ONE OF MY conservative Facebook friends got mad at me this week.
He said I was “biased” against President Trump. My critic was a former student
and added that he was sorry he had ever learned history in my class.
I’m a veteran, and he said I should be “ashamed” for failing to
support the commander-in-chief.
This got me thinking.
*
FIRST, let me say I am not ashamed. I taught (mostly American
history) for thirty-three years. I was pretty good, too, which is why I’m “friends”
with about 1,500 former students. I remember the gentleman who says he’s sorry
now, as a bright young guy and a pleasure to have in a classroom.
I would wager he’s a good man, too.
At
any rate, I had been thinking about putting together a list of the “Top 25”
reasons, I’ll be voting against Trump in November. But the more I pondered my
shame—or, rather, lack of—the more the list grew. So, in no special order, here
are a “few” of the reasons that make it impossible for me to register anything more
than complete disdain for the current President of the United States.
Am
I “biased?” I guess I am.
I don’t like assholes.
I don’t like assholes.
REASONS I’M NOT ASHAMED
1.
Trump is a coward. He was happy to avoid serving in Vietnam. I don’t think he
had bone spurs at all.
2.
I enlisted in the Marines on December 28, 1968. I remember my mom weeping, the day
she and my dad drove me to the induction center in Cleveland.
3.
In the summer of 1969, I volunteered twice to go to Vietnam. (I’m not arguing
here that I’m not dumb.) Only the fact my staff sergeant was a racist and
wanted to get rid of a black Marine kept me out of harm’s way.
 |
| Me in my youth. I ended up a clerk in a supply unit. Later, when I became a teacher, I told students, "I defended the country with a staple gun." |
4.
The “pussy-grabber” tape made me think. Would I want a guy like Trump around my
daughters? Never. (Did you know Trump later theorized that the voice on that tape wasn’t him?)
5.
I wouldn’t want a guy like Trump to be my car mechanic.
6.
I was appalled when he told Bill O’Reilly that Vladimir Putin wasn’t such a bad
killer. Putin has had journalists tossed off fifth floor balconies. Bulgarian authorities have
just charged three Russian members of an assassination squad with poisoning several people.
7.
Trump sounded pathetic when the Saudis had the journalist Jamal Khashoggi cut up
with a bone saw.
8.
I’m a fan of the free press even when I don’t like what the free press is
saying. For example, Laura Ingraham and her nightly howling. Trump, by contrast,
has said—forty times, alone, on Twitter—that Fake News
media is the “Enemy of the People.” I don’t trust any politician who calls critics
the enemy of the people. As a former history teacher, I hear the echo of fascism.
10.
Trump has been accused of sexual improprieties by twenty women. He’s being sued by
Summer Zervos, one of his alleged victims, for defamation. His lawyers are
trying to delay the case because he’d be forced to give a deposition.
 |
| Zervos, the accuser, left. Trump, the grabber, right. |
12.
Following the slaughter of 17 teachers and students in Parkland, Florida, Trump
said GOP lawmakers were “afraid of the N.R.A.” Turns
out he was, too. Nothing has been done since to address the issue of rampant gun
violence.
13.
After Trump insulted Sen. Ted Cruz’s wife’s looks, the senator called him a
“sniveling coward.” Score one for “Lyin’ Ted.”
14.
My former student should probably consider how much “respect” Citizen Trump, the pillar of “birtherism,” showed for Mr. Obama. The secret
ingredient in that recipe, I have always believed, was half-a-cup of racism.
15.
When Trump finally had no choice but to admit that Obama was born in America,
he blamed Hillary for making him say, repeatedly and for
years, that he didn’t think Obama was born in America. You might have thought Trump
was nothing more than a ventriloquist dummy.
16.
In a hacked email, General Colin Powell said if Trump was elected, he’d be “a national disgrace.” Prescient, I’d
say.
17.
The Trump Foundation, purportedly a charitable institution, has been shut down by the courts and ordered to repay $2 million in
misused funds. That includes the $10,000 spent to purchase a giant portrait of
Donald J. Trump. Don Jr., Eric and Ivanka were also named in the lawsuit. The
president called prosecutors in the case “political hacks.” Because, of course
he did.
