Tag Archives: Doug Jones

Monsters, Monsters Everywhere

Posted on by under Bits 'n Pieces, Free Press Issues, Law and justice, Political commentary, Racism & Bigotry

There are monsters everywhere we look in the federal government today.  Those who are opening their mouths to say, “But it has always been so”, just hush, please.  Sure, every administration has had a few corrupt members, some more than others.  But the current administration is the most corrupt in history, and that is only based on what we know!  I think that once they are gone and the digging begins, we will find many dead bodies that we are not aware of yet.  But I’m not talking about corruption at the moment, I am talking about monsters …

It isn’t only the corruption, but the sheer lack of any shred of conscience or humanity in most of Trump’s administration, from his hired bimbo Kellyanne, to his senior policy advisor Stephen Miller, to Treasury Secretary Steve Mnuchin.  Look into their eyes … nothing.  No warmth, no sign of life.  And at the top of the monster chain is none other than Trump himself.  But today I write about other monsters …

Trampling the Constitution … again

Trump & Co are at it again, this time attempting to shut down journalists whose reporting is unfavourable to Trump.  A group of Trump allies has begun a program to start dossiers on these journalists consisting of basically any dirt, real or imagined, they can dig up on them, including potentially embarrassing personal social media postings.  According to the New York Times …

The group has already released information about journalists at CNN, The Washington Post and The New York Times — three outlets that have aggressively investigated Mr. Trump — in response to reporting or commentary that the White House’s allies consider unfair to Mr. Trump and his team or harmful to his re-election prospects.

Operatives have closely examined more than a decade’s worth of public posts and statements by journalists, the people familiar with the operation said. Only a fraction of what the network claims to have uncovered has been made public, the people said, with more to be disclosed as the 2020 election heats up. The research is said to extend to members of journalists’ families who are active in politics, as well as liberal activists and other political opponents of the president.

The information unearthed by the operation has been commented on and spread by officials inside the Trump administration and re-election campaign, as well as conservative activists and right-wing news outlets such as Breitbart News.

This is very shaky ground they are treading upon.  Be afraid, people, be very afraid.  Trump has trampled the Constitution multiple times already, has declared himself to be above the law, and sadly the Department of Justice is now headed by a Trump sycophant who will not pursue any action against Trump.  The 1st Amendment, perhaps most especially the free exercise clause guaranteeing freedom of the press, is the major safeguard from becoming an autocracy.  It isn’t, as some would tell you, the Second Amendment keeping us free … it is the First.

Though the Times was unable to identify all the members of the group, one such member is noted as Arthur Schwartz, a friend to both Don Trump Junior and Steve Bannon.

A monster re-surfaces …

“On this day, August 25, 2019, after consultation and approval from my wife of 61 years, Ava, I have decided to run to be reelected Sheriff. Watch out world! We are back!”Arpaio-2Those were the words spoken on Sunday by the man who was convicted of contempt of court, who has engaged in racial profiling and crimes against humanity, former Maricopa Country, Arizona sheriff, Joe Arpaio.  In case you’ve forgotten, Arpaio …

  • engaged in “unconstitutional policing” and established a “pervasive culture of discriminatory bias against Latinos”
  • failed to investigate over 400 alleged sexual assault cases reported to his office, including dozens of child molestations between 2005 and 2007 alone
  • arrested a 6-year-old child during an immigration sweep
  • arrested a reporter from The Phoenix New Times for reporting on him in an unfavourable light (The Times sued and won a $3.75 million settlement)
  • refused to comply with a previous court order to stop racially profiling, and was found guilty of contempt in July 2017
  • Was convicted of contempt of court and faced a prison sentence, but Donald Trump pardoned him on 25 August 2017

Despite the pardon, Arpaio is a convicted felon and a rotten-to-the-core excuse for a human being.  Surely the people of Maricopa Country cannot be stupid enough to elect him again???

