Oooohhhh … Scandals!!!

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clintonIn December 1998, President Bill Clinton was impeached for perjury and obstruction of justice.  The case?  He lied under oath about an affair … a single affair … with then-staffer Monica Lewinsky.

ReaganIn 1987, President Ronald Reagan admitted to selling weapons in exchange for hostages, a scandal that would become known as the Iran-Contra Affair, and for which 14 of Reagan’s cohorts were charged, some serving prison sentences.

NixonIn 1974, President Richard M. Nixon resigned under threat of impeachment for spying and sabotage, and later cover-up during the 1972 presidential campaign.   The scandal would forever be remembered as the Watergate scandal.

In 1922, President Warren Harding’s interior secretary, Albert Fall, was convicted of accepting bribes and loans in exchange for granting oil drilling rights in what would become known as the Teapot Dome scandal.

whiskey ringIn 1875, under President Ulysses S. Grant, it was determined that the IRS and Treasury Department had been “looking the other way” while distillers of whiskey kept tax revenues for their own benefit.  Grant’s aide and personal secretary, Orville Babcock, was also involved, though Grant gained him an acquittal by pleading on his behalf.  This became known as the Whiskey Ring scandal.

In 1868, President Andrew Johnson became the first U.S. president to be impeached.  His crime?  He went against legislation passed by Congress (the Tenure of Office Act) and attempted to fire Secretary of War Edwin Stanton, a Lincoln appointment.  The Senate fell one vote short of removing him from office.

Those are the biggest scandals prior to 2017 involving sitting U.S. presidents.  And then came Trump.  Take another look at the other scandals … they don’t really seem quite so bad now, do they?  So, now that we have a point of comparison, let us take a look at just a few of the scandals of the Trump presidency after a short/long 15 months …

  • Alternative facts – beginning on day one, with the administration’s attempt to portray Trump’s inaugural crowd as some 5 times larger than it actually was, and continuing on a near-daily basis ever since.

  • In February 2018, Secretary of Housing and Urban Development, Ben Carson, spent $31,561 for dining room furniture for his new offices.

  • In January 2017, Presidential Bimbo Advisor Kellyanne Conway referred to a “Bowling Green Massacre” as a justification for Trump’s travel ban against Muslims.  There was never any such event.

  • On 10 May 2017, during a meeting with Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov and the Russian Ambassador Sergey Kislyak, Trump discussed classified intelligence information.

  • On 09 May 2017, Trump fired FBI Director James Comey after Comey refused to a) pledge an oath of loyalty, and b) agree to drop the investigation into Russia’s influence on the 2016 elections.

  • The FBI and other congressional committees have been investigating links between Trump, his family, and members of his campaign staff and the Russian government. There is already strong evidence of ties between the Trump 2016 campaign and Russian officials.

  • On August 25, 2017, Trump pardoned Sheriff Joe Arpaio of Arizona, a known racist who had defied a court order to cease and desist racial profiling.

  • In March 2018, Trump’s Staff Secretary, Rob Porter, was credibly (with evidence) accused by his two former wives of domestic abuse. Porter resigned, but Trump ranted that he should have stayed.

  • In September 2017 it was discovered that Tom Price, Secretary of Health and Human Services, had spent more than $1 million of department funds for his own travel on private charter jets and military aircraft.

  • Donald Trump has been accused of sexual assault and sexual harassment, including non-consensual kissing or groping, by at least 19 women. He has bragged about following young contestants into the dressing room and groping them during the Miss USA and Miss Teen USA contests.  And he is heard on tape claiming that a celebrity like himself “can do anything” to women, including “just start kissing them … I don’t even wait” and “grab ’em by the pussy”.  And Bill Clinton was impeached for lying about having consensual sex with Monica Lewinsky???

  • Lastly, Donald Trump has been credibly accused of having an affair with porn star Stormy Daniels shortly after Melania, his third wife, gave birth to their son. Trump, through his attorney, Michael Cohen, paid Ms. Daniels $130,000 to keep quiet about their affair during the 2016 election.

Did the rules change in the twenty years between 1998 and 2018?  Does it, despite #MeToo, no longer matter if men use their power to abuse women?  Does it no longer matter how our elected representatives spend OUR money?  Have integrity, truth and honesty become archaic words that no longer have value in our lives?

