Trump followers are gullible and cynical

Gullible and cynical Trump supporters

AlterNet says, "Trump’s lies can be understood as expressing his view of the world — how he would like things to be, for whatever purposes he may have, some quite enduring (as seen in his “bottomless Pinocchios”), others perhaps spur-of-the-moment." My post of May 1, "Fact Checker: Trump continues lies at "unbelievable pace," pretty much tells the story of a maniac in the Oval Office who spouts off lies by the hour, which the whole world makes fun of.

Jennifer Mercieca, a historian of rhetoric, whose book, “Demagogue for President: The Rhetorical Genius of Donald Trump,” [table of contents here] will be published next year, in AlterNet says...

"the Mueller report can be read as further confirmation of Trump’s authoritarian orientation in word and deed, in sharp contrast to the “total exoneration” he falsely claims it to be. This is entirely typical. Demagogues and tyrants have always used lies this way. But they cannot and do not act in a vacuum."

Mercieca thinks Trump doesn't act alone but has an "expert" propaganda team. His propaganda "seeks to shape understanding by subverting rational thinking." His objective is to make everyone accomplices in his lies making himself out as a truth-teller. She says, “Trump’s lies are popular with his base,” suggesting this passage from Hannah Arendt’s “Origins of Totalitarianism”...

"A mixture of gullibility and cynicism had been an outstanding characteristic of mob mentality before it became an everyday phenomenon of the masses. In an ever-changing, incomprehensible world the masses had reached the point where they would, at the same time, believe everything and nothing, think that everything was possible and that nothing was true … Mass propaganda discovered that its audience was ready at all times to believe the worst, no matter how absurd, and did not particularly object to being deceived because it held every statement to be a lie anyhow."

“I think gullibility and cynicism are a good explanation for Trump voters,” Mercieca said. “They think everything is a lie anyway, so why not cheer for their guy who lies better than the rest of them?” So pathetic especially since we are talking about the most powerful man in the world.

Charley Manson's "Helter Skelter" is back

Young Charles Manson

The Manson family got its start in 1967, just north of where we lived in Canoga Park, Calif. We rode up there one day looking for Spahn Ranch where the Manson cult collected and did their evil business. We were almost immediately turned around by signs saying"No Admittance" accompanied by a heavy wire fence. Appropriately called the Spahn Movie Ranch, it was owned by George Spahn who willingly allowed Manson and his followers to live there.

The ranch had been the home for TV episodes of "Bonanza," "The Lone Ranger," and "Zorro." Although George Spahn wasn't involved in any of Manson's crime, his ranch was where the 'family' lived while committing the 1969 Tate-LaBianca murders in Los Angeles. A wildfire destroyed all of the Spahn Movie Ranch film set and buildings on September 26, 1970. The owner, George Spahn died on September 22, 1974. My thanks to Wikipedia.

With this background, you might remember the book, "Helter Skelter," written by Charles Manson's prosecutor, Vincent Bugliosi. It was Charley's term for the race war he intended to start between blacks and whites, expecting near annihilation after which he would lead his followers to take over the country. The words, from a Beatles' song, were written on the LaBianca's refrigerator door to instigate the race war. And that's a long way around to get to this...

"The Russians who interfered in the 2016 US presidential election are still at it — and this time, they’re trying to ignite racial violence in America and a partial collapse of the United States."

Looks like Charley Manson got in Vladimir Putin's head, assuming there is room next to Donald Trump. Here's the scenario from Vox...

"According to secret documents obtained by a Russian opposition group, hackers have discussed plans to stir up racial resentment in the United States in hopes of tearing American society apart. The operatives are apparently associates of Yevgeny Prigozhin, the man who set up a troll farm and was indicted by special counsel Robert Mueller for his role in 2016 meddling."

Someone has been reading "Helter Skelter." There's more...

"Prigozhin and his team of Russian trolls tried to inflame racial tensions during the 2016 cycle by operating several social media accounts that tried to discourage African Americans from voting, mainly by repeating messages of police violence and voter fraud."

But the "apparent new plot" originating as early as 2018, in preparation for the 2020 election, digs much deeper. The following is unbelievable...

"The documents reportedly contain shocking proposals such as sending black Americans to Africa “'for combat prep and training in sabotage,' as well as targeting people who have previously been incarcerated and people 'who have experience in organized crime groups ... for participation in civil disobedience actions.'”

Manson could take lessons from this guy, Yevgeny Prigozhin. Vox says...

"there is no indication of how seriously the documents — titled “Development Strategy of a Pan-African State on US Territory” — and the plan overall have been received in Russia. It’s possible the set of proposals went absolutely nowhere and were viewed as too extreme (or ridiculous) even for Moscow."

We can only hope with Donald Trump in the White House. 

George Orwell wants Donald Trump impeached

The dope with the genius

Well, that's not exactly what the famous writer said, but as a serious Orwell fan, I agree with the author of 1984's quotes, “ignoring facts which are obvious and unalterable,” and  “To see what is in front of one’s nose needs a constant struggle.” The first quote applies specifically to T-rump, the second to his followers. AlterNet mentions Hitler's intentions of the 1930s as a wake-up call that went unanswered, somewhat comparable to the Trump administration today.

Germany invaded Poland in 1939, Trump is on the verge of invading Iran today. AlterNet's take on the Russian interference in the 2016 election that led to the Mueller Report...

"Everyone able and willing to distinguish facts from lies has witnessed Trump’s brazen cover-up of Russia’s attack. He has never named or denounced the aggressor, while depicting the investigators as traitors who used a hoax to attempt a coup."

 Here's another scenario in which the...

"author casts himself as defender of the nation against the 'globalist elite' and their 'deep state' henchmen. In Act I, he miraculously outwits their attempt to rig the 2016 election; in Act II he thwarts their attempted coup. Act III completes the plot, as the Democrats manage to fake a 2020 victory, only to face a resolute President who—having forewarned of a final deep state conspiracy to regain power—announces a state of emergency."

