Tag: Trump

The Kavanaugh Debacle, and What it Says About Us

On By Norbert HauptIn Political5 Comments

[picture credit: Reddit – click for details]
Today the United States Senate voted to confirm Brett Kavanaugh to the Supreme Court.

The way I see it is:

We have a president who has openly boasted about committing repeated and continuous sexual assault. That president has been accused by more than a dozen women, and those are only the ones that came forward, of sexual assault. That president has now appointed a justice to the Supreme Court how has also been accused by more than one woman for sexual assault, albeit over 30 years ago. The media and his supporters make it sound like sexual assault in high school and college are nothing to worry about, everyone does it. I disagree. But be that as is may, even if I could excuse the indiscretions (or possibly crimes) of his youth, I cannot forgive him lying about it now under oath and in front of the whole country. There is evidence that Kavanaugh lied, a lot, about many facts related to this mess he is in. And that I cannot forgive him for. After all, he is a Supreme Court justice now. How is he going to vote on perjury when it comes up? How are his fellow justices thinking about this?

Can they ever respect him?

Can I ever respect him?

And this president and this Supreme Court justice are now going to decide on women’s rights!

We sure need help now.

Here is a strange fallout:

Senator Susan Collins was the deciding vote. She had to power to stop this.

Now the ire of the nation is upon her. Fundraising against her reelection has escalated, and it’s quite possible that her career as a senator may be ending.

However, why are we targeting her?

Every other Republican senator, save Murkowski, also voted for Kavanaugh.

What is different about Collins and everyone else? Why are we coming after her now, and not all the others that voted the party line.

We truly need help now. Trump has tarnished the image of his office, and Kavanaugh has tarnished that of the Supreme Court. I guess the Senate is next.

Chess, Go and Checkers – My View of International Politics

On By Norbert HauptIn Commentaries, Political, Trump1 Comment

Trump, in his first international trip, and with his interactions with the top international leaders, has showcased his ineptness and almost helplessness compared to everyone else.

In geopolitics, Russia is playing chess. China is playing Go, a game that focuses not on a decisive clash of forces like in chess does, but on strategic encirclement through subtlety, indirection, and the patient accumulation of relative advantage. The United States must strengthen its alliances to avoid a Russian checkmate and keep China from encircling a dominant sphere of influence.

— ForeignPolicy.com

And there you have it. Russia is playing chess, China is playing go. I play both games, go at the Shodan level, so I understand the elegant complexity and long-term strategy. Trump is playing checkers. One clumsy move at a time, thinking he is getting immediate advantage by asking for money.

On the world stage, Trump is now meeting with the best, the brightest, and the most cunning diplomats from all nations. He cannot match them. He does not even come close. When he talks, they roll their eyes. Watch the eyes of the Pope when Trump speaks. Watch the eyes of Merkel. Hell, watch the eyes of Netanyahu when he sits there listening to Trump spewing drivel about Iran.

We Americans are viewed by the world as a nation of merchants. They think that making money is all that’s important to us, and unfortunately, our actions in the last five decades have reinforced that. We have now elected a glorified used car salesman, and while the rest of the world is trying to move on and forward, Trump is peddling 10-year-old jalopies. “Do I have a deal for you!”

Or “Iran will never have nuclear weapons, that I can promise you,” while Netanyahu rolls his eyes.

The United States, which is now taking massive steps to isolate itself away from the world stage, includes only 5% of the world’s population, but encompasses 22.5% of the world’s gross domestic product. We don’t have tact, or diplomatic skill. We play with checkers strategy against chess and go players. Frankly, we look stupid. The only reason we’re accepted anymore is because we have money, and we have big guns. With the strategy we’re applying now, the money will continue to dwindle, and with it the big guns. Decades hence, the history books will show the Trump administration at an inflection point downward, and they will indicate where the real decline of the United States actually started, and where the American century gave way to the Chinese century.

And Angela Merkel, and Emmanuel Macron, and Theresa May, and Xi Jinping, and Valdimir Putin – they all chuckle.

And I cringe.

When You Elect a Clown…

On By Norbert HauptIn TrumpLeave a comment

…you should expect a circus.

 

Why do I know Sean Spicer?

And why do I not even know who Obama’s press secretary was? He certainly wasn’t in my Facebook newsfeed everywhere, all the time, every day.

I know Sean Spicer because it’s his job to tell us every day what Trump said, or didn’t say, or meant, or didn’t mean, or didn’t know, or didn’t care about.

Sad.

 

I’m President and You’re Not

On By Norbert HauptIn Trump2 Comments

I can’t be doing so badly, because I’m president and you’re not.

— Donald Trump

When the president does it, that means that it is not illegal.