Today we have the most corrupt individual in the history of this nation sitting in the Oval Office. Today we have people in towns and cities all across the nation saying that they are “good Christians”, that they hate abortion because it is ‘morally wrong’ … and yet … and yet, they find nothing … NOTHING … wrong with the man pretending to be president groping women, having multiple elicit affairs, lying, cheating and stealing.  Just this week, Bill Cosby was found guilty of sexual abuse and faces a possible 30-year prison term, yet Donald Trump, who has done no less than Cosby, is applauded.

84 thoughts on “Oooohhhh … Scandals!!!”

  1. Hi,

    I love your writing on “Oooohhhh … Scandals!!!”. Your post is very much helpful and informative. Keep up the good work and present us your best.

    Regards

    Liked by 1 person

    • Me too. I keep hoping for him to have heart failure while sitting on the potty tweeting some morning. I’m not usually a cruel person, but I think he has brought out the worst in us all.

      Liked by 1 person

  3. Indeed the hypocrisy has reached extreme levels where at last white America has finally realised all is not what it should be. Because it now has begun to affect them and the money tree no longer drip feeds them. They’re beginning to realise exactly what it was like to be black in 1965.
    I can’t quite muster up too much sympathy.

    Liked by 1 person

  4. Reblogged this on Opher's World and commented:
    This brilliant article from Jenny highlights the hypocrisy that lies at the heart of America for me.
    It is alright to go to church on Sunday and pray for peace and go out on Monday and napalm children.
    It is alright to espouse ‘family values’ and moral standards but support a President who has lied, cheated and abused women.
    Then they call Hilary a criminal????
    Talk about two-faced!!

    Liked by 1 person

    • Thanks so much for the re-blog, Opher! Yes, our nation is filled with contradictions these days, and none more blatant than those that come from the evangelical Christians. Their strong anti-abortion views, labeled ‘pro-life’ fall down mightily when they support capital punishment, and when they demand a child be allowed to be born, yet are not willing to allow their tax money to help feed that child after birth. So much hypocrisy.

      Like

  6. He’s coming to the UK in July.
    There’ll be a hot time in the ol’town that night.
    And he won’t be able to call on his supporters to be there…..

    Liked by 1 person

    • do you think, if we ask very very nicely…that you all could just lose his passport and possibly throw him into some unused dungeon for breaking the law? please?

      Liked by 2 people

    • In the (approximate) words of a Truman supporter in 1948, “Give ‘im hell, Roger!” Feel free to do with him as you will. I would suggest, though, that a few well-placed criticisms before the fact might even derail the visit!

      Liked by 1 person

      • I want him to come. Shorn of his following. Exposed to the British media. Many demonstrations and activities.
        Of course he’ll wobble back to his patch and bloat away, but The World will have seen what. Next to the Royal Wedding of Henry & Meghan it will be the Big Media Event but one which he can’t control.

        Liked by 1 person

          • We’ll be travelling back that day, so I won’t be able to do much. I had a few ideas, but he’s not worth a minute of our ‘hols’.
            Yeh ‘Lumps’ will be meeting the Queen, but don’t worry for ‘Our Maj’ she’s had 60 years experience of this, he’s no big deal in her book.

            Liked by 1 person

            • Agreed … I wish you could cleanse your mind of him while on vacation! No, I wasn’t worried for the Queen, for she is far smarter and kinder than him and I’m sure that if anybody can put him in his place, it would be her, though she would do it with so much class he would be scratching his head and saying, “Wha … what happened?” But I would love for him to be refused an audience with the Queen. Can you imagine what a blow to his bloated ego? 😀 😀 😀

              Liked by 1 person

              • I doubt if I will give him a second thought Jill.
                Actually what would be the real ‘kick in the head’ would be if at some public function a person could repeat what Beau Brummel was supposed to have said after a falling out with the then Prince of Wales (known for pleasure seeking). He turned to someone else with the prince and said, cuttingly.
                ‘Who’s your fat friend?’
                Imagine his BP going up.😂 🤣😂 🤣

                Liked by 1 person

  7. Presidential power corrupted by wealth has been a common theme throughout history. The precedent has also been set to punish the wrongdoers severely and Trump will be no exception.

    Liked by 1 person

  8. And Republican candidates are being told they must stand by Trump or risk defeat in the November elections. As someone who ran and was elected as a Republican for more than 20 years, there is no way in hell I would ever want association with this madman.

