December 3, 2018: President Trump Attacks Robert Mueller, and Says Roger Stone Has "Guts."

Robert Mueller.

12/3/18: Trump is ALIVE!!! He’s back in Washington and back to work tweeting insults and tampering with witnesses. Clearly, he realizes the Mueller investigation is closing in. 

He knows, if he ends up in jail, Melania is not coming to visit. 

First, he attacks Michael Cohen, his former fixer, for pleading guilty and fingering him in the process. According to Trump the rat should go to jail forever. His wife and parents ought to go to jail too – and his children – and his dog – and his pet goldfish! Trump is judge, jury, and asshole, rolled into one. Trial by tweet! It takes the president two shots to lay out his “case:”  

“Michael Cohen asks judge for no Prison Time.” You mean he can do all of the TERRIBLE, unrelated to Trump, things having to do with fraud, big loans, Taxis, etc., and not serve a long prison term? He makes up stories to get a GREAT & ALREADY reduced deal for himself, and get.....

 

 ....his wife and father-in-law (who has the money?) off Scott Free. He lied for this outcome and should, in my opinion, serve a full and complete sentence.

 

First, we have the president putting an orange thumb on the scales of justice and pushing one side down. 

Next, we have a little not-so-subtle witness tampering! Trump tried this gambit with Cohen back in April, insisting he’d never turn against him. (Wink, wink: Michael, hold out and you can expect a pardon!) 

 

But Cohen flipped. Now, Trump says, Cohen is “weak.” 

Knowing the circle is being closed around him, Trump flails away. This time he’s hinting at a pardon for a different underling: 

“I will never testify against Trump.” This statement was recently made by Roger Stone, essentially stating that he will not be forced by a rogue and out of control prosecutor to make up lies and stories about “President Trump.” Nice to know that some people still have “guts!” 

 

“In the face of great personal danger.” 

Stone is the guy who testified in front of Congress that he never met with any Russians during the campaign. Then he had to amend his testimony and admit he did (after the “Fake News” people uncovered the details). 

Finally, Trump lashes out at Special Counsel Mueller: “Bob Mueller (who is a much different man than people think) and his out of control band of Angry Democrats, don’t want the truth, they only want lies,” Trump tweets. “The truth is very bad for their mission!” 

In other words, Stone has “guts” because he’ll lie to protect Trump. Mueller is not the man people think he is.

 

Coming from Trump, there’s a bit of irony in these tweets. Mueller had the “guts” to join the Marines and saw combat in Vietnam. When Trump’s feet hurt too much to serve, Mueller was bleeding for his country. As a Marine officer he was caught in one firefight and awarded a Bronze Star with “V” for valor for leading his men out of a danger. In a second firefight, on 22 April 1969, Mueller was “seriously wounded.” For his actions that day he was awarded the Navy Commendation Medal with “V” for valor. A squad-size patrol under his command had come under fire from a large enemy force in ambush. “Completely disregarding his own safety,” the commendation reads, 

First Lieutenant Mueller led the remainder of his platoon in an attempt to relieve the beleaguered squad…By his courage, aggressive leadership and steadfast devotion to duty in the face of great personal danger, First Lieutenant Mueller inspired all who observed him and upheld the finest traditions of the Marine Corps and of the United States Naval Service.

 

By comparison, Stone had “guts” like Trump had “guts.” He managed to avoid serving in the military. Born in 1952, he was the perfect age to enlist in 1970, had he wished. No thanks. He wished to head to college, where he would remain safe and sound and un-punctured by enemy fire. 

In 1972 he did go to work for the Nixon campaign, making him a small cog in the most corrupt administration (until now) in U.S. history. 

In 1976 Stone was elected president of the Young Republicans. His campaign manager was Paul Manafort. 

In 1980 the two men formed a lobbying partnership with a third individual; and because they lobbied for a variety of brutal dictators, the firm won the nickname, “The Torturers’ Lobby.” 

These are the kinds of people you continually uncover when you look under the rocks of Trumpistan.

 

* 

WE ALSO LEARN TODAY, from Roger Stone’s lawyer, that his client has invoked the Fifth Amendment rather than hand over requested documents to the Senate Judiciary Committee. Because nothing says, “I did not meet with Russians during the 2016 campaign,” like pleading the Fifth. 

