Category: Opinion

A Letter From The Edge

Or….My Baby Wrote Me A Letter!  (sorry had to channel my 60s experience)……

The news has been full of the report that Trump has written (?) a letter to Pelosi ahead of the impeachment vote…..

Trump rattled on…the same song that his Tweets reflect…..

Nancy Pelosi was on the receiving end of what the Washington Post calls an “extraordinary letter” written by President Trump. Over six pages that you can read in full here, he voices his “strongest and most powerful protest” against impeachment, writing that “this impeachment represents an unprecedented and unconstitutional abuse of power by Democrat Lawmakers, unequaled in nearly two and a half centuries of American legislative history.” The AP reports that the “fiery” letter, which comes a day before his expected impeachment, voices Trump’s displeasure at how the House inquiry was handled, alleging “more due process was afforded to those accused in the Salem Witch Trials.”

Trump writes that the Articles of Impeachment that the House Judiciary Committee has come up with “include no crimes, no misdemeanors, and no offenses whatsoever. You have cheapened the importance of the very ugly word, impeachment!” He addresses the claims of abuse of power and obstruction of Congress at length, then goes on to tout a long list of successes that have occurred in his term, writing, “you and your party are desperate to distract” from them. He expresses that he doesn’t believe his letter will change anything, but that he wanted to record his objections “for the purpose of history. … One hundred years from now, when people look back at this affair, I want them to understand it, and learn from it, so that it can never happen to another President again.”

I really would like to hear what my readers think about this letter…it is not a long read….only about 6 pages……

The Honorable Nancy Pelosi
Speaker of the House of Representatives
Washington, D.C. 20515

Dear Madam Speaker:

I write to express my strongest and most powerful protest against the partisan impeachment crusade being pursued by the Democrats in the House of Representatives. This impeachment represents an unprecedented and unconstitutional abuse of power by Democrat Lawmakers, unequaled in nearly two and a half centuries of American legislative history.

The Articles of Impeachment introduced by the House Judiciary Committee are not recognizable under any standard of Constitutional theory, interpretation, or jurisprudence. They include no crimes, no misdemeanors, and no offenses whatsoever. You have cheapened the importance of the very ugly word, impeachment!

…Read On….

https://www.whitehouse.gov/briefings-statements/letter-president-donald-j-trump-speaker-house-representatives/

Did you read?

Whatcha think?

My thoughts is it should have been left un-mailed…..it makes the president look like a childish d/bag….it is a rambling piece of manure that would be better on the rally trail and not in the House.

It sounds more like someone afraid their “brand” will be tainted….he keeps thinking that his legacy will always have a stigma about it with a asterisk after his name….a stain on his person.

But that is just me.

I Watch This Blog!

I Read, I Wrote, You Know

“lego ergo scribo”

We Need New Rules Of Engagement

This is not my take on something foreign policy or one of our many wars….but rather the pundits on the Tube that are doing everything but what we need them to do.

I am an old fart and I always believed that the media should be neutral and give all sides to a story….I was naive back in my early informative years.  Even before corporations could own media outlets (thanx Bill Clinton) outlets were controlled by corporations through advertising dollars….now they just own them outright and their bias is f*cking obvious.

I am think that most pundits are soulless assholes that their principles are for sale to the highest bidder….that is NOT what this post is about…..

Nope!  This opinion is about these pundits, no matter which network they work for, hawking their books and personal appearances…..book signings, band dates, speeches and seminars…..plus most have reverted to their days in Congress….that is work 3 days off 4 with long breaks in between their non-work.

This crap has nothing to do with the news of the day…..pushing their personal books or those of the parents is sad and disgusting.  Pushing their seminars is also.

If they need these things to supplement their pay then maybe they should step back and look at their expenditures….or re-negotiate their very lucrative appearance contracts.

Then there is the subject of the Summer…..that of electability….who can best beat Trump……in other words screw principles it is about the win not the nation.

What is being said about the Great Lie of Electability…….https://lobotero.com/2019/07/16/electability-the-lie-that-keeps-on-giving/

All that aside…..there are a wealth of ambitious proposals from every candidate…..the problem I have is they never tell me how they will set about getting these plans through the blockade in DC.