    Liked by 1 person

    • Which proves you still have a conscience. I have no use for those who are not willing to stand against Trump for what they believe. I think some have lost sight of what they once believed and can see only $$$$$$$$$$$$$$.

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  9. Jill, well done. There have been so many moments where he doubled down on unacceptable behavior that should have derailed his Presidency and candidacy from McCain is not a hero because he was captured to throwing Rudy Guiliani under the bus just today as he modified his Stormy story yet again.

    When I think of integrity, honor, leadership, and truthfulness, the name Donald J. Trump does not come to mind. Why does this matter – people need to trust the President of the United States. And, I don’t believe one word of what he says – the odds are in my favor. Of course, he groped those women. Of course, he walked in on nude pageant contestants. Of course, he had affairs on his current wife and his earlier ones. Of course, he obstructed justice and has been involved with the Russians. Why do I know this? Because he said he didn’t while modifying his story like shifting sands.

    And, I don’t see his record the same way my old party does. We have taken a third mortgage on our country’s future to make a long running economy a little better and we have decided the environment and civil rights and global relationships do not matter. Keith

    Liked by 3 people

    • I truly believe that the words ‘integrity’, ‘honesty’, and ‘truth’ have been taken out of the dictionary. And you know what keeps going round and round in my head? Can you imagine what would have happened if President Obama had done one … just one … of the abominable things Trump has done? What if it had come out in 2010 that Obama had had a string of extramarital affairs and paid hush money to one? Why, they would have started impeachment proceedings so fast your head would spin! What if Obama had hired cabinet members who wasted taxpayer dollars on a hedonistic lifestyle, first-class air travel, family vacations? Talk about a double standard, and based on … what? Skin colour? It’s the only answer I can come up with.

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      • Jill, if we think about it, Trump’s entry into politics began with the Obama birther issue. He openly lied about this issue fueling the flames of bigoted people. Then, a month before the election when he admitted the birther thing was untrue, he blamed Hillary Clinton’s 2008 campaign. That is an exemplar for his lack of accountability. His mentor, Roy Cohn, told him to never admit a mistake. He does not, but makes many of them. Keith

        Liked by 1 person

  10. Reblogged this on Impromptu Promptlings and commented:
    This post should make anyone take a good look at history and our current political situation in Washington. Good grief. If makes the scandals of the past seem rather tame. Washington should be ashamed and humiliated that they’ve let our nation come to this…

    Liked by 2 people

    • Many thanks for sharing, dear friend! I am constantly amazed how so many people, especially those in Congress, can simply ignore all of this. I cannot … come November 6th, you can bet I will be remembering every single thing!

      Like

    • Interesting how it’s all relative, isn’t it? Watergate seemed like the worst thing ever, but … now it seems like child’s play. Clinton’s affair … consensual, I might add … with Lewinsky? Hah … big deal, right? Not that I condone it, but compared to 19 allegations of sexual abuse and various affairs??? pfffft. They were all amateurs, even Nixon.

      Liked by 1 person

  12. I love this new you, Jill, speaking out with a new voice you covered up before. But as much as I love it, I am now fearing you are reahing your burn out point. Please take care, my friend. Keep your weekly posts about good people and such nicer fare coming, even though you may be tempted to skip them occasionally in order to attack the Desperate Truthfaker and drive him out of his temple. Don’t let go of the goodness inside you. Don’t lose yourself trying to slay the Dragon Terrile! And let the Significant Seven ease your thoughts with their symphony of sound.

    Liked by 2 people

    • Thank you, my friend. You are an astute observer, and I cannot deny that my mood is under a very dark cloud these last few days. I did give myself a little break today … I thought if I didn’t step away from it for a bit I might just start throwing things. So, I took a break and … cleaned house, dusted furniture, made a pot of potato soup, did laundry … 😀 Yes, not what most would call a break, right? But for me, sometimes just doing something physical helps. I would have gone for a nice long walk, but … rain, thunder and lightening put paid to that idea. Thank you for caring … it means more than you can know.

