Of Rats and Tweets

As Democratic presidential candidates spin their wheels in Detroit, trying to convince the country (and maybe themselves) that they are the best alternative to the current occupant in the White House for 2020, President Donald Trump continues to find new ways to divide the country along racial lines while keeping his Republican Party in check.

Trump's latest target-by-tweet is the city of Baltimore, which he called a "very dangerous and filthy place", a "rat and rodent infested mess", and "no human would want to live there" in response to all the crime and violence that's been supposedly going on there.  He's also referring to the district that's been served since 1996 by Congressman Elijah Cummings, a Maryland Democrat born the son of a sharecropper who's been taking shots at the President through his position as chairman of the House Oversight Committee when it comes to how the U.S.-Mexican border situation is being (mis)handled.

In the past few weeks, Trump has also used his Twitter account to demean other public figures of color besides Cummings:  the Reverend Al Sharpton and the congressional "squad" that includes Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez and Ilhan Omar.  We have no way of knowing if the President has no "racist bone in his body", as he claims, or just says these things as a political tactic to throw off his opponents.  But it does make the country wonder if they unwittingly sent a white supremacist to Washington.

Trump has bad-mouthed other cities in the past, most of which are run by Democratic governments, as places that are fit for neither man nor beast (as W.C. Fields might have put it).  Any place that doesn't have a Trump-owned property, that is, which must be immaculate.  But then we hear reports of rodents and insects in Baltimore apartments whose landlord just happens to be Jared Kushner, the President's son-in-law.

Meanwhile, back in the Motor City, the Democrats spent two nights and 20 candidates debating each other over how they would run the country after Trump is defeated.  So far, the only ones assured of making it to the next round are Joe Biden, Bernie Sanders, Elizabeth Warren, Kamala Harris and Pete Buttigieg.  Which isn't very inspiring when you think about it.

But as long as we have a President whose only motivation to stay in office is that he'd be going to prison if he weren't, no one is safe from his digital diatribes.  Not ever race relations or world peace.  The Big Rat needs his cheese.

The Mueller Report for Beginners

Months after the initial release of the report that was two years in the making and cost millions of dollars to investigate Russian influence in the 2016 presidential election, former special counsel Robert Mueller (who authored much of this) finally testified Wednesday to the House's Judicial and Intelligence committees.

This was "The Mueller Report for Beginners", whose intended audience was the millions (including some members of Congress and Yours Truly) who still haven't read the 400-page tome.  For those people, watching Mueller testifying on TV must have been a revelation.  For those who have read the report, the hearings turned out to be a dud, reiterating everything we've heard before.  Mueller mostly stuck to the script as promised, either declining to answer some of the questions asked by committee members, or directing them to find his answer in the report that some of them haven't read.

So what did we get out of it?

• Russia did interfere with the 2016 election, and could very well do so again in 2020.
• President Donald Trump could not be indicted until after he leaves office.  But he wasn't exonerated, either.
• Mueller tried to interview Trump, but the President and his lawyers stalled things for so long that the idea was dropped.
• Trump doesn't seem to understand that, even though he keeps repeating "no obstruction, no collusion", he's not off the hook.

All of this Mueller has already told us a few months ago, when interest in the report was high and impeachment talk was in the air.  But once Mueller turned in his report, attorney general William Barr spun the findings in favor of the President before anyone had a chance to read it.  Democrats dithered over impeachment.  The White House declined to make their witnesses available to testify before Congress.  And Mueller himself was reluctant to testify, preferring to let his report do the talking.  The moment was gone.

Now that the former special counsel has had his moment in the spotlight, what happens next?  Will Congress impeach Trump, knowing the consequences if they fail to convict him?  How many more revelations do we need before even Trump's supporters turn on him?  Can the Democrats really come up with a credible candidate who can beat Trump?  Will it matter if the Russians tip the scale in favor of the President?

Coming soon:  "Modern Politics for Beginners".

Trump: One Man Tweet Squad

It's no secret that President Donald Trump likes to control the news coverage by taking to Twitter and talk about anything that crosses his mind.  It's his way of taking attention from Congressional investigations, low poll numbers, or decades-old videos of him palling around with a billionaire who is now accused of having sex with teenage girls.

