SILLY TRUMP WORD CHAIN

SILLY TRUMP WORD CHAIN

By D. S. Mitchell

Change Gears

Let's change gears

Time to change gears, it’s Saturday afternoon

For at least a couple of hours every Saturday and Sunday I try to come up with fun distractions; for myself and my readers. So, it’s playtime again here at Calamity Politics. I love word chains. So today I have decided to play with some words, with a little politics thrown in for fun. Hope that doesn’t bother you. Of course, I know you love politics, or you wouldn’t be reading Calamity News and Politics.

Rod L. Evans, Word Magician

A word chain consists of a group of words arranged so that each word differs by only one letter from the words directly before and after it. So here we go. I have to admit that I cheated today and I am using  Rod L. Evans, Ph.D. ‘Tyrannosaurus Lex’ for today’s’ game. Thanks, Mr. Evans. Please check out his several books on Amazon.

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How Boris Tried To Hijack Parliament

Trevor K. McNeil and D.S. Mitchell

Mr. Johnson

Prime Minister Boris Johnson. A name resonating as strangely in British ears as President Rupert Murdoch would to Americans. While his may seem a particularly lofty and unexpected feat, it did not come out of nowhere. To really get a handle on what happened and how the former London mayor got where he is now, it is important to keep in mind his earlier career as a journalist.

Laying the Groundwork

Lord Acton once said that absolute power corrupts absolutely. An adage from which came the idea that the people who are best suited to govern are those who do not want to. Something that assisted Johnson no end as he slowly built up a name in the political arena long before entering it. Particularly as the Brussels Correspondent for the Spectator Newspaper where he wrote about the goings-on at the European Union. A platform which he used to gain influence in the growing Euro-skeptic community.

Renounces U.S. Citizenship

Apparently, trying to counteract the Acton effect. Everything Boris Johnson has done since his early 30’s has indirectly assisted, or was intended to serve his ambition to be Prime Minister. From his journalism career and two term stint as Mayor of London, both used to bolster his profile and popularity. In 2016 he dropped his American citizenship. He was born in New York. He has spent a unrewarded amount of time in efforts to keep his middle name, the vaguely French-sounding de Pfeffel, from becoming public knowledge.

A Small But Vocal Minority

The Euro-skeptics are a quadrant of the European Right Wing that would blow up in later years leading to the small but influential UK Independence Party which engineered the Brexit vote. France’s far-right Front Nationanale (National Front) which came in second in the last French national election are a segment of such philosophy. Johnson got in on the ground floor of the movement in the mid-1990’s and worked it so that by the time he first ran for parliament in 2001 he was already a well-known and popular figure in conservative circles.

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“Killers, Victims or Bystanders”

Killers, Victims, or Bystanders

By D. S. Mitchell

Indifference Is Seductive

Elie Wiesel, teacher, writer, philosopher and Auschwitz death camp survivor, said in a speech before the US Congress in 1999, “indifference can be tempting-more than that, seductive.  It is much easier to look away from victims.  It is after all, awkward and troublesome to be involved in another person’s pain and despair.”

Three Categories

Furthermore, “to be indifferent to that suffering makes the human being, inhuman.  Indifference is always the friend of the enemy, for it benefits the aggressor-never the victim, whose pain is magnified when he or she feels forgotten.  The political prisoner, the starving children, the homeless refugees-not to respond to their plight, not to relieve their solitude by offering them a spark of hope is to exile them from human memory.  And in denying their humanity, we betray our own.  Indifference, then, is not only a sin, it is a punishment.  Where I came from, society was composed of three simple categories: the killers, the victims, and the bystanders.”

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Trump Friend Arrested On Sex Trafficking Charges

Trump Associate Arrested

By D. S. Mitchell

Big News

The big news Saturday July 6th, 2019 was all about the Jeff Epstein arrest in New York. Epstein, a hedge fund billionaire, and registered sex offender has been the center of scandal and corruption for decades.

Head Banging

Donald Trump, our current president, has been a long-time Epstein friend and associate. I wonder if Trump has spent this week-end banging his head against the wall? Whether he is head-banging or hair-pulling, I bet Trump is throwing a mindless fit.

High Flyers

Trump told New York magazine in 2002 that Epstein was “a lot of fun to be with.” Epstein was known to entertain his high-flying friends on his private Caribbean island or at the Gatsby-like parties he threw at his luxury homes in Manhattan, New Mexico and Palm Beach, Florida.

Prince Andrew

Prince Andrew, younger brother of Prince Charles was reportedly close with Epstein. Andrew was forced to step down from his prominent position as special UK representative for trade in 2011, after it was reported that Epstein had once arranged a sexual encounter for the prince with a 17-year-old girl — one of a number of under-aged girls Epstein allegedly groomed to entertain his powerful male friends.

