Law-Breaker or Oath-Breaker, Transgenders in the Military, Washington Crisis Leadership, Two Poetic Interludes and Will Republicans Speak Up?

Tuesday Morning

This a.m., my TV greeted me with throrough coverage on MSNBC and CNN of how the President chose to dictate a misleading lie to serve as his son's explanation of that infamous meeting back in June of 2016 with the Russians in Trump Tower.  A Washington Post article has just exposed this lie, the sort of thing a sleazy real estate developer might put out to explain that the land he is peddling is only underwater one month of the year, not four or five.  

This is the way this man "deals."  Sitting down at a conference table, he aims at reaching a compromise between his lies and the truth, represented across the table from him, and happily ending up with a more defensible "half-truth, half-lie" resolution." 

Anyhow, I then turned to Fox News.  During the hour from 8:00 a.m. to 9:00 a.m. this story was not mentioned as "Fox & Friends" occupied their viewers with a series of far less important stories.  Watch Fox News and learn what the world of truth and honesty is up against!  

JL

Law-Breaker or Oath-Breaker?

Some of this may duplicate material in last week’s posting, but it cannot be repeated often enough.  The President of the United States has said that he wants to see, in the absence of replacement legislation, “Obamacare implode.” 

This President of the United States, in taking his oath of office, with his hand on a bible, also said that he would “preserve, protect and defend the Constitution of the United States.”  Article 2, Section 3 of that Constitution includes the President’s responsibility to “take care that the laws be faithfully executed.”

The Affordable Care Act is one of those laws.  It has neither been repealed nor replaced.  Hence it is the responsibility of the President to exercise his Constitutionally-mandated responsibility to see that “Obamacare” is carried out. In view of his oath of office, repeated with his hand on a bible, he cannot avoid that responsibility. 

But he is doing so, and therefore is in violation of his oath of office. He is an “oath-breaker” which may or may not be worse than a “law-breaker.”   His word, in either case, therefore, even when he swears it on a bible, is worthless.  He will sit by as it “implodes” as he ignores the law’s provisions which would prevent that from happening.   All Americans except the profoundly ignorant know that Donald Trump is a con artist, except those who have been conned by him and those whose personal agenda benefits from the support of those who remain conned by the con artist.

(I won't go into his lies about his involvement with Don Junior's phony explanation for that meeting with the Russians, and other instances where tRump has attempted to con those dumb enough or evil enough to still believe in him.  The facts are there for you to see.)

And while we’re looking at the Constitution, let’s go back to Article 1, specifically the part of Section 9 which reads “No Title of Nobility shall be granted by the United States: And no Person holding any Office of Profit or Trust under them, shall, without the Consent of the Congress, accept of any present, Emolument, Office, or Title, of any kind whatever, from any King, Prince, or foreign State.” 

Many believe that the money made by Trump’s family businesses, particularly the Washington DC hotel which bears his name, falls into the category of being an emolument (briefly definable as a salary, fee, or profit from employment or office) to the extent that many representatives of foreign nations, coming to Washington on their government’s business, take particular pains to stay at that hotel.  Hence, the President may be in violation of the Constitution on this count as well because his family-owned hotel is making money from the governments of foreign nations.

This man is a scoundrel for whom impeachment, which will ultimately occur unless its imminence results in his resignation, is far too mild a fate.  Let him go back to making his deals with the low-life which dominate that part of the real estate and entertainment businesses where he operated, and take his pompous self-righteous son-in-law, cut from the same cloth, with him.

Jack Lippman

Poetic Interlude Number One

One of my favorite poems is from a play called "Pippa Passes" by Robert Browning (1812-1889).  The character, Pippa, walks by singing this song.  Beautiful, isn't it? 

    

    The year's at the spring
    And day's at the morn;      

    Morning's at seven;
    The hillside's dew-pearled;      

    The lark's on the wing;
    The snail's on the thorn:    

    God's in His heaven—          

     

               

    All's right with the world!

JL

Give Republicans a Chance to Speak Up

Without your telling me how terrible you believe Barack Obama was, and how bad a president you believe Hillary Clinton would have been, please tell me why you support President Donald Trump.   I am sure you have your reasons.  Please share them.   This is your opportunity to gain support for him!   Silence on your part would signify that you have come around to recognizing his shortcomings, so please, please, share your thoughts with us.  Send your answers to Riart1@aol.com.

JL

Who's To Blame?

I wonder who told the real estate developer in the White House that having transgender military personal could cost the armed forces a lot in medical costs, and that was the least of the problems their presence in the service can cause.  What kind of moron listens to this kind of crap?  And what kind of moron permits people with such outlandish views to even be present in the building housing the Executive branch of our government, particularly when appropriate studies on the question were in progress by the military?  Or did he just see it somewhere on the internet?

This is what happens when gullible people, the same dullards who fall for the kind of malarkey slick real estate developers routinely pitch, vote a totally unqualified and unprepared person into the presidency.  Don’t blame the lying moron in the White House for this any more than one would blame a four-year old child for their misdeeds.  They know no better.  Were he not a septuagenarian, he might be pitied but he is beyond that. 

But you can blame those who voted for him and the Republicans, anxious for their votes, who hold their nose and still support him.  Shame on them.  Long after Trump's presidency is just a sour memory, their party will be redolent with his stench.

JL 

Poetic Interlude Number Two

I guess, after all of that, we're ready for another poetic interlude.  From the old Broadway hit, "Annie." let's listen to the words of Charles Strouse's "Tomorrow."

The sun'll come out
Tomorrow
Bet your bottom dollar
That tomorrow
There'll be sun

Just thinkin' about
Tomorrow
Clears away the cobwebs,
And the sorrow
'Til there's none 

    

When I'm stuck a with day
That's gray,
And lonely,
I just stick out my chin
And Grin,
And Say,
Oh

The sun'll come out
Tomorrow
So ya gotta hang on
'Til tomorrow
Come what may
Tomorrow, tomorrow
I love ya tomorrow
You're always
A day
Away

So don't let the man in the White House give you the blues!  Just fifteen months till the mid-term elections.  Which is more than "a day away," but it's on its way.  Get ready.

JL

When the Chips are Down, Who's in Charge?

Somewhere I read the other day that Generals Mattis (our Secretary of Defense) and McMaster (our National Security Advisor) make it their business to make sure that one of them is always around in Washington just in case a situation arises demanding military knowledge and leadership.  Having General Kelly as White House Chief of Staff means this duty, standing watch for the country, can be split among the three of them.  Certainly, their boss, the President, is unqualified to perform this duty, as well as most other presidential responsibilities.

It’s a difficult job because our military leaders have always been subordinate to civilian government leadership.  The present administration is incapable of providing this in a coherent manner.  How well these generals perform a job they were not trained for, that of making policy rather than carrying it out, is crucial to the nation’s survival.  A recent New York Times piece addressed this subject.  Read it by CLICKING RIGHT HERE.

JL

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Jack Lippman