Just two thoughts tonight … well, okay, I actually have more than two, but I’m going easy on you tonight since it’s only Tuesday with another long week ahead.

Bye-Bye Billy Boy

I don’t watch junk television, so I never watched Mr. Trump’s show where he apparently took pleasure in screeching, “You’re Fired” to contestants on the program.  But from the early days of his term in office, it has been obvious that he does like to fire people without cause, but he’s a coward and doesn’t do it face-to-face, but rather FBI Director James Comey found out he was fired from television, and others have found out via Twitter or been forewarned through the grapevine.  The latest is William Barr who, although he technically wasn’t fired, resigned yesterday rather than give Trump a chance to tweet his termination.

I have neither respect nor empathy for Attorney General William Barr, since he has used his office to condone corruption and criminal activity to the detriment of this nation and its people.  However, the reason for his resignation is that he, like Chris Krebs before him, fully expected to be fired … for doing his job!

Mr. Trump fired Chris Krebs on November 17^th because Mr. Krebs had the audacity to actually do his job and, after two weeks of investigations, announce that there was no evidence of the sort of widespread voter fraud Trump was claiming, and that the election was the most secure in the history of the nation.   Trump fired Krebs that very same day, saying …

“… recent statement by Chris Krebs on the security of the 2020 Election was highly inaccurate, in that there were massive improprieties and fraud.”

A month later, and still Trump & Co have not been able to produce a single shred of evidence to support their claims, but are still bleating nonsense nonetheless.

And now, William Barr was about to be fired for the exact same thing.  After weeks’ of investigation by the FBI and Justice Department, earlier this month Barr declared that the U.S. Justice Department has uncovered no evidence of widespread voter fraud that could change the outcome of the 2020 election.  And Trump was furious.

Even before Krebs and Barr, firings have been ‘without cause’, such as Mark Esper, who was terminated from his position as Secretary of Defense because he would not commit to using active-duty troops to help quell mostly peaceful Black Lives Matter protests in Washington, D.C.

Anywhere else, such unconscionable terminations would be cause for lawsuits, and in fact Chris Krebs has filed suit against the Trump campaign, NewsMax, and Trump campaign lawyer Joseph DiGenova who called for Krebs to be “drawn and quartered. Taken out at dawn and shot”.  When I hear these things, I shudder and wonder if our federal government at the highest levels is run by the Mafia.

Any business manager can tell you that you simply don’t fire people because they did their job, told the truth, though it happened not to be what you wanted to hear.  I spent over 20 years in management level positions and was sued twice during that time for “wrongful discharge”, though in the end the plaintiffs both lost their cases.  This is why companies have Human Resource departments, to keep managers from terminating employees unfairly or without cause.  WHERE is the H.R. department in the White House???  Sleeping?  Or were they fired, too?

Again, Bill Barr was a man who had sold his conscience, who did not consider his loyalty to be to either the Constitution or to We the People, and as such, he deserved what he got, however he was forced out for all the wrong reasons.  The main person that I can see who needs to be fired was just officially fired yesterday by the Electoral College, and will leave his position at noon on January 20^th, at which time you will hear a collective sigh of relief.

In other news …

Ohio Senator Rob Portman finally, a month late, acknowledged in a short public statement that Joe Biden will be the next president of the United States, though not without a certain amount of rancor …

“In accordance with the Constitution and federal law, the Electoral College cast their votes for President today. The Electors met in their respective state following certification of the results. I think we need to respect this process the Founding Fathers established, and we must respect the will of the voters. As I’ve said previously, the Trump campaign had every right to pursue recounts and legal challenges. That has now happened over the past six weeks, and although there were instances of fraud and irregularities, it has not been shown to be widespread enough to change the result of the election. States must take seriously the proven examples of fraud and irregularities, prosecute anyone who engaged in it, and review voting systems to maintain the integrity of our elections. The transition process and briefings for the Biden team began three weeks ago at the direction of President Trump, and I commend him for that. The orderly transfer of power is a hallmark of our democracy, and although I supported President Trump, the Electoral College vote today makes clear that Joe Biden is now President-Elect.”

McConnell?  Gaetz?  Graham?  Did you guys get the memo that the Electoral College has officially declared Joe Biden the winner of the November 3^rd election?  Speak up … I can’t quite hear you.

And for a bit of humour, here is a MeidasTouch video I found rather humorous …