The Republican Party appears to be going all in to obstruct or completely block American citizens that they have targeted from voting. Kansas is one of the states with Republican held legislatures that is among the identifiable reconnaissance states that are taking the point position in absorbing any primary challenges to this unwarranted voter ID legislation and providing intelligence to other Republican held states that are sure to follow after they tweak their own legislation based on this intelligence.

Kris Kobach, the current Secretary of State of Kansas is leading this drive to unfairly disenfranchise legitimate American voters. When voters go to the polls to vote, if they do not have the required ID they are placed on a suspense list and are later purged from the registered voters list if they do not provide the requisite ID within a given period of time.  According to a recent Reuters’ analysis of this suspense list, those who are having the hardest time registering to vote are young voters, unaffiliated voters and other voters who normally vote for Democrats.

Although, as determined in most of the cases where enhanced voter ID requirements have been put into place there was little to no evidence of voter fraud to begin with, Mr. Kobach forged ahead anyway.  And, just like as published in many other cases where these laws have been enacted, since this law was implemented; only a few (single digit) individuals who are alleged to have committed voter fraud have actually been prosecuted and/or found guilty.

Still, Republicans defend their actions and say that they are putting these laws into place to defend against rampant voter fraud and protect the American people. This kind of obstruction and blocking of legitimate voters’ right to vote has been going on ever since the John Roberts led Supreme Court struck down Section 4 (b) of the Voting Rights Acts.  Despite what might have been the good intentions of the court, the decision has thrown the country into chaos, in some cases, causing each state to come up with its own laws as to what will be required of citizens in their state in order for them to be able to vote.

On top of this situation, Republicans have been publicly expressing their concern about the possibility of the Supreme Court becoming more liberal if a Democrat is elected president. They think that that would be a terrible thing.  If Republicans believe that taking away voters right to vote in order to get a Republican elected president so that they can assure that the Supreme Court remains a conservative leaning court, then perhaps America needs what Republicans think would be a ‘terrible thing.’

To make the situation even worse, Republicans – with the blessings of the Republican elites and Republican congressional leaders in Washington, are slowly but surely lining up in support of Donald Trump. As for the ones who are not openly supporting him, their silence is deafening.  One can only imagine what will happen under Mr. Trump’s leadership.  It is not just a question of the direction that the Supreme Court will take; the larger question is which direction will the country take?

I am well aware that I am at risk of completely exhausting the subject of how concerned I am and how concerned America should be about Donald Trump’s flaws that make him unsuited to hold the most powerful office in the world. But there is so much at stake that I want to be sure that I do everything that I can to get voters to go beyond Mr. Trump’s superficial rhetoric, dig deep beneath the shinny facade that he is presenting to the public and explore those things that are close to his core.  Find out what he is all about, how knowledgeable he is about domestic and world affairs, how willing he is to learn about those things that he does not understand and how willing and capable a student he will be.  It is obvious who he is as a CEO; but who is he, really: and is he capable of subordinating his ego to those who perchance could help him to become presidential and suitable to hold the esteemed office of President of the United States of America?

A normal, reasonable Republican politician would be (gulp) fine. But Mr. Trump is not a normal and reasonable Republican politician and he must not be allowed to normalize himself by wrapping himself in a veil of normalcy just long enough to possibly win a general election.  All of those Republican politicians who support him and those who have so far chosen to remain silent know this but they are allowing loyalty to their Party to ‘trump’ (pun intended) their duty to put country ahead of politics.

I will try not to revisit this, what I am sure that many of you consider, worn-out subject any time soon so that you will have some time to recover from it. But I am not making any promises.  If duty demands it, I will be right back at it; sounding the alarm bell and hoping that although you might not want to, you will take a deep breath, swallow and read it anyway.  With so much at stake, I can’t help myself.

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

I read an article in the New York Times recently that gave me pause. It was by Yamiche Alcindor and was entitled ‘Die-Hard Bernie Sanders Backers See F.B.I. as Answer to Their Prayers.’  Some of those voters who back Senator Sanders actually said that if he is not the Democratic nominee then they will vote for Donald Trump.  According to the article, one person was quoted as saying that she hoped that Hillary Clinton would be criminally indicted for how she handled her emails while she was Secretary of State.  In her mind this would open the door for Senator Sanders to claim the nomination which, rightfully, should be his anyway.

This should cause great concern for anyone, especially a Democrat, who wants to see a Democrat elected to be president in 2016. But from my perspective this concern goes far beyond the rationale that these Sanders supporters are espousing.  To me, the fact that anyone would choose Donald Trump over Secretary Clinton is mindboggling.  After witnessing how Mr. Trump has conducted himself ever since he announced that he would run for president I find it absolutely amazing that anyone, especially seasoned politicians, would elect to place such a grave responsibility as President of the United States of America in his hands.

Mr. Trump has already done unthinkable damage to this country since he declared his candidacy for president and there is still what seems like an eternity before the election in November for him to do even greater damage. I honestly cannot believe that this is really happening!  Before witnessing it, I would have bet my last dollar that something like this could never happen; let alone with the blessings of party politicians whether they were Democrats or Republicans.  I thought that neither party would ever stand for it because, although under normal circumstances politicians will be politicians, these are not normal circumstances.  And I thought that each party was filled with statesmen who have too much self-dignity and love of country to allow anything like this to happen.  Obviously most pundits felt the same way.  We were wrong.