God forbid another four years of this maniac, as Democrats, even now work feverishly in deciding whether to impeach Trump. However, what we will get is a mealy-mouthed goody-two-shoes who, in my opinion, would be worse than the Oval Office lunatic. And with John Bolton behind the escalation of war with Iran, anything could happen. All of this results from...

"Tehran's decision to stop fully complying with the 2015 nuclear pact after several weeks of intensifying US sanctions and restrictions against Iran, as well as warnings from Washington about an increased Iranian threat to US personnel in the region."

It's the same tit for tat crap that Trump is using against xi jinpin in the China Tariff war and none of this bodes well for the American people.

Donald Trump's misguided administration

How often can this man be wrong? Millions?

One of Donald Trump's biggest opponents is focusing on states to make sure there is no funny business going on in voting. Their plan is...

"to dig up the actual motivations, communications, and moneyed interests behind restrictive voter laws—and to potentially tie them back to national figures like former Kansas Secretary of State Kris Kobach, the Heritage Foundation's Hans von Spakovsky, or Trump administration officials themselves."

You remember Kansas' Kris Kobach? He's the guy who teamed up with Arizona's Russell Pearce to pass the state's immigration law SB-1070 that was eventually repealed. He roams around the country making trouble for people he doesn't like, often teaming up with ALEC. This was also Sheriff Joe Arpaio's state, who ardently enforced SB-1070, and was fully supported by Donald Trump. Arpaio was finally voted out of office.

“Voter suppression is the corruption of democracy itself, and most of that corruption isn't happening in Washington, DC, but in the state and local governments that set the rules for voting,” said Austin Evers, executive director of American Oversight in the Daily Beast. After two years working on the federal government, the organization is now turning its attention to the states using the same model to fight corruption there.

And the American farmer is "running out of patience with President Donald Trump's trade war with China," according to CNN. Already facing a 25% tariff imposed by China last year, the farm folk were willing to tag along for talks between xi jinping and T-rump, but the patience is now thinning as commodity prices are plummeting. At the same time, Arkansas' favorite idiot, Sen. Tom Cotton, just schluffed off the farmers' dilemma. 

And finally, Trump has "gleefully" compared himself to an authoritarian strongman, as reported by AlterNet. Here's the scenario...

"Hungary’s democratic institutions are under attack from its own Prime Minister Viktor Orban, but you wouldn’t know it from President Donald Trump treatment of the authoritarian leader on Monday in the Oval Office."

It seems that Trump refused to meet with Orban after the authoritarian president "shut down Hungary’s opposition media, eliminated independent courts, drove a prestigious U.S. university out of Budapest and spewed hateful rhetoric toward Muslims and, in more subtle terms, Jews." Even with disdain from Europe, Trump saw fit to praise Orban from the White House. It's just something between two authoritarians.

NRA head gun nut Wayne LaPierre on way out?

Oh hell I screwed up, now I'm out

Here's the Daily Beast headline: "NRA Board Member Allen West Calls for Wayne LaPierre’s Ouster." Former Florida Rep. Allen West, an NRA board member, called for the ouster of head gun nut, NRA CEO Wayne LaPierre. He tweeted it on Tuesday morning. At the same, time he accused NRA President CAdam Westarolyn Meadows of lying to news outlets when she claimed the board didn't know that LaPierre used NRA money to buy designer clothes.

He also said, "a statement defending LaPierre from Charles Cotton, the head of the NRA’s audit committee, was also a lie." Do you get the feeling that the whole organization is corrupt? West continued...

“These statements have maliciously, recklessly and purposefully put me, and uninformed Board members, in legal jeopardy. I do not support Wayne LaPierre continuing as the EVP/CEO of the NRA."

Okay, how soon can we get rid of him? This comes at a time when we are experiencing increased mass shootings violence. I blogged on this: "World asking why so many U.S. mass shootings?" The facts are...

"Worldwide, a country’s rate of gun ownership correlated with the odds it would experience a mass shooting. This relationship held even when he excluded the United States, indicating that it could not be explained by some other factor particular to his home country."

"countries with high suicide rates tended to have low rates of mass shootings — the opposite of what you would expect if mental health problems correlated with mass shootings."

Another sure reason for LaPierre's ouster is the following...

"Senior U.S. District Judge Thomas McAvoy in Albany dismissed the NRA’s claim that the Department of Financial Services selectively enforced state law when it issued millions of dollars in fines against two companies that helped the group sell products to its members that critics dubbed 'murder insurance.'”

When you consider that in connection with the fact that banks are now refusing to work with the NRA, you can understand the financial tension, and who else should be responsible but the head gun nut of the NRA. But dumping LaPierre from the NRA should quell gun violence in that his continuing crusade has been to put more guns on the street. As a result, The NRA and gun violence are inseparable, my feelings, of course.

Latest on anti-vaxxers and the measles outbreak

Doctors being attacked by anti vaxxers

As the anti-vaxxers continue to do their thing, the country is reeling over new measles cases with 75 more this week. "This year's total marks the most U.S. cases since 1994 – and since measles was declared eliminated in the USA in 2000," reports USA Today. The paper added...

"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."

"Outbreaks are linked to travelers who brought measles back from countries such as Israel, Ukraine and the Philippines, where large measles outbreaks are occurring, the CDC said. The travelers spread the disease to unvaccinated people in the USA, the agency said."

The CDC is begging parents to get vaccinations and, "in Washington state, Gov. Jay Inslee signed a bill Friday ending personal or philosophical measles vaccine exemptions for most parents whose kids will attend day care centers or schools. Dozens of parents protested outside the signing." Total reported cases now are 839, but the uninformed anti-vaxxers surge on doing their damage by resisting vaccinations and sending their kids out to mingle with the unexpecting public.