18.
In the 1980s, Trump hired undocumented workers from Poland to build Trump
Tower in New York City. He got his cheap ass hauled into court after failing to
pay all their wages. He fought payment for years; but lost in court.
19.
Trump University: a scam operation.
20.
Trump hated it when President Obama played golf. As of today, he has spent 259 days on the
links since taking office.
21.
Trump claimed he saw thousands of Muslims in New Jersey celebrate the fall of
the Twin Towers. No one has seen the tape Trump says he saw since.
22.
Trump claimed in late 2015 that there were 93 million Americans out of work. All the good jobs reports
coming from the Bureau of Labor Statistics, which made Obama look good, had to
be “rigged.”
22.
Trump brags about creating more than seven million jobs since taking over. His source: The Bureau of Labor Statistics. Trump also claimed that Ivanka had created 14 million jobs. That
was delusional.
23.
Trump fans love Trump Math. I don’t understand it. You start with 93 million jobless
workers. You take away the seven million jobs Trump says he has created—or even
the imaginary 14 million—and the 2.5 million jobs created under Obama in late
2015 and 2016. Presto!! Unemployment stands at 3.5%.
24.
I’m not “ashamed” to say I believe in addition and subtraction. If the Bureau
of Labor Statistics says the 3.5% figure is
right, I accept that. But the “93 million” number was a colossal lie.
26.
There’s also that $30,000 payoff to the doorman who said there was a
housemaid and a Trump love child.
27.
I like to joke that Trump lies when talking in his sleep. Only Melania really knows.
And maybe Stormy Daniels. Trump told reporters traveling on Air Force One that he
knew nothing about payments to Daniels. Investigators and the free press eventually
turned up signed checks.
28.
Trump knows almost no U.S. history and I doubt he could find Ukraine on a blank
world map. In 2017 he thought Frederick Douglass (dead since 1895) was still
doing an “amazing job.”
 |
| Most definitely dead. |
29.
Trump said the Japanese and South Koreans should have nuclear weapons of
their own. Once again, the president proves clueless when it comes to the
dangers of nuclear proliferation.
30.
Even Trump fans have to admit that in June 2016, three top members of his
campaign met with Russians—in Trump Tower New York. Those three: Don Jr., Jared
Kushner and Paul Manafort.
31.
All three kept the meeting secret. The New York Times first broke the story on July 8, 2017. (See #194.)
32.
Manafort is serving 7.5 years in prison, for tax evasion and money
laundering, among other crimes.
33.
If I’m going to pay taxes, and you are, too, I’m not ashamed to say guys like
Manafort should fork over, as well.
34.
Trump has fought efforts to have his tax records released all the way to the U.S. Supreme Court. I’m
betting he’s hiding the fact he pays very little, or nothing at all.
35.
The U.S. military does a great job. But we spend $2 billion per day on
national defense. So, if we’re going to have a strong military, even Trump and
his children will have to pay their share.
36.
Commerce Secretary Wilbur Ross, to pick just one of several examples from Trump’s
cabinet, is known to have most of his loot stashed in offshore tax havens, including the Cayman Islands.
38. During
the fight to “repeal and replace,” Trump told reporters
the new Republican healthcare plan was “a great plan…very, very, incredibly
well crafted.” When opinion polls showed only 12% or 17% of voters approved,
Trump blamed lawmakers for dumping a “mean” and crappy plan on his desk. (See
#126.)
39.
The president’s attacks on the free press are, from my pro-Bill of Rights point
of view, beyond the pale. If nothing else, the free press does a great job of
calling out crooks in government. See, for instance, former Rep. Chris Collins,
a Republican recently sentenced to 26 months behind bars.
42.
I’m no fan of fascists. Does that mean I’m “biased?”
43.
Lord Acton was right when he warned. “Power corrupts, and absolute power
corrupts absolutely.”
44.
I’m going to go out on a historical limb and say Lord Acton would be a “Never
Trumper” if he were alive today.
