Government's largest conglomeration of idiots ever led by Betsy Voss

In a comparison to Sarah Palin, I don't think Betsy DeVos knows just how stupid she is. Ill prepared in most every confrontation with Congress, the general consensus is that she is just, well, stupid. Now she told the Senate appropriations subcommittee on Tuesday that the Federal Commission on School Safety, which she chairs, "will not look at the role of guns in a recent spate of school shootings." OK, let's step back and look at that statement; Betsy DeVos says she refuses to explore the very component that has school children so scared they are afraid to go to school.

Brilliant!

I might remind you here that it is Betsy DeVos who also wants to get rid of the public school system. That should have been the clue that this person is not fit to be head of education in this country. But wait, Republicans are in control of the government so keeping her around makes perfect sense. The day after this ludicrous performance before Congress by DeVos, "A school shooting survivor and several students urged a White House school safety commission on Wednesday to include guns in its discussions." Once again, it is the young people who display the brains.

Donald Trump wants to arm school employes, which, according to former Sandy Hook teacher, Abbey Clements, it “sends the message that adults can’t solve the problem of gun violence in America.” Well, the problem here a firm WE CAN'T, and that is due to the interference of the National Rifle Assn. blocking the passage of reasonable gun control legislation. Here's what Clements said about arming school employees...

“I would like to make something perfectly clear — had school employees been carrying guns at Sandy Hook, it wouldn’t have made us safer. It very well might’ve made things worse.”

To compound DeVoss' stupidity, this commission she heads up for school safety was "formed after the mass school shooting in Parkland, Fla." And yet Betsy DeVos exclaims the commission "Won’t Look At Role Of Guns In School Shootings," adding, "The secretary of education is not charged with focusing on firearms." Where the hell do we get these people?

Read more: Betsy DeVos Says School Safety Commission Won’t Look At Role Of Guns In School Shootings

                   ‘You must understand how fast shootings happen’

Robert Kennedy shooting pulled NRA's chain

Typical NRA gun nut

Robert Kennedy was assassinated on June 5, 1968, and, while some have raised doubts recently about who the assassin was, Sirhan Sirhan is still the choice of most historians. John F. Kennedy and Martin Luther King had been killed in 1963, all by guns. Bobby Kennedy had just won the California primary in the 1968 presidential election. Reactions were quick...

"President Lyndon B. Johnson called for a sweeping gun control law. Anti-gun protesters picketed the Washington headquarters of the National Rifle Association as public sentiment zeroed in on guns as a major problem."

Sirhan was 24 at the time and in the passageway through the kitchen, he shot Kennedy numerous times from a snub-nosed revolver. The presidential candidate was hit in his brain, his neck, and one shot grazed his forehead. Conspiracy theorists were abundant in a copycat of John Kennedy's killing. Journalist Jules Witcover, who was there with Bobby Kennedy at the Ambassador...

“His hour of political triumph became another hour of mindless tragedy in a nation that cannot or will not keep weapons of death from the hands of madmen who walk its streets.”

It was four months after Robert Kennedy's assassination and, having waning powers with Congress, primarily due to the Vietnam War, Johnson was able to pass a watered-down gun control bill. Key provisions like national registration of guns and licensing of owners was missing, thanks to the National Rifle Assn. lobbying. And then it happened...

"The 1968 bill marked the beginning of the NRA’s transformation from a gun enthusiast organization focused on marksmanship and gun safety to a political lobbying group focused on opposing gun control."

The gun nuts stumbled along for several years until Wayne LaPierre joined the NRA in 1977, becoming the head gun nut in 1991. It is LaPierre who has championed the 2nd Amendment crusade with success in convincing his gun hugging membership that the government wants to take away all their guns. The organization is responsible for keeping assault weapons on the street, which makes the NRA culpable for the 346 mass shootings in 2017 alone. Worse, there have been 23 school shootings in 2018, one a week, again thanks to LaPierre's proliferation of guns.

So, it was a combination of Bobby Kennedy's assassination and President Lyndon Johnson's determination to pass meaningful gun control legislation that prompted the bizarre demands of Wayne LaPierre's National Rifle Assn. today, an insistence that has caused the loss of thousands of innocent lives. With so much blood on their hands, you would think the NRA would be a leader in some form of responsible gun control. But it's not going to happen, and I am coming to the conclusion the only answer is to take away all guns and start over again.

