The worst of the worst

I must be going blind. This is not a literal statement, but in a figurative sense, there is no question that my vision has taken a bad turn somewhere. I cannot see why anyone in their right mind or with corrected vision would ever consider Donald J. Trump to be Presidential. Custodial perhaps, but Presidential? It’s not difficult to see why many Americans believe Trump to be a Messiah of some ilk. He boasts; he brags; he puts forth plans that, on the surface, appeal to those with little or no knowledge of how the plans would actually work. He’s a showman; a carnie man, a television personality, a failed businessman who bends the truth to meet his personal requirements.

Trump states that he inherited one million dollars from his family. History shows and Forbes Magazine confirms that the amount was closer to $40 million. With that money, he has amassed an enormous net worth of, according to him, $10 billion. Again, going back to Forbes, that net worth is closer to $4.7 billion. It’s still a lot of money but how it’s been garnered is open to question. In the 1980s, when Trump Plaza was being constructed, a sub-contract when to S&A Concrete, a company partially owned by the mafia. “Trump World Tower, supported by the Quadrozzi Concrete Company, is also tangentially related to La Cosa Nostra. The head of the company, John Quadrozzi Sr., was tied to the Lucchese crime family and indicted for making illegal payoffs to the mob in 1992.”¹ The list goes on and on about Trump’s nefarious dealings with the mob. If one of the qualities of a President is assumed to be “A person of strong character,” Trump fails to meet the standard.

Let’s take a moment to look at some of Trump’s business failures: The Eastern Airlines Shuttle from Boston to New York and Washington ran for 27 years. Many was the time that I would hop a 6:30 am shuttle to head to either destination. It was a great convenience (plus free parking). In 1988, Trump purchased the service for a reported $365 million. He improved the look of the service by adding maple-wood veneer to the floors, chrome-plated seat belt clasps and gold bathroom fixtures. It didn’t work and the Trump Shuttle never turned a profit. The high debt accrued forced Trump to default on his loans, and the shuttle ceased to exist in 1992. In 2006, Trump introduced Trump Vodka, designed to compete with Grey Goose. If you happen to own a bottle of Trump’s vodka, hold onto it because it’s highly doubtful you’ll find it on liquor store shelves today…but you will find Grey Goose.

Claire Sudduth of Time Magazine noted in an article about Trump’s bankruptcies, “”I don’t like the B word,” Donald Trump said in 2010 while testifying in a New Jersey bankruptcy courtroom about his gambling company, Trump Entertainment Resorts Inc., which had filed for bankruptcy for the third time. Given the number of times Trump has flirted with bankruptcy, you’d think he’d be used to that word by now.

“In 1990, the banking institutions that backed his real estate investments had to bail him out with a $65 million “rescue package” that contained new loans and credit. But it wasn’t enough, and nine months later the famous developer was nearly $4 billion in debt. He didn’t declare personal bankruptcy, although his famous Taj Mahal casino in Atlantic City, N.J., did have to file for it  Trump’s economic troubles continued through the early ’90s, while he was personally leveraged to nearly $1 billion. In 2004, Trump Hotels & Casino Resorts also filed for bankruptcy. The company was only a small portion of Trump’s real estate empire, but he did still have to personally cough up $72 million to keep it afloat. In 2009, the same company filed for bankruptcy again. Yet during all of this, no one ever told Trump, “You’re fired!” Probably because no one could.² In case you weren’t counting, Trump has gone bankrupt four times. He later claimed that those were not his failures as a businessman but strategic decisions to help him make more money. In other words, he manipulated the system for personal gain. Gee, isn’t Bernie Madoff doing time for that, along with several other sleazebags?

Much more could be said about Mr. Trump and his potential candidacy for President of the United States. In truth, he’s a bully, a bigot, a racist, a sexist, a liar, and perhaps the worst individual ever to be considered for the highest office in the land. I never cared much for Mitt Romney when he was Governor of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts, but you can bet your boots that should he run as a third party candidate, I will be checking his name off in the voting booth.

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1. Politifact…a division of the Tampa Bay Times
2. Claire Sudduth, Time Magazine, April 29, 2011

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Moderation at all levels

“First they came for the Socialists, and I did not speak out —
Because I was not a Socialist.

“Then they came for the Trade Unionists, and I did not speak out —
Because I was not a Trade Unionist.

“Then they came for the Jews, and I did not speak out —
Because I was not a Jew.

“Then they came for me — and there was no one left to speak for me.

