Author: Darlene Mitchell

NRA Assault

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NRA Assault 

D. S. Mitchell

NRA Strategy

In an article for The Hill, Tim Devaney highlighted a change of strategy by the NRA. For the last 8 years the NRA has been kept on the defensive by the Obama Administration. With the installation of the Trump Administration it is full-bore ahead, shaping policy and writing bills favoring the NRA and its activist activities.

I Like The Second Amendment

I believe the 2nd Amendment is sacred.  It’s the best defense the citizenry has against a President that wants to overstay his welcome. We have seen it in the banana republics, where the generalissimo hangs on after an election. About 36,000 people died from gun violence last year. I do not feel it makes sense for the Congress to roll back regulations on guns. The NRA has engaged in heavy lobbying efforts (that means money, vacations, gifts etc). The mentally disabled should not have access to guns. The Republican House  reversed a Obama Administration regulation inside Social Security to restrict gun ownership.  There are similar regulations in VA rules, and it is expected that the House will also rescind those.

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Tillerson’s Big Lie

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Tillerson’s Big Lie

D. S. Mitchell

Morning Cable

I just watched Christine Romans, on ‘New Day,’ a morning political cable news show on CNN. I like her style, she really knows how to put her guests on the hot seat. Her questions are pointed and intuitive. Sometimes I feel sorry for the guests. LOL. I used to start my morning’s with ‘Morning Joe,” he comes on at 0300 her in the West. But recently Scarborough’s poorly veiled support of Trump is a turn off. If it wasn’t for Mika Brzezinski, I would have turned to ‘New Day’ a lot sooner. After watching New Day I have a choice of half a dozen activities. I either walk, bike or swim for an hour. Next, I grab breakfast. Then I go start research for a new blog post.

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Bank Shenanigans

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Bank Shenanigans

D. S. Mitchell

Editor In Chief

As Editor-in-Chief here at Calamity News and Politics, I have a lot of leeway on what I chose to write about. The story today, is again, about Donald Trump. Anybody surprised? This guy is sucking up the world oxygen supply. Scandal, corruption, bank shenanigans, money laundering and conflict of interest. There is literally, no end to it. Trump’s Administration is an alley littered with dirty, back street deals.

Tentacles Of Corruption

The world is watching the dynamics of the drama playing out on the world stage. The entanglements of Mr. Trump and his associates are like tentacles of a giant squid stretching it’s long, slimy arms around the globe. Here’s a few more tidbits on Trump that might be interesting to folks that are trying to connect the dots in the Russian collusion/conspiracy investigation.

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KNOW MEDICARE TERMS AND PLAYERS

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Know Medicare Terms And Players

By D. S. Mitchell

The Players

The seven people below, plus lobbyists, private citizens and trade organizations are expecting a big fight over entitlement programs.  Only congress can make major changes to Medicare.  And with the GOP majority in Congress, entitlements are in real danger.

Donald Trump:

Trump campaigned he would not cut Medicare or other public health programs.  But a recent change to his website and his full support of The American Health Care Act makes those promises doubtful. The AHCA is a bill constructed and promoted by Paul Ryan. A plan Ryan and Trump claim will “modernize” Medicare. The Trump website suggests the changes are to deal with “challenges” created by the retirement of the baby boom generation.  Trump will be under pressure from congressional Republicans to back major changes to Medicare. Trump is currently, supporting massive cuts to Medicaid.

Mitch McConnell:

Senate Majority Leader champions the rollback of federal support for social programs.  He has proposed significant changes to Medicare, such as raising the eligibility age. He favors slashing Medicaid across the board.

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Gorsuch Hearing

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Gorsuch Hearing

D. S. Mitchell

Gorsuch Hearings

I watched the Senators question 10th Circuit Judge, Neil Gorsuch, for about 4 hours this morning.  Although interested, I couldn’t watch any longer.  I had to get a few things done, so I shut off the TV so I could run some errands. I replayed the proceedings in my head. Senator Chuck Schumer (D-NY) definitely has a point when he questions whether we should be considering appointing a judge that was nominated by President Trump. After all Trump is under FBI investigation for conspiring with the Russians to win the 2016 election.

Life-Time Appointment

Schumer reminded us this was a life-time appointment.  Why such a big hurry, he asked? Merrick Garland was held off for over a year while the Republicans prayed for a Republican President in 2016. So, I’m kinda like Schumer, it’s not really Gorsuch, it’s Trump, he may not have a year left in office.  Maybe we should hold off a bit.