— Richard Nixon

Stephen King on Donald Trump

On By Norbert HauptIn UncategorizedLeave a comment

Welcome to Ameristan

On By Norbert HauptIn Trump1 Comment
ameristan1
Trevor Irwin, irwinproductions.com

When I watched the president’s news conference on February 16, 2017, I was overwhelmed by a vast emptiness. This man has nothing original to say. He is rehashing his electoral numbers as if that mattered anymore. He insults the people around him and his audience. When have you ever heard a speaker, no matter what forum, to tell the audience: “QUIET” and then go right on rambling incoherent fractional sentences for minutes on end? The man sounds like he has no clue about who he is, what his position is, what he is doing and what he is holding a news conference for.

Convince me otherwise please. Where was there any substance?

He started out stating that he was there to inform the American people.

I can tell you this: Inform he did not. Scare the shit out of me, he did.

 

So-Called President Trump is Fear-Mongering

On By Norbert HauptIn Travels, Trump1 Comment

 

Our so-called president uses bully tactics and fear-mongering to get his way.

Here he talks about how many very bad and dangerous people may be pouring into our country.

In a country, where more people were killed in 2016 by toddlers with guns than by terrorists, I have to say that the danger of being killed by a terrorist in my mind is about the same as the danger of being hit by lightning or, in deference to Betsy DeVos, the same as the danger of being mauled by a grizzly bear.

Checking monthly tourism statistics, I found a chart that shows the number of non-residents entering the United States in the first 7 months of 2016 (through July):

non-residents-enteringThis shows  there were over 21 million people who “poured into our country” and I am sure a few of them were “bad hombres.”

770,388 came from the Middle East, and another 308,658 from Africa during that period.

The only United States terrorist attack during that period that I remember was the San Bernardino bombing, and that was perpetrated by a couple that lived and worked in the United States.

No travel ban would have stopped them.

What Trump is doing here is fear-mongering for the ultimate end of grabbing political power for himself. It’s right out of the playbook for dictators. Keep the people in a fear frenzy.

How do they expect us to treat them with any respect?

Don’t we ever learn?

And that’s my rant today about our so-called president.

Trump’s First Day

On By Norbert HauptIn Economy, TrumpLeave a comment

I am sure if I tried hard enough I could find twenty statements by Trump about what he was going to do on his first day, sometimes his first hour, in office. Here is just one such statement:

He said he would move criminal illegal immigrants out of the country:

Day 1, my first hour in office, those people are gone

— at a rally in Arizona

Well, it’s Day 2 now. Are they gone?

Here is an entire post that discusses Trump’s speech.

Obviously, Trump will tell us that statement was not to be taken literally. That leads me to conclude that most of his statements are not to be taken literally. But then let’s reflect on one action he actually took on Day 1.

In one of his very first official acts of his presidency, Donald Trump has increased taxes on a million middle-class homebuyers by reversing a scheduled cut of 0.25 percent in mortgage insurance. This action undid a last-minute Obama order.

Chuck Schumer:

“It took only an hour after his positive words on the inaugural platform for his actions to ring hollow,” Schumer said. “One hour after talking about helping working people and ending the cabal in Washington that hurts people, he signs a regulation that makes it more expensive for new homeowners to buy mortgages.”

I am assuming this act has less to do with HUD or homebuyers, but with a symbolic reversal of an Obama order. However, let’s get the facts straight: Trump told the middle class of America he had their backs in the inaugural speech, and then an hour later he acted to cause middle-class families a financial burden.

His action facilitated redistribution of wealth from the middle class to corporation.

 

Man Boasts of Sexual Assault, Then Inaugurated 45th President Of United States

On By Norbert HauptIn Trump1 Comment

I did try and fuck her. She was married… I moved on her like a bitch, but I couldn’t get there. And she was married. Then all of a sudden I see her, she’s not got the big phony tits and everything… I’ve got to use some Tic Tacs, just in case I start kissing her. You know I’m automatically attracted to beautiful. I just start kissing them. It’s like a magnet. Just kiss. I don’t even wait. And when you’re a star, they let you do it. You can do anything. Grab them by the pussy. You can do anything.

— Donald Trump in 2005, now our 45th President of the United States

Here is an article by Tara Haelle, list an number of women and their experiences of sexual assaults by Trump.

Below is Haelle’s list of women who reported assaults by Trump. Trump and his minions have consistently rejected all these allegations as false. They claim all these women have made up these stories.

