Tag Archives: Mike Huckabee

Snarky Snippets Must Be Shared!

Posted on by under Bits 'n Pieces, Environmental Issues, Law and justice, Political commentary, Social commentary

Filosofa seems to be filled with snark tonight.  I wonder if it might be the heat, humidity and poor air quality that have filled my poor head with so much snark?  Anyway, it seems unfair for me to have all the fun, so allow me to share some of my snark with you!

There actually were a few positive tidbits in the news yesterday, as it happens.  First, Donald Trump lost his appeal to delay his New York fraud trial.  It would seem that delaying tactics are the only thing Donnie has in his bag o’ tricks, and those are getting worn thin from overuse.

Second, the Biden administration announced that it will prohibit drilling in 13 million acres of pristine wilderness in the National Petroleum Reserve in Alaska and cancel all drilling leases in the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge.  This is a huge win for the environment, for all of us!

Third, in Mexico the Supreme Court decriminalized abortion nationwide.  Apparently, contrary to what we’ve been told, Mexico is a far more progressive nation than the U.S.!!!

But alas, there was also much to set off my snark-o-meter …

The highly UNqualified senator from Ohio, the state I currently reside in, J.D. Vance, has proposed new legislation in the United States Senate titled the “Freedom To Breathe Act.”  The bill would make it illegal for the federal government, schools, airlines, and other public transit companies to require masks for the protection of the general public.  Covid cases and deaths are on the rise once again with the latest variant, but ol’ J.D. wants us to put ourselves at risk.  The man is a bloomin’ idiot!  But he is not alone …

Then there’s former Arkansas governor and two-time presidential candidate, Mike Huckabee (also the father of current Arkansas governor Sarah Huckabee Sanders).  When they wrote the book “How To Be An Asshole”, they asked Mike for advice!  His latest lunacy is his statement yesterday that … “If these tactics end up working to keep Trump from winning or even running in 2024, it is going to be the last American election that will be decided by ballots rather than bullets.”  Fortunately, I don’t think too many people bother to listen to what a washed-up former governor has to say, but then all it takes is a few to get the ball rolling, as we saw on January 6th 2021.

And speaking of which … I was beyond pleased to see Proud Boys’ leader Enrique Tarrio sentenced to 22 years in prison for his role in the January 6th attempted coup, but what I most want to see is those who plotted from behind the scenes, those who are awaiting trial down in Georgia … GO FANI WILLIS!!!  Lock ‘em up!!!  Every last one of them, up to and including the former guy.

Then there’s ‘Senator’ Tommy Tuberville who is currently sitting on more than 300 military promotions, leaving the Army, Navy, and Marine Corps with only ‘acting heads’.  One might think that a month-long paid vacation would have mellowed Tubs a bit, but nope … he’s as determined as ever to refuse to allow the Senate to do its job and confirm those promotions.  It’s somewhat reminiscent of 2016 when Supreme Court Justice Antonin Scalia died in February, and then-Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell refused to even consider confirming a replacement for nearly a full year in hopes that a Republican would win the election in November of that year and be able to have his pick.  Hmmmm … Tuberville … McConnell … dirty dealings?   🤔

And one last bit of snark, speaking of the Supreme Court.  That aforementioned sleight of hand was the beginning of the end of the legitimacy of the Court.  Today, trust in the Court is at a new low of 47%, as compared to 76% in 2009.  Part of the reason, of course, has to do with some of the extremely partisan decisions such as the Dobbs decision that have been handed down, and part no doubt is a result of the hanky-panky by Justices Alito and Thomas that has put the Court in the shadow of corruption.

Whew … I feel much better now that I shared all that snark!

Open Letter To The Three Stooges

Posted on by under Free Press Issues, Global Issues, Political commentary, Rants, Social commentary

Dear Messrs. Donald Trump, John Michael (Mick) Mulvaney, and Michael Huckabee,

There is a time for having fun, a time for jokes and humour.  However, there is also a time to be serious.  I read with horror this morning Mr. Mulvaney’s comments, obviously intended to be funny, claiming that the reason the media was reporting extensively on the spread of the coronavirus was to try to “take down” Donald Trump.

