Month: May 2017

Self Inflicted Crisis

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Self Inflicted Crisis

D. S. Mitchell

What a difference a day makes. Not only has it gone from sun and fun here at the Oregon coast but a big storm has blown in, sending us all here at Calamity Politics, running inside to escape the heavy rain and driving wind.

To top it off, I have managed to lose my eyeglasses. How? I do not know, but that bit of stupidity has proved expensive, and inconvenient. I went into Costco and my prescription is good until July, so they ordered me another pair of glasses. Two hundred nineteen dollars later and a delivery date sometime next week, caused me a bit of frustration and irritation.

In my case, the lost glasses are a bad thing. I’m currently wearing my prescription sunglasses, trying to get enough light to my retinas to see what I’m doing. Considering the change in weather, the sunglasses look really dumb.

So, enough of my personal nonsense. As Calamity Politics’ blogger-in-chief I am frothing at the mouth to comment on the craziness of this week in U.S. political headline news.

Stories are emerging, of a raging and screaming President Trump reacting to the growing Russian collusion reports on television. The televised testimony of Yates and Comey seems to be the true cause of Trump firing the FBI Director.

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Another OMG Day

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Another OMG Day

D. S. Mitchell

Calamity Politics is the place for relevant, topical and engaging coverage of the U.S. political scene. Please join me today as I examine the good, the bad, the planned and the unplanned of today’s headline political conversation.

The news media has been churning out so much sludge since Monday that I have decided to just touch on each topic briefly.

Headline: Sally Talks. Sally Yates former acting Attorney General of the United States appeared in a high profile televised congressional hearing on May 8, 2017. She shared the witness table with former Director of National Intelligence now retired, James Clapper. The subcommittee has been designated to investigate the Russian interference in the 2016 Presidential election.

Lt. General Michael Flynn is a central figure in the aforementioned investigation. Sally Yates came to Capital Hill to testify as to when the Justice Department warned the Trump White House of Flynn’s possible illegal contacts with the Russian government.

Ms. Yates, was fired by President Trump. Trump claimed that Yates was fired because she refused to defend Trump’s first travel ban. However, that may not be the real motive for the firing. When you look at the timeline of the events President Trump’s claims become questionable.

Yates said that on 1/26/2017 she had a meeting with White House Counsel Don McGahn for the purpose of alerting the White House that the sitting NSA could be a danger to the country. The DOJ led by Yates, believed Flynn, was “compromised with respect to the Russians.”

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Keep Smiling Sucker

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Keep Smiling Sucker

D. S. Mitchell

I started writing the Calamity Politics blog to present the urgent political news of the day. I take pride in presenting current and meaningful issues in the hope of connecting with people that have similar political leanings. There is also a bit of silliness, now and then.

I want to be a supportive voice of the “Resistance”. I, like so many others this political season have become unbelievably energized by the election of Donald Trump. He defines everything I don’t want in a man; much less a president. I have never previously been ashamed of a U.S. president, but knowing that Donald Trump is the “face of America,” truly sickens me.

I am sure we can defeat this megalomaniac and his science rejecting policies and his Fossil Fuel Agenda. None of us can do it alone. We need to bind together. It is together that we can keep the heat on these thugs and hoodlums; by our sheer numbers. Whether by impeachment, implementation of Amendment 25, or some other means Donald J. Trump will be removed from office before the end of his term. That conviction keeps me writing, talking and networking every day. I hope all my readers make that their mission also.

Donald Trump is one of the biggest phonies in U.S. history and he is now President of the United States and I’m worried that he will make as big a mess out of the United States government as he did his own personal finances.

Donald Trump began working for his father’s real estate company in 1972 after graduating from the Wharton School of Business with a degree in Economics. From the beginning Donald was better at self-promoting than actually making any money. It is estimated that when Fred Trump, Sr died in 1999 Donald Trump inherited something in the neighborhood of 100-200 million dollars.

According to the Associated Press, if Donald Trump had done nothing more than place his inheritance into index funds his net worth today would exceed 13 Billion dollars. Estimates project his current net worth is far from that dazzling amount. So, after all the ballyhoo and boasting he is rich because he was born rich. He could have been stratospherically wealthy if he had done nothing. Funny, in a peculiar way.

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Trump Pushing U.S. Toward Authoritarianism

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Trump Pushing U.S. Toward Authoritarianism

D. S. Mitchell

I was having coffee with a friend the other day and I was chattering about Calamity Politics, my beloved progressive political blog, telling her about a new line of ‘Resistance’ apparel, and some great “Resist’ and ‘Persist’ jewelry created by an Astoria, Oregon artist. I was adding both the apparel and the jewelry to the Calamity Politics. com site.