45.
I don’t know how Trump and Hannity and the rest managed to convince 67% of Trump supporters that Obama was a Muslim; but
they did. I thought they were stirring up hate for political gain.
46.
Last time I checked, the U.S. Constitution said an individual’s religion
or lack thereof could never be the basis for holding any office of public trust.
47.
I’m at least as avid a fan of the First Amendment as my conservative friends
are of the Second.
48.
Those folks love their guns.
49.
I don’t believe the Second Amendment would have been dead if Hillary won. Last
I heard there were 390 million guns in private hands in this country. That
seems like more than enough. Unless we want to start arming babies.
50.
I think we need gun reform—like universal background checks.
51.
I have studied the U.S. Constitution. I’m pretty sure Trump hasn’t. In Article I, Section 8: We read that Congress shall “provide for
organizing, arming, and disciplining, the Militia.” That clause is in
the original Constitution, adopted in 1789, two years before the Bill of
Rights.
52.
Congress once banned assault rifles under that clause. Like two out of every
three Americans, I think that’s a good idea.
53.
I thought Trump screwed the Kurds, our most loyal allies in the fight against
ISIS, when he said he was pulling troops out of Northern Syria last fall. Then
he sent troops back to save the oil. The
guy lacks empathy.
54.
The Iran deal wasn’t perfect—but Trump sounds like a fool when he says it was
the “worst deal in history.” After eight years in office, when Obama stepped
down, Iran had zero nuclear weapons.
55.
0.
56.
Iran continued to abide by the deal till recently. Now we have no deal and came
within a whisker of stumbling into a war.
57.
I don’t blame Trump because he can’t get Kim Jong-un to give up all his nuclear
weapons. Diplomacy is always a bitch—as every president has found—and every
future president will.
58.
Still, it was ridiculous when Trump said, in June 2018, that North Korea was no longer a nuclear threat.
59.
It was pathetic when Trump claimed he would have won the Nobel Peace Prize if they gave it out “fairly.”
60.
I was repulsed when Trump said he might deport the 800,000 “Dreamers,” most of whom came to
this country as children and grew up here and consider themselves Americans. By
the way, hundreds of Dreamers serve in the U.S. military. (See #1 and #175.)
61.
Trump has trashed NATO, the most successful alliance in United
States history. Recently he reversed direction and said he really hoped our NATO allies would
help out more in the Middle East.
64.
He also said he could end the war in Afghanistan in ten days if he just killed ten million Afghans.
65.
My god. I could end the war in Afghanistan if I did that; but I wouldn’t,
because I’m not nuts.
66.
Trump did not “inherit a mess.” Obama did. In the year leading up to his inauguration
in January 2009, the economy shed three million jobs. You can look up the numbers provided by the Bureau of Labor Statistics.
67.
I’m not ashamed to say I consider it dangerous when Trump insists the federal courts are
“rigged.” If he’s going to say that “Obama judges” can’t be trusted, then why
should anyone trust “Trump judges” in the future?
68.
Plus, whenever Trump says anything is “rigged,” and he says it a lot, I’m pretty
sure he’s projecting.
69.
I liked it when Chief Justice Roberts said there aren’t “Obama” or “Trump”
judges. There are only judges. I thought he was standing up for the Constitution.
70.
I’m a huge fan of the Constitution. I don’t think the president is. And all
kidding aside, I think he’s an existential threat to the rule of law.
I
think the man is a menace.
 |
| Locke's philosophy helped shape the U.S. Constitution. He believed in the separation of powers. |
71.
I also fear a guy like Trump who refers to criminals as “animals” and wants to bring the death
penalty into play.
72.
I can’t help noticing that felons play an outsize role on Team Trump. Take, for
example, George Nader, who raised money for the 2016 campaign. That is, when Nader
wasn’t busy sex-trafficking minors. I am definitely “biased” against
sex-traffickers!
73.
Lev Parnas and Igor Fruman, recently indicted for alleged felonious activities, are
currently in the news. Trump claims he doesn’t know them.