If I took your comments seriously, Mr. Mulvaney, I would have asked you if, then, the entire world was attempting to “take down” Trump, since media outlets worldwide are providing continual coverage and updates on the spread of this illness.  But I realized that nobody with any sense would make such a statement except in jest, so while it annoyed me, I let it ride.

Then later in the day you, Mr. Trump, came along and made the same claim, only embellishing on the story with more jokes … jokes that were, under the circumstances, in very poor taste.  You took it even further and joked that you thought the democrats were behind the media coverage.  Again, if I took you seriously I would ask if you think the democrats control the media (hint:  they don’t), and if their reach extends to such media outlets as der Spiegel in Germany and the BBC in the UK, for those outlets are also providing widespread coverage.  But again, surely you are jesting.

And then, you, Mr. Mike Huckabee, had to try to top the Mulvaney/Trump acts with your own attempt at humour, saying that Trump …

“Could personally suck the virus out of every one of the 60,000 people in the world, suck it out of their lungs, swim to the bottom of the ocean and spit it out, and he would be accused of pollution for messing up the ocean.”

Do you guys all share the same comedy writer?  If so, he really needs to retire.  First of all, there are far more than 60,000 people in the world … at last count, it was up to about 7.8 billion, I believe.  Secondly, there are very few people who would allow Mr. Trump to touch us, let alone “suck the virus … out of our lungs”.  And thirdly, of course, this is a ridiculous, ignorant thing to even say, and far beneath the dignity of a former governor and presidential candidate.

Now that you’ve had your little jokes, let me tell you gentlemen a few things here.

Part of the job of the media, whether in this country, Spain, Germany, or Brazil, is to inform the public of things they need to know.  The coronavirus, or Covid-19 as I believe it has been named, is a very serious threat to people all around the globe.  It is not unique to the United States but has become a serious threat to a number of countries, including Italy, China, Iran, Japan, and others.  It is NOT, gentlemen, something to joke about.  It is NOT something to use as a political tool, nor to use as an excuse to taunt the media.

Your attempts to downplay this widespread threat to human health and safety is a disservice to the people of this nation.  According to the World Health Organization (WHO) and the Centers for Disease Control (CDC), it is spreading rapidly and is particularly likely to be lethal to people like myself who have chronic health problems and compromised immune systems.  There are already 60 confirmed cases in the U.S. and while there hasn’t been a fatality here yet, it is only a matter of time.

Your mockery and accusations are most inappropriate at this time and in these circumstances.  Your words would be unthinkable in any other administration, but the entire theme of this administration seems to be spouting ignorance, nonsense, vitriol, and blaming someone else for everything that goes wrong.  Yes, the stock market is plunging, not only in the U.S. but also the European markets, and it is NOT the fault of the media, NOT the fault of the Democrats.  And no, gentlemen, contrary to what you’ve tried to tell us, the United States is NOT well prepared to combat this pandemic.  Since January 2017, funding has been cut to health organizations such as CDC, and millions have lost their health insurance due to the hatchet job that has been done to the Affordable Care Act (ACA).  We are every bit as vulnerable as any nation on earth.

In short, those who are not part of the solution, are part of the problem.  You, gentlemen, are definitely NOT doing anything to be a part of the solution, so please step aside and let the adults attempt to safeguard the people of this nation.

Sincerely,

We the People

Score One For The Freedom Of The Press …

Posted on by under Free Press Issues, Political commentary

I awoke yesterday morning to the little blue light flashing on my phone … breaking news from both The Washington Post and the New York Times.  Jim Acosta and CNN had won round #1.  I did a gleeful cackle.  Earlier in the week, after Acosta’s press credentials were revoked by the White House for no real reason other than that Acosta held Trump’s feet to the fire, asked a damn uncomfortable question, CNN filed suit against the White House. 

The case, CNN v. Donald J. Trump, has come to symbolize the dysfunctional dynamic between the White House press corps and a president who denigrates its work as “fake news” and refers to it as “the enemy of the people”.

