We celebrate Independence Day annually on July 4. It is the anniversary of the publication of the declaration of independence from Great Britain in 1776. Patriotic displays and family events are organized throughout the United States. It is a day for going to the beach or the lake, the mountains, hanging out by the family pool, going to your favorite amusement park or just staying at home with family and friends, barbecuing in the backyard. It is not for dictators.
Greg Sargent's piece in the Washington Post portrays the plans of the desperate, totalitarian Donald Trump in another attempt to boost his ego by making July 4th all about him. Supported by tanks and flyovers, this incompetent tyrant will actually close down Reagan National airport in Washington simply for self-gratification. Sargent says...
"The historians tell us that this is what authoritarian nationalists do. As Harvard’s Jill Lepore puts it, they replace history with tried-and-true fictions — false tales of national decline at the hands of invented threats, melded to fictitious stories of renewed national greatness, engineered by the leader himself, who is both author of the fiction and its mythic hero."
Bingo! That hits the nail right into Donald Trump's head.
Thank God someone in the gun rights community has finally usurped the nerve to go after the National Rifle Assn. (NRA's) head gun nut, Wayne LaPierre. This maniac is the common denominator for all the gun violence since he took office in 1991. It is his firm belief that everyone in this country should be armed with a gun, take it anywhere he wants to, with every American household claiming its own personal arsenal. This offense is purely to sell more guns to appease the gun manufacturers who generously support him and the NRA.
Here's what David Dell’Aquila, LaPierre's hit man, says...
the NRA’s internal warfare “has become a daily soap opera, and it’s decaying and destroying the NRA from within, and it needs to stop”.
“Even if these allegations regarding Mr LaPierre and his leadership are false, he has become radioactive and must step down.”
Don't you love his description of Lapierre as "radioactive?"
A yield curve inverted is predicting Donald Trump's economy is headed for weak or nonexistent growth in the next few years, and little inflation. Yield curves don’t cause recessions, but their inversion can make business leaders reluctant to hire or invest because they’re worried about economic slowdown. The yield curve started to invert in March...
“The alarm’s gone off,” said Campbell Harvey, the Duke University finance professor who first noticed the relationship between yield curves and recessions.
One source describes Donald Trump's performance at the G-20 Summit in Japan like a circus. In Salon's words, "Ignorant of history and contemptuous of existing treaties, as usual, Trump insulted the host country on his first day." Good start for what would become a "slow-motion train wreck" involving sucking up to Saudi Arabia, ignoring the Khashoggi murder, and Vladimir Putin, ignoring their interference in the 2016 election. Basically, typical, useless, embarrassing Trump conduct.
Beware of flesh-eating bacteria known as necrotizing fasciitis, which can be caught anywhere the public has been. I know, first-hand, from someone who caught it, they think, in a motel from the toilet seat. It progressed from a dot on the skin to a six-inch grotesque splotch of bleeding flesh in just six days. The person was just minutes from losing a leg, with the doctor at one point concerned the person wouldn't make it through the night. Although left with an obvious scar, otherwise okay now.
Trump to lose big in 2020, according to the same people who accurately predicted the Democratic takeover of the House in 2018. Rachel Bitecofer, assistant director of the Wason Center for Public Policy at Public Policy at Christopher Newport University says Donald Trump will lose the Electoral College 297 to 197. She predicted 40 seats won at midterm, and says with the Democrats agitated as they are, Trump isn't likely to pull off another 2016.
"Carbon dioxide is good for you," says Trump scientist. William Happer. This looney is from the obscure "Heartland Institute, which disavows manmade climate change," but apparently doesn't read authentic scientific studies proving that humans are decimating the earth's eco-system. Obviously just another GOP thing to disrupt those of us trying to save the planet. Happer even pressured NASA to change their climate to conform to Heartland's version. NASA said no!