Princes And Presidents

Andrew wasn’t the only prominent man who was caught up in the Epstein sex scandal.  It is well known that at one point, Epstein also hung out with both Presidents Donald Trump and Bill Clinton, the Washington Post reported. 

In The Old Days

Trump commented in a 2002 interview that Epstein, “likes beautiful women as much as I do, and many of them are on the younger side.” Trump has had at least 22 women make allegations of sexual assault against him. Furthermore, there is a very dark story about Trump at an Epstein party many years ago. The oft repeated tale, alleged by a then 13-year-old girl, is that Trump raped her. Epstein was given a very sweet deal in Florida, let’s see if his money and powerful friends will be coming to his aid in this now very public case in New York.

 

Trump, A Dictionary, And An Idea

By D. S. Mitchell

Game Day

I know it is nearly July but it is another rainy day at the mountain, so I’ve got time to play some games. All I need to do, to get a break at Calamity Politics, is take it.  I’m not in the mood to be serious today. I had thought I was going to write an in-depth, thought-provoking, political post about the Iranian threat. However, I’ve changed my mind, for the moment anyway.

A New Game

As I opened the dictionary laying on the table, I got an idea for a new game. Wow. I just invented a new game. At least I think it’s a new idea. I believe I can write a spontaneous, weird and crazy story, using a well-known politician and his family as the centerpieces of that silliness. The idea is that I will use all the words on whatever dictionary page falls open, in the order the words appear on the two open pages.

So, here we go. My source is the “Everyday America English Dictionary”, Edited by Richard A. Spears, et al.  NTC (National Textbook Company) 1987.  Pages 130-131.

Daddy Knows Best

Donald Trump dropped the fountain pen on the desk, and asked, “What’s for dinner tonight?”

“Some form of fowl that Donald Jr, bagged when he was on safari in Texas,” Ivanka answered.

“You are a fox,” Big Daddy Trump gushed, leering suggestively.

“Stop it, Daddy.”

“Do you know what fraction of the federal budget is being spent on Jr.’s security detail?  Some reporter asked, and I had no idea.  Do you know?”

“Oh, Daddy, don’t worry about such stuff.  Just stamp it TOP SECRET,  and if that ‘fake news’ lady asks again, you just tell her it’s, classified.”

“Of course, of course. You’re right, sweetie.  I have more power in my twitter finger than ANYONE in the world!  Especially some ‘fake news’ reporter.”

“We should have that finger insured.  What if there’s a fracture?  It would be a disaster,” she said shaking her head in self-confirmation.

“Careful, Daddy, that glassware is very old and very, very fragile.  Michelle Obama called that glassware historic.”

“Historic?” he said with a twinkle in his eye.

Daddy, please, stop juggling the glassware.”

“Damn!  I don’t know why there’s no carpet in here?  You’d think, the designer would have figured out that somebody might drop something once in a while.  Bad design. Really, Bad.  Bad.”

“Daddy there’s a piece missing.  Do you see the last fragment somewhere?  Maybe we can get Melania to glue them back together.”

He bent down, picked up a large chunk of the broken glassware, and handed it to Ivanka.

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25 Tidbits Of Useless Information

By D.S. Mitchell

Poll Numbers

I am well aware that there is breaking news. As if Thursday June 20th, 2019 would be any different from yesterday, or any day last week.  Yesterday, the Iranians shot down a 130 million dollar American drone and Hope Hicks refused to talk to the House Judiciary Committee. Today as I wait for Trump to let us know what he is going to do about the drone attack I see a poll result from Gallop, or somebody, cross the television screen. Without surprise I see  that 57% of Americans believe we need a new president.  I hope Trump doesn’t think war will get his poll numbers up.

Some Distraction

In this age of craziness I think the world needs a bit of distraction. I love useless information and thought I would share some useless information with my readers today, instead of writing something topical and newsworthy. So, here goes.

25 tidbits of useless information:

1.) Did you know a cockroach can live for up to nine days without a head, until it starves to death? Who knew.

2.) An Ostrich’s eye is bigger than its brain. While we are on the subject of the Ostrich, did you know that Ostrich’s have only two toes on each foot?

3.) Marilyn Monroe, the 1950-1960 sex goddess, had 6 toes on one of her feet. See. None of us are perfect.

4.) Women blink twice as often as men do.

5.) No word in the English language rhymes with month, orange, silver, or purple.

6.) Leonardo Da Vinci invented scissors. Thank God! Man and woman lived on this planet for 200,000 years before someone invented scissors. They seem so basic, so necessary. How did people live without scissors? Amazing, on so many levels.

7.) Our noses and ears never stop growing, while our eyes remain the same size for life.

