Donald Trump Archives - Page 17 of 23 - Institute of History, Archaeology, and Education

One Small Step for the Penguin-Walk President or One Giant Leap for the Fox President?

March 12, 2020
by Peter Feinman

The favorite venue for this President is the professional political wrestling arena. He literally feeds off the emotion and energy there. For the seventh-grade-smart-aleck-dumb-aleck the professional political wrestling arena is a dream come true. He can say whatever he wants, act however he pleases, and make up whatever “facts” occur to him. There is no teacher, no principal, and no school superintendent to control him. In fact, he is the superintendent!

One of the acts he likes to perform is the penguin-walk President. He goes all stiff with arms down his sides and waddles a few steps. He adds a commentary about how this is how the adults in the room tell him to behave as President. Then he laughs at them for championing such rigid behavior. After all, wasn’t he elected precisely to destroy such conduct?

There are a few times when the immature child President knows he has to behave like an adult. For example, the State of Union. Just like the child who knows he has to behave at a funeral or some other occasion, Little Donee Waney can behave properly…for a short period of time, but that’s it.

Then there are the unexpected times when America wants him to act as an adult and he can’t – Charlottesville, Puerto Rico, and now, the coronavirus. One would think by now We the People would know he simply isn’t wired to do so but we hope for the best and then are disappointed once again when he fails to be an adult.

His penguin-walk persona (which is separate but related to his running on air off a cliff behavior, see Running on Air off a Cliff: The Coronavirus and the Real World), provides a window into the mind of the child trying to pass for an adult. It genuinely reveals how the seventh-grade-smart-aleck dumb-aleck perceives the role of the President. For him, acting presidential is what he does when he is in the professional political wrestling arena, not when he is speaking to the nation from the Oval Office or standing alone at a White House podium. It demonstrates the impossible challenge facing him when circumstances beyond his control force him to assume the adult mantle.

His White House coronavirus speech of March 11, 2020, was one such moment. When the Unpresidential Library is built, this speech will be one of the highlights. Visitors will have the opportunity to see and hear Franklin Delano Roosevelt after December 7, Ronald Reagan after the Challenger, George Bush and Rudy Giuliani after 9/11, and Little Donnee Waney during the coronavirus. In the years to come, visitors to the Unpresidential Library will gasp in horror and shock as this immature child struggled to pass for an adult. It will become a lesson for teachers of American history.

The speech would have been more effective if it simply had been distributed as a handout. It was not the creation of a President writing on a legal pad, typing on a computer, or even tweeting and then giving it to others to polish for the presentation. The speaker was unfamiliar with words, struggled with phrases, and didn’t understand what he was reciting. He looked and acted uncomfortable because he was. Remember, his view of the President as an adult is of a stiff, rigid penguin. He was out of his element and out of his league.

Remember how much fun Little Donne Wanee had had just ten days earlier mocking the height of Mike Bloomberg by ducking down behind the lectern?

Our President Having Fun while the Hoax Virus Miraculously Disappears

This picture of him during the coronavirus when everything supposedly was contained and the count of 15 was miraculously dwindling to zero also will be in the Unpresidential Library. It will hang right next to a picture of Nero fiddling while Rome burned.

A float depicting President Trump as Roman Emperor Nero in the traditional Carnival parade in Mainz, Germany, on Feb. 24. (Michael Probst/AP)

THE DEEP STATE IS BIGGER THAN FOX IMAGINED

The reaction to the pitiful performance was worse than even the nightly Fox diatribes against it.

BREAKING NEWS

The E.U.’s top officials condemned President Trump’s Europe travel ban, saying the decision was “taken unilaterally and without consultation.” (NYT, Fake News)

The European leaders are well aware of the mental shortcomings of the immature child President of the United States. They laugh at him to his face at the General Assembly. They laugh at him behind his back at international conferences. They probably laugh at him more times than we know. Still no matter how much he insults and alienates them, they know that American leadership is needed to solve global problems. They know it for climate change and they know it for the coronavirus.

As soon as Little Donee Waney announced the 30-day ban on travel from Europe, they knew the moron in-chief had done it again. My own immediate reaction after gasping was to think of the American travelers who would be stranded in Europe for a month. Where would they stay? How would they pay for it? If they were traveling with medicines, how would they get refills? If they needed to be back in the United States for family and business, what would happen? I am sure other people had equally puzzled reactions to this announcement.

Sure enough almost as soon as the speech was over, the American Government began issuing correctives. What he said was not what he really meant. Why expect clarity in the single most important speech of his presidency? Do you really think he has a White House staff capable of ensuring the final product was coherent?

I presumed he personally knows of someone currently in England so he exempted England from the travel ban so that person could get home. I could be wrong. What’s your explanation?

In any event, his botched performance led to this headline:

Trump address sparks chaos as coronavirus crisis deepens (CNN, Fake News)

President Donald Trump set out to steady a rattled nation and a diving economy in a solemn Oval Office address, but instead sowed more confusion and doubts that he is up to handling the fast-worsening coronavirus crisis.

Trump’s top assignment on Wednesday was to show that he was in charge and that he appreciated, finally, the grave nature of the weeks that lie ahead. But the confusion over the travel ban turned his speech into something of a debacle and may up exacerbating uncertainty over his leadership.

“I don’t think there’s confusion,” Pence said on CNN’s “New Day.”

Who the hell does Vice President Mike Pence think he is deciding for us whether or not we are confused? Why were there so many corrections issued afterwards if the President of the United States was crystal clear? It is one thing to sell your soul, but did he have to abandon his common sense with it?

BREAKING NEWS

U.S. stocks plunged again, as investors reacted with dismay to President Trump’s latest effort to address the coronavirus outbreak. (NYT, Fake News)

European leaders weren’t the only ones to cast judgment against Little Donnee Waney. Wall Street did too. Almost as soon as the speech was over the stock markets began to tank. And they continued to do so throughout the day. Wall Street like Europe knows better than to trust Fox. It could see with its own eyes that the President of the United States wasn’t up to the job of being a leader in a time of crisis. The judgement has been harsh.

Some of the decline has been due to the hit the economy is going to take from the coronavirus.

Some of the decline has been due to the oil battle between Saudi Arabia and Russia (will the world’s greatest dealmaker negotiate a deal?)

Some of the decline has been due to the recognition that we are in a crisis and no one is in charge…or at least, no adult is.

The presidential speech did have one positive impact despite its shortcomings.

The day coronavirus became real for millions of Americans (CNN, Fake News)

Even Trumpicans who watch Fox should be starting to learn that the coronavirus is a real threat that is only going to get worse contrary to the claims of the Fox announcers save for Tucker Carlson.

Is the NBA also part of the Deep State?

Is the NCAA also part of the Deep State?

Is Tom Hanks also part of the Deep State?

And what about the upcoming baseball season?

Meanwhile on the Bull-Trump network, the speech of our Lord and Savior, the Chosen One, Blessed Be His Name, was the greatest speech since the Sermon on the Mount. Such bold and decisive leadership showing full command of the subject and demonstrating the ability to contain and defeat the disease. And remember Trumpicans like mainland Chinese get their news from only one source, the government propaganda network…unless they also watch basketball, unless they also like Tom Hanks, unless they opened their bank statements at the end of February or will do so at the of March.

There is one way to get through to Trumpicans. Margaret Sullivan (Washington Post, Fake News) suggested that

Rupert Murdoch could save lives by forcing Fox News to tell the truth about coronavirus….So imagine if the word flowed down from on high that Fox News should communicate to Trump that he needs to take an entirely new tack on the virus. Imagine if Murdoch ordered the network to end its habit of praising him as if he were the Dear Leader of an authoritarian regime and to instead use its influence to drive home the seriousness of the moment.

Or imagine if Murdoch replaced Hannity with Tucker Carlson. Fat chance. But for a sneak look at what is really important in the Trumpworld and what has the highest priority, it is just what you would expect:

The Trump team is now working overtime to question Joe Biden’s mental fitness (CNN, Fake News)

It’s always about him.

Running on Air off a Cliff: The Coronavirus and the Real World

March 11, 2020
by Peter Feinman

If Only We Lived in a World of No Gravity!

Here is what I wrote last June 19:

There is a longstanding cartoon routine of someone running off a cliff. The figure may be human or an animal and it is almost always male. The figure runs straight off a cliff and then appears to be running on air. The laws of gravity are suspended and the figure remains aloft, legs churning. Finally comes the moment of truth. He realizes his predicament and looks down. There below him, far, far below him, is the hard ground. Suddenly reality takes over. The result is SPLAT! Actually, since the fall does not kill him, it’s not too real.