And yet another monster rears its ugly head …

moore-4You remember ol’ Roy Moore, right?  Former Chief Justice of the Supreme Court of Alabama who was removed from the bench for breaking the very laws he had sworn to uphold … not once, but twice!  Ol’ Roy Moore made his own rules, refusing to remove the granite Ten Commandments monument from a federal government building, and the second time for issuing an order to Alabama judges to disregard the U.S. Supreme Court ruling in the same-sex marriage case of Obergefell v Hodges.

In 2017, he ran against democrat Doug Jones for the U.S. Senate seat vacated by Jeff Sessions, and lost, largely because numerous credible accusations of sexual harassment emerged during that time, the most heinous one by a woman who says Moore sexually abused her when he was a 32-year-old assistant district attorney and she was only 14 years of age.

In the weeks that followed, Moore called into question the accuser’s character, saying she was a part of a “liberal conspiracy”.  The woman, Leigh Corfman, filed a defamation of character suit which is still pending.  And now, ol’ Roy is running once again for the U.S. Senate, and he wants the court to dismiss Ms. Corfman’s suit so that it doesn’t cause him problems with the voters in Alabama.

Moore’s senate bid is unlikely to gain much momentum, even without the shame of having been accused of such misconduct, for he has raised far less in campaign donations than his two opponents.  Doug Jones has raised some $4.3 million, Bradley Byrne has raised around $2.4 million, and Roy Moore has raised a paltry $16,000.  However, the mere fact that his arrogance allows him to believe he is fit for any office higher than that of garbage collector is appalling.

To offset the darkness of this post, I bring you just a little bit of humour …

Snippy Snarkets … er … Snarky Snippets

Posted on by under Election 2020, Law and justice, Political commentary, Social commentary

These days trying to keep up with the news is a full-time job, and just a bit overwhelming most days.  The insanity that defines the Trump administration may be contagious, for lately I’ve been doing really stupid things, like … well, never mind … I’m not going to give you that weapon to use against me some day when I least expect it.  Anyway, two stories today gave rise to these snarky snippets …

Fox is doing what???

Fox-News-logoOkay, folks, I want you to be sure you’re sitting down for this one.  I also suggest you keep a hand firmly planted on your chin to keep your jaw from dropping to the ground.  I swear I am not making this up, but next week, Fox ‘News’ will be airing an ad by republicans that calls for the impeachment of Donald Trump!  Are you still with me, or have you fainted?

Turns out there is a conservative group called Republicans for the Rule of Law (RRL) that has developed an ad calling for politicians to stand up to the president.  Who knew?  And to add insult to injury, they will be airing the ad on none other than Trump’s favourite show, Fox and Friends.  According to Chris Truax, a spokesman for RRL …

“Everybody — Republicans and Democrats but especially Republicans — need to step up and say, ‘Look, this is bigger than the politics of the day, this is about our democratic institutions.’ If we don’t defend them, that will have an impact on our country for decades to come. President Trump still does not want to admit that this happened and that’s wrong, absurd and dangerous. Republicans need to stop enabling this behavior.”

When I read this, I had to do a quick check of my calendar to make sure it isn’t April 1st, for I was sure this must be a joke.  The 30 second clip, set to air next week, will feature clips from Robert Mueller’s statement yesterday. The spot will end with the line, “Mueller did his job, now it’s time for members of Congress to do theirs.”

How encouraging to know that there are some republicans who are not enamoured of Donald Trump and are willing to put the welfare of the nation ahead of personal gain.

I literally laughed when I heard this and wish I could see Trump’s face when he sees it.  Or, perhaps his aides will find a way to distract him or ‘accidentally’ turn off the television just before the ad comes on, like they covered up the USS John S. McCain so that Trump would not see it and become upset.

Not again???

roy-mooreRemember Roy Moore, the former Alabama judge who ran for Senate against democrat Doug Jones in a 2017 special election?  He, along with Sheriff Joe Arpaio, remind me of the Energizer bunny … they just don’t know when to quit, but keep on going … and going … and going.  Roy is planning another run at the senate seat next year.

