It appears that, win or lose, Donald J. Trump is well on his way to becoming America’s most notorious ‘hideous scar meister’.  It also appears that Washington elected Republicans have the power to thwart his heinous plan but refuse to do so due either to lack of courage, Party unity, political ambitions or a combination of the three.  Mr. Trump has boldly and shamelessly mocked the American political system and dared his Republican colleagues to do anything about it.  So far, they have timidly hidden in any dark corner that they could find and demurred while shunning his dare.  RNC Chairperson Rience Priebus’ response to Mr. Trump’s dare was to threaten those Republicans who have refused to endorse Mr. Trump and suggest in no uncertain terms that they had better get on board and endorse him.

And what is Mr. Trump’s response to these top-flight Republicans’ cowardly act?  As Election Day draws ever closer he has continued in his rebellious ways and put the pedal-to-the-metal.  I mean, why shouldn’t he?  He has already dispatched their top 15 guys and an outsider Republican female without even breaking a sweat.  He is an experienced bully who loves turning anyone who challenges his authority into a bunch of losers.  He did it when he successfully sued Rudy Giuliani when he was the mayor of New York and now Mr. Giuliani is one of his staunchest supporters and a surrogate for him in his run to become president.

Mr. Trump is now demanding and expects this same kind of respect from all of the Washington Republicans…and so far he is getting it.  It might not be the willingly given respect like that he receives from his loyal supporters but it is nonetheless respect.  Mr. Trump, just like any bully, doesn’t care that these cowardly Washington Republicans are kowtowing to him under duress; all that matters is that they are kowtowing.  This makes him happy.

While these Republicans are hiding in their dark corners, American citizens and the rest of the world are looking on in amazement while Donald Trump is working his magic as the most recognized American hideous scar meister.  He is literally rewriting how the world sees the American democracy and conceivably creating a hideous scar that, if not impossible to remove, will likely take a very long time to remove.  No amount of makeup, no matter how skilled the makeup artist, will be able to conceal it until it is surgically removed.  And even after it has been removed, no amount of plastic surgery, no matter how skilled the surgeon, will be able to hide it from the annals of history.  Here are some of the things that those on the world stage are saying and some of the questions they are asking according to an article in the New York Times by Declan Walsh:

“In one of the most mature democracies in the world, how does a campaign get so wild?” asked Manu Duggar, a Nepali living in Canada.  “I’m afraid,” said Bernt Klein, a computer scientist in Germany.

“What we Europeans, especially Italians, cannot understand is how the party of Lincoln and Eisenhower has declined so deep and fast toward Trump,” said David Cerri, an Italian lawyer.  Sure, he conceded, Italians elected Silvio Berlusconi.  “But frankly he’s not been a danger for democracy so conspicuous as Donald.”

America’s neighbors are just as baffled.  Sharon Cambell, a self-described “nervous Canadian,” fears a victory for Mr. Trump on Nov. 8 would portend serious disruption between the two countries.  “Treaties torn up, alliances ended, currency exchange proscribed, trade agreements abrogated and movement of people and goods between the borders of Canada and the U.S. at risk.  That’s for starters.  Wow!” she wrote.

It’s not just America’s neighbors that Donald Trump has worried; it is foreign heads of state and heads of government around the world.  Fortunately for Mr. Trump, however, his campaign manager, Kellyanne Conway, has been masterful in focusing the American people on Mr. Trumps ‘softer’ side.  She is also likely responsible for the drop in the amount of attention that the press is paying to Stephen Bannon, campaign CEO, and other high profile, controversial staff members of Mr. Trump’s campaign.

She has done a yeoman’s job of this, and rightly should be given credit for it, and it appears to be reflected in the fact that the polls show that he is closing the distance between him and Secretary Clinton.  This closing of the distance between these two candidates is certainly not due to anything of real substance like the public beginning to lean a bit more toward Mr. Trump because they now favor his promulgated plans or policy on various issues (he says that he keeps the details regarding those things secret in order to avoid tipping his hand to the enemy), qualifications for the job, or leadership.  ‘A lot of people are saying’, this is one of Mr. Trump’s favorite phrases so I hope that he does not mind if I use it, that he does not have a plan or any coherent policy and that he is all over the place on the issues that Americans are voicing.

But just like Kellyanne Conway should be given credit for the masterful job that she is doing to persuade the American people that Donald Trump should be their next president and not Hillary Clinton, she should be held to account for what she is doing.  As his campaign manager, she should not be given a free pass when tough questions that disrupt her customary warm and cozy feeling are asked by saying “You have to ask him about that”, casually cast them aside and then immediately proceed to talk just about those things about him that do make her feel warm and cozy.  Just because she is a ‘well respected professional’ and does not want to be associated with those deplorable things that are a part of Mr. Trump and his campaign should not mean that the press has to accept that and, therefore, allow her to gloss over that part of who he is.  As a matter of fact, they are compelled to press her on those things; and I submit that those who do not are remiss.  Isn’t that a part of their job?!

We all know that there are white supremacists of every stripe that hold Donald Trump in high esteem and that those who have long remained in the shadows are now coming out of their hiding places and using him as a recruiting tool.  All of us also know that Mr. Trump cannot control who supports him.  But we know too that he and those that are a part of his campaign can choose to embrace or reject those peoples’ ideals and ideas.  They do not have to reject the people – because the president should represent all of the people, but they can and should publicly reject and denounce their ideals and ideas.  Donald Trump can do this, Hillary Clinton can do this, and Kellyanne Conway can do this.