  • Jessica Leeds said Trump fondled her breasts and tried to get his hand under her skirt during a flight. “He was like an octopus. His hands were everywhere,” she said.
  • Temple Taggart McDowell said Trump kissed her on the lips on two different occasions without her consent, one time in his office.
  • Rachel Crooks was an employee in Trump’s building who met him on an elevator. He shook her hand, then would not let go as he drew her in and kissed her mouth and cheek. “I was so upset that he thought I was so insignificant that he could do that,” she said.
  • Kristin Anderson told the Washington Post that Trump moved his hand under her skirt and touched her vagina while sitting next to her.
  • Natasha Stoynoff, a journalist for People Magazine, described an encounter with Trump at Mar-a-Lago: “We walked into that room alone, and Trump shut the door behind us. I turned around, and within seconds, he was pushing me against the wall, and forcing his tongue down my throat. Now, I’m a tall, strapping girl who grew up wrestling two giant brothers. I even once sparred with Mike Tyson. It takes a lot to push me. But Trump is much bigger—a looming figure—and he was fast, taking me by surprise, and throwing me off balance. I was stunned. And I was grateful when Trump’s longtime butler burst into the room a minute later, as I tried to unpin myself.”
  • Mindy McGillivray described her experience at Mar-a-Lago: “All of a sudden I felt a grab, a little nudge. I think it’s Ken’s camera bag, that was my first instinct. I turn around and there’s Donald. He sort of looked away quickly. I quickly turned back, facing Ray Charles, and I’m stunned.’’
  • Cassandra Searles, a contestant at one of his pageants, said, “He probably doesn’t want me telling the story about that time he continually grabbed my ass and invited me to his hotel room.”
  • In fact, Trump allegedly used his pageants as a way to view and touch the naked bodies of teenagers, minors: “He just came strolling right in,” Dixon said. “There was no second to put a robe on or any sort of clothing or anything. Some girls were topless. Others girls were naked. Our first introduction to him was when we were at the dress rehearsal and half-naked changing into our bikinis.”
  • Jill Harth filed a lawsuit in 1997 against Trump which alleged the following: “After Trump business associates left, the defendant [Trump] over the plaintiff’s objections forcibly prevented plaintiff from leaving and forcibly removed plaintiff to a bedroom, whereupon defendant [Trump] subjected plaintiff to defendant’s unwanted sexual advances, which included touching of plaintiff’s private parts in an act constituting attempted “rape.” Trump forcefully removed [Harth] from public areas of Mar-A-Lago in Florida and forced [her] into a bedroom belonging to defendant’s daughter Ivanka, wherein [Trump] forcibly kissed, fondled, and restrained [her] from leaving, against [her] will and despite her protests.”

Enter the Age of American Oligarchy

On By Norbert HauptIn Trump5 Comments

white-house-website

This happened within minutes of Trump being president.

What did we expect? In an Oligarchy, where it’s all about enriching the people in power, and the rich, and their self-aggrandizement, why would they care one hoot about civil rights, the climate, healthcare and the environment? Those issues have no impact on the massive redistribution of wealth from the nation’s poor and the middle class, to the top 100th of a percent.

I hear the giant sucking sound, it’s already roaring. I can’t wait for all the upcoming changes that will help me finally understand what will make America great again.

Edit: Check out Hardy Carroll’s powerful statement in the Comments section below! It’s worthy of its own post.

Who Is That Guy?

On By Norbert HauptIn Trump1 Comment

trump-christie

That guy behind the candidate.

The other candidate who said that Trump was not qualified to be anywhere near the Oval Office.  The guy that said Trump had to be stopped.

The guy who then lined up behind Trump like a good soldier when Trump had won the nomination. Maybe he’d get to be VP? Maybe he’d get a cabinet slot? The guy who went out to spin for Trump whenever Trump said something stupid or offensive.

Who is that guy that looks like he thinks he sold his soul?

The guy who got dumped the night of the election, the guy we never saw in public after Trump actually won?

The guy Trump used until he no longer needed him.

That’s Chris Christie, the first major politician who got completely screwed by Trump.

There will be encores.

Trump’s New Year’s Wish

On By Norbert HauptIn Trump1 Comment

trump-new-years-tweet

Here is the very upbeat, uniting and hope-generating message to America by our soon-to-be president. Is this his way of uniting the country?

Apparently his political opponents are “enemies.”  In contrast, Putin is just a “very smart” person who did nothing wrong. There is something fundamentally wrong with this man.

Happy New Year to all!

White House Statement on Berlin Christmas Market Attack

On By Norbert HauptIn Atrocities, Political, Religion, Trump, War2 Comments

The United States condemns in the strongest terms what appears to have been a terrorist attack on a Christmas Market in Berlin, Germany, which has killed and wounded dozens.  We send our thoughts and prayers to the families and loved ones of those killed, just as we wish a speedy recovery to all of those wounded.  We also extend our heartfelt condolences to the people and Government of Germany.  We have been in touch with German officials, and we stand ready to provide assistance as they recover from and investigate this horrific incident.  Germany is one of our closest partners and strongest allies, and we stand together with Berlin in the fight against all those who target our way of life and threaten our societies.

