Opposition to President Trump is becoming more fashionable and visible every day. None of this should come as any surprise to astute Americans. Everybody knows that liberals are still bemoaning their losses in the 2016 elections. And so defiance of the president is the principal subject of this weeks Bizarre News report.

-Sally Q. Yates, the acting Attorney General who was filling in for Jeff Sessions until his likely confirmation this week, was fired by the president. According the the New York Times “she defiantly refused to defend [Trump’s] executive order closing the nation’s borders to refugees and people from predominantly Muslim countries.”

It’s noteworthy that the acting chief law officer would refuse to take an order from the president. If a soldier on the battlefield refused to take an order his commander could shoot him or at a minimum court marshal him for treason. BTW Yates was appointed by Obama.

-The Trump administration has told diplomats who don’t agree with Trump’s agenda to resign, and avoid disobeying a direct order. This is the preferable way to show disagreement.

-CEOs across the country are expressing their concern about Trump’s immigration policies. Andrew Ross Sorkin, of the Times, astutely discussed the ramifications of businessmen criticizing the actions of this president.

We all know that Trump will not miss an opportunity to avenge disloyalty. The CEOs are concerned that their protests could be singled out and/or their companies might be penalized at some point in the future.

-The Supreme Court nomination of Trump to replace Justice Scalia is due this week. Senate Democrats are losing every confirmation battle relating to Trump’s cabinet. The reason is that confirmation requires only a simple majority. Republicans hold a majority in the Senate, so they will get their way.

But confirmation of a Supreme Court Justice requires a super majority. Led by Sen. Charles Schumer (D-NY), the minority leader, Democrats are going to lambaste any candidate nominated by Trump. The president has indicated that he wants a strong justice who is pro-life. Abortion issues will likely dominate the proceedings.

This is the only realistic way for Democrats to punish Trump for winning the election. Some think that cooperation and comity would be a better strategy for the opposition party in today’s environment. The confirmation hearing will be a political circus.

Defiance of the president is all the rage at this time.

It’s been a rough week playing the role of Trump apologist. The naysayers and the liberals upset by the election of the new president have been beating my brains in as I continue to support the new president’s agenda.

In particular it’s been impossible to convince anyone that Trump has honorable intentions about immigration reform. Too many Americans don’t appreciate the president’s deep concern about the national security risks affiliated with the immigration of individuals from war-torn parts of the Middle East.

He wants to secure America from evil people that hate our way of life, so I do believe he is on the right track. I’m distressed that every American doesn’t feel similarly. Putting limits on new visas for the targeted countries until we are sure that our vetting processes are sound is a wise thing to do even if it is inconvenient.

Yet the pendulum of political correctness and concern for immigrants who think they have a divine right to come to our country has driven some Americans into a frenzy. At this moment Trump haters and most liberals believe granting visas to a multitude of people is more important than stopping determined terrorists.

Granted the odds of finding this needle in a haystack are long. But if our security forces are unable to stop an Islamic terrorist after he enters the country and before he kills or injures anyone, the public outcry will be overwhelming and the pendulum will swing to the right as it did after 9/11.

I hasten to remind those that are feeling overly secure that about 19 al-Qaeda terrorists high jacked four planes with box cutters and crashed them into the World Trade Center and the Pentagon. The attacks killed 2,996, injured 6,000, destroyed $10 billion of property and generated $3 trillion of losses.

It doesn’t take a large crew of nut cases to kill a lot of Americans. Why shouldn’t our government take extra precautions to stop these types of crimes against humanity? Why is anyone overly concerned about political correctness when so much is at stake?

No doubt there are despicable homegrown domestic terrorists that also pose a great risk. Consider the Oklahoma City tragedy. The odds of American citizens with bad intentions evading law enforcement is much lower than a young Middle Eastern terrorist with a school visa who hides in the shadows and is supported by comrades in his ethnic community. Imported terrorists are separated from mainstream America. They conspire with other like-minded individuals and plan to kill and maim our families and friends.