If Republican politicians – now including Senator Marco Rubio who said that he would never help to place this country into the hands of a con man – can now line up in support of Mr. Trump and say that they would rather see the country in his hands than those of Secretary Clinton, about the only words that I can come up with are, it’s amazing! There is no reasonable rationale that I can fathom to justify their support of him.  I challenge any voter, whether they are Democrat, Republican or Independent to consider how Mr. Trump has conducted himself since he announced that he would run for president to seriously contemplate whether they want someone who has conducted themselves like he has to be in control of the nuclear codes and strongly influence whether America will go to war or remain at peace, and then present and reasonably defend their answer of ‘yes I would.’

All politicians have the tendency to obfuscate, stretch the truth or even at times lie in order to say what they know that their constituents want to hear. Everyone, although they might not like it, seem to accept this as just something that politicians do.  That notwithstanding, there was a time, though that is obviously not the case nowadays, when even politicians would draw a line in the sand when it came to love of country and doing what was in its best interest.  And because of their great love of country, even partisan politics could not prevent them from doing what was, in their best judgment, their sworn duty.

I am also amazed that even with society’s perception of politicians and our tacit willingness to accept their flaws that we hold female politicians to a higher standard than we do male politicians. I am especially amazed at how willing females are to accept and apply these unspoken rules.  You might ask where did I come up with these supposedly unspoken rules and why do I say that females are held to a higher standard as it relates to them?  Well, I came up with them by observing over many years how society talks and jokes about politicians and we all wink at their flaws; and as regards these current presidential candidates, how anyone could possibly say that America would be better off with Donald Trump as its leader than it would be with Hillary Clinton because of how dishonest that Secretary Clinton is.

Because of what I previously mentioned about all politicians having the tendency to obfuscate, stretch the truth or even at times lie in order to say what they know that their constituents want to hear, I say that females are held to a higher standard for, at least, this one reason.   I would wager that any politician, if they were put through the amount of scrutiny that Secretary Clinton has been put through, would come up wanting in the honesty department.  Although society already realizes that this is the case – again, we wink at this situation with men and yet want to crucify Secretary Clinton for it.  Why is that?  You decide.

As for me, I do not accept that Secretary Clinton’s so called dishonesty is enough to discount all that she has done in service to America and use that as an excuse to place the country in the hands of someone who is a narcissist – and in the words of many congressional Republicans – a con man who is unfit and unqualified to hold the most powerful office in the world. As voters, we have an obligation to get informed and seriously consider the message that Secretary Clinton is delivering to America and the one that Donald Trump is delivering.

We must determine which of those messages is meaningful, doable, will pull us together and make America stronger. We must decide who we are as Americans versus who we want to be as Americans and then decide which of these two candidates can best help us to make that transition and vote accordingly.  And 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

Donald Trump tastes blood in the water in the Democratic presidential campaigns between Senator Bernie Sanders and Secretary Hillary Clinton and he is taking advantage of it. The Donald may be ignorant but he is definitely not stupid.  He is egging Senator Sanders on, not in sincere support of him but to drum up media coverage that will reach disaffected Democrats who might be persuaded to vote for him in the general election.

Under these circumstances, is it time for Senator Sanders to pump his brakes, so to speak, to make sure that he will be able to stop his campaign vehicle which – based on the way that some of his supporters are conducting themselves, is becoming more like that of the Donald Trump campaign with each passing day, should it become necessary? Obviously he is providing ammunition for the Trump campaign to use against Secretary Clinton, should she become the nominee, in the general election.

Has he already given the Republican campaign too much ammunition; so much that it is already being successfully used to lure these disaffected Democrats into Mr. Trump’s camp? Mr. Trump has already proven that he is extremely adept at pitting warring factions against one another for his personal political gain and that he has no limits to what he will do to assure that he is successful.  Is he pitting Senator Sanders against Secretary Clinton for his personal aggrandizement?

Is it time for Senator Sanders to take a close look at the situation and decide what kind of damage that he is doing to Secretary Clinton and the Democratic Party? Is it time for him to stop adding fuel to the fire that has already created a schism between his supporters and Secretary Clinton’s that might already be hard to bridge and is getting wider with each new demand that he makes?

Senator Sanders has already been granted unprecedented concessions by the Democratic Party and, in concert with that – because of the large number of delegates that he already has, can still go into the convention and wield great power to shape how the Party will move forward. Must he now demand that Democrats oust Democratic National Committee Chairperson Debbie Wasserman Shultz due to his anger because he believes that she has mistreated him and he harbors hurt feelings?  If his actions are not due to hurt feelings, is he simply getting drunk on this great power; power like he has never possessed before?

This situation is not one where he can just walk in and have things his way! That kind of thinking is the substance of that of slogans and is more appropriately applied to fast food restaurants not serious politics.  He must realize that he and his supporters must give some ground just like Clinton and her supporters must give some ground; especially if it involves a choice between ultimately unifying the Party and ripping it apart!

He must also realize that just like his supporters out of anger can unintentionally bring about great damage to the Democratic Party, Clinton supporters who feel that he is abusing her can do the same thing. Does he want to be responsible for this kind of fracture in the Democratic Party at such a crucial time as this?  Is this something that he can even tacitly condone?  Is this something that he is willing to risk?  In the eyes of some Washington Democrats, DNC Chairperson Debbie Wasserman-Shultz has already become a liability to the party that is beyond repair so must be replaced before the Democratic National Convention in July.  Senator Sanders is responsible for this situation and this angers Hillary supporters.