So far that moment of truth has not yet arrived for the current cartoon character running on air. He has managed to maintain his illusions for far longer than I would have anticipated. There has been no Cuban Missile Crisis. No 9/11. And his hurricane failure occurred in Puerto Rico and not Louisiana. Thanks to John McCain and a few others he was not able to strip Trumpicans of their healthcare otherwise the Trump really would have hit the fan. Is it really possible to sustain his delusions for an entire four-year term?…

There are a few simple tests to monitor his grasp of the real world, his willingness to operate it, and his success if he tries. We don’t need to wait to see how he deploys his campaign resources to know if he is operating based on real polls or his fake polls. We’ll know in a month because of health care.

“You’ll see that in a month when we introduce it. We’re going to have a plan. That’s subject to winning the House, Senate, and presidency, which hopefully we’ll win all three. We’ll have phenomenal health care.”

So claims the very stable genius who is the smartest person in the room and the only one who can solve America’s problems.

That month of waiting for his “phenomenal health care” plan has long come and gone.

Now he says

“the people are getting better, they are all getting better”

“You may ask about the coronavirus, which is very well under control in our country.”

“We’re doing a great job with it. And it will go away. Just stay calm. It will go away.”

And there will be a miracle. Now it is the vaccine which will be ready soon, soon, very soon. Imagine if we did have a “phenomenal health care” plan as promised last June and people didn’t have to be worried about the cost of coronavirus healthcare.

Playtime is over for our immature child president. Try as he might with his Fox assistants, ignoring, denying, and insulting the real world doesn’t cut with the coronavirus. When it first appeared, mainland China tried the Trump approach. It suppressed whistleblowers. It ignored the facts on the ground. It stood by while people died. And then its leader took credit for solving the problem and being an example to the world of what every other country should do. So besides in trade, the Middle Kingdom and the City on a Hill now are competing as to who should be recognized as the world savior.

America initially followed a similar path as mainland China. The impact of the coronavirus was downplayed. Democrats and the media were insulted. It was all a hoax. Still the stock market tanked and the numbers of infected and died rose. These past few days I have received too many emails about conferences cancelled, lectures postponed, and places closed.

This morning I woke up to see the street where I grew up on the front page of the newspaper. For most of my life, New Rochelle was best known for Dick Van Dyke. Now the National Guard will be enforcing a containment area in New Rochelle that looks like it includes the house where Carl Reiner once lived. It is a strange feeling to see your childhood community on the front page with the words “National Guard” and “containment.”

At this point, no one knows what is going to happen. Eventually, of course, the coronavirus one day will pass as an imminent threat. No one knows when that day will or how much damage it will cause. No one knows how long it will take for normalcy to return.

Think back now to the ancient crisis of the targeted killing of Iranian Major General Qassim Suleimani. Today, March 11, would have been his birthday. On a personal note, March 11 also was the birthday of my father and of a neighbor around the corner from us in New Rochelle, Benjamin Ferenz, the Nuremberg lawyer. Today he is celebrating his 100^th birthday. I hope he is in Florida and not at his home in New Rochelle or else he would be caught in the lockdown too.

It was only two months ago when Suleimani died but in Trump time that is eons of crises ago. At the time, Peter Baker (New York Times, January 6, 2020), began an article with:

For three years, President Trump’s critics have expressed concern over how he would handle a genuine international crisis, warning that a commander in chief known for impulsive action might overreach with dangerous consequences.

But this time the crisis is not self-induced. This time it can’t be solved by behaving like a seventh-grade-smart-aleck-dumb-aleck. This time it can’t be solved by Hannity and his parade of Flying Monkeys who have sworn to defend the Wicked Witch of the White House. Iran and mainland China have their own Hannitys, too, and saying “Death to America” won’t solve their problems either. “Lock her up” and “Build a wall” aren’t enough. We need real leadership.

Part of the challenge is coping with the uncertainty. It is no secret that stress aggravates all other physical conditions. Our mental health pays a price for ongoing stress whether it is the abused wife who never knows when she will be struck again, the workers who never knows when they will be laid off or what time their next shift will be, or the kid who never knows when he will stopped by the police. Now We the People know that uncertainty and stress. Where will the coronavirus strike next. If I get it, will it kill me? Besides any specific legislative action, We the People need our Comforter in Chief to tell us not that everything is alright since we know better but that everything will be alright.

No one is less qualified to be America and world’s Comforter in Chief than our current President. He can’t do sympathy. He can’t do empathy. He can’t tell the truth. It’s always about him. It’s always about what he has done. If he tried to be Rudy Giuliani on 9/11, the results would be frightening. He cannot understand why in a moment of crisis, Americans would prefer the calmness of Joe Biden to the ongoing stress of what will this President say, tweet, or do next. Fortunately the coronavirus crisis is not like the Cuban Missile Crisis where a single action might destroy the world. Fortunately he hasn’t eliminated all the government employees with professional abilities in health care and who will speak truth to power. Fortunately these health professionals can be the adults in the room.

This is one crisis where the solution will be despite the President instead of because of the President since on his own our immature child President would drive We the People over a cliff while yelling how great he was.

Can anything get through to him?

Maybe the plunging Dow Jones. Wall Street knows better than to believe him or Fox. After all it was in New York where America’s biggest individual financial loser first made his mark as a con artist who could not be trusted.

Maybe the rich people he helped get richer know the truth and share with him the true situation including how poorly his performance is playing in Peoria.

Maybe watching some of the leading Congressional Trumpicans self-quarantine, including people who were in direct physical contact with him will bring the real world home to him.

Maybe Tucker Carlson will get through to him in a way Sean Hannity hasn’t:

“In crisis, it’s more important than ever to be calm. But staying calm is not the same as remaining complacent. It does not mean assuring people that everything will be fine. We don’t know that. Instead, it’s better to tell the truth. That is always the surest sign of strength.”

Maybe it will be the senior White House official said, “The gravity of the moment was pretty clear.”

Does he at last understand the gravity of the situation? Does he at last understand that real leadership is needed? Does he at last understand that Fox can’t solve the problem? We may know in 60 minutes.

Hoax Claims 5000 Dow Jones Points: No Miracle in Sight

March 9, 2020
by Peter Feinman

The Presidential Plan for the Coronavirus

White House press spokesperson Sean Spicer today announced that President Trump’s Dow Jones drop was bigger than Barack Obama’s. In fact the biggest individual financial loser in American history now may be the biggest stock market loser in American history as well.

White House fabulist Kellyanne Conway said you do not even need alternative facts to realize how great a loser the current President is.

President Trump twitted that he has authorized Attorney General Bill Barr to investigate the Deep State and its Wall Street allies for the ongoing drop in the stock market. The disloyal traitors responsible for the decline will be identified and held accountable.

President Trump twitted that the coronavirus was a Fake News hoax that was being weaponized by the Democrats to do what the Russian and the Ukrainian hoaxes had failed to do: undo the election of 2016.

President Trump twitted that Kris Kobach was being brought back to the White House. He will be investigating the FAKE NEWS reports of deaths allegedly due to the coronavirus beyond the 15 people first identified by the President. The same people who were responsible for millions of fraudulent votes in the 2016 election are back to their old dirty tricks falsifying medical records to provide a dishonest picture of what is really happening. And if there is any President who knows about the falsification of medical records it is Bonespur Boy. The dishonest traitors who are harming our country will pay the price for their actions.

Mike Pence announced that all efforts to develop a vaccine have been stopped. Our Lord and Savior, the Chosen One, Blessed Be his Name, has declared that with the warming in April the coronavirus will die a natural death. And thanks to global warming that warming will evcen occur earlier. Therefore there is no need to develop a vaccine. And it was going to be ready for distribution in a few days anyway. Furthermore the coronavirus is just like the flu and the flu never killed anyone. Pence also announced that his head is not on the chopping block. There is no truth to the rumor that he will be replaced by Nikki Haley especially if the Democrats nominate a woman for Vice President.

President Trump twitted that just as he said there were 15 people who had the coronavirus, they were getting well, and the number of infected was dropping to zero (and not because they all died either).

The Secretary of Health and Human Services has contacted former members of the military and intelligence services for advice on how to prepare simple briefing cartoons and pictures for Little Donee Waney since he lacks the attention skills to read an adult briefing book. Elementary school reading and science teachers have been retained to develop the necessary “Dick and Jane” briefing books.

President Trump twitted that he could have been a Nobel-award-winning scientist if he had followed in the footsteps of his super genius uncle. Remember how he solved the problem of the California fires through his analysis leading to the admonition to “Make America Rake Again.” Remember how he solved the problems of Puerto Rico after the hurricane by throwing rolls of paper towels to people. Wasn’t that fun! Remember how he asked Michael Bloomberg for advice after the 2016 election. Remember how Bloomberg suggested he hire people smarter than him. Remember how he replied to Bloomberg that he was the smartest person he knew. Aren’t we lucky that in our moment of need that we have a very stable genius in charge?