I’ve heard every argument since Trump issued orders to block visas for those wishing to immigrate from certain countries, all of which house terrorists and many others that hate Americans, our religion and our way of life.

I agree that America is great because of immigration of so many that created a giant melting pot. My grandparents came to this country along with many other peace-loving people looking for a better life. How many stories of suicide bombers and vicious attacks on innocent Americans have been attributed to Italians, Irish, German, French and Jewish immigrants?

The answer is very few over the past few centuries because these immigrants wanted to resettle in America, wanted to adopt our values and longed to be assimilated. They wanted to pray to God without interference and didn’t try to convert others to their religion.

All this has changed as immigrants from the Middle East replaced the people mentioned above. They don’t want to be assimilated, and they want others to pray to God the way they do.

Donald Trump has rightly recognized that immigrants from certain countries represent a clear and present danger, even an existential threat in the long run. He wants to be sure than anyone that immigrates to the U.S. is not dangerous. He wants to ensure that our vetting procedures are comprehensive.

Notwithstanding all the rhetoric to the contrary, there is no way to effectively vet immigrants from certain countries. Their governments don’t have accurate records. Some people claim that extreme vetting is already taking place. I for one am very skeptical about these assurances.

Even though my sentiments are with Trump regarding the dangers of allowing immigration from certain countries, I stipulate that the execution of this new policy was horrendous. It was ramrodded via a presidential mandate without considering the thousands of problems it would cause for those affected by the mandate.

And so the arrogance and attitude of the new administration regarding this new order didn’t sit well with a large number of Americans.

Trump was not elected dictator. If he believes a new policy is necessary, it should be enacted with the cooperation of Congress after thoughtful consideration. Trump’s tactics are reminiscent of Obama’s, which some feel were unconstitutional because they excluded congressional support.

 

 

As anticipated there’s no shortage of bizarre news stories this week thanks to our new president. Trump promised to rattle the political establishment, and he hasn’t disappointed. Now he’s beginning to work on world leaders (see Mexico and Canadian stories below).

President Trump is moving forward with his agenda, which is far more expansive than any other president in recent history. Some people laud him and many don’t. In any case his modes operandi doesn’t conform to those of his predecessors. This alone has the liberal press and Democrats scrambling to log in their anxieties.

Here are some choice bizarre stories for you to sink your teeth into.

-Schumer delays confirmations . Sen. Charles Schumer (D-NY), the Senate Minority Leader, is creating quite a stir. He has held up critical confirmation hearings for Trump cabinet nominees to prove he can obstruct government as well as any Republican can. The problem is than he’s delaying formation of the new government in an effort to prove he has power, even if appointments are critical to the effective administration of our country.

Republicans have a clear majority in the Senate, and the party has been voting as a bloc so there is no way to stop the nominees from being confirmed.

The questions being posed by Democrats in hearings are insulting an inane in many cases. Senators cannot control themselves when a camera is rolling. Despite his abhorrence of our new president, Schumer takes every opportunity to be in photos with Trump.

It’s a wonder that highly successful conservative men and women even consider public service when hostile lawmakers and the liberal press are so rude and mean spirited.

Confirm the Trump’s nominees now!

Democrats are already sharpening their knives for the impending confirmation of the next Supreme Court justice to replace Justice Scalia. BTW confirmation will require 60 votes.

-Torture. Why the hell is Trump revisiting interrogation techniques? The country has already considered this inhumane practice and decided it’s not consistent with American values. The U.S. should set the standard for civilized behavior even in its dealings with terrorists.

-Homicides are at an all-time high in Chicago. The trend has continued into the New Year. Already 228 people have been shot, up 5.5% over last year. Chicago is a city with 2.7 million people and it has more homicides than any other metropolis in the country.

Many Chicagoans are castigating Rahm Emanuel, the city’s controversial mayor. Trump has seized the opportunity to join the mix. He said to Emanuel via Twitter, “Fix crime rate or I’ll send in feds.” It’s not clear what this means. It could be federal soldiers, National Guard or FBI agents.