Donald Trump is the ultimate target, not Hillary Clinton! If Senator Sanders is about something other than Bernie Sanders, in light of the ground that Mr. Trump is succeeding in closing between himself and Secretary Clinton, perhaps he should back away from his decision to fight all the way to the Democratic convention; especially since Secretary Clinton is all but assured of becoming the nominee.

And even if he does decide to fight all the way to the convention, he should be especially mindful of what Donald Trump’s objective is in egging him on. Although what Donald Trump is doing in egging him on is extremely obvious, it is possible that during the heat of battle this blatantly obvious effort by Mr. Trump can be blurred or even lost sight of.  Senator Sanders must not forget in the heat of his battle with Secretary Clinton that Donald Trump has a purpose in egging him on and that that purpose, as usual, is all about Donald Trump.  It has absolutely nothing to do with his concern for how the Clinton campaign or Democratic Party is treating Senator Sanders.

Senator Sanders’ campaign manager, Jeff Weaver, said that Debbie Wasserman Shultz is working against Senator Sanders and wants her to resign. He said that someone else could play a more positive role.  What does that mean?  And who is this ‘someone else’ that he is referring to; someone that he and Senator Sanders favor?  President Obama selected Ms. Wasserman Shultz to be the DNC Chairperson in 2011 and ever since that time she has worked hard for the Democratic Party.  Hopefully, she has not had so much damage done to her reputation during the course of the bickering between Senator Sanders and Secretary Clinton that she will be forced to resign.

Although Mr. Trump is having trouble along the way too; many of the big Republican contributors are refusing to contribute to his campaign, he is still closing ground – and in some cases – putting ground between himself and Secretary Clinton despite the fact that if this kind of problem continues for him it could be a major concern going forward. Yet, Senator Sanders refuses to get out of the race because he says that polls continue to show that he is a stronger candidate against Donald Trump than is Secretary Clinton.

The problem is, and what Senator Sanders is glossing over, is the fact that the Republican Party has been attacking Secretary Clinton ever since she has been a part of the political scene and they have not yet even begun to attack him. Senator Sanders has openly declared that he is a Democratic Socialist and there is no doubt that Republicans will launch a major offensive on the ‘Socialist’ part of his declaration and any other negative thing that they find.  And since Republicans have never really focused on any serious negative research on Senator Sanders, they will (emphasis on ‘will’) find other negative things (perceived by voters or real) that will reduce his positive numbers versus Mr. Trump.

And if he should by some miracle beat Secretary Clinton in the primaries and become the Democratic nominee, when he goes head-to-head with The Donald, I assure you that The Donald will expose all of his weaknesses; real, perceived and nonexistent because The Donald is an expert at things like this. He knows how to manipulate voters, especially those that are not involved and on top of the issues.

Having said that, I hope that Senator Sanders is already considering these things and will temper his attacks on Secretary Clinton. And I hope that after he considers them that he will pump his brakes and slow down in preparation to stop; stop attacking and start unifying either before or at the convention.  For those of you who are not familiar with the term ‘pump your (his) brakes, it simply means slow down and/or prepare to stop.

Stay engaged in this presidential election and be sure to get engaged in future elections no matter the level at which they occur. In the meantime, 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

Because the 2016 presidential election has the potential to be a watershed election for America, I will continue to sound the alarm until a new United States president has been elected. Accordingly, I am compelled to repeat the Republican Party’s previous harsh comments, before they flip-flopped, about their now presumptive nominee again.

But before I do that, I would quickly add ‘caveat emptor’ (let the buyer beware); because those should be the watchwords for those voters and Republican politicians who are buying what Donald Trump is selling because the way that he is running his campaign certainly does not leave any room for the United States motto, ‘e pluribus unum’ (out of many, one).

Early on in the Republican primary race to become the Republican nominee for president, Republican elites and numerous Republican members of congress called Donald Trump a con artist, charlatan, clown, joke, and many other names that I cannot recall right now, before they said that he was unfit to be president of the United States of America.  However, after all of their efforts to thwart his rise to Republican standard bearer failed, they are now coyly saying, oops, never mind.

They are now comparing him to Secretary Hillary Clinton and some are even saying that he is more qualified than she is to run the country. They have suddenly abandoned all of their principles and love of country, done an about-face and are now saying that he is a genuine person who is definitely fit to run America.  Even Reince Priebus, chairman of the Republican National Committee has fallen in line and is now behind him.  Politics and Trumpism certainly do make strange bedfellows.

Even if you never understood the down-and-dirty of politics – and never really seriously questioned it because you thought that you at least understood the meaning of the word statesman and therefore knew that when all else failed statesmanship would prevail, this thing with The Donald should make you think again. If you didn’t question politics and what it is that actually motivates politicians before, maybe now would be a good time to start.

The decisions that many Republican politicians are making now to support Donald Trump will leave a scar on them. It will be a scar that will last long beyond the time that they leave office and likely long after they have departed this earth.  It will be a permanent scar and history will gaze upon it as it judges them.  This election will be talked about down through the intriguing annals of history and hopefully will be an aberration rather than the norm.

Republican politicians can deal with their animus toward Secretary Clinton without risking putting America in the hands of Donald Trump; a man who is a narcissist who is egocentric and totally unpredictable. They do not have to vote for Secretary Clinton.  And if they are true statesmen they should feel bound by principle and whatever they do, they will not vote for or encourage their constituents to vote for Mr. Trump.  If they do not have the courage to do anything else, they can simply remain silent.

Right now America is fragile and struggling with an identity problem; we are trying to determine who we are as a country. There are many different factions that are afraid and angry.  In particular, there is a faction that has long been the ‘majority’ that, regardless of how they vote in this election, will soon become a ‘minority’.  I can only imagine how frightening that must be.

