No Other “President” In History

No Other “President” In History

Trump established many new firsts most of them bad, destructive and downright reprehensible

No Other “President” In History

 

By Cate Rees-Hessel & Wes Hessel

 

First Failure

I vowed when Trump took office to never call him “president”. For the sake of this article, I will loosely refer to him as such. “The Donald” is the first world leader to do many things but none of them are positive. Read on about Trump’s dubious “firsts”, and then vote blue:

No Other “President” In History

  1. First U.S. president to promise to be a dictator. America is a democracy, a republic technically, but still – our forefathers are spinning in their graves at this conduct.
  2. He is the first to want a military parade – not to honor our veterans but to seal the fact he wants to be a dictator.
  3. Refused to attend the inauguration of the newly elected President Biden – first president to not attend his successor’s inaugural ceremony in 152 years.
  4. Claimed the election was stolen from him because he lost, when in fact President Biden received 81,283,098,  a record number of popular votes.
  5. Trump was the first president to claim his predecessor (Obama) was not born in the United States and as such was disqualified from even running for the office.
  6. Has never released any tax returns – the first president in 45 years to have kept them secret.
  7. Lost party control of the House, Senate, and then his own office – first time in 89 years.
  8. Trump was the first president that failed to achieve at least a 50% approval rating at any time during his 4 years in office.
  9. Trump is the first president to openly support ”Christian Nationalism” – a.k.a. “white supremacy”.
  10. The first president ever indicted for crimes; paying off a porn star, mishandling classified documents, election law violations, etc., trying to hide behind an invented presidential immunity claim. At last count Trump had at least 88 felony charges against him, and in the words of Curly in “City Slickers”, “Day ain’t over yet…”
  11. First president to cause a foreign nation to issue a warrant for his arrest.
  12. Invited an insurrection – obviously first (and hopefully only) president to incite violent action against our government.
  13. Promises a national “bloodbath” if he loses the 2024 election.
  14. First former president to run for election after already losing his bid for a second term – first president in 28 years.
  15. Trump is the first former president to hawk bibles and gold painted high top sneakers to a weary late night television crowd.
  16. A Godless man using the faith of other to get votes, selling expensive Bibles to fleece far right wing supporters. Holding a Bible (upside down) he does not read, outside a church he does not attend, to get votes.
  17. Brought the first centerfold “first lady” into the White House.
  18. Insisted on visiting Pittsburgh after the synagogue shooting in the Squirrel Hill neighborhood. Trump disregarded the Jewish mourning process to sit shiva for the deceased, showing disrespect for the Jewish community.
  19. When Trump entered office he dissolved the Infectious Disease Task Force which was put in place by the Obama-Biden administration, to quickly address communicable disease issues. That action crippled the response to the COVID-19 pandemic leading to the death of 1,200,000 (or 120,000 depending again, on your source) in the U.S. He was the first president in a 120 years to preside over a crippling nationwide pandemic.
  20. Trump took credit for vaccines that President Biden was actually responsible for.
  21. Claimed in letters to Americans that he personally was responsible for the  first stimulus checks, when in fact it was the House of Representatives led by Nancy Pelosi that was responsible for the checks.
  22. First president to deliver fumbling, bumbling remarks about Easter, the Revolutionary War, and the Civil War with such iron pyrite nuggets such as, “Gettysburg, what an unbelievable battle that was. The Battle of Gettysburg, what an unbelievable-I mean, it was so much and so interesting, and so vicious and horrible, and so beautiful in so many different ways.”
  23. Another first when the former bragged about, “Grabbing  ’em by the p____” .
  24. A serial adulterer during each of his multiple marriages while claiming to be a Christian man.
  25. The first to  brag about overturning established legal precedent. Roe v. Wade was 50 years of established law when Donald’s Supreme Court overturned it. We now have chaos and confusion. leading to dangerous  pregnancy complications going untreated.
  26. Trump wants to see programs for children eliminated. He supports childhood poverty unless they’re white males.
  27. Encourages the repugnant practice of trophy hunting.
  28. Trump is Putin’s puppet – the first president believed to have won election  aided by a foreign power.
  29. Wants to destroy Social Security for seniors and disabled Americans.
  30. The first to mock and make fun of a disabled journalist
  31. Trump appointed Postal Service hater Louis DeJoy to head the USPS. With DeJoy in office, our mail arrives late in the day, if at all. The plan was to line his and wealthy supporter’s pockets with service outsource contracts by privatizing the Postal Service.
  32. The first candidate to advocate for the elimination of Obama Care, Medicare, and Medicaid, effectively making healthcare only for the rich, and the white.
  33. The first candidate who’s election speeches are more like a bad comedy act, threatening retribution and poking vicious “fun,” at the deep state, yet not once giving legitimate reasons to vote for him.
  34. Trump is supporting turning back time on women’s, LGBTQ, children’s, and minorities’ rights.
  35. The first to refuse to allow White House cleaning staff to clean specific areas of the WH, leading to a rodent infestation – of course, Trump is the biggest rat of all.
  36. Claimed victory for an election he didn’t win before all votes were counted – the first president to not concede their loss.
  37. Trump called soldiers “suckers” and “losers”, refusing to go to honor their ultimate sacrifice in WWII.
  38. His policies added nearly 8 trillion dollars to our national debt, the most by far of any president.
  39. Trump was impeached twice, the only president to be so distinguished.
  40. Also, the only president whose own party member voted for his impeachment conviction.
  41. Of all the presidents, he is the first to not sleep in the same bedroom as his wife.

