Tag Archives: Rudy Giuliani

Another Call to Arms? I Hope NOT!

Posted on by under History, Law and justice, Political commentary, Social commentary

It seems there is only one major thing in the news this weekend, the anticipated indictment of Donald Trump by Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg.  The potential indictment is a result of the $130,000 in hush money that Trump paid to porn star Stormy Daniels during the 2016 election to ensure her silence about their earlier affair.  I had not intended to write about this prematurely, until it actually comes to pass, but there is so much smoke blowing – toxic smoke – that I thought it required a bit of dissection.

First, let me just say that while his affair with Ms. Daniels and then his attempt to pay more money than most of us will ever see in one place at one time to buy her silence are terrible.  The affair itself is an indicator of a person without morals or values, the hush money may be a violation of Federal Election Commission rules.  That is not for us to decide.  That said, it is interesting and disappointing that this is the first potential indictment Trump will face, for while it is terrible, there are numerous other crimes he has committed that are far more horrible on a far larger scale.  I would much rather see pending indictments for his role in plotting the attempted coup on January 6th 2021, and for his theft of classified documents upon leaving the White House, and for his recorded effort to coerce Georgia officials to change the vote count.  These are all definite crimes that there is no doubt he committed.  And those may yet come, however first there is this case brought by the Manhattan District Attorney’s office.

The rhetoric surrounding the case is what’s keeping it in the headlines.  Here are a few examples:

  • “The idea of indicting a president of the United States is deeply troubling to me as it is to tens of millions of Americans – and particularly happening in what appears to be a politically charged environment in New York where the attorney general and other elected officials literally campaigned on a pledge to prosecute the former president.” – Former VP Mike Pence who was the main target of the January 6th insurrection
    • I would respond to Mr. Pence that as a citizen, it is ‘deeply troubling’ to have had a president who lied to us, cheated us, and conned us for four years!
  • “This is unAmerican and the radical Left has reached a dangerous new low of Third World countries. Knowing they cannot beat President Trump [sic] at the ballot box the Radical Left will now follow the lead of Socialist dictators and reportedly arrest President Trump [sic], the leading Republican candidate for President of the United States.” – Representative Elise Stefanik (New York)
  • “This is a personal sexual situation. What about Bill Clinton? That wasn’t worse? This guy allegedly – and I’m telling you it’s untrue. As his personal friend, I’m going to tell you categorically she’s lying. Categorically. And I know I say that all the time. I can tell you personally why I know that. She’s a damn liar! Manhattan has suffered unbelievable levels of crime under this incompetent and communist – this Soros paid for piece of I don’t know what.” – Former New York City Mayor Rudy Giuliani
  • “If the Manhattan DA indicts President Trump, he will ultimately win even bigger than he is already going to win. And those Republicans that stand by and cheer for his persecution or do nothing to stop it will be exposed to the people and will be remembered, scorned, and punished by the base. President Trump did nothing wrong and has always fought for the American people, and we all know it, which is why we love him.” Representative Marge Greene (Georgia)

And then, as if the voices weren’t already causing our ears to ring and making us feel ill, Kevin McCarthy steps in and says …

“Here we go again — an outrageous abuse of power by a radical DA who lets violent criminals walk as he pursues political vengeance against President Trump. I’m directing relevant committees to immediately investigate if federal funds are being used to subvert our democracy by interfering in elections with politically motivated prosecutions.”

This from the man who is the leader of the U.S. House of Representatives, hired to represent the people of this nation, not to defend a lying criminal!  Thus far, all his ‘investigations’ have been a waste of taxpayer dollars, as this one will be also.  I guess he needs to do this to stay on the good side of Trump, though.

But the one thing that concerns me most over this is the potential for violence.  All the above voices are enough to bring out the die-hard trumpists, but to throw a can of fuel on the fire, Trump himself had to jump into the fray with one of his ALL CAPS rants that is eerily reminiscent of his “Big protest in D.C. on January 6th. Be there, will be wild!” on December 19th, 2020 …

“THE FAR & AWAY LEADING REPUBLICAN CANDIDATE AND FORMER PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA, WILL BE ARRESTED ON TUESDAY OF NEXT WEEK. PROTEST, TAKE OUR NATION BACK!”