Out of the blue, she reached out putting her hand on my arm, and said with a crinkled brow, “Aren’t you worried?”

“What? Worried about what?” I said sensing real concern in her voice.

“I don’t know, I’m worried that Trump or his crew might try to strong arm you, or sue you; anything to shut you up.”

“Well, I appreciate your concern,” I said with a barely concealed smirk.

“I can see that you think I’ve slipped the tracks,” she said looking into her espresso cup.

“I’m pretty sure I’m safe from lawsuit,” I said watching her face closely, “Or what? Assault? Blackmail? A Twitter attack?”

“I don’t know, I’ve read some scary stuff about Trump’s mob connections. New York construction means mob entanglements. Plus, he was in the those Atlantic City, New Jersey casinos. Mobsters and thugs love construction, trucking, drugs, prostitution and gambling.”

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50 Trump Adjectives

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50 Trump Adjectives

D. S. Mitchell

Calamity Politics is happy to announce that I, Editor-in-Chief, the only Editor-in-Fact, am going to devote the entire first political blog post of the day to a really nasty game.

The ‘game’ will not distract from my usual in-depth political coverage; that will come later. LOL. My regular readers know that the ‘in-depth’ description is probably a bit misleading.

I’m decently polite and tend to shyness. Rarely do I attack. But today, as I was driving back home from the Acupuncturist this morning, I started thinking about Donald J.Trump, 45th President of the United States, con-man, self-promoter and started tossing adjectives around in my head as I made the drive from Cannon Beach to Surf Pines.

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Butterflies and Memories

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Butterflies and Memories

D. S. Mitchell

A Public Warning

Back in 2016 more than 26,000 psychiatrists, psychologists and social workers issued a warning to the people of the United States. These mental health professionals were warning the public that, in their collective opinion, Donald Trump had a serious mental illness. They further requested the Congress remove him from office, based on Article 4 of the 25th Amendment to the United States Constitution.

Damn Scary

OMG. Pretty, damn scary stuff, if you ask me. I’ve followed politics all my life, and the only other time I have heard people question a U.S. president’s mental health was during the late stages of the Richard Nixon’s tenure.  At that time stories of Nixon’s nightly drinking and paranoia was fodder for a frenzied media.

Sharing Something Beautiful

With all that said, you might think today I would stoke up the fires on that story, but because I’m in charge here, I am going to discuss a lovely short essay, by Jennifer S. Kushnier. I originally saw it printed in one of those little books you see at Hallmark card stores. You know, the kind. They are usually really small and have lots of cool art, quotes, short stories or essays.

Anyway, this little essay by Ms. Kushnier  reminded me of my childhood. When I was a kid, even in city neighborhoods there were plenty of vacant lots, some were quite big, really open undeveloped fields where beautiful things happened. Thank you Jennifer, your piece was lovely and charming.

Butterflies by Jennifer S. Kushnier

Jennifer began her essay with the lines, “All kinds of wildflowers prospered there, from ivory Queen Anne’s lace and purple Clover, to yellow Buttercups and Black-eyed Susan’s, to burnt orange Indian Paintbrushes and those light-blue flowers that seem to be so rare these days. To this field came dozens of butterflies.”

Island Life

That little essay takes me to another time, a distant point in my childhood. When I too was very young. At that time my family lived on a dairy farm on a picturesque island. Sauvie’s Island is an amazing piece of land caught between the Willamette River and the Columbia River in NW Oregon, about 20 miles west of Portland, Oregon. Most of the island is a huge wildlife refuge with a few farms, even today, in this busy industrialized time.

Protect What We Love

I can remember when the birds would take to the air, a sunny day went black. Today, on this protected island the sky will never be so full of birds that the sky is black with their bounty. How long before the Monarch’s will be gone forever, and the Wood Duck a mere memory? I think it is imperative that we challenge the Trump Administration at every turn as they push their fossil fuel agenda. It is dangerous for the environment. A threat to wildlife, a risk to our water supply. The gutting of the EPA could potentially poison everything we know and love. If you love the sight of a Monarch butterfly in flight, if you love the sound of a woodpecker, if you love the beauty of a Wood Duck floating on a pond, if you love the sight of an Eagle on the wing, you are not alone. Please, stand up, speak out, and stop the threat to all the wild places by the fossil fuel pushing madman.

Thank you Jennifer S. Kushnier. I have tried to find you but I have not seen anything else you have written, but this little piece was just perfect.