And it's not bad enough that the anti-vaxxers make it impossible for others, especially those who cannot get vaccinations due to valid medical reasons, now doctors are being attacked online for recommending vaccines to patients, according to the Boston Globe. Here's the story...

"Dr. Monique Tello found that she had been peppered with 100 negative reviews and derogatory comments on a number of physician ratings sites for speaking out in favor of vaccines. None of the people who posted reviews were her patients, and only after she threatened a lawsuit did the websites take down the reviews."

 I keep saying this and I will continue to keep saying it...Round up all of the anti-vaxxers, find a remote location, perhaps in the middle of the Sonoran desert, build a compound they can't escape from, and let them infect each other as much as their warped heart's desire.

Although this is the largest measles outbreak since 1900, "The outbreak from 1989 through 1991 was much larger than today's, with more than 27,000 cases in 1990 alone. But the conditions that lead to that outbreak, where children were dying, and what it took to end it are dramatically different from the ones the U.S. is seeing today." Here's why...

"As of Monday, New York City alone reports 498 cases, with 34 people hospitalized. New York state, public health authorities attribute the outbreak to anti-vaccination sentiments among a small subgroup of religious Orthodox Jewish residents among whom the virus has spread."

"The outbreak in the early 1990s hit poor black and Latino communities the hardest, in Central Brooklyn, upper Manhattan and the South Bronx."

The big difference is once the public health officials got involved in the 1900s, and the parents were cooperating, not working against the system by resisting vaccinations. So, the big question today is how many children will die this time around before anti-vaxxers realize that science is right.

And finally, here's a study that illustrates measles outbreaks where you live and ranks places in the U.S. where the risk is highest. This is worth a read to see how your area stacks up.

Please give me your comments on this issue.

Electoral map changes favor Democrats

Me worry about 2020, Naaaaaaaa

Donald Trump barely made it in 2016 with "thin margins" in the swing states. Racing ahead two years, "the shifting trends in the electoral map since his inauguration should make no one confident in his re-election chances" according to Salon. Examining voter preference changes between 2016 and 2019, a study found considerable differences in voters who voted for Barack Obama in 2012 and then Trump in 2016. 

While most of the finds were favorable to Trump, one stands out as negative...

"Americans say that it is more important for the next president to have particular policy positions than particular demographic characteristics. For example, Americans say it’s more important that the next president advocate for racial and ethnic minorities (69 percent) than that they are a person of color (19 percent)."

All of this positive stuff was in 2016 and this is 2019. Compared to an 85% voter approval in 2016, today it is just 66 percent of these voters that still approve of Trump, a 19-point drop. Robert Griffin of the Voter Study Group said...

“Even small movement among these voters — who represented 9 percent of voters in 2016 — may prove significant heading into the 2020 presidential election. Obama-Trump voters are also disproportionately white, non-college educated and, as a result, are likely to be well distributed geographically for the purpose of electoral impact."

What is interesting is that both Obama and Trump won victories in the Electoral College, with voters switching from Democrat to Republican in the latter. The inference is that with all the changes in the polls which are significantly more negative for Trump, the switch will go back to the Democrats. In key states where Trump won in 2016, the net positive approval ratings were...

Wisconsin +6, Michigan +7, and Pennsylvania +10. By April 2019, these results change to Wisconsin -13, Michigan -10, and Pennsylvania -7.

Meanwhile, there are other states where Trump is also weak: Ohio -4, Arizona -7, Florida -2, North Carolina -2; Iowa -8. This bodes well for Democrats and since Iowa, with a minus 8 is one of the first indications of where the 2020 election is going with its Caucuses on February 3, 2020, we should have an early compass of where this election is going.

Two valid reasons for Donald Trump's impeachment

There are two issues that clearly lay solid grounds for Donald Trump's impeachment. Neither has been given much play in the media. The first I blogged on May 8: "Trump would be in jail if he wasn't president?" It reported on the 450 ex-prosecutors who indicated they would prosecute him for obstruction based on the Mueller Report saying they...

"have signed on to a statement asserting special counsel Robert S. Mueller III’s findings would have produced obstruction charges against President Trump — if not for the office he holds."

The number of ex-prosecutors today is over 800, almost doubled, but still growing. My thoughts in the above post were...

Although Mueller didn't commit on whether Donald Trump should be charged, "citing a Justice Department legal opinion that sitting presidents cannot be indicted, as well as concerns about the fairness of accusing someone for whom there can be no court proceeding," he pretty much left it up to Congress to decide. But the cowards they are, led by the lowlife Senate head, Mitch McConnell, have done nothing.

Rudy Giulani's ex-assistant was even among the former prosecutors protesting, signing a statement Monday that Trump would have been charged with obstruction saying...

“Each of us believes that the conduct of President Trump described in Special Counsel Robert Mueller’s report would, in the case of any other person not covered by the Office of Legal Counsel policy against indicting a sitting President, result in multiple felony charges for obstruction of justice.”

These 800 plus ex-prosecutors are so sure about their conviction it gives credibility and comfort to the fact that Donald Trump could very well be prosecuted when he leaves office.

For number two, my post "Renown Yale psychiatrist: Muller Report proves Trump is mentally challenged" makes a case for the fact that Trump is not mentally capable of holding the office of President of the United States. And that is startling when so many support this maniac knowing from his behavior since entering office that T-rump is definitely a wacko.

Yale psychiatrist Bandy X. Lee, a renowned expert on violence and forensic psychiatry says "It is a mental health analysis of the Mueller report "replete with information for a mental health interpretation." Lee says to Raw Story...

"Seldom do we have such voluminous information on a person’s behavior, verified at the level of sworn testimony. Hence, my colleagues and I saw this as a part of our ongoing, primary professional responsibility to protect society and to warn against potential harm to public health, as our ethics and the law require. The report is an attempt to continue educating the public."

Obviously she refers to the Trump administration and Raw story wanted to know what the report said...

"Our report is quite damning. What the special counsel’s report revealed, through consistent and abundant data, was a pervasive and profound pattern of lack of capacity."

