October 13, 2019

Nixon to Carter to Trump is not a famous double play combination like Tinker to Evers to Chance. N-C-T is an example of how much we have devolved as a country. Richard Nixon, for all his faults, started the Environmental Protection Agency in 1970, almost 50 years ago. The much disparaged Jimmy Carter put up solar panels on the White House and initiated a thermostat control program, actions which were both undone by Ronald Reagan. He also established the first fuel efficiency standards for cars, and created the Department of Energy. Oops! Now we have a President whose main focus is to undo environmental regulations, roll back fuel standards, and deny climate change.

When you talk to young people, their number one concern is the environment, but we have been kicking the environmental oil can down the road for decades. We need a national commitment to renewable energy, and a pricing structure that accounts for the damage being done to the environment and our health from extreme weather and pollution. Nixon and Carter were right. Reagan and Trump are wrong.

October 11, 2019

On a Black Tuesday in 2016, we elected the current President. We opened the doors to the government and voters, who spent about as much time analyzing the candidates as they would Ken and Barbie, rushed into WallMart, grabbed Trump off the shelf, threw him into their baskets, and went home to their lives. Unfortunately, we all got a lump of coal. Now, after three years of chaos, we are hearing over the loudspeaker system, “Clean up on Aisle 1600.”

The question then becomes which Democratic candidate is best qualified to clean up the mess. The Democratic debate today is between Centrist Joe Biden and Progressive Elizabeth Warren. Warren has a plan for the future, but I think we need a plan to clean up the mess first. I think Joe Biden has the best experience to do this. Biden will bring people back together. He will reestablish our international alliances. He will oppose our enemies. He will rejoin the rest of the country and world in addressing climate change. He will “mend, not end” Obamacare. He will seek a bipartisan solution to immigration. He will pursue common-sense gun reform. He will put blue-collar workers back to work rebuilding our infrastructure. He will bring balance back to the courts.

To Republicans, please remember, if you break it, you own it.

October 10, 2019

We should be a nation in mourning. We have sold out our Kurdish allies for a Trump Tower in Instanbul. The long-term ramifications of this impulsive move are incalculable. We have sold out our European allies, who will be welcoming ISIS fighters into their midst. We sold out Gold Star families, who were turned into a tragic backdrop for a riff about our dead soldiers being returned to America. We were sold out because the President needed to deflect from the impeachment inquiry, which is gaining momentum and has the support of a majority of the American people. Trump has walked away from all of us just as he walked away from his wives and and his financial obligations. Trump eventually sells out everyone…business partners, legal partners, political partners, and golfing partners. Republicans, what makes you think you are special? You’ve been sold out, and you don’t even know it.

October 7, 2019

In their presidential debates, Hillary Clinton accused Donald Trump of being Putin’s puppet. Trump snapped back, “I’m not the puppet. You’re the puppet.” This was a classic, third grade response, but this is his strategy. The swampiest President of all time is gearing up his reelection campaign to run against the swamp. The President’s children have rampant conflicts of interest and dealings with foreign countries so accuses his political opponent of the same behavior. He sells out his country to the Russians so he accuses his critics of treason. He goes off on witch hunts in the Ukraine and China so he accuses the FBI and CIA of the same. He wants to kill healthcare, but blames Democrats of the same. The examples of his deflections are too numerous to catalog. Mr. President, I am not your puppet, the Republicans are.

October 6, 2019

The controversial movie, “The Joker,” was just released. We all know the many iterations of the character. It is about a clown from Gotham, who begins a slow descent into madness as he transforms himself into a criminal mastermind. Now, compliments of Florida Senator Marco Rubio, we come to find out that the real joker is Donald Trump. It turns out that Trump was just joking when he asked China for dirt on the Biden’s. Even Putin mugged for the camera, letting everyone know he was in on the joke. I wonder what else The Great Plumpkin has been joking about? Accusing Congressmen of treason? Separating families? Claiming he has the absolute right to do anything? I think it’s time for the Bat Shit signal.

October 3, 2019

Several years ago, investigative reporter, Geraldo Rivera, tried to convince us that he had located Jimmy Hoffa’s body. On prime time TV, he opened a vault to find nothing inside. I guess it was entertainment, but it sure looked like a hoax.

Now we have the president’s personal attorney and self-styled investigator, Rudy Giuliani, claiming that he has discovered the corruption that lies at the heart of the Biden family. The Trump base is waiting with bated breath for the big reveal. Trump goads him on, invites China to the made for TV show, and gives Pence, Pompeo, and Barr front row seats. What is going to happen when Rudy opens the vault? I suspect there will be something in there, and it will be the remains of the Trump presidency.

October 1, 2019

The Republican Party is wearing its base like a pair of cement shoes. Very fitting for a party being led by a Don. The cement shoes will drown the party into oblivion. There is a demographic tsunami coming, and swimming against the tide is impossible. A rising tide lifts all boats unless your boat has a hole in it. The hole is where the heart of the Republican Party used to be.

The question becomes why so many Republicans are willing to go down with the ship. It clearly is not because they have a deep philosophical belief in their cause. That ship sailed a long time ago with deficits, free trade, and respect for our institutions on board. The base represents a shrinking minority of the population. Clearly, Republicans feel that they have no choice despite the fact that the base is weighing them down. It’s time for the Republican Party to get fit for a new pair of shoes, or else they will be swimming with the fishes.

September 27, 2019

A recent letter to the editor complains about the liberal media. I assume he is referring to the Springfield Republican, the New York Times, the Washington Post, the Boston Globe, the San Francisco Examiner, ABC, NBC, CBS, CNN, MSNBC, The Atlantic, The New Yorker, Vanity Fair, and The Economist. On the other hand, Rush Limbaugh, Mark Levin and Sean Hannity have a combined weekly radio audience of nearly 42 million listeners. Combined with the programming on Fox News and stories from Trump-friendly outlets like Rasmussen Reports and Breitbart, the field looks pretty even to me. I challenge the writer to vet his sources of information. I have.