Tuesday, August 29, 2017

PARDONED SHERIFF ARPAIO ARRESTS HILLARY CLINTON FOR IMAGINED OFFENSES AGAINST AMERICA!


So....  as the Donald dreams bigly dreams.... and re-plays fantasies that roll around his brain in the twilight of the day (or in the Twilight Zone of his mind), here are two recent events that are inter-connected... or, mashed-together in his addled imagination.....  the pardon of disgraced former Sheriff Joe Arpaio... and the continuous call in his "rallies" and on the alt.right social media for the arrest and prosecution (some would say persecution) of Hillary Clinton for imagined offenses against the United States.


SHERIFF JOE AND THE TRUMP "BIG LIE."

A long, long time ago.... in a galaxy far, far away......  A bankrupted hit-and-miss NY real estate developer stumbled across an unexpected ally in far-away Arizona....  and a partnership was
born in their shared hatred of Latinos... and their dislike and disrespect of America's first Black President, Barak Obama.....  Then, Sheriff Joe Arpaio heard the story of Donald Trump's accusation that newly elected  President Obama was, in fact, not born in the United States, but in KENYA!  And, even worse, he might very well be a MUSLIM! Trump insisted that he had information that Obama wasn't born in Hawaii as claimed, but came into the world in Kenya and, therefore, was not qualified to be elected president, not being a natural born citizen as the US Constitution requires.  Trump claimed that he was searching for the truth and he called on the President to release his REAL birth certificate!  Sheriff Joe, in violation of County policy, sent Sheriff's Officers to Hawaii on  property tax dollars to "investigate" Trump's claims.... That shared story of racism and dislike of people of color as well as Muslims, forged a bond between Arpaio and Trump that carried forward years to the 2016 Presidential campaign.....

During the very same election cycle, Arpaio was turned out of office as "the worst Sheriff in America" by the voters of his county - by a wide margin.  No... not because he was a part of Trump's "birther movement" but because his unauthorized and illegal anti-latino immigrant policies and his self-described "concentration camp" jails and the legal actions on improper detainment had cost the county taxpayers $142 million in penalties, fines, and legal fees over the years. After publicly and openly violating orders from a federal Judge, Arpaio was found guilty of contempt of court last month and was pending sentencing...


Enter President Trump…. who, like Arpaio, also feels impeded and abused by the Federal Courts which blocked his Muslim ban attempts, cost him $25 million in his settlement of the Trump University suit, and on numerous occasions during his career as a real estate developer, issued order after order and penalty after penalty due to his business activities in violation of a variety of rules, regulations, and laws. And, even worse in Trumpworld, some judges are even MEXICANS! WOW!  No wonder he needs all of those attorneys! 

With little regard for the truth, the rule of law, or the judicial process, both Trump and Arpaio built careers based on a belief of always being right, regardless of the law or any court intervention…. the very essence of tyranny. So, with a stroke of his pen, President-by-accident Trump “pardons” disgraced Sheriff Joe and sticks his thumb in the eye of the Courts and the judicial system, turns his back on legitimate law enforcement, and negates the will of the County voters who removed Joe from office through the Arizona ballot box. From one despot to another, a singular gift to Sheriff Joe and, at the same time, an abandonment of the honored American traditions of jurisprudence, the rule of law, and respect for the expression of the votes in the electorate. 

At least we can take some comfort in knowing that the Trump pardon will not reverse the decision of the voters who know former Sheriff Joe best. Arpaio will not be restored to office….. well …. unless Trump finds some other way to install him to a superior law enforcement role going forward - say….. Homeland Security? Stay tuned.....  

HILLARY HATERS... PAY ATTENTION......

For those who STILL are calling for a "prosecution" of Hillary for imagined "offenses" …. pay attention…. Here's a question for you. How many Congressional investigations over several years…. how many open public hearings over how many hours…. how many FBI investigations over 2 Presidential terms…. and how many Special Prosecutors does it take….. ALL WITHOUT BRINGING ANY CRIMINAL CHARGES against Hillary Clinton before you will get off this nonsense? If anyone wanted Hillary so bad he could taste criminal charges, it was Republican Congressman Trey Gowdy, head of the Benghazi Investigation Committee…. or, Republican Special Prosecutor Ken Starr who wanted the Clintons BAD over Whitewater….. In each case, after years of investigations and spending nearly $10,000,000 tax dollars on just these 4 Congressional investigations - including an Impeachment and a Senate Trial as well as 2 FBI investigations, no charges resulted and no referrals were passed on to the then-Republican Justice System for further action. Enough already.