Think of all the actions the world’s worst manger took to prepare for this crisis.

He ensured that all critical departments were led by acting department heads often with no professional expertise except for lobbying to help rich people get richer.

He ensured that the funding for critical departments like the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and the global health security unit of the National Security Council were slashed or eliminated since why waste money where it wasn’t needed. Why fund the World Health Organization or the Pan American Health Organization for their work in trump-hole countries?

He ensured that all allies had been alienated and that no would expect American leadership in a FAKE NEWS crisis like climate change or the coronavirus.

What a superb job he did and the voters in 2020 will be sure to praise him for his foresight and managerial expertise.

Who can forget his calm words of patience to soothe the troubled mind?

“The market’s in great shape.”

On a positive note, the President did order a box of Sharpies so he could doctor the medical charts to provide the American people with accurate information about the path of the coronavirus which he predicted would hit Alabama.

It isn’t as if we haven’t heard this story before. In The Andromeda Strain, it only took four days for a small team of scientists to solve the mystery of this deadly contagion from space. We should be so lucky. The ending rings true today:

At the Senate Hearing, one of the hero doctor postulates that another biological crisis can occur. The senator tartly asks, “What do we do about that?” The doctor grimly redirects the question with, “Precisely, Senator. What do we do?”

In Outbreak, the Centers for Disease Control contributed to the curing of a deadly virus that had crossed over from a monkey to humans similar to ebola.

In Contagion, the Centers for Disease Control helped save the world after millions had died and anarchy had prevailed due to deadly pathogen. The cause of the outbreak of the contagion:

A final flashback occurs. We finally see what caused the global epidemic. A construction crew from Beth’s company AIMM was cutting down trees in a forest in China. That caused some bats to fly out. One bat was infected with the virus. It grabbed a piece of banana and perched above a pig’s pen. It dropped the banana piece which we are to assume had the virus on it. A pig eats it and is eventually slaughtered at market for food. A chef handles the dead pig, touching the inside of the infected pig’s mouth with his bare hands. He goes out to dining room and poses in a picture with Beth holding hands, transferring the virus to her and starting the chain of events.

But these were movies. If only there had been some real world example in recent history involving a pathogen that crossed from animal to human that we could learn from instead of having to reinvent the wheel! Something that even the current President was familiar with and had twitted about, but no such luck!

Benchmarks for Crisis

1. Have more Americans died from the coronavirus than from the flu? Then what’s the big deal?

2. Are the people who died from the coronavirus Trumpicans? Then what’s the big deal?

3. Are gas prices lower now? Isn’t that a good thing?

4. Are the people losing money in the stock market people who voted for me? That’s a big deal!

Ultimately in a time of crisis, it helps to have a voice of authority who can speak the truth to us in a way that can comfort us and provide hope. If only there had been some real world example in recent history of a person rising to the occasion to calm the country at a time when it was terrorized.

Rudy Giuliani said he would be the hero again during the Ukrainian impeachment hoax. Perhaps now that his country is in danger he could abandon the nonsense that has made him a joke and return to the real world. He could offer to show Little Donee Waney the crisis management skills that he had used in 9/11 that calmed the nation and enabled us to go on.

But even if Giuliani did try we know what would happen. The President of the United States would tell him to stick to the Ukraine and leave the current crisis to the real leader. After all, by the time all this fuss is over he will win the Nobel Peace prize for saving the world just as he already had for denuclearizing North Korea. Life is so much easier and more fun when your world is one of childish play and you are an immature child who lacks the mental necessities and cognitive skills to understand the adult world.

March 5, 1720: Reliving the Boston Massacre

March 4, 2020
by Peter Feinman

Boston Massacre, March 5, 1720 (https://www.bostonhistory.org)

The American Revolution is upon us. While at the Federal level, the commemoration is likely to be limited to July 4, 2026, in Philadelphia, the actual 250^th anniversaries have already started and will continue until November 25, 2033, when the British finally evacuated New York City and the United States.

This commemoration will be different from others. Not only will we be remembering what happened at the birth of the country, we will be reliving it. How hard is it to identify our King George III and his Loyalists? We already have witnessed the purging of Patriots, of people who placed duty to the law over loyalty to the king. These efforts to cleanse the government of Patriots until only Loyalists remain will continue.

As previously mentioned, the Declaration of Independence is the functional equivalent of an impeachment while the war to remove King George III from office was fought in the Senate (The Gospel According to Rick Perry and the Rule of Law).

Events like the Boston massacre itself contributed to the ultimate break with the crown for abuses of power. An example of the American Revolution in current terms was expressed recently in an article published on February 15. I clipped it and saved it for March 5 little knowing that the Biden Comeback and Coronavirus would dominate the news cycle. Portions of the article are posted below. Some of the words have been changed but unfortunately not as many as should have been necessary.

The King George administration is deploying law enforcement tactical units from the southern border as part of a supercharged arrest operation in sanctuary cities across the country, an escalation in the king’s battle against localities that refuse to participate in immigration enforcement. Tactical units will be quartered in the disloyal cities that do not comply with the edicts issued by the king.

The move reflects King George III’s persistence in cracking down on so-called sanctuary cities, Patriot localities like Boston and New York, which have placed rights under the law over obedience to the king.

The deployment of the tactical units to be quartered in the disloyal cities will run from February through May, according to messages sent to the British soldiers.

Among the agents being deployed to the sanctuary cities are members of the elite tactical unit known as TRUMPTAC, which acts essentially as the SWAT team of the Royal forces. With additional gear such as stun grenades and enhanced Special Forces type training, including sniper certification, the tactical units will be able to mow down any gathering of Patriots that seeks to hinder the actions of the forces of their Lord and Savior, the chosen one, blessed be his name.

Their presence could spark fear. A former commissioner of these Royal forces said sending the officers to conduct immigration enforcement within cities where they are not trained to work, cold escalate situations that are already volatile. He called the move a significant mistake.

The operation reflects an increasingly hawkish approach by King George III against disloyal Patriots following the firing and resignations of leaders who have been viewed in the White House as unwilling to take the harsh steps King George III and his advisers view as necessary to crush the Patriot movement.

The Royal forces will not be busting down doors or engaging in shootouts, said one official with direct knowledge of the operations. “We are not looking for a repeat of the Boston Massacre.”

A Patriotic spokesman said, “This s about further militarizing our streets. It could actually have deadly effects. We could see Royal officers who are aren’t trained for interior enforcement using aggressive force.”

So far the physical violence and death in the historic Boston Massacre have not yet been repeated in the current reliving of the war between the Patriots and the Loyalists. So far the war has been fought mainly through the courts and in actions not taken. Our King George III will resist doing anything on behalf of New York just as the original King George III focused on Massachusetts. California has replaced Virginia as the biggest state/colony and similarly draws the ire of the King.

Instead of Congresses meeting in Philadelphia, we have states banding together through judicial action to resist the decrees of the King. These efforts often have proved fruitful but such actions only encourage the king to unleash his Attorney General against disloyal states and to seek to appoint more Loyalist judges. It is reasonable to anticipate that at some point, these actions may lead to civil disobedience. Will the Loyalist forces shoot their own neighbors, friends, and family? Will the Loyalist forces consider the targets to be their own neighbors, friends, and family or will they view them as scum and traitors as they repeatedly have been told by the king and his propaganda network? There is a lot riding on this presidential election.

As an example of how overheated the current conflict will become, look at what happened the very day Joe Biden became the likely opponent of Little Donnee Waney. Immediately upon the results becoming clear, the Flying Monkeys, the Senators and Fox sworn to defend the Wicked Witch of the White House at all costs, went into overdrive.

Flying Monkey Senate Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Chairman Ron Johnson convened Trumpican members of his committee for a closed-door meeting to discuss issuing subpoenas against the disloyal traitors. Interestingly, the current breakdown of the committee is 7 Trumpicans, 6 Democrats, and 1 Republican, Mitt Romney. In a previous blog (Where Will Mitt Romney Caucus in 2021?), I raised the question of how would Romney caucus in 2021 as the lone Republican left in the Senate: with the Trumpicans or the Democrats? We may have an early preview here of what to expect in the next session. Too early to tell.

Flying Monkeys Johnson and Senate Finance Chairman Chuck Grassley are requesting records that can be used to attack Biden.

Flying Monkey Senate Judiciary Chairman Lindsey Graham is ramping up his committee’s probe into the FBI’s targeting former Trump campaign adviser Carter Page.

And then there is the Trumpican propaganda network. Recently it had been foaming at the mouth against the dreaded socialist takeover the Democratic Party and the existential threat socialists pose to the American way of life. Now as the threatened socialist red wave subsides at least for this election, Fox now has to shift gears back to the Bidens. Are you ready for seven months of relentless over-the-top assaults by Duped-again-by-Russia Hannity of the Bidens? Do you have a choice?