Then there is the lying toad of the DNC, Tom Perez, who tells how they try to protect the Dem candidates…and yet they spend millions protect Biden and not so much the other candidates.

We need to get the big money trolls out of the DNC….the Clintonians.

No one acknowledges the partisan crap that is the nation’s capital……no wants to admit that promises are just hollow words thrown at the voter during elections.

When one of these candidates has a plan for getting these programs into action then I shall give them my vote…..but until then……

Be Smart!

Learn Stuff!

I Read, I Wrote, You Know

“Lego Ergo Scribo”

This Is How Damn Lies Get Started

Most boasts are usually lies and some of the better ones come from the resident in the White House……” what you have now, so great looking and smart, a true Stable Genius!”  Trump starting a new Twitter thread in which he criticized the mainstream media and his 2020 Democratic rivals while praising himself as a handsome “genius.”  Never trust a person who tells you just how smart or beautiful they are…a true smart person does not need to tell you they are so.

Lies go on and on……

We are bombarded daily by the prez and his attacks on the media as being fake news and an enemy to the people…..most of the media is in the pocket of corporate America and does not actually tell the truth all that often…..but this op-ed is a stretch of truth…

In the June 26-27 debates, the candidates were barely bothered with national security or foreign policy matters because the moderators asked a scant few questions about them. On illegal immigration, a huge national security problem, the candidates made it clear that they are all for open borders. That is one of their most extreme positions.

On the first debate night, one moderator asked if the candidates would rejoin the 2015 nuclear weapons deal with Iran to which former President Obama agreed. Nine of the 10 — the exception being Sen. Cory Booker — said they would. Many said the deal was imperfect and they would try to renegotiate it, but none said that successful renegotiation was a predicate to rejoining. That is a radical position entirely contrary to our national security.

https://www.washingtontimes.com/news/2019/jul/7/democrats-reveal-their-radicalism-on-matters-of-na/
 
As FOX is the voice of Trump on the tube the Wa T is in print……it is an op-ed and is packed full of bullsh*t, lies and fear mongering manure.
 
Read it!  If you believe any of the observations then we will know who you will vote for in 2020….ignorance over reality.
 
“Lego Ergo Scribo”

Is NATO Dying?

Since Trump became the leader, of whatever it is he thinks he is the leader of, NATO has had a PR problem……there have been several bad moves made by the organization plus the question whether it has out-lived it’s usefulness……I have written on the organization in the past year or so…..https://lobotero.com/2018/07/24/lets-look-at-nato/

Is the NATO we know out-dated?

When NATO was formed seven decades ago, the world was very different: The Soviet Union had advanced into Central Europe, and Western European nations were still recovering from World War II. NATO would help them, Secretary of State Dean Acheson warned, but it would not do so forever. When asked if the United States would need “to send substantial numbers of troops over there as a more or less permanent contribution,” he assured Congress that it wouldn’t. Even Dwight Eisenhower, NATO’s first commander and a future U.S. president, presciently warned that such an American garrison could “discourage the development of the necessary military strength Western European countries should provide themselves.”

https://www.cato.org/publications/commentary/outdated-alliance

Some say save the organization by re-purpose it……

NATO’s expansion under the Clinton administration, he observes in his Liberty Forum essay, did not strengthen the alliance that brought down the Soviet Empire, but rather transformed it into something different. The 1999 war against Serbia, which the Clinton administration forced upon Serbia in emulation of the 1914 Austrian ultimatum, provided “the chance to demonstrate NATO’s new agenda and ‘out of area’ operations,” as an instrument of the world’s natural evolution towards a “globalization[that]toppled all barriers to the flow of capital, goods, labor, and ideas, spreading democracy, human rights, peace and prosperity.” Operation Enduring Freedom in Afghanistan was “NATO’s second war.” As McDougall observes, “Unanimity in the face of Al Qaeda was squandered, however, when President George W. Bush decided to invade Iraq in a wider war that 70 to 80 percent of French and Germans opposed. It might even be said that the alliance fell into abeyance during the final six years of Bush’s tenure.”

https://www.lawliberty.org/liberty-forum/repurpose-it-or-it-dies/
 
Then there is the continuous war that NATO seems to embrace….and those that want a way out of the vicious cycle that NATO embraces…….