Ms. Conway should not be given a free pass because she is or once was a highly respected person among those in the political arena and among members of the press.  She must be held to account like anyone else.  There is nothing wrong with her supporting Donald Trump for president if she feels that he would make a better president than would Hillary Clinton.  And the fact that she is working to place him in the White House does not mean that she embraces all, or even any, of those deplorable things that are associated with him and his campaign.  But she should be called out and asked whether she does embrace or reject them.  Her answer will be revealing.  And no matter her answer, at least the question will have been answered and she will not have received special treatment while holding such a key position in the Trump campaign.  Whether or not people choose to believe her response will be their choice.

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

First Lady Michelle Obama was on top of her game yesterday, 9/16/2016, when she stumped for presidential candidate Hillary Clinton.  She slammed Republican standard bearer Donald Trump for his incessant lying, efforts to incite divisiveness and hate, and lack of ability to control his need to always punch back at all costs whenever provoked.  A president [of the United States of America] can’t afford to just “pop off”, she said.  Then, further along in her speech she said, let’s roll up our sleeves; let’s get to work!  “Are you with me?” she asked!  The crowd enthusiastically responded in the affirmative.  Just for the record, even in the privacy of my home, I added my enthusiastic ‘YES’; I am with you, as well.

During her speech First Lady Obama expressed that she sensed how during this election that many of us would probably like to hide under our beds and not come out until it was all over.  I immediately mentioned to my wife how Mrs. Obama had, in effect and in essence, articulated my feelings.  I had told her in the recent past how Donald J. Trump has a way of just wearing people down and that he had, for all intents and purposes, done that to me.  That is when I also told her that I would just be glad when this election was over and that I hoped that Secretary Clinton would win.  That was my way of saying that I just wanted to hide under my bed and not come out until the election was over.  But isn’t it amazing how someone, who just happens to be a woman, can be the wind beneath one’s wings?

Most of the time when men talk about someone being the wind beneath their wings it ultimately ends up that the someone that they are talking about is a woman.  President Obama is a really fortunate man to have someone as supportive of him, as sharp, articulate and as capable as the First Lady.  But I digress.  Anyway, First Lady Michelle Obama brought me back to reality; the real world where we cannot afford to hide under our beds until this election is over.  So those of us who have retreated to this hiding place need to come out.  And once we come out, we need to get to work!  We cannot risk the chance that Donald J. Trump will become president of the United States of America!

I watched Mr. Trump’s so called press conference and as an American I was saddened to see all of those Americans who stood behind him and to hear about the veterans who supported him, which were not included in the edited piece that I saw, as he announced that he now believed that President Obama was born in the United States of America.  And as an African American – in light of all of the race-baiting, pitting of Americans against one another, and all that he has done in an effort to delegitimize the first African American president of the United States – I was especially saddened to see those African Americans who stood on stage behind him to demonstrate their support of him.

That Notwithstanding, I recognize and accept the fact that all of us as Americans have the right to support whomever we please for president.  Although I disagree with those who support him but at the same time would willingly give my life for them to have the freedom to make the choice that they made, I can only hope – as disheartening as that is for me, that those African Americans who were standing behind him on that stage truly believe in him and his message and were not standing there just to gain a few minutes of fame.  If they were standing there just for those brief moments of fame it would be a shame.  Because if they do not believe in him and his message that would mean that they capriciously made a frivolous choice not realizing that their names will always be associated with that event and that what they did will live forever in infamy.

Polls indicate that Mr. Trump has closed the gap between himself and Secretary Clinton in a number of the battleground states.  That means that with only a short time left until Election Day that he is frighteningly close to having his fifty-fifty chance to become president culminate in him occupying the Oval Office.  That thought horrifies me!  I have no doubt that it horrifies a great majority of Democrats and likely horrifies Washington Republicans and many other Republicans all across America.

But we cannot only be horrified at the prospect of Donald J. Trump becoming president and expect that our horror at this thought will prevent him from achieving his goal.  The only way that we can assure that he does not succeed in his quest to con America is by way of our vote.  We must turn out in greater numbers than we ever have before and vote for Hillary Clinton. A vote for the Libertarian Party candidate or the Green Party candidate does not help Secretary Clinton.  As a matter of fact, it might even help Donald Trump.

We must vote for Secretary Clinton like our very lives depend on it!  And with that thought always in mind, I encourage and implore every single Democrat and all of those Republicans who believe that Mr. Trump should not be president to be sure to vote.  I further ask that you contact all of your relatives, friends and acquaintances and encourage them to be sure to vote as well.

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

Washington Republicans continue to pound Secretary Clinton.  After they failed to come up with a smoking gun in a recently ended congressional investigation led by Republican Harold Watson “Trey” Gowdy (R-South Carolina) into what happened in Libya under Secretary Hillary Clinton’s watch; which, by the way, cost tax payers millions of dollars, Republicans immediately launched an investigation into her so called email scandal.  And when the FBI thoroughly investigated this so called scandal and made a determination that completely cleared Secretary Clinton of anything that warranted a criminal indictment, this angered Republicans and they opened a second and new investigation into this so called email scandal that is still ongoing.