Gary Smith, his attorney, calls it a simple “assertion of a Constitutional right by an innocent citizen who denounces secrecy.”

December 28, 2020; December Deaths from COVID Surpass U.S. Death Toll in Vietnam War

 

12/28/20: Last week, Trump aides realized it looked bad to keep putting out daily schedules that read: “The President has no public events scheduled today.” (As, we saw on November 4, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 14, 15, 17, 18, 19, 23, 25, 28, and December 1, 4, 6, 9, 11, 13, 15, 19, 20, 21, and 22.) 

The new formulation, which means the same – that Trump is doing a whole lot of nothing – is only slightly better. For December 24, 25, 26, 27 and 28, the White House release reads: “During the Holiday season, President Trump will continue to work tirelessly for the American People. His schedule includes many meetings and calls.” 

Yes. TIRELESSLY!

 

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The death toll from the coronavirus will soon surpass the toll from all flus in the last ten years. This was never “just a flu.”

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This is quite amusing, since at a 9:32 this morning, the president headed for his golf course in West Palm Beach again. 

There he squeezed in Round #320 since taking office, having sworn while a candidate in 2016 that he’d never take time off from working for the American people, because, really, all he liked to do was work, work, work. And occasionally boink a porn star or some other female he was not married to at the time he was married to some other female, such as current First Lady Melania Trump.

 

The coronavirus numbers remain grim, although Lame Duck Don no longer cares. On Christmas Eve, the country hit a high for COVID hospitalizations, with 120,151 sufferers filling beds. There has been a slight decline since, which could be a ray of hope. Or it may be a function of people not wanting to go to the hospital during the holidays, and health agencies being closed and not reporting all the numbers in recent days. 

Hopefully, with vaccines coming online, we’re seeing the start of a downward trend. Deaths from the coronavirus reported in recent days: 

12/24:  2,804

12/25:  1,692

12/26:  1,309

12/27:  1,345 

 

As of 12/27, then, the toll for December is 63,260 American dead. That tops our losses during the Vietnam War. 

If we consider how often the president and his right-wing media enablers said, “Don’t worry, this is just a flu,” that would mean the December toll would be greater than losses during any of the flu seasons in the last ten years. With CDC reporting 332,246 deaths, all told, loss of life from this virus will undoubtedly surpass the combined total of flu deaths in the U.S. in the previous decade.

 

 

(Total known and/or estimated deaths in the last ten U.S. flu seasons: 359,000.)

November 11, 2021: A Quiet Veteran's Day at Mar-a-Lago

Former President Trump and his family were enjoying lunch at Mar-a-Lago this Veterans Day. As often happens at family gatherings, those who served their country opened up a little and reminisced.

 

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“I’d like to see those bone spurs.”

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Eric Trump had had far too much champagne. His words came out slurred when he asked his dad, “Di granpu ’ver talk about wha he did in World War I?” 

His stepmom gave Eric the side-eye. The former president’s dad was 13 when World War I ended. 

Eric clearly meant World War II.

When called to serve, Trumps don't answer.

 

Eric’s dad doesn’t drink and answered proudly. “Are you kidding? Your grandpa didn’t serve. He was 36 when the Japanese bombed Pearl Harbor. He wasn’t a sucker who wanted to fight for his country and get blown to bits. He stayed home, safe, and warm, and procreated with grandma. He made a killing in housing construction, especially after millions of vets returned from the war. Some were missing arms and legs, and wanted to start families and buy homes.” 

Barron Trump piped up, “What about those men and women who never returned?” 

Don Jr. cut him off: “Good old grandpa. That guy knew how to make a million bucks, and then dodge taxes, too.” 

A dinner companion, John Galt, interjected, “Didn’t George Washington once compare money to the “sinews of war?”

 

Galt noticed that Barron, seated next to Melania, looked perplexed. “Sinews,” Galt added. “Without proper financing, without tax revenue to spend, Washington meant, a military can’t hold itself together for long.” 

“Taxes!” the former president snorted. “We don’t pay taxes in this family, unless we get caught.” 

Everyone at the table, save Galt and Barron, enjoyed a hearty laugh. 

“Yeah,” Jared Kushner said. “Ivanka and I went years and never paid a dime to the federal government. My own dad taught me that.” 