As you’ll recall, Moore has been credibly accused of sexual misconduct with at least nine women, two of whom were underage at the time.  He was suspended not once, but twice from the Alabama Supreme Court.  Moore is the classic definition of a jerk.  The strangest thing is that, while he did lose the 2017 election to Jones, it was by a very narrow margin.  So, apparently in Alabama, it doesn’t much matter whether you have morals or a conscience, as long as you’re a republican.

Trump initially supported Moore in 2017, then backed off when the sexual accusations started coming to light.  So, what is Trump’s take on Moore’s current bid?

“Republicans cannot allow themselves to again lose the Senate seat in the Great State of Alabama. This time it will be for Six Years, not just Two. I have NOTHING against Roy Moore, and unlike many other Republican leaders, wanted him to win. But he didn’t, and probably won’t.  …If Alabama does not elect a Republican to the Senate in 2020, many of the incredible gains that we have made during my Presidency may be lost, including our Pro-Life victories. Roy Moore cannot win, and the consequences will be devastating….Judges and Supreme Court Justices!”

His reason for being against Moore running is not because Moore is not a person of conscience, or because Moore is a racist and a sexual predator, but only because he thinks Moore cannot win, and to Trump winning is the only thing that matters.  Returning Jones to the Senate in next year’s election would possibly mess up little Donnie’s grand plans for the further destruction of the U.S.!

Moore was not happy with Trump’s response and fired back.

“The president doesn’t control who votes for the United States Senate in Alabama. People in Alabama are smarter than that. They elect the senator from Alabama, not from Washington, D.C.”

The frightening thing is that Moore continues, despite his abhorrent behaviours, to have a large following and could actually win the republican nomination.  Moore is 72 years old and would be 74 by the time he took his seat in the Senate if he were to win.  We do not need any more rich, bigoted, old men in Congress!!!

And thus concludes today’s supply of snark.  Have a great whatever-day-it-is!

A Desperate Little ‘Man’ …

Posted on by under Political commentary

The Alabama race for the U.S. Senate seat vacated by Jeff Sessions in January is over.  Democratic candidate Doug Jones won the election, albeit by a narrow margin, and is to be certified by Alabama election officials at 1:00 p.m. today.  End of story, right?  Maybe, maybe not, for Roy Moore, like a spoiled child who did not get his way, has filed a lawsuit in an attempt to stop Jones from being certified, stop him from being sworn into the Senate on 03 January, and has called for a new election.

Moore is claiming, with zero evidence, ‘voter fraud’ as his justification for the lawsuit.  The only ‘evidence’ he claims is that he really thought more people would vote for him, and concerns about the high turnout of Democrats on election night, December 12th. Might we remind Mr. Moore that simply because registered voters who happen to disagree with him show up at the polls, it does not provide any indication of ‘fraud’.  And might we remind Mr. Moore that his was a flawed candidacy from the very beginning, given that he had twice been thrown off the judicial bench for failure to uphold the law?  And might we further remind Mr. Moore that there were massive credible accusations of sexual abuse of minors, accusations of pedophilia, against him?

While his attorneys waited until nearly the last minute to file this lawsuit, Moore has been sending out emails soliciting donations from his supporters to “investigate claims of voter fraud”.  And no doubt some of them can find no better use for their money than to support this bigoted pedophile in his illusions.

The likelihood of his lawsuit stopping Mr. Jones’ certification appear to be slim-to-none, as Alabama Secretary of State, John Merrill, said he has no intention of delaying the certification by the canvassing board:

“It is not going to delay certification and Doug Jones will be certified [on Thursday] at 1 pm and he will be sworn in by Vice-President Pence on 3 January. I have not seen any irregularities or any inconsistencies that are outside the norm.”

