Monthly Archives: September 2020

Federal Politics, Local Politics, State Politics

The Notorious RBG And The Infamous AMM

Other than to make this comparison of the stark difference between these two people, it is without a doubt unfair to even mention The Notorious Ruth Bader Ginsburg and the Infamous Addison Mitchell McConnell, Jr. in the same sentence because they are political polar opposites.  While U.S. Supreme Court Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg (a.k.a. The Notorious RBG) spent her entire adult life standing on principle while fighting for justice and equal treatment under the law for all people, Senate Majority Leader Addison Mitch McConnell (a.k.a. The Infamous AMM) – as dubbed by yours truly as I began to write this article –  has spent his entire adult life lusting after as much power as he can possibly accumulate and worshiping that power while giving no regard to fairness or how the decisions that he is able to make as a result of that power impacts on others.  Unfortunately, Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg died on September 18, 2020.  She was 87 years old.  As for the Infamous AMM – shortly after her death, likely after prowling the corridors of power to see if there was any new power to grab before issuing a statement, publicly announced that Mr. Trump’s nominee to replace Justice Ginsburg would receive a vote on the floor of the senate.

You might remember that back in 2016 The Infamous AMM denied then President Barrack Obama the right to perform his duty as president to have his Supreme Court nominee, Judge Merrick Garland considered for the Supreme Court by refusing to hold hearings and allow a vote on the senate floor for him to be seated on the Court.  He said that he was withholding hearings and a vote on Judge Garland because it was an election year, about 10 months before Election Day, that the American people should have a voice in this placement and that whoever was elected president should make this nomination.  He said that whoever was elected might or might not choose to submit Judge Garland’s name.  All of the Republican senators supported The Infamous AMM’s decision.  Many of those same senators said that if this same situation arose in an election year in the future they would treat the situation the same way.

This is election year 2020 and that same situation has arisen as a result of the death of Justice Ginsburg.  The only difference is that Election Day 2020 is only 41 days away.  Notwithstanding, the Republican-led senate does not want to handle the situation the same way.  As mentioned previously, The Infamous AMM has made the decision that Mr. Trump’s nominee will receive a vote on the senate floor.  And now – because they want to support him again, these Republican senators who said back in 2016 when they supported The Infamous AMM’s decision to block a senate vote on Judge Garland for more than a year that if the same situation occurred again they would treat it the same way are backpedaling.  If it is at all possible they intend to vote on Mr. Trump’s nominee and so are looking for any excuse that they can find in order to spin it to provide cover for themselves and The Donald J. Trump of the United States of America.

So far the excuse that The Infamous AMM has conjured up is that this time the senate and the executive branches are controlled by the same party and that is a key difference.  His spin is that because of this, he and all of his Republican colleagues who refused to grant Judge Merrick Garland a hearing and a vote on the senate floor for more than a year back in 2016 because it was an election year, are not hypocrites.  Guess what?  All of the Republican senators have lined up in support of The Infamous AMM and are using this conjured up excuse to explain their change of mind.  All of them are a bunch of liars and flimflam men…and women.  But they are politicians without principles so lying comes natural for them so it is easy and without shame.  They look at lying as part of the profession and far too many American voters, journalist, pundits and press have been hoodwinked by them into accepting that this truly is the case.  Remember these politicians’ names and never trust them again!

Those people who have chosen to cast all else aside, things like healthcare, the rights of minorities – ethnic and otherwise, equal justice under the law, voting rights and all other rights to life outside of the womb and hold their nose and align themselves with The Donald J. Trump of the United States of America just for judges, are delusional if they believe that these judges in Trump’s America have real meaning.  They may have real meaning right now and yet for a little while.  But Mr. Trump’s actions, manner of thinking and policies align more with those of dictators and other strongmen than they do with American laws, norms and the American way.  And after that “little while” if he has his way – in Trump’s America, those judges will have neither meaning nor power unless they remain in his good graces.  Then, under those circumstances, what will it profit you if you have 100% conservative judges in the courts but lose your freedom and right to life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness.

Election Day 2020 will indeed be an historic Election Day.  Right now, Mr. Trump is busily traveling all around the country projecting his weaknesses and shortcomings upon his challenger, Vice President Joe Biden, and anyone else that he considers to be an adversary.  He is saying all of the right things about what he will do and how he will run our great country if he is given a second term in office.  But he is a proven liar and all Americans and the world have seen how he ran America in his first term.  He ruined America’s reputation at home and around the world.  We, the American people, can put a stop to the dismantling of our country this Election Day by way of our vote.

Yes, American voters can and should vote Mr. Trump and all of his enablers out of office on November 3rd this year.  But rest assured that every available obstacle that can be successfully placed in your path to vote will be put there.  Because Mr. Trump is such a dangerous man who obviously possesses the ability to be a modern day pied piper to his base and many other Republican voters via his flimflam chicanery, I leave you with the words of the late John F. Kennedy as food for thought to encourage you to be sure to vote in this important fight for the soul of America to ensure that Mr. Trump will not have a second term as The Donald J. Trump of the United States of America.  President Kennedy said “the great enemy of the truth is very often not the lie – deliberate, contrived and dishonest, but the myth, persistent, persuasive, and unrealistic.  Belief in myths allows the comfort of opinion without the discomfort of thought.