8.) A goldfish has a memory span of three seconds.

9.) Some species of piranhas are vegetarians, while all butterflies are carnivores.

10.) The most shoplifted book in America is the Bible. I wonder what that says about us as a society?

11.) Rats can tread water for three days without stopping.

12.) All the clocks in the movie Pulp Fiction were stuck on 4:20.  I know what 420 means to me. I wonder if it means the same to Tarantino? Probably. Sit back, light up.

13.) Mosquitoes are attracted to the color blue.

14.) There are 13 witches in a coven.

15.) Abraham Lincoln’s first choice to lead the Union Army was Robert E. Lee.

16,) “E” is the most used letter in the English alphabet. “Q” is the least used letter.

17.) Fingernails grow 4 times faster than toenails.

18.) November 15th is National Clean Your Refrigerator Day

19.) Cleopatra was Greek (Ptolemy), not Egyptian

20.) The colder your bedroom the higher the chance of having a nightmare.

21.)  Cornelius Vanderbilt was born a farmer’s son who left school at age 11 and despite his lack of education went on to become the richest man of 19th century America.

22.) Oprah Winfrey, a black woman raised by her grandmother, sent to juvenile detention at 13, an unwed mother at 14 (to a child who died). Oprah went on to TV stardom and stratospheric wealth in the 20th century.

23.) The most common spoken word around the world is “O.K., ok, okay, or, k”  It can be heard from New York City to the tiniest rain forest village.

24.) “Jiffy” is an actual unit of time. So when Mom says she’ll be there in a “jiffy” she really mean 1/100th of a second.

25.) It takes six months to build a Rolls Royce……and 13 hours to build a Toyota.

Okay, there you go. 25 Tidbits of Useless Information. Use it as you will.

Rudy Giuliani: Moments Great And Small

Rudy Giuliani:

Moments Great And Small

By D.S. Mitchell & Michael Leonard Douglas

Chances Offered

Most men are offered only one chance at greatness. Fewer men yet rise to extraordinary levels of heroism to be followed by extraordinary levels of greed, depravity, and personal and political immorality. But, Rudy Giuliani isn’t your average guy.

Background

Rudolph William Louis Giuliani was born in East Flatbush, Brooklyn, borough of New York City, N.Y. May 28, 1944. Rudy was the only child of working class parents Harold Angelo Giuliani and Helen D’Avanzo Giuliani. Both parents were children of Italian immigrants. Rudy Giuliani’s large extended family was mostly made up of criminals, cops and firefighters. “I grew up with uniforms all around me,” he has reportedly said.

Secrets Exposed

In 1934, ten years before Rudy Giuliani’s birth, his father was arrested for robbing a milkman at gunpoint.  He was later convicted of felony assault and robbery. He served 18 months at Sing Sing, a maximum security prison in New York state. When he was released from prison he had trouble finding employment and ended up “working as an enforcer for his brother-in-law Leo D’Avanzo. D’Avanzo ran an organized crime operation involved in loan sharking and gambling” (Wikipedia).

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A Different Shade Of Paranoid

COMMENT & OPINION:

A DIFFERENT SHADE OF PARANOID

by Trevor K. McNeil

Definition: “Xenophobia means having a PHOBIC ATTITUDE towards strangers or the unknown. It comes from the  Greek words (xenos), meaning foreigner/stranger, and (phobos), meaning fear. This term is widely used to describe the fear of others, or dislike of foreigners, or people who are different to oneself.”

Fear –A Renewable Resource

It used to be the "others" were anyone outside the cave

It used to be the “others” were anyone outside the cave.

Fear of the other is a primal reflex. From the early days of the species, mistrust of “outsiders” has been with us. Except at that time, ‘outside’ referred to the darkness outside the cave. Experts have indicated that the human species have since “evolved” from this early state of fear. But, like the tailbone, remnants of these origins remain to the modern-day.

Fear of the Bomb

In the 1940’s the fear of others was mobilized to fight Nazi Germany and Imperial Japan. In terms of WWII and the Cold War that followed, that innate distrust of outsiders got kicked up a couple notches. . The American propaganda machine ginned up anti-communist rhetoric and kept hatred and fear of others morbidly alive. We of course were being prepped for the expected war against communism. But, OMG, this still hale and hearty Soviet Union showed very quickly that they too could build “the bomb.” And topping that, they could also fire a ballistic missile that would level Washington, D.C. along with Chicago, Seattle, and Denver as starters.

