appear on the 2020 Decennial Census questionnaire. Another "defeat for the Trump administration after the Supreme Court refused to allow the question to be added without further explanation from Census officials."

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LIBERALS ONLY BREAKING NEWS...Trump's economy turning bad

PROGRESSIVE STREET...Where Liberals Walk  

It is a combination of fear of public reaction along with a continuing concern over retaliation from a diminishing National Rifle Assn. (NRA) that keeps most Democrats from espousing strong gun control. There are a couple, Booker, Stalwell, but neither is prominent in the polls. Kamala Harris might have potential but what bothers me is the overall pall that spreads through politicians when you talk about banning even assault rifles. Still the killing goes on.

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And then Biden says, "that gun manufacturers, not the National Rifle Association (NRA), are the Democratic Party's 'enemy' in its efforts to reform gun control laws. Comments like this are why he's slipping in the polls. The NRA, led by head gun nut, Wayne LaPierre, is what gives gun manufacturers reason to keep making more and more guns, thus, more killing machines on the street. It doesn't help for the leading Democratic contender to protect the NRA.

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Older but great analysis of NRA supports gun manufacturers...

Trump economy weak and heading down says an Aussie with public policy experience. Here is his assessment...

"During the election we were promised jobs and growth. But in 2019-20 The Conversation’s forecasting panel is predicting an economic growth rate as weak as any since the financial crisis, as well as dismal consumer spending, no improvement in unemployment or wage growth, and an increased chance of recession." 

And Mark Zandi, chief economist of Moody's Analytics, says the economic growth isn't as strong as it looks. Much will depend on Donald Trump's tariff wars, which anyone knows could be bizarre.

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Bernie Sanders should be delighted, the entire lineup of Democratic Primary candidates has picked up at least one issue that the Bern has been advocating his entire political career. In other words, without Bernie Sanders, we would not have a Democratic platform. And doesn't this say something about the vision of this man that can't be overlooked. If his age is the only barrier, then the selection of a vice president should solve that problem. The Bern deserves a break here.

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Bernie Sanders on the issues...

Presidential candidate John Hickenlooper is solidly against Socialism and even attempts to make his point with a banjo. He was booed heavily at a San Francisco Democratic convention which didn't seem to dim his enthusiasm. On the other side, Bernie Sanders has a continuing Democratic Socialism vision that he says will save us from global authoritarianism. I go with Bernie and am sure he would start his sweep with the current White House.

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LIBERALS ONLY BREAKING NEWS...My earlier post asked, 'if not Joe Biden, who?'

PROGRESSIVE STREET...Where Liberals Walk  

Nineteen billionaires and ultra millionaires including George Soros, Abigail Disney and members of the Pritzker family say they and similar families should be taxed more. They favor accessing the finances of the wealthy over middle-income and lower-income Americans. Sound like Bernie Sanders? A letter sent by the nineteen participants said...

“The next dollar of new tax revenue should come from the most financially fortunate, not from middle-income and lower-income Americans."

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Trumps says Putin is a 'great guy' and 'terrific person' at the G-20 summit, expressing his feelings on Russian TV. Sounds like someone is building a hotel to me with the generous amount of syrupy praise for the Russian president. Let's just compare this monumental fraud with past presidents who would attend the G-20 to improve conditions for the united States. Donald Trump could care less about this country when a Trump Tower is possible in the middle of Moscow.

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Could "crypto" fecal parasite ruin your summer vacation? It can cause watery diarrhea for as long as three weeks and is worse for children, pregnant women and those with compromised immune systems. Only fatal once, the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention says the malady can be found in swimming and wading pools, untreated drinking water, lakes, contact with cattle, unpasteurized milk, child care centers, etc.

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Donald Trump campaign member sets up a fake Joe Biden site that ridicules the Oval Office lunatic's highest rated 2020 contender. Shades of Karl Rove methodology. It parodies Biden's campaign and uses out-of-context quotes from the former vice president. This tells me that T-rump considers "sleepy Joe" a real threat to his campaign. Here's an example: "Uncle Joe is back and ready to take a hands-on approach to America's problems." This could definitely backfire.

