It’s time for another Jukebox Choice of the Day. Our friend and contributor Trevor K. McNeil suggested today’s music choice, “The Middle”. With moving trucks sitting in the White House driveway this happy upbeat tune gives me hope. Looking forward to Trump’s moving day. Enjoy. DSM
There have been lots of bad losers through history. Though few have been as sore as Donald Trump in the wake of the 2020 Election. There were few of the citizenry still awake when Biden was announced president-elect a week later. The announcement wasn’t official, however. Trump has enlisted an army of sycophants to attempt sedition. He is willing to use every dirty trick available to him to keep up his delusion that he was the winner. Like a little league player refusing to go home after losing a game. Am I comparing trump to a child? Yes I am. He is such a bad loser he is refusing to accept that the loss is real. The problem seems to be he has convinced a large portion of his Kool Aid drinking, UZZI carrying supporters that he won. Now that is a problem.
It is no secret why Trump is taking things so badly. While he is president he is shielded from criminal and civil prosecution His office has uniquely protected him from prosecution for numerous financial crimes. The legal wolves are already sniffing around the White House door. Even more than this, as his niece, Mary Trump, has pointed out, Trump reserves the worst of his boundless vitriol for those he considers “losers.” Including those who were captured or killed in war. He doesn’t seem to mind most of the insults about his orange complexion or candy floss hair, but call him a loser, and he will unleash the powers of hell.
It sounds ridiculous but Trump does have one last card up his sleeve. According to current U.S. law, either congress or the president can declare national martial law any time, for any reason. At least the congress has to have a vote. Putting the entire country under military lock-down is within the purview of a Trump executive order. It is a power only a few presidents have used and only regionally. It wouldn’t be the first time that Trump would be a trend setter. Biden may well be the president-elect, but it might be difficult for him to take office if there are troops and tanks on the White House lawn commanded by Trump.
There are many who doubt that Trump would actually go that far. Then again, most people laughed at the idea of him getting nominated, and then winning. Most pundits expected that the great orange one would be impeached and removed from office. Sadly the impeachment happened but, in fact, his exoneration by the U.S. Senate, emboldened him. There is no reason then, to think that the powers of the absurd won’t be brought to bear again, leading to the very first American Junta. Goodness knows American foreign policy has supported enough of them over the years. While they didn’t go quite that far, Canada actually had a degree of martial in the early 1970s. Pierre Trudeau, father of Justin Trudeau, enacted what was called The War Measures Act when the nation came under threat from a militant French separatist group called the Quebec Liberation Front.
If it still sounds to weird to be true, consider who Trump had decided to call friends over the past few years. While not all military dictators, Kim Jung-Un an exception, there tends to be a narrow separation between State and Legislative power, particularly in terms of China and Russia. All of them considered “strong men” in nations with a long history of warlords. We have been tipping toward a military dictatorship for the last four years, only noticing now when it might well be too late. We can only hope Trump’s disdain for Trudeau will keep him from following through.
https://www.calamitypolitics.com/2020/11/16/opinion-trump-sorest-loser-ever-15444/
While Donald Trump continues to fight the 2020 election results he is taking on the Republicans as well as the Democrats. There are plenty of us grabbing our pearls and wondering if he is going to be able to pull off his intended coup. I am praying he and his allies fail. But, I am not convinced. His behavior has become a national outrage. You LOST stupid. Move on. For God’s sakes, the state of Georgia has now counted and certified the election result three times! The American people told Trump in a big way, “We are done with you. Goodbye. Get lost.”
As we kick Trump out of the people’s house we might want to come up with a few things to smile about, cause the next couple weeks are probably going to get dirtier and uglier than the last four years. Here’s 35 good reason to smile while we watch as the U-Haul trucks load up the Orange Golfer’s personal affects.
