Category Archives: Local Politics

Pro-choice Vs. Anti-choice Not Pro-choice Vs. Pro-life

The Donald J Trump of the United States of America continuously sucks all of the oxygen out of the room with his never-ending outrageous antics leaving very little if any for the discussion of other important issues.  One of those issues that are not being discussed is abortion and its nexus to Roe vs. Wade.  Roe vs. Wade has recently come under attack by the Republican Party and is in serious jeopardy of being overturned or at the very least, diluted to the point of being virtually meaningless.

This sudden flurry of laws banning abortion – in many cases without any exceptions for rape or incest, being past in states controlled by Republicans should have a chilling effect on all women who desire to control their own body and an awakening effect on all families.  Whether these distracting events orchestrated by Mr. Trump are by accident or on purpose, all Americans need to take some time and exert whatever amount of effort is required to refocus on how our country is being governed.  I want to take this opportunity to do what I can to assist all voting-age Americans, who might have become sidetracked, and lost their ability to remain focused to refocus.  Hopefully I can do that by way of this article.

For as long as I can remember, Democrats have too often been extremely passive when it comes to how a political issue will be branded and how the narrative of that issue will be set and controlled.  Democrats regularly sit on the sidelines, play by Republicans’ rules (although Republicans constantly break their own rules when it suits their purposes) and allow Republicans to brand political issues, controversial or otherwise, and set the narrative as they deem appropriate.  Why is that?!  For some reason – since Republicans have reverted to giving it their all to overturn Roe vs. Wade by introducing myriads of ridiculous abortion ban bills, their “pro-life” mantra has stuck in my craw.  To be clear, I get sick-and-tired of hearing them ramble on about how they are pro-life and not like those pro-choice Democrats who believe in killing innocent babies.

I am not sure who decided that Democrats should be labeled pro-choice and Republicans labeled pro-life.  Regardless of who chose the labels, to me, to be pro-choice does not automatically preclude one from being pro-life!  Whose life are Republicans talking about anyway?  It is reasonable to assume that they are referring only to the life of the fetus.  But what about the life of the woman who may be the victim of rape or incest; what about the lives of her immediate and extended family, do they matter at all in what impact such a decision will have on their lives?

How many lawmakers would feel the same way if their daughter or loved one was the victim of incest or rape?  Would they feel the same way about abortion; especially in these racially divisive times, would a white lawmaker feel the same way about this law if their daughter was raped by an African American?  Would an African American who favors overturning Roe vs. Wade feel the same way under these same circumstances?  This is an issue that should be argued by reasonable lawmakers under circumstances that are void of the volatile and tribal atmosphere that currently exists in our American politics.

Although this article is primarily meant to draw voters’ attention to the eminent jeopardy that Roe vs. Wade is in due to the nexus between it and a woman’s right to control her own body (in this particular case to choose whether or not to have an abortion), there are two points that I want to leave you with.  Since this article began by addressing the words “pro-choice” and “pro-life” – while at the same time addressing my loathing of the word “pro-life” being in essence identified as the antonym of “pro-choice, I will address that issue first.  My first point is that regardless of who chose the words “pro-choice” and pro-life”, it is time for all Democrats to step up now and stop using the word “pro-life” and begin using the word “anti-choice” instead.

During any discourse about abortion, whether or not Republicans use the word “pro-life”, Democrats should use the word “anti-choice.”  Pro-choice is not synonymous with anti-life.  We must stop allowing our opponents to brand the issue and frame the narrative so that it suites them and then spin or change those things when they no longer suit them.  My second point is closely related to the suggestion to stop using the word “pro-life” as it relates to any discussion regarding abortion: and that has to do with Democrats regularly acquiescing to Republicans on issues that Democrats oppose them on, complacently accepting Republicans’ branding of these issues and allowing them to control the narrative.  Democrats should stop automatically giving Republicans the gift of acquiescence now and seriously weigh in on the branding and framing of the narrative on these issues.

This issue regarding abortion and Roe vs. Wade is not just a women’s issue, it is a family issue and it is an issue that impacts on all Americans.  Accordingly, all Americans should come together and demand that our elected officials resolve this issue in a reasonable way.  In order for them to resolve it in a reasonable way the discourse associated with it must be conducted in an atmosphere free of tribalism and partisanship.  All voting-age Americans have a part to play in this; first, we must forsake divisiveness, resist our impulse to resort to tribalism and return to being reasonable with one another.  Then, we must work together to put reasonable politicians – whether they are Democrats, Republicans or Independents – into office.  This way we can agree to disagree while remaining civil: politicians will be able to do the job that they were elected to do and America will be better for it.

Eulus Dennis – author, Operation Rubik’s Cube and Living Between The Line

To All Americans Who Have Not Read The Mueller Report

I implore all Americans, especially those who are old enough to vote, to read the Mueller Report.  And if you do not have the time or the patience to read the entire report (it consists of two volumes and is 448 pages long), PLEASE at least read the “Introduction To Volume I”, “Introduction To Volume II”, and the Executive Summaries of volumes I and II.  If you read those, you will understand why the summary that Attorney General William Barr wrote and publicized and the press conferences that he held before he released the redacted version of the Mueller Report were, respectively, a farce and – at best, a publicity stunt by a Donald J. Trump toady! If you read these Introductions and Executive Summaries, I am confident that it will whet your appetite so that you will be more likely to read the entire report.