And each of these factions reserves the right to be angry. The key is to control that anger and not let it control us.  Then we should channel it into rediscovering our identity as a country and move forward from there to make America even better than it has ever been before.  But in order to do this, we need a leader who will bring us together not one who will reinforce our perceived differences and assure that we remain in separate factions in order to fully exploit our dark side for their personal political gain.  Whoever that leader might be, it is not Donald Trump!

In his article in the Washington Post entitled ‘I ate my words about Trump. But treating him as normal is a recipe for ruin’ Dana Milbank said “Now Trump is attempting to normalize himself, assuming voters have short memories.  A large number of Republicans are cravenly choosing party unity above decency…  Trump didn’t win the nomination because most Americans, or even most Republicans, support him.  I had to eat my words because feckless Republican leaders were too splintered to provide voters a viable alternative.”

You should neither buy in to The Donald’s assumption that you have a short memory nor should you abandon your principles and follow the craven example set by flip-flopping Republican politicians to unify the party at all costs. Now – in addition to these flip-flopping politicians, billionaires like Sheldon Adelson are lining up to support him and contribute millions of dollars to his campaign in hopes that he will do their bidding as long as they can convince him that the spigot will be there and they will open it for him whenever the need arises.

But Mr. Trump has a problem because his whole primary campaign was based on the premise that it was self-financed, meaning that he could not be bought; he said as much himself. He also said that when people give politicians money they expect something for it.  This situation involving those billionaires who are lining up to finance his campaign is a real catch 22 for him.  Then again, maybe it is not: this is The Donald that we are talking about.

Regardless of my political persuasions, when you go to the polls during the general election, I will not presume to tell you who you should vote for; but I will presume to tell you who you should not vote for. No matter how much money that billionaires shower him with, under no circumstances should you vote for someone who, if nothing else, has proven that he is completely unpredictable and does not possess the gravitas to be the president of the United States of America.  You should not vote for someone who has made a mockery of the American political process and shamed America in the eyes of the world.  You should not vote for someone who can say hello to you one day and the next day tell you that it was not him that said hello to you but, instead, it was someone impersonating him (e.g. the John Barron and the John Miller fiasco).  And you should not vote for someone who, even before the official primaries season has officially ended and months before the successful nominee is sworn into office, already has many world leaders bewildered and feeling anxious due to his behavior.  You should not vote for Donald Trump!

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

Although I could not be any more disappointed that Donald Trump is the Republican Party’s presumptive nominee and has even a miniscule chance of becoming president of the United States of America, I am thrilled that he was able to beat down big money. It is completely exhilarating to know that all of the Republicans’ political leaders, the Republican elites and all of their big money combined failed to conquer Donald Trump.

It was The Donald against the world (of Republicans) and he won. And now – being The Donald, it is likely that just to punish those in the Republican establishment who worked so hard against him, he is refusing to make up with them, fall in line with their way of thinking and at least work with them to reach some sort of compromise.  On the contrary, he is threatening to oust Speaker Paul Ryan as the convention chairman.

I’m glad that he exposed the long hidden agenda of the Republican Party, which is to stand up for big business, condone bigotry as long as it is covert, and keep their collective foot on the throat of the middle class. Although Mr. Trump did this for selfish purposes and not for the betterment of America, it will ultimately work to make Americans and America better because it will force us to take a closer look at ourselves and what we stand for.

While the Republican Party has long been the party of the rich and big business, Democrats are not totally innocent of aiding and abetting the demise of America’s middle class. Democratic politicians have been a bit more covert in their pandering to the rich and big business but they have done it for years and continue to do it now.  It does not matter whether they do it only because they need to finance their reelection campaigns and feel that this is the only way to successfully do that or if they secretly share the same feelings as their Republican counterparts.

What really matters is that they lacked then and still lack the courage to stand up for what is right. That is why Senator Bernie Sanders is such a phenomenon.  He went directly to the American people and thereby challenged the establishment in both parties by eschewing contributions from the political elites, rich and big money lest in return they expected to buy his support for their views.  He wanted to avoid even the appearance of granting them the ability to constantly whisper their seductive desires into his ear while subliminally encouraging him to ignore the needs of those with little or no power.

What Senator Sanders has done has our elected politicians on the cusp of being forced to chose to transition from a government that serves the few (the rich and powerful) to one that serves all of us or to remain prisoners of our election system, which is fueled by money. The transition to serving all Americans might not be a quick one but, hopefully, Senator Sanders’ call for a political revolution will be quick to force politicians to choose as to whether they will continue to kowtow to the rich and powerful or work to hone our government into one that is truly of the people, by the people and for the people; a government that serves all Americans!

Although I stubbornly continue to support Secretary Clinton as the Democratic nominee and the person to become America’s next president, unlike those Bernie Sanders supporters who say ‘never Hillary’, I do not say never Bernie. And I encourage those Sanders supporters who are saying ‘never Hillary’ to drop that mind-set immediately; not just because it indirectly associates the Democratic presidential campaigns with that of the mess that the Republicans refer to as their campaign, but because it is divisive and creates problems for the eventual Democratic nominee – whoever that might be – to unite the party against Donald Trump in the general election.