And this just in, as I was writing this piece:

A judge has denied Roy Moore’s request to halt certification of Doug Jones’ win in the Alabama U.S. Senate race. Montgomery County Circuit Judge Johnny Hardwick issued an order denying Moore’s request to halt the certification at 12:26 p.m. Thursday.  “The court is of the opinion that it does not have jurisdiction pursuant to Section 17-16-44, Code of Alabama 1975; as amended. It is therefore, ORDERED, ADJUDGED and DECREED that the Motion for Temporary Restraining Order be and is hereby denied. It is further ordered that this matter is hereby dismissed,” he stated. – AL.com

Score one for common sense.  Now, if Mr. Moore will please hop back onto his horse and return to his farm, we can get on with business.

Three Events That Will Change The Face Of The Nation … Forever

Posted on by under Political commentary

I begin this post today with angst, with  trepidation, with a sense of impending doom, though I hope that doesn’t sound an overly dramatic statement.  Why?  For I did a coin toss to decide which of the very important, time-sensitive pending issues it was most important to tackle in this post, and I concluded that there are three issues that simply cannot be pushed aside even for a day.  And while I do not delude myself into thinking that my humble small blog is going to change the outcome of any of the three issues, I know I must try … I have to try, else I might just as well quit even writing this blog.  And so, I will either tackle all three in this single post, or if it becomes unwieldy, I will be putting out extra posts today.

What are the three issues?

  1. The Alabama race for the Senate seat vacated by Jeff Sessions
  2. The “tax reform bill” now being reconciled by Congress
  3. The increased attacks on Special Counselor Robert Mueller and his investigation

The Alabama Senate race is tomorrow, and although I have written several times before, I believe one final push must be made, a final attempt to awaken the voting public in Alabama to the evils of Judge Moore, who is, as I understand it, once again leading in the current polls.

The tax reform bill is being shoved, rushed, and pushed with no regard for accuracy or errors, no regard for outcomes, only regard for giving Donald Trump an empty shell of a “win” and pleasing the wealthy who would just as soon oppress the rest of us.

And as Bob Mueller and his team are getting closer to the truth, and as it becomes nearly impossible to keep details under wraps, Trump & Co. become increasingly panicked, and it is beginning to look very much as if we may end up with another Saturday Night Massacre in the very near future.

So, these three topics cannot be relegated to my “later this week” bin, but must be tackled today, These three things combined have the potential to set us on a very rocky path, one which leads in the opposite direction of what our Founding Fathers envisioned for this nation. If there is any hope that I can reach people who might just stop for a moment and think, then I must at least make the effort.  So, with a newly-opened box of Keurig coffee pods, 5 packs of cigarettes freshly rolled, and a box of tissues by my side, let us begin.

Roy Moore … UNFIT to set foot in the Capitol

Tomorrow is the big day in Alabama, and it appears that, while some Alabama voters are … a bit disturbed over all the credible accusations by women who Moore almost certainly sexually abused from his position of power as District Attorney, they are by and large willing to either a) overlook and ignore Moore’s pedophilia and sexual abuse, or b) discredit the women who, as young girls, were too afraid to come forth and tell what Moore had done to them.

Note that the women, who do not know each other, tell basically the same tale of abuse and degradation, and they are credible.  Also note that there are no less than nine … nine … such women who suffered as teens at the hands of this so-called ‘man’ of power.  Note, too, that former deputy district attorney Teresa Jones, a former colleague of Moore’s, said that back in the day, it was common knowledge that Moore, then a district attorney in his 30s, dated high school girls.  The evidence that has mounted paints Moore as a sexual predator and a pedophile and is insurmountable.  Alabama voters must surely realize the truth!

As if that weren’t enough, there are, as I have written before, plenty of other reasons to believe that he is not senate material.  As a judge, he was removed from the judicial bench … not once, but twice!  Why?  For refusing to uphold the law that he was sworn to uphold.  For putting his personal ‘beliefs’ ahead of the law of the land.  Not once.  TWICE!  Roy Moore is a ‘man’ without values, a ‘man’ without a moral compass, a ‘man’ without a conscience.  And any … I repeat ANY … person who votes for him, is also a person without a conscience, but rather one who is casting their lot with the evil which they claim to eschew.