The Attorney General, whether he/she is a Republican, Democrat or Independent is supposed to be the Attorney General of the American people.  Unfortunately, Attorney General Barr is conducting himself more like the personal attorney of Mr. Donald J. Trump.  And because he refused to turn over an unredacted copy of the Mueller Report to congress, which congress has a right to see, the House Judiciary Committee voted to hold him in contempt of congress.  Further, the Donald J. Trump of America has said that the White House will ignore all congressional subpoenas.  Finally, almost all of the Republicans in the Senate and House have supported Mr. Trump for more than two years and are now supporting him in the position that he has taken regarding this matter.  Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell has even echoed Mr. Trump in saying “case closed” as far as the Mueller Report and its findings are concerned.

Senator Richard Burr – Chairman of the Senate Intelligence Committee, was mentioned in the Mueller Report for leaking information to the White House about the Russia investigation.  One of Senator Charles E. Grassley’s aides was mentioned in the report for the effort that she made to find then candidate for president Hillary Clinton’s missing emails.  And as previously mentioned, almost all of the Senate and House Republicans supported Mr. Trump either openly or tacitly in making it difficult for the Mueller team to get to the bottom of those issues that brought about the appointment of a Special Counsel to investigate Russia’s interference in the 2016 election in the first place.  Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell even refused to bring a bipartisan bill to the floor of the senate for a vote to protect Special Counsel Mueller from being fired.  The Mueller Report determined that Mr. Trump tried to fire Mr. Muller on more than one occasion.

The rule of law and the very democracy of the United States of America are being challenged and far too many Republican lawmakers (one would be too many) are choosing Party and reelection over Constitution and country.  Our country needs all Americans to step up and demand that all politicians who swore to defend and protect the Constitution of the United States abide by their oath and do their job!  We need to remind them that their duty is to country first, not Party and personal ambition!

Eulus Dennis – author, Operation Rubik’s Cube and Living Between The Line

The Donald J. Trump Of The United States Of America. To Impeach Or Not To Impeach, That Is The Question.

The Donald J. Trump of the United States of America says that he is not worried about being impeached “even a little bit.”  He is not worried about any of those who work for him betraying him by defying his orders because he says that “nobody disobeys my orders.”  This man regularly lies to the public, encourages those who work for him to lie to the public and regularly tramples on the rule of law!  And after he does these things, he all but literally dares ‘anyone,’ no matter how powerful they are, to confront him about his behavior.  So far, he has had virtually no one in the Republican Party to accept his dare and those in the Democratic Party – even though they might accept his dare, are extremely careful about the things that they say and do in order to put and keep him in check.

It is up to the Democratic Party to hold Mr. Trump accountable because the Republican Party congressmen and senators have proven time-and-time again that they are either not up to the task or simply refuse to rise to the mantle of their position.  They either hold their Party in higher esteem than they hold their oath to America, they place their personal ambitions ahead of America’s interest – including getting reelected, or it is a combination of the two.  It is up to the Democrats to decide whether or not they should begin proceedings to impeach Mr. Trump for high crimes and misdemeanors.  There is certainly plenty of evidence available to them to begin such proceedings but the political atmosphere and the way that their Republican colleagues have been conducting themselves leaves them in doubt of whether or not they would be successful since the senate would require a super majority to convict Mr. Trump.  Mr. Trump is betting that Democrats cannot secure a super majority of votes to remove him from office.

I am not saying which path that the Democrats should take or whether or not they would be successful in their effort to remove Mr. Trump from office.  It is a tough decision to make; however, they were elected to make decisions on our behalf, including the tough ones.  But those of the American people who feel that the Democratic Party should stand on their principles and for all intents and purposes are saying or implying that Democrats should move forward with impeaching Mr. Trump must be prepared to accept whatever impact that it has on our Party in the 2020 election.  There is a great risk in taking such a step and it could cause Mr. Trump to win reelection, give back the House to Republicans or both.  If either or both of these things that would be favorable to the Republicans should occur, we should not become angry with those Democrats who made the decision and desert them because they failed to successfully impeach Mr. Trump and as a result we were all knocked down!  We must get up, step up and get right back into the fight!  We must always stand on principle and fight for that which is right!

Mr. Trump’s behavior and actions make him appear to be barely above the line that is required for one to be labeled a human being rather than some other organism.  And even though he meets the human being criteria it would not be unfair to label him as the honey badger of human beings.  And as many people say about the honey badger, he just does not care.  Or in the more crass terms that some have used, he just does not give a f**k!  Neither does Mr. Trump.  And since the Mr. Donald J. Trump of the United States of America has an affinity for crassness (if you watch cable news or have read the Mueller Report you are aware that this is true.), the latter description of the honey badger’s attitude would be apropos in describing how Mr. Trump lives his life and his sentiments on all things not Trump.

Mr. Trump knows that he has instilled fear into the minds of his Republican subordinates (I use that word because they have not been conducting themselves like they are, collectively, his co-equal) and with his honey badger mentality, wields this fear brazenly and without any consideration as to how their submitting to it will impact on them…unless it might also have a negative impact on his own interest.  Mr. Trump is an apex predator, and like any predator in the animal kingdom, he is dangerous and without mercy.  He is even more dangerous than all other predators because he is, although what appears to be barely because he lacks the emotions of normal human beings, a human being.  He has the power to think and reason!  And finally, like any apex predator in the animal kingdom – even though it would prefer to flee, it will lash out with all of the ferocity within itself if it is cornered in order to survive!  This description reflects the epitome of Mr. Trump’s situation.  It also perfectly depicts his efforts to flee but even now he can sense that he is already cornered; his instincts say that he must survive!  Mr. Trump is powerful and strong and he is definitely a dangerous man!