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My earlier post asked, 'if not Joe Biden, who?' is even more appropriate today after Biden's support dropped by 5 points after last Thursday's debate but still maintaining first place position. Kamala Harris surged to 12% to become number three, with Bernie Sanders hanging on to number two. Biden still commands 33% and Sanders at 19%. However, Lindsey Graham said, "underestimate Joe Biden at your own peril." Dems are desperately in need of a solid citizen.

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NEWS ALERT: Gun violence on Long Island, NY

Six people were shot at a house party on Long Island, New York, early Sunday morning. Read more...

YOUR SUNDAY'S LATE BREAKING NEWS...For Liberals Only

PROGRESSIVE STREET...Where Liberals Walk


Don't count Bernie out is the word from John Atcheson of Progressive Common Dreams News comparing the Bern to Joe Biden in the recent uncloseted war on Sanders by the Democrats. Biden stumbled in the first debate with attacks from newbie Kamala Harris, but the Vermont Senator continued to hammer away with his crusade to get Wall Street and the wealthy. Bernie still doesn't seem to fear the Socialist label, and polls as well as Biden against Trump. Next debate?

In a move that defies the term "I don't believe it," the Republicans are working in collusion with "a GOP operative whose goal was to create maps advantageous to Republicans and non-Hispanic Whites.” (ie. the recent question added to the Census asking for citizenship, which is currently in the courts.) With the question in jeopardy, Donald Trump has now even asked for a delay of the census. Just further proof that the Republicans will do anything to block Democratic voters.

Democrats took a hit when SCOTUS ruled that federal courts cannot block lawmakers in individual states from partisan gerrymandering in political districts. Whether or not this is illegal, but certainly unethical, "Justice Elena Kagan was among the dissenters in the ruling, quoting her as saying that “partisan gerrymanders” have 'debased and dishonored our democracy.'” It seems pretty clear that, also based on the Census question issue above, the GOP is hell-bent on controlling the 2020 election.

My opinion is that most folks have a large amount of respect for the Dalai Lama, except for Trump supporters, especially after seeing this article. The religious oracle described the U.S. president as scatterbrained, that Trump suffers from a “lack of moral principle.” The Tibetan spiritual leader said, “One day, he says something,” the Dalai Lama said of Trump. “Another day, he says something.” Thus, the premise by many, including well-known psychiatrists, that Donald Trump is mentally unbalanced.

Donald Trump is a fabricated president. Fake, counterfeit, bogus, the list goes on endlessly. Like the phony cover of TIME Magazine that was found hanging in his golf clubs back in 2017. Today the fraudulent "TIME magazine graphic showing himself running for office for the next 1,000 years." A campaign yard sign said, “Trump 2020, Trump 2024, 2028,” well into the year 3,000 to 40,000 and beyond. Carried further, president for life? Something must be done about this lunatic in 2020...or before.

YOUR SATURDAY'S LATE BREAKING NEWS...For Liberals Only

PROGRESSIVE STREET...Where Liberals Walk

Google believes its search engine might be instrumental in predicting the outcome of the 2020 election. The Democratic Primary candidates are lined up and the ranked starting with December 30, 2018 through June 16, 2019. It is a constantly changing competition for positioning for best ranking arriving at an expected conclusion, except for number two. Elizabeth Warren replaced Bernie Sanders at second moving him to third. Joe Biden remains first.

The chief of the White House’s Office of Special Counsel has the evidence for ousting White House counselor Kellyanne Conway by documenting her “complete disregard” for the law. Trump appointed Henry Kerner, who leads the Office of Special Counsel in testimony submitted to Congress...

"accuses Conway of going out of her way to knowingly flout the Hatch Act, which bars most executive branch employees from engaging in political activity."

 Republicans claim the Bible says they don’t have to help the poor, but "former National Republican Committee head Michael Steele slammed GOP lawmakers who have attempted to use the Bible as a defense for ignoring the needs of the poor and the helpless." Steele added...