“Did you ever serve in uniform, Uncle Jared?” Barron asked. “What about you, Uncle Eric? Or you, Uncle Don?” 

Barron’s father spoke up. “Son, we Trump’s don’t like to get shot. There’s no money in serving your country. And don’t you forget it. Remember that loser, John McCain? Got shot down on a bombing mission over North Vietnam. I don’t like guys who get shot down – and don’t make all the money they can. Don’t be a fool, son. Don’t get sent to someplace like Iraq or Afghanistan, or anywhere else, to get maimed or killed. Only dopes enlist.” 

“But didn’t President Biden’s son Beau join the…” Barron started to say. 

At the words, “President Biden,” conversation came to a halt. Barron’s mom kicked him under the table, to get him to shut up.

 

Don Jr. tried to cover up the awkward moment, telling his younger half-brother, “Barron, no Trump in our direct line has ever served. We plan to keep it that way. We like to talk about patriotism because the suckers fall for it every time. I was 23 when the 9/11 attack occurred. I was young and immature. What did I know? But I knew enough to realize I didn’t want to have my arm, or face, or wiener shot off.” 

Eric winced a little, and shook his head to counteract the effects of too much drink, “I wa olee 17. I coul have enlished if dad had said yeah.” 

“Like I would have ever!” the former president responded. “We’re the ‘Fighting Trumps,’ right!” 

There was general merriment at the table, save for Galt and the youngest member of the clan. Galt, a college friend of Ivanka’s, was sorry he had accepted the invitation to dine with the Trumps. These weren’t the conservative values he had been raised by his parents to embrace. 

These were no values at all.

 

Ivanka spoke next. She could tell Barron was feeling bad. “Barron, you’re young. You might be idealistic now. You’ll figure it out. Trumps don’t fight for their country. They watch others march off to war. Your great, great grandfather Friedrich Trump, who first came to America in 1885, was fleeing military service in Bavaria. He passed the tradition down. Look at Dad. He could have gone to Vietnam and tramped through rice paddies and hacked through jungle. But he’s a brilliant man. He convinced a doctor to write him a letter, and say he had bone spurs, and couldn’t serve. He got…what was it, Dad? Four draft deferments?” 

“Five, honey,” Don Sr. replied with pride. “I just kept right on going to college, while poor chumps got drafted and killed, until the war ended. I knew I was completely safe.” 

“Even Jared knew enough never to enlist,” Ivanka added with a kindly smile for Barron. “He was 20 when terrorists hit New York City…” 

Don Sr. interrupted, “I was there that day. I saw the Twin Towers collapse.” Don Jr. nodded. He had seen them fall, too. 

“Do you think he was foolish enough to enlist?” Ivanka continued. “Thankfully, no. Now, Barron, we’re lucky. We’re all raising our families, safe and sound. We’re going to pass down the tradition to our children, and we hope they will pass it down to the next generation, and the next.” 

“Trups don’ sev,” Eric said, and then passed out, face down in his plate.

 

Don Jr. gave a cruel laugh, both at Eric’s fate and Barron’s childish worldview. “Come on, Barron. Get real. Dad made sure Lt. Col. Vindman didn’t get the promotion the U.S. Army said he deserved, after he testified under oath during the Ukraine impeachment. Dad insulted General Mattis. He trashed General Kelly. He said Admiral McRaven was a loser. You  don’t think we really care about the men and women who serve, do you? We only pretend to respect them so that we get what we want.” 

“Well, I’ve got a golf game in fifteen minutes,” Barron’s father added. “So, if you’ll excuse me, I’ve got to go get my clubs and shoes.” 

“Dad,” Barron tried again, “did you ever get your feet x-rayed back in the day. I’d like to see those bone spurs…” 

Donald patted his son on the head. “My boy, someday, you’ll understand,” he smiled.

 

Eric lifted his face from his plate. He had mashed potatoes and gravy up his nose. “Wha?” he mumbled, and then passed out and toppled from his chair. 

After the servants carted Eric away, and his father left the table, Barron tried one more time. “Mom,” he wondered, “when I turn 18, do you think Dad would be proud if I joined the Marines?” 

More like he’d be proud if you banged a porn queen, his mother thought to herself. 

All she said was, “We’ll see, Barron. We’ll see.”