I hesitate to speak of Mr. Trump in these terms because he does occupy the Oval Office and is the Mr. Donald J. Trump of the United States of America.  This Office should always be held in high esteem and respected and I do hold it in high esteem and respect it.  But it is hard to respect any person who occupies that office if they conduct themselves like Mr. Trump conducts himself.  During my lifetime there has never been a President of the United States of America, Democrat or Republican, that has conducted himself like Mr. Trump is conducting himself.  Even if Mr. Trump means well and there is the slightest chance that he has the best interest of America at heart as long as it does not conflict with his own best interest, thus far, his agenda has not reflected that.  Instead, his antics – unchecked by congress because of Republicans who have continuously put Party and personal ambition before country, have consistently moved America down in the eyes of the world on the rungs of the virtual latter of those countries and individuals who respect the right of all human beings around the world to espouse life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness.

Whether or not you support Mr. Trump, it is incumbent upon us as American, to examine what he is doing, carefully scrutinize with an unbiased eye the direction in which he is leading America and decide if this is who we really are as Americans!  We must decide if this is the right path forward; and whether or not that we believe it is, if he is the right person who should be leading us down this path.  We can determine this and keep America great or decide if, based on Mr. Trump’s definition, we want to ‘Make America Great Again’ by way of our vote.  I believe that America has always been great and will remain great as long as we eschew Mr. Trump’s vision of a great America.

Whether or not you agree with me – whether you are a Democrat, Republican or Independent, always remember, your vote is the most important one of all…unless you don’t use it!  So get informed on the political issues, stay informed, and always vote!  It’s your civic duty so get started today!  As a dyed in the wool Democrat, I challenge you to do this!  Let’s see which Party has the best ideas in the eyes of the majority of the American people!  Put up your dukes, let’s get ready to rumble and then, let’s get it on!  No Matter the results, America will be better for it.

Eulus Dennis – author, Operation Rubik’s Cube and Living Between The Line

Attorney General William Barr Is A Political Hack

After his presser to address the Mueller Report (for the 5th time before it was released to congress and the public) the verdict is in on Attorney General (AG) William P. Barr.  He is definitely a political hack and just the hired gun that Mr. Trump was searching for.  He had no problem at all as US Attorney General in throwing all of the employees at the Department of Justice (DOJ) under the bus as an additional step to acquit his obligation as a hired gun to Mr. Trump, a position which he openly sought to fill by way of a 19-page unsolicited memo that he wrote and supplied to Mr. Trump and his lawyers before he was selected for the job.  The Attorney General of the United States/American people did not stop at throwing the employees at the DOJ under the bus, instead, he went on to throw all Americans under the bus as well.  At his Thursday 4/18/19 presser, he acted as if he were Mr. Trump’s personal attorney rather than the American people’s attorney by – in essence – absolving Mr. Trump of any wrongdoing in how he has conducted himself during the time that he has been in office!  To make matters worse, he did not even have a problem in lying to achieve what he probably thought was the perfect political spin of the report and perfect timing to drop it.  Another one bites the dust; AG Barr has sold his soul to Mr. Trump!  Should we take bets on, not if but when Mr. Trump will throw AG Barr under the bus?  Based on Mr. Trump’s track record, it is sure to happen.

Anyway, after this press conference as I watched while the cable news hosts and their show’s contributors scrambled to review the redacted Mueller report and analyze it in an effort to share its findings with the American people, it was not hard to detect an air of sadness on the faces and in the voices of many of those contributors who were lawyers.  Not only had many of them held AG Barr in high esteem but they had expressed a great deal of confidence in him, labeled him as an institutionalist, expressed their opinion that he would do the right thing and urged that everyone give him the benefit of the doubt after he was confirmed by the senate; but many of them had also expressed why they felt this way.  It was because they had either worked with him or in some other way become closely affiliated with him during the course of their careers.  They had found his reputation to be stellar.  Perhaps Mr. Barr’s reputation had been stellar up until now.  And whether he was simply power hungry or desired to associate himself with Mr. Trump due to his love of the law, belief that he was right in his assessment that a sitting president could not obstruct justice and therefore could not be subject to the charge of “obstruction of justice” and he wanted to see the person who occupied the Oval Office (Mr. Trump) succeed,” once Mr. Barr entered Mr. Trump’s orbit that did not matter; his fate was sealed.  Because everything that Mr. Trump touches either dies or is indelibly stained.

I still struggle to understand how one man – especially a man like Mr. Trump, could come in and tear down what the founders worked so hard to establish and it took America hundreds of years to build on, build up, uphold and spread throughout the world and gain their respect, in one fell swoop.  Does it mean that we need to take a really close look at our democracy and those things that are in place as regards how we govern ourselves and to assure that that democracy remains strong?  Perhaps.  One thing is for sure though and that is that if we intend to even have the opportunity to make an assessment regarding this while our democracy is still intact we must step up to our responsibility as American citizens to get informed on politics, stay informed, and vote!  It is a frightening thing to witness a man such as Mr. Trump be able to so easily manipulate the system and skew the field in his favor when there are so many supposedly savvy and powerful politicians in place to protect the American people against this kind of thing.