“Anyone who’s quoting a Bible that says they’re not supposed to care for the poor, that should tell you everything about them and the Bible that they’re reading.”

Paul Krugman says Republicans deserting constituents by taking away their health care benefits. To illustrate, there is a desperate need for medical services for the poor in red-state Tennessee. These are Americans in rural communities that voted heavily for Donald Trump in a state that refuses to expand Medicaid under the Affordable Care Act. "Republicans who run Tennessee and other ‘non-expansion’ states have chosen to inflict misery on many of their constituents, rural residents in particular.” Tragic but clear where the blame resides.

Current news on the NRA's sinking ship is the shutting down production of its online propaganda machine, the streaming network, NRATV. This dumps Dana Loesch from live programming, something the educated of this country won't miss. Head gun nut Wayne LaPierre is trying to hold this band of demented soldiers of gun violence together but both questionable finances and the discovery of the NRA's real reputation spells doom in the near future. So good! 

The most despicable U.S. politician ever: Mitch McConnell

PROGRESSIVE STREET...Where Liberals Walk

And no less a U.S. Senator. Who would re-elect this sleazebag repeatedly? Could only be the same morons who vote for Donald Trump. Raw Story says, "Gallons of ink have been spilled about how he [Mitch McConnell] is a worse threat to democratic institutions than Trump." This pariah of politics has served as a concrete wall against anything the left has tried to accomplish, dating back to before the Obama administration.

One of my passions is reasonable gun control. In June of 2018, McConnell used his power to prevent legislation to prevent terrorists from buying guns. (It should be noted that he is one of the largest recipients of donations from the National Rifle Assn.) and as The Hill put it...

"provided cover for vulnerable Republicans who wanted to be seen as supporting the effort but did not want to cross the National Rifle Association."

It is all about power and that is what the man demands, no matter its expense to the American public and the country.

In an opinion piece for The Guardian this past April, Robert Reich wrote...

"No person has done more in living memory to undermine the functioning of the US government than the Senate majority leader, Mitch McConnell."

The sooner, the better

Now that's a pretty strong statement when you have Donald Trump in the White House in the process of using his corrupt administration to line his and his minions' pockets. "But McConnell is actively and willfully destroying the Senate," Reich says, resulting in the following...

"Last Wednesday he used his Republican majority to cut the time for debating Trump’s court appointees from 30 hours to two – thereby enabling Republicans to ram through even more Trump judges."

There's more from Reich...

"McConnell doesn’t give a fig about the Senate, or about democracy. He cares only about winning. On the eve of the 2010 midterm elections he famously declared that his top priority was for Barack Obama 'to be a one-term president.'”

Mitch McConnell, who was almost a single force in stonewalling anything Obama did in his two terms, is a confirmed racist who hated Barack Obama because he was black, and also since he was a Democrat. McConnell even vowed to make Obama a one-term president. He failed. Mitch McConnell is a complete fraud but as long as he gets things done for the GOP he'll stay head of the Senate. Unless...the people of Kentucky wise up and blow him away in 2020.

Here's an example of McConnell's stupidity, punctuated by racism...

Here's a headline that every Kentuckian should take into consideration before voting in 2020: "Mitch McConnell Will Not Act in Good Faith, Even When the Security of the Country Is at Stake." It refers to McConnell's blaming of Barack Obama for the Russians meddling in the 2016 election, thus prompting the Mueller Report. Although Obama may have been negligent in handling the intelligence, Mueller's Report clearly holds Donald Trump guilty of collusion.

And finally Mitch McConnell's dark side, in my estimation, the only side he has. Politico calls him,  “Cocaine Mitch,” “Nuclear Mitch” or the steward of the “legislative graveyard.” Would anyone question why Congress has such a low rating with the American public with a mad man like this in control of the Senate? I think not, and according to Raw Story, the Democrats should be able to use Mitch McConnell to sweep the 2020 elections. One can only hope!