Before the Bomb

While the specter of mutually assured destruction certainly made things worse, fear of a Communist take-over goes back to the Russian Revolution. In fact, much of the anti-communist sentiment had its roots in the anti-union movement of the 1920’s. When teamsters and autoworkers fought to unionize, the Bolshevik’s were blamed. Typical manipulating of fear of others. Fear-mongers spinning increased union activity into an insidious Communist plot. Tapping into fear of others, as well as fear of new ideas has been a tool of politicians right or left since time immemorial. Intensifying hatred, so easy, so convenient, so useful. The drum beat of fear of others, is likely to go unchanged because it seems to work so well.

Cold Shoulder

After the United States and the Soviets started their arms race, the threats were kicked up.  At least in the United States. It is actually difficult to know what the Soviets were saying about America, there being few reliable sources of Russian translation from the time. Though we can assume it was likely not complimentary. We do have film of Russian Premier Nikita Khrushchev, at the UN, threatening the destruction of the United States. He slammed his shoe on the table and proclaimed he would bury America. So, it sounds like there were lots of theatrics for the Russian television audience as well as the American.

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21 Reasons to Smile, in Spite of Donald Trump

COMMENT:

21 Reasons to Smile

By D. S. Mitchell

I sat down with computer in lap and began writing my 441 www.calamitypolitics.com post

Another Post

I sat down with computer in my lap and began writing my 445th post to www.calamitypolitics.com.  Before I started this blog, I worried that I wouldn’t have enough to write about. I mean, it even occurred to me that I might exhaust all my grievances against the Mango Menace within a couple of weeks. I was so innocent. So naive.

TV Has-been

Who would have thought that a TV reality show has-been, would be elected to run the White House like a New York slumlord. How could any of us; with our limited historical perspective, ever imagined the extent of perversion, fraud and corruption that this grifter president could bring to Washington. My God, reporters have an average of a scandal, or two, a day, to choose from. In fact the scandals and corruption news is coming so fast and furious that we have to literally bob and weave to stay clear of flying falsehoods and denials.

Breaking News Feed

In fact, on a really good Friday afternoon two or three of the juiciest scandals in American history will explode on the CNN Breaking News feed.  Yes, every Friday. Like clockwork. I just said American history. It is the most mind-spinning administration of graft and compromise in U.S. history. What other administrations in memory could, in one week, produce more scandals than the Obama, Bush, and Reagan administrations combined.

Hold On

I recommend you hold on to that safety strap. I expect the tempo of the legal battles are about to pick up speed. Subpoenas will be flying out of the House. My “trouble coming” antennae are quivering. We are on a perilous ride, created by the megalomania of Donald Trump.

Choice of Vices

Now it’s time to open a bottle of wine, roll a doobie, or grab a box of chocolates, whichever be your particular vice. Then find a comfortable chair sit back and just breathe. While savoring your wine I am going to share with you some positive and uplifting energy.

Here are 21 Reasons to Smile: In Spite of Donald Trump

  • Astronauts
  • Sunsets over water
  • Wraparound sunglasses
  • The Science Channel
  • Getting the perfect selfie
  • The Muppets
  • Touching toes under the covers
  • Blowing the wrapper off the straw
  • Winning at Monopoly
  • A dog’s cold nose
  • Warm apple cake
  • Winning at Monopoly
  • Old jeans that fit just right
  • The clatter of skis being loaded
  • Drawing a Royal Flush
  • The rumble of a train as it passes
  • The imagination of a six-year-old
  • Your lover’s voice
  • A friend’s hug
  • Daddy’s wisdom
  • Lady Gaga
  • Old yellowed family photographs
  • Denim and plaid

Have another glass of wine. We’ll connect again.

Darlene

Serial Killer Saudi Prince: The Death of Jamal Khashoggi

The Death of Jamal Khashoggi

By Michael Leonard Douglas & D.S. Mitchell

Who was He?

Probably one of the most talked about stories of 2018 was that of  Jamal Khashoggi. His story is one tragedy that no one saw coming. At the age of 59, Jamal Khashoggi was a well-known Washington Post journalist. His career spanned more than 35 years, back to the 1980’s.

Early Years

Jamal Khashoggi was born on 10/13/1958 in Medina, Saudi Arabia. He was born to a well-connected Saudi family. Jamal was the nephew of notorious Iran-Contra arms dealer, Adnan Khashoggi who had an estimated wealth in 1984 of over $4B US. His first cousin, Dodi Fayed made headlines in 1997 when he was romantically linked to Princess Diana. Fayed and Diana were both killed in a car accident in Paris that same year. Jamal Khashoggi’s grandfather had been the personal physician to King Abdulaziz Al Saud, the founder of the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia.

Education

Khashoggi attended elementary and high school in Saudi Arabia. He came to the United States for his college education and went to Indiana State University, graduating in 1982 with a Bachelor of Business Administration. He married his first wife while in college and they later would have four children. Two of the children are American citizens.

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