1.) Sandra Lee’s Semi-Homemade cook book series 2.) “Doing” lunch 3.) Blowing bubbles 4.) Saturday night Roller Derby 5.) Popeye cartoons 6.) Aquariums 7.) Tug boats 8.) Winning 9.) Tootsie Roll Pops 10.) Costco food samples 11.) Fitted sheets 12.) Window seats 13.) Spa Day 14.) KoolAid 15.) A freshly sharpened pencil 16.) Chasing rainbows 17.) Day hikes 18.) NASA 19.) Birdhouses 20.) Caves 21.) Beach bonfires 22.) Song birds 23.) Hot fudge sundaes 24.) Balconies 25.) Gymnastics 26.) Playing Frisbee with the dog 27.) Windsurfing the Columbia Gorge 28.) Clam Chowder in a bread bowl 29.) The shape of water 30.) Indian summer 31.) Hot tea 32.) Wishing on a star 33.) Baskets of Geraniums 34.) Toddler’s in snowsuits 35.) Secret family recipes.
I’m happy now. Hope you found something to smile about. I pray this will all be over soon and all we will see is Trump’s diapered ass in our rearview mirror.
https://www.calamitypolitics.com/2017/10/08/29-things-to-make-you-smile/
In 2004, a British tabloid asked brazenly on its front page, when announcing the news that George W. Bush was re-elected, “How can 59,054,087 people be so dumb?” By this time the world had observed the invasion and occupation of Afghanistan in 2001, and then in 2003, Iraq. It didn’t take long to see that George W. was no George H. W. From the beginning of his administration, George W. was under the spell of the neo-cons. From day one he was led around by the nose by VP Dick Cheney and associates. Still, Americans re-elected him. If the British tabloid’s question was rude, it was at least a legitimate question.
That “rude” question has resurfaced in 2020. The counties and states are still counting, but as of November 21, 2020, 73,781,603 people have voted for president Donald Trump, which amounts to 47.2 percent of the total votes so far counted. The same sources show 79,816,557 Americans voted for Joe Biden, which is approximately 51.1 percent of the total votes counted. The president-elect, Joe Biden, is kicking Trump’s butt, leading by over 6 million votes. But, those numbers go against the Trump plan. So, it is time to recount and recount and do anything possible to overturn the election or undermine the validity of Joe Biden’s presidency.
A majority of Americans, especially Black, Brown, Native Americans, Asians, and other marginalized communities, who are at the mercy of this country’s historic, systemic, police abuse and seemingly incurable racism, voted Donald Trump out of office. I want us to celebrate that so many Americans voted to oust his criminal ass, but there is much need for introspection and intense soul searching about those who feverishly supported him, and still support him in his fight to remain in office.
I’m ready this morning to have a cup of coffee, eat an apple and reflect on why more than 73, 701,667 Americans would chose a man like Donald Trump to lead this country? His incompetence and stupidity is legendary. Some close to him have called him a “fucking moron.” These words come from those who know him best, yet these voices are ignored by his minions.
For the last several days I’ve scoured old newspaper and magazine articles putting together a list of the known criminal activities of Donald Trump. Although well-known to his followers, his criminality seems to have no effect on their loyalty or their intoxicated enthusiasm. Monster flags whipping off the back of pickup trucks advertise their loyalty to Trump, not the United States. Wake up guys. Trump is a fraud and you are his biggest suckers. Get real, please, Trump and his whole crew belongs in Sing-Sing, not the Oval Office.
Trump is no stranger to corruption and criminality. He has been embedded in it his entire life. As President, he’s just taken it to a new level. The Trump administration is without a doubt the most corrupt presidency in American history. No wonder he keeps screaming “fake news” when answering reporter’s questions about his scandal ridden administration. He desperately needs to undermine the legitimacy of the fourth estate. Donald John Trump has so much to hide. If his devout followers would listen to the information that is available everywhere, they would drop him like the proverbial a hot potato. But, for some reason they are both deaf and blind to the truth. Truth matters, and Trump couldn’t find truth with both hands. Just to refresh the reader on Trump’s criminal history:
1.) Donald and his father blatantly participated in housing discrimination against people of color and they were sued by the Justice Department.