Speaking of Duped-again-by-Russia Hannity, let’s not ignore Putin’s effort to re-elect his asset. Putin already has had a bigger effect on the 2020 elections than he had on the 2016 elections. First there was the Seth Rich sting. Then there was the Steele Dossier sting. Now there is the double sting of Ukrainian involvement in the 2016 elections and the Bidens. Trumpicans will believe anything Putin tells them. It is not just King George III choosing Russia over his own intelligence departments, it is the Trumpican Senators and Fox swallowing hook, line, and sinker every single story the KGB concocts. Talk about Bernie honeymooning in the USSR, what about Hannity believing everything Putin spoon feeds America through Ridiculous Ruddy, attack mutt?

So as we commemorate the 250^th anniversary of the Boston Massacre, let us recognize that there is a new King George III ruling the country and he will do everything in his power legal or not to ensure that he remains in power. The one saving grace is that Bonespur Boy probably will not pull the trigger even against traitors but if the polls start to show next fall that his reign is in jeopardy, who knows what he might do if he thinks he is going to lose his presidential immunity.

The Battle for Bill Barr: Where Is His Loyalty in a Country based on the Rule of Law?

February 19, 2020
by Peter Feinman

Where Is Barr's Allegiance? (Official White House Photo by Shealah Craighead)

Remember when Matt Whitaker was the Acting Attorney General? It’s only a little over a year ago when he stepped down. Remember how unqualified he was for the job? Remember the concerns over what he might do on behalf of his boss? Remember how he auditioned for the job on cable talk shows? Think of how easily he could have snapped Little Adam Schiff in half if he had had the chance. Remember how you wanted him to be replaced by a real Attorney General?

Be careful what you wish for.

On paper, at least, Bill Barr seemed eminently qualified for the job. He had the potential to bring professionalism to the job just as various military people would do to various jobs in the White House. Surprise. Surprise. Surprise.

As we now know, the new Attorney General had only two specific jobs:

1. Indict the Deep State
2. Protect the Trump State criminal syndicate.

So now a year later how is he doing as the rumors swirl over whether or not he will resign and whether or not he should resign.

INDICT THE DEEP STATE

All things considered, he has not done so a good job so far in indicting those who are the enemies of the President of the United States. It is not because he objects to the Department of Justice being weaponized as a legal hit squad for the President of the United States (unless it was by Barack Obama or some traitor Democrat who wanted to do so). The problem has been so far he hasn’t been able to make the facts fit the Fox narrative.

For months, Fox had been fulminating if not frothing at mouth in anticipation of the Inspector General report that would blow the lid on the greatest corruption conspiracy in the history of the United States. Finally after having to put up with Fake News Witch Hunt Mueller Hoax, the truth would be revealed. At last, the American people would have inconvertible proof that everything Duped-Again-by-Russia Hannity had said was true. But alas, the report proved to be a nothingburger save it confirmed some of the liberal complaints against the FBI for abuse of power.

Then there was the Andrew McCabe fiasco. His name was drawn through the mud time and time again both by Little Donee Wanny and the Fox propaganda machine. He really was raked through the coals. It was only a matter of time, before this thoroughly corrupt person paid the price for his role in the Deep State attack on the duly elected President.

Surprise. Surprise. Surprise. McCabe didn’t only beat the rap, there was no rap to beat. After all was said and done, McCabe wasn’t simply acquitted, he wasn’t even charged! The DOJ decided it could not even bring charges against the officially-designated disloyal traitor member of the Deep State. Imagine that. There wasn’t even enough evidence against him to impanel a grand jury. How pathetic.

Was the Deep State going to get away for perpetrating the greatest corruption scandal in the history of the United States?

There is still one more arrow in the quiver to slay the Deep State. Hope springs eternal on Fox. All eyes now turn to Durham. He certainly knows what is expected of him. He must prove that the Russia investigation was a complete hoax perpetrated by disloyal traitors and that Flynn was not guilty. He certainly knows that he needs to deliver an indictment of the Deep State prior to the Trumpican Convention launching the official campaign season. Or if he cannot do it by then, then at least as an October surprise. That way there would be little time to react before the election and it would be fresh in people’s minds that America’s greatest president had been the target of America’s greatest corruption conspiracy.

But what if despite all the trips to Italy, this final report turns out to be a nothingburger too? Suppose all that is found is small potatoes or “process crimes” in the words of Fox? What then?

Barr is trying as best he can to deliver the goods the Trump State wants. Suppose in the words of the last impeachment, there is no there there, then what? Suppose he doesn’t have the goods? He knows that if all he has are Fox talking points that will be insufficient to get a Washington, DC grand jury to indict.

To wrap up Task #1, so far there is nothing to show for the efforts to indict the Deep State, the clock is ticking, and the odds are against any indictments that fulfill the desires of Fox and the Impeached One.

PROTECT THE TRUMP STATE CRIMINAL SYNDICATE

Task #2 is an entirely different story. On this task, Barr shows great success with even more to come.

First, he torpedoed the Mueller report. True, Mueller did a horrendous job presenting the report to the American people. Barr simply thrust the sword into the straight arrow out of his league in a media crazed world. Success story #1.

Second, he put the kibosh on all Mueller-initiated probes handed over by the Special Counsel to the various district attorneys. All these avenues of investigation to pursue and everything came to a dead halt. Success story #2.

Third, he put the kibosh on the whistleblower report. That attempt to squelch the truth proved unsuccessful and the President of the United States was impeached. No success here.

Fourth, he is squeezing the investigation of all things related to Ukraine to ensure that nothing dangerous, i.e., truthful, about the obstruction sees the light of day. Nobody who participated in the obstruction conspiracy will be indicted. The Russian information on the Bidens and the Ukraine will be treated like gospel unlike the Russian information in the Steele Dossier. Watch Duped-again-by-Russia Hannity enthusiastically embrace everything spoon fed by Russia this time around. Success story #3.

Fifth, he moved to reduce the sentence of Roger Stone. His actions here have been eclipsed by the Impeached One. Since the sentencing is scheduled for after this blog is posted, it is too early to tell what the impact will be on the browbeating of the judge. This is a no-decision yet item.

In the meantime, there have been other developments related to Barr’s performance.

At least one attorney quit in protest.
Multiple attorneys withdrew from Stone case.
More than 2,000 former Justice Department officials who served in Republican as well as Democratic administrations have signed a statement calling on him resign.
Federal judges have called an emergency meeting in response to the antics of the Impeached One.
The rank and file are grumbling as they watch their integrity besmirched.
The Attorney General has been demoted by the Impeached One to being the second highest law enforcement official in the land.

All in all, it is easy to understand that a person with even a shred of dignity and self-respect might be feeling the pressure even as he is dedicated to fulfilling the desires of our immature child-president. Has he no sense of shame? Has he no sense of decency? Look at what is happening in a country based on the rule of law by the would-be highest law enforcement official in the land.

Attacking the Deep State when there is no evidence to support it.
Attacking judges.
Attacking the DOJ.
Pardoning criminals who show no remorse and doing so on a whim outside of channels.

Is there a limit to how much abuse Bill Barr will take in the weaponization of the DOJ to attack the Deep State enemies of the Impeached One and to defend the cronies of the Trump criminal syndicate?

And if he does resign, who would become the Attorney General?

Even with Mitch McConnell steering the way, is a bruising Senate battle to approve a replacement during a presidential campaign the best course of action? Why not simply appoint an Acting Attorney General? Who would he appoint if his current “Roy Cohn” resigned?

Ridiculous Rudy, Attack Mutt.

Be careful what you wish for.

Where Will Mitt Romney Caucus in 2021?

February 17, 2020
by Peter Feinman

Who will have the last laugh? (https://www.rawstory.com)

The Senate is in play. In the 2018 election the House was in play. The majority party predicted a Red Wave would sweep through the House and it was right. The vaunted Red Wave cleansed the country of hundreds of Republican officeholders at the local, state, and federal level. Congressional representatives who didn’t feel the love were history. All in all, it was a stupendous showing that resulted in a more purified Trumpican Party and a much better situation in the House of Representatives. Fox even crowed that the losses were less than Obama had in his first non-presidential year election.

The Senate, however, remained relatively unscathed by the Red Wave. Will that be true this time around?