Make America Great Again?  Wow!  Based on information in the Mueller Report it seems that at least Russia would be on board with this mantra.  Of course it would have to be based on their interpretation of how to make America great again.  This likely would include a puppet American president that would be controlled by Russia’s president, Vladimir Putin.  Let’s say, for instance, someone like America’s current Mr. Donald J. Trump of the United States of America, Mr. Donald J. Trump.  According to the report, Russia did a lot to help Mr. Trump to get elected while at the same time doing as much damage as possible to Hillary Clinton and her campaign.  And although this report does not contain information that proves beyond a reasonable doubt that Mr. Trump and individuals associated with his campaign conspired with Russia in interfering with our 2016 election, there is plenty of evidence that indicates that they did.  I challenge you to read the report.  But I must warn you in advance that it is long; 448 pages long.  And after you read it, even if your takeaway is different from mine, you will likely be moved to become more cognizant of what is happening in politics and hopefully be moved to stay informed and vote.  This challenge also applies to Mr. Trump’s dedicated and seemingly immovable base.  Although you might refuse to accept anything negative about Mr. Trump from anyone who does not agree with him, hopefully you will believe what you read for yourself.

To everyone who reads this article and especially to Mr. Trump’s immovable base mentioned in the preceding paragraph, I implore you to always remember, whether you are a Democrat, Republican or Independent, your vote is the most important one of all…unless you don’t use it!

Eulus Dennis – author, Operation Rubik’s Cube and Living Between The Line

AG Barr’s Mueller Probe Summary: A Gut Punch To Democrats, Justice, And Rule Of Law

The summary report that Attorney General William Barr wrote on Robert Mueller’s investigation into whether Mr. Trump colluded/conspired with Russia in order to be elected Mr. Trump of the United States of America was a devastating gut punch to Democrats, justice, and the rule of law.  This summary to a great degree cleared Mr. Trump of any wrongdoing, especially in the eyes of the public, and gave him a head start on spinning the results of the investigation in a way that will be of maximum benefit to him and allow him to control the narrative.  Of course, Mr. Trump says that this summary means that the investigation totally exonerates him: and at this point, neither congress nor the public even knows how many pages are in the actual investigation report let alone what the report itself says or what kind of documentation was gathered to support its findings.

It is extremely hard to accept Attorney General Barr’s summary of what was revealed in the investigation and his conclusions as a result of having read the full report.  One of the reasons that make it hard to accept his summary and conclusions as fair and unbiased is, in no small part, due to the way in which he became Mr. Trump’s pick to be Attorney General in the first place.  Both Mr. Barr and Matthew Whitaker, the man that Mr. Trump picked to precede Mr. Barr, auditioned for the job by writing a memo and Op-ed, respectively.  Both the memo and the Op-ed heavily favored Mr. Trump and were critical of the Robert Mueller investigation.  The selection of these two men makes Mr. Trump’s public and loudly trumpeted declaration of his innocence of any crimes or collusion/conspiracy with Russia based on Attorney General Barr’s summary of the Mueller investigation report suspect.

The summary that Attorney General Barr wrote raises many more questions than it answers.  Last night (3/25/19) on her show, Rachael Maddow listed fifteen questions from that report that are among the many that remain unanswered and clearly and succinctly laid out the details as to why each question needed to be asked and answered.  During that time she also talked about Attorney General Barr’s involvement in writing the report and touched on how he could easily be construed to be Mr. Trump’s man because of how he had come to be selected for the Attorney General position.

It is easy to understand her point.  Because before he hired Matthew Whitaker, Mr. Trump had bitterly complained about how Mr. Jeff Sessions, while he was Attorney General, had not protected him and had lamented about how Mr. Sessions should not have recused himself; ultimately Mr. Trump forced Mr. Sessions to resign.  He then hired Mr. Whitaker, who was eminently unqualified for the job but was malleable to his wishes, to do the job.  Next up after he removed Acting Attorney General Whitaker who likely would have never been confirmed by the senate, was Mr. Barr who was eminently qualified, well-respected, definitely more polished than Mr. Whitaker and, based on his audition for the job, was just as eager to please him as was Mr. Whitaker.  Mr. Trump then hired him as the closer.

If I haven’t learned anything else over the time that Mr. Trump has occupied the Oval Office I have learned that he is a master of prestidigitation, obfuscation, manipulation, projection, lying, hate mongering, fear mongering and divisiveness.  And I have also learned that he is all but inexplicably tough-minded and a master of using all of these things to survive and promote himself.  It is hard to assign a number to the number of times that Washington congressmen, pundits and the rest of us who follow politics have predicted that Mr. Trump had finally gone too far and would pay a hefty political price.  Wrong.  Instead, he has continued to maintain his base, continue to defy the odds, move ahead and brag about it.  Right now, 90% of Republicans support Mr. Trump and would vote for him again.  Based on the things that Mr. Trump has done since he has been in office, many of these people would be voting against their own best interest!  Go figure!

