Republican Congress stopped dead in its tracks...by Republican?

Trump's latest political mess

I guess the first question is, is Donald Trump a Republican? We know he isn't a Democrat. Or is there some non-party designation for his highness that was put into play by the political establishment when his eminence somehow became President of the United States? The latter we may never know. The former is displayed every day in a White House that seems committed to confusion and chaos. All travel bans have been shot down by the courts, the repeal of Obamacare, engineered by Speaker Ryan, is floundering, the Mexican wall seems to be going nowhere.

And now this headline from the Washington Post re. Donald John's budget released on Thursday: "Capitol Hill Republicans not on board with Trump budget." Here's how WP described it...

“President Trump on Thursday will unveil a budget plan that calls for a sharp increase in military spending and stark cuts across much of the rest of the government including the elimination of dozens of long-standing federal programs that assist the poor, fund scientific research and aid America’s allies abroad.”

Some in Congress have complained that the budget doesn't have enough defense spending, but no one even mentions the fact that there will be drastic cuts to the welfare system. Based on the year 2015, each night 564,708 people were experiencing homelessness. And over 500,000 veterans still wait more than 30 days to see a doctor, in a system rife with incompetence and under funding. If Medicaid is turned over to states, especially those like Arizona, there's no guarantee these people will have adequate coverage, if any at all.

In addition, WP reports there are massive cuts to the arts, scientific research and aid to our allies overseas...

"A Budget Blueprint to Make America Great Again,” would increase defense spending by $54 billion and then offset that by stripping money from more than 18 other agencies. Some would be hit particularly hard, with reductions of more than 20 percent at the Agriculture, Labor and State departments and of more than 30 percent at the Environmental Protection Agency."

""It would also propose eliminating future federal support for the National Endowment for the Arts, the National Endowment for the Humanities and the Corporation for Public Broadcasting. Within EPA alone, 50 programs and 3,200 positions would be eliminated."

I don't believe there is anyone out there, I don't care how liberal you are, that will argue with the fact that the government is top heavy and overspends. But there are many on both side of the aisle that question this amount of spending on defense. And we know there are tax cuts for the wealthy on the way, plus, remember all that "pork," those projects in congressional districts that are done for the sole purpose of getting someone reelected. No one talks about this anymore. So, what we are left with is a budget that represents Donald trump's version of Republican ideology.

During the 2016 election, Trump supporters were bellowing the fact that, if an outsider like Donald Trump, a supposedly savvy businessman, took over the White House, he would change things so it would run like a top. Well, here's what the Washington Post had to say...

"Trump was only the latest in a long line of political figures who argued that if someone from outside politics took over the government, he’d whip it into shape with his business savvy and management expertise. The result has been the most chaotic and incompetent White House anyone can remember. As Politico reported Wednesday, 'A culture of paranoia is consuming the Trump administration, with staffers increasingly preoccupied with perceived enemies — inside their own government,' creating 'an environment of fear that has hamstrung the routine functioning of the executive branch.'”

Finally, White House Office of Management and Budget Director Mick Mulvaney said “You can’t drain the swamp and leave all the people in it.” As a Trump appointed member of the team and a conservative republican, I'll let you decide.

Trump cronies getting restless-Looking for blood?

Are the good ole boys of Congress finally tiring of Donald Trump's incessant tweeting, making claims that he cannot back up, and putting the American government in the position of having to explain why we have a lunatic running the country? It would seem so when the Washington Post publishes a headline like this...

"Republicans are threatening to expose Trump as the emperor with no clothes"

Here's a part of the accompanying Washington Post story...

"...a spokesman for House Intelligence Committee Chairman Devin Nunes (R-Calif.) threatened to subpoena the Trump administration to produce evidence of Trump's claim that President Barack Obama wiretapped Trump Tower during the campaign. The White House has declined to produce this evidence publicly, offering various excuses, including the Constitution's separation of powers and — most recently on Monday — arguing that Trump wasn't speaking literally when he made the claim."

 And there's a downside to all this Twitter activity anyway. Apparently Donald John's aides have been deleting select tweets, which could be illegal, according to Reps. Jason Chaffetz (R-Utah) and Elijah Cummings (D-Md.), chairman and ranking member of the House Oversight Committee. They have sent a letter to Trump re. the "...administration’s record keeping habits and its nontransparent use of social media and other forms of electronic communication." This numb nuts thinks the office he holds means that he can do what he pleases, when he pleases.

Huff Post reports that, “The need for data security, however, does not justify circumventing requirements established by federal recordkeeping and transparency laws." It would appear that the confusion and chaos of this administration has finally reached the point that those high in government feel the free-wheeling has got to stop, or at least slow down. You can see Chaffetz and Cummings letter to the White House Counsel on the above HP site above. Speaker Paul Ryan has admitted that he does not believe the claim that there were wiretaps.