The latest example?  His Make America White and Male Again crusade against undocumented migrants coming across the U.S.-Mexico border who he thinks doesn't belong here was reaching critical mass, with reports of migrants young and old being held in filthy conditions at overcrowded facilities and ICE going into several cities making raids to deport violators.  So Trump uses Twitter to invite four members of Congress to leave the country.

These four Congresswomen--Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez of New York, Ilhan Omar of Minnesota, Ayanna Pressley of Massachusetts and Rashida Tlaib of Michigan--are multicultural freshmen Democrats who have made names for themselves as progressives with their youth and outspokenness, sometimes to the dismay of their party.  All were born and/or raised in the United States, with Omar having come from war-torn Somalia.

None of that matters to Trump.  He wrote a tweet that wasn't intended for anybody in particular, but everyone could figure out who he meant.  It reads, in part, that the women should "go back and help fix the totally broken and crime infested places from which they came".   What people actually heard was "go back to where you came from".

This request has problems on several levels, such as :  Go back to where?  Their place of ethnicity?  Their hometowns?  Raise families?  Stay in the kitchen?  Get a real job?  What?

The President has insisted that he doesn't have a racist bone in his body, and that there are lots of people who agree with him on this issue.  He's called white supremacists "very fine people", his daughter Ivanka is married to a Jewish man, and his wife Melania is an immigrant.  If there is a racist bone in his body, let us see the x-rays.

Outrage over the tweets has led the House of Representatives, on a mostly party line vote, to decide that the President must be censured.  The Republican-controlled Senate probably won't go along.

The GOP is too afraid of Trump, and it's destroying their party.  Many a Republican has seen their careers come crashing down if Trump considers them "weak" or "not loyal enough" for him if they dare cross the line.

Congresswomen Ocasio-Cortez, Omar, Pressly and Tlaib have been putting on a brave face after getting the Trump treatment, because it's possible their careers and lives may be in danger.  Already, shouts of "Send Her Back!" have been aimed in Omar's direction at Trump rallies.

The Democrats have so far not come up with a convincing alternative to Trump in its multitude of presidential candidates for 2020.  But Senators Elizabeth Warren (who was once dubbed "Pocahontas" by Trump), Kamala Harris (who is biracial and spent some time in Montreal) and other candidates of color should be watching their backs while trying to stay on message.

Who's next for President Trump to attack?  LGTBQs?  African-Americans?  Women?  Anyone except Vladimir Putin and Kim Jong-Un?  The more Americans of all shapes, colors and beliefs want to get rid of this President, the more incentive there is for him to put them in their place.

Because, like it or not, Donald Trump is still your President.  At least until November, 2020.

America 2019, So Far

As tanks roll down the streets of Washington on the Fourth of July,  we are reminded that we are no longer celebrating America's independence.  Instead, we are celebrating a man whose ego knows no bounds, and whom everyone wishes would just go away.

Having said all that, it's time to take stock of America in the first half of 2019, and wonder where all that freedom and democracy went.

--An economy with low unemployment, so long as you can put up with stagnant wages while still paying for college.

--Trade wars with China and Mexico that end up making the American consumer collateral damage. 

--A President who rules by tweet, pals with dictators, and can't be prosecuted as long as he's in the White House. 

--Twenty Democrats trying to convince voters over two nights that they have what it takes to be the next Commander in Chief.   The front runner is a former Vice President who's older than the Current Occupant by only a few years. 

--In its zeal to keep dangerous criminals south of the Mexican border, the government is keeping men, women and children who aren't lowlifes in conditions that resemble a poorly-run animal shelter. 

--The Supreme Court gives the OK to states who jury-rigged voting districts for the sake of keeping certain Congressional seats in the hands of certain people in perpetuity. 

--A woman's right to determine what happens to her own body depends on where she lives.

--Women who claim the Current Occupant  sexually assaulted them decades ago are now waved off as being not his type. 

--Busing school children across city lines to achieve racial balance, which was a hot topic more than 40 years ago, has resurfaced with Senator (and Democratic presidential candidate) Kamala Harris saying she was affected by it.