Read more: The Shooting of Robert Kennedy and the Transformation of the NRA
                    The Biography of NRA Director Wayne LaPierre
                    Mass shootings in the U.S.: 346 mass shootings occurred in 2017
                    There has been, on average, 1 school shooting every week this year

Oval Office lunatic doesn't give a fuck about the people, says LeBron James

Yes, that's right, he is laughable

Lebron James' Cleveland Cavaliers and Stephen Curry's Golden State Warriors have already said a resounding NO to any potential invite from Donald Trump to visit the White House, whoever wins the NBA finals. James said it was because of Donald Trump's uninviting the 2018 Super Bowl champion Philadelphia Eagles. I posted on this June 6, indicating the Eagles might as well go to Disneyland instead. James' comment on the White House visit was...

"I know no matter who wins this series, no one wants an invite anyway. It won't be Cleveland or Golden State going."

I am reading a little disgust into his statement for the Oval Office lunatic, but, then, that's me. However, to lend validity to my observation, here is a comment by Lebron James to ESPN...

"The number one job in America... is someone who doesn't understand the people, and really don't give a f--- about the people.”

And that pretty much establishes James'--and probably millions more Americans--opinion of Donald Trump. It is a tragic point in the history of this country when one of the top figures in sports says the President of the United States doesn't give a fuck about the people, some of which elected him. And if Trump's stupidity weren't enough, Fox News printed misleading pictures of Eagles players kneeling in prayer, indicating that the player was protesting the National Anthem. I alluded to this "news network" regularly skirting the facts in its reporting...

"Didn't know Fox needed anything to corroborate their 'facts,'"

But when you look at the people who populate Fox News, there's no doubt in your mind...You'll never get the truth.

Read more: LeBron James, Stephen Curry agree that next NBA champs won't visit White House
                    LeBron James Says Donald Trump 'Doesn't Give a F---' About the People
                    Fox News ripped for misleading photos of Philadelphia Eagles players kneeling

UPDATE: Democrats voting in November lead 50% to 40%

UPDATE: New NBC News/Wall Street Journal poll has Democratic leaning voters 10 points more than Republicans, 50% to 40%.

The economy is doing well, unemployment low, new jobs being added, average earnings up and domestic product growth at more than 4.5 percent. Gotta give the GOP credit for passing the tax bill that helped in this general improvement of things, but we mustn't lose sight of the fact that its primary purpose was to reward big business and the wealthy. There are actually three ways the tax plan does not live up to the promises that Trump made to the American people...

1. The cuts for the middle class are meager and temporary
2. There will be significant tax cuts for the ultra-wealthy
3. Individual income rates will not be simplified and are higher than promised

First, the answer to #1: "Middle-income Americans will benefit by around $1,000 initially, according to Tax Policy Center estimates. But by 2027, the majority of middle-class households would get no tax cut, and some would actually pay more." #2: The largest cuts as a share of income will go to taxpayers in the 95th to 99th percentiles of income distribution. #3: "In the final bill, the United States has the same number of tax brackets it had previously: seven." In other words, Trump's tax bill is a ruse for the average American.

But in its design to reward big business and the wealthy, the economy has improved, and the disguised drawbacks to average American benefits are simply left unsaid by Republicans. As one writer put it, "Congress upended the tax code, ladling out oodles to the rich, but also offering a sop to those in the heartland at the expense of the deep blue coasts." But even with all this good news...

"Democrat Conor Lamb pulled off the year’s biggest upset in March and snatched a congressional seat in western Pennsylvania last held by a Democrat more than 15 years earlier."

Added to this: "In the past eight special elections, Democrats have overperformed by an average of 9 points." The Dems have been chipping away at Republicans recently with a blueprint that seems to be working. It can only get better before November.

Read more: TRUMP’S BROKEN PROMISES: GOP TAX BILL FILLS WEALTHY PEOPLE’S POCKETS, TAKES MONEY FROM MIDDLE CLASS, POOR

Read more: Who has the edge for 2018: Republicans or Democrats?

Mitch McConnell has built a Senate cesspool

CNN's Byron Wolf calls it devilish, brilliant politics. I call it typical Mitch McConnell and this is what I had to say about him in a post June 7, 2015...

Don't tell me U.S. Senators deserve respect when they are the low life of Congress. If there was a barrel, the downside would have to be bottomless to accommodate Mitch McConnell.