In addition to the letter from the two representatives, Devin Nunes had required the Justice Department to submit evidence to him of Trump's claim that President Barack Obama wiretapped Trump Tower during the campaign by this past Monday. When he didn't get it he indicated he might resort to a subpoena if it wasn't received by the committee's March 20 hearing. Now we can remember Congress threatening several actions against Barack Obama when he was in office, but it was the opposite party. In this case, it is all Republicans, supposedly Trump's party

Sen. Lindsey O. Graham (R-S.C.), who chairs the subcommittee looking into the wiretapping...

"...asked the Justice Department and the FBI to provide copies of any warrants or court orders related to the alleged wiretapping. Having not received anything, Graham said he may push for a special committee."

While all the GOP members who are supposed to be on his side continue to question the bizarre behavior of the White House wacko, loudmouth keeps right on tweeting away.

Steve Bannon repeatedly endorses extreme racism...again

This is like talking about gun violence; no one seems to care anymore, or something would be done. The "this" I am talking about is Donald Trump's top White House adviser Steve Bannon, who continues to espouse white nationalism and racist beliefs. He is now joined by Steve King, House representative from Iowa, who makes me sorry I ever called the state full of common sense. If he is any example, it has just become feudal. The two of them have recently endorsed the highly racist book, The Camp of the Saints, the "favorite racist fantasy of the anti-immigrant movement."

That's what the Southern Poverty Law Center says, a non-profit that tracks hate organizations across the country. Steve King probably can't do much harm, his Iowa district is losing population anyway...understandable. But Steve Bannon? Everyday he remains in office is a threat to what the United States of America stands for.

Bernie Sanders nails it in this video...

Remarkable Kellyanne speaks again...about microwaves

What is remarkable is the fact that Kellyanne Conway is still a spokesperson for Donald Trump. Although his statements parallel hers in stupidity, Conway just manages to come off more as a simpleton. Her latest is to suggest, when asked specifically about surveillance and wiretapping of Trump Tower, there are all sorts of ways to surveil...like through microwaves. This was her answer when being interviewed by the Bergen Record...

Is Donald Trump's presidency biggest scam since Bernie Madoff?

Newt Gingrich, early Trump backer

I spent 35 years in the junk mail industry where a new scam was born almost every day. There was even a selection of mailing lists of names from those who responded to those offers that looked...well, almost too good to be true. We called them the GULLIBLES. That's pretty bad for the consumer when you can target individuals with a product you want to sell, and they don't really need it, but will want it just because of the sales letter you sent them. This, of course, is not as bad as the famous one, The Nigerian Scam, also known as 419.

The 419 was from some Nigerian family to move a lot of money from their country to the U.S. in your name, from which you will benefit in ridiculously large amounts of cash, all for helping in the transaction. As the experts put it...

"They will use your emotions and willingness to help against you. They will promise you a large cut of their business or family fortune. All you are asked to do is cover the endless 'legal' and other “fees” that must be paid to the people that can release the scammer’s money."

Does "using your emotion" sound familiar? There are nine more scams can see here, but that isn't what this post is all about. It asks the question, "Is Donald Trump's presidency biggest scam since Bernie Madoff? The Washington Post thinks so and, after highlighting all the issues promised by Donald Trump in his candidacy, says...

"...little by little, as Trump seeks to make good on his promises, Trumpism — as sold by the man himself — is being revealed as fraudulent to its core."

"Fraudulent to its core," is not like, well, you're falling a bit short of the public's expectations. When you go to the core, you have arrived, described in Dictionary.com: "the central, innermost, or most essential part of anything." So, Donald John has missed the boat on the main issues that affect America. WP continues as an example, the health-care bill that Trump promised the people has been short-circuited by his endorsement of the new House GOP health-care plan...

"The bill, experts said, falls far short of the goals President Donald Trump laid out: Affordable coverage for everyone; lower deductibles and health care costs; better care; and zero cuts to Medicaid. Instead, the bill is almost certain to reduce overall coverage, result in deductibles increasing, and will phase out Obamacare’s Medicaid expansion."

There's more about additional issues you can read in the WP article, above. And there are more signs that Donald Trump is bad for this country. The Associated Press (AP) announced, "...the Trump administration's immigration policies are hurting tourism."

"The nonprofit industry organization said in a statement that there are 'mounting signs' of 'a broad chilling effect on demand for international travel to the United States.'"

Don't watch this on an empty stomach...