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      • I know what your caring means to me… And I’m glad you took that break, and followed it up with a happy and educational story. Now, how about a story about the Significant Seven. If you’ve already done a post about them, tell me where. I want to read it. I am willing to trade stories about my Fab Four plus one, and all of the other amazing cats I’ve had in my lifetime.I love them all…

        Liked by 2 people

        • Y’know … I’ve been thinking about doing a piece on the Sig-Seven … I just might do that one day next week. Stay tuned. And I would definitely like to hear about your Fab Four plus one and the reason they are not the Fab Five! 😉

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          • Lol. Have you ever had a male feline who believes himself to be King of Cats? Smoky, my spouse’s cat, is such a feline. He came to us in 2007 at the tender age of about 10 weeks. Upon meeting Gail he immediately decided she was his Queen/mother, and treated her with all the reverence he believed she deserved. I, meanwhile, was his slave/whipping boy. Every time his mother would say “No!” to him, he would walk up to me, scream at me, and hit me with a paw. In 11 years that has hardly changed. He expects me to serve him in every way, including demanding I brush him at 3:00 AM when I have to visit the bathroom. He has a lot in common with the Orange Disaster in his regard for himself. But Gail loves him dearly, so I am not allowed to ship him to the White House. What he is I do not know, but it is not a cat. Thus the Fab Four plus one…

            Liked by 1 person

            • Ha ha … no, I can honestly say we’ve never had one quite like that! We had, until just under two years ago, a male cat, Spooky, who was very much ‘King of the Cats’, but in a different way. He was the oldest, and actually kept the others in line … except for Pickles, but more about her another time. If any of the younger ones started doing something they ought not, or if there was a spat, one look from ol’ Spooky and everybody sat down and shut up! I’m not sure what I would do with one like your Smoky! I was rolling smokes a while ago … one of those mindless tasks that allows the brain to wander where it will … and thinking about the Sig-Seven post … I shall try to have it for my Saturday Surprise … they are quite a bunch, I tell you! And now I understand the Fab Four plus One … quite apt.

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      • Thank you, kertsen, I did enjoy writing that one when I saw it staring me in the face. But please, no “R” on rawgod. I’m just a simple man…

        Liked by 1 person

  13. Trump & his group might not be aware of it but he gradually ceasing to be viewed as an individual by his supporters. He is simply something they want to shove in the faces of perceived ‘liberals’ just because. Whatever he does is fine by them ‘just because’. He being the egotist he is of course does not realise this, he believes he is in charge of ‘everything’
    Blind, unconditional support for a ‘leader’ or to be more accurate ‘a figurehead’ never works out in the long run.

    Liked by 3 people

    • Y’know, I hadn’t thought of it that way, but you are right!!! They delight in shoving him in our faces. Even my friend Brian cannot resist an occasional Facebook barb. No, blind faith in a leader never works, but it can sure cause some massive troubles in the interim. I hope he finishes digging his on grave (I sent him some extra shovels to make the job go quicker) before what I see as inevitable happens. 🌩️

      Liked by 1 person

  14. I don’t believe mankind is any more corrupt than ever before in history and neither do I think those in the eye of the media are worse than those who go unseen. News is spread far quicker than ever before and our errors and failings are far more news- worthy than our good deeds.
    It is true that the high moral standards expected of those in top positions have been lowered in keeping with our far more permissive society, but then if adultery is acceptable across society who is to blame ? If tax evasion has become a regular pastime of the rich who is to blame?
    In the past did religious faith safeguard us from such horrors or was it merely a cover up that our more enlightened society has torn down?
    Look across the world at the leaders of the various nations and think about human nature.
    ‘ How sweet is mortal Sovranty think some:
    Others how best the Paradise to come!
    Ah, take the cash in hand and wave the rest:
    Oh the brave music of a distant Drum !

    Liked by 2 people

    • Sigh. I know you are right … and by now we should have figured out that we will never rid the world of evil, but it surely does seem to be overtaking goodness at a rapid rate. Sigh … again. I once wanted to send Trump and all his minions to a desert island … now I think I shall just go there myself and leave them to it. Some days I feel like it’s a losing battle.

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      • The world will be rid of evil when humanity is internally rid of its darker side. The great danger of religion is it can be used to enable us to excuse our darker sides and imply we can only be rid of them after death. In more extreme cases the religious believe they have been cleansed of their darkness and it the rest of us that cause all the trouble.

        Liked by 1 person

        • Which explains why people so vociferously defend their religion … it gives them an excuse for whatever they choose to do. And since humans will never, I think, be rid of their darker sides … we all have one, but some of us manage to keep ours at bay … then we can stop waiting for everybody to actually get along in the world. However, I don’t think we can afford to stop striving toward that goal, else the darker sides will take over.