We all know that democrats stick together, and republicans even more so, right?  Well, it speaks volumes that Alabama’s other republican Senator, Richard C. Shelby, does not support Roy Moore’s candidacy.  When Moore asked Shelby, the state’s senior senator and fellow republican, for financial backing last month, Shelby’s response was …

“I told him he could raise it himself, you know, like I did, you know, like everybody else. He thrives on controversy, seems to me. And I think you can’t be a formidable, effective senator if you’re so controversial your colleagues avoid you, I think Alabama deserves better.”

It is equally telling that the Republican National Committee in Alabama withdrew their support of Moore, then suddenly, without explanation, returned it last week.  And most telling of all is that another sexual predator named Donald Trump has given his full support to this candidate.  This past weekend, Trump held a rally where he sung Moore’s praises, and then recorded a ‘robocall’ to rally Alabama voters to support a pedophile for Congress.

Okay, Alabamans, listen up!  What is your option?  A sane democrat, perhaps?  A man who is known for protecting civil rights.  A man who re-opened that infamous 16th Street Baptist Church bombing case from 1963 in which four young girls were murdered by KKK klansmen who were let off scot-free with a wink and a nod?

And meanwhile, Moore, like Mount Vesuvius, continues to spew lies.  He claims, with bumbling ineptitude, to not know these women …

“I do not know them. I had no encounter with them. I have never molested anyone. When I saw the pictures on the advertisements of my opponent, I did not recognize any of these people.”

“These people” were children, teenagers at the time, nearly forty years ago, so it stands to reason that Moore would not recognize them on sight. Moore admitted to Sean Hannity last month that he dated young girls years ago, yet claims that he does not recognize any of the women.

“I’ve stood up for moral values, so they’re attacking me in that way. When this race is over, on the 12th of December, it will be over. It’s inconceivable to think that someone would wait 40 years because they were embarrassed or ashamed or something, and then less than 30 days before the general election, come out and make allegations – and then appear on a political advertisement, when they’ve waited 40 years not to be embarrassed.”

And already, even before the election, he is giving us reason to believe that he has no intention of upholding the laws when he says …

“I would want judges who recognize that Roe v. Wade, although it has been around since 1973, is not the supreme law of the land because it contradicts the right to life given to us in our founding documents.”

Yes, Roe v Wade IS the law of the land, as the Supreme Court of the United States ruled it so.

Roy Moore places himself and his own personal religion before the laws of the nation, before the good of We The People.  If he wins this election, it says more about the people of this nation than it says about Moore or Trump.  It says that the people of this nation have lost their way, have forgotten, if they ever knew, what is truly important. If Roy Moore is elected tomorrow, Alabamans must hang their heads in shame and embarrassment.

Roy Moore — The ‘Values’ Candidate

Posted on by under Political commentary, Social commentary

In just over a month, December 12th, the people of Alabama will go to the polls to elect a senator to replace former Senator Jeff Sessions who is now the U.S. Attorney General.  There are two major candidates, former Judge Roy Moore, who was twice thrown off the bench for failing to uphold the law, and Democratic candidate Doug Jones.  Now, if you are not familiar with Mr. Moore’s history, please take a look at my last post about him, written last month.

Roy Moore’s boat, once again, should have just sunk, but I am not so sure.  The details, according to The Washington Post …

Leigh Corfman says she was 14 years old when an older man approached her outside a courtroom in Etowah County, Ala. She was sitting on a wooden bench with her mother, they both recall, when the man introduced himself as Roy Moore.

It was early 1979 and Moore was a 32-year-old assistant district attorney. He struck up a conversation, Corfman and her mother say, and offered to watch the girl while her mother went inside for a child custody hearing.

“He said, ‘Oh, you don’t want her to go in there and hear all that. I’ll stay out here with her,’ ” says Corfman’s mother, Nancy Wells, 71. “I thought, how nice for him to want to take care of my little girl.”