Despite Mr. Trump’s well-known propensity to lie, his capriciousness as it relates to governance, his scandal-filled administration, his inability – or lack of interest to fill open jobs in order to make the government run more smoothly and efficiently, he is a formidable adversary and there is a good chance that he can be reelected in 2020.  For those who are comfortable with this kind of knee-jerk, haphazard way of running America there is no problem.  But for those who are not comfortable with it, the sooner that they realize and accept Mr. Trump’s formidability, the better.  Although I am a staunch Democrat and proud of it, this is not a clarion call to Democrats only to wake up but it is meant to awaken the concern in Republicans and Independents as well.  It is a call to all of those who feel that America is traveling the wrong road and that the way forward must be led by someone who is more focused and holds a greater concern for our country as a whole.

That someone does not necessarily have to be a Democrat but it does have to be someone who is concerned about pulling us together instead of dividing us.  It does have to be someone who is more concerned about putting America’s interest ahead of their own personal interest.  And it does have to be someone who will respect the Constitution, the rule of law, the long-held norms of this great republic and who will hold the Oval Office in the high esteem in which it should be held.  It has to be someone who will rise to the mantle of the Office and will work to assure that it remains the prestigious symbol of Democracy that it has always been.  As voters we can assure that this will happen by performing one of our most important civic duties which is to vote.  We must get informed on the issues, stay informed and always vote.

So whether you are a Democrat, Republican or Independent, always remember, your vote is the most important one of all…unless you don’t use it!

Eulus Dennis – author, Operation Rubik’s Cube and Living Between The Line

The Donald J Trump Strain: A President And Congress In Name Only

How will history judge the Mr. Donald John Trump strain; the president (in name only) and all of those congressmen (again, in name only) who blindly followed him out of loyalty and enabled him no matter how nefarious his dealings and dalliances were?  History will likely judge them harshly.  The sad fact is that all of these men and women who allow Mr. Trump to control them in this way are acutely aware of this but their personal ambition and thirst for power relentlessly drives them into stupor.  And Mr. Trump is always ready, willing and able to take advantage of the situation.  He strokes them and flatters them constantly…until they fall out of favor with him; then, he throws them under the bus and moves on to the next overly ambitious, power-hungry potential sucker.

There are a lot of urgent things going on right now that demand the attention of our elected officials that are going wanting as a direct result of Mr. Trump and his antics.  Some of these things, arguably, have an existential impact on our democracy.  And Mr. Trump is the key quantifier that is fueling this arguably existential problem.  About a third of all Americans still support Mr. Trump.  Many of those in this group believe that he is doing a good job and would likely vote for him again; and that’s okay.  Accepting and guaranteeing their right to do this without being threatened or made to feel afraid because of it is who we are as Americans.  No American should infringe upon their right to feel this way about Mr. Trump and to vote for him again, but what we need from those in this group and from those on all sides is for them to be willing and able to hold reasonable discourse on all of the issues, especially on those where we disagree.  Our elected officials should be leading in this arena but it is obvious that they are not.

A perfect example of the kind of people and the kind of attitude that will be needed by our elected officials was exhibited by a guest, Paula Duncan, who appeared on MSNBC’s ‘The Last Word’ hosted by Lawrence O’Donnell in early March this year.  This woman was and remains a staunch Donald Trump supporter who served on the jury in Virginia that rendered the verdict on Paul Manafort.  She said that going into the trial she had hoped that Paul Manafort would not be guilty but after reviewing the evidence she determined that he was guilty and voted accordingly.  I totally disagree with Ms. Duncan on what she said about Mr. Trump being a good president and that he is doing a good job.  And based on the rest of her comments that I read in an NBC News article dated August 23, 2018 entitled ‘Manafort juror Paula Duncan: Manafort is guilty, but Mueller probe is a witch hunt’, I am just as baffled and frustrated with her as she said that she was with the lone holdout juror who kept them from finding Manafort guilty on all counts rather than just 8 of the 18.

However, just as she accepted the holdout juror’s decision and accepted her right to make that decision, I have done the same thing where Ms. Duncan is concerned.  Notwithstanding the fact that we are completely on opposite ends of the spectrum in our opinions regarding Mr. Trump and how effective he is in his job, my point is that Ms. Duncan is the kind of person that one can talk to and more than likely reach common ground.  And if the evidence and proof regarding the alleged nefarious acts that Mr. Trump has committed is sufficient, as strong as her support for him is, she is extremely likely to hold him to account.  I feel certain that she would want the politicians that she elected to represent her to do the same thing.  And I say right now, as strongly as I feel that Mr. Trump is guilty of all of those things that he is accused of, if the evidence and proof reveals that he is innocent, then I want the politicians that I helped to elect to accept that evidence and proof, find Mr. Trump innocent and clear his name.

Having said that, at this point and under the existing circumstances, it is reasonable to assume that the American people want the damage that Mr. Trump is doing to America to be stopped, within the law, as quickly as possible.  And once the problem is corrected, it is also reasonable to assume that they want our country to immediately begin to clean up all of the damage that has been done and work to reestablish America as the respected leader of the free world.  To effectively reestablish that respect we must begin at home by respecting one another, all of our rights – including those inalienable rights, and this great union and democracy called America.

Eulus Dennis – author, Operation Rubik’s Cube and Living Between The Line

America, Want Principled Politicians? Get Big Money Out Of Politics!