As we enter the 2020 election year, the breakdown of the Senate is as follows:

52 Trumpicans
1 Republican
45 Democrats
1 Socialist
1 Independent.

The Socialist and the Independent caucus with the Democrats; the Republican caucuses with the Trumpicans. Estimates vary as to how many of the Trumpicans are really TINOs (Trumpicans in Name Only). It is possible a Democrat or Socialist will be elected President or be on the winning ticket as a Vice Presidential candidate so perhaps there will only be 99 or 98 Senators after the inaugural until new state elections can be held. Such developments could work to the advantage of the Trumpicans until a replacements are elected. Many different scenarios are possible. The situation remains very fluid

Life will not stand still between now and Election Day. Consider two recent developments regarding the Senate.

RESTRICTING KING GEORGE III

Recently the Senate attempted to place restrictions on what a President of the United States could do involving Iran. The attempt was laughable. This action followed almost immediately after that very same Senate had given the Impeached President carte blanche do what he wanted. There are no checks and balances. Suppose the bill had passed, been signed into law, and then violated, what would the Senate do? Call for an impeachment? So even putting aside that the bill would not be signed by the Impeached President and that the Trumpicans would never override a veto just as they would not vote to remove him, what, in the real world, was the purpose of this proposed legislation? Why waste any time on it?

The only saving grace is that since there were some Trumpican defections in the Senate vote, it does identity possible TINOs who perhaps one day might become Republicans again.

THE MUNCHKIN VERSUS BONESPUR BOY

It is rare for a Senator to break with a party on an impeachment vote. So far in American history, there is only one instance of a Senator voting to remove a President of his own party. Apparently, the Impeached One thought there was a Democrat who might vote against his party. Joe Manchin, West Virginia Senator, has long been considered one of the more conservative members of the Democratic Party. He has voted more often against his Democratic caucus than with it. There seems to have been a genuine belief that this Senator (and perhaps Doug Jones of Alabama for different reasons) might defect. Obviously that did not happen. The Democratic Party remained united.

So how did the Impeached One respond to Manchin’s failure to be loyal to him over his party? Naturally, he did so with the usual tact and grace which have made him the exemplar of mature responsible adult conduct. The Impeached One called this traitor who denied him a bipartisan acquittal a “munchkin.” Here we may observe the seventh-grade-smart-aleck-dumb-aleck in his element. He always has a wisecrack. Sometimes his barbs are spot on and sometimes they are just silly if not stupid.

This insult fell flat. Munchkins are lovable. They also detest the Wicked Witch of the West Wing. Other than the vague similarity in sound, there was nothing really to connect Manchin and Munchkin. As the Senator quickly pointed out, the two of them are about the same height but Manchin has much less weight than TUBBY WUBBY. Manchin also went to college on a football scholarship while Bonespur Boy only enters the arena if it is scripted and rigged in his favor.

But then Manchin channeled his inner Susan Collins:

“Everybody can change. Maybe the president will change, you know? Maybe that uniter will come out, versus the divider.”

“I hope he changes. I’m looking for that person that has heart and soul and compassion.”

Exactly why after decades of being demeaning, nasty, and insulting, this person in the eighth decade of his life would change defies the laws of common sense. Yet here we have examples of at least two Senators expressing thoughts that have no basis in the real world. It calls into question their judgment on everything else.

MAINE

With that observation, let’s segue into actual Senate races. If Susan Collins was in deep trouble even before the impeachment vote, her wishful thinking about the Impeached One having learned from this case is exactly right but not in the way she means. He has not learned to behave more responsibly. He has learned that he really can murder someone on broad daylight on 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue and not pay a price. The events since he was acquitted are exactly what one should have predicted. The day after Mueller’s abysmal showing on television, Little Donee Waney was back at it with the perfect phone call to his target in extortion. As the past week has shown, the Impeached One is in full force now that he knows he can’t be touched by Congress. Whatever wishful thinking Collins had in mind, she is likely to be lambasted on the campaign trail for the absurdity of her comment especially every time the Impeached One proves her wrong.

Although there are no guarantees, Maine, like Colorado, seems like a pick up for the Democrats.

Consider the other examples where the Red Wave might strike.

Kansas – Trumpican loser of a statewide election in 2018 now going for a repeat loss in 2020 much to the dismay of the Senate Majority leadership.

Arizona – Trumpican loser of a statewide election in 2018 now consistently trailing for a repeat loss in 2020.

Georgia – Trumpican Congressional Representative threatening the election of a Romney-supporter appointed to fill a vacancy.

One additional wild card in any calculations of who will control the Senate is who will win the presidential election and therefore provide the vice presidential vote in case of a tie.

And then there is Mitt Romney. Suppose when all is said and done, the Trumpicans have 50 Senate seats. If they have the additional vice president vote, then Romney can’t change the balance of power. But suppose the Democrats win the presidency. Then Romney’s vote could make the difference. In this case, the Democrats only need a net gain of two to put Romney in the driver’s seat.

In the meantime, the Trumpicans are doing everything they can to excommunicate Romney. The father-son duo insults him constantly. Fox insults him constantly. The Trumpican organizations insult him constantly. Along with Abraham Lincoln and John McCain, Mitt Romney is persona non grata in the Trumpican Party. Lots of scenarios are possible this election year. After all, Manchin might defect himself. But one scenario to keep in mind is the possibility that Republican-and-not-Trumpican Mitt Romney may have the final choice of which party controls the Senate.

Trumpican Senators Expose Fox Fraud: So What!

February 5, 2020
by Peter Feinman

You Can Fool Some of the People All of the Time...and That's Enough

The vote to exonerate the Impeached One will reverberate throughout the election period and beyond in ways too big to address in a single post.

What will the effect be when a President of the United States who thinks Article II gives him permission to do whatever he wants is unleashed with no adult supervision and no checks and balances?

What will be the effect as additional information is revealed documenting the abuse of power?

What impact will those actions have on the voting public?

If you work in the White House and observe additional violations of the law and abuses of power would you become a whistle blower?

When will John Bolton be arrested and muzzled?

How will America celebrate the American Revolution 250^th when half the country is Loyalist and welcomes having a king as President? (See “You’ll Be Back”: Hamilton’s King George III Got It Right.)

Pity the poor people in history museums who attempt to explain to the audience that impeaching King George III and removing him from office to rule over us was a good thing.

Compared to the caucus chaos, a coronation has a strong appeal.

In this blog, I wish to focus on one small slice of the story: the exposure of Fox as a fraud y the Trumpican Senators combined with the recognition that it doesn’t make any difference.

Consider the following.

So-Called Whistle Blower

If I had a dollar for every time the whistle blower was called the “so-called whistle blower” by the Fox Frauds and Friends, I could retire a wealthy person. Over and over again, they referred to him with this pejorative coupled with the insistent demand that he testify. The fact that everything he asserted had been substantiated by witnesses was irrelevant. It was deemed absolutely critical that the so-called whistle blower appear in public. Why?

The answer is straightforward. The Fox Frauds and Friends wanted to assault the whistle blower as a Deep State operative. This person was out to betray our Lord and Savior, the Chosen one, Blessed Be his Name, right from the start. Now finally this person had acted on those beliefs and concocted a story about an abuse of power involving the Ukraine and an attempt to cover it up.

In the end, the Trumpican Senators accepted the description of events by the whistle blower as accurate. There was no truth to the accusations by the Fox Frauds and Friends. They didn’t necessarily agree with the actions of the Impeached One and would not have done it themselves. But such deplorable and despicable actions did not rise to the level of high crimes and misdemeanors warranting removal from office. How did they know that? The OJ lawyer said so.

Read the Transcript

Who can forget the mantra of “read the transcript”? Again and again the Fox Frauds and Friends recited these words. Sometimes they even held up to the camera a copy of the “perfect call.” These words were printed on T-shirts. It was a perfect call. Even to this very day, the Impeached One declares it to be a “perfect call.” The Fox Frauds and Friends echoed that description. It was a perfect call. The whole impeachment thing is a hoax. There is no “there” there because it was a perfect call.

Although…in the end, the Trumpican Senators accepted the perception that the call was not a perfect call. There was no truth to the accusations by the Fox Frauds and Friends. Instead it was a call whereby the President of the United States sought to extort a foreign government to assist in his re-election by launching an investigation of his leading opponent. The Trumpican Senators didn’t necessarily agree with the actions of the Impeached One and would not have done it themselves. But such deplorable and despicable actions did not rise to the level of high crimes and misdemeanors warranting removal from office. How did they know that? The OJ lawyer said so.

Shifty Schiff Congenital Liar

Here is another pet phrase of the Fox Frauds and Friends. They loved to call Adam Schiff a “congenital liar.” They loved to mock him for his height. They loved to mock him for his deranged psychological mental state. They loved to mock him for being incapable of telling the truth. In fact sometimes the virulent attacks by our seventh-grade-smart-aleck-dumb-aleck president sounded as if he were describing himself. In any event, the nightly vilification of Adam Schiff was a source of great fun for the supremely mean and nasty Fox Frauds and Friends.