NO to guns-Madonna's latest video

PROGRESSIVE STREET...Where Liberals Walk

You may ask what does it matter that some celebrity comes out against the massive gun violence in the United States. Well, the answer is that it simply reemphasizes the significance of the issue, since the person has nothing to gain but the satisfaction of having spoken out against something that is killing this country's innocent people. Madonna did it in her new video that is available free, and something everyone should look at.

Madonna

It is graphic! Madonna is actually shot dead in the course of a mass shooting that appears to be taking place in a dance hall where it seems that everyone has been killed by an assault rifle. Madonna has a message: "We need to wake up," with the name of her video "God Control." No matter what you might think of her as a person and as a performer, she should be enshrined for putting her career on line with such a controversial issue. Just watch the video and you'll see...

Donald Trump spawns corruption

PROGRESSIVE STREET...Where liberals Walk

Robert Reich talks about Donald Trump's "deep state," (ie. Steve Bannon) but concludes the Oval Office has now progressed to Trump’s Corrupt State. He adds...

"Not since Warren G. Harding’s sordid administration have as many grifters, crooks and cronies occupied high positions in Washington."

 Just look at the resignations of do many top people in the administration; Scott Pruitt, Ryan Zinke, Tom Price, and Michael Flynn. It was recently reported that "a real estate company partly owned by Trump son-in-law and foreign policy advisor, Jared Kushner, has raked in $90 million from foreign investors since Kushner entered the White House." Thus signifying the fact that Donald Trump bought the presidency for the purpose of establishing a money machine.

The corruption is compounded by the conclusions by the media, private sector, and some in government that, "this is a White House out of control, with a Commander-in-Chief not in charge." Here's a shocking example from CNN’s Alexander Marquardt, a Senior National Correspondent focusing on National Security...

"He makes clear Trump’s not the one calling the shots, and is only making decisions to fend off internal bickering and power plays in his administration."

Bob Cesca of Salon says...

"Worse yet, there are millions of Americans who will do anything to circulate Trumpism until it becomes fact and therefore the basis for governing the country from now on. In the face of all this, too many news outlets refuse to act in accordance with the challenges of this existential crisis."

He points to a recent interview by Chuck Todd of NBC's “Meet the Press” with Donald Trump Cesca termed, "another example of the perpetually nauseating confluence of Trump’s gratuitous lies and a TV news reporter too timid to treat him like the despot he is." Cesca comments that Trump voters simply believe "Trump’s worthless word" and "repeated as truth the following whopper lies told to Todd the other day."

Want a laugh? Watch Chuck Todd, Donald Trump interview...

Typical of Trump's lies in perpetuity, still using former President Barack Obama as his customary whipping post, Trump tells Todd...

"'Congress never approved Obama’s Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action, aka the “Iran Deal.' Since it wasn’t a treaty, Congress didn’t have to approve. But Congress passed legislation, signed by Obama, allowing legislators to evaluate the terms of the deal. To his credit, Todd caught that lie."

 What is so pathetic, and also fearful, is that Chuck Todd treated Donald Trump in such a way to legitimize the Oval Office lunatic who is far from earning it. Cesca says...

"Let’s put it this way: When Trump starts to act like a president, then maybe he’ll earn the right to be treated like one."

I think most of us will agree that will never happen.

Democratic debates interrupted

I am watching the Democratic debates streaming live online because my local provider Cox Communications can't seem to correct interference that makes watching the debates almost impossible. I am in Arizona, which is heavily Republican, many radical to the right. I am not saying this is Republican political terrorism nor am I saying it is not.

Now, there is a problem with the microphones at the debate, and they had to take an unexpected break to try and fix it. Very suspicious since Donald Trump had threatened to be vocal on Twitter during the debates. Hmmmmm...

Wealthy New Yorkers' donations fuel anti-vax fire

PROGRESSIVE STREET...Where Liberals Walk

Facebook was used by the anti-vax losers to perpetuate their fraud, those who were responsible for thousands making the decision to vaccinate their children. Here are the results:

152,763 preventable illnesses
9,028 preventable deaths
0 Number of autism diagnosis scientifically linked to vaccines

Well, now these misinformed crackpots have a sugar daddy and mama, "a wealthy New York family who has bankrolled a massive campaign to spread misinformation about vaccinations to the tune of millions of dollars." The Washington Post names them...

