This is the strongest reprimand I have seen from any GOP Senator. It took awhile to wrestle the rebuke from the Senator, but he looked in the mirror and knew he could not continue to remain silent. Thank you @MittRomney for your strong words.
Are you listening to the “National Moron”? Trump is in full meltdown. Don’t worry Lucifer, the guys in white jackets with injectable medication are on their way, I think. Careful, kitty, I’ve read he’s “pathologically dangerous”.
I had to get off Twitter, to write this post. I’ve watched the ‘National Moron’s’ press conference. What an embarrassment to our country. His misdirected anger, his contentious behavior, his defiance, his lies, his betrayal of our country, his vile insults against an elected congressman, his cursing, even his attempted fondling of the Finnish president’s leg. Anyone watching this horror show, can’t continue to support this very damaged man. He is as #Omarosa said, in her book about her time in the White House, “Unhinged.” In addition to the Omarosa book, I refer my readers to, “The Dangerous Case of Donald Trump” from 2017. Available on Amazon.
The “Dangerous Case of Donald Trump” was a compilation of 27 essays written by no less than 37 psychiatrists and a variety of mental health professionals. The book published in 2017, came early in Trump’s administration. The book describes Donald Trump as “psychologically dangerous”. Using the “duty to inform and protect” the co-authors lay out the dangers a Trump presidency. These mental health professionals see Trump as “a clear and present danger.” What we saw this morning in the Oval Office was a president in mental collapse. ** (That book has been updated, though I admit, I have not yet seen it).
Trump and the White House have totally implicated themselves. They admitted to the crime and then provided proof of that criminal activity. Now we’ve got Trump claiming the whistleblower is lying. The truth here is, that Trump has confirmed nearly everything in the whistleblower complaint. How can the president be allowed to continue his smear of the whistleblower and private citizens. It is outrageous. This call was not “perfect”. Nor was it placed by a “perfectly stable genius”. Instead we have a glass-chewing maniac, performing as a mafia boss, extorting an underling.
In 1973, Richard Nixon declared, “there can be no whitewash at the White House.” That was all theory, not reality.
After, protests and investigations, Nixon finally resigned, before impeachment. I wonder if President Trump will resign? It’s possible he will order military defense of his position. Don’t laugh. Just because it hasn’t happened, doesn’t mean it can’t, or won’t. Thank you Founding Fathers, for the Second Amendment.
In defense of myself, the information is coming in so fast it is hard to keep track of it all.
I started Calamity Politics because I wanted to express my frustrations as to the direction I saw the country going. It was necessary to keep from losing my frigging liberal mind. I try to focus on news and facts. I try to support my statements with at least two sources. With this post, there are so many sources I can’t count them all. I’ve thrown all previous behaviors to the wind, and this post is from the gut, as the guys say.
I had a husband once. He believed, “if you repeat a lie, enough times, most people believe it.” Or, at least believe, there must be something behind all the smoke. On the other hand, I am more of the, “You can fool all the people some of the time. You can fool some of the people, part of the time, but you can never fool all the people, all the time.” I believe we are about to find out which theory holds water. I’ve got my fingers crossed. There’s a lot at stake here; 240 years of our constitutional democracy.
I went to bed, watching MSNBC’s The 11th Hour w/Brian Williams. I don’t know when I fell asleep. The station played while I slept fitfully, visions of impeachment dancing in my head. The thoughts of the long relished impeachment of Donald J. Trump seemed to be sharing stage with another vision. Red, white, and blue, spun polyester twisted weirdly on a brisk breeze. Even in my confused sleep, I knew something was wrong. Something was very wrong.
I couldn’t make sense of it. What the fuck? Confused, I twisted my head back and forth trying to clear the distorted image. Why does the flag look so strange? The stars; where are the stars? OMG. The stripes aren’t the stripes of My flag, and My country. The flag flying over this nightmare White House is strange to me. Suddenly, in my restless dream I identified the tri-stripe red, white, and blue of Russia.
My eyes flew open. Joe and Mika were talking with the usual crowd at the “Morning Joe” conference table. The topic centered around Ukrainian Special Envoy, Kurt Volker’s sudden and unexpected resignation. I shook my head. The rest of the commentary centered on Trump officials and outliers like Rudy Colludy making a sweating fool of himself on numerous cable channels over the week-end.