The post was my reaction to McConnell's perpetual demeaning of Barack Obama, and his insistence that nothing he did would ever get anywhere in his Senate. These were his words when Obama was inaugurated...

“When I first came into office my number one priority is making sure president Obama’s a one-term president."

That, of course, didn't happen, when Obama handily won his second term. McConnell has a deep-seated hatred for Barack Obama, primarily based on the lowlife Senator's racism, a known fact for years. But, this scumbag now leads the U.S. Senate. He's blaming the August recess cancellation on obstructionism by Democrats, the kind of excuse a jerk like McConnell would use. The idea, of course, is to prevent Democratic Senators who are running in November, but my gut tells me there will be provisions made for Republicans.

There are 26 Democrat-held Senate seats and only seven Republican-held seats on the ballot in November. The latest poll shows a tightening of voting preference with the Democrats holding just a 4-point lead. In the House, however, where Republicans are defending more seats, they haven't announced plans to cancel the August recess. This all may be called strategy and, perhaps, the Dems would do the same if they were in control. The bottom line here is that the Republicans are using their power to win the November election. What they don't know is, it won't work.

Read more: Mitch McConnell plays a little dirty to keep his majority

Philadelphia Eagles will probably go to Disneyland instead...

The fact of the matter is that the Philadelphia Eagles didn't even do what they are accused of by Donald Trump. Not one Eagle Player kneeled for the National Anthem last season, but the Oval Office lunatic in his long-running feud with the National Football League canceled their visit to the White House in honor of their winning the Super Bowl. This bad blood with the NFL exists since the league "stonewalled his effort to buy the Buffalo Bills in 2014." This is what Trump said in canceling the event...

"The Eagles wanted to send a smaller delegation, but the 1,000 fans planning to attend the event deserve better."

The word was that only four Eagles had agreed to appear with T-rump, a statement in itself of the disdain felt for this man around the country. Although the Eagles didn't. players who kneel in protest have been called "sons of bitches" and it was suggested they shouldn't be in the country. This is purely an act to impress his "Make America Great Again" followers. But let's be clear about how this slogan came about; Trump stole it from Ronald Reagan's 1980 presidential campaign, "Let's Make America Great Again." And now he claims it's his own.

Fox News is struggling in its support of T-rump's decision but can't seem to find any photos or videos to substantiate the Eagle players were kneeling. Didn't know Fox needed anything to corroborate their "facts," and isn't it interesting that the "news network's" main thrust is to find something to support Donald Trump, even when there is obviously nothing there. The Eagles will survive; as a matter of fact, they had decided not to go to the White House long before the "Anthem" rule was passed. This kind of aversion to Trump must be turned into Democrat/Progressive votes in November.

Read more: Trump's Battle with the NFL Has Reached Critical Mass

Trump's top enemy Mueller could hasten GOP demise

Brent Budowsky, writing for The Hill, believes that Donald Trump's use of enemy lists to set up his agenda of attacks on his enemies may very well backfire, bringing out multitudes of Democratic and [Progressive] voters in November. His words...

"For every voter in the Trump base who is motivated to vote by these attacks, even more voters who disapprove of Trump are motivated to vote."

If this is what it takes to bring out the left vote, bring on the enemies. Harking back to Richard Nixon who thought everyone was his enemy, the Oval Office lunatic has taken paranoia to a new level. He fires people under him at all levels with the ease of throwing out the evening trash. His tactics are like a bad deodorant when he is trying to hide the truth. This undermining of the investigation of Robert Mueller and his special counsel team is actually getting old with respect to its validity. T-rump's latest ploy is to threaten Mueller with the fact that he can pardon himself, which is laughable.

Working as hard as Trump, and with an equal level of madness, is Rudy Giuliani, who Budowsky reminds us...

"was cheered by New Yorkers after the terror attack in September 2001 and was recently loudly booed at a New York Yankees game, to execute a crude strategy in his name.

 and...

"Giuliani is an advertisement for obstruction of justice. He speaks relentlessly and aggressively to discredit and politically destroy the Mueller investigation."

And the author has a number of groups with reasoning to vote in November because they feel "something has gone terribly wrong with America under Trump." Two such are Independents and moderate Republicans from the suburbs and small towns who voted for Trump in 2016. They thought he would "drain the swamp" but found out in actuality that Donald Trump is the swamp.

Read more: Trump war against Mueller will make Dem midterm turnout soar