74.
Conservatives insist that many of the felons on Team Trump were guilty
only of “process crimes.” Process crimes aren’t so bad.
75.
Paul Manafort and Roger Stone, two of many Team Trump felons,
were nailed for witness tampering, and that tampering involved attempts to
cover up contacts with Russians. (See #194.)
76.
Witness tampering goes to the heart of our judicial system.
77.
Did I mention Natalia Veselnitskaya, the Russian lawyer, who participated in
the secret Trump Tower meeting in June 2016? She got indicted later, herself, but fled to Russia ahead of
law enforcement. (See #30.)
78.
She’s not coming back.
79.
Let’s not forget Konstantin Kilimnik, good pal of Manafort, and target of his
witness tampering efforts. When Kilimnik got indicted he likewise fled to Russia.
80.
Michael Cohen, Trump’s longtime personal lawyer, committed ten felonies. Or was
it eleven? It’s hard to keep track. Two involved campaign finance violations;
and the charging
documents mention the participation of “Individual 1,” an
unindicted co-conspirator in the scheme.
82.
Trump and his enablers are currently making a huge deal about how much the
president really wanted to clean up corruption in Ukraine—and that’s the only reason
he called President Zelensky and put a hold on all that military and other
assistance to an ally.
83.
I can’t believe anyone is dumb enough to fall for that. Trump has never cared
about corruption. (See #103.)
84.
Rep. Jim Jordan is dumb enough.
85.
I was horrified when Richard Spencer, a leading figure in neo-Nazi circles,
cheered Trump’s election.
86.
Spencer’s audience gave an enthusiastic “Sieg Heil” and a good old “Make
America Great Again,” stiff-arm salute.
87.
I’m not ashamed to say I don’t ever want to find myself in agreement with the
neo-Nazi crowd.
88. I know plenty
of friends, neighbors, relatives and former students who support Trump. I don’t
think any of them are closet Nazis. Still, real racists really love Trump.
After the president attacked four Democratic congresswomen of color, Andrew
Anglin, who runs Daily Stormer, a neo-Nazi website responded:
Man, President Trump’s Twitter account has been pure fire
lately. This might be the funniest thing he’s ever tweeted. This is the kind of
WHITE NATIONALISM we elected him for. And we’re obviously seeing it only
because there’s another election coming up. But I’ll tell you, even knowing
that, it still feels so good.
89.
Trump howled and said the four women should go back to the countries where they were born. That
included one who was born in Cincinnati. Add geography to the list of subjects
Trump can’t grasp.
90.
I respect fiscal conservatives. I believe the federal deficit will soon be
unsustainable. The deficit has ballooned since Trump took over, even though he promised his big tax cuts would pay for themselves.
91.
The deficit for Fiscal Year 2019 surpassed $1 trillion. That’s 12 zeroes.
Annual deficits are now projected to average $1.2 trillion every year until 2029.
Even Fox News had to report that.
92.
Mexico never did pay for the wall.
93.
That really sucks.
94.
Like most liberals, I believe in sensible immigration control. I just don’t
think you have to scare your base into thinking that everyone who sneaks into
this country is a psychopathic killer.
95.
When Trump says Democrats don’t care about crime and want to let MS-13 gang
members babysit your children, he’s just stirring up irrational fear. I don’t
think our leaders should appeal to our worst emotions.
96.
I would not want my children or grandchildren to lie as often as Trump does. The
Ninth Commandment, I think, is solid.
97.
I think it’s ironic that the Trump Organization has had to fire undocumented workers, as recently as December.
98.
I don’t think Trump fans know that.
99.
With all those undocumented killers and rapists wandering around Trump
properties, just waiting to spring, does the president ever fear for his life?
Does he think the First Lady is safe?
100.
If an undocumented worker, perhaps a cook at Mar-a-Lago, came after the First
Lady with a cleaver, would Trump protect his wife? Or would his bone spurs
flare up?
101.
I found it sickening when Trump trashed a Gold Star family, mainly because they were
Muslim American.
102.