2.) The Mafia and Donald worked together through the construction trades in New York city.
3.) He hired undocumented Polish workers to rehab the Trump Tower and then refused to pay them.
4.) Trump was fined $750,000 for anti-trust violations during his attempt to take over a rival casino in Atlantic City, New Jersey.
Well, our nation needs a manicure after this nail-biter election but the plus-size diva has now sung. History has been made with President-elect Joe Biden and Vice-President-elect Kamala Harris. The two Dems have received a record number of votes, more than any other presidential and vice-presidential candidates in American history. We will have our first female, African-American, and South Asian Vice President.
I am shouting “President Biden!” from the rooftops – OK, I am afraid of heights, but I am shouting it in my living room and from my car window. While we dance by our lit Biden-Harris sign, car horns honk in the background, fireworks are being shot off, celebrating the end of a four-year living hell. I would run up and down the street hugging total strangers, but thanks to Trump’s incompetence in handling COVID-19, I can’t.
When ‘the Donald’ first took office, a very wise friend commented that people always had feelings of racism, “but now we know who they are”. Unfortunately, many of them we have known for a very long time, like my nephew, or the church deacon who applauded myself and my spouse when we finished RCIA (Rite of Catholic Initiation for Adults) and were formally accepted as members of our faith. Our old friend, whose home we often visited and child we often babysat. Being told by those blind to the truth to “open my eyes” and change my vote, something I would not do even if I could.
The Lincoln Project is seriously trying to have defeat Donald Trump. Trump is floundering and The Lincoln Project is part of the reason. The founders of The Lincoln Project are all former Republican strategists. The ads they are putting together are drawing blood. I intend to share their ads whenever I see them.
Trump is a rude, spoiled tyrant that was born wealthy. He has squandered his fortune and now owes dubious characters around the world. Trump needs to go. We cannot do four more years of his incompetence and cruelty. He’s no populist. He is a con man grifter that fooled us once, but we won’t let him fool us twice. We can do that on November 3rd. Don’t let anything deter you, this is the most important election of our lifetimes.
Thanks to all the folks who are working so hard on The Lincoln Project.
D. S. Mitchell
When I first heard that Donald Trump was running for the presidency, I knew of course it had to be a joke. Who in the world would vote for a egotistical bigot with multiple bankruptcies to run our nation? My friends and spouse all had a good laugh at the very idea of Trump as a presidential candidate.
I have been heavily involved in pageantry. I knew from witnesses “The Donald” thought nothing of walking in a dressing room during a Miss Teen USA pageant, while underage young ladies were in varying stages of undress. His obnoxious and racist conduct was viewed by me first hand at the Miss USA pageants for a two-year period in the nineties in Gary, Indiana. I knew it was impossible for such a man to be taken seriously, his moral code being so corrupt. His raunchy locker room talk of, “grab ‘em by the pussy”, was an unbelievably disgraceful comment. He would never get the nomination. His claim that he would “Make America Great Again”, was a preposterous campaign slogan.
America was great with President Barack Obama and Vice President Joe Biden at the helm. We had the Affordable Care Act, finally. Our military had taken out Osama Bin Laden. The auto industry and the banks had been saved. The LGBTQ community finally had equal love and marriage, and our President was a decent caring man that cried for gun victims. He led our nation with dignity, “with God’s grace”; and never even a breath of scandal.
Barak loved his beautiful wife and his daughters. The Obama’s have been married for 28 years. They brought an adorable Portuguese Water Dog to the White House and we watched the president play in the snow with his girls. Michelle created a garden. This was a First Family that you could not help but love. Our first Black President was stellar. His VP, Joe Biden has known tragedy. He had been a single-parent widower, who put his children first. He found love again and has been married to his second wife ‘Dr. Jill’ for 43 years. He has never been unfaithful to either of his wives. Of course this great team was re-elected, and the Democratic party was making strides at keeping America great through inclusion and acceptance.