This time, however, the new investigation is seeking to determine whether or not Secretary Clinton lied to the FBI during the first investigation or, in high hopes of Republicans behind this new witch hunt, to find anything else that might be there that will negatively impact her run for president and help their nominee, Donald J. Trump to win the White House.  But now – just to help keep things fresh and interesting, a new Republican hatchet man is at the helm; it is Representative Jason E. Chaffetz (R-Utah).

Wake up America!  Washington Republicans are hell-bent on putting Donald J. Trump into office!  Washington Republicans and other elected Republicans around the country have definitely lost their way.  They are so focused on maintaining party unity and supporting the Republican nominee that they are willing to sacrifice America and the Republican Party as we now know it.  Donald J. Trump has mesmerized the Republican Party and of course he is on board with this.  Now that he has succeeded in mesmerizing Washington Republicans, he intends to keep them under his spell until he can, with their help, do the same to Republicans throughout America.

His task is being made easier because the great majority of us look to our leaders to make informed and reasonable decisions and point us in the direction that we should take.  Unfortunately, too often we accept those decisions without the requisite and thorough vetting that is warranted.  And with the Washington Republicans being under his Trumpism spell, Republican leaders – if not openly endorsing Mr. Trump and his views and vision as to how America should move forward, are tacitly endorsing him and his views by way of their silence.  The silence of Republican leaders is devastating!  It is devastating to America and it is devastating to the Republican Party.  Wake up Republican statesmen and leaders!  Stand up for America!  Stand up for the Republican Party and true conservatism!  Dig deep and somehow find the courage to fight for the survival of the Republican Party and assure that we preserve America’s two party system!  A strong two party system with each party being capable of wielding power will keep American politics healthy.

As voters – whether we are Democrats, Republicans or Independents – we must realize that we have a role to play in keeping our political system healthy and operating at its highest level.  In order to do our part we must constantly elect politicians who are sincere, dedicated to their sworn duty and who will always put the wellbeing of America ahead of their political ambitions.  Of course we will not always elect these kinds of politicians and that is why we must always hold whomever we elect accountable.  And when we discover that we have elected someone who places their political ambitions above their sworn duty then we must replace them.  And the only way that we can do this is by staying informed and always doing our civic duty, which includes voting.

I have always been open about the fact that I am a dyed-in-the-wool Democrat but I have also been open about the fact that there are those who are not Democrats who have great ideas and meaningful input that can make America even greater than it is already.  America does not need to be made great ‘again’ as Donald Trump is advocating; because it has never stopped being great!  We neither need to be divided and pitted against one another nor do any of us have to be demeaned or deported without due process in order for America to be great!

These are things that Mr. Trump and many of his supporters are for some reason advocating as a necessary prerequisite for America to be, what they define as, ‘great again.’  I am convinced that most Americans do not agree with Mr. Trump and these supporters when they imply that America is no longer great and that it cannot be what they perceive as ‘great again’ without deporting millions of hardworking people and building a wall to keep people out.  There is no doubt that prospective immigrants must respect America’s borders and that we must have meaningful discourse that will facilitate legal immigration and stem the tide of illegal immigration and hopefully ultimately stop it altogether.

Those who are concerned about illegal immigrants and illegal immigration and believe that something has to be done about it have a legitimate concern.  What they must not do though is to buy in to the message of fear and divisiveness and blame the immigrants for everything that is currently going wrong in America that Donald Trump is peddling simply for political gain and self aggrandizement.  Given the existing political situation surrounding America’s immigration policy and our politicians’ inability to effectively address it, many people are afraid and acting out of fear in making their determination as to whom they want to occupy the Oval Office.

Mr. Trump knows and understands this and is exploiting it to the fullest.  Those who are caught up in Mr. Trump’s cycle of fear must find the strength to extricate themselves from it.  Then they should take a deep breath, relax and get informed before they cast their ballots.  That way they will be more likely to vote based on reasonable rationale rather than their darkest fears.

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

Representative Louie Gohmert, the ‘don’t cast aspersions on my asparagus’ man, says that Secretary Hillary Clinton is mentally impaired.  Not only did he say that she is mentally impaired but he said that her “brain is still in a blender.”  At the time that he made those remarks, I can’t help but to wonder how much thought he gave to what he was about to say to the press before he said it.  It is hard to imagine that he gave it much thought at all in light of some of the things that he has said and the way that he has conducted himself in the past.  Translation?  Representative Gohmert is the last person who should make these kinds of remarks.

In the event that you have never heard of Representative Louie Gohmert (R – Texas) or are  just not aware of some of the bizarre things that he has said and done while a congressman just Google some of the quotes attributed to him; and while you are at it, check out some of the odd things that he has done.  The reason why I referred to him as the ‘don’t cast aspersions on my asparagus’ man in paragraph one of this article stems from something that he said during his questioning of then Attorney General Eric Holder during a House Judiciary Committee meeting in May 2013.

According to The Atlantic, at the time Representative Gohmert who was a member of the House Judiciary Committee said that the Department of Justice failed to prevent the Boston marathon bombing.  When Attorney General Holder criticized Representative Gohmert’s characterization of the event with respect to the Department of Justice, the flustered Representative responded; “The attorney general will not cast aspersions on my asparagus.”  The article went on to say that ‘it was never clear what [Representative Gohmert] was trying to say, but the “asparagus” line became a running joke, with Gohmert as the target.’