--A new poll tells us that Americans' pride in their country has never been lower.  Wonder why that is?

--Nike has pulled its line of shoes with the  Betsy Ross flag design.  It seems to remind African Americans of white supremacists rather than American independence.  Wasn't slavery also prevalent then too?

--More people cared about how "Game of Thrones" ended, or that Netflix is losing reruns of "The Office" to NBC than bothered to watch the Democratic debates. 

As John Mellencamp would say, "Ain't that America?" Land of the free.  Home of the exploited and gullible.  And the clueless.   Happy 4th. everyone.

Trump: Whatever It Takes

President Donald Trump turned 73 recently.  To celebrate, his staff rented an Orlando basketball arena to announce to some of his adoring fan base that he's running for re-election in 2020.  Isn't that what he's been doing since taking office in 2017?

As is his wont, the President entertained his audience by slamming Democrats, the news media, Hillary Clinton (who's not running this time), and anyone else he could think of.  Trump even promised cures for cancer and AIDS, as well as a manned landing on Mars--all in his second term.  To this crowd, he could walk on water if he wanted to.

Miracles aside, Trump did some things in the name of America that caused Americans to wonder why they are still Americans.

1) The Mueller Report was supposed to be a call to arms to get Congress to get off their tails and start impeachment hearings.  Robert Mueller, who spent years of his life interviewing and investigating whether or not Trump and/or the Russian government meddled in the 2016 presidential election, came to the conclusion that he could not indict the President even if he wanted to.  Trump took this to mean he was exonerated, which he really wasn't.  Mueller has said he wouldn't be much help to Congress beyond releasing the report, even if he were compelled to testify.  All the evidence you'll ever need is in that report--if anyone bothers to read it.

If Trump had this kind of investigation outside the White House, chances are real good he wouldn't be President.  He'd be in prison.

The Democrats are still in a dither over how to proceed with impeachment, given that House Speaker Nancy Pelosi would rather use the go-slow approach.  But as the evidence against Trump mounts, the pressure is growing to hold hearings.

Congressional hearings are going on, but the White House is making things difficult for the committees doing the investigating.  Apparently, their idea of blunting the effectiveness of the hearings include (A) refusing to let witnesses testify, (B) going behind closed doors if they do, and (C) declare even the most trivial evidence (such as Trump's tax returns) as executive privilege. 

2)  Patrick Shanahan, who was acting Secretary of Defense, declined a chance to take the job full time because he's under investigation for alleged domestic abuse.  Which makes you wonder about other members of Trump's Cabinet, whose titles begin with the word "acting".  Doesn't anyone want to work for this man?  Besides Kellyanne Conway, that is?

3)  Sarah Huckabee Sanders, the woman who did more to strain relations between the White House and the media while sucking up to the boss, is resigning effective at the end of the month.  She will not be missed.

4)  Being butt hurt about China allegedly ripping off the U.S. economy, Trump declared a trade war.  He almost did the same with Mexico unless they improved their border security.  Doesn't the President realize that the American economy would take the biggest hit, with higher prices and loss of jobs?

5)  Meanwhile, a real war might be brewing with Iran.  Reportedly, they are working on nuclear materials that were prohibited by a previous deal with the U.S. and other countries.  The deal that Trump turned his back on.

6)  The President, who when traveling abroad is supposed to represent the best and brightest of America.  Not this President.  During his recent trip to England and France, Trump took to Twitter and Fox News to talk about his dislike of John McCain (who's been dead for several months), the mayor of London, Democrats, Bette Midler and Meghen Markle (aka the Duchess of Sussex).  There was a sigh of relief on both sides of the Atlantic when he returned home.

7)  Some of Trump's own pollsters showed he was trailing former vice-president Joe Biden and other Democrats in the key states he won in 2016.  So what did the President do?  He fired the pollsters.  No sense being the bearer of bad news.

8)  In an ABC interview with George Stephenopolous, Trump said he wouldn't mind receiving  political intelligence about his opponents from foreign governments.  After what happened in 2016, Trump tried to backtrack that comment, but the damage is done.  This President has shown that he'll do whatever it takes--even if it means breaking the law--to win another four years.