Some Trump supporters seem to hate and fear Muslims with the same fervor Nazis
hated and feared Jews.
 |
| Terrorists: bad. All Muslims: not. |
103.
Trump’s former personal lawyer, Michael Cohen, says he was working on a deal
for a Trump Tower in Moscow until June 2016, while Trump was running for president. That
would be a massive conflict of interest. Rudy Giuliani later let slip that the
deal may have been cooking right up until Trump won the election.
Jesus
H. Christ, who really believes Trump has ever cared about corruption, past,
present, or future? (See #118.)
104.
Jared Kushner got bailed out of a billion-dollar hole on a
property at 666 Fifth Avenue, by the Qataris. The Chinese also offered to lend
the dough. And you really think the president is mad about Hunter Biden?
(Yes, I realize Hunter Biden was trading
on his name.)
105.
Roger Stone had a secret meeting in 2016 with a Russian who
offered dirt on Hillary Clinton. The Russian wanted $2 million.
106.
Stone told a congressional panel that he never met
with Russians, or anyone who even “sounded Russian” during the campaign. He was
convicted on seven felony counts, including perjury.
108.
Trump talks a lot about pardoning Stone and his many other felonious pals. A
reasonable individual might deduce he’s doing his best to keep the felons from
ratting on him.
110.
Fuck off, “Cadet Bone Spurs.
111.
Trump refers to others as “pigs,” “lowlifes” and “human scum.” I cannot support
a man who routinely dehumanizes others.
112:
As soon as I saw this quote from the Roman poet, Terrence, I made it the theme
of my classes. I’m pretty sure Trump wouldn’t get it.
113.
Trump’s political foes are never just foes. He insists they are
“treasonous” and “sick” and “sick people,” and don’t love our country, our flag
or their own children. That’s inflammatory speech.
114.
I am not a fan of inflammatory speech.
116.
Repeat #114.
117.
Trump said “repeal and replace” was going to be easy. Then he said “nobody knew how complicated healthcare
could be.” Everybody knew. Except Trump. The guy’s an absolute bonehead.
118.
On several policy issues, I agree with Trump, like pressuring China on trade. It
turns my stomach, though, when he refers to Xi Jinping as a “friend” and “an
incredible guy.” China is still a country of rigid censorship, re-education
camps, and massive political graft and corruption.
119.
China locked up more journalists last year than any other
country. Maybe that’s why Trump likes Xi.
120.
When it comes to climate change, Trump is way down the road past dumb. Globally,
we have just experienced the five hottest years on record. When asked for
comment, Trump insists he’s all for “clean air and clean water.”
121.
I’m sorry if this sounds “biased,” but the president sounds like a numbskull.
122.
Trump has claimed that windmills cause cancer. He once said energy-efficient light bulbs caused
cancer too.
(Sound of thousands of scientists
smacking their foreheads.)
 |
| Cancer-causing death machines! |
123.
Trump recently railed about water-saving toilets and how he had to flush ten or
fifteen times to get them to work.
124.
Have you ever flushed a toilet fifteen times, even once in your life?
125.
You need a plumber if you did. Or, maybe, a therapist.
126.
Trump says he’ll have a new, better healthcare plan ready, but not until after the next election.
127.
I am not buying that.
128.
Trump claimed recently that it was he who “saved” protections—under Obamacare—for
people with pre-existing conditions.
130.
Trump promised in 2015 that he would always protect Social Security. On January
22, 2020, he was asked if Social Security and other entitlements cuts
might be on his agenda. “At some point they will be,” he said. That did not go
over well with his aging base of supporters. The next day, Trump insisted he
would “save” Social Security. (See: #90 and #91.)
131.
I was repulsed when Candidate Trump said he thought torture worked and he’d be in favor of more
torture if elected. I taught history. I know torture works…if you want people
to confess to being witches.
132.
It also works if you want to oppress entire populations. See, for example, Sophie Scholl and the Gestapo.
 |
| Tea, anyone? |
135.
I didn’t like it when Trump said he’d pay the legal fees for a
man who sucker-punched a protester at one of his rallies. Trump only likes
people who protest against the government if they’re in Iran.