Disputed by White House spokeswoman Lindsay Walters, "...the non-profit, the U.S. Travel Association's statement added to a growing chorus of concern from the travel industry over the impact of Trump administration policies on tourism." New York city is forecasting 300,000 fewer visitors compared to 2016. Here's another fact...

"The Philadelphia Convention and Visitors Bureau told the Philadelphia Inquirer this week that it had lost out on an international meeting with 3,000 attendees that decided to go to Canada or Mexico instead."

According to Statistics & Facts...

"The travel and tourism industry is one of the largest industries in the United States, making a total contribution of 1.47 trillion U.S. dollars to GDP in 2014."

Here's more...

"A Jan. 30 op-ed piece in the Toronto Star newspaper encouraged Canadians to "boycott vacations to the U.S." until Trump is no longer president."

With problems like this, the tourism industry could bring the country's economy to a screeching halt. The AP also reported that, "Last year, the U.S. Commerce Department predicted a record 78.6 million international visitors would come to the U.S. in 2017. That forecast is usually updated in May." CNN is saying there are...

"...people influential with the most powerful man in the world are publicly raising concerns that there is a cabal of entrenched bureaucrats hidden in the bowels of the nation's government who are intent on his political demise."

Sean Spicer said...

"I think that there's no question when you have eight years of one party in office, there are people who stay in government and continue to espouse the agenda of the previous administration. So I don't think it should come as any surprise there are people that burrowed into government during eight years of the last administration and may have believed in that agenda and may continue to seek it. I don't think that should come as a surprise."
Spicer dismissed the idea that the CIA is working to identify those people and remove them from government.

Translated..."Made in"

But one of Donald John's biggest problems could be our southern neighbor, since a primary campaignThe Huff Post says...
promise was to build the wall between the U.S. and Mexico...and make them pay for it.

"US President Donald Trump, who has relentlessly intimidated and humiliated Mexico since before he was sworn in, evidently enjoys playing the ogre. He has repeatedly demanded that Mexico treat the US “fairly and with respect” while blaming it for “taking advantage” of its northern neighbour."

It's actually the other way around because "President James Polk invaded Mexico in 1846 and stole 55% of its land, including Texas and California." There's more that makes Donald Trump look like a dimwit...

"As recently as July 2015, the US government was praising Mexico as a “critically important” partner in America’s well-being; 14 years prior, George W Bush acknowledged that the US has “no more important relationship in the world” than the one it has with Mexico."

If the Trump administration and its "Trumpism" isn't the biggest scam since Bernie Madoff, then the total White House staff should go to Hollywood. What was that other politically historical play that was one of the biggest hits ever on Broadway. Maybe Donald Trump is another "Hamilton." Nah...you could never put music to this man. Wait though, maybe Kellyanne Conway could fill in.

The NRA part of Trump's Russian debacle

 Dmitry Rogozin

The National Rifle Assn. (NRA) in 2014 met with Dmitry Rogozin, one of Vlaimir Putin's top deputies and the head of Russia’s defense industry and longtime opponent of American power. This was eighteen months after he was sanctioned by the U.S. for the invasion of Crimea and eastern Ukraine. Rogozin is chairman of the Russian Shooting Federation, and obviously had significant influence on gun relations between the two countries. So why was the NRA, who was Donald Trump’s most powerful outside ally during the 2016 election, there...

"The NRA had previously objected to the parts of the U.S. sanctions regime that blocked Russian-made guns from import into the United States."

Tim Mak, author of the Daily Beast article says the meeting has not been previously covered by the American media. Why not? I ask. Mak says the meeting was "one strand in a web of connections" between Trump, his staff and Cabinet appointments. Mak explains it this way...

"Attorney General Jeff Sessions and former National Security Adviser Michael Flynn both denied speaking with the Russian ambassador, which turned out to be untrue; former campaign manager Paul Manafort supported pro-Russian interests in Ukraine; Secretary of State Rex Tillerson won an “Order of Friendship” from Putin; and then, of course, there’s the hacking campaign that U.S. intelligence agencies say Russia launched to tilt the election in Trump’s favor."

Rogozin is prominent in many areas of the Russian government, as well as being a leader in gun rights; he is "particularly interested" in cyberwarfare and its ability to target with the speed of light. BINGO! But does Rogozin plus all these American connections from Donald Trump to the NRA add up to the hacking of the 2016 election to favor the candidacy of Trump? The million-dollar question.  Rep. Mike Quigley, a member of the House Intelligence Committee, which is investigating Russia’s attempts to influence the 2016 presidential elections...

“Due to the NRA’s opposition to sanctions, it defies credulity that they wouldn’t have discussed sanctions and their extraordinary support for Donald Trump’s campaign.”