Representative Gohmert is a staunch supporter of Donald Trump and that was the catalyst for his remarks about Secretary Clinton being mentally unstable.  He is one of the many Trump supporters who are doing everything possible to detract from Secretary Clinton’s impeccable qualifications by trying to keep American voters focused on anything other than policy and the requisite qualifications to be president.  Rather than focusing on policy and qualifications shameless Republican leaders in Washington continue to orchestrate partisan witch hunt after witch hunt.  And they are doing this to put a dangerous man into office that many of them have referred to as unqualified and unfit to hold this esteemed position.

Many Republicans have lamented that if Mr. Trump is elected president it could bring about the demise of the Republican Party; yet, they continue to do everything that they can to put him in the White House.  Not only are Republicans in Washington working to accomplish this task but elected Republican officials in states throughout America are working feverishly to implement laws before the 2016 election that will either hinder or deny legitimate voters from voting.

Democrats who are looking at all of the blunders and missteps that Donald Trump has made and worrying and wondering why he is still within striking distance of Secretary Clinton are right to worry.  But they should not just worry and wonder, they should share the message with all of their friends and acquaintances of how important it is to them and to America to get out and vote: especially in this election.

The outcome of this election poses an existential threat to the Republican Party.  And although it does not pose an existential threat to America, it can certainly do great damage that could prove to be extremely hard to recover from.  We are not just dealing with a partisan-laden choice due to traditional squabbling between voters who favor liberalism and those who favor conservatism; we are dealing with a choice between Trumpism vs. liberalism or conservatism.  And Trumpism is a frightening new choice born of a whole new conjured up Trump world in which all roads lead only to chaos and/or disaster.  Had any of the other Republicans who began the race to become president won the Republican primaries race the situation would not be dire.  But none of them did; Donald Trump won and now even some of those who were his opponents are enabling him.

America is in trouble!  So even those who might find Secretary Clinton so unlikeable and untrustworthy that they somehow are able to place her in the same boat with Donald J. Trump should take a step back and give long and deep thought to what kind of a leader that Mr. Trump would be and what America would look like under his leadership.  He has clearly and boldly demonstrated who he is and how he would lead.  I neither believe that he is the kind of leader nor will provide the quality of leadership that the majority of Americans are looking for.

The preceding paragraph is neither meant to imply that those who believe that Secretary Clinton lies and is untrustworthy are unjustified in their thinking nor is it meant to demean them in any way.  We all have a right to our personal opinions.  But show me a single human being who does not lie or obfuscate and is perfect other than – if you are among those who believe in God or some other higher power, that Supreme Being who once walked this earth.  These flaws are neither removed nor imputed if one decides to become a politician who purports to represent us.  Unfortunately, as a result of this choice, they are most often exacerbated.  This is something that all of us would do well to always remember.

That having been said, I encourage every legitimate voter to get out and vote in the 2016 presidential election.  This is a watershed election which makes it far too important for any voter to be complacent, remain at home and waste their vote.  And as added incentive 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

Republican Governor Pat McCrory and other North Carolina Republicans are continuing to work hard to block or obstruct legitimate American voters from voting. Although the 4th Circuit Court of Appeals struck down their new voter ID law and Governor McCrory’s appeal to the Supreme Court was unsuccessful due to a 4-4 tie vote, Republicans are continuing to do everything within their power to accomplish their mission to prevent legitimate voters from voting.

This, along with what is happening in the Republican Party right now, is why that if Secretary Hillary Clinton is elected president, she should withdraw Judge Merrick Garland’s name from consideration for Supreme Court Justice and replace him with a more liberal candidate. To be sure, she should ask President Obama to withdraw his name now and not agree to a lame-duck session confirmation hearing since the Republicans have waited so long because ‘Republicans Want to Have Their Cake And Eat It too’.

Governor McCrory and these previously mentioned North Carolina Republicans’ latest ploy is to circumvent the appeal court’s and Supreme Court’s rulings by way of their County Elections Boards. These 100 board’s all of which are controlled by Republicans who wrote the law that was struck down, have now proposed changes in election ground rules as regards the number of polling places, hours, and early voting that would in essence accomplish the same thing that the new voting law would have accomplished had it not been struck down.

According to an article in The New York Times by Michael Wines that is dated 8/30/2016 and titled Critics Say North Carolina Is Curbing Black Vote. Again., ‘Republicans, who wrote and passed the 2013 law and control all 100 county election boards, deny the rules reflect anything inappropriate.’ The article went on to say; ‘”Purely bogus,” Robin C. Hayes, the state Republican Party chairman, said Tuesday in an interview. “In fact, we’re working hard to increase the vote from every region and from every interest group. And by the way, no great surprise: We want them to vote Republican.”‘

The Republican Party can do better and would likely be well on its way to accomplishing that goal if they were not so hardheaded and stubborn. Their 2012 autopsy report was right on point based on the comments contributed by RNC Chairman Reince Priebus, Henry Barbour, Zori Fonalledas, Glenn McCall, Sally Bradshaw, and Ari Fleischer all of whom were authors of the report. Republicans have always had good ideas and reasonable positions on subjects that were worth being contributed to America’s politics and worthy of serious consideration and discourse to determine whether or not their ideas would prevail. But, as previously mentioned, many in the Party are hardheaded and stubborn from the standpoint of who will control it; so much so that they would accept government gridlock rather than compromise. That hardheadedness and stubbornness is likely a large part of why they find themselves in their current situation; they have Donald J. Trump as their standard bearer.