Meanwhile in the real world, the Trumpican Senators exposed this train of attack as bogus. They accepted that the Impeached One had done all that he was accused of doing. They accepted that the witnesses had accurately testified to what the Impeached One had done. And they did so because they acknowledged that Schiff had done a masterful job in laying out the case against the Impeached One.

Suppose instead of voting up-or-down on the two counts, the Senators had been asked to vote on the specific actions taken by the Impeached One. Suppose they had been asked on this date did this person do this? Or did he say that? Suppose they had been asked to vote on the facts of the case instead of their interpretation of the seriousness of those facts. In that case, the Trumpican Senators would have voted that, yes, the events transpired exactly as Adam Schiff had presented them. The Trumpican Senators would have voted that Schiff was neither deranged nor shifty but had nailed it [with a few exceptions for those believing Senators who drank the Kool Aid].

In the end, the Trumpican Senators accepted that Adam Schiff had done his job. There was no truth to the accusations by the Fox Frauds and Friends. The President of the United States had sought to extort a foreign government to assist in his re-election by launching an investigation of his leading opponent. The Trumpican Senators didn’t necessarily agree with the actions of the Impeached One and would not have done it themselves. But such deplorable and despicable actions did not rise to the level of high crimes and misdemeanors warranting removal from office. How did they know that? The OJ lawyer said so.

Traitor Alexander Vindman

And then there was the traitor Alexander Vindman. This symbol of the American Dream who had escaped the Soviet Union to build a life in the United States when it was still a beacon of light to huddled masses yearning to be free was in fact loyal to another country. He was not submissive to Vladimir Putin on a personal level; instead he was working in service of a foreign government. The attacks by the Fox Frauds and Friends escalated to the extent that it was necessary for the Department of Defense to vouch for his safety. The change from Bob Corker to Marsha Blackburn as the Senator from Tennessee reveals the degeneration of the Republican Party and its replacement by the Trumpican Party.

However, in the end the Trumpican Senators accepted that Alexander Vindman was a patriotic American who had done his job. There was no truth to the accusations by Fox Frauds and Friends. The President of the United States had sought to extort a foreign government to assist in his re-election by launching an investigation of his leading opponent. The Trumpican Senators didn’t necessarily agree with the actions of the Impeached One and would not have done it themselves. But such deplorable and despicable actions did not rise to the level of high crimes and misdemeanors warranting removal from office. How did they know that? The OJ lawyer said so.

In effect, the Trumpican Senators declared every show by Fox Frauds and Friends over the past few months to have been completely bogus. Every charge they levied, every insult they made, every person they demeaned and insulted all were bogus. The Trumpican Senators said contrary to the Fox Frauds and Friends everything the whistle blower said was true, the phone call was attempted extortion, Adam Schiff did his job well, and Alexander Vindman was a loyal, patriotic, and honest American. The Fox Frauds and Friends were wrong about everything.

So what? Does the Fox Frauds and Friends even realize that the Trumpican Senators have exposed them as frauds? Do their viewers? Does their One Viewer of Importance even realize what the Trumpican Senators have acknowledged he did since he still thinks it was a perfect call? As additional emails, documents, and testimony, and possible indictments in New York come to light during the election cycle, the attempted extortion and cover up by the President of the United States will remain in the news.

And what happens if some non-Trumpican IRS clerks think they are above the law too?

This time, the inaugural attendance at the coronation of the Impeached One really is likely to be bigger.

Destroying Cultural Sites: Babylonia, Persia, and America

January 9, 2020
by Peter Feinman

When you come to the fork in the road, take it.

These words of wisdom from the Great Yogi apply to the decision raised by the President of the United States in the conduct of war. What sites are legitimate targets and what sites are not? A commanding officer has options as to what will be destroyed and what will be spared. Such choices have been part of the human experience as long as there have been material objects which could be destroyed. In the actions of Nebuchadnezzar II of Babylonia in modern Iraq and Cyrus the Great of Persia in modern Iran, we have two contrasting examples.

Nebuchadnezzar II

Nebuchadnezzar II was the king of Babylon in the seventh to sixth centuries BCE. During his life he created a Babylonian Empire from the ashes of the Assyrian Empire. He is a figure of study in the secular academic world for his exploits. But his chief claim to fame lies in the biblical world for his actions in Jerusalem.

2 Kings 25:8 In the fifth month, on the seventh day of the month — which was the nineteenth year of King Nebuchadnezzar, king of Babylon — Nebuzaradan, the captain of the bodyguard, a servant of the king of Babylon, came to Jerusalem. 9 And he burned the house of the LORD, and the king’s house and all the houses of Jerusalem; every great house he burned down.

The destruction of the temple became a day of infamy in Jewish tradition remembered to this very day. Babylon also has been remembered in Christian tradition as a result of this action as well.

Revelation 17:1 Then one of the seven angels who had the seven bowls came and said to me, “Come, I will show you the judgment of the great harlot who is seated upon many waters, 2 with whom the kings of the earth have committed fornication, and with the wine of whose fornication the dwellers on earth have become drunk.” 3 And he carried me away in the Spirit into a wilderness, and I saw a woman sitting on a scarlet beast which was full of blasphemous names, and it had seven heads and ten horns. 4 The woman was arrayed in purple and scarlet, and bedecked with gold and jewels and pearls, holding in her hand a golden cup full of abominations and the impurities of her fornication; 5 and on her forehead was written a name of mystery: “Babylon the great, mother of harlots and of earth’s abominations.”

Lo, the whore of Babylon. So while on one hand, one may view the treasures in museums of this mighty civilization, on the other hand, it has earned a reputation of disrepute for the destruction of cultural sites.

Cyrus the Great

A few decades later, Cyrus the Great brought the Babylonian Empire to an end. For his actions, he earned a biblical reputation diametrically opposed to one attained by Babylon. By contrast, he was remembered as a messiah, an anointed one of the Lord, even though he was not of Davidic descent or even Jewish.

Isaiah 44:28 who says of Cyrus, `He is my shepherd, and he shall fulfil all my purpose’; saying of Jerusalem, `She shall be built,’ and of the temple, `Your foundation shall be laid.'” 45:1 Thus says the LORD to his anointed, to Cyrus, whose right hand I have grasped, to subdue nations before him…

What is that Cyrus did that garnered such biblical praise?

Ezra 1:1 In the first year of Cyrus king of Persia, that the word of the LORD by the mouth of Jeremiah might be accomplished, the LORD stirred up the spirit of Cyrus king of Persia so that he made a proclamation throughout all his kingdom and also put it in writing: 2 “Thus says Cyrus king of Persia: The LORD, the God of heaven, has given me all the kingdoms of the earth, and he has charged me to build him a house at Jerusalem, which is in Judah. (See also II Chronicles 36:22-23.)

In effect, the biblical account portrays Cyrus the Great as the un-Nebuchadnezzar. He reverses what the Babylonian king has done. He allows the Jews in exile to return home and to rebuild the temple. Whereas Babylon is remembered as the mother of harlots, the Persian King Ahasuerus marries Esther. Even if you reject the story of Esther as being biologically literally true, it certainly is true from a storyteller’s perspective that an intermarriage between a Persian king and Jewess was believable.

So here we have two forks in the road based on mighty kings and cultural sites. The one who destroys and the one who rebuilds, the one remembered in a city that is the mother of harlots, the other as a messiah, anointed of the Lord, one leading to holiday of Tisha B’Av, the other Purim. How mighty kings treat cultural objects becomes part of their legacy.

Now we have an American version to add to the list. Should a President of the United States target cultural sites for destruction? Which path should he take?

The decision by an American President on whether or not to destroy cultural sites was not based on the careful analysis of an adult weighing the pros and cons of each option. Quite the contrary. The decision was made at the gut level based on what was best for him. Consider the claim that the decision to kill Suleimani was due to the threat of imminent attacks on Americans – it was to save lives. Certainly it is true that if Suleimani had lived a normal life span he would have killed additional Americans. That does not mean there was an imminent threat involving a significant number of Americans therefore warranting immediate action…or that killing him would eliminate the threat.

When the President of the United States decided to announce that he would bomb cultural sites, he did so because in his gut it was the right decision for him.

At no point did he consider whether or not such actions were legal under international law. The thought never occurred to him.

At no point did he consider what the consequences might be. The thought never occurred to him.

At no point did he realize that he would be giving our enemies the license to target our cultural sites. If Iran or Isis wants to target the Statue of Liberty it is a legitimate target but we will stop them. If Iran or Isis wants to target the Lincoln Memorial it is a legitimate target but we will stop them. If Iran or Isis wants to target the Alamo it is a legitimate target but we will stop them.