 The top Democrat on the House Intelligence Committee panel that oversees the CIA, Rep. Eric Swalwell...

Russia is not America’s friend. And it’s stunning to hear that while they were attacking our democracy, one of the largest organizations supporting Trump [the NRA] was cozying up with a sanctioned Russian in Moscow.”

Conspiracy, killings and new President

It is true that National Rifle Assn. head, Wayne LaPierre and his minions will go to any length to getSeven children and teens (age 19 or under) are killed with guns in the U.S. on an average day. Rogozin having been sanctioned by the U.S. had apparently no effect on the NRA gang, which included David Keene, the former NRA president, board member Pete Brownell, top NRA donor Joe Gregory, and Trump supporter Sheriff David A. Clarke. Mak reports further...
guns on the streets of the United States, even when it results in the murder of our children:

"The National Rifle Association’s support for Trump was unprecedented—and it seems to have paid off. The organization backed Trump in May 2016—much earlier than they had endorsed other candidates in previous election cycles, and before he had even been officially named the Republican presidential nominee.
The NRA spent $30.3 million to elect Trump—more than even the top Trump super PAC, which spent just $20.3 million, according to OpenSecrets."

And it was right after the election that Donald John rescinded a move by Barack Obama in the last days of his election "that banned lead ammunition in various hunting and fishing areas." The NRA, of course, did a back flip.

Since the NRA nor its associates that attended these Russian meetings have ever mentioned it publicly, is there something to cover up? The fact that they were there to begin with, considering the sanctions, is bad enough, but if there was an ulterior motive, other than just gun business, someone should find out. But they won't, as long as Republicans are in charge of the government. Wayne LaPierre basks in this kind of glory while there still continues to be 12,000 gun homicides every year. Purely pathetic when you consider guns' rights are placed above people's lives.

Gun nut finally gets just results

Former Police Captain Curtis Reeves

The sane population of this country is battling the gun nuts that have been given the right-of-way to do just about anything they want with their guns. In Arizona, they can even carry them into bars where fights, even brawls break out occasionally. Now, by sane, I don't mean just staunch gun control advocates like me, it also includes those innocent people without guns that just don't want to be shot and maimed, possibly killed. Here are some appalling figures from the gun advocacy organization, Everytown for Gun Safety...

1. Data from the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) show that on an average day, 93 Americans are killed with guns.
2. On average there are nearly 12,000 gun homicides a year in the U.S.
3. For every one person killed with guns, two more are injured.
4. Seven children and teens (age 19 or under) are killed with guns in the U.S. on an average day.
5. In an average month, 50 women are shot to death by intimate partners in the U.S.
6. America’s gun homicide rate is more than 25 times the average of other high-income countries.

There are more you can see on the Everytown for Gun Safety site. But I ask you gun nuts out there, which of the above figures do you want to argue with. They are confirmed by the Centers for Disease Control (CDC), that organization your leader, Wayne LaPierre, who heads up the National Rifle Assn, (NRA), tried to keep quiet for years. LaPierre and the NRA backed legislation that has blocked gun violence research for 20 years. What you are seeing above are raw figures supplied to the CDC by hospitals, doctors, police departments and other groups. The NRA would stop this if they could.

Chad Oulsen's wife, Nicole speaks out...

The idea for this post came from a CNN article titled, "Judge denies 'stand your ground' defense in movie theater shooting," which covers the death of  Chad Oulson in a Florida movie theatre at the hands of retired police captain, Curtis Reeves. Here is the CNN version...

The case dates to January 14, when Reeves, then 71, confronted a man in a suburban Tampa movie theater about texting during the previews before a showing of "Lone Survivor." The two argued, and then Reeves walked out of the theater to complain to an employee. When Reeves returned, he and the man, Chad Oulson, began arguing again.
Oulson threw a bag of popcorn at Reeves, according to a criminal complaint, and Reeves then took out his handgun and fired at Oulson, killing him.

The Judge established through evidence that Oulson did not throw a cell phone at Reeves, charged by the complainant, and Oulson's actions were not considered aggressive enough to qualify under Florida's 'Stand Your Ground' law, which also figured in George Zimmerman's 2013 trial in the killing of Trayvon Martin. Prosecutors played audio of Reeves talking to detectives shortly after the shooting...

"As soon as I pulled the trigger I said, 'Oh shoot, that was stupid.' If I had to do it over again, it would have never happened," he said. "If I had to do it over again, it would never have happened. I wouldn't have moved. But you don't get do-overs."

Reeves' hearing has just started.

Enough said...just another gun nut.

It was learned later that Oulson was checking his phone to text his daughter's babysitter.