Senator John McCain is one of the members of the Republican Party who possibly could have help them to avoid the Donald Trump takeover. I have mentioned Senator John McCain’s statesmanship in a few other articles that I posted to this site. In one of them I believe that I stated that my wife’s jaw dropped when I said that under the right circumstances I could actually vote for him. I could tell that she thought that I had lost my mind; but she has felt that way about plenty of things that I have said and done before during the ** years that we have been married. Be that as it may, I felt that way about Senator McCain because although I disagreed with him on most issues, I believed that he was a true statesman who constantly stood for what was right and fair in his eyes even if his party disagreed with him.

Senator McCain was the only Republican that truly gave me faith that their actually was a place in the Republican Party for people who look like me; that the Republican Party’s display of concern for people of color and their desire to represent all people despite their color, gender, ethnicity or religion was more than just the smoke-and-mirrors business as usual of his Party. Where is that John McCain?

I realize that I am just one person – and a diehard Democrat at that, who means zero to the Republican Party so who cares, right? But the actions of one person are oftentimes how movements begin. The actions of one person are oftentimes how things begin to change! Senator McCain could have, and perhaps should have, been that person who was there for his Party when they conducted an assessment of how to move forward in building a bigger and more inclusive tent after the 2012 elections; but he wasn’t.

Where is that John McCain; the John McCain who would have stood up to the Republican nominee bully, Donald Trump, who has now – almost singlehandedly hijacked and taken over the Republican Party and made them a laughingstock? It would be funny if the situation weren’t so dire and the nominee not so dangerous to America’s wellbeing. Where is that John McCain? As a matter of fact, where is the Republican Party itself? Given the current circumstances and what the Republican Party appears to be morphing into, boy am I glad that I was not put into a situation where I might actually have had to express by faith in Senator McCain by way of my vote.

Senator McCain has fallen into lockstep with the rest of the Republican Party in kowtowing to their nominee, Donald Trump. There was a time when he would have never surrendered his dignity and sided with his Party in selling out America and the American people in the name of putative progress like that represented in Mr. Trumps speeches of divisiveness and hate and the Republican Party’s efforts to block or obstruct legitimate American voters in their efforts to exercise their right to vote. Where is that great statesman, Senator John McCain?

There are those readers who might ask why are you blaming all of the shortcomings, weaknesses and the takeover of the Republican Party by Donald Trump on John McCain? It’s simple; I am not. But I am letting you see Senator John McCain through my eyes and in the way that I have viewed him, and to some degree still view him; as an American hero, good man, great leader and a statesman. I am also letting you see through my eyes how disappointed I have become in him and how that impacts on how I now feel about any chance of any person of color having anything other than a perfunctory place under the Republican Party’s tent let alone a meaningful place at its policymaking table.

I believe that through courage Senator McCain could have helped to steer the Republican Party in this – one of its great times of need, and perhaps helped it to avoid the pitfall that it now finds itself ensnared in. And even if he failed in his efforts, he would have tried; because that is what great leaders do. He did not do that.

In general, the example immediately above is a microcosm of how all of us, although perhaps not in the exact same way, see those political leaders that we have elected to represent us. Even though ultimately we might not agree with their decisions, we trust them to, to the very best of their ability, do the right thing. This trust may revolve around one politician -as in the case of my Senator McCain example, a group of politicians, or an entire political party, as in the case of the Republican Party and the situation that it now finds itself in. It goes to show that one person can and oftentimes does make a difference.

That even one person can make a difference and that that difference might prove to be the absolute most important thing that is needed at that particular point in time is what this article is meant to depict and emphasize. 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

Who are you going to believe; Donald Trump or your lying eyes…and ears…and gut?  Tough decision, huh?  After all of these months of ignoring people of color while belittling them, calling them any derogatory name that popped into his mind at the time, virtually labeling them as the scum of the earth, refusing invitations to speak at organizations like the NAACP, refusing to immediately disavow David Duke and other white supremacists who endorsed him and hiring Stephen Bannon – the head of Brietbart – as his campaign’s Chief Executive he now wants these same people to believe that he is now ready to embrace them and that he wants to be president to all of the people?  In light of the fact that he hired Kellyanne Conway as his latest campaign manager, what reasonable, intelligent person wouldn’t believe that he is suddenly a changed man and is so not a racist?  Probably all of them.

But you have to hand it to Mr. Trump, he is one tough customer.  He can say the most ridiculous things then – although they are on visual and audible record – if he sees or senses that people do not like what he said, do a one-eighty and deny that he ever said those things.  And he can do it with a straight face and without the slightest sign of embarrassment.  It’s amazing!  A person like this can fool a lot of people and Mr. Trump knows this and that is why he is making this pivot…at least for now.  Anything to win, right?  I must admit, with the way that he goes back-and-forth on issues I can’t help but to wonder how he really feels.  I wonder if he even knows how he really feels.

What we have to go on though are our eyes, ears and gut.  If he can just convince us that Donald Trump is telling us the truth and it is these things that are lying to us he is home free.  With his background and reputation there is no doubt in my mind that he believes that he can do this. Yeah, who are you going to believe, me or your lying eyes…?  Well given the option, I am going to believe what he wants to label as my lying eyes, ears and gut and I hope that you will believe your eyes, ears and gut as well.