BUT IF IRAN OR ISIS WANTS TO TARGET A TRUMP PROPERTY THEN THEY WILL KNOW MY WRATH. IT’S ALWAYS ABOUT ME!

Strangely enough, there other overlooked considerations worth noting.

There actually were no cultural sites on the list of 52 targets that were given to him. So why did he act as if there were? Recall what he wanted the Ukraine to do in his extortion attempt. He wanted the country to announce that it was investigating Biden, not that it really had to do so. Similarly here, the skilled media manipulator simply was announcing that cultural sites were targets even though they were not on the list and he had no specific plans to destroy any. He does not even know what any of them are anyway. He was going strictly for the media impact of frightening Iran into thinking this President would destroy every site that is holy to them. Only afterwards did he learn about the law prohibiting it and that he would be a war criminal just like those dictators from Trump-hole countries in Africa.

But suppose he had given the order to destroy cultural sites in a briefing session and not in public. What would the military do? Would the military be loyal to the Constitution or to the individual? Would the Secretary of Defense degenerate to the level of the Attorney General, Acting Chief of Staff, Vice President, and Secretary of State? Think of all the stories and real-life events involving coups where the military seizes power from a civilian government. Ironically, in America, it is the military so far that is willing to defend the Constitution from the Commander in-chief. What will happen after the 2020 elections if that Commander in chief loses? What will the military do then?

Why Did He Wag His Finger Now? – It’s Always about Him

January 6, 2020
by Peter Feinman

America Alone: No One Wants to Play with THE DONALD

Why did he wag his finger now? What was the reason why the President of the United States chose this moment to kill Qassim Suleimani?

Most of this presidency has been what I have called play time. He got to play golf. He got to perform in political professional wrestling arenas. He got to issue hissy fit tweets. Rarely was he called upon to rise to the occasion and be presidential due to a crisis. He even loves to mock the presidential look with his penguin walk. When such crises arose, especially Charlottesville and Puerto Rico, he failed and didn’t care or even realize that he had. Fortunately, he had no Pearl Harbor, no Cuban Missile Crisis, no 9/11. There was no international crisis that demanded a response on the part of the American President. He was able to get away with being an immature child out of his league passing himself off as an adult. Then he created his own crisis. Now he has a real world adult problem. So why did he do it?

NO QASSIM SULEIMANI MANHUNT

Let’s keep in mind that the assassination of Suleimani was not the climax of an extended manhunt. The situation is not comparable to that with Osama bin Laden or Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi. We are not dealing with a person who was in hiding. The issue for previous administrations was not how to find him but whether or not killing would improve or worsen the situation. Once the decision was made to kill Suleimani, it did not take long to find him.

IT’S ALWAYS ABOUT HIM

No matter what the situation and in ways no one else can accurately predict, he always makes it about himself. When 9/11 occurred, his reaction was he now had the tallest building in lower Manhattan. It’s always about him.

If you think his extortion attempt in the Ukraine was about his concern for corruption in the Ukraine, think again or think for the first time.

If you think his cover up and obstruction of the extortion attempt in the Ukraine is about his concern for preserving the rights of future Presidents, think again or think for the first time.

If you think his decision was based on reports from the intelligence services, think again or think for th first time.

If you think the assassination of Suleimani was about an imminent attack and to make the world safer for America, think again or think for the first time.

The challenge here is to try to determine why the assassination of Suleimani was important right now to this one person who happens to be the President of the United. There is no geo-political thinking involved. There is no strategy involved. There isn’t even much thinking involved in this impulsive decision. What was going on inside his brain?

MAN-UP

When he was 13 years old, his father placed him in military school in the vain hope that this immature child would man-up. It didn’t happen. It never will. But it was and continues to be important to convey the illusion that it did happen. THE DONALD is a character he created to express his manliness. He loves acting as THE DONALD. Consider how he defines manliness as so often expressed in his tweets and in the political professional wrestling arena shows.

It means insulting and demeaning women.

It means insulting and demeaning people with handicaps.

It means insulting and demeaning people who are smaller than him or who he can characterize as smaller.

It means mocking people like John McCain as a loser while championing Hollywood-cast brutal killers like Edward Gallagher as real men.

It means falsely claiming that ISIS leader Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi died whimpering and crying.

It means having Hollywood-cast “my generals” reporting to him until they dare to think for themselves and be more educated, disciplined, and dedicated to the Constitution than he is.

It means having a parade with his action toys.

In short, it means the seventh-grade smart-aleck dumb-aleck is in his element being THE DONALD. The only arena he enters is a fake one where the confrontation is scripted. Oh, yes, in the real world he would have been a great soldier if it hadn’t been for this bone spurs. How can you expect him to remember on which foot he faked having them?

So in determining why he chose this moment to have Qassim Suleimani, one needs to keep in mind that first, it was about him, and second, it is about his need to be THE DONALD.

THE REAL WORLD

In the real world of adults, things haven’t fared so well for THE DONALD. World leaders don’t watch Fox and don’t attend his political professional wrestling arena shows. In the real world, the adult world leaders caught on pretty quickly that THE DONALD is an act. They know he is an ignorant, impulsive, immature child. But he is also a dangerous one because of the power he commands as President of the United States. The surreptitious tape of European leaders mocking him at a NATO summit was not as easy to deny as the laughter in the General Assembly at him. That tape is hardly likely to have been the one and only time that adult world leaders mocked the American child…and he knows it. The boy from Queens who always wanted to be accepted by the civilized world across the river in Manhattan learned that at the global level he is still the outsider the adult people look down on. Even for someone as skilled as THE DONALD at avoiding reality, he must have simmered over the exposure of his diminutive status as a loser. But he’s the President of the United States, so he will show them who is boss. Here have some tariffs.

Remember, it always about him and that includes tariffs. Let see how these cultured high and mighty like having tariffs dumped on them by the rude, crude, outsider, whom they don’t want in their club. Maybe he will even destroy the club. George Bush, the father, rallied a Coalition of the Willing to join the war against Saddam Hussein. Now the American President who has alienated America’s allies stands alone and acts impulsively before a coalition could even be organized anyway.

IRAN EXPOSES THE DONALD AS A FRAUD

With Iran, the exposure of THE DONALD became even worse. When Iran challenged him with bombings of Saudi oil fields, he was all set to be THE DONALD in the real world. He’ll show those Iranians who is a real man. Then Tucker Carlson talked him out of it. How is that Tucker Carlson could talk him out of the bombing at the last minute while actual government officials could not convince him to release the funds to the Ukraine?

This time around Tucker Carlson’s admonitions did not work. Something else had happened. As a result of not acting against Iran, THE DONALD was exposed as a weenie. Even he realized that he looked weak. Iran did not fear him. Iran even mocked him in public. YOU CAN’T DO ANYTHING. WE ARE NEAR YOU. WE ARE THE MAN OF THIS ARENA, NOT YOU!

That was too much to take. After all his talk about how respected the United States is in the world as a result of his leadership, it turns out that the President of the United States was not respected at all. And unlike the European leaders who trash talk the American President behind his back, the Iranians did so to his face. That could not be tolerated. He could not risk a Libyan Embassy II. The image of THE DONALD had to be preserved. Kill Suleimani because I need him to die. It always about him.

PROVING HIS MANHOOD

As an example of his manliness, our Macho-Macho-Man President has announced he has selected 52 Iranian sites to be destroyed very fast and very hard if Iran tries anything. The 52 comes from the number of Americans held hostage by Iran beginning back in 1979. He is quite proud of making this connection. Remember when he said the father and son were both talking to Putin about ending the Russian freeze on American adoptions? He was so proud of himself for concocting that connection all by himself. He didn’t even need Hannity to do it for him! Now the targets included cultural sites which are protected by international agreement. What does he care about the rules? Why he is encouraging Iran to target American cultural sites is a mystery. Perhaps Iran should start with every Trump building or golf course anywhere and everywhere in the world. We are now at the 7th grade level of “OH YEAH! OH YEAH! OH YEAH!” negotiations. Maybe the adults in the room will stop him.

So what has this impulsive act to preserve the illusion of THE DONALD on the world stage and therefore to Trumpicans at home achieved. It is still too early to know how this self-imposed crisis will work. Some suggestions can be made.

1. The world is not safer for Americans.
2. North Korea will be more determined than ever to preserve and develop its nuclear arsenal.
3. Iran will move closer to Russia and to China, a prime oil customer.
4. The risk of Iraq dividing into multiple entities has increased.
5. America will not fight a land war in Iran.

Thanks to the anti-Obama President, Iran no longer has to observe the 15-year nuclear limit from the “worst deal ever.” What an accomplishment. It will probably be item #1 on the Trumpican Party platform to the cheers of all his fans and worshipers. Who knows what other surprises there will be as the immature child is forced to act in real world where he is out of his league.