"lack of basic comprehension--faulty information processing--lack of sound decision making--behavior that places oneself or others in danger."

As I said before, this is all very scary! 

Unsung heroes beg for gun control laws to protect others

18-year-old Kendrick Castillo

60-year-old Lori Gilbert Kaye was killed trying to protect her Rabbi when a gunman opened fire in a synagogue in California. The Rabbi survived. At the University of North Carolina at Charlotte, 21-year-old Riley Howell lunged at the shooter taking three bullets that killed him. In Colorado, 18-year-old Kendrick Castillo attempted to stop a gunman to help others get away. He was killed. These are all recent and still being mourned.

The Washington Post feels that the fact these people...

"feel compelled to throw themselves into the line of fire puts to shame our so-called political leaders, who don’t even have the guts to pass sensible gun reform."

Don't you love it, "so-called political leaders," the cowards of Congress that have perpetually been afraid of the NRA and its head gun nut Wayne LaPierre for years while thousands of innocent people have lost their lives from gun violence. Here's an alarming figure that explains this problem...

"America has 4.4 percent of the world’s population, but almost half of the civilian-owned guns around the world"

WP makes a comparison with the New Zealand shooting where lawmakers jumped right in passing laws to prevent another similar gun massacre. Here in the U.S., urged on by the NRA, the public is led to believe that shootings, including mass gun violence, is commonplace and we just have to live with it. Well, that's bullshit! Especially with the demise of the NRA where Americans are demanding more information on gun ownership.

Just this past week a Michigan man went on a killing spree saying he was "on a mission to rid other women he knew of their 'demons.'" Law enforcement said, "I don’t think there’s any doubt that the suspect was on a killing spree." As usual, the question is where did he get the gun? With some 393 million guns on U. S. streets , that may once again be hard, near impossible, to answer. But the NRA's Wayne LaPierre will tell you, the more guns, the better.

And finally, an article from gun right exclaiming, "3 Ways To Make A Glock Gun Even Better," or interpreted, '3 Ways to kill more innocent people faster.' Those are solely my words but reflect an opinion that all the weapons industry is trying to do is make things easier for people to kill other people, especially in mass murders. Prove me wrong???

Please give me your comments on this issue.

Thank you...Thank you...Thank you

No one said it better

I would like to take a moment to THANK! all my TWITTER, FACEBOOK and PINTEREST viewers for pushing my Nasty Jack Buzz blog over 600 loyal readers a day. For a relatively unknown blogger that is an accomplishment. I do plan to continue my Progressive posting until we are able to clean up Washington and start over with a new administration. With those numbers many of you must agree. but if you are on the "other side," beware!

The NRA and gun violence are inseparable

The NRA has suppressed facts on gun violence for years, actually since the 1990s when the organization...

"used its influence over NRA member and Arkansas Rep. Jay Dickey to insert an amendment into the federal spending bill that has effectively prevented the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) from funding any research on gun violence."

Gun statistics are still hard to come by, with most information coming from private studies done by experts in the field. Because the NRA has bombarded the public with propaganda over the years, and the group repeatedly buys a cowardly Congress with contributions, we now have 393 million guns on the street, resulting in almost 40,000 deaths annually, with over 300 mass shootings in 2018. The NRA's policies are clearly the source of American gun violence.

Before his demise as NRA president, Oliver North warned of financial woes in the organization partly due to $40 million spent on legal fees. There is also the problem of corporate sponsors deserting the group because of their recent notoriety, and banks have said no to working with the NRA. It is clear that part of their financial problem is head gun nut Wayne LaPierre's salary of around $1 million. His side benefits include, according to a leaked letter...

a $39,000 one-day shopping spree for clothes in Beverly Hills, $18,300 for a car and driver while he was in Europe, and $13,800 for a summer intern's rent. The total clothing travel and other expenses were more than $542,000. He also allegedly spent more than $200,000 in air transportation in a one-month period in 2012 and 2013, part of a two-week to the Bahamas over Christmas. 

Showing how low the NRA will stoop in its propaganda, Oliver North replacement, the new president, Carolyn Meadows, said about a leading proponent for gun control in Congress, Rep. Lucia “Lucy” McBath (D-Ga.) that she only won her election because she’s a “minority female.” Great start but this just emphasizes the total sleaziness of this organization.
I have posted on the NRA over the years and actually received death threats for some of my posts. These are obviously the lowlife of the gang of gun nuts, but some members espouse reasonable gun control. Today I join with the gun control advocates who welcome the demise of the NRA. The question is will the congressional gun nuts let their treasure trove go down the tube. The coming months will be interesting.

Weekly wrap up of Donald Trump stupidity

I blogged on Donald Trump considering the Chained CPI in his efforts to further penalize those at the poverty level. My post, "Trump going to penalize those on poverty line even more," quoted a statement from Arloc Sherman of the left-leaning Center on Budget and Policy Priorities...

"this change would mean that millions of people eventually could see their benefits either reduced or eliminated because they wouldn't be considered as poor as they were under the old measure."

The Washington Post thinks the Chained CPI is a good idea but in Trump's case would be a bad application. The WP explains that the term...

"refers not to some sort of punishment but to the fact that, for technical reasons, it is more closely linked to people’s buying habits than the version of the CPI the government usually uses to adjust various key program benchmarks for annual inflation."

However you look at it, the move "looks very much like an effort to cut spending on programs for the poor that the Trump administration would be unable to reduce through legislation." And would we expect any less.

Robert Reich in The Guardian exclaims, "There are many reasons not to impeach Trump. The House should do it anyway." It makes sense to me in that it would put the monkey on Mitch McConnell's back and when he obviously votes it down in the Senate, the voters can make their choice in 2020. Much has been said about Democratic efforts backfiring by holding the Oval Office lunatic accountable in the Mueller Report, but sane Americans can see through this.