A strong engagement to find a way out of the war system is of vital importance. This raises the question of the affiliation of Italy and other European countries with NATO.

NATO is not an Alliance. It is an organisation under the command of the Pentagon, and its objective is the military control of Western and Eastern Europe.

US bases in the member countries of NATO serve to occupy these countries, by maintaining a permanent military presence which enables Washington to influence and control their policies and prevent genuine democratic choices.

NATO is a war machine which works for the interests of the United States, with the complicity of the major European power groups, staining itself with crimes against humanity.

 
Let me remind my readers……I am not a supporter of China in any way but look how far they have come without spending massive amounts of cash on war.
 
Just something to think about…..

Closing Thought–10Apr19

I recently read an op-ed written by the media whore, Ralph Nader…..it seems he has an idea to help America rid itself of this president…..that would be Donald Trump.

Even the master distractor himself could not have distracted the mass dittohead media any better from his true crimes.

Special Counsel Robert Mueller spent almost two years to produce a $25 million report that is a flat tire. Still unreleased in full to the American people, Trump’s acolyte, Attorney General William Barr, a longtime friend of Republican Mueller, gave us what Trump long craved—by stating that “the investigation did not establish that members of the Trump campaign conspired or coordinated with the Russian government in its election interference activities” during the 2016 election. As for obstruction of justice by Trump, Attorney General Barr cryptically burped, that “The Special Counsel states that ‘while this report does not conclude that the President committed a crime, it also does not exonerate him”—whatever that means. Give people the whole report now, as the House of Representatives voted 420 to 0 to do.

What a farce and distraction this whole exercise turned out to be! Mueller’s assigned subject was Trump. So, does this prosecutor demand to interview Trump, to subpoena Trump? No. Does this special investigator conclude with any legal recommendations at all? No. He just wants to be forgotten as he slinks away into deliberate silence (unless he is made to testify before the House Judiciary Committee).

https://www.commondreams.org/views/2019/03/27/forget-mueller-forget-impeachment-million-people-should-surround-white-house-and
 
Really?
 
What are the chances Ralph?
 
This is just a sad attempt to gain attention….that NO one will take seriously.
 
Besides that many people and Trump will spin it into one of his lies about his supporters and the size of the group.
 
Could we actually get a million people to show up and protest?
 
Thoughts?

It’s “Antisemitism” Again

OMG! The House is about to try and bring”charges” up on a member that they accuse of antisemitic words….Rep. Ilhan Omar is once again in hot water with the d/bags that are bought and paid for by AIPAC…..

It’s easy to name the newest member of Congress making the most headlines: Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez. But another freshman lawmaker continues to generate controversy of her own, and it’s about to intensify this week. Rep. Ilhan Omar, a Muslim Somali-American, is again under fire for statements seen as anti-Semitic. And while the Minnesota representative has apologized previously for similar controversies, this time she is doubling down while denying the anti-Semitic allegations. The details of what’s going on:

  • What she said: Speaking last week in reference to Israel and its supporters in the US, Omar said, “I want to talk about the political influence in this country that says it is OK to push for allegiance to a foreign country,” reports NPR.
  • The backlash: Critics pounced on that statement as anti-Semitic, including Jonathan Greenblatt of the Anti-Defamation League. “Accusing Jews of having allegiance to a foreign government has long been a vile anti-Semitic slur that has been used to harass, marginalize, and persecute the Jewish people for centuries,” wrote Greenblatt to House Speaker Nancy Pelosi.
  • From colleagues: Democratic Rep. Eliot Engel, chair of the House Foreign Affairs panel, also called it a “vile anti-Semitic slur.” Another Democrat, Rep. Nita Lowey, chair of the Appropriations Committee, called on Omar to apologize, saying she “continues to mischaracterize support for Israel.” Rep. Josh Gottheimer, also a Democrat, likened this to when “John F. Kennedy’s loyalty was called into question simply because he was Roman Catholic,” per the Washington Post.
    Doubling down: Omar is not apologizing. “Our democracy is built on debate, Congresswoman!” she responded to Lowey. “I should not be expected to have allegiance/pledge support to a foreign country in order to serve my country in Congress or serve on committee.” She adds that opposing Benjamin Netanyahu “and the occupation is not the same as being anti-Semitic.”
    Possible rebuke: The House is expected to vote Wednesday on a measure that doesn’t mention Omar (at least in its current draft form) but is seen as an “unprecedented public rebuke” of her, per Politico. The resolution condemns anti-Semitism and the “myth of dual loyalty.” Republicans are pushing for more, however, including having Omar removed from the Foreign Affairs panel.
  • AOC defends: Ocasio-Cortez is backing up Omar. “One of the things that is hurtful about the extent to which reprimand is sought of Ilhan is that no one seeks this level of reprimand when members make statements about Latinx + other communities (during the shutdown, a GOP member yelled “Go back to Puerto Rico!” on the floor),” she tweeted, one of several on the topic.
    Trump weighs in: Omar “is again under fire for her terrible comments concerning Israel,” he tweeted. “Jewish groups have just sent a petition to Speaker Pelosi asking her to remove Omar from Foreign Relations Committee. A dark day for Israel!”
    Past controversy: Omar apologized earlier this year after asserting that support for Israel was “all about the Benjamins” and again for a 2012 tweet asserting that Israel had “hypnotized the world.” The “Benjamins” comment led to formal criticism in the House for perpetuating “anti-Semitic tropes.”

All this is so much bullsh*t and a waste of time and energy that should be focused on important issues…I am with Rep. Omar……time for the old farts in the House to admit they are agents of a foreign government…they want to investigate Trump when they may be just as guilty as he.

 

Those Empty Slogans

Since I started this blog I have been writing about just how much I hate a politician’s empty slogans and promises.

The GOP candidates have, in the past, been the worse at silly slogans….Make America Great Again is one such bizarre and silly slogan (America has always been a great country just not so much as a society).

But since the Dems won the House I have noticed that they are starting to sling a slogan or two…..(this quote is from the WaPo that will do what it can to sabotage any progressive agenda this op-ed is a prime example)…..

Catherine Rampell of the Washington Post thinks Democrats are starting to look like the Republicans of 2016, and she doesn’t mean that as a compliment. They’re “emphasizing empty slogans instead of evidence-based policy, rejecting experts in favor of cranks, handwaving away questions about implementation, and promising that an expensive policy will magically ‘pay for itself’ through economic growth,” writes Rampell. And one of those she calls out is a fellow millennial, Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, specifically over the Green New Deal championed by the new congresswoman. That policy promises to save the environment by achieving carbon-emission targets that far exceed anything on the table so far, but the plan skips over the details on how to get there, along with any sacrifices that Americans would have to make.

AOC dismisses this kind of criticism by saying the plan will pay for itself by creating jobs, but that’s not nearly good enough, writes Rampell. She finds the same kind of “lazy sloganeering” present in “Medicare-for-all,” and thinks it’s a mistake because it comes at the expense of “vibrant, nuanced debate” on health care, tax policy, and climate policy. As for the 2016 comparison, it’s true that President Trump won the White House with some “empty slogans” of his own, writes Rampell. But “right now, Democrats still retain a monopoly on expertise and evidence-based policy,” she writes. “They should not relinquish it easily.” Click for the full column, in which Rampell takes issue with the Modern Monetary Theory that’s been gaining in popularity

I agree with the main point….that with silly slogans the Dems are slowly becoming the GOP……(could it be that they also think the American people is easily swayed by moronic slogans as does the GOP?)

The with this op-ed is that to have a rigorous debate you need a willing opponent and the Dems do have have such an opponent…all they have is the GOP and their silly slogan and lies.

I suggest the WaPo needs to call out one then call out all.