It’s been reported that Chicago police are shirking their duty to maintain peace because they are afraid of reprisals about using excessive force. The city has been criticized for using aggressive methods to fight crime in the past. This has resulted in increasing gang activity and more shootings.

Emanuel has welcomed federal support, but not what Trump has in mind. The situation is volatile and it appears that Emanuel’s position is tenuous.

-The Keystone Pipeline. It’s no surprise that President Trump has ordered the construction of the controversial pipeline to proceed, countermanding and order by Obama to stop it for environmental reasons. The pipeline is part of a larger system that will transport oil from Canada to the Gulf of Mexico. It will increase North American output of oil products and have a positive impact on jobs.

What’s interesting is that Prime Minister Justin Trudeau of Canada is conflicted. On one hand he is a great supporter of efforts to decrease emissions from fossil fuel. On the other hand the pipeline will increase natural resource revenues for Canadian companies. Obama’s decision to suspend the construction of the pipeline enabled Trudeau to sidestep any decisions that would upset environmentalists and his own oil companies.

-Mexico’s president and Trump have decided to cancel the Mexican’s trip to Washington. Trump is insistent that Mexico pay for the immigration wall between the country, and the U.S. President Nieto is under political pressure in his own country about the wall as well as other issues like a sagging economy and drug violence. Perhaps this decision to not meet with Trump was an attempt to prove that Nieto is strong.

It’s highly unusual for a state visit to be cancelled even if there are serious disagreements clouding the meetings. These sit-downs can often times defuse the tensions and ultimately set a stage to find agreement. If Nieto doesn’t meet with Trump the controversy surrounding the wall will dog him moving forward.

To this point the emerging Trump administration has not openly discussed the worsening conditions in the Middle East to any great extent.

The greatest challenges for Donald Trump may be just around the corner. Shortly the  national security team will be assembled assuming Rex Tillerson is confirmed as Secretary of State. The team needs to address ISIS and the specter of terrorism and further carnage  in the Middle East.

The issue is far greater than indicating the U.S. is going to “bomb the sh-t” out of ISIS. There are many derivative concerns involving millions of people. One of course is collateral damage.

Over the years the U.S. has become extremely sensitive about killing innocent citizens in the course of fighting our enemies. Consider the fact that the U.S. killed hundreds of thousands of innocent bystanders when atom bombs were dropped on Japan during World War II. Things have changed over the years, and our enemies understand our newfound reticence in this regard. America’s enemies have regularly used civilians as shields against American aerial and artillery attacks.

It’s a dishonorable tactic,  but it’s quite effective. Some speculate that President Obama’s concern with this issue was a principal reason why he decided to lead from behind in the Middle East, essentially using other military forces to do his dirty work. The only way to somewhat minimize collateral damage is to apply ground forces, something anathema to Congress and most Americans.

During the first Iraq war, President George H.W. Bush had the luxury of fighting the enemy in open spaces and away from populated areas. American firepower was unleashed by air, land and sea upon Iraq soldiers in Kuwait. It was devastatingly effective. The result was a quick war, very few American casualties and negligible civilian deaths. Note: President Bush decided not to proceed into Iraq because ground forces would have been necessary, and American casualties would have increased exponentially.

Several distinct fighting forces now occupy Syria: the Syrian Army, Syrian rebels, ISIS, Russia, Iran, the U.S., Kurds and Turkey. Prosecuting a war with so many different groups is virtually impossible especially if collateral damage is a concern. Relating to the latter it appears that only the U.S. considers the safety of innocent civilians to be important.

And finally the stakes in the Middle East have greatly increased as refugees from Syria are spread out across the region. Turkey, Lebanon and Jordan have accepted millions of uprooted Syrians since the war began a few years ago.

At some point refugees that have not found sanctuary could be in worse danger and without protection. Moreover the refugees already in neighboring countries to Syria could be expelled or left to die for financial, political and societal reasons.