136.
I think people who kneel at sporting events have a right. I don’t think they do
it to disrespect our soldiers or the flag.
138.
I think kneeling is like the Tea Party folks marching around with their
tri-corner hats, accessorized with dangling tea bags. I think those guys must
be pretty sad, what with all the red ink flowing currently.
139.
I thought the Citizens United decision, with
five Republican-appointed Supreme Court justices in the majority, was a huge
mistake. I am not a fan of Big Money shaping all our political campaigns. I thought
Merrick Garland should have been given a hearing and a seat on the U.S. Supreme
Court, too.
140.
Trump says if an opening occurs on the U.S. Supreme Court, and
he has even three days left in office, he’ll push to get a choice confirmed.
Sen. Enabler Mitch McConnell has said he’d go along.
141.
I’m not ashamed to say, I don’t think billionaires are going to die if they
have to pay a higher tax rate.
142.
If I had a billion dollars right now, I’d be happy. If you took half in taxes, I’d
still be happy. I don’t think that makes me a socialist, though.
143.
I admit, I don’t know how we pay for it, but I think all Americans should have
access to good healthcare. I think all children need good care when they are
sick. I don’t mind paying my share to help. (See: #34-37.)
144.
I like it when the EPA protects our fragile environment. I’m a big fan of
national parks, myself.
145.
One of my conservative friends got mad when I wouldn’t credit Trump for
donating his first paycheck ($78,333.32) to support the national parks.
146.
It didn’t make her any happier when I pointed out that Trump wanted to cut the budget for the National Park Service
by hundreds of millions of dollars. I think she was trying to apply Trump Math.
(See #23.)
 |
| My wife Anne and me: Rocky Mountain National Park. |
147.
Trump’s first EPA director, Scott Pruitt, stepped down in the face of at least a dozen
investigations involving abuse of office.
148.
My favorite—Pruitt ordering his Secret Service detail to drive him around
Washington D.C. so he could find his favorite soap.
149.
Tom Price, another early cabinet guy, got booted after
running up a tab of more than $1 million to fly around at taxpayer expense.
That didn’t seem much like “draining the swamp” to me.
150.
Go back and re-read #82. Or #103. Or #118. There’s no evidence that Trump ever gives
a shit about corruption, here or abroad.
152.
It was funny when the Interior Department promised to open up more leases for offshore oil and
gas drilling. Then someone realized…um…Mar-a-Lago? An exception was promptly made
for waters off Florida’s east coast.
153.
I’m not an idiot. I remember the giant mess BP made in the Gulf of Mexico. Unlike
President Bonehead, I don’t believe government regulations are always a problem.
154.
We’re screwing up the environment; we need to up our game when it comes to protection.
See, for example, the Great Pacific Garbage Patch.
155.
When Trump talks about protecting our right to sip from plastic straws, he’s missing the point. (Science is definitely not his
strong suit.) You can even purchase 10 Trump plastic straws for $15, and help
his 2020 reelection campaign. Then you can throw more plastic in the ocean.
Choke a whale!
156.
Republicans are pushing laws to ban abortions, even in cases where young women
have been raped.
157.
I used to tell my daughters, if you get pregnant, I won’t pay for an abortion;
but I’d damn sure have taken them if they had been raped.
158.
I’m horrified to learn that states like Alabama are passing laws denying all right to choose,
even if a child is going to be born without a brain. That’s a condition known
as anencephaly.
159.
You can also look up babies born with all kinds of defects, including both male
and female sex organs.
160.
I read the Bible, start to finish, because I taught Ancient World History the
last part of my career. (I read the Quran, too.) As far as I could see, the
word “abortion” was nowhere to be found. I do not remember any Psalm, either,
in which it is set down that life begins at conception.
161.
I don’t think those people back in 1000 B.C. knew much about embryos. So, I’m
not ashamed to say, I don’t know on exactly what basis the absolutists on abortion
make their case.
162.
The word “abortion” definitely does not appear in the U.S. Constitution. As I’ve
said, I’ve read the entire document. Many times!