I’m Back

Errands run I’m back and I immediately turn the TV on. The Gorsuch hearing is still going. I had my back to the TV so I didn’t see who was asking the questions, but I heard a man ask, “Who’s paying for all your TV ads?” Good question I thought. For at least two weeks every time there was a break in regular programming there was a commercial featuring Gorsuch.

“I don’t know,” Gorsuch answered flatly.

I say to myself, “Really?”

Who Pays For The Ads

There certainly are a lot of support ads for Neil Gorsuch. Why?  Since when do you see 100’s of millions of dollars being spent on television ads for a Supreme Court nominee? I’ve never seen anything like it. I want to know who and why is spending all the green.  It’s probably the NRA, or another gun advocates group. I can’t imagine who else it would be. From what I know about Gorsuch, besides being blindly conservative, he is a do or die 2nd Amendment guy.

What I Missed

Who knows what I missed in the two hours I was running errands, but from what I saw, I think the Democrats did a decent job keeping Gorsuch’s feet to the fire. If it comes to it they might as well confirm him. As conservative judges go, I think we could get a lot worse nominee than Neil Gorsuch. I hope I’m not wrong. But, like every thing else in politics, only time will give us the answer.

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BREAKING NEWS

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Editorial:

Breaking News

D. S. Mitchell

Big News

After a day of testimony in front of the House Intelligence Committee, Comey rs drops a bombshell.  The Trump campaign and the Russian government “are being investigated” for collusion during the 2016 election.  Comey flatly said there was “no basis to Trump’s claim of wire tapping by Obama”

EXTRA! EXTRA!

Reuters News:  Rex Tillerson, Secretary of State has cancelled April meeting with NATO heads, and INSTEAD is planning on visiting Russia. When this news broke, Rep. Adam Schiff ranking Democrat on the House Intel Committee was on the Rachel Maddow Show.  I did not tape the show, however he basically said, “After what the Russians have done to this country, the only imaginable reason Tillerson would go to Moscow would be to return the Order of Friendship Medal that Putin gave him.”

Well, said, Rep. Schiff.

Tillerson And The Russians

My comment is, WOW!!!  Pretty fucking ballsy.  Secretary Tillerson, you are acting very strange, and your well-known affiliation with the Russian government does not help your reputation.  Your boss, the President, and his campaign are under investigation for possible collusion with the Russians.  Hmmm.  More Russians. It’s Trump and the Russians.  Sessions and the Russians. Manafort and the Russians.  And now Tillerson and the Russians. How many Russians are in this story?  Right now, it looks like way too many.

You Aren’t Exxon Mobil CEO

My first ‘effing complaint about Tillerson is his refusal to travel with the U.S. press corp. When you are Secretary of State you take the press with you when you travel, it’s that simple.  You are now employed by the people of the United States America and we want to see our officials in action.  You are not the CEO of Exxon Mobil.  Maybe Exxon Mobil thought it was okay to slink around in the shadows, but American citizens don’t like their officials behaving in that way.

Putin Over NATO

If the news of you choosing Putin over NATO is correct, I think the Congress should insist the President fire your ass.  There is absolutely no conceivable moral reason for a visit by the Secretary of State of the United States to Moscow.  To do what?  Hold court with that murdering thug, Putin. What is your intent? More colluding on abandoning sanctions? Or maybe you want to talk about opening up the Arctic oil reserves to drilling?  I can smell the corruption from here. Careful, Mr. Tillerson, you are standing on thin ice.

Calamity Response

The Editorial Desk at Calamity Politics is kept busy trying to decipher the nutty, stumbling, bumbling and incompetent statements being issued by the Trump White House. Every day a new story. Every day a new distraction. Each day there’s another lie. As a political analyst, commentator and progressive liberal organizer I want every one to be ready to agitate our Congressional representatives until they are scared shitless. Nothing shapes up an elected official as much as a potential threat to their elected position. Both Trump and Tillerson, like the Russkies way too much. Why? We need to find out. I suspect it is about fossil fuel and that equals money.

Conclusion

The battlefield of right, versus left, is a twisted and distorted terrain. It is hard to navigate the U.S. political scene without getting emotional. I’m Darlene, and I am here to pull my hair, and scream profanities, it is all just theater, a device to get attention and action.

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Was It The First Time?

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COMMENT:

Was It The First Time?