I think that it was Chris Matthews who said on one of his recent shows that Kellyanne Conway could talk the legs off of a desk.  While this might be true, she will never be able to convince me that Donald Trump was suddenly miraculously changed and he now cares about all people of color, their life situations and that he now wants to help them to get to a better place in life.  Hopefully, she will not be able to convince a single other person of color that this is the case until Mr. Trump has shown by his actions that he has changed.  That would take a very long time; certainly longer than the 80 or so days that are left before the election.

Caveat emptor (Let the buyer beware) American voters; especially the people of color that Mr. Trump is now working to sell his miraculous change persona to.  Don’t buy it!  If your eyes, ears and gut are telling you that the product is deeply flawed then it probably is and you should accept those feelings and act accordingly.  In the words of the late Maya Angelou, “if someone shows you who they are, believe them the first time.”  She also said; “I’ve learned that people will forget what you said, people will forget what you did, but people will never forget how you made them feel.”  How has Donald J. Trump made you feel?  I know how he has made most people of color feel; and it is not a warm and cozy I sincerely care about you feeling.

Sometimes my eyes, ears and gut tell me that Mr. Trump does not care if he wins the election, in reality does not want to win the election and is hoping that he does not win it because he knows that he is not qualified to be president and he is scared that he will not be capable of doing the job.  What I think that he wants to do at all costs, however, is to become as well known in America and throughout the world as he can so that he can position himself to acquire as much money as humanly possible as a result of his candidacy after he loses.

If he is not purposely trying to lose, it certainly appears that he is doing everything within his power to do exactly that.  Check his record since he entered the race to become president.  You will find that he has already offended almost everybody and his brother at one time or another.  After all, what the hell does he have to lose…except maybe accidentally winning?  And if my eyes, ears and gut are right, wouldn’t winning be just terrible for him…and us too?

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

In the case of Supreme Court nominee Merrick Garland, Republicans want to have their cake and eat it too.  In other words they want to put off holding confirmation hearings on judge Garland until they know whether Donald Trump will win the election.  If he does they will hold the hearings subsequent to January 20, 2017, which will be after he is sworn in as president.  If he does not win then many of them want to confirm him before Hillary Clinton is sworn in so that she cannot withdraw his name and submit the name of a more liberal candidate.

My thoughts?  If they continue to try to pull off this partisan stupid stunt, Secretary Clinton should definitely withdraw Judge Garland’s name if she wins and turn their Republican dream into the nightmare on 261 Russell Senate Office Building.  As a matter of fact if she wins, in light of the current political atmosphere, she should immediately ask President Obama to withdraw his name.  This does not mean that judge Garland is not a good man who is undeniably qualified to do the job; what it means is that President Obama compromised and nominated him in good faith in order to get the Republicans to act quickly to place him in office and avoid the need for the Supreme Court to operate with eight Justices and they balked.

Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell has already had his cake for too long and he still insists that he will not allow confirmation hearings for any nominee while President Obama is still in office.  So since he has had his cake so long and insists on continuing in his stubborn ways perhaps Democrats should spare him the pain of trying to figure out whether or not he can have it and eat it too.  Besides, by the time that he figures things out his proverbial cake would surely be stale.  And I’ll bet that he wouldn’t like stale cake anyway: I’m sure that I can’t but maybe one of his Democratic colleagues in the senate could get a drink with him and find out for sure (an inside joke.  It is only funny if you know the details behind it.).

With pandemonium being worthy of becoming the current watchword in the Republican Party thanks in large part to their standard bearer Donald Trump, one would think that Republicans would be doing everything in their power to assure that he would be the very last person to nominate a Supreme Court Justice.  Unfortunately, it seems that Party loyalty and Party unity trumps that (pun intended).  Because although Mr. Trump continues to make a mockery of the American political process and make America the laughingstock of the world, Republicans refuse to withdraw their support from him.

The fact that Republicans are reluctant to withdraw their support of him has emboldened Mr. Trump.  This is reflected in the fact that even though his campaign is already embroiled in controversy over those who are running his campaign and the accusation that he is too cozy with Russia and is enamored with Vladimir Putin, he recently signaled his intention to continue with his campaign of divisiveness and hatred by hiring Breitbart News Chairman Stephen Bannon as his campaign’s chief executive.  In addition, and hopefully on the positive side, he hired Kellyanne Conway to be his new campaign manager.  Ms. Conway is a well respected Republican pollster who is expected to portray The Donald as a softer and gentler Donald Trump.  And given her reputation, she is likely to succeed in doing this.  But don’t buy it!

This message goes out to all African Americans, all other people of color, women in general, veterans and all of the people of various religions and ethnicities that Mr. Trump has so nonchalantly insulted.  I implore you; do not let this experienced thespian fool you with his soft words.  Ms. Conway might be able to coax Mr. Trump into using softer and gentler words but let there be no doubt, he is and will remain the same old Donald J. Trump.  Do not allow Kellyanne Conway to normalize Mr. Trump with soft words and a facade of kindness.  The only thing that he really cares about is Donald J. Trump.

Just taking into consideration one perspective, that of a woman, Ms. Conway may not agree with the demeaning things that Mr. Trump has said about women and so, therefore, is only doing her job.  Many of us do that.  We do it until we reach that line that we have drawn in the sand, which we are unwilling to cross.  If Ms. Conway does not believe in Mr. Trump, his message to the American people, the direction in which he intends to take America and how he intends to get us there then she has not yet reached her line in the sand.