Who Is a Real American?: Why the Needle Has Not Moved

December 29, 2019
by Peter Feinman

Who Is a real American? Who is not? (www.youtube.com)

As the year draws to a close, I end with a confession. I was as wrong anyone can be. I was so wrong that I am not even going to provide the link to the blog where I was so wrong. I really believed there would come a time when Republicans stared into the ugliness of Donald Trump and would be so repelled that they would abandon him in shock, revolted over having being conned by a scam artist of such minimal mental necessities who was incapable of telling the truth.

I share the feelings of Michelle Goldberg who wrote:

At the start of this administration, many who are horrified by Trump thought that at some point the Republican fever might break, leading to conservatives in Congress to check a dictator-worshipping buffoon for the sake of the Constitution. I’ve become ashamed of my naïveté… (The New York Times, December 22, print).

To be fair to Little Donee Waney calling him a “dictator-worshipping buffoon” ignores the reality that he is an immature child who never was able to man up but desperately wanted to. His worship and submissiveness is not based on any political beliefs or values. The explosion of hissy fits tweets during this current interlude between impeachment and trial is testament to the threat the immature child feels as the adult world closes in around him. He is not fit psychology to function as an adult and the more he his forced to operate in the adult world, the more off the rails he will act.

It should be noted that some Republicans have acted against the longtime Democrat and Clinton supporter who subsequently hijacked the Republican Party in a brilliant exploitation of Republican fears and insecurities. But the efforts of Rick Wilson and George Conway (in the world’s strangest marriage) are not likely to prove fruitful. The Republican Party died a long time ago [R.I.P. Party of Lincoln (1856-2016) from March 12, 2016]. It exists merely in name. Republicans have been transformed into Trumpicans, the path they were already on, before the con artist had the skill to exploit it for his own needs. [A case study on the Republican and Trumpican parties in New York will the subject of a future blog.]

So what then were Trumpicans concerned about? Eventually I did realize what Little Donee Waney knew in his gut. The answer is that Trumpicans see THE DONALD as America’s last best hope against the Politically Correct, the triumph of identity politics, and the control over Real Americans by, you know, those people.

Skeptical-about-Trump conservative radio talk show host Michael Savage asked his listeners about their support for Trump. Here is one response:

Dave in North Carolina asked how anyone could blame Mr. Trump when he is fighting so many enemies at once. “He’s not just fighting the Democrats. He’s fighting the deep state. He’s fighting the cabals. WITHOUT HIM, WE HAVE NOTHING (capitalization added).” (NYT, June 19, 2019).

The idea that Savage represented a “a small crack in the foundation of Trump loyalists” seems absurd over six months later. It’s like thinking an editorial in a Christian evangelical publication represents another small crack as well. [Will white evangelicals see the light will be the subject of a future blog as well.] The excited urgency and passion of the caller Dave speaks to belief in the LORD AND SAVIOR, THE CHOSEN ONE, BLESSED BE HIS NAME.

This past July 4 was not without a politically correct scandal either. It seems that Kate Smith in her pre-“God Bless America” day, sang popular songs on the vaudeville circuit that were demeaning to blacks. As a result she has been yanked by the Yankees. In response, the Kate Smith Commemorative Society (I did not know there was one) issued the following statement in opposition to an action it characterized as

yet another example of the harmful excesses of the questionable concept of ‘political correctness,’ and the unfair and all-too frequent tendencies to judge events of the past by the standards and sensibilities of the present. (NYT, July 4, 2019).

A few days later on July 7, The New York Times printed some responses to a survey taken of Trump voters as to their preferences in 2020. Here are some of the responses.

1. Based on the debates, Democrats have learned nothing in the last two years. Democrats believe that identity politics is a winner. Wrong.

2. I did hear (from the Democratic candidates) about decriminalizing lawlessness [meaning immigration] (and) a healthy dollop of identity politics.

3. The Democrats want to give illegals just about anything they want. What part of illegal do they not understand?

On the other hand, some Trump voters had seen the light.

1. Mr. Trump was preaching as if he supported populism and “draining the swamp.” He failed to live up to both miserably.

This person would support Sanders, Yang, Warren or Gabbard. The Democrats should be able to capitalize on Swampbuilder having the most corrupt and incompetent Cabinet in American history. [One should note that competent Secretaries may implement policies you detest but that does not make them corrupt or inept.]

2. I absolutely will not vote for Donald Trump again. I regretted it as soon as he started up with the inauguration nonsense. If his mouth is open, he’s telling lies….Our institutions and democracy are at stake, and four more years of Mr. Trump will be disastrous and ruinous. Mr. Trump has to go.

This response provides Democrats with two possible avenues of attack:

1. Can You Count? – Can you count the number of people in the inauguration parade? Can you count that 63 million is less than 66 million? Can you count that 306 Electoral College votes are not a landslide?

2. The American Revolution 250th – How can we celebrate the anniversary of removing a king from rule over us when we have a President who wants to rule over us as a king above the law and with no checks and balances?

Here’s what renowned Trumpican Maureen Dowd wrote on July 28, 2019, in an op-ed piece entitled “Spare Me the Purity Racket”:

The progressives are the modern Puritans. The Massachusetts Bay Colony is alive and well on the Potomac and Twitter.
They eviscerate their natural allies for not being pure enough…The politics of purism makes people stupid. And nasty.

In an article on “How Lying and Mistrust Could Take a Lasting Toll,” Robert Shiller wrote:

In talks with strong supporters of Mr. Trump, I have found that they are often willing to admit that he has “rough edges.” They suggest that all politicians have to play politics, and like Mick Mulvany, the acting White House chief of staff, they sometimes say we need to “get over” that. Being caught in lies seems to them to be no great shame. The greater picture, they say, is that the president has freed himself from the constraints of “political correctness” to state unpopular truths, and to fight for the interests of forgotten Americans. That view seems to show no diminution of a basic sense of the importance of honesty. (NYT 11/10/19)

My ongoing series of blogs on Columbus Day versus Indigenous Peoples’ Day are part of this same conflict. The weaponization of terms like “native” and “indigenous” by politically- corrected people were acts of war. Non-college-graduate whites were able to figure out that they were the target of this alternate vocabulary.

As long as the Trumpicans accept the con that Little Donee Waney is really THE DONALD fighting for them against the Politically Correct they will stand by their immature child president. Saudi Arabia knows that THE DONALD is an act but Trumpicans have not yet been exposed to that truth.

I was enlightened to the truth of the concerns of the Trumpicans in response to my recent blog on a “Prayer for America.” I have posted that blog before but this time I added “Prayer for Pelosi” to the title. Just prior to my posting and partly a cause of my resending it, Nancy Pelosi had stated she had prayed for the President. Subsequent to my posting it, he had responded disputing her claim to have prayed for him. Obviously Pelosi’s praying for the President does not mean she is a partisan of the President. Readers of my prayer blog sometimes were unable to understand that and/or did know Pelosi had said she had prayed for him. The mere appearance of “Pelosi” in the title with the word “Prayer” was enough to ignite Trumpicans.

Here is one response that I think goes to the heart of the divide in America:

Are you kidding me! What the hell is wrong with you sending out this email! Your prejudice is unbelievable. Do you realize 63 million people voted for President Trump. You are supposed to be a historical organization not a partisan hack org! I am going to post this email all over social media and expose your organization!

This reader opened the blog 39 times which I understand to mean it was forwarded 38 times to social media. A challenge to identify what in the prayer was partisan was unanswered.

Focus now on the use of the “63 million people who voted for President Trump.” Why mention a loser number? It was not the majority. It was not a plurality. So why call attention the loser number instead of the winner number of 306 Electoral College votes? The same may be asked of Congressional Trumpicans and Media Trumpicans who continually cite this number. What does this number mean to Trumpicans?

The answer in part goes back to Sarah Palin. She called on supporters to “take back the country.” To take it back from, you know, those people. In this scenario, who are the “we”? Who are the people for whom the country is being taken back? The answer is the 63 million in 2016 numbers. They are a minority of the voters but a majority of the Real Americans. It was at this point when longtime Democrat and Clinton supporter sensed an opportunity in his gut, a way to be the center of attention, a path to power. Barack Obama was a foreign-born Moslem. That claim rocketed the con artist to national standing. Real Americans were deeply afraid and emotionally distraught over the prospect of having their country being taken over…AND BY PEOPLE WHO WERE HERE ILLEGALLY BUT STILL TO BE TREATED AS IF THEY HAVE THE SAME IF NOT MORE RIGHTS THAN REAL AMERICANS. Real Americans needed a savior and Little Donne Waney was ready to fill that role. More than ready. And nothing that has happened since 2016 has changed that view because for these “Real Americans” the problem still exists and there still is no alternative to him.

Donald Trump