(Thanks to Dan Kunz at the Coeur d’Alene/Post Falls Press for his article highlighting many of these inauspicious firsts.)

Be True Blue

It is imperative we vote blue – we need reelection for President Joe Biden and Vice President Kamala Harris; the alternative is unthinkable. Racism, sexism, and anti-Semitism are out of control in our nation. Once the orange haired monster got a taste of power, the floodgates of hate and insanity were opened wide, and it’s very difficult but not impossible to stop the storm. Should “The Donald” be elected for another term, things will be even worse than his first horrific term. Trump is out of control and we just need to send him a clear message that he will never enter the Oval Office (or any other part of the White House) again.

Hasn’t Got a Prayer

Franklin Graham (no stranger to scandal) is demanding we pray for Donald Trump, but he has no right demanding anything. This is the typical arrogant, lemming-like behavior of Trump’s supporters. I pray that the orange monster is convicted of the crimes that he committed and goes to prison. I pray our nation will be finally be rid of him, once and for all. Here are some ways to get involved and ride the blue wave:

  1. Offer to make election calls for Democrats.
  2. Donate what you can to the Democratic election efforts – if you can’t financially support campaigns, give of your time.
  3. Bumper stickers, yard signs, t-shirts, etc. – we can display these things for Democrats with far more dignity and class than MAGA’s in their red hats and gold metallic gym shoes.
  4. Offer your home for Democratic events such as meetings, watch parties, envelope stuffing, postcard writing, and so on.
  5. Don’t engage with MAGA’s – ignore the insanity they spew; it would be a battle of wits with an unarmed person. Let’s concentrate on a Democratic victory in November.
  6. Offer to transport people to the polls.
  7. Volunteer to register folks in your community to vote.
  8. Post on social media positive things that Democrats are doing, and the negative things Republicans are up to.
  9. VOTE!
  10. Do pray that President Biden and Vice President Harris are reelected, and the orange haired monster is convicted of his crimes.

We can do this, together and united we stand for democracy…

Resources: www.democrats.org, www.lincolnproject.us, www.facebook.com/p/Mary-L-Trump-100076207187060/, www.taylorswift.com.

 

The Electoral College Stinks

The Electoral College Stinks

If we want real democracy in this country we need to get rid of the Electoral College

The Electoral College Stinks

Support the National Popular Vote compact, it makes sense if you believe in democracy.

By D. S. Mitchell

Losing While Winning

I believe whoever wins the most votes should become president of the United States. Unfortunately, with the Electoral College system that is not what happens. Twice in the last five elections the candidate that became president of the United States lost the popular vote. Donald Trump, won by less than 80,000 votes in four key electoral college states. He simultaneously lost the national popular vote by nearly 3 million votes. That means the guy who came in second was elected in 2016 (Trump), 2000 (Bush), 1888 (Harrison), 1876 (Hayes), and 1824 (J.Q. Adams), thereby altering history. Does anyone doubt that a Hillary Clinton presidency would have looked very different than the Trump presidency that we got.