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  15. I blame the GOP Congress and Senate as much, if not more than Trumpinski. He should be impeached, but, because they are in “control” and were able to hammer their god-awful tax cut scam through, they simply do not care. Money is all that matters to them–money and power. It is sickening.

    Liked by 4 people

    • I agree that Congress must accept a good portion of the blame. But you know who I blame most? The people … those who didn’t get out and vote in 2016 because … for whatever reason. Those who voted for Trump because they said they just couldn’t bring themselves to vote for Hillary. Those who are still, even today, willing to look the other way while Trump robs this nation blind and destroys our environment, our alliances, our very structure. We had a choice in 2016 and blew it, and the way it’s looking, we may well blow it again in 2018, since the Christians are so thrilled now that he has signed his ‘religious freedom’ executive order. Sigh.

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      • “The people … those who didn’t get out and vote in 2016 because … for whatever reason.” Yep. Biggest problem we have is people not voting. I’m not looking brightly on the 2018 elections either. I think we’re screwed and Repukelicans will sweep to victory, just like they always do. Repukes vote. Dems and liberals don’t. Thus, here we are. I HOPE I’m wrong about this dire prediction, but until I see a reason to think otherwise, I’m pretty certain I’m not.

        Liked by 1 person

        • While I’m not quite as fatalistic as you, I definitely have grave concerns about 2018. Voter apathy, gerrymandering, and dirty pool by Trump & Co. are only a few of the problems I foresee. Add to that the fact that the Democratic Party doesn’t seem to have its act together … sigh.

          Liked by 1 person

  16. It is what it is… Trump is president as long as he gives a certain self-centered element of society what they want… they don’t care who is president as long as they get what they want…
    Ok, Donald, you have had your five minutes, it is back to rainbows, flowers and poetry… TTFN.. 🙂

    Liked by 4 people

  17. Dear Jill,

    Let’s pray that the end is in sight. I am so worried about this one flawed man who is attacking with all of his might the pillars of our democracy, like “the rule of law,” the free press, the advancement of civil rights, a US being a haven for immigrants, a beacon of hope and champion for human rights. He is NOT making America great again.

    Hugs, Gronda

    Liked by 4 people

    • Yes, my friend, I certainly hope the end is in sight. I watched a clip of his speech at the NRA convention tonight and i though, “this man is a bloody lunatic!!!” No, he isn’t making anything great again … he is destroying things like our environment, civil rights, our alliances, and most of all, our sanity. And yet, he is holding steady, even increasing a bit, in the polls. His executive order on “religious freedom” yesterday seemed to get him big kudos among the evangelicals.
      Hugs!!!!

      Liked by 1 person

    • I think that within the federal government of the U.S., there ARE NO standards anymore. The words ‘integrity’ and ‘honesty’ have been removed from the dictionary. Sigh. Good to see you!!!

      Like

  20. Hell’s bells and buckets of blood. How do you keep on writing these Jill? It must drive you berserk – the man himself, yes, but the WOMEN who voted for him and still support him – and the supposed Christians. They seriously misinterpreted ‘love thy neighbour’ didn’t they? I can’t bear it, can only read about him now and then or it makes me so furious I can’t write! Grrr. Aargh.

    Liked by 5 people

    • Your first sentence gave me the very best laugh I’ve had all day!!! I must remember that one for future reference! Hell’s bells and buckets of blood!!! Thank you for that bit of humour on a day that I am just about ready to, as you said, go beserk. You’re right, my friend … it is driving me batty, but … it’s … what? Perhaps a compulsion? An obsession? I know that my small blog changes nothing and if I were gone tomorrow, nothing would change. But … somehow I feel I have to try to wake up the masses who seem to have been lobotomized. Yes, the women who support him … even after he has proven that he has less than no respect for women. Even some African-Americans support him, though he has proven his racism over and over. The poor, who he has cast aside and called them lazy. And those Christians who preach love and morality, yet shrug their shoulders at his abominable behaviour. I don’t get it, but I keep on trying to wake those who seem to have their heads stuck up their … ahem … you know.

      And Mary … thanks for dropping by, even though I know this raised your blood pressure. ❤

      Liked by 1 person

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