Most Americans likely feel that people with big money always fare better than the rest of us when it comes to politics.  We feel that politicians at the local, state and federal levels pay a lot more attention to those Americans who make or have the potential to make big contributions to their campaigns: they play the money game.  It is highly likely that all politicians, regardless as to whether the letter “D”, “R”, or “I” appears next to their name play the money game.  Some of those politicians simply find it hard to hold on to their principles, others – after they get elected, find that scruples become a burden to them as regards their political ambitions so quickly rid themselves of them, and others are just plain and simply corrupt.

Many well-meaning politicians, when they are first elected, go into their jobs with the idea of making great decisions for America and their constituents based on principles and common sense.  Sure, they had to raise money to get elected and they know that those people who contributed to their campaigns – especially those who contributed large amounts, expect something for their money.  Some might expect an appointment to a committee or board that they want to be on, others might expect to be given a well-paying job, and still others might expect to receive support in the future to run for an elected position themselves.  But at the very least, those people expect special access to that politician.  The more money that they contribute, the greater the special consideration for access they expect to receive.

Many of the big money donors even have lobbyist working for them.  These lobbyists use the special access gained by these donors to regularly pressure these politicians to do things that will favor these big money donors by tilting the playing field in their favor.  We regular Americans don’t have paid lobbyists constantly whispering into the ears of elected officials so, more often than not, consideration for what we – and unfortunately even at times America and our democracy as a whole, need is moved to the backburner or completely disregarded.  Our politicians regularly go on donor tours to impress and hold on to those who give them money to finance their campaigns.  And, as usual, the big money donors are the ones who ultimately receive the greatest amount of attention and are given the greatest amount of consideration when it comes to governance and legislation.

It is no secret that with the cost of advertising, politicians must raise extremely large amounts of money in order to effectively compete to keep their jobs.  The fact of the matter is that they are virtually raising money from the time that they are elected until the time that they must run for reelection.  And this is an endless cycle for them for the whole time that they hold office.  Even if these elected officials enter office with the best intentions of honestly and honorably serving America and all of their constituents well, many ultimately find themselves struggling with the choice of whether to maintain their scruples and principles at all costs or to consider their campaign contributors and all of their unspoken expectations in their overall calculus of getting reelected.  Far too often the latter wins out; and it is also far too often that the big money donors reap most of if not all of the benefits!

Even the best of these politicians who have good intentions are on this roller coaster ride.  They work tirelessly to keep these struggles by them hidden from all of their constituents; even those of us who are consummate consumers of politics.  And although we know anyway that those struggles are there, the sincere efforts of these politicians to do the right thing and their effort to hide those struggles while trying to strike the perfect balance enables us to continue to hold at least some degree of admiration and respect for them.  As a matter of principles as Americans, we must do our part to help them to gain the victory over this kind of politics.  And we, the American people, can do this if we are willing to fight for change in the American election process and election system.

We say that we want principled politicians; politicians who will be statesmen and serve America honestly and honorably.  If this is true, then we must remove big money from the American election process and election system.  Big money has always in essence controlled American legislation and governance and that is exactly why the political playing field has been skewed in their favor from the beginning and still favors them.  That is exactly why a few billionaires can run America by having governance work for just the few (billionaires, millionaires and the super wealthy) and continue to rob the everyday American of their collective vote by rendering it meaningless.  If we truly want to make American governance work for all Americans, then we must get big money out of politics as soon as possible!  We must start the process now to do that!  The sooner that we get the job done, the better!

Eulus Dennis – author, Operation Rubik’s Cube and Living Between The Line

Mr. Trump, The Ultimate Individual-1

As things continue to heat up and the circle that is the buffer around Individual-1 continues to become smaller and smaller, this situation only increases his defiance and determination to win at all costs!  With the weak-kneed senate – led by Senate Majority Leader Mitch (Mr. Whack-A-Mole) McConnell and the rest of the lily-livered Republicans in the House blindly and fully supporting him, it is full speed ahead!  In his stubborn determination the command from him continually goes out to his sailors, “full speed ahead boys; hold the course…steady as she goes!”  His sailors are scared spitless of the situation but they are even more afraid of defying him.  That is made obvious by the fact that after all of them vehemently called him unfit for command and he took it anyway, after he took command they all stood around helplessly – at least helplessly as defined by them because they desperately want to be reelected so placed their personal ambition above country, while he spat on everything that the Grand-Ole-Party stood for.  Dare I now say, once stood for?

The only problem is that as the Mueller investigation has come so close to him that he can virtually feel Mr. Mueller’s breath on the back of his neck, in his stubbornness, Individual-1 has dug in like a tick.  You are likely familiar with how a tick attaches itself to its host but in the event that you are not, it virtually buries its head in the host’s skin.  Certainly in this posture, Individual-1 cannot see the direction in which he and his sailors are heading.  They could run aground!  But what the heck, helter-skelter and pandemonium has always been his modus operandi so why should he change now?  It’s a tic that during the course of his entire life he has not been able to rid himself of.  Perhaps he has never had the desire to rid himself of it.  But if the ship should run aground, at that point, he will be full and simply fall off wherever he is at.  Anyone else who is still on board will simply have to fend for themselves.

Even as I write this article I can’t help but to think, what a terrible way to describe the leader of our country.  I have some ambivalence even after describing him as such but this roller coaster feeling is the way that I feel (and don’t feel) as I continue to move forward in my everyday paycheck-to-paycheck life and continue to reflect on his unorthodox style of leadership.  With his laser-like focus on representing those who voted for him (to a lesser degree on those people of color who voted for him), punishing those who didn’t vote for him and weakening America in the eyes of the majority of Americans and the world, I feel completely deserted and forgotten by Individual-1.  That is why I can allow myself to describe him as Individual-1 and still have no misgivings about whether or not I respect the Office of The President.

