Category: Current Events

President Trump’s failure: delay and misinformation

President Trump’s failure: delay and misinformation

Posted on by Jack

The COVID-19 pandemic is much worse in the United States than it should be. This is due to a failure of federal response until fairly late in the spread of the virus. We can blame President Trump for most of this problem did not take the warning signs seriously. The blame is shared with those federal officials who should have contradicted him and gone public with what they knew.

The is a long story in about this delay and why this lost time is making things worse. It is long but worth reading. here is a link:

https://www.theatlantic.com/health/archive/2020/03/how-many-americans-are-sick-lost-february/608521/

COVID-19 information

COVID-19 information

Posted on by Jack

The COVID-19 situation is a difficult one. Over 100,00 case are reported world-wide and the number is growing. Because it is so new, we do not yet have a handle on mortality and how it will spread and for how long. Fortunately there is plenty of good information out there.

There is also a good bit of misinformation so be cautious about what you believe.
Continue reading “COVID-19 information”

Trump Comparison With Hitler

Trump Comparison With Hitler

Posted on by Jack

Some Republicans are upset about a Trump Comparison With Hitler. To me, it seems very appropriate.

But this story was just a small note in my Sunday paper. It was probably a bigger story in the Baltimore area. So when I had the time, I looked for more information. Now seems like a good time to say what this is all about.
Continue reading “Trump Comparison With Hitler”

President Trump learns a lesson

President Trump learns a lesson

Posted on by Jack

The Senate has voted not to remove President Trump from office. It’s not that he wasn’t guilty of the charges in the impeachment trial.

The case was proved by overwhelming evidence. Perhaps Senator Alexander said it best: Continue reading “President Trump learns a lesson”

We are not a banana republic yet

We are not a banana republic yet

Posted on by Jack

Is the United States on the way to becoming a banana republic?

To many it would seem that President Trump is taking us in that direction. His retaliation or revenge against those who stood up to tell what they saw and heard during the impeachment hearings (or even relations such as Lieutenant Colonel Alexander Vindman’s brother) suggests we may be moving toward becoming a banana republic.

President Trump’s influence on the justice department and threats against opponents also suggests a banana republican type move. Continue reading “We are not a banana republic yet”

See no evil and hear no evil

See no evil and hear no evil

Posted on by Jack

The Senate will see no evil and hear no evil concerning our President. The full saying is “see no evil, hear no evil, speak no evil” but 2 out of 3 is not bad for majority in the US Senate.

So ends the impeachment trial of President Donald J. Trump. The trial without witnesses or evidence. Continue reading “See no evil and hear no evil”

Will Mitch McConnell be a Bad Juror

Will Mitch McConnell be a Bad Juror

Posted on by Jack

Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell has told us he is not an impartial juror and he will work with with the White House. Does Leader Mitch McConnell plan on a sham trial which will exonerate the President no matter what evidence is presented?

Will any evidence be allowed?

Republican Senator Lisa Murkowski finds Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell’s positions on the impeachment trial disturbing. We all should find McConnell’s positions on the impeachment trial disturbing.

We heard from Republican Senator Lindsey Graham back in early November that he has no plans to listen or evidence or be impartial.

Where are the other Republican Senators? Are they OK with a sham trial or would they like a real trial?

Impeach: conservative case

Impeach: conservative case

Posted on by Jack

I have reviewed a book explaining the case for impeaching President Trump. The author considers himself a centrist – extreme centrist is the term he uses. The case is explained well.

If you are a Republican, you should not excuse a behavior in a fellow Republican that you would condemn in a Democrat. And if you are a Democrat, you should not excuse a behavior in a fellow Democrat that you would condemn in a Republican. Unfortunately we have seen little of that in the past few months of Impeachment hearings.

Another perspective from a conservative point of view is offered in today’s NY Times. The Conservative Case for Impeachment — and Removal by Bret Stephens is well worth reading.

Impeach: The Case Against Donald Trump

Impeach: The Case Against Donald Trump

Posted on by Jack

My first thought was that it was amazing that Impeach: The Case Against Donald Trump by Neal Katyal with Sam Koppelman was so current. I’d expect a book of this type to be at least a few months out of date but it seems there was a heroic effort by the authors and research assistants to incorporate very recent events.

I like the book very much and agreed with much of it. Where I disagreed I was usually persuaded by the clear arguments presented in the book.
Continue reading “Impeach: The Case Against Donald Trump”

Where is the full transcript ?

Where is the full transcript ?

Posted on by Jack

This July call by President Trump to the President of Ukraine seems to be the center of the Impeachment Inquiry so far. However all we have to go on is the a rough transcript released by the White House. The actual full transcript is on a very highly classified computer system.

Is it possible for someone from the Intelligence committees to read it? Could someone read or testify to the contents of other calls on that same system?

Andrew Johnson impeachment parallels

Andrew Johnson impeachment parallels

Posted on by Jack

I was reading “Donald Trump, Meet Your Precursor”, a nice opinion piece that will be in the Sunday NY Times but was available online yesterday. The article discusses several parallels between President Johnson and President Trump, especially as related to impeachment.

It reminded me the several years back I had read and reviewed a biography of Andrew Johnson. I think it gave me a better appreciation of the article.

Mueller time

Mueller time

Posted on by Jack

Is it time to re-examine the Mueller report ?

Now that a impeachment inquiry is under way and early results strongly suggest that President Trump was using his office for political gain, is it not reasonable that we consider that he may have done something similar in 2016?. After all Mueller did document multiple contacts between the campaign and Russia. And our intelligence agencies agree that Russia did interfere in the 2016 election. If this possible collusion is to be investigated as part of the inquiry, should the unredacted Mueller report be released to the relevant committees?
Continue reading “Mueller time”