Category: Constitution and Law

New York Times Editorial Board Rips Apart Donald Trump in Single Paragraph

The editorial board of The New York Times just eviscerated Donald Trump in a single paragraph.

Here it is in full, with its original hyperlinks to other Times’ coverage of Trump preserved:

“You already know Donald Trump. He is unfit to lead. Watch him. Listen to those who know him best. He tried to subvert an election and remains a threat to democracy. He helped overturn Roe, with terrible consequences. Mr. Trump’s corruption and lawlessness go beyond elections: It’s his whole ethos. He lies without limit. If he’s re-elected, the G.O.P. won’t restrain him. Mr. Trump will use the government to go after opponents. He will pursue a cruel policy of mass deportations. He will wreak havoc on the poor, the middle class and employers. Another Trump term will damage the climate, shatter alliances and strengthen autocrats. Americans should demand better. Vote.”

The owners of the Washington Post and the Los Angeles Times fear the retribution of a Trump presidency and refuse to endorse Kamala Harris. The NYT has no fear as it has been owned by the same family for more than 100 years.


Words have Consequences

The motivation for the attempted assassination is obvious to me.  Joe Biden said Donald Trump is a threat to our democracy.  I have been saying someone with a rifle will attempt to kill Trump. The 20-year-old man who tried to assassinate was responding to the fear Joe Biden has generated.

These are quotes from Joe Biden.

“Donald Trump is a genuine threat to this nation. He’s a threat to our freedom. He’s a threat to our democracy. He’s literally, literally a threat to everything America stands for.”

“It’s time to put Donald Trump in the bullseye.”

Words have consequences.

Mike Pence says he ‘cannot in good conscience’ endorse Trump

The former vice president’s comments mark a stunning repudiation of his ex-boss and the president he served with.

Pence did not reveal who he’ll vote for in the 2024 general election, saying that he’ll keep “my vote to myself.” He, however, said he will “never vote” for President Joe Biden. Pence also suggested that he would not back a third-party candidate.

It is a good bet that he will vote for Trump. Pence showed he has no spine and couldn’t even stand up for his conservative principals.

Words from Trump Appointees in His First Term in Office

From former Vice President Pence to Bill Barr, former Attorney General these are quotations worth readings.

“Anyone who puts himself over the Constitution should never be president of the United States . . . President Trump demanded that I Choose between him and the Constitution.”

Mike Pence, Vice President

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“He puts himself before country. His actions are all about him and not about the country.”

Mark Esper, Secretary of Defense

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“THE DEPTHS OF HIS DISHONESTY IS JUST ASTOUNDING. TO ME … HE IS HE MOST FLAWED PERSON I HAVE EVER MET IN MY LIFE.”

John Kelly, Secretary of Homeland and White House Chief of Staff

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“His understanding Of global events, his understanding of global history, his understanding of U.S. history was really limited.”

Rex Tillerson, Secretary of State

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“He will always put his own interests, and gratifying his own ego, ahead of everything else, including the country’s interests.”

Bill Barr, Attorney General

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“President Trump and other officials have repeatedly compromised our principles in pursuit of partisan advantage and personal gain.”

H. R. McMaster, National Security Adviser

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“Trump has this impression that foreign leaders, especially adversaries, hold him in high regard, that he got a good relationship with Xi Jinping, Vladimir Putin, Kim Jong Un. In fact, the exact opposite is true. I have been in those rooms with him when he’s met with those leaders. I believe they think he is a laughing fool.”

John Bolton, National Security Adviser

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“THE PRESIDENT HAS VERY LITTLE UNDERSTANDING OF WHAT IT MEANS TO BE IN THE MILITARY, TO FIGHT ETHICALLY OR TO BE GOVERNED BY A UNIFORM SET OF RULES AND PRACTICES.”

Richard V. Spencer, Security of the Navy

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“He is more dangerous than anyone could imagine.”

James Mattis, Secretary of Defense

Apparently Nikki Haley Needs a History Lesson. Here It Is.

 Almost 160 years after the Civil War — Nikki Haley, a leading contender for the GOP presidential nomination and former governor of South Carolina couldn’t answer the simple question “What was the cause of the Civil War?” Her disjointed response was “basically how government was going to run — the freedoms and what people could and couldn’t do.”

The Constitution Center provides this history. “The victory of Republican presidential candidate Abraham Lincoln in the 1860 elections convinced South Carolina legislators that it was no longer in their state’s interest to remain in the Union. South Carolina declared its secession from the United States.  Citing “an increasing hostility on the part of the non-slaveholding states to the institution of slavery,”

Sadly in my own experience in the South is that Southerners are still in denial. That is the reason they still fly the Confederate flag in many places. Haley is not alone.

Succession may be in America’s Future

On this past Presidents’ Day, Representative Marjorie Taylor Greene tweeted:

We need a national divorce. We need to separate by red states and blue states and shrink the federal government. Everyone I talk to says this. From the sick and disgusting woke culture issues shoved down our throats to the Democrat’s traitorous America Last policies, we are done.

On Monday September 11, 2023, Greene (R-Ga.) wrote on X (formerly Twitter) that “if the Biden admin refuses to stop the invasion of cartel led human and drug trafficking into our country, states should consider seceding from the union.”