Mr. Trump is a dangerous man who does not have the temperament or gravitas to be the President of the United States of America.  The sad part is that most Republicans realize this and agree with all of those – Democrats, Republicans and Independents – who openly acknowledge it but yet there are those Republicans who still refuse to rebuke Mr. Trump and withdraw their support of him.  If they decide that they will withdraw it the implication is that the timing must be right so that it will have the least negative impact as possible on the Republican agenda.  They are doing this even if it means putting America at risk by potentially putting her fate into the hands of Donald J. Trump.

Mr. Trump likes to make comments like “I don’t like to regret things” and – in appealing to African Americans in an effort to get their votes, “What the hell do you have to lose.”  We can only hope that this is not the same line of thinking and logic that those Republicans who are stubbornly continuing to support Donald Trump are using.  If it is, America is in a real dilemma!

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

Why is it that when the police injure or kill someone the police release everything that they can find that is bad about the person that was injured or killed but refuse to release available video tapes or anything about the officer(s) that injured or killed that person?  That is exactly what happens far too often in America and that is exactly what is happening in the case in Milwaukee, Wisconsin where a police officer shot and killed Sylville Smith.  Is there any wonder why citizens around the country are having problems with trusting the police; police who are supposed to protect and serve them?

And what about the politicians that we elect to represent all of us?  Governor Scott Walker of Wisconsin is the one who decides whether or not the video tapes that captured what happened during this shooting will be released.  Up to this point, he has opted not to release them.  Why?  That remains to be determined.

What he did do, however, was activate the National Guard.  In light of this and the current efforts that many of our elected officials are making to obstruct or completely block American citizens’ right to vote, we need to ask ourselves how those that we elect to represent us actually view us.  Is it like lofty lords sitting in high places looking down upon us like we are a bunch of little irritating ants scurrying around that they feel no compelling need to squash but no real need for except during their election cycles so they tolerate us: And even then, not all of us but only those of us who look and think like them and who will vote for them?

We have a policing problem in America and have had for a long time now.  It does not matter that Sylville Smith was black and that the policeman who shot and killed him is black!  And by the way, the fact that the policeman who shot and killed Sylville Smith is black is about the only information that the police have released concerning this policeman and the shooting.  That is likely because the police and those politicians linked to this incident felt that this would be beneficial to them.  What really matters is that the police and the communities that they are supposed to protect and serve do not trust each other and that what is happening in police departments in Milwaukee and around the country is not conducive to correcting that problem.

I have written and posted many articles to this blog before stating that it will take courageous police officers who are willing to break the so called ‘blue code’ or whatever other name that cops might apply to not ratting out other cops even when they are abusing their authority whether or not it involves deadly force, to even begin to reconcile police and those whom they police.  But this can be done and healing can take place.

What we in communities throughout America must realize is that we too have a part to play in this reconciliation effort.  We must step up and stand up for what is right, and support our police officers, no matter how unpopular it might be, when they are in the right.  We are in a situation in America right now that can be somewhat associated with the proverbial question “what came first, the chicken or the egg?  In other words, should citizens who have long been treated unfairly by unscrupulous police officers while their fellow ‘good’ police officers stood by, for the sake of preserving the ‘blue code’, and winked at them abusing their authority be responsible for initiating what needs to be done to bring about this reconciliation or should the police departments be responsible?

I do not believe that the solution lies in a definitive ‘citizens’ or ‘the police’ answer.  Instead, it lies in the courage of one person no matter who that one person might be, to take that first step.  Report that cop who is abusing their authority to their superior officer and push things as far as they must be pushed or, if faced with roadblocks, as far as you can push them.  A citizen should support that police officer if they are in the right no matter how unpopular it might be.  And they should also do their part in applying and keeping pressure on those politicians who can and should do something about the policing problems in America.  If violating the ‘blue code’ and going outside of the popular thing to do happens simultaneously, so much the better; but it must happen either way if America’s policing problem is to be solved.

I don’t know which side will prove to be justified in the recent shooting and killing of this black man by the police in Wisconsin.  Neither do I know how things will ultimately turn out with respect to the choice between staying with the status quo or making an effort to begin the healing between the police and those whom they protect and serve.  But I do know which of the two choices that I hold out hope for and that choice is the beginning of healing.  Because without healing, any perceived progress is nothing more than a mirage.

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

I usually follow politics pretty closely especially in a presidential election year. Whenever I watch TV during those times, I usually find it hard to tear myself away from the cable news stations. But it has been different this year because almost every time that I turn my television on they are talking about something that Donald Trump said. It usually isn’t anything that is worth hearing because when he speaks it regularly involves the letter ‘I’ or the words ‘my’ or ‘me’.

Too often many of the things that Mr. Trump says have little regard for the truth, seem to be purposely meant to obfuscate, have already been walked back, walked over and walked forward again and many times are rife with flat out lies. Despite this, he continues to shamelessly move forward and always attract large crowds. Perhaps that is why the media feels obligated to cover him even as he refers to them as the ‘lowest form of life’. As a result, he dominates media coverage, whether it is positive or negative, and that seems to make him happy.

Although I have watched cable news less often lately because this media constantly covers Mr. Trump and he regularly repeats the same shallow and meaningless rhetoric, I have also watched it less often because I have too often found myself feeling depressed and angry during and after listening to him. It is like there is so much negative information about everyone involved in any way with politics except Donald Trump that it seems to eat away at any faith that I still retain in our political system and that someday, someway and somehow we will make progress toward improving it. I also began to feel that his methods were akin to brainwashing and he was slowly sinking his hooks into me.