D. S. Mitchell

Unsettling

There’s a guy in the White House that may have conspired with an adversarial power to win the 2016 presidential election.  That in itself is terrifying. While I’m thinking about this Russian attack against our most democratic of institutions, I had another thought that was quite unsettling.  What if Trump isn’t their first success?  What if the Russians have had earlier success in our elections?  Could there be victories that we are unaware of?  Seems strange, that the Russians would hit a home run with the first effort.

Putin’s Pocket

Could there be Senators, or Representatives, that are participating in these investigations, or sitting in the House and/or Senate that are in Putin’s pocket?  I’m not big on conspiracy theories, but it seems that it is a real possibility.  Hopefully, this cancer is confined to the White House. However, it is something that we should be thinking about.

Shocked And Amazed

If you are shocked and amazed, you are not alone. I spend almost every day scouring the news comments and editorials for things that I find curious, intriguing, mystifying, bizarre, or just funny, to use for this website. So, don’t make this your only visit, please come back, and stay awhile. Hopefully, I will present something that brings a smile to your face, or a picket sign into your hand.

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The List

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The List

D. S. Mitchell

Heat It Up

Calamity News and Politics, is a progressive blog based on the North Oregon Coast.  Calamity is here to stimulate the political conversation. A little argument is good, if it can clear the air. Some chaos is good, if it helps us re-center. Investigation is good, if it leads to the truth.

Siding Up

There is a an unsavory connection between Putin and Trump. The House Intel Committee began hearings today with some very interesting testimony.  The partisan divide was immediately clear.  To me at least, the Republicans were leading a campaign to ferret out the folks leaking information, while the Democrats were on a mission to uncover a Russian spy network. The questioning hinted heavily of money, sex, cyber hacking, election tampering and sabotage.  My suggestion to the lawmakers is, let it go guys.  For everyone concerned, we need an Independent investigator or a Commission to get to the bottom of the Kremlin-Gate scandal.  As scary as it may be, it is entirely possible that there is a Russian operative in the White House. A Manchurian Candidate.

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Thinking Aloud

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Thinking Aloud

D. S. Mitchell

Thinking Aloud

I’ve been going to the pool most of the Winter, for my hour of morning exercise. During the good weather, as much as we get here on the Oregon coast, I try to walk 3-4 miles each day. But, once November rolls in, the thought of walking four miles in a down pour is a real turn off. As it is now, some days are nice, and I walk, while others are nasty, and I go to the community pool in Seaside. None of this matters except that I do very little on Sunday, except play on the internet and write for Calamity Politics.

Sunday Afternoon Thoughts

Mom Said

My Mom used to say, “People will dismiss facts, ignore science, and argue the unarguable;  if it’s in the interest of their pocketbook.” I thought for years that she had come up with that on her own, but then one day I saw the quote attributed to New York Yankee catcher, Yogi Berra. Whoever the source I think it is particularly astute.

Start Writing

If you haven’t written a letter to your Mayor, your local newspaper Editor,  your State Legislators, or one of your Federal Legislators, you should do it immediately.  It is a great way to get what’s bothering you off your chest.   The Letter to the Editor is especially rewarding because you can present your beef to the community and garner a few minutes in the spotlight.

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Morning Wonderful

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Morning Wonderful

D. S. Mitchell

I’ve commented on Calamity Politics, over the last week how fed up I am with the wind and rain.  Not today.  I woke up to crisp air and bright sunshine. Stopping to post a journal entry is not on my current ‘to do list’ this morning. Like a Snickers starved child I run toward my muse, the illusive sun.

Lily is in charge this morning. She has convinced me that we need to take a walk, a long beach walk.  I can see the surf from my front window, but the beach is two blocks away. Lily found her leash and dropped it at my feet. Together, we headed to the dune.

I took a shortcut across the back field and disturbed a deer family, causing Lily to jerk so hard on her leash she nearly toppled me over.  The pleasures of dog ownership are often close to the pleasures of non-dog ownership.

I live in an area that is blessed with miles of unspoiled dunes and beaches.  Coming over the dune top, I saw what looked like three small kids lined up with their backs to the surf.  Weird, kids never hold still that long.  I strained and held Lily tight.  It wasn’t three tots, it was three American Bald Eagles.  OMG, just standing there, less than a foot between them.

I’ve seen single specimens stand like that at the water’s edge but never three together, just hanging out.  Lily seemed to recognize the moment as a special one, and for once was quiet. Together we turned back and walked further down the dune to reach the beach.  I looked back and they were still there. One of the most amazing and beautiful sights I have ever seen.

We currently have a government more deferential to the wealthy than ever before in my lifetime. Capitalism needs restraints, at this time more than ever. It is time to demand a more empathetic government.

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