The scale of the refugee situation is almost as horrific as the tragedy during World War II. Our generation cannot allow large-scale genocide without responding. But what can we do to prevent it?

Our military and diplomatic leaders have a huge problem to contend with. Given the varying priorities of the interested parties, I can only foresee peril for millions of innocent people and no reasonable endgame. Under present circumstances the ISIS threat will be upon us for many more years.

 

The New York Times has been telling readers that its reporting is fair for years. Really? Just take a moment to read the headlines today on the front page and in the editorial section and decide for yourself whether the its reporting is balanced.

Articles include: “Trump’s Rocky Start Jeopardizes Leverage,” “Marchers Map Out Next Steps.” “Proposed Cure for Health Act Could Harm Costliest Patients,” “An Administration of Empty Seats,” “Dissidents! We Are Legion,” “Things Can Only Get Worse.”

Wow. Talk about unfair and unbalanced reporting and commentary. And I didn’t even read pages A2 through A21 yet.

I really do appreciate that the Constitution guarantees freedom of the press. And I totally buy off on the age old adage that a free press ensures our democracy. Supposedly it keeps the government honest.

My problem is that the Times is constantly blathering about how bad Trump will be as a president prospectively while it said little about the actual missteps and inane decisions of Obama for eight long years. I won’t go through my extensive list of Obama failures (I already published by last “Obama Onslaught” piece).

Why is one of the premier newspapers in the world incapable of reporting in a balanced fashion? Does one need to be a far left wing liberal to land a job at the Times? Full disclosure: I was turned down for a job twice at the Times.

After Trump won the election I recall an article by Charles Blow, a Times op-ed columnist, who vowed to do everything humanly possible to damage Trump’s administration. It was a remarkable thing to read. I do understand that the editorial/op-ed pages are reserved for opinions of the Times, their columnists and the readers, but keep control of your emotions, Mr. Blow. Full disclosure: I’ve had 60 letters to the editor published by the Times.

Given that the Times indicated that its print circulation in mid-2016 was just under 600 thousand  plus another 1.5 million  of digital subscriptions, it’s hard to believe the paper really has that much influence outside of New York City. So it’s pretty arrogant for Times’ reporters and columnists to think they can impact public opinion to any great extent when about 320 million Americans don’t read their paper each day.

You may ask, why do I read the Times? For one thing it’s well written. But I must know what the enemy is thinking. I must know what the most extreme liberal perspectives on critical subjects are so I can publish the opposite viewpoint.

When you read the Times you must consider beforehand that the reporting is tilted (I’m being generous). If you do so and screen out the bias, there’s a lot to be learned.

I know that many Americans are crushed that Trump won the election. If Hillary had won I would have felt the same way along with millions of others (I would not have marched against the new president, however.) That’s the way democracies operate. There are winners and losers.

It’s folly to think that so many in the press are doing what they can to derail Trumps’ presidency. What’s their upside if he fails? Wars, a bad economy, racial tension, growing inequality, more terrorism?

Trump is not a nice fellow. Most people in America would not want to socialize with the man. But if you filter out the rough exterior and campaign rhetoric, you might be surprised that you are in favor of many of his agenda items.

Don’t believe everything printed in the Times. Don’t be insular and myopic. And don’t root against our president.

Here is an abbreviated list of Trump’s priorities.

• Fix, not eliminate, Obamacare. Under no circumstances should anyone lose existing coverage.
• Kill ISIS
• Reform the tax code
• Stop illegal immigration
• Rebuild the military
• Improve our economy
• Revitalize our infrastructure
• Improve education
• Renegotiate trade deals
• Abrogate the Iran nuclear deal
• Support Israel unconditionally
• Attempt to make peace with Russia and China

The time has arrived. President Trump must deliver on the promises he made during his campaign. It’s critical for him to have a fast start on all fronts. Success will breed more success as the new president negotiates with Congress and world leaders.

Some Americans have decided to give Trump a chance to perform and ignore his personal style and dark view of America. In his inauguration address Trump defied tradition by focusing on the most sinister issues facing the country and the lack of leadership during the past decade.