Trump's preposterous 4th of July gala for family and friends will feature, as T-rump describes them, the very latest American Sherman tanks. (Sherman tanks haven't been produced since 1957.) It will be necessary to close Reagan National Airport to accommodate the flyovers demanded by the oval office lunatic. Kellyanne Conway even chimed in with reporters questioning their patriotism. And why didn't other presidents do all this? The simple answer is just that they weren't crazy.
Dept. of Justice has just released that the citizenship question will not appear on the 2020 Decennial Census questionnaire. Another "defeat for the Trump administration after the Supreme Court refused to allow the question to be added without further explanation from Census officials."
PROGRESSIVE STREET...Where Liberals Walk It is a combination of fear of public reaction along with a continuing concern over retaliation from a diminishing National Rifle Assn. (NRA) that keeps most Democrats from espousing strong gun control. There are a couple, Booker, Stalwell, but neither is prominent in the polls. Kamala Harris might have potential but what bothers me is the overall pall that spreads through politicians when you talk about banning even assault rifles. Still the killing goes on.
And then Biden says, "that gun manufacturers, not the National Rifle Association (NRA), are the Democratic Party's 'enemy' in its efforts to reform gun control laws. Comments like this are why he's slipping in the polls. The NRA, led by head gun nut, Wayne LaPierre, is what gives gun manufacturers reason to keep making more and more guns, thus, more killing machines on the street. It doesn't help for the leading Democratic contender to protect the NRA.
Older but great analysis of NRA supports gun manufacturers...
Trump economy weak and heading down says an Aussie with public policy experience. Here is his assessment...
"During the election we were promised jobs and growth. But in 2019-20 The Conversation’s forecasting panel is predicting an economic growth rate as weak as any since the financial crisis, as well as dismal consumer spending, no improvement in unemployment or wage growth, and an increased chance of recession."
Bernie Sanders should be delighted, the entire lineup of Democratic Primary candidates has picked up at least one issue that the Bern has been advocating his entire political career. In other words, without Bernie Sanders, we would not have a Democratic platform. And doesn't this say something about the vision of this man that can't be overlooked. If his age is the only barrier, then the selection of a vice president should solve that problem. The Bern deserves a break here.
Nineteen billionaires and ultra millionaires including George Soros, Abigail Disney and members of the Pritzker family say they and similar families should be taxed more. They favor accessing the finances of the wealthy over middle-income and lower-income Americans. Sound like Bernie Sanders? A letter sent by the nineteen participants said...
“The next dollar of new tax revenue should come from the most financially fortunate, not from middle-income and lower-income Americans."
Trumps says Putin is a 'great guy' and 'terrific person' at the G-20 summit, expressing his feelings on Russian TV. Sounds like someone is building a hotel to me with the generous amount of syrupy praise for the Russian president. Let's just compare this monumental fraud with past presidents who would attend the G-20 to improve conditions for the united States. Donald Trump could care less about this country when a Trump Tower is possible in the middle of Moscow.
Could "crypto" fecal parasite ruin your summer vacation? It can cause watery diarrhea for as long as three weeks and is worse for children, pregnant women and those with compromised immune systems. Only fatal once, the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention says the malady can be found in swimming and wading pools, untreated drinking water, lakes, contact with cattle, unpasteurized milk, child care centers, etc.
Donald Trump campaign member sets up a fake Joe Biden site that ridicules the Oval Office lunatic's highest rated 2020 contender. Shades of Karl Rove methodology. It parodies Biden's campaign and uses out-of-context quotes from the former vice president. This tells me that T-rump considers "sleepy Joe" a real threat to his campaign. Here's an example: "Uncle Joe is back and ready to take a hands-on approach to America's problems." This could definitely backfire.
My earlier post asked, 'if not Joe Biden, who?' is even more appropriate today after Biden's support dropped by 5 points after last Thursday's debate but still maintaining first place position. Kamala Harris surged to 12% to become number three, with Bernie Sanders hanging on to number two. Biden still commands 33% and Sanders at 19%. However, Lindsey Graham said, "underestimate Joe Biden at your own peril." Dems are desperately in need of a solid citizen.