I will not repeat the details here, in the interest of time, space, and decency, (click the above link if you’re interested) but suffice it to say that twice thereafter, Moore behaved very inappropriately, according to Miss Corfman.  Her account is supported by her mother and two people who were friends at that time. There are three other similar accusations against Moore.

Now, ten years ago this would have been a death knell for Moore’s candidacy and he would have hung his head in shame and slithered, like the snake he is, off the campaign trail.  But this is the year 2017, the year that people in the U.S. decided this sort of behaviour in a politician is alright in their book, for the man they elected to the highest office in the U.S. has been accused multiple times of sexual harassment and was even captured on tape admitting to groping women without their consent.

So … what is the reaction to this accusation against Moore?  Let us hear first from Alabama State Auditor Jim Ziegler …

“Take Joseph and Mary. Mary was a teenager and Joseph was an adult carpenter. They became parents of Jesus. There’s just nothing immoral or illegal here. Maybe just a little bit unusual.”

YOU HAVE GOT TO BE KIDDING ME!!!!

Even two of the biggest idiots in the upper echelons of the federal government have better sense than Mr. Ziegler …

“If these allegations are true, he must step aside.” – Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell

“Like most Americans, the president does not believe we can allow a mere allegation, in this case one from many years ago, to destroy a person’s life. However, the president also believes that if these allegations are true, Judge Moore will do the right thing and step aside.” – Press Secretary Sarah Huckabee Sanders, speaking on behalf of Trump

“The allegations against Roy Moore are deeply disturbing and disqualifying. He should immediately step aside and allow the people of Alabama to elect a candidate they can be proud of.” – Arizona Senator John McCain

“I think it was already perfectly well stated that no one in Alabama gives a s— what Mitch McConnell or John McCain thinks we should do.” – Republican consultant Jonathan P. Gray

And what, you might ask, is Roy Moore’s response?

“Our children and grandchildren’s futures are on the line. So rest assured — I will NEVER GIVE UP the fight! I believe you and I have a duty to stand up and fight back against the forces of evil waging an all-out war on our conservative values.”

Prior to this story in the Post, Moore was polling an average of six percentage points above the Democratic candidate, Doug Jones.  Today?  He is polling an average of six percentage points above Jones.  It may simply be that it is too soon for the polls to reflect a shift based on the latest news, and it bears watching over the coming week or two.

The deadline has passed to take his name off the ballot. The Alabama state party could disqualify him from the election, but down in Alabama there are no signs that they wish to do so.

Roy Moore and Doug Jones were invited to a debate by a local television station, WHNT. Jones accepted the invitation, but the Moore campaign declined, saying …

While we appreciate the invitation from WHNT, the differences between the two candidates are crystal clear. Judge Roy Moore believes in cutting taxes. Doug Jones wants to raise your taxes. Judge Moore believes we should cut spending and balance the budget. Doug Jones believes in putting America in more debt. Judge Moore wants Obamacare repealed. Doug Jones wants to expand it. Judge Moore wants to rebuild the military. Doug Jones supported an administration that slashed our defense spending and put American security at risk. Judge Moore wants to secure our borders. Doug Jones wants open borders and supports amnesty. Judge Moore wants to protect our most vulnerable like our seniors and the unborn, but Doug Jones has spent his career defending violent criminals and he supports partial-birth abortion. There has never been a clearer choice: one candidate will stand up for Alabama and the other candidate will expand federal tyranny. Judge Moore will continue to take his message directly to the voters of Alabama.

Moore-1Roy Moore claims to be the candidate who stands for ‘values’.  Perhaps he defines values differently than I do.

Roy Moore — His Own Rules

Posted on by under Political commentary

Two years ago, I would have said that Alabama candidate for the U.S. Senate, Roy Moore’s boat just sunk.  Two years ago, I would have been right.  But that was then and this is now, and all the rules have changed and we are living in an alternative political universe where there seem to be no rules.

Two stories in today’s news are the things that political nightmares were once made of.