On July 4th, thousands of people usually crowd Washington to celebrate the country's birthday and to watch the fireworks.  This year, President Trump plans to insert himself into the festivities by making a speech which might compel the networks to televise, whether they really want to or not.  Some fear this could turn a feel-good event into a partisan political rally.  Just like the one that happened in Orlando.  Does the President care?  Where have you been the last four years?

Whatever it takes, right?

"Jeopardy!": The Reign of James Is Over

If you have been recently watching "Jeopardy!", the game show whose syndicated version with host Alex Trebek is now in its 35th season, it's likely for two reasons:

(1) James Holzhauer, a pro sports bettor from Las Vegas, became the second contestant ever to earn more than two million dollars on the show.  His reign spanned 32 episodes between April and June (with a two-week break for a previously scheduled teachers tournament), ending his run with more than $2.4 million added to his bank account (before taxes, of course).  Only Ken Jennings, with winnings of over $2.5 million in 75 appearances, has won more.

Holzhauer rewrote the "Jeopardy!" record book as often as Wayne Gretzky did during his hockey career, which included winning the most money on a single program 15 times,  He usually started the round at the bottom of the board (where the high-value clues are), then bet big when the "Daily Double" appeared, usually leaving his opponents in the dust by the time the "Final Jeopardy" category appeared.

On the telecast of June 3, the person who finally beat Holzhauer at his own game was a librarian from Chicago named Emma Boettcher.  But you'll still see James Holzhauer in special tournaments in the near future.  He won't soon be forgotten.

(2)  Holzhauer's success was a welcome distraction for the show and its fans, with the announcement a few weeks earlier that Trebek had been diagnosed with pancreatic cancer.  Trebek is 78, and has said he plans to keep working through the treatments.  He's done more than 7000 episodes of "Jeopardy!", and is signed up through 2022.

In recent media interviews, Trebek has said his cancer is currently in remission.  Though it wouldn't hurt for the show's producers to have a Plan B in case Trebek can no longer continue, longtime viewers are wondering if their favorite show really is in jeopardy.

The Mueller Report: No Collusion, No Exoneration, Big Problem?

The big reveal of the long-awaited Mueller Report, after two years of investigations and painstaking work by special prosecutor Robert Mueller and his staff, turned out to be 400 pages of testimony and black boxes preceded by an unnecessary warmup act by Attorney General William Barr.

The result was much the same as when Barr made his controversial summary a few weeks ago:  President Donald Trump did not collude with the Russian government, though there is evidence that they did hack their way into the 2016 presidential election, and no obstruction of justice either.  But Mueller refused to exonerate the President, nor did he indict him.  That, he said, is for Congress to decide.  But first, they'll want Mueller and Barr to appear before them and help fill in the blanks.

Even in its redacted form, the report still packs a punch.  In it, Trump avoided the obstruction of justice charge when White House staff were brave enough to persuade him not to fire Mueller or otherwise impair the investigation.  But Mueller missed a golden opportunity when he decided against interviewing Trump, believing he and his attorneys would not want to do it.  Mueller should have asked first.  What's the worst thing he could say?  No?

This was a hollow victory for the President.  After initially celebrating the verdict prematurely, he took to Twitter and lashed out at the report in the same manner as he does with everything else he doesn't like.

Now it falls to Congress, particularly Democrats, who have to decide whether it is worth spending time and money to impeach a man who's up for re-election in 2020.  There is also no consensus among the 20-odd candidates running for the Democratic presidential nomination, who would rather discuss bread-and-butter issues as a way of distinguishing themselves from Trump.

At this point, the Mueller Report won't have much impact among voters, because presumably they've already made up their minds about Trump.  If this were the first time anyone's heard of the President's alleged high crimes and misdemeanors, this country would be in a coma of shock.  Instead, thanks to leaks and reports in what Trump likes to call the "fake news" media, most of this should come as no big surprise.

What it comes down to is this:  The report tells us of Trump's reaction to Mueller being selected to investigate his administration's alleged misdeeds.  "This is the end of my presidency.  I'm (bleeped)."

No, Mr. President.  You're still here, aren't you?  We're the ones who are (bleeped).