163.
On the topic of religion, I’m pretty sure Paula White, Trump’s spiritual
advisor, is in the “game” to make some serious jack.
164.
That figures, because we’re talking about Trump and his often-larcenous inner
circle.
165.
White says that opposition to Trump is “resisting the hand
of God,” because it was God’s plan to put him in charge.
166.
I guess you could say the same about Hitler and Stalin and Mao and the “divine
right of kings.”
 |
| Louis XIV definitely believed God chose him to rule for 72 years, and 110 days. |
167.
Nothing in what I’m saying is meant as an attack on Christianity. I’m just not
sure anyone has a corner on religious truth. I will say I bet you could find a
thousand better Christian faith leaders than Pastor White, in the Cincinnati area
alone.
168.
I’m not ashamed to admit that even though I’m a liberal, I often wish others “Merry
Christmas.”
169.
I think the “War on Christmas” was an imaginary conflict from start to end. Same
with the “War on Coal.”
170.
If I was going to fight a war, I’d declare “War on Big Pharma,” the guys who claimed opioids were perfectly safe. I’d be way
more afraid of those people than I would of people wishing others, “Happy
Holidays.”
171.
My cousin Bill was gay. He saw combat in Vietnam. Bill was a gentle soul and never
hurt anyone—except, I guess, when he was a helicopter door gunner in 1966-67. So,
I’m not afraid of gays. (See #1 and #2.)
172.
I’m not afraid of transgender people either. I’m still not sure why Trump thought it was a good idea to
kick several hundred of them out of the military when they were willing to
serve.
173.
Even “gender” can be a complex matter. (See #159.)
174.
Trump acts like he’s the greatest patriot of all time. But it’s not as if Trump
family members are going to rush down and sign up now that all those spots in
the Navy and Air Force have been opened up as transgender service folks are
kicked out.
175.
No Trump has ever put on the uniform of the United States. It’s a family tradition
dating back to 1885.
(Blogger’s Note, 10/15/21: This is in error. Trump’s older brother, Fred Jr., did serve as a member of the Air National Guard.)
176.
My Irish ancestors would be barred from entering this country under new
immigration rules put in place by the Trump administration. Probably, many ancestors
of Trump’s biggest fans would have been barred, too.
177.
I thought it was unacceptable when the president trashed General James Mattis, after
Mattis resigned his cabinet post.
178.
Mattis had a great comeback
recently, saying he earned his spurs on the battlefield. Trump earned his spurs
in a letter from the doctor. I like Gen. Mattis way more than Trump.
179.
The president says Rex Tillerson, the man he picked to be his first Secretary of State, was “dumb
as a rock” and “lazy at hell.” That’s kind of an indictment of Trump’s
judgment, I would say. (See #180.)
180.
Trump gave reality-TV star Omarosa a job in the White House, putting taxpayers
on the hook for her hefty salary. When she turned on him, he called her a “dog” and a “lowlife.” Again: an
indictment of Trump’s judgment.
181.
I took a dislike to Trump as soon as he came down that escalator in 2015, announced he was running, and intimated that all
immigrants were “murderers” and “rapists.”
182.
I admit the future First Lady looked hot.
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| Looking stylish and attractive, as always. |
183.
Trump has all the characteristics of a person suffering from Narcissistic Personality Disorder.
184.
I wouldn’t want Trump as a neighbor. And I would never be able to tolerate him
as a friend.
185.
Trump claimed that 3 to 5 million illegal votes were cast
for Hillary and that the election, which he won, was “rigged.” I am not aware
of any state officials who have supported that claim with hard evidence.
186.
Kris Kobach, Kansas Secretary of State, did support the claim. But when he went
after all the illegal voters in his state, he came up with…nine…and that was over the course of
several elections.
187.
At least two of those nine were Republicans.
188.
In January 2019, a Texas official did claim that 95,000 undocumented
individuals were registered to vote in his state—and that 58,000 already had.
189.
Trump tweeted the news. Boy, was he mad!
190.