Stop changing the subject, distracting, denying, and mis-directing attention from the investigations presently underway- Trump and associates, family members, and campaign advisors and officers working with a foreign power - Russia- in an attempt to subvert our democracy. President-by-accident Trump, firing the Acting AG, the FBI Director, and threatening elected officials with political “consequences” if they did not do enough to defend Trump and his family - including Mitch McConnell and many other Republicans - is acting more  like a Mafia Don than the President of the US. Just follow the money…. and, ask General Flynn and Paul Manafort… or, even Donald Junior!

Deflect away all you wish…. but, in the end, the TRUTH will be known, and the consequences, if any, will take place, pardon power or not. And, THAT will be more “justice” than the disgraceful "witch-hunt” that Republicans visited on the Clintons for the last 20 years and more ever produced. Evidently, what goes around, comes around. This time…. it is Trump’s turn in the dock. Let the chips fall where they may... but, I guess for you, it will all be Hillary or Obama's fault....



Maybe like some other Trumpers, you still think that President Obama is a Kenyan Muslim? Or, we faked the moon landing? Or, that Ted Cruz’s dad was involved with the assassination of JFK? If so, lie down, relax, take some meds and those psycho fantasies will fade into the background noise where they belong…… like the night monsters under your bed as a child, they will return to Britebart or some other Alt. Right fantasy nightmare machine from whence they came to be trotted out on another occasion when the distraction need arises….

 

HOPE YOU FEEL BETTER REAL SOON……….

Stand Up! Speak Out! March On! 
Bobby J – The Senior Progressive


Thursday, August 17, 2017

AND, SO IT GOES... THE MILITARY STANDS UP AND SPEAKS OUT AGAINST BIGOTRY, EXTREMISM AND TRUMP!



I admit that I was VERY uncomfortable with Trump surrounding himself with military Generals in the White House.  With a long tradition of civilian control of the levers of power… and, with an unstable, insecure mental case holding the nuclear codes, the pairing of the two looked like trouble ahead.  This would be especially true if the Donald had absorbed enough history to conclude that the nation had always rallied around a “wartime president.”  With saber-rattling directed toward North Korea and Venezuela, the "mother of all bombs" attack in Syria, and Trump’s active verbal attacks on allies and enemies alike, it looked like he was really wanting military parades, heroic acts of military force, and – “damn the torpedoes, full steam ahead!” All this was cause for worry...

On the heels of Charlottesville, I may have to re-access my concern.  America’s top-ranking military officers – members of the Joint Chiefs of Staff – stood up and spoke out against the extremism displayed in Charlottesville this past weekend.  In an unusual foray into domestic political discourse, the military leaders denounced bigotry, racism, hatred, and extremism.  In a tweet, General Mark Milley said “It’s against our values and everything that we have stood for since 1775.”  Although this and similar tweet statements did not mention the Commander in Chief by name, the statements appear to be in response to Trump’s Tuesday re-statement of his Saturday response to the tragedy in Charlottesville in saying that “there is blame on all sides”... "blame on both sides."  Specifically, Trump placed more than “equivalent” blame on the “Alt.left.”

Let’s be clear here – George Washington and Robert E. Lee are NOT comparable American heroes. One gave birth to a free nation and the other tried to destroy it! And, those extremists who are KKK, white supremacists, bigots, anti-Semitic, anti-Immigrant, anti-Black and Latino, xenophobic reactionaries are certainly not reflecting the American ideal of “all men created equal” or Emma Lazarus' inscription on the Statue of Liberty:
        
          "send me your tired, your poor, your huddles masses, yearning to breathe free, the 
          wretched refuse of your teeming shore. Send, these, the homeless, tempest-tossed
          to me, I lift my lamp beside the golden door."   

 I welcome the voices of liberty, equality, and justice defending our nation from all quarters, and that includes those wearing our nation’s uniform.