Donald Trump is unqualified and unsuited to be the president of America. Like all of us, he has a right to his personal thoughts and views.  But unlike ‘all of us’ who sometimes out of frustration and anger express our thoughts and views- if he were president, he could not freely express his but, instead, should be more cerebral and consider the fact that he represents all of the American people and should act accordingly.  Then, if he decides to express any thoughts and views at all, his words should be measured and well thought out and the thoughts and views expressed should be those of a cohesive America.

Based on what has taken place thus far during the primaries, Mr. Trump is not capable of conducting himself in any manor other than that which he has already displayed. No matter how hard he might try, he cannot be presidential; it is beyond him.

Those Republican politicians who have committed to support Mr. Trump have a lot of soul searching to do based solely on the damage that he has already done to this country with respect to how America is viewed through the eyes of her allies, enemies and through the eyes of the world. If he somehow manages to become president they will have an even heavier burden to bear depending upon how he conducts himself while in office.  He is completely unpredictable.

Yes, right now I am reveling in the fact that those who toss money at everything believing that it is king and can buy them anything that their hearts desire has been rebuffed. However, there is a grave danger – no matter how miniscule, that my revel could be cut short by The Donald being elected to become the 45th president of the United States of America.  I’m not sure who would revel then other than The Donald.  After all, it is all about him; right?

I wonder, who would have the last laugh; The Donald, maybe?

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

I can’t resist asking this question as I watch the Tom Brady Deflategate saga continue and continue and continue… What is up with Tom Brady’s pit-bull mentality when it comes to this issue?  With the way that he keeps refusing to put it behind him, celebrate with his teammates what a dominate team that the Patriots have been and still are and let the final few seconds run out on Deflategate, I can’t help but to think about an infamous headline from the legacy of the Dallas Cowboys football team.  The headline was something like “Leon can’t Lett it alone.”

The headline was referring to a play in the 1993 Thanksgiving Day game between the Dallas Cowboys and Miami Dolphins when Miami attempted a field goal with 15 seconds left in the game but it was blocked and so fell short of the end zone. At the time, Dallas was leading Miami by one point and the rest of the team had begun to celebrate their victory.  But Leon Lett (aka The Big Cat), the starting defensive tackle for the Cowboys, just could not Lett it alone.  Although it was not necessary, The Big Cat attempted to recover the ball, touched it but slipped during the attempt and Miami recovered the ‘muff’ on the one yard line.  With only three seconds remaining, Miami kicked a field goal and won the game.

It seems to me that even though it is not intentional (or necessary), like Leon Lett when he unnecessarily tried to recover the ball from the blocked field goal attempt, Tom Brady is taking a big risk that could result in another loss and beyond that make matters even worse. It further seems that he would want this part of his public life to just go away, or at least begin as soon as possible to slowly disappear in his rearview mirror with the passage of time, so that he could move on with his career without the distraction of Deflategate.  There is no doubt that he is going to end up in the Hall of Fame.

I have no doubt that there are those of you who follow politics that are asking the question; isn’t this blog supposed to be a political blog? Why is he writing about Tom Brady and Deflategate?  Good question my loyal blog readers.  But before I answer that question, I am going to go even further and conjecture that there are sports writers (well, maybe not multiple sports writers but at least one) who regularly read my blog who are bristling and asking that same question and adding; why is he infringing on our territory?  He isn’t a sports writer.

They are right; I am not a sports writer. But I am writing about it because I am firmly convinced that with the latest information that I read on Deflategate, it now falls squarely into my bailiwick.  Why?  Because although the Supreme Court is not a political institution (wink, wink) it depicts an intricate thread in America’s political fabric and that thread runs throughout the political gauntlet, I mean, gambit.

Perhaps I should use the word ‘system’ – since that might be more appropriate than gauntlet, I mean gambit, although maybe not as accurate based on how things are currently conducted in Washington politics. You don’t agree with me on the ‘not as accurate’ part of my statement?  Did you watch the White House Correspondents Dinner held on April 30th?  Did you listen to President Obama’s stand-up comedy routine?  He was joking but it’s all true.  So I offer the president’s White House Correspondents Dinner comments as my key supporting evidence that the term ‘political gauntlet’ rather than ‘political gambit’ or ‘political system’ might not be that farfetched nowadays.

In implying that the Supreme Court in actuality is a political institution, I do so with the knowledge that over the past two and a half decades, The Supreme Court has been involved in the outcome of a number of major politically divisive issues that if they were not greatly influenced by partisan Washington politicians, certainly had the appearance of having been influenced by them…

But I digress. I am not a sports writer.  However, if there is the slightest chance that this Deflategate thing will go all the way to the Supreme Court they (sports writers who write about Deflategate) are already infringing on my territory so I will be d**n – I might as well go on and say it – darn, if I will not infringe on theirs which, by the way, I do not believe that I am!  With the Supreme Court being one justice short and the Republican led senate refusing to even consider President Obama’s nominee to the Court, if Deflategate can even conceive of rising to the Supreme Court level then I am going to write about it.

Besides, I am a big football fan and this Deflategate thing is taking a lot of attention away from football. Let me say it up front, knowing that the wrath of all Patriots fans, especially those who live in and around Boston, will be upon me; Tom Brady seems to think that he is special and should be allowed to get away with whatever he decides to say or do.  He is a great football player that will undoubtedly end up in the Hall of Fame, he is not a whiner (most of the time) except only when things do not go his way in games that are either very close or that he is losing, and he expects his self-proclaimed ‘special’ tag to be honored under all circumstances.

Does this way of thinking make me a Patriots hater? I don’t think so: but I’m not saying that I am not hating on them.  If I am hating on them, it is not just because of Deflategate.  It is because of that and all of the other known and unknown Gates.