Greene is not alone in her views. She is giving voice to a widespread and growing sentiment in the Republican Party. Among Republicans in the South, for example, support for secession was 66 percent in June 2021, according to a Bright Line Watch/YouGov poll. (The poll found support for secession growing among every partisan group in the months following the January 6 riot at the Capitol.)

Personally, I have believed for years that Abraham Lincoln made a mistake in fighting the succession of the South. The United States fought to keep the people of the South against their will. The consequence has been the never ending display of Civil War flags to this day.

The 13 colonies themselves also faught for freedom in the American Revolution. The British couldn’t win because they were fighting to hold the colonies against their will.

Unless we have leadership in the United States that convinces Americans to stay united succession is in the future of this country.

Patriot

How do you define Patriot?  Donald Trump brought up the question in both words and behavior. Is it hugging the flag?

Conservative Political Action Conference (CPAC) February 29, 2020

Does this picture make Trump a patriot? The Oxford dictionary definition is “a person who vigorously supports their country and is prepared to defend it against enemies or detractors.”  He is conveying that he loves the flag and what it stands for.

Merriam-Webster definition is “a person who loves his or her country and supports its authority and interests”

The United States creates a missile system and titles it the “Patriot System” that is meant to defend the country.

What about those of us that love the country and attack its laws and regulations that we see as harmful?  Are we too patriots?  

Orange is Power! Or is Orange the New Black?

Because it’s associated with optimism and energy, many brands use orange to convey a message of positivity. If you’re looking to get your audience excited about something, go for orange. It’s an attention-grabbing, warm color that really pops when combined with cool blue or green tones.

The Orange Man believes in his heart that he is above the law and can do whatever he wants. It is not just holding and sharing secret documents. While Trump is entitled to the presumption of innocence like any other American, the indictment appears to underscore his personal belief that the law does not apply to him and that he has the power to do exactly as he likes. That behavior defined his administration and post-White House life.

Late last year, Trump called for the “termination” of the Constitution, including all “rules, regulations and articles.” And he’s pledged on day one of a new administration to direct the DOJ to “investigate every radical district attorney and attorney general in America” for what he claims is the illegal and racist enforcement of the law. Trump has already pleaded not guilty to falsifying business records – charges that arose from Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg’s investigation of a hush money scheme. And he’s waiting to hear whether he will be charged in another special counsel investigation into the run-up to January 6, 2021, and a separate investigation into his attempt to overturn President Joe Biden’s 2020 election victory in Georgia led by Fulton County District Attorney Fani Willis.

After blue my favorite color is orange. Can the bright Florida sunshine bring an end to madness? A unanimous twelve man jury in each indictment will be required and that is very difficult to achieve. In conservative Florida the evidence will have to be overwhelming.

I am not betting on any guilty verdicts. I hope I am wrong.

Biden For Re-Election

Be Afraid! Be very Afraid! Dictators are on the rise!

“Israel cannot be allowed to turn into an autocracy like Viktor Orban’s Hungary; Ukraine cannot be allowed to fall to Vladimir Putin; and Donald Trump cannot be allowed to occupy the White House ever again.” The words of Thomas Friedman in his latest column in the New York Times. Friedman believes that Israel is on the path to becoming an autocracy (I think Israel would be a theocracy) if their population does not stand up to the right wing religious fanatics in Israel and if Putin occupies Ukraine the rest of Western Europe would be his next objective. Friedman believes that if Trump wins the 2024 election democracy as we know it would end in the United States.

The problem is that democracies by their very nature have no road blocks to stop a Netanyahu, an Orban authoritarian or a Trump from taking control. It was Adolph Hitler who legally came to power and then destroyed the Weimar Republic. Donald Trump admires Kim Jung Un. In an interview on Fox News on April 12, 2023 Trump praised President Xi of China, Vladimir Putin, and Kim Jung Un.

So while Joe Biden may be old, he does defend the American democracy and does support other countries that are democracies.

Donald Trump is an outstanding speaker. His rallies bring crowds. Like Hitler his speeches are loved. It was those speeches by Hitler that brought him to power. Trump learned and copies.

Americans will have a choice on November 5, 2024.

The U.S. Constitution is Not the Bible

Jackie Calmes nailed it in the Los Angeles Times. The unwritten GOP planks of their campaign for the presidency and control of congress are:

  • Anti-abortion extremism
  • Pro-gun absolutism
  • Anti-LGBTQ activism
  • Book banning
  • Vote suppression
  • Election denialism 

These are the issues that are dividing this country.  There is apparently no compromise among the extreme loyalists.  Perhaps Marjorie Taylor Greene’s suggestion that it’s time for a divorce should be seriously considered.

At the very least many of those people who register as an independent will be pushed into the Democratic Party.

Sadly many Americans treat the Constitution as if it is a bible.  Their view is that whatever was written in 1787 and 1788 was a mandate that must be obeyed as if it was handed down by God.  That is the reason the pro-gun groups treat their right to own guns as a right handed down by God.  So even though there is Article V that defines the procedure those that believe they just cannot bring themselves to make changes.  It has been amended 27 times.