“Since when does the personal attorney for a president become an arm of the U.S. State Department?” I found myself asking. It seems Rudy has mixed several roles in his Ukrainian campaign. Official, unofficial, who the hell cares, he says. I think a whole bunch of us care, Rudy. Since when does the personal attorney to a sitting president change hats from hour to hour. Rudy’s conflict of interest is blinding. The intent to interfere in an American election is screaming for attention. Rudy has gone from an admired former mayor of New York City to a social pariah. He has cemented his legacy as a treacherous colluder. I am curious; just who is paying him? I doubt it is Donald Trump.
I know there is a lot of political wrangling going on in the Congress. The Trump coalition is claiming another “witch-hunt”. The Dems are claiming treachery, obstruction of justice, bribery, and election tampering, for starters. Impeachment is becoming a reality. Personally, from what I can see, Trump went on national television and admitted that in his “perfect” conversations with the Ukrainian president Zelensky he tried to blackmail and coerce a foreign official to dig up dirt on a political opponent. What are the Republicans claiming? That Trump didn’t say it? Please. After a criminal admits his guilt his attorney cannot deny culpability; as long as the criminal is deemed to be sane.
The conversation seems focused on Trump’s conversations with Ukrainian officials. Yes, the Ukraine is a major player, but certainly not the single most important participant in this scandal. Behind the curtain is the true manipulator of our foreign policy, Vladimir Putin. Trump has spoken to him via telephone no less than 12 times. He has met personally with the Russian president at least twice. I want to see those conversations. When we do, I’m sure we will find Putin behind Trump’s activities. Impeachment is unavoidable. Trump won’t permit anything else. He cannot be constrained by the Constitution, so it is up to the Congress to bridle this out of control dictator, while we can still claim a government.
RESIST, CONFRONT and VOTE.
D. S. Mitchell
Voting in America is far from guaranteed
Voting is fundamental to our democracy. The right to vote however has been the target for disenfranchisement since the founding of the country. Our Constitution (before amendments) does not clearly stipulate who can vote. In the early years state legislators voted for the president.
From the beginning many of the states used every means available to limit voting. At the origin of the United States, many groups, including slaves, landless white men, women and free blacks could not vote. But many amendments to the Constitution (XV, XVII, XIX, XXIII, XXIV, XXVI) significantly expanded voting rights and other political freedoms to previously unprotected groups.
The passage of multiple constitutional amendments was geared towards enhancing voting rights for all citizens. The federal government was spearheading the expansion of voting rights throughout the United States. Numerous states, particularly the states of the old confederacy, habitually passed laws that did not specifically bar black citizens from voting but placed unrealistic burdens on them. Poll taxes and “guess how many beans are in the jar” kinds of absurdities. For that reason, the Voting Rights Act of 1965 was introduced and President Lyndon B. Johnson signed it into law.
I grew up in Portland, Oregon. I graduated from Lincoln High School in 1964. I am a white female. I grew up in poverty. Both my mother and father were union members. They divorced when I was a teen.
But I was blessed. Everybody said I was smart. So when I graduated from high school I headed to college. I, like many others of my generation, was the first person in my family to graduate from college.
With the help of several great scholarships, I received my BS in Social Science/Political Science in 1972 from Portland State University. Not a particularly useful degree, in itself. My original intent had been to continue to law school, but my full-time job, parenting, and physical exhaustion, halted my education at that time. Ten years later, in 1982, I returned to Clark Community College and obtained an Associate Degree in Nursing. After graduation with my ADA, I worked for the next 33 years as a Registered Nurse in hospitals in Oregon, Washington, California and Nevada. I still keep up my RN license, and do volunteer work.
I have never missed voting in an election since I came of voting age. My mother called herself a “Roosevelt Democrat”. I am a passionate progressive in the vein of Bernie Sanders. I believe in political activism. If you have a political agenda, which we all do, it is necessary to speak up.
It amazes me to hear people say they, “hate government intervention in their lives.”
Calamity Politics is coming to you today from the North Oregon coast where we still respect women and protection of the weak, the sick and the elderly.
Sadly, it seems to me, that “people” never vote for policy. Which is what effects their every day lives. Instead, politicians have figured out that “people” vote for hot button issues, the candidate’s appearance and stage comfort being other factors. There seems to be a total disconnect for many people. The individual political party platforms state clearly the values and direction of that party. Furthermore, the history of the individual parties actions when in power are a pretty reliable predictor of how they will govern.
Characters like Rush Limbaugh, Sean Hannity and Newt Gingrich are continually ginning up the right wing base with attacks against any and all “liberals” “lefties” “progressives”; and the “Democrats” specifically.