The nation needed a wake up call. It was this stance that catapulted Trump into the presidency. By being strong and never taking no for an answer Trump will eventually improve conditions for all Americans.

Many people and the liberal media seem to think the economy is in good shape. In today’s paper journalists referred to an improved stock market and lower unemployment, an indirect shout-out to Obama. But it’s not exactly true.

Election results have proven that many Americans are not experiencing better times. The economy is fragile and there are many Americans out of work that are not represented in the unemployment figures.

The perils that confront the Trump administration are significant. Most important will be the determination of the Democratic Party and liberals across the country to make him fail. It’s hard to believe that partisans have sunk so low.

The personification of this attitude is Sen. Chuck Schumer (D-NY). He wants to make a good impression in his new role as the minority leader of the Senate. Delaying cabinet appointments is one of his tactics. Given that the Senate only needs a majority to confirm Trump’s nominees, it is senseless to slow down the process as Republicans have a majority.

It’s idiotic for Democrats to assume the role of obstructionists moving forward. This ploy worked successfully for Republicans after Obama jammed his ideologies on us, starting with Obamacare. But Trump is far less ideological and much more practical. He’s focused on fixing problems, not espousing a conservative agenda. In fact his inauguration speech probably hit home for many Bernie Sanders supporters.

Democrats would be wise to jump on the bandwagon and help get things rolling legislatively. These include tax reform, immigration reform and fair trade. Standing in the way of these seminal issues will result in a deeper hole for the Democrats.

The most disappointing phenomenon is the protest movement percolating against Trump even before he took office. Trump won the election. All Americans should support the new president unless he gives them tangible reasons to oppose him. It’s absurd that Trump’s detractors are assuming certain actions by him based upon campaign rhetoric.

The protests in Washington and around the country have turned violent in some cases. Are Americans unable to demonstrate peacefully? Does every protest need to involve destruction of property, casualties, arrests and inconvenience to be effective?

The country, like it has for many years, is being unduly influenced by provocateurs that thrive on anarchy and the erosion of our basic tenets. Those who want to destroy and have no constructive suggestions should not be able to sway average thoughtful Americans. Protest is fine and protected by the Constitution. But progress is based upon negotiation of compromises by opposing parties. At this point of America’s development violence and hatred should not carry the day.

Trump must perform immediately. He needs some big wins right out the box to gain the confidence of Republicans and to reduce animosity. In the long run he will receive great accolades from Americans if he can check off most of the items on his agenda.

Success for Trump is keeping these promises. His demeanor and gruff personality will not be issues if he accomplishes what he has set out to do.

Barack Obama is breaking with tradition by threatening to intervene if President Trump takes any actions that he feels are not consistent with his worldview. What gall. What nerve.

Most other ex-presidents respect their successors and opine only when asked. Even though Obama is responsible for a large portion of current global chaos he says he will interfere when it suits him.

Trump has promised to clean up Obama’s mess, so it’s puzzling why Obama thinks the president will be interested in his perspectives prospectively. In fact Trump will likely unwind most of his predecessor’s “signature” achievements including Obamacare and scores of unproductive, burdensome and unconstitutional mandates.

Many Americans are stunned by Obama’s arrogance and sense of self-importance. He is anything but a patron of bi-partisanship, American exceptionalism and leadership.

The past eight years, which Obama has lauded during his final speeches, were fraught with missteps.

In spite of his enthusiastic support of Hillary Clinton she was trounced in the 2016 elections. Usually a president’s support is beneficial to a candidate.

His reticence in the Middle East relating to Syria has resulted in great turmoil in the region and increased Russian and Iranian dominance.

The Iran nuclear deal, regardless of repeated assurances by Obama and John Kerry that it’s beneficial to all the parties, is probably the worst diplomatic agreement in history. When has anyone armed their worst enemy with weapons of mass destruction and believe they did a good job?