"hedge fund manager and philanthropist Bernard Selz and his wife Lisa Selz have donated at least $3 million to organizations that stoke fears about vaccinations causing autism, while also downplaying the threat that measles poses to young children.

These unconscionable lunatics are part responsible for the figures above, and the anguish to be experienced by negligent parents in the future. I have posted a number of times on this issue, all of which you can see here. In my latest, I reported...

"Most of the new cases were in New York City and its suburbs, where hundreds of cases have been reported this year. The area is home to Orthodox Jewish communities where many parents refuse to allow vaccinations for their children. Authorities mandated vaccinations in some ZIP codes."

 Interesting, New York is where the Selz family resides and does its dirty work. In another, Robert Reich warned that Anti-vaxxers should be required to read the history of measles and then decide if they want to go through the pain of having to expunge the disease again. Across the pond comes this declaration...

"The UK's health secretary Matt Hancock said anti-vaccination campaigners were 'morally reprehensible, deeply irresponsible' and had 'blood on their hands.'"

Excellent debunking of the anti-vaxxing movement...

At one point I suggested making anti-vaxxers face isolation, fines and arrests. I even advocated rounding them all up and placing them in a concentration camp where they could spread around their diseases all they want to. Sound fascist? Well, my approach is prompted by the fact there are 1,077 cases of measles in the U.S. as of June 20, 2019, after being completely eradicated resulting from the antics of the anti-vaxxers. I don't want it. Do you?

MANDATE: Gun violence needs the NRA

PROGRESSIVE STREET...Where Liberals Walk

Suicides are up in the United States and over one-half of the victims use a gun to kill themselves. These data in themselves corroborate the current epidemic of gun violence in this country, but there is more. Right here where I live in Arizona, where all it takes to own a gun is a warm body, Phoenix police fired at more people than law-enforcement officers did in any other city in the United States. Every five days an Arizona cop shoots someone.

Police forces throughout the country have been put in a critical position and my theory is that with so many guns on the street 393 million guns in civilian hands), especially in the state of Arizona, cops simply do not know who might have a weapon. They proceed cautiously but the minute there is a suspicious move, there is a reaction, perhaps in some cases over-reaction. But who do we thank for those 393 million guns on the street, the National rifle Assn. (NRA)

There are 40,000 people in the U.S. killed by guns each year, so the NRA's head gun nut, Wayne LaPierre should be proud of himself for fulfilling his promise to gun manufacturers that he will promote the sale of all types of guns until every household in the country has at least one. Currently, some have an arsenal. But wait, America's biggest sellers of guns and ammo are suffering from a lack of "fear-based buying," and that is because of Donald Trump's tenure in office.

The gun nuts think they are safe from any major gun control--even reasonable ones--as long as Republicans control the Senate and White house. And they are right. So, let's say we elect a Democrat for president, and take control of the Senate while maintaining a lead in the house, just how much will that figure of 393 million guns nationwide zoom to. Unless, the Democrats get off their butts and pass the gun regulation that is needed.

Here's a laugh, Trump fighting for gun rights...

So, thanks to Donald Trump the NRA has been exposed as one of the largest con-games in the country in its efforts to convince its membership it is working for them, while their focus is really on helping gun manufacturers sell more guns. And further, attempting to convince the American public that more guns in the hands of the civilian population will make America safer. Not so. Yes, the Trump effect has actually backfired and gun companies are going out of business.

The NRA is experiencing problems today, the like of which they have not had to face for years with banks cutting off their cooperation and companies no longer participating in their programs. Wayne LaPierre is accused of over-spending on expenses, like $51,000 on personal clothes in Beverley Hills. LaPierre just ousted his number two man, Chris Cox, for his attempts to expose his boss. There are numerous problems that just may be insurmountable this time.

One can only hope that the demise of the National Rifle Assn. comes quickly to prevent too many more days of 100 shot dead with a firearm and hundreds more wounded.