Yesterday morning, Judge Timothy J. Kelly of United States District Court in Washington ruled that the White House had behaved inappropriately in stripping Mr. Acosta of his press badge and ordered that his credentials be restored.  It is a small victory and a temporary one, for it is pending the outcome of the trial which could drag on for months, or even years.  BUT … the part that gave me cause for glee was that Judge Kelly was appointed by none other than Donald Trump! There may be some Trump appointees who are so grateful to Trump that they will sacrifice justice to please him (think Brett Kavanaugh), but obviously there are some who still believe in the letter of the law and in upholding the Constitution.

Judge Kelly criticized the administration for its false claim that Mr. Acosta had placed his hands on a White House intern during the news conference. The judge called it “likely untrue and at least partly based on evidence of questionable accuracy.”  He also said that the White House’s decision-making was “so shrouded in mystery that the government could not tell me … who made the decision.”

Acosta has had widespread support among the media.  More than a dozen news outlets — from the Associated Press to USA Today, The Washington Post and Politico, and even Trump’s own Fox News have filed friend-of-the-court briefs to support CNN and Jim Acosta’s lawsuit against President Trump and several top aides.  Fox went further than most other media companies on Wednesday, issuing a statement that said, “Secret Service passes for working White House journalists should never be weaponized.”  CNN and Fox have been rivals, sometimes bitterly so, for two decades — but Jim Wallace, president of Fox News, said this case is about the free press.

And you might ask how the White House responded to the news …

“We will end up back in court, and we will win.” – Donald Trump

“We support a free press, but freedom of the press doesn’t mean freedom to be disruptive, freedom to be rude, freedom to interrupt and impede the ability of colleagues from actually being able to do their jobs, as well as White House staff being able to do theirs.” – Sarah Huckabee Boot-Licker Sanders

Sarah’s daddy, Mike Huckabee, a once-respected politician (governor of Arkansas), was asked to fill in for Sean Hannity on the Sean Hannity show on Friday.  His guest?  None other than his own daughter, Press Secretary Sarah Huckabee Sanders.  Take a look …

Now, I have no problem with expecting a certain level of civility and ‘decorum’ if you will, but … I’m scratching my head here, for it seems to me that the person who has been most bombastic, most disrespectful and uncivil, most … horrifyingly cruel and vicious … is none other than Donald Trump himself!  I have thrice watched the segment of the press conference that cost Jim Acosta his credentials, and have not found a single sentence of disrespect from Acosta.  Trump, on the other hand, was crass and rude.  So … who should have his access to the White House revoked?

Every president in history has, from time-to-time had difficulties with the press.  It is nothing new or unusual.  Other presidents, however, have always understood that the U.S. Constitution guarantees the press the right to do their job, to inform the citizens of the U.S. about the actions of their government.  Trump forgets … or plain doesn’t care … that we have a right to know.  Trump once, long ago, promised to ‘drain the swamp’, and to make government more transparent.  Instead, he has brought in a new, especially virulent breed of swamp critter and instead of transparency, he is attempting to put up black-out shutters on the White House.  He has threatened to revoke the credentials of any reporter who isn’t nice to him.  He and Sarah speak of ‘respect’ and ‘decorum’, but neither of them treat the press or the public with respect or decorum.  

The first round in what may be a long and ugly battle has gone to CNN, and I hope they persevere, but there isn’t a doubt Trump will fight to the bitter end, because he believes he has the right to control what the people of this nation can know.  Foreign Policy magazine recently published an article titled “10 Ways to Tell if Your President Is a Dictator”.  Number one on the list, the very first thing, was “Systematic efforts to intimidate the media”.  Let us hope that Judge Kelly continues to rule with the Constitution in mind and does not bend under pressure from Trump & Sarah.  We have a right … both moral and legal … to know what our government is doing and why, and our only avenue to gain such knowledge is a free press.  We must keep the press free … free from being stifled, free from being harassed, free to tell us what our government is doing.  Keep your eye on the ball, folks, for this was only round #1.