Reich isn't so sure of my assertion saying it certainly won't get T-rump out of office either before or after the election, and because we won't find out much more about the man than we already know, why go to the effort. Here's why...

"It is whether an action designed to enforce our constitution is important for its own sake – even if it goes nowhere, even if it’s unpopular with many voters, even if it’s politically risky."

We can only hope and keep a close eye on the polls. And on another front, Donald Trump and the miscreants around him "continue to block more than 20 separate investigations by Democrats into his actions as president, his personal finances and his administration’s policies, according to a Washington Post analysis." WP sees it this way...

"Trump’s noncooperation strategy has shifted from partial resistance to all-out war as he faces mounting inquiries from the Democratic-controlled House — a strategy that many legal and congressional experts fear could undermine the institutional power of Congress for years to come."

In other words, the maniac in the White house is trying to break up a fundamental provision of constitutional government where Congress acts as checks and balances of the executive branch. That's called tyranny.

Then an Iran commander calls U.S. military in Gulf a target not a threat. CNBC explains...

“In the absence of a serious diplomatic channel, the current maximalist approach from the Trump White House could spark a new cycle of intentional or inadvertent military confrontation in the region.”

Just what we need, a war with Iran during the conflict with China, all on the heels of simmering feelings between the U.S. and No. Korea. Is John Bolton behind all this?

A PARODY on Aizona gun rights stupidity

Typical night in Arizona bars

Gilbert, Arizona...A guy walks into a bar and asks the bartender for a shot and a beer-the bartender replies, 'I can serve you the beer here, but you'll have to go in the back room for the shot.'

In complete surprise, the customer asks, 'Why can't I get a shot of whiskey with my beer here at the bar?

'Oh, you meant booze. You're in Arizona, man, and a shot here means guns, you know, those things that kill innocent people but nobody serious about their weaponry gives a shit. They call us gun nuts.'

The guy was flabbergasted and said, 'I'm from California and the gun laws there are very strict, so I've really never had a chance to use a gun."

The barkeep looked at him noticing he was very young, maybe not even 21, so he decided to give the man an education. 'Well, since we're still in the wild west here (chuckle-chuckle), all you need is a warm body to own a firearm.'

The guy unbuttoned his shirt to a hairless chest and began feeling around to make sure he qualified. Then he said, 'Okay, I'm good.'

The bartender wasn't even taken aback because real gun-huggers like him knew that the other side just needed to know how to love a gun more than a human life and they would cross over the line and become one of the gang. And this fellow looked like he really had possibilities. 'Interested in knowing more?'

'Sure,' replied the kid, and the two of them headed for the back room. 'Wow!' the amateur said with guns in his eyes. Glocks, Browning Hi Power, Smith & Wesson snub nose, Sig sauer, Walther, Beretta and the beloved AR-15 assault rifle. 'Where do I start?'

The barkeep said, I'm turning you over to the NRA instructor who was recently ordained by the one and only head gun nut, Wayne LaPierre.'

And there he was, in awe of all the wonderful guns and such a celebrity to show him how to use them. NRA's best said, 'Let's start with the pistols and progress up to the AR-15. Just pick up that Glock and see how it feels.'

The guy did, and he was shown how to fire it, almost putting a hole in the roof. They went on to the Wrather, where a window ended up being a target. With the Sig sauer, he grazed the head of the shooter standing next to him. After several more similar incidents, the NRA dude said, 'Believe you're 'bout ready for the AR-15."

The kid was elated and shook with joy as the assault rifle was handed to him. It took two-and-a-half minutes and he was declared ready to use his killing machine. The Californian who had never held a gun in his life turned toward the targets and started firing...and firing...and firing...and firing. His finger was stuck and the weapon swerved to the right in the action, taking out all the shooters on the range, then returning the other direction getting the NRA instructor.

The bartender apparently heard all the chatter and rushed into the range, followed by everyone in the bar. Bingo, he took them all out like Wyatt Earp, then just stood there.  When the smoke cleared, he looked round and said, 'Damn, I love guns.'

And that's the moral of my story.

Thanks to E.J. Montini, Arizona Republic columnist for his article: "Cozy up to this Gilbert bar for a (gun)shot and a beer"

Please let me have your comments.

A weekend wrap up on Donald Trump stupidity

I should do more wrap ups since Donald Trump's stupidity is always in perpetual motion. It literally defies reality that this man is so full of ludicrous action. Like sending a warship plus missiles to the area around Iran, right in the middle of serious tensions with this country. Trump has also tightened sanctions, which may well be justified, but all the military action sounds like overkill to many. This is what the administration said...

“The Department of Defense continues to closely monitor the activities of the Iranian regime, their military and proxies. Due to operational security, we will not discuss timelines or location of forces. The United States does not seek conflict with Iran, but we are postured and ready to defend U.S. forces and interests in the region.”

T-rump went even further, he...

"designated Iran’s Revolutionary Guard as a terrorist group. Iran responded with threats to close the Gulf’s Strait of Hormuz, where about a third of the world’s oil export vessels pass. The U.S. then announced it was expediting the deployment of a carrier strike group equipped with bomber aircraft to the region."

It is obvious the Iranians must be kept in line, but there is a question of just how much bullying they will take.

And then there is Trump's current top idiot, Rudy Giulani, who claimed the Ukraine had ties with Joe Biden's son Hunter Biden, then apparently thought better about it and cancelled his trip to the country. According to Vox...

"Giuliani was particularly interested in a phone call Joe Biden made while serving as vice president in which he requested Ukraine’s top prosecutor, who had once been tasked with investigating a company Hunter Biden worked for, be removed from office."

Apparently, T-rump wasn't overjoyed with his personal lawyer, and that is, perhaps, why his lackey decided not to take the joy trip.

It is very possible that my post about Donald Trump being mentally challenged accurately describes this maniac. It appears that the Oval Office lunatic requested that former White House counsel Don McGahn publicly state that President Donald Trump didn't obstruct justice. McGhan declined to do so. So Trump promptly forbids McGhan from testifying to a Democratic House, and because this all centers around the Mueller Report, Robert Mueller won't testify.