I’m proud to be a liberal if that mean, in the words of JFK, ” Someone who looks ahead and not behind, someone who welcomes new ideas without rigid reactions, someone who cares about the welfare of the people—their health, their housing, their schools, their jobs, their civil rights and their civil liberties—someone who believes we can break through the stalemate and suspicions that grip us in our policies abroad. If that is what it means to be a ‘Liberal’— then I’m proud to say I’m a liberal.”
I have been trying to stay calm. Morning meditation, a 3 mile walk on a misty beach, background acoustic guitar played today while I worked on my *novel. No cable news. Just me, and steady controlled breathing.
There are two special elections in the South today. The South, since the late 1960’s has been Republican red. When I was a kid, the Democrats owned the South. But, strangely enough in reaction to Civil Rights Legislation backed by the Democrats the South moved lock, stock and barrel to the Republican party.
I donated to both Democratic candidates, Archie Parnell in South Carolina, and Jon Ossoff in Georgia. Not much money, because I’m a pensioner, but I felt I had to at least put something in the pot. Not that I expect the Dems to win, but I have hope.
I wanted Calamity News and Politics to focus on thoughtful pieces about health care, the economically marginalized, unequal justice, the militarization of police departments, income disparity, public education, immigration policy, and other social issues. However, that has not been the case. The daily news commentators are in a frenzy. The daily political news comment and discussion have centered on the Russian involvement in the 2016 U.S. election. A very big story. That whole drama has morphed into what did the Russians, and the Trump campaign do together? Was there collusion or conspiracy? OMG, it sure looks like it. But, my intent is to spend more time on discussing social issues.
The interference in our election, by a hostile power is deeply disturbing, can’t be ignored and must be examined. Up to this point, so much has leaked out that I haven’t been able to keep my head on straight. I’ve tried to get my puzzle pieces together, but am still looking under cushions and couches for those missing pieces. I recommend that readers go to YouTube or the MSNBC video vault and watch the last two to three weeks of The Rachel Maddow Show. She is on this story. Rachel has found plenty of Russian dirt under Trump’s fingernails. Next to Trump, the next last person I want in the Oval Office is Mike Pence.
If Donald Trump were to be impeached, would it be for conspiring with a hostile power to win an election? Several presidents have been impeached, but none in our 240 years, involved conspiracy to affect an election. We can’t allow ourselves to be complacent in our belief that the U.S.election process is safe. Not only are the election machines vulnerable to hacking, but our system is psychologically vulnerable. What impact does fake news, conspiracy theories, and partisan bubblism have on our election process?
I do plan on putting more together on the suspected Russian and Trump campaign collusion. I will likely try tracing Rachel’s timeline of inquiry. Don’t hold your breath, but I will try to get more of this hot political issue posted soon. The issue is hot, and seems to be getting hotter, despite efforts by the White House to tamper down the agitation in the media.
Join the Resistance
My head just keeps spinning. In case no one has noticed the political discussion in the United States has become so heated between opposing factions that I am hearing of divorces and office fights over the 2016 election results. Really? So, just for fun, I played with some numbers and I thought I might light a political fire under my readers. It’s seat of the pants mathematics but, it seems that more than one person is operating by the seat of their pants. American politics at its most outrageous.
How much was your vote worth in 2016. You probably already figured out, not much; if you voted, for Hillary Clinton. Hillary WON the popular vote by 2,865,075. Everyone knows that, right? Trump WON the Electoral College with 304 electoral votes. That’s old news, right? Looking behind those numbers we discover that: 112,155 votes, cast in three states (Michigan 13,104, Wisconsin 27,257, and Pennsylvania 71,794) turned my world, and maybe yours, upside down.
WHEN IS 112,155 EQUAL TO 2,865,075?They are equal if you are using Electoral College math. Every single one of those 112,155 “rust belt” votes, equaled 25.55 votes, cast elsewhere. In other words, 1 vote in Pennsylvania is equal to 25.55 votes in Oregon. In my opinion, absolute insanity.
"If puppies and kittens don't make you smile, you might consider therapy." D. S. Mitchell 2015.
I Barely Have Time To Walk The Dog
Self-isolating has forced us to turn even more to telecommunication and social media.
The Major Cause Of Sex Trafficking Is Poverty
Many great charities, here are a couple that I support: Sierra Club, World Wildlife Fund, ACLU, and Planned Parenthood.