All the while that all of this is going on, because of his divisive approach in his efforts to win the election by means of divide and conquer – pitting groups against one another based on their darkest fears; based on his rhetoric I got a strong feeling that he couldn’t care less about anyone who looks like me. Even if that wasn’t the case, I felt that instead of including people who look like me in his ‘make America great again’ rhetoric he was suggesting that we go back to the times when people who look like me ‘knew our place’.

Consequently, I began to feel even more disheartened because I started to question how so many white people could be in support of Donald Trump. Is it because they feel the same way that he does? Certainly they know that he is not qualified to hold the position of President of The United States even if based only on the way that he comports himself; and his lack of qualifications go far beyond that.

In light of all of this and with all of the Washington Republicans and elite Republicans who are supporting Donald Trump it is not hard to become angry and discouraged and for various groups to want to coalesce with those who look like them in order to protect their interests. After all, even Rience Priebus – the chairman of the RNC – recently stood on the podium with Mr. Trump and urged Republicans to help put him in the White House.

Under the circumstances and given that there has never been a ‘welcome’ mat at the door of the Republican Party for minorities, that is a significant enough signal to many groups that it is time to circle the wagons. As for me, Mr. Trump’s behavior – along with the support of him by the previously mentioned Republicans, has become enough for me to reflect on the hatred and divisiveness that he has been spouting and consider what if any impact that it has already had and possibly continues to have on me.

While some of the depression and anger that caused me to back away from my regular diet of cable news for awhile was still simmering just beneath the surface of my calm outer facade, I came across and watched a documentary on KRMA channel 6, a PBS station, entitled “A Ripple of Hope.” The part that really commanded my attention was Senator Robert F. Kennedy’s speech in Indianapolis on the day that Dr. Martin Luther King was shot and killed.

His speech took place during the evening and it was extemporaneous. The crowd was a mixed crowd that contained large numbers of black and white people. Some of those in the crowd were aware that Dr. King had been assassinated and others were not. One black woman who commented in the documentary said that there were many people in this crowd that were armed and who had expressed a desire for and intention to extract revenge on white people.

There were a lot of people traveling with Senator Kennedy as well as others who were not traveling with him who told him that he should cancel his prepared speech and not go to the rally. Among those who felt that he should go was one of the ‘Big Six’ civil rights leaders, John Lewis. John Lewis not only felt that Senator Kennedy should go to the rally but said that he must go. Representative Lewis felt that it was incumbent upon Senator Kennedy to speak to this crowd because he believed that it would have a calming effect upon them.

The same black woman who said that many in the crowd were armed and wanted to extract revenge on white people said that she was terrified. Then, she said – and I paraphrase, this small white man got on the stage and spoke. When he calmed the crowd and told them that Dr. King had been shot and killed, it got real quiet; you could hear him, she said in a tone that expressed amazement at how eerily quiet it actually was. She went on to say how courageous this small white man was.

In his short speech he did not condemn those in the crowd who were black and/or tell them how wrong they were for feeling the way that they did; instead, he told them that, and again I paraphrase, I can understand why you are angry and want revenge; because it was a white man who killed Martin Luther King. I feel your pain because my brother [President John F. Kennedy] was also killed. And it was a white man that killed him. But this is not the America that I know. You can choose to be angry and filled with hate and a desire for revenge or you can chose to work together with white people to make America great. After he finished his speech, everyone went home without any violence.

All of those Republicans who are supporting Donald Trump while armed with the knowledge that he is unqualified for the office that he is running for and that he would likely do great harm to our nation if he is elected are enablers who are knowingly enabling him. They are doing this for political reasons involving loyalty to their party and for personal political ambitions. And they should be embarrassed and ashamed of their behavior.

But as regards those American citizens who are Republicans who support Mr. Trump, as strongly as I feel about him and his divisive tactics and how he must feel about people who look like me; and how it should be all but impossible for them to not see the hatred that he constantly spouts and uses for purposes of his self-aggrandizement, I am compelled to think about that ‘small white man’.

I am compelled to think about the courage that he displayed and the speech that he made to that potentially hostile crowd on the day that Dr. Martin Luther King was shot and killed. I know that all white people do not feel the way that Donald Trump’s rhetoric says that he feels about people of color and those of various religious and ethnic groups. I also know that it is incumbent upon me to exercise the same kind of courage that that ‘small white man’ exercised when he opted to attend the previously mentioned rally. And that means that I must respect those white peoples’ feelings and empathize with them while at the same time encouraging them to get beyond those feelings and work together with all people of color, religious and ethnic groups to make America even greater than it already is.

If Donald J. Trump and that ‘small white man’, Robert Kennedy were placed side-by-side, the principles and values that each man espouses were displayed alongside them and as an American citizen one was tasked to choose which of these two men that they would prefer to be their leader it seems that the choice would be an easy one. But when all of the different perspectives and nuances are interjected into the mix and those driving forces are constantly emphasized and skewed toward our insecurities and darkest fears, maybe the obviousness of this choice is not so glaring after all.

That is why that as voters we must always stay informed on the issues and select the best candidate based on our knowledge of those issues and not based on sound bites. So whether you are a Democrat, Republican or Independent stay informed and always vote. Why? Because 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