I use to feel the same way as Patriots fans do regarding remarks that people make about this Deflategate thing when people said not-so-flattering things about the Denver Broncos. I thought that they were just haters.  But I’m over that now (I think)…

But again, I digress. I think that Tom Brady and the NFL players union should just Lett things alone instead of taking Deflategate all the way to the Supreme Court and forcing me to write about it and make my loyal blog readers and sports writers (well, maybe not multiple sports writers but at least one) who regularly read my blog angry.  Tom Brady should leave this issue alone because it would be the right thing to do.  And for all of those Patriots fans who are making themselves look like a bunch of jackasses by thinking that everyone who says something negative about their Patriots are haters, to overcome that vice would be the right thing for them to do.

Of course, it is a different thing when it comes to those who are trying to besmirch the name of Denver Broncos quarterback Peyton Manning or my Denver Broncos. That is a whole different ballgame.  Peyton Manning is my quarterback and he is definitely a Hall of Famer who does not deserve to have an asterisk by his name in the Hall of Fame as does Tom Brady.  The Patriots are known cheaters.  And the Denver Broncos is my team and they are all stand-up guys.  I’m glad that they are or I would look like a jackass just like the Patriots fans.  But like I said before, I’m over thinking that those who say not-so-flattering things about the Denver Broncos are just haters (I think).

But, once again, I digress. It is possible that somewhere along the way you will see (and, I hope, read) another article on my blog site about Deflategate.  But do not worry sports writers (well, maybe not multiple sports writers but at least one) who regularly read my blog, I will only write about sports if it involves Tom Brady and Deflategate or any other person in sports who publicly gets entangled in politics or…

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

Tim Kreider’s perspective on ‘White People’ could be like ‘the’ awakening for America if we civilians in America and our elected politicians could somehow merge in our own minds the thought process that Mr. Kreider experienced during the article that he wrote about ‘white people’ and ‘White People’ with that of Chris Rock’s thought process when he commented that “I love black people but I hate n—-z”; and our politicians could then use that as a foundation to discuss and address America’s persistent racial problems.  This would work only if the majority of Americans, along with our politicians, could merge in our own minds the Tim Kreider and Chris Rock thought processes.  It would work even better if all Americans could do this.

While you are busy trying to figure out from that first paragraph what on God’s green earth I am talking about, I will go ahead and try to break things down into more simple, clear and understandable terms: but know that it had to be said initially in the way that it was in that first paragraph because the substance of Mr. Kreider’s and Mr. Rock’s thoughts is what constitutes the very fabric of this article.

If you unraveled the first paragraph; fine. But just in case there are some of you who did not, here is what I hope is a clearer version of it.  But in order for you to more easily understand where I am coming from (my perspective), you should (need to) first read the article that Tim Kreider wrote in The Week entitled ‘A letter to my fellow white people.’  Click on the link to read it.

Having said that, here is the, hopefully, clearer version of what was said in paragraph one of this article. Tim Kreider’s way of thinking on ‘white people’ versus ‘White People’ and the pride that he takes in being ‘white’ and being a part of that culture is wonderful and there is nothing wrong with it if all ‘white people’ feel that way.  I find what he said in his article to be both gratifying and intriguing at the same time.

I find it gratifying because I would hope that that is how all white people would feel. That is the way that black people feel.  We take a lot of pride in our culture and who we are.   And we have been working to express that pride and instill it into our children for years.  Sometimes I feel that those white people who are among those who advocate a flipside for white people of every holiday or event that recognizes black people are simply frightened and feeling that they are being left behind.

But this is not something that black people and white people need to fight about. It is something that needs to be discussed from both perspectives and amicably resolved.  In my opinion there is nothing wrong with white people having events and holidays that honor other white people if that is what they want to do.  As a matter of fact they do this already and have been doing it since the founding of our great nation.  The thing is that it should not be a point of contention where they do it to counter what black people are doing; whether they are doing it out of fear or anger doesn’t matter.  That is why the reasonable people need to have discourse around this and other divisive issues.

What white people might find it hard to understand and accept without experiencing that merging of the thought processes mentioned in paragraph one of this article is that, unlike with the history of white people, this kind of historical and open recognition of those that we as black Americans respect and hold in high esteem has been either very limited or totally missing in history books and conversations in the great halls of academia. It is also limited or missing when it comes to the education of America’s young people who will be future leaders and contributors to academia.  In essence, open acknowledgment of the productivity and contributions, other than by way of slavery, that black people have made to America in many aspects continues to be sorely lacking.

I find the comments in Tim Kreider’s article intriguing because I am captivated by how proudly that he talked about the things of white culture and was not afraid to laugh at those things that other cultures might find funny about white people; including one of the things about his people (their dancing) that black people regularly laugh about in our own circles. Yet many of us get angry when white people talk about how we have rhythm: we say that we get angry because of the context in which they talk about it.  In some cases this is true.  But many times it equates to the same kind of involuntary reflex experienced by those white people who fear that they are being forgotten about and they and the white culture are being left behind.

Tim Kreider’s article caused me to reflect once again on how I would like for people to be able accept other people as ‘just people’ regardless of the color of their skin; people who could then talk about white peoples’ quirky, flailing dance moves and laugh about it. At the same time and under the same circumstances, I would like for people to be able to talk about the rhythm of black people and their smooth moves and laugh about it without the concern that their comments might be misunderstood.