The other day I was thinking about that famous quotation by Protestant Pastor Martin Niemӧller who served the last seven years of WWII in a Nazi concentration camp. The statement has been twisted and turned to include coming for “…the Communists,”  “…coming for the “Catholics,” and “…coming for the Jehovah’s Witnesses,” but it doesn’t matter which group or groups is included.  Niemӧller’s whole point was that everyone stood by and let the Nazi Party do whatever they damn well pleased. As a consequence, the world saw horror never to be forgotten.

America, as a nation, could well have been headed in a similar direction until recently when cooler heads prevailed. Would we have seen the rise of a dictator such as Hitler? No, I don’t believe that would have happened. What I fear is that certain rights may be curtailed or eliminated. First it will be at the town or county level. A simple thing such as a referendum against smoking in a community might get passed. What then, will smokers be forced to sell their homes and leave their residence? Will we wind up with smoking and non-smoking states and then, perhaps, a federal ban on smoking. Prohibition didn’t work, but that doesn’t mean the attempt wasn’t made.

The Mississippi “personhood amendment” which was an early attempt to overturn Roe v. Wade and thus reduce the rights of women was a first conservative step at taking something away. The group was women, and no man, no person, no one has the right to tell a woman what she can or cannot do with her body. In Ohio, the trade unionists were the target of the conservative right who attempted to limit collective bargaining rights. These most certainly won’t be the last attempt to take away rights from the large group by a small group of overly zealous radical conservative movement.  

With the creation of the Tea Party, we have seen something that was to me as fearful as the rise of the National Socialist Party in Germany. The Tea Party was and is just as radical in its calls for action as the Nazi Party was in 1933. I enjoy likening the Tea Party to a small child. It wants what it wants and it wants it now!  The child looks only at its own needs and completely disregards the needs of others. The Tea Party, for example, wants a balanced budget now and is willing to get this over the bodies of senior citizens, veterans, and any special interest group that is not bowing down to them.

Conservatives have made no apologies for their desire to eliminate Roe v. Wade which would disallow women any choice in how their bodies are to be used.  The conservative right would be ecstatic if they could overturn the current health care legislation, not because it is not perfect, but because they look on it as a win for “the other side.” Wait a minute folks, there are no sides. Remember, if you will, it’s “One Nation under God, with liberty and justice for all.” Feel free to be conservative or liberal but never, never, ever forget that we are one nation.

A friend of mine is fond of saying, “Your civil rights end where mine begin.” She’s right. I have every right to pursue my happiness but not if it is at the expense of others. I smoked for years, and I bitched and wailed when smoking was curtailed first in offices; then in buildings; and then on campus. In hindsight, they were right, but I will still defend a person’s right to light up…as long as it’s far enough away from me that it doesn’t infringe on my breathing.

This whole idea of whose rights are infringing on whom, and who has the right to demand what is extremely confusing. I would love to see the U.S. balance its budget, but it’s not going to happen in my lifetime or that of my grandchildren. We can make a start, but it can’t be done tomorrow. I’d love to see our defense budget cut to the bone, but it can’t happen as long as we have people in the world who would like to see us all dead. I’m a senior citizen and I see everything going up in price while my pension and Social Security get reduced, but at least I have a roof over my head, food on my table, and my prescription medication in the closet. I don’t have a bitch in the world, except against those who want everything to be fixed right this minute. What a bunch of children!

Whether it’s the assholes in Congress or the assholes who are in this “Occupy” movement, stop behaving like children and come together for the good of America. AARP, stop pushing so hard for seniors and start pushing for America. NAACP, stop pushing a Black agenda and start getting behind an American Agenda. ACLU, get real and let’s begin admitting that there are some people who give up their civil liberties by their behavior. Stop sucking up to them and get on the America bandwagon. All of you “letterized” groups with your freaking special interests, grow up. Your actions are hurting this country, not helping it. We have problems. There is no doubt about that. Every four years we have the opportunity to begin to solve those problems. They will not; they cannot be solved as long as this Nation remains as divided as it currently is.

 I would ask America for a wholesale cleaning out of the House of Representatives and a mandatory retirement period of 20 years for anyone in Congress. If you can’t move the country forward in two decades, go away and give someone else a chance. Voters, if someone’s platform includes something that you know in your heart of hearts is impossible to accomplish in a short period of time, don’t elect him or her; they’re unrealistic assholes. At all levels of government, from your local board of selectmen to the President of the United States, let’s begin to put realists in office. They may plod and fall, but they will move the town, city, county, state, and country ahead. We’ve dug ourselves a deep hole, but it’s been done over time and by both parties. That’s why both parties, all parties must come together to help the Nation dig itself back out!! C’mon America, let’s not wait until there’s no one to speak for us. Let’s “US” get the job done together!