Domestically Obama did next to nothing to improve the lifestyles of Americans, in particular African Americans. Unbelievably this group still supports  Obama. This occurred even as welfare rolls increased and inner city violence escalated during Obama’s tenure.

Negativity has pervaded the African American community. It manifested itself in their relations with the police. Every time an officer had a deadly encounter with a black person, too many protested and became violent. Ironically hundreds of black on black homicides during the same time evoked little empathy.

Income inequality has persevered and resulted in great discontent in many parts of the country. The gap between affluent and the other 99% has never been greater. Obama ranted about this situation but was never able to craft a solution other than to increase taxes.

In education there has been little progress. Democrats continue to support broken public school systems and corrupt teachers’ unions that operate them, while eschewing charter schools and proposals to give parents more freedom to pick schools for the children. It’s all about votes.

Great changes must be made in our society to deal with deteriorating scholastic performance. Liberals don’t seem to understand that no amount of money will encourage children to learn if they don’t consider learning a worthwhile goal.

The only line in the sand that Obama enforced is the one that separates the affluent from the rest of the country. He bifurcated his country for political gain into the haves and the have-nots. He proclaimed that the wealthy do not pay their fair share. Yet this small group pays the lion’s share of taxes in the country.

Obama has devastated his political party by force-feeding it his warped ideology. He began his reign by controlling the presidency and both houses of Congress. Right after Obamacare (a political blunder) became law the Democrats lost their filibuster-proof majority. Democrats were then decimated in each succeeding election culminating with the 2016 campaign. Republicans now control the presidency, both houses of Congress, most of the governorships and have a huge advantage in local and state governments.

When Obama says he’s proud of his performance I scratch my head. By any measure he has done little to make America a better place.

People who disagree with the aforementioned perspective will cite Obama’s current approval rating. I hasten to remind everyone that he was in the low 40s a short time ago, and his higher ratings have more to do with his likability than his performance. Of course many people may just be happy that his tenure is now ending.

Liberals and Donald Trump are at war, big time. Protests at the inauguration this week could be a precursor to more violent and destructive activities in the future.

Unfortunately the former are not willing to give the president-elect a chance to prove himself, and the latter refuses to disregard any criticism from opponents.

It’s stunning that a significant number of Americans have already written Trump off. They say his brash style will not sit well with world leaders. They say he’s not responsible enough to be our commander-in-chief. They say he’s not intelligent enough to deal with complex diplomatic and military issues. They say he will not listen to his advisors. To Trump’s supporters these assessments are totally speculative and unfounded.

No incoming president is truly prepared to be the leader of the free world. In recent history JFK had only congressional experience. Ronald Reagan was an actor and governor of California for a short time. And most recently Barack Obama was a small time community activist.

Wise presidents-elect choose experienced men and women to advise them. They recognize that there are many things to learn, problems will begin to drop on their desks from day one that will require immediate and thoughtful responses.

Reagan assembled one of the greatest cabinets in American history. Alexander Haig, George Schultz, Jim Baker and Ed Meese were seasoned pols that helped make Reagan’s presidency a great one. Reagan was first and foremost an entertainment person and a great communicator.

Trump is following Reagan’s program. You many not agree with the politics of his nominees for key cabinet positions, but most are experienced in areas that will help him be effective. Also, for the most part, Trump’s advisors are seasoned in issues affiliated with his campaign promises.

And then there’s the question about his aggression. Trump, if nothing else, is a very hands-on tough negotiator who’s not going to kowtow to despots, fanatics, madmen and provocateurs that are leading other countries and creating significant risk to world peace.

Internationally Trump is going to be very assertive with Russia, North Korea, Syria, Iran, ISIS and others. Consider the strong military types he has recruited to deal with aggression throughout the world. Drawing meaningless lines in the sand and refusing to respond with force has been two of many Obama missteps.

Domestically Trump has put U.S. companies on notice that they will not be able to export jobs without severe consequences. The president-elect hasn’t even taken office and American businesses are responding to his demands. Thousands of jobs have already been saved or created. Are U.S. businesses frightened about reprisals? Dammed right they are.