When officials in the 254 Texas counties were tasked with cleaning up the
voting rolls, they found that in some cases the lists of “undocumented” voters
provided by the state were wrong…oh…100% of the time. It was so embarrassing state
officials very quickly and quietly dropped the matter.
(Of course, Trump never corrected his
tweet.)
191.
Like 65% percent of Americans in a 2018 poll, I believe Trump is dishonest from the tips of his toes up.
192.
I’m sorry, Trump fans, but I kind of wonder what’s wrong with you if you don’t grasp
what a liar your orange idol really is.
193.
We have all kinds of evidence to show that Trump and his enablers lied about
their reasons for cutting off aid to Ukraine. We saw witnesses. Trump’s long track
record of lying should give even his biggest fans pause. The man lied to all
three of his wives. You think he wouldn’t lie about this?
194.
Speaking of a track record of lies, we now know that multiple members of Team
Trump 2016 have admitted (often under legal duress) that they did meet with
Russians during the campaign.
Here
we may quote Trump aide Hope Hicks, who at least was not a felon, speaking on November 10, 2016. That would be two
days after Trump defeated Clinton. “We
are not aware,” Hicks said, “of any campaign representatives that were in touch
with any foreign entities before yesterday.”
Yes. She said “any.”
195.
At that point all kinds of Trump aides and the president-elect himself knew Hicks
had told a whopper. We know today that the following Trump aides had indeed had
contacts with Russians during the campaign:
Don
Jr.
Jared
Kushner
Paul
Manafort
Rick
Gates
Michael
Cohen
General
Michael Flynn
George
Papadopoulos
Roger
Stone
George
Nader
Felix
Sater
196.
Let all Trump fans face a harsh reality: Trump was letting Hicks lie, and
letting it happen two days after he won office.
197.
When the Mueller Report was released in March 2019, almost every sentence was footnoted
and backed by evidence—emails, phone records and witness testimony. Trump immediately
announced that the report offered “complete and total
exoneration.” Clearly, he had never read it—or he had, and he was lying. A
sample from that report should suffice to prove the point:
The
investigation established multiple
links between Trump Campaign officials and individuals tied to the
Russian government. Those links included Russian
offers of assistance to the campaign…Ultimately, the investigation did
not establish that the campaign coordinated or conspired with the Russian
government in its election-interference activities.
(See
#195.)
198.
After noting that multiple members of Team Trump 2016 lied to investigators,
and that “those lies materially impeded the investigation,” and that aides and the
president himself had multiple “direct and indirect contacts with witnesses
with the potential to influence their testimony,” Special Counsel Mueller was clear. “If we had confidence after a thorough
investigation of the facts that the
president clearly did not commit obstruction of justice,” he wrote, “we
would so state. Based on the facts and the applicable legal standards, however,
we are unable to reach that judgment.”
Mueller
continued: “The conclusion that Congress may apply the obstruction laws to the
president’s corrupt exercise of the powers of office accords with our
constitutional system of checks and balances and the principle that no person
is above the law.”
199.
Put plainly, Mueller had little doubt, that Trump had obstructed justice in
regard to the Russia investigation.
200.
Now he’s obstructing justice again, in exactly the same way, regarding the
story of his interactions with Ukraine. That is, he’s stiffing Congress in all its
requests for documents and witnesses. One can only pray that enough senators will
agree with the “principle that no person is above the law.” If they fail to
stand up, and it looks like none of the Republicans will, “our constitutional
system of checks and balances” is at grave risk.
If
a president can refuse all lawful subpoenas in one case—as Trump already has
(although there’s a case in the courts against him)—then every corrupt
president for the next 200 years can do the same.
So,
to sum up, I would argue that Trump is the first president in history who
deserved to be impeached twice. I am not ashamed to say I have contempt for the
man.
And
if I am “biased” in favor of the rule of law, so be it.
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| Two in the photo, Fruman, second from left, Parnas in the middle have been indicted. Rudy could be next. |
P.S.
Both Vice President Pence and President Trump have insisted they don’t know who
Parnas and Fruman are.