Undisclosed Deal Guaranteed Roy Moore $180,000 A Year For Part-Time Work At Charity – The Washington Post, 11 October 2017

Talking out of both sides of his mouth, Moore previously said publicly that he did not take a “regular salary” from the small charity he founded, ostensibly to promote Christian values because he did not want to be a financial burden. But in reality, he privately arranged to receive a salary of $180,000 per annum and received more than $1 million between 2007 and 2012.

The ‘charity’, Foundation for Moral Law (FML), fudged their public tax filings for most of those years. The premise of this ‘charity’ is, in my mind, dubious, for its byline is “Defend Our Inalienable Right To Acknowledge God”.  Their stated mission is “FML fights to protect the Constitution and protect the heritage of our Country. We don’t run from our values, we protect them.”

It almost seems that FML is more of a PAC for Moore, for they have helped Moore in other ways, apart from financially.  They set up a network of donors when he was running for public office, and they paid for his health care insurance, travel expenses and even a bodyguard!  The charity also employs two of Moore’s children (salaries unknown) and his wife, who received $195,000 from 2013-2015.  Moore’s salary alone has been equal to approximately one-third of the total donations received by the group.

The group actually started in 2003, the first time Moore was ousted from his position as judge for his refusal to obey a federal court ruling.  At that time, it was called the Roy Moore Legal Defense Fund, and when the group applied for recognition as a charity the following year, their application was rejected, as it was considered to be operating in the private interests of Roy Moore.  They later changed their name, broadened their mission statement, and in 2005 were granted tax-exempt status.  However, it appears that Moore remains the primary beneficiary in a number of ways.

moore-3And then there is this …

Senate Candidate Roy Moore’s Son Is Arrested For The Ninth Time – The Associated Press (AP), 11 October 2017

caleb-moore.jpg“The son of Republican U.S. Senate candidate Roy Moore has been arrested in Alabama on a misdemeanor charge linked to allegations of illegal hunting.

Etowah County Sheriff’s spokeswoman Natalie Barton tells news outlets 27-year-old Caleb Moore surrendered Monday on a charge of third-degree criminal trespass. He was accused of hunting without permission and hunting over bait last year.

Moore’s campaign issued a statement calling the arrest a “cheap political trick.”

Caleb Moore was arrested on drug charges in 2015, but those were dropped after he entered a pre-trial diversion program.

Monday’s arrest marks the ninth time the 27-year-old has been in jail.”

What a fine, upstanding family these people are, yes?  As I said in the beginning, until the last two years, Roy Moore would, at this point, be a deer in the headlights.  However, today, when the man who sits in the Oval Office has been involved in thousands of lawsuits and has been accused of sexual harassment more than once, yet still managed to get elected, all bets are off.

I would like to think that some values still remain and that the good people of Alabama will begin taking a much closer look at Moore’s opponent for the Senate seat, Doug Jones.  Time will tell, but as of this moment, Moore is still leading in the polls.  Sigh.  We no longer seem to hold our political leaders to the same high standard we once did, and that is a sad statement to have to make.

moore-4

From Failed Judge To U.S. Senator???

Posted on by under Political commentary

Next Tuesday there will be a special primary runoff election in the state of Alabama to determine the republican candidate that will run the race to elect a senator to fill the seat left vacant when Jeff Sessions was nominated U.S. Attorney General.  The general election will be held on December 12th.

Now, guess who is one of the two main candidates for the republican nominations?  While he was not one of my infamous Idiots of the Week, Roy Moore probably ought to have been.  However, I did write a post about him last September, almost a year ago, titled When Justice Is Unjust.

roy-moore

Roy Moore

To briefly recap, Moore was Chief Justice of the Alabama Supreme Court … twice, in fact, having been removed from the bench in 2003, and then re-elected in 2013.  He was once again removed in May 2016, for directing probate judges to continue to enforce the state’s ban on same-sex marriage despite the fact that it had been overturned by the U.S. Supreme Court. Moore is a religious zealot who does not accept the concept of separation of church and state, and has done everything in his power to sabotage said separation.  As such, he has been the source of numerous controversies and the Alabama court system is far better off without him.