It’s perfectly understandable that some people think Trump is a wild card. And their retort to his hiring of capable people is that he won’t listen to them. Does anyone believe General Mattis and Rex Tillerson are lackeys that will do Trump’s bidding without due consideration?

Trump deserves an opportunity to prove his mettle and keep his promises. He won the election fair and square as prescribed by our Constitution. Deriding the man before he takes office is unproductive and un-American. There will be an ocean of criticism if Trump acts improperly in any way.

As far as all the crybabies and self-proclaimed protectors of American culture are concerned, why don’t you use some common sense before you act or make inane comments? Trump is president. You lost in November. He is going to be governing us for at least four years. There is no upside for you to attempt to destroy his presidency.

As I indicated last week I am going to select bizarre news stories for your perusal, in addition to other commentary on specific subjects. Note: I’ve substituted the word “bizarre” for “stupid.” The latter does not reflect the objectives for this new weekly endeavor.

-Rep. Maxine Waters said, “If There Was ‘Collusion’ With Russia [relating to the election], Trump Committed [an] Impeachable Offense.” Note: No expert has opined about whether this represents and impeachable offense, although it would certainly devastate the Trump presidency if proven to be true.

The congresswoman is a member of the Black Caucus that seems to be most upset by the election of Donald Trump. The odd thing about this call to action is that it has arisen before Trump has taken office.

Black lawmakers are convinced that Trump and Putin conspired during the presidential campaign although nothing has been proven.

At some point the pols and the media will need to move on enabling Trump to deal with the pressing problems and challenges facing the nation.

-In a related story John Lewis (D-GA), another member or the Black Caucus, said he doesn’t recognize Trump’s election to president because Russia did influence the process. Lewis is more convinced that Trump has committed an offense. The congressman has inspired about 50 other liberal Democrats to join him in boycotting Trump’s inauguration.

Many of these pols feel that Trump’s tweet about Lewis in response to his comments and actions was disrespectful; he indicated that Lewis should worry about the problems of his congressional district and stop encouraging others to not participate in the transition of power.

Lewis in an icon having marched with Martin Luther King, Jr. and some believe that he should be immune to any criticism for things he says. Some Americans disagree.

Lewis indicated that this would be the first inauguration he will not attend. He either forgot or lied because he also boycotted George W. Bush’s inauguration in 2001.

-Is the boycott of Trump’s inauguration sensible? Let’s consider the ramifications of this unusual act of defiance.

It is unprecedented having only occurred one other time (GWB’s inauguration). The inauguration has always been a moment when the opposing political parties in Washington join together to support a newly elected president.

It will make it impossible for Democrats to work with Republicans on day one of the new administration. Trump has a huge agenda that should have input from both political parties. The ultimate objective is to clean up the mess that the previous president has made domestically and internationally.

The rationale of the action is pretty “far-out,” a conspiracy in which Trump and Putin collaborated to defeat Hillary Clinton. Most Americans believe Hillary lost the election because she was a horrible candidate and failed to recognize that the country wanted change.

Understandably it’s very insulting to Trump even though he has downplayed the action’s significance. We all know that the new president doesn’t react well to unfair comments and actions by others.

If Trump performs well the group that boycotts will be under duress in their own elections in 2018.

-Approval polls indicate that Trump is the most unpopular president-elect in history. The question is why should any one believe the same pollsters who were so wrong about the presidential election?

-Chelsea Manning, the transgender soldier that passed on secret information to Julian Assange (of WikiLeaks) who in turn published the information, has had his prison sentence commuted by President Obama. This story is truly bizarre because Assange said he would turn himself in to authorities if Manning received clemency. And the continued persecution of Assange for the crime of publishing information from Manning no longer makes any sense.

 

 

 

 

Liberals, feminists, African Americans and assorted other groups have been averse to Donald Trump since day one of the presidential campaign. The former are not willing to give the president-elect an opportunity to prove himself. Trump has not backed away from criticism that has cascaded upon him and continues to resort to tweeting to express his anger with those that are attacking him.