It just proves that Donald Trump is still trying to absolve himself from the report that he recently exclaimed cleared him of any wrong-doing in the 2016, Russian affair. But T-rump actually tweeted to McGhan the day after the Mueller report was released warning against "people that take so-called 'notes," which sure sounds like a threat. It is hard to comprehend the president of the most powerful nation in the world talking like this, and the whole thing reeks of impeachment.

Happy Mothers Day to all of you here and there

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Bernie to Biden osmosis?...Cruise ships deemed dirty by the CDC...Maria Butina and Russian pal met with Treasury and Federal Reserve...Teachers in Florida don't want guns in class...This is how bad hate is in U.S....Will Iran sanctions and military sanctions get us into a war?...Most of world's countries, EXCEPT U.S. agree to stem flow of plastic waste into poor nations...

American public should be itching for Donald Trump impeachment?

800 prosecutors, on paper, would prosecute Trump

Yesterday I posted, "Donald Trump impeachment gets closer and closer,' with the knowledge that public support had risen 5 points just since mid-April to 45%. Although the American public has found impeachment unpopular in the past, the new poll, above, suggests opinion on impeachment may be malleable. According to the Washington Post, "far from exonerating Trump, special counsel Robert S. Mueller III found substantial evidence of obstruction of justice."

It's over 800 ex-prosecutors now who have signed on to the fact that they would have prosecuted Trump for obstruction of justice. And a recent development that hasn't received much attention in the media, is that Donald Trump is mentally challenged. Don't forget that "Attorney General William P. Barr has performed dreadfully at a pair of hearings, evading and double-talking his way around the actual findings in the report." Now he was held in Contempt of Congress.

The latter may not go anywhere legally, but in the eyes of many Americans, those who genuinely care about their country, this is a black eye on the Donald Trump administration. WP proposes a 'what if?"...

"Now imagine if Mueller and then former White House counsel Donald McGahn testify, reaffirming the mountain of evidence that Trump tried to influence witnesses, sought to fire Mueller and tried to curtail the investigation."

The last I heard neither Robert Mueller nor Donald McGhan will be allowed to testify by the White House. Now is the time for all Donald Trump's double-digit followers to take notice of the facts and marshal all the few digits of intelligence they still might have to understand that this maniac is ruining the country and you are his co-conspirators. And hopefully, some day you will be held accountable. This next week in Congress should be very interesting.

Just politics from left field

BRIEF ENCOUNTERS FROM THE LEFT






Michael Cohen goes to jail with secrets he might still reveal?...Republicans pulling for Bernie Sanders and why?...Joe Biden leads Bernie Sanders by 21 points in Primary...Mark Zuckerberg, Facebook founder, should be punished...1000 guns found in high class Holmby Hills Los Angeles neighborhood...Instagram, owned by Facebook, still publishing anti-vaxxer propaganda

The impeachment of Trump draws near

Public support for impeaching Donald Trump has risen 5 percentage points, just since mid-April, to 45%. Although 57% say all these probes are interfering with government business, it wasn't clear from the poll if Americans wanted the Democrats to back off Trump. House Speaker Nancy Pelosi said...

“This is very methodical, it’s very Constitution-based. We won’t go any faster than the facts take us, or any slower than the facts take us.”

Reuters says that Trump is "stonewalling" several inquiries relating to the Mueller Report...

"refusing to disclose his tax returns, invoking executive privilege to keep the unredacted Mueller report under wraps and filing unprecedented lawsuits to block House investigators."

Does all this sound like a man who is not guilty? James Comey said, "it sure looks like" Trump had criminal intent to commit obstruction of justice during special counsel Robert Mueller's investigation, on a CNN Town Hall with Anderson Cooper. One incidence in particular was the firing of former White House counsel, Don McGahn. Comey exclaimed further...

"The President is not above the law, and I don't accept the notion that because the President is the head of the executive branch he can't ever obstruct justice in connection with executive branch activities."

Another ex-insider [Comey] who clearly believes that the Oval Office lunatic obstructed justice. It was just last Wednesday that "Trump invoked blanket executive privilege over Mueller's full report, escalating a looming constitutional confrontation over the report between his administration and congressional Democrats." The big question still looms, could this backfire on Democrats for 2020? Or, is it finally time to just do the right thing?

The Atlantic says that Democrats could arrest William Barr to force his hand resulting in the following...

"Courts have recognized that the House and Senate each have the authority to enforce their orders by imprisoning those who violate them—literally. They can direct their respective sergeant at arms to arrest officials they’ve found to be in contempt and bring them to the Capitol for trial and, potentially, jail."

The contempt resolution now goes to the full House, where it will likely be approved, with the following possibilities...

"They could refer the matter to the U.S. attorney in Washington, D.C., who would decide whether to launch a criminal prosecution of his own boss, the attorney general. Democrats could turn to the courts to enforce the subpoena. Or they could take matters into their own hands and call their sergeant at arms."

To impeach or not impeach. Perhaps the American public will finally answer this question.

Please let me have your comments on this issue.

Trump going to penalize those on poverty line even more

The "great humanitarian" is "considering changing the way the government measures poverty." According to anti-poverty groups it could "push many low-income individuals off assistance programs such as food stamps, Medicaid and Head Start." That starts the report by NPR and it only gets worse. Arloc Sherman of the left-leaning Center on Budget and Policy Priorities says...

"this change would mean that millions of people eventually could see their benefits either reduced or eliminated because they wouldn't be considered as poor as they were under the old measure."

Sherman continued...

"'They [the Trump administration] have a goal, and the goal is to cut people of low or moderate income off of government assistance.' He noted that the idea is being floated at the same time that the White House is proposing work requirements and steep budget cuts for safety net programs."