Mr. Trump has very skillfully and successfully used the “lie and myth” method to lure trusting American people into his web since his first day in office.  Every vote counts if American voters are to be successful in putting an end to The Donald J. Trump of the United States of America’s “lie and myth” peddling.  That is one among many of the important reasons why you should 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

Federal Politics, State Politics

Lies, Trump And If His Lips Are Moving

As we grind our way to Election Day 2020, which is only 56 days away, Mr. Trump’s lips are continuing to move.  And if The Donald J. Trump of the United States of America’s lips are moving and he is not either eating or drinking then he is likely lying.  It does not matter if whatever ridiculous thing that he has done or said is on audio tape, video tape and was witnessed by one person or millions of people, if he believes that it is in Donald J. Trump’s best interest to lie then you can rest assured that he will lie.  He will lie without shame or any sign of discomfort and refuse to recant it or apologize for any wrongdoing that he obviously has done.  The word of The Donald J. Trump of the United States of America is without weight and meaningless because he is a proven habitual liar!  It is reasonable to expect that any reasonable person would not trust him or have confidence in anything that he says without a myriad of unassailable evidence to support his claims.

Being associated with Mr. Trump in any way, no matter how minor that association might be, is absolutely exhausting and tends to wear all of those in his orbit down to a nub; down to the very substance of their existence.  Perhaps he knows this and it is just one of the tools in his toolbox that he uses to get his way in all matters Trump.  Having said that, it is not an excuse for those in his cabinet, his aides, senators and members of congress to duck out on their responsibility to the American people because most, if not all of them, took an oath to defend this country against enemies foreign and domestic.  Even if there are some among them who did not take an oath, the jobs that they hold demand that they uphold their responsibility to the American people.

I raise the issue of the responsibility of Mr. Trump’s cabinet members, aides and the senators and members of congress to the American people because The Donald J. Trump of the United States of America once again has found himself in a situation where, since it is in the best interest of Donald J. Trump, he is willing to lie.  And when he tells these boldface lies, he demands the loyalty and backing of all of the above mentioned people in supporting those lies if they are to avoid the risk of becoming the targets of his vicious ire, which could include having their careers cut short and having their lives completely ruined.  Unfortunately, and perhaps for this reason, the vast majority of these cabinet members, aides, senators and members of congress have sold their souls to him and become his personal toadies; even if it is at the cost of destroying our precious Democracy.

Specifically speaking, the situation that The Donald J. Trump of the United States of America finds himself in now is that he has referred to those patriots who are in the American military, some of whom are fallen soldiers, as “suckers” and “losers” and his remarks have come home to roost with the 2020 Election Day being just 56 days away.  And that was not all that he said.  He said that he “did not get it” as to why these men and women would offer such service and in the case of some, sacrifice their lives for this country: “what’s in it for them” he asked.  To make matters even worse, he is down in the polls.  Time to lie!  So he lies and all of his toadies are supporting him.  Among his most loyal toadies is Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell.  Although every Republican in the senate – with the exception of Senator Mitt Romney – is enabling Mr. Trump, because of the tremendous power that he wields, which allows him to drive Mr. Trump’s agenda almost singlehandedly, it is worth accentuating Senate Majority Leader McConnell by calling him out by name.

Those men and women in the military, whether or not they made the ultimate sacrifice, are not suckers for serving their country.  They are heroes.  And the only losers in the situation that we the American people find ourselves in are Mr. Trump’s toadies; those people who are enabling him to wreak havoc on America.  They are the ones who have chosen to forget what it means to serve ones country with honor.  On November 3, 2020, American voters can put an end to the incessant lies that this The Donald J. Trump of the United States of America continues to tell.  We can vote Mr. Trump out of office and replace him with a real president who will be someone who is fit to be the Commander-in-Chief of the United States military: someone who will treat our military men and women with the dignity and respect that they deserve.

The Donald J. Trump of the United States of America is not the only one who must be held to account on November 3, 2020 for what has been done under his watch to destroy our Democracy and the American way of life, all of those cabinet members, aides, senators and members of congress who have enabled him must also be held to account.  To paraphrase the words from a political ad produced by The Lincoln Project concerning Mr. Trump’s enablers; remember their names and never trust them again!  Let’s hold Mr. Trump and his enablers accountable for their decisions and actions.  On November 3, 2020, let’s vote all of them out of office.  Power recognizes power; it’s the only thing that Mr. Trump and his toadies truly understand.  That is why no matter how many obstacles that are placed in your path and how much effort it takes to surmount them you must make your voice heard.  You must vote!

The right to vote – one person one vote – is headed in the wrong direction under the watch of Mr. Trump.  The Donald J. Trump of the United States of America is reinforced in his ability to erect all of these seemingly endless roadblocks to limit Americans’ right to vote, in large part, due to the gutting of the Voting Rights Act by the Supreme Court of the United States (SOCTUS).  The gutting of this major piece of civil rights legislation in 2013 came about not just under the watch of Chief Justice John Roberts, who has been trying to gut the Voting Rights Act for decades, but with his strong support.  He provided the deciding vote in this five (5) to four (4) decision gutting this Act that allowed this SOTUS decision to pass.

We, the American people, need to stop this march back to the days of Jim Crow initiated by Mr. Trump.  Again, we can do this on November 3rd by way of our vote: Let’s do it.  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