As is the case with most confrontations both sides are culpable to some extent for the dire situation that is evolving. Trump has not yet begun to govern and his critics are convinced he will not be good for them or for the country. They say the justification of these feelings is evident in the incendiary way he purports himself.

The critics are jumping the gun. Trump has delivered to Americans a set of agenda items for his administration that energized his base and enabled him to win the election fairly. He has earned the right to govern the country in spite of his volatile temperament. You don’t have to be Mr. Nice Guy to be a good president.

Trump’s base expects him to keep his promises. These include reining in illegal immigration, protecting our homeland, increasing jobs, abrogating Obamacare, killing ISIS, improving the reputation of the U.S. , cutting taxes, etc. If he is successful he will receive great adulation. If he fails to make advances in these areas for any reason everyone including this writer will flay him. The good news is that Trump is hiring men and women who are expert in all the fields that need action. They are strong people who are perfectly capable of moderating his aggressiveness and making him a good president.

The crybabies are lining up. Their actions are un-American. They are discounting the fact that Trump won the election fair and square. All the crap about the Russians being responsible for his victory is nothing more than garbage you can read in cheap novels. Moreover there is no proof of foul play on the part of Trump or his supporters. The Russians may have tried to interfere, but to insist there was a conspiracy between Trump and Putin is nonsense.

Last night on Hannity people who were protesting after a speech made by Al Sharpton (I can’t believe anyone actually listens to this guy) were saying that they were not willing to give Trump a chance under any circumstances. In fact they mocked the thought because they “know” he will be a terrible leader.

Last week certain members of Congress joined the protests and the name-calling. Rep. John Lewis (D-GA) questioned the legitimacy of the Trump presidency. It should be noted that Lewis, who is revered for his affiliation to Martin Luther King, Jr. also questioned the legitimacy George W. Bush. Lewis refused to attend Bush’s inauguration as he has with Trump.

As anticipated Trump attacked Lewis and said he should be spending more time serving his needy constituents in Georgia rather than stirring up his colleagues in Congress. Unfortunately the tweet was issued during the time that we honor MLK.

Why should Lewis be protected after attacking Trump? After all he’s a politician and is responsible for his words just like the president. The outrage over Trump’s response has been over the top and unjustified.

Now a large number of congressional Democrats are boycotting the inauguration and spurning our democratic traditions. Moreover congressional disregard of a time where our nation has always come together (after a presidential election) is disgraceful and setting a bad precedent for losers in the future. It will also create more animosity between the two major parties. By the way the Clintons will be attending, to their credit.

People are continuing to say that Trump is unprepared to be president. True, but most other presidents were not ready either. Consider Barack Obama. He was a small time organizer and a U.S. senator for a short time (most of which he was campaigning for president). He did exactly what critics are saying Trump will do. President Obama did not hire experienced aides and tried to govern without any input from experts or the opposition party. How did all that work out?

As a matter of fact Trump is assembling a very qualified group of cabinet members including generals, lawmakers and business people. As indicated earlier they will be leading his most important initiatives. Trump is taking a cue from Ronald Reagan who put together a world-class cabinet, a principal reason why he was such an effective president. Trump has an opportunity to achieve the same greatness.

I have been an advocate of Trump since his election because he won the election and will be president for at least four years. His ability to perform will far outweigh the protestors who are doing everything possible to make him fail. Is this consistent with American ideals? In the 60s protestors marched against inequality (including Rep. Lewis) and an illegitimate war that killed 50,000 of our brave soldiers. Today people who think it is fashionable to disrupt our country base their protests on uninformed prognostications.

Protest is legitimate and protected by our right of free speech. But it works both ways. In response to nonsensical disruption President Trump should respond. He should not stand aside and allow others to distort the truth about what he is doing and what is important to America.

I will stipulate that more civility (by opposing sides) will enable our country to achieve its true potential. Name-calling and Internet messages sent by the president-elect and his antagonists (in Hollywood and elsewhere) are not productive.