A notice of the possibility of changing the poverty calculation appeared in the Federal Register seeking public comment. NPR reports: "The current poverty line for a family of four is about $26,000. Each year, the government adjusts the line for inflation based on the consumer price index." An alternative being considered...

"is whether to use a version called the 'chained CPI,' which is lower than the rate currently used. The chained CPI assumes that as the prices of goods go up, individuals substitute less expensive items, thereby reducing their overall expenses."

Although both George W. Bush and Barack Obama tried to sell this approach, which economist do think is "a more accurate way to measure inflation," apparently they were never able to get it passed. And even though the bill is very controversial among anti-poverty forces, some say it is imperative to measure inflation correctly. On the other hand, homelessness, which is often caused by those at the poverty level losing what little help they get, goes up.

In Arizona's Maricopa county where I live, Phoenix residents have reported 1,500 homeless encampments, revealing that there are 6,614 people homeless, up 316 from last year. The local paper says...

"Unsheltered homelessness used to be a small percentage of the overall homeless population. In 2014, it made up 22 percent of the population. This year, it's nearly 50 percent."

One might ask, is this increase due to the effects of the policies of the Donald Trump administration? And now he wants to take away more from this group? 

Anti-vaxxer family gets what it deserves

Jerome/Bill Kunkel

THE CHICKENPOX. Kentucky teen, Jerome Kunkel, was banned from his school, Our Lady of the Sacred Heart Assumption Academy, for refusing a chickenpox vaccination due to religious beliefs. Well, his religion has just resulted in a case of the chickenpox. This proves that school officials were right in keeping him out of school, and just another example of the stupidity of these anti-vaxxers. He could have passed around the disease all over his school.

But Bill Kunkel, the kid's father, "says it’s the 'best thing to do' to become immune." Sure, and during the "becoming immune" phase, usually an unknown period, other children in school catch the chickenpox. These people are dangerous and that is why I feel they should all be corralled together and catch whatever they want from each other. The Washington Post piece shows a picture of father, son with the Christ statue in the background.

They filed a lawsuit through their attorney, Chris Wiest, with some 24 other students who joined in the lawsuit since it was filed, many of whom now infected with chickenpox in the past two months and have religious exemptions against vaccinations. And apparently Jerome caught the measles from his unvaccinated cousins, which clearly shows their friends and the whole family is nuts. Attorney Wiest commented...

“This is a stupid ban that’s never going to work, and absolutely ridiculous in this context where they go to church upstairs every day together,” Wiest said. “We are not at all surprised. This is exactly what we told the court would happen. Over half my clients contracted chickenpox and had no complications, and now they have a lifetime immunity.”

Sounds like the church should be investigated by the health department. Here's what the Northern Kentucky Health Department had to say...

"In a Wednesday statement, the Northern Kentucky Health Department said Wiest’s encouragement for his clients to 'actively' contract the disease to achieve immunity is 'deeply concerning' and bad medical advice."

This kind of fight is probably raging all around the country and it is time for someone to establish parameters. If it is determined that vaccinations outweigh the individual's right to deny them, then laws should be passed. We are currently experiencing an epidemic of the measles and we certainly don't want a pandemic. 

Renown Yale psychiatrist: Muller Report proves Trump is mentally challenged

Dr. Lee and her study

A recent report by Yale psychiatrist Bandy X. Lee, a renowned expert on violence and forensic psychiatry at Yale School of Medicine, was sent to Jerrold Nadler, chairman of the House Judiciary Committee. She is also president of the World Mental Health Coalition and editor of the New York Times bestseller, “The Dangerous Case of Donald Trump: 37 Psychiatrists and Mental Health Experts Assess a President.”

It is a mental health analysis of the Mueller report "replete with information for a mental health interpretation." Lee says to Raw Story...

"Seldom do we have such voluminous information on a person’s behavior, verified at the level of sworn testimony. Hence, my colleagues and I saw this as a part of our ongoing, primary professional responsibility to protect society and to warn against potential harm to public health, as our ethics and the law require. The report is an attempt to continue educating the public."

Pretty clear we're are talking about the Donald Trump White House and his administration and already this is very scary. Lee says that the voluminous special counsel’s report "could not be more informative about mental capacity, which is what the report addresses. Mental capacity is the ability to make sound, rational, reality-based decisions free of impulsivity, recklessness, paranoia, and false beliefs." It gets scarier. Lee says further...

"A person can have a severe mental illness, for example, but be receiving proper treatment and function perfectly well—the presence of mental illness really says nothing about job performance. On the other hand, someone may not have a mental illness but still be incompetent and lacking in the basic capacities to do a job."

And for those who question no one-on-one between Lee and Trump...

"For a functional exam, a personal interview is not as important as observations by the person’s coworkers and colleagues of one’s actual performance, and this is why the special counsel’s report is so valuable." 

Raw story wanted to know what the report said...

"Our report is quite damning. What the special counsel’s report revealed, through consistent and abundant data, was a pervasive and profound pattern of lack of capacity."

 Folks, Dr. Lee is talking about the man who sits in the Oval Office, in control of the most powerful country in the world. Just scarier and scarier. More snippets of her findings...

lack of basic comprehension--faulty information processing--lack of sound decision making--behavior that places oneself or others in danger

Lee adds: "These are crucial failures in the basic components of mental capacity test, which in his [Donald Trump] position constitute a medical emergency that requires a response." There's much more in the Raw Story report and I recommend that you read it. What is clear here is the fact that Donald Trump may not be competent to serve as President of the United States and should be required to have a complete psychiatric examination at once.

Dreaded anti-vaxxers still resist the truth

They did and social media lied

Robert Reich doesn't didn't think it was much fun. Oh sure, we got to stay home from school and mom gave you pretty much anything you wanted, within reason. But it was a disease that none of your friends wanted so they stayed away from you like the plague; as they should have. And then along came measles vaccinations in 1963 and soon after the same for mumps (1967) and rubella (1969). By 2000, all were basically eradicated.