— Ned Price, NSC Spokesperson

The United States condemns in the strongest terms – We need to stop sounding like bureaucrats. Leave out “in the strongest terms” and say what you really mean – whatever that might be.

…appears to have been a terrorist attack – ya think??? You don’t have to be Donald Trump or Henry Kissinger to see this was a terrorist attack. Driving a truck into a Christmas market is a terrorist attack.

We send our thoughts and prayers – our thoughts are noble and our prayers don’t do anyone any good. Just say: We feel terrible for you! I am tired of people making excuses for doing nothing by sending prayers. Good luck with those!

We have been in touch with German officials – German officials, American officials! I want to know who called whom. Did Obama call Merkel? If some American bureaucrat called some German bureaucrat, what good does that do? We know they have been on the phone. It’s not helping this statement. 

…in the fight against all those who target our way of life and threaten our societies – How about “in the fight against Islamic terrorism.”

With watered down drivel, double-speak and euphemisms clouding the statements of our government, no wonder Trump has risen. In contrast, he said:

Islamic terrorists continuously slaughter Christians…as part of their global jihad.

— Donald Trump

When you compare Trump’s blunt statement, which we all understand, to Ned Price’s statement (who even knows who Ned Price is?), I have to ask you: Who of the two is likely to deal with the problem?

Whenever you ask Trump voters why they voted for the man, with all the despicable clutter the drags around with himself, they always say:

“He says it like it is!”

I am not supporting Trump, but I can tell you that if Obama had spent more time saying it like it is, and acting accordingly in the threat of international Islamic terror, the outcome of the election would have been different. I am not even sure WHAT Obama actually did to fight terrorism other than endless drone attacks for eight years. The fact that I don’t know what he did is evidence that none of us really knew. So it looks like we did not much, some say nothing, and it was certainly not very effective.

That’s how you lose a nation to a demagogue!

TT – Minus 5 weeks — Musings from the Chiefio

On By Norbert HauptIn Political, Trump2 Comments

Here is a good rant for you about the political landscape in the United States right now by one of my favorite conservatives. Not because I agree with him, but because he points out unique angles and aspects some of us might not have thought of. I am a strong believer of drinking the Kool-Aid of another color on occasion lest one gets rusty and crusty drinking only one’s own lukewarm brew all the time.

I have spoken out a few times against the plutocracy Trump is establishing. Then Chiefio says:

We have the “OMG, Trump is choosing successful Billionaires!@!” complaint (one supposes the Loony Side Of Left would rather he chose losers or those who can be bought…).

Alright, he got me. Whom should he rather choose?

What pisses me off is that they still claim they are in it for the little man like me and you. I don’t believe one word, but then, I don’t have the answers either. So here it goes:

The Trump Transition, less than 5 weeks left to the long nightmare…
via TT – Minus 5 weeks — Musings from the Chiefio

Trump to Continue to Employ Private Security Force After Taking Office

On By Norbert HauptIn Atrocities, TrumpLeave a comment

Trump has been using a private security service, his own employees in some cases, during his presidential campaign, and he intends to continue to use them in the White House. See this article for more details.

This is, of course, unprecedented in American history. Some critics say that this makes the job of the Secret Service more difficult, as it adds a level of confusion. Why would anyone hire security when  they have the world’s most highly trained and effective security apparatus available to them, the United States Secret Service?

The answer is simple. The Secret Service keeps the president and his family protected. A private security organization will do the same thing, presumably. However, the Secret Service will not squelch protesters.

A private security firm will do that, if ordered. Remember the nasty Trump cry: “Get them out of here!!!” during his rallies. If you don’t like what people are doing or saying, just remove them. That is, I suspect, why Trump will keep a private security organization.

Hitler did the same thing:

The SA was founded in Munich by Hitler in 1921. It was made up of ex-soldiers and thugs. They battled leftists in the streets in the early days of the Weimar Republic. They wore brown uniforms and protected party meetings in the days when Hitler spoke in beer halls and market squares in Munich to a few hundred people at a time. They marched in Nazi rallies, and they beat up political opponents. SA stands for Sturmabteilung, in English “stormtroopers.”

Eventually, out of the SA arose the SS. The word stands for Schutz Staffel, which means “protection squadron” and it was specifically created for Hitler’s private protection. Eventually they were armed, and finally they were the criminal executors of the Third Reich.

The whole experiment did not end well in Germany.

Are we going to try it here? Are we going to allow it here? Are protestors getting beat up yet? Watch for it, and be alarmed if it starts.