The GOP Solution

The Electoral College system has become a powerful tool for the Republicans in their effort to lock in one party control of government. Elie Mystal, in an Editorial from a couple of years back, in The Nation magazine, wrote the GOP’s ultimate solution to the country’s changing demographics is to “forge a new theory of government where the rule by a white minority can withstand the popular will.” The nature of that effort was clear during Trump’s first impeachment trial. Republicans desperate to acquit Trump married themselves to a group of discredited legal theories, perhaps appropriate in a banana republic, but certainly not fitting for one of the world’s longest surviving democracies. The Senators embraced a view of executive power and privilege, that ultimately denies our democracy and anoints a king; which coincidently meshes nicely with Trump’s “permanent immunity claims.”

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What’s Joe Biden Done? Plenty. . .

What’s Joe Biden Done? Plenty…

Joe Biden has done a lot in four years and it looks like he's going to have to keep telling the people, cause so far, it's a running into a severe case of ageism.

What’s Joe Biden Done? Plenty . . .

Editor: Over the last couple weeks Joe Biden has taken a bashing from all sides. If I were him I’d be giving the media, the MAGA’s, Robert Hur, and the Mango Mussolini, the big middle finger. JOE BIDEN IS SMARTER ON HIS WORST DAY THAN TRUMP IS ON HIS BEST DAY. Dum, dum, dum, Donald. Let’s take a look at the accomplishments of Grandpa Joe, without a doubt one of the most successful presidencies of the last couple hundred years, at least since FDR. I love, Joe, Jill, Kamala, and Doug. Let’s keep these amazing people working for us.  VOTE BLUE. VOTE BIDEN-HARRIS.

By Cate Rees-Hessel

Good Policies

For those asking what President Biden has done since he took office, my question is what hasn’t he done? Joe Biden has accomplished a great deal in the last three years. The benefits for the American people have been enormous and his policies continue to better our nation. Below is a short list of Joe Biden’s many accomplishments. Four more years of Biden-Harris is just what our country needs.

1.The Biden’s have brought dignity, decorum, and class back to the White House. We have a wonderful “working First Lady” with a Doctorate of Education. My relief is obvious, I no longer have to worry that my overseas friends think of the White House “as a stripper bar.” Unlike the loser, President Biden is not being indicted or found guilty of rape and defamation. Joe is a man of God that actually prays, knows Scripture, and attends church, as opposed to the one holding a Bible upside down, in front of a church he does not attend, and who if asked cannot tell you the meaning of Easter. I remember with gladness Joe bowing his head in prayer during his inaugural speech, an image of a man that has a heart felt faith and gentle demeanor – that’s President Biden. Never lewd, crude, rude, or disrespectful; dignity personified. Well, I have heard an F-bomb dropped now and then, but otherwise we’re good.
2. Passage of the much needed infrastructure bill to repair and rebuild our roads and bridges. It had become a running monthly gag with Trump, but Joe and the Dems made it happen.
3. The lowest unemployment rate in years. Joe’s bringing back ‘Made in America,’ creating countless good jobs in the rust belt and other hard hit areas of the Midwest. More people are working than ever before.
4. His policies have lowered the cost of living for families across the country and raised 40 million children out of poverty.
5. Altered the course of the COVID-19 pandemic, and provided vaccines and at home virus tests free of charge.
6. Rescued the economy from a catastrophic free fall and his sound economics will continue to make the U.S. economy the envy of the world. Like Joe says, “build the economy from the bottom up and the middle out, not from the top down;” not the nonsense of Ronald Reagan’s  trickle down economics.

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OPINION: Look, Here’s The Thing…

OPINION: Look, Here’s The Thing…

By Anna Hessel

 

A Sick Joke

 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.

A Woman’s Nightmare

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.

The Great America We Had

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.

Actual First Families

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.

Breaking The Glass Ceiling

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.

You’ve Got To Be Kidding

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.

God Help Us

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.

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