However now, he wants to be a Senator and is determined to shake things up.  One might expect that he would be Donald Trump’s choice, yes?  But one would be wrong, for Trump is actually supporting Moore’s opponent, Luther Strange.  But wait, for it gets even more interesting.  Many in Trump’s camp, notably Steve Bannon, Sarah Palin and Papa Duck Phil Robertson are actually supporting Moore, despite the fact that Trump himself is not. The polls show Moore with a 6-point lead over Strange, 53 percent to 47 percent, despite the fact that the Strange campaign has spent four times more than Moore’s.

A brief bit about Luther Strange …

Luther Strange

Luther Strange

Luther Strange was appointed by Gov. Robert Bentley (R) to the U.S. Senate seat left vacant by Attorney General Jeff Sessions (R). He was previously elected as attorney general of Alabama in 2010.

Strange announced his intent to fight for his seat in April 2017, saying, “As I’ve said for months, I’m a candidate and I’m ready to run whether the election is next month or next year. As the only announced candidate for this office, I will spend the next several months being the best Senator I can be, upholding Alabama values and working with President Donald Trump to drain the swamp and help make America great again.” On his campaign website, Strange listed defending religious freedom, supporting the Trump administration’s agenda, and repealing and replacing the Affordable Care Act as top issues. His tenure as attorney general of Alabama focused on challenging the Obama administration’s healthcare agenda and environmental regulations in court. – BallotPedia 

Obviously Strange is not, by my standards, an ideal candidate either, but at least he is not steeped in racism, homophobia, Islamophobia and overall bigotry, as Moore is.

An article yesterday in The Washington Post  provided some interesting insight into Moore’s intentions, should he actually be elected into the Senate.

The central argument of Moore’s campaign is that removing the sovereignty of a Christian God from the functions of government is an act of apostasy, an affront to the biblical savior as well as the Constitution.

“We have forgotten the source of our rights. We put ourselves above God. And in so doing, we forgot the basic source of our morality.”

In his current campaign, he has called for the impeachment of judges, including possibly Supreme Court justices, who issue rulings for same-sex marriage …

He seems to forget that not everyone in this nation is Christian, that not all of us believe as he does, yet our rights are guaranteed by the Constitution no less than his or his constituents.  This is a nation of tolerance, it is a nation that does not promote one religion over the other, and contrary to what some believe, Christianity is not the state religion.

For more in-depth analysis of the differences between Strange and Moore’s platforms, visit BallotPedia.

So with two less-than-desirables vying for the republican nomination, what about the democratic candidate?

doug-jones

Doug Jones

Doug Jones was appointed U.S. attorney in Birmingham, Alabama, by former President Bill Clinton in 1997. Jones was the lead prosecutor in the reopened 1963 Birmingham church bombing case that killed four black girls during the Civil Rights Movement. His private practice involved white collar criminal defense and commercial litigation.

“The national election was very disturbing, quite frankly, and I know a lot of people in this state voted overwhelmingly for … [Donald] Trump. But there were about 37 percent of the people who did not, and they need a voice too,” he said a few weeks after announcing his candidacy.

Jones identified increasing the minimum wage, prioritizing education as a job creator, encouraging renewable energy and conservation, abortion rights, and preventing discrimination against individuals with pre-existing conditions as policy priorities. – BallotPedia

Obviously, I see Jones as the better candidate for the U.S. Senate, however … this is Alabama.  In the 2016 election, republican Richard Shelby received nearly twice the amount of votes as the democratic candidate, Ron Crumpton.  In fact, the last time a democrat won a senate race in Alabama was in 1992. The three leading polls indicate that the republican candidate, whomever it is, will have a safe to strong lead on  December 12th.  While no one senator has absolute power, and a majority is required to pass legislation, confirm presidential nominations, etc., one outspoken senator does have the power to disrupt the entire body and create chaos.  Please, Alabamans … keep Roy Moore out of the U.S. Senate!