My take is that the way that Tim Kreider was thinking when he wrote his article ‘A letter to my fellow white people’ is the same way that Chris Rock was thinking when he commented that “I love black people but I hate n—-z.” I assume that Mr. Rock’s reference to n—-z equates to Mr. Kreider’s reference to ‘White People’.  It might seem to some of you that I am making a real stretch to equate Tim Kreider’s ‘White People’ label to Chris Rock’s n—-z label.  But remember, Chris Rock is a Comedian.

My point is that, obviously, all white people are not the same (i.e., Tim Kreider’s ‘white people’ and ‘White People’) and neither are all black people (i.e., Mr. Rock’s black people and n—-z). In other words – within both groups, some are reasonable and some are not reasonable.  The reasonable ones will listen to both perspectives, try to learn from the other’s perspective and then be open to discussion and reaching a solution through remedies that they collaborate on and craft.  The unreasonable ones will not listen, refuse to see things from any perspective other than their own and refuse to even entertain the thought that a solution exists other than to either eradicate their adversaries or completely reverse the existing circumstances.

I further assume that the unreasonable ones in each group are the ones that Tim Kreider refers to as ‘White People’ and those that Chris Rock refers to as n—-z. Tim Kreider’s article, through implication, made a quick comparison between his ‘White People’ and Chris Rock’s n—-z in order for him to make his point about ‘White People.’  Unreasonable people in both of these groups are going to do what they do; be unreasonable.  No matter how hard reasonable people try they may never be able to get unreasonable people to listen to rather than just hear the words of those with a different perspective let alone collaborate with them to craft a solution to problems.

While all that I have said in this article to try to provoke thoughtful discourse among adversaries on America’s divisive issues might amount to no more than wishful thinking on my part that is what will be needed if we are to even begin to effectively address the problem among the races in America. This racial animus is poignant and apparent between black people and white people.  Yet while it is less obvious among white people and other races, it permeates the entire melting pot of all races in America.

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

Multibillionaire Charles Koch has to have an angle when he says that ‘It’s possible’ that Secretary Hillary Clinton would be a better president than a Republican. Although he only said “It’s possible”, that is likely unnerving for those running the Clinton campaign.  It has the sound of a backdoor endorsement of Secretary Clinton for president: he has to have an angle.  But what is it?

What is his angle? Is this some kind of reverse psychology that he is using to chase Democratic voters away from Secretary Clinton because the Republican elite have decided that a Republican candidate, whoever that might be, would stand a better chance in the general election against Senator Bernie Sanders than they would against Secretary Clinton?  Is that his angle?  Is it that he knows that any Democrat whose name is in anyway associated with the Koch brothers is diminished in the eyes of Democrats who support them and that this would deprive them of what might prove to be crucial votes that could make the difference in who ends up in the Oval Office?

What is going on here? He is a Koch.  Surly he cannot believe that Secretary Clinton would make a better president than a Republican.  And even if he did; surly, he would not say it aloud to anyone other than a bunch of other Republicans behind closed (and locked) doors.  He certainly would not purposely publicize it.  Yep, that’s got to be it: that’s his angle; he’s attempting the ole reverse psychology trick!

Perhaps I am being a bit melodramatic but this year’s presidential election is definitely different from any other that we have had in recent history in the way that it is playing out. Given the circumstances of elected Republicans and their leadership openly talking about a contested convention, the not so secret talk about replacing the remaining two Republican nominees with a Republican who did not even run for president if neither of them receives the requisite number of delegates to secure the nomination, the Republican base revolting against the party and the Republican Party precariously balancing on the edge of a complete meltdown this is an extremely important election.  This situation exacerbates the need for Republicans to siphon as many votes as possible from the Democratic nominee.

Things on the Democrats’ side of the race are better (right now) but they too have problems that they are trying to deal with and keep under control. Senator Sanders has remained in the race far beyond the length of time that anyone thought that he would be capable of and has the financial resources to continue running all the way to the Democratic convention.  That is creating a problem with the overall strategic plan of the Clinton campaign.  By now, they expected to be focusing their energy on defeating the Republican nominee.

President Obama’s legacy is on the line and Democrats are fighting to solidify it while Republicans are fighting to destroy it and in the event that they cannot completely destroy it, dilute it to the greatest extent possible. The centerpiece of the Republicans’ plan to destroy the president’s legacy is to repeal Obamacare.  The winner of the 2016 presidential race will play a major role in determining which one of these things will have the best chance of happening.

As voters, we must realize that there is a lot more at stake than the possible demise of the Republican Party or the legacy of President Obama. The ultimate outcome of both of these things is important but the future of America is the main thing that Americans should focus on.

Which of the candidates will choose the best path forward for our country? Which candidate is most likely to lead America forward based on who we really are as Americans?  It is important that we ask ourselves these and any other relevant questions before we cast our ballots for a candidate.  And when we do vote, we should vote for the candidate that we believe will choose the best path forward for our country whoever that candidate might be.

We should familiarize ourselves with the issues and the records of these candidates and then vote for or against them based on those things and not based on sound bites created specifically for the purpose of pandering for votes. If voters do that, then we do not need to even concern ourselves about whether or not Mr. Koch has an angle.  I think that he does but…

Whether you are a Democrat, Republican or Independent, the main thing that I want to do via this article is to encourage you to get involved in the 2016 election. And in November, be sure to get out and vote for your candidate.  In the meantime, to help assure that as many voters as possible participate in selecting the person who will lead our country, encourage your friends, acquaintances and others around you to vote.