Well, what about the congress, you might say?  They are supporting and enabling him.  Good question.  Unfortunately, the Republicans who have controlled the upper and lower chambers of congress up until very recently have been derelict of duty.  Rather than provide the checks and balances on the executive branch of government as they are meant to do, they have conducted themselves more like Individual-1 toadies than statesmen elected to protect America and the American people.  But as things continue to close in on Individual-1, they too suddenly find themselves under the microscope of public opinion and subject to more in-depth and keenly focused scrutiny.  And in light of the fact that an election is coming up for many of them in 2020, at least those of them who are up for reelection will take time out to take an introspective view of themselves and reflect on what they were actually elected to do.  This does not guarantee that they will not put on their dancing shoes, do the Washington Two Step and try to mislead and thereby fool their constituents to reelect them.  And then once reelected (if they are accomplished dancers), return to their old ways of putting their personal ambitions before country.

There is no doubt that post Individual-1, whenever that might be, America and the American people will have to totally rid ourselves of the virus that was Individual-1, reboot and begin to automatically populate those voids that have been created in who we really are as Americans.  I say “automatically populate” because once the virus has been removed we will be able to once again think clearly.  And then, although we will likely continue to disagree about the path forward that America should take and at times still fight among ourselves as a result of that disagreement; I believe that as a whole, the American people genuinely want what is in the best interest of America and the American people to prevail over anger, hatred and divisiveness and so will commit to reasonable discourse to solve the problem.  We know that we are stronger together!  So no matter how tough things might get, let’s stay in the fight!  And regardless of how many times we are knocked down, let’s get right back up and rejoin the battle!

Eulus Dennis – author, Operation Rubik’s Cube and Living Between The Line

Catfish Haven: Good Food, Good Drinks And Political Discussions Optional

The first article that I wrote and posted to this website in 2019 was about, surprise! Mr. Donald J. Trump.  Mr. Trump has dominated the number of articles posted to Political Pawns And Puppets ever since he was elected to occupy the Oval Office.  So I decided that my second article for this year would not be about Mr. Trump.  If you are a regular visitor to this website, although it is identified as a website dedicated to information about politics, you know that I have already written articles that venture into the realm of sports and music.  So why not write one that ventures into the realm of food, right?  Good food… and drinks!

There’s this place called Catfish Haven that is located at 4650 Tower Road in Denver, CO that a fraternity brother of mine told me about.  After he told me about it I began to see commercials about it on TV.  Since my wife and I really like good catfish, I decided that I would give the place a try.  One day recently when I was returning home from a couple of errands that I had run I swung by Catfish Haven.  When I went inside there were a number of, in the vernacular, brothers and sisters (African American men and women, in the event that there are any readers who might not recognize the term) having a meal and drinks.  I sat at the bar, which was sort of like an island located in the center of the place, and the bartender asked me if I would like a menu.  I nodded in the affirmative and he brought one to me.  Since I already knew what I wanted, without paying a lot of attention to it, I asked for three orders of catfish – my son likes catfish too, and selected the two side orders that came with each of the regular orders.  By the way, although I did not thoroughly review the menu, I noticed that there were many other soul food items on it that really attracted my attention.  I will have to be sure to try them at another time.

Anyway, as I looked around at the people who were at our island bar, I noticed that the drinks that most of them were having were alcoholic beverages.  Of the three people closest to me, one was having beer, another was having white wine and I couldn’t really determine what the third was having.  There were two fairly young-looking brothers (still in the vernacular) sitting at the bar at a right angle from me who were casually chatting, and occasionally laughing, as they ate.  I couldn’t determine what they were drinking either.  The bartender interrupted my probing thoughts on this place and its atmosphere and asked if I would like a drink.  After having surveyed everyone else at the bar that was having drinks I thought, why not?  I’ll have a Smirnoff and tonic, I said.  They were out of Smirnoff so I ordered Grey Goose and told the bartender to hold the tonic.  On the rocks, he asked?  No, straight up, I said.

Basketball highlights were being aired on the sports channel so when the bartender brought my drink I struck up a conversation with the person sitting next to me.  He was having catfish.  I asked him about his thoughts on Catfish Haven’s catfish and had intended to follow up using the basketball highlights as a conversation piece.   But before he could answer, the guy sitting next to him on his left commented to him about how one of the players in the highlights banged his head off of the backboard while successfully blocking his opponent’s shot.  The conversation immediately switched to basketball and the three of us talked about various teams around the league including the Denver Nuggets.  While we were discussing this, another man who appeared to be in his late twenties to early thirties approached the bar and joined the conversation.  He had a distinct Caribbean accent.  He talked about what a good team the Denver Nuggets are now and the great potential that they have to go from their current status of being one of the best teams in the NBA to becoming a world champion.

His conversation drifted into the political realm as he began to talk about violent cities – including Denver, how the police treated people of color versus how they treated white people and the gentrification of neighborhoods from Park Hill in east Denver to the Montbello Green Valley Ranch neighborhoods in far northeast Denver.  Those of us involved in the conversation gently challenged him on his perspective and comments about Denver being one of the most violent cities in the country.  The guy to the left of me asked him how long he had been in Denver.  His response was 10 years.  The guy on my left said that he had been in Denver since 1972 and stated that he disagreed with his assessment of Denver being among the most violent cities in the country.  I told him that I had been in Denver since the mid 1950s and that I too disagreed with him.  Shortly after that the other patrons involved in our conversation appeared to lose interest in what this relatively new-comer to our fair city had to say.  Not me.  Being a writer, I grew even more interested in his perspective on things.