We had Hillary Clinton ready to break the glass ceiling as the first female President of the United States. Instead of that glass ceiling breaking, our hearts broke. Donald Trump received the Republican nomination for president. My mouth dropped nearly to my neck from shock. Surely, there was no way he could be elected. Hillary was by far the clear, experienced choice and Trump’s low-down, ridiculous tactics about her emails would not be taken seriously, or would they? Why, some of her emails were just simplistic messages about her daughter’s shower. Hillary had nothing to hide in her emails in the least, whereas Mr. Trump continues to hide his debt and blatantly refuses to show his tax returns. All other United States presidents and candidates had released their tax returns. Surely, the American people were not foolish enough to fall for this man’s malarkey.
I sat on election night at a colleague’s restaurant, wearing my “I voted” sticker with my husband, awaiting Hillary’s brilliant acceptance speech, when the unthinkable happened. I watched in horror, losing my appetite, as a smug and smirking Donald Trump descended a staircase with his family to make a victory speech. Our nation had just descended into hell. Tears streaming down my face, my husband escorted me to our car. I was literally in a state of shock; I cried for three days. Hillary wrote a beautiful email to all of her supporters; I used a half of a box of tissue while reading it.
Thanksgiving, Hanukkah, Christmas, and Kwanzaa were bittersweet because we knew what was to come. I prayed, I cried, I hoped and I feared; emotions ran high during the holidays. Anger simmered below the surface at my husband’s Trump-voting brother-in-law’s house. New Year’s Eve brought tension, not celebration. Never had a bigger deal been made of a President leaving office. President and First Lady Obama would be much missed. I could not watch ”The Donald” take the oath of office. News photos of Barack and Michelle kindly escorted Melania to her seat, while her husband ignored her completely. I vowed to never call Donald Trump ‘president’ and I could not bring myself to refer to a woman who has been seen naked in magazines by half the world, ‘first lady.’ The nightmare had begun.
The two highest offices in the land are not directly selected by the voters. Actually, up until the Seventeenth Amendment was ratified in 1913, U.S. Senators were chosen by their respective state legislatures as well. But that’s old, old news, or it should be, even though there have been a few people speaking up lately about repealing the 17th – apparently they have been thinking outside the ballot box. As a certain so-called president has been doing his entire administration.
The U.S. president and vice-president are actually elected by a group who are newly formed each presidential election year. Known as the electoral college, their existence is mandated in Section 1, Clause 2 of Article II of our Constitution. The Constitution gives the state legislatures the power to determine the method of electors being chosen. Since the 1820’s, that method has been indirectly by the votes of the people during a presidential election. While the candidates’ names are on the ballots, the voters are actually choosing electors who are pledged to a certain presidential and vice-presidential candidates.
Our friends over at The Lincoln Project keep knocking the proverbial ball out of the park. With less than 3 weeks until the 2020 Election the folks at The Lincoln Project are shooting deadly arrow after arrow at the heart of the Donald Trump re-election campaign. The one I’m sharing today is amazing. It’s been a long time since I enjoyed an ad campaign as much as I have the ads from The Lincoln Project-D.S.M.
Writing for Calamity News and Politics gives me a platform to discuss headline events and political policy. It also provides me a place to vent and fume. If somebody doesn’t like the drum I’m beating, they are fully able, and encouraged to move on; to a site that better satisfies their social view of the world.
“Don’t get so wound up, it’s just politics”, my son recently told me. Well, whether I’m saying it to my son, or to a potential reader, or to a neighbor, that is the wrong attitude. In the end, politics is policy, and policy effects everything in our lives. Schools, hospitals, parks, highways, airports, waterways, international trade, health care, military defense and social justice to name just a few. Nearly every part of our daily life is effected in someway by the policies that our elected officials enact in Washington, D.C., or our state capitols. Got it?
"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.