The franchise is a precious thing that is important to all of us so let’s treat it that way. As you continue to educate yourselves on the issues and remain involved 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

From time-to-time politicians try to shed their politician persona and be real people; their real selves. But this is a daunting task for them because many of them have been politicians for so long and worn their politician persona on such a regular basis that it has in essence become their skin.  And because most of them are not snakes in the grass – notwithstanding the fact that the reputation that many politicians’ have earned would suggest otherwise, they cannot shed their skin.

Although inside themselves they might empathize with the everyday American and feel their pain, they cannot completely break free of the ever-present politics that exists between the haves and have nots. No matter how much they squirm and twist and turn they cannot shed their skin; they cannot break free of those mega financiers who contribute to their campaigns so that they can truly feel the pain of those of us who cannot afford to contribute anything at all or only between $5 – $50 dollars.

That’s the real problem right now and even if the majority of America’s politicians recognize this problem the great majority of them are virtually unable to react to it in any way that will fix it. It at least appears that Senator Bernie Sanders and Mr. Donald Trump are in a position to and willing to try.  Obviously Senator Sanders would have to be among those politicians who could shed their politician skin to do this but he has already proven, at least to some degree, that he can do so.  And that is why his message is resonating with voters.

Most politicians are openly pandering to the everyday American during this primary voting season while secretly pandering to big business and other big money constituents. They will likely do this same thing during the 2016 general election.  And, most politicians openly say that they intend to address the enormous wealth gap that exists between rich and everyday Americans.  The difference is that some of them want to address it slowly (whatever that means) and via an indirect approach while others want to attack it head-on and right away.

The bottom line is that it has to be addressed. And it has to be addressed in such a way that everyday Americans will recognize that it is being addressed and begin to feel the effects of that change, if not immediately, in a very short period of time.

It is understandable that there are many Americans who are angry and want to attack this wealth gap head-on and right away despite the political impact that it might have on individual politicians and the negative impact that it might have on how congress functions. If you disagree and believe that this is a haphazard statement with no basis in fact then take a few moments to reflect on the bailout of the big banks in October 2008 under The Troubled Asset Recovery Program (TARP).

Think about how these banks conducted themselves after they were infused with capital using taxpayer dollars. After they received this money from the federal government they refused to make loans to homeowners to prevent them from losing their homes.  Although it was not explicitly stated in their agreement with the government that they would help these beleaguered homeowners, the very nature of this loan implied that they would and there is no doubt that they understood this.

Now, since this financial crisis, the top ten biggest banks in America have grown larger and together hold about $10.1 trillion in assets. They are considered too big to fail because if they did fail, it would be catastrophic for the United States and perhaps even the world.  In light of how these banks conducted themselves during the financial crisis, can you even begin to imagine how powerful this must make those bankers feel who currently control the levers of power in these organizations?  Might they feel completely untouchable and perhaps even invincible?

When it comes to selecting a 2016 Democratic nominee for president it is easy to see why the previously mentioned angry Americans would land in the Bernie Sanders camp. He is the candidate that is adamant about sending a strong message to these big banks and other big money interests that their days of running America as they see fit and abusing everyday Americans at the pleasure of big banks and big money are over no matter their self-image of power and invincibility.

Since the beginning of the 2016 presidential race I have supported Secretary Hillary Clinton to become president because of her personal record and my strong belief that she has the best chance of winning the general election. I have no doubt that she would do everything that she possibly could in the overall best interest of America.

What I am not as sure about is whether she will do everything that she possibly can do in the interest of the everyday American. I do not believe that she would not do her best for the everyday American because she is not a good person, does not have a good heart and is dishonest.  She does not deserve the dishonest label that so many Americans have attached to her.

Secretary Clinton, as she has so often stated, has worked hard on key issues that affect all Americans and has fought hard to assure that all Americans are treated equally. My concern is not that some label her a corrupt, heartless politician who does not want to help the everyday American and is in politics simply because she wants to line her own pockets.  Obviously I do not agree with that assessment of her.  My concern is whether she is capable of shedding her politician skin so that she can completely experience the pain that everyday Americans feel which goes beyond that which her politician skin will allow.

Despite that concern, I still support Secretary Clinton and I still believe that she stands a better chance of winning the general election than does Senator Sanders. But the strength of that support has been steadily chipped away at by Senator Sanders’ compelling message.  I can see why so many Americans are inspired by his message and are supporting him.

Former President Clinton was wrong to belittle Senator Sanders by implying that he was peddling a cure-all message for everyday Americans’ problems that would involve simply shooting every third person on Wall Street. Senator Sanders’ message makes sense and, as previously stated, it resonates with a lot of Americans.  I happen to be one of them.

His message makes sense and resonates with everyday Americans because he is saying what we feel, have experienced everyday for years and still experience today. Powerful people, which by definition includes big banks and other big money interests, have proven time-and-time again that they do not respond in the affirmative to anything that they are requested to do, which they do not agree with unless that request is backed by power.

These same people and entities have demonstrated on numerous occasions that the label, ‘it’s always all about the money’, that they have long been tagged with is not a myth. Power seems to be all that they understand unequivocally and respond to with respect.  And a message thoroughly laced with the threat of the use of power if it is not respectfully received is the kind of message that Senator Sanders wants to send them.  He wants to send them a message that says in no uncertain terms to cut the bullls**t, stop fleecing everyday Americans and carry your fair share of America’s financial burden.  They will understand this.

Those associated with Secretary Clinton’s campaign should not be busy demeaning Senator Sanders by downplaying his message; instead, they should think about how and to what degree to incorporate that message into their own.

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