Where are you from, I asked him.  Jamaica; I’m the chef here, he said.  As we continued to talk I gave him one of my cards, it has a picture of my first book on the front with my name on the spine of the book, and told him to Google my name and he would find my website along with a couple of articles in the Denver Post and the Boulder Camera that I had written.  Check it out, I said.  He then told me that he had a music studio in Park Hill and showed me a few rap music videos that he had made.  He said that he was still fine-tuning them but he was pleased with what he had so far.  He spoke fondly of his father as he continued to chat about his videos.  Just then, the bartender brought my order and I politely excused myself and paid for it.  I told him that I would return in the future and that I hoped that we would be able to talk further.  We shook hands and I left.

By the time that I reached my car, my phone rang.  It was my wife.  I realized then that I had been gone for a really long time, especially since I had told her that I was going to run a couple of short errands and would be right back.  I expected that she might be a little bit upset.  But when I told her I had stopped at Catfish Haven for catfish all seemed to have been forgiven because she simply said, great! I’ll see you when you get home!  Married life; ain’t it grand!

Eulus Dennis – author, Operation Rubik’s Cube and Living Between The Line

In Trump’s America It’s “Merry SNAFU And A Happy Pandemonium”

In Trump’s America it’s Merry SNAFU, a Happy Pandemonium and get it all sorted out during the New Year!  This is the mantra of Mr. Trump and his administration because the Republican-led congress, arguably, could be fighting them for the right to lay claim to who is actually responsible for the “AFU” part of SNAFU.  I am not sure whether congress is fighting to claim the “AFU” or if they are trying to blame it on Mr. Trump.  This is hard to figure out because they have been so silent where Mr. Trump’s erotic erratic and whimsical behavior is concerned, not to mention the countless times that they have enabled him, that his behavior and theirs are so entwined that separating them is virtually impossible.  And as I am sure that all Americans by now are aware, Mr. Trump never shares credit but is quick to assign blame.

The question is, does he view SNAFU as credit stuff or blame stuff?  Because he has not yet completely blamed congress for America’s current situation, that makes it even harder to sort this situation out.  I know that I am pulling at the threads of Mr. Trump’s way of thinking (boy is that scary) by trying to figure this out and I imagine that the entire world of the press is doing the same.  Maybe pulling at those threads is not as scary – or perhaps not at all scary – for them but regardless; science, we and the world need to somehow get to the bottom of what makes Mr. Trump tick.  Normally this would not be something that those just mentioned would or should give much thought to but this is different.  Mr. Trump, in my opinion unfortunately, is the POTUS!  Therefore, his thinking and why he thinks the way that he does is extremely important and demands America’s attention!  It is important that we house the answer to this question in America’s archives of “Lessons Learned.”  This way, we will have a template to refer to should we ever, God forbid, have another president like Mr. Trump.

Mr. Trump might be fighting as hard as he is over funding for his border wall because he really believes that America needs it.  In addition, he might really be concerned about the security of his constituents and he wants to keep the promise that he made to them.  Or it could be that he desperately wants to change the narrative to distract the media that is so focused on all of the investigations, indictments, guilty pleas by those in his innermost circle, endless scandals that are plaguing his administration, acting cabinet-level officials who report to him and the unfilled positions at various levels that are “making [him] look bad.”  My money is on the latter prognosis because during his entire time in office, Mr. Trump has consistently demonstrated that he is incapable of empathy.  He seems to only be capable of considering himself and what ultimate impact that things and situations will have on him.  No one else matters.

Pandemonium is Mr. Trump’s forte and he seems to revel in it.  The more chaos that there is the happier and more comfortable he is.  This might be good for Mr. Trump but it is not good for America.  America’s current situation should cause all Americans to step back, refocus on our civic responsibilities – which includes the responsibility to vote, and vote!  Our country needs us.  Most of us do not serve America by being a part of her armed forces who serve in dangerous situations around the world but we still have a responsibility to do our part to protect her.  We can do that through our vote, which can help to assure that we have dedicated and responsible politicians who put America and her citizens before their personal and political ambitions.  Dedicated and responsible politicians will make sure that those members of our armed forces have the best equipment possible, that their lives and dedicated service are highly valued and that every consideration will be given to them to keep them safe even when they must be placed in harm’s way!

Whenever our politicians and political leaders resort to conducting themselves like grafters and place their personal and political ambitions above their sworn duty to the United States of America, American citizens must vote them out of office!  America has been severely weakened by Mr. Trump and his unorthodox style of leadership.  We will only become weaker if he is allowed to continue to operate as he has over the last nearly two years unchecked by congress.  American voters can help to begin to restore America’s image around the world, regain the respect of her allies and other world leaders and restore the confidence that the world once held in the leader of the free world’s word; America’s word!  We can do that through our vote.

So always remember, whether you are a Democrat, Republican or Independent, your vote is the most important one of all…unless you don’t use it!

Eulus Dennis – author, Operation Rubik’s Cube and Living Between The Line