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Mr. Freeman is right!

I like Morgan Freeman. L liked him even before he became an Oscar winner…for whatever that’s worth.  He can play any role, take the lead or be a supporting member of the cast. I don’t recall a movie – even Kevin Costner’s “Robin Hood” – in which I didn’t find Freeman to play his role to perfection. He’s never seemed to be bombastic or one of the “look-at-me; look-at-me” Hollywood types. He just seems to go his own way. Oh, sure, he supported Barack Obama’s presidential aspirations, but he wouldn’t stump for him. He helped to defeat an amendment that would change the state flag of Mississippi because the new one contained the Confederate flag as part of its design. He has publicly stated his dislike of Black History month…”It’s not Black History; it’s American History. There is no White History month.” By and large, Morgan Freeman is “the quiet man” in a world full of stars.

Mr. Freeman has now broken his silence. It would appear that he is somewhat irritated with President Obama. It’s not for the manner in which the President is trying to run the country, but because he believes that President Obama has exposed the “dark underbelly of America,” by bringing the racists out of the closet and into the fray about who is supposed to be in charge of America.

As one who has been writing about racism in the United States government, I’m glad to have someone finally back me up. You will never hear one member of the Tea Party or any members of the Republican Party in Congress make a racial slur against this President…not one. I don’t know what you will hear them say behind closed doors, but I’m willing to bet that even the fly on the wall gets pretty red in the face over what Mitch McConnell, Eric Cantor, and many others say in personal attacks on the President.

Congress isn’t working because a group of racist fascists called the Tea Party have made it their sworn duty to ensure that Barack Obama is a one-term President. Forget the fact that America is in a recession that is just getting worse. You people need to forget the fact that your constituents are looking to you to pass jobs legislation that will help them get back to work.

 

Forget the fact that the bulk of our problems began with Ronald Reagan who raised the debt ceiling 18 times; forget the fact that George W. Bush cut taxes and raised the debt ceiling another seven times as well as engaging us in two totally unnecessary wars. These things don’t matter. We cannot have a Black man in the office of the Presidency. My God, Myrtle, it’s Un-American!

House Republican Leader, John Boehner, stands in front of microphones and emphasizes how much his party wants to work in harmony with the President to pass this bill and that bill to help American get back on its feet. Then he goes behind closed doors and bows down and kisses the feet of the members of the Tea Party. He tells them, “Don’t worry, I’m actually on your side…all the way. We can’t afford to let him have a win!”

That appears to be how our country’s business is now being run. It doesn’t matter if something is right or wrong; “We can’t afford to let ‘him’ have a win. To the best of my knowledge, there has never been such open class and racial warfare going on in this country since the Civil War, or, if you prefer, The War for Southern Independence. The United States of America, once looked on by the world as a shining example of how anyone could achieve their dream through hard work and intelligence is now being looked on as one of the most racist and divided nations in the world. We make South Africa during the apartheid years look tame by comparison…all of this because “We can’t let him have a win!” When will Mr. & Mrs. John Q. Public take their heads out of their collective butts and see these people for what they are? Or is it, perhaps, that the majority of white Americans are so secretly racist that they don’t give a damn about the country as long as the Black man only gets to serve one term and can be blamed for all of America’s woes?

I have to ask the question: “What ever happened to any kind of leadership in the Democrat Party in America. Nancy Pelosi and Harry Reid can most assuredly not be called leaders. Pelosi would make a deal with the Devil if she thought it would give her personal gain. Harry Reid has been in the Senate for nearly a quarter of a century and has no concept of how to fight against the tactics of the Tea Party. Where the hell is there a Lyndon Johnson or a Jack or Bobby Kennedy? I don’t see anyone with the chutzpah to stand up against the Tea Party fanatics.

Sad to say, but the Tea Party bears a strong resemblance to the National Socialist Party of Germany in the thirties. That may be a harsh statement, but it sure looks like the same crowd to me. This time it will be Black businesses and books featuring Black accomplishments that will be burned in the streets.

Mr. Freeman is right. The Tea Party is very, very frightening for the future of America and right now, there isn’t a single soul who is speaking out against them. Will we, like Germany, wait until it’s too late?

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