Anti-vaxxers should be required to read the history of measles (a short version here) and then decide if they want to go through the pain of having to expunge the disease again. There was a resurgence of measles in the United States between 1989 and 1991, then it quietly went away in the early 1990s. At that point we worked hard on ridding the country of the illness, which became official in 2,000.

But wait, along came the dreaded anti-vaxxers, resisting vaccinations for their children, when many of these same parents had been vaccinated as a child, and turned the infected kids loose on society. Others came down with the disease and passed it around the country to over 23 states with the outbreak now totaling at least 764. There is also an outbreak in Europe where they have 34,000 cases. All because a gang of mentally depraved parents made some very bad decisions.

With New York's new law they have cited 84 individuals for not getting their kids vaccinated, resulting in a fine of $1,000. The NIH says Anti-vaxxers threaten U.S. workplace, economy, The UK's health secretary Matt Hancock claims anti-vaxxers have blood on their hands. And one of my latest posts, Vaccine exemption bills on rise despite measles outbreak. Popular Science says
"This is already the worst year for measles since 1994."

Based on the unvaccinated given us by anti-vaxxers, PS provides the following stats...

"we're still accumulating new outbreaks, some of them in places that researchers predicted were at risk due to low vaccination rates. Portland, Houston, and Kansas City all had small outbreaks and were identified as risky areas in a 2018 PLoS Medicine study. The outbreak in Clark County, Washington, just across the state border from Portland, Oregon, has been the most widely covered. Now the Detroit area is also experiencing a substantial one in precisely the county the paper predicted.

Predicted because these are the areas in which the dreaded anti-vaxxers work their madness. 

Wanna know why Donald Trump won't release his taxes?

Show of disgust for Donald Trump

Treasury Secretary Steve Mnuchin has told Richard Neal, D-Massachusetts, House Ways and Means Committee Chairman, that he won't be getting President Donald Trump's tax returns. CNN says this will result in the form of a subpoena, a contempt vote or a lawsuit. Because of the Oval Office lunatic, the Democrats are spending most of their time lately with threats and subpoenas. The question, of course, is will this all result in exposing the deceit of T-rump's administration?

On the other hand, New York Attorney General Letitia James (D) on Monday filed a lawsuit against the Treasury Department and IRS because the Trump organization hasn't responded to her request for tax information. T-rump loves lawsuits, but he prefers being on the complainant side rather than the receiving side. With recent loses in the Trump businesses of $1 billion over the past 10-years, you'd think he'd be running out of money. Hell, he'll just borrow more.

Mnuchin's actual statement...

"In reliance on the advice of the Department of Justice, I have determined that the Committee's request lacks a legitimate legislative purpose, and ... the Department is therefore not authorized to disclose the requested returns and return information."

Another typical Donald Trump move, but CNN's Chris Cillizza thinks he knows why the Oval Office lunatic won't release his taxes...

1) Trump is not as rich as he says; 2) He has Russia ties; 3) He didn't pay many (or any) taxes; 4) He donates no (or very little) money to charity

Each of these could be embarrassing to all but the loyal Trump supporters who are ill-informed and mentally challenged. Trump actually said during the 2016 campaign that he would release his tax returns, but this, along with most things he says, turned out to be a lie. And the 'I'm under audit' excuse isn't valid since "there is no law that forbids a president -- or any citizen -- from releasing their taxes while under audit."

We just have to assume that Donald Trump has so much to hide as far as his taxes are concerned, that it could ruin his reputation and shame him for life. But not sure he has the mental capacity to actually understand that.

The disgraceful Mitch McConnell lies to Congress

Who the hell does Mitch McConnell think he is by assuming that he has the right to close the Mueller probe with a quick statement and a wave of the hand? This arrogant and obnoxious oaf is described in an Esquire article by Charles P. Pierce as a person who...

So he thinks

"Will Not Act in Good Faith, Even When the Security of the Country Is at Stake."

That's heavy but not unexpected. The Senate dictator has performed feats of unbelievable proportions solely for the sake of his ego and the Republican Party in the past, while completely ignoring the good of the country. But getting back to the headline and the fact that McConnell lied on the Senate floor, ThinkProgress says...

"Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-KY) spoke from the floor Tuesday and lied about several aspects of special counsel Robert Mueller’s final report on Russian interference in the 2016 election."

He stated emphatically that the investigation (Mueller probe) was finally over so the Democrats should accept that fact and move on. He then rambled on...

“What we’ve seen is a meltdown, an absolute meltdown. An absolute inability to accept the bottom-line conclusion from the special counsel’s report, which said the investigation did not establish that members of the Trump campaign conspired or coordinated with the Russian government in its election interference activities. That’s the conclusion.”

A bare-faced lie since Robert Mueller's report did not draw any conclusions, and over 450 ex-prosecutors have stated "special counsel Robert S. Mueller III’s findings would have produced obstruction charges against President Trump — if not for the office he holds." The maniac continues...

“Two years of exhaustive investigation and nothing to establish the fanciful conspiracy theory that Democratic politicians and TV talking heads had treated like a foregone conclusion. They told everyone there had been a conspiracy between Russia and the Trump campaign. Yet … the special counsel’s finding is clear. Case closed.”

Well, it isn't, and nothing this moron can say will change the fact that it is pretty much universal that Donald Trump is guilty of obstruction of justice, protected only by the chair he sits in. Now "the Democratic controlled-House Judiciary Committee has requested Mueller testify as early as next week to discuss the report and investigation," according to CNN. Schumer rebuked McConnell...

"Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer responded to McConnell, saying 'it's not done' and accused the majority leader of 'whitewashing' Trump's conduct and attempting to protect the President from accountability." 

"The leader says, 'Let's move on. It's sort of like Richard Nixon saying let's move on at the height of the investigation of his wrongdoing."

The comparison with Nixon is highly appropriate, but just wish Chuck Schumer had been more critical of his mentally challenged colleague.