We saw the results on January 6th of his tweet, and my concern is that we will see similar results this week when and if he is indicted in Manhattan.  Mind you, that is NOT a reason for the prosecution to back off, not a reason for any of the cases against Trump to be halted or slowed, but it is a very real possibility that must be considered.

And it is being considered.  I understand that meetings have been going on throughout the week among city, state and federal law enforcement agencies in New York City about security preparations for a possible indictment of Trump.  Let us hope that lessons were learned by the events of January 6th and that law enforcement will be far better prepared this time.

While there may be an indictment, and there may be a fine, I do not operate under any illusions that Trump will be arrested or see the inside of a jail cell, so you can put that dream to bed right now.  Again, this is not even the most important case pending against him … I almost think this is something of a trial balloon, testing the waters for future cases on more important issues.

Just Because …

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

A couple of days ago, my friend Herb sent me several YouTube videos … one Stephen Colbert, one by Seth Meyers, and one by Trevor Noah.  All three were good, addressed the very unfunny topics of the day in a humorous manner, but I think I liked Trevor Noah’s the best.  So, since I decided you guys need a bit of fun in your lives, I’m sharing it … just because!

PLEASE, AG Merrick Garland … Do the Right Thing!

Posted on by under Election 2024, Global Issues, History, Law and justice, Political commentary

If we fail to hold Donald Trump, John Eastman, and all the members of Congress who played a role in the attempted coup of January 6th, then we are basically telling all future presidents that there will be no punishment for any criminal activities in which they might engage while in office.  Period.  Close your eyes and imagine a future president, say a President Gaetz, forcing himself on White House staff members, making sex with him a requisite of the job.  Imagine a President Cruz taking money under the table from the next Russian president in exchange for refusing to assist the next country Russia attacks.  Imagine President Manchin negotiating with the coal and oil companies to shut down the Environmental Protection Agency, or … well, just let your imagination run wild for a few minutes.

Those of you who are parents … you give your kids a time out or some other humanitarian punishment when they knowingly do something wrong, yes?  Why do you do this?  Because you know they must learn that actions have consequences, that if you steal from a schoolmate or punch a younger kid, you will pay the price.  If you lie, you will pay the price.  People like Donald Trump were never disciplined and grew up thinking that they were somehow ‘special’, not accountable for their actions.  When one of these people gets into a public office, they assume that it’s their private play space, that they can do anything they please because they have “the power”, they assume they are untouchable, invincible.  If the courts and the Justice Department of the United States fail to charge or indict and convict Donald Trump and his co-conspirators for not only their role in the January 6th attempted coup, but the entire batch of underhanded attempts to overturn our election by subverting the Justice Department, seeking to corrupt states attorneys general and more, then they are complicit in creating the monster that will be the next person to sit at the Resolute Desk in the Oval Office.

There are no grey areas here, no moral equivalencies, no doubts whatsoever.  Donald Trump and his minions attempted treason.  They failed … this time.  They, or whomever is the next president, will have learned from their mistakes and will not likely fail again.  No, my friends, I am not an alarmist, not being overly dramatic … I am stating facts based on a) common sense, b) logic, and c) what I can see and hear with my own eyes and ears.

I have heard numerous legal experts opine that to charge Trump would be to go down a road fraught with obstacles.  That there is no precedent for actually charging a former president for criminal activity seems to be a big stumbling block – it shouldn’t be, but apparently it is.  Now, these legal experts have far more knowledge than I do about the ins and outs of the law, but I am not completely witless, and I know that he cannot be allowed to get by with his crimes.  I know that NOW is the time we MUST prove to the world that NOBODY in the United States, not even the president, is above the law.  Failure to do so … is simply not an option.

There is also a concern among legal scholars, and likely within the Department of Justice, that in the current polarized political environment, Trump would be seen as the ‘victim of a witch hunt’ or a political voodoo doll.  Some of the legal scholars say he might have a valid defense by claiming that he lacked criminal intent because he truly believed that massive voter fraud had taken place.  Bullshit.  If nothing else, we have learned from various people testifying in the January 6th committee hearings that Trump was told repeatedly by every expert from then-Attorney General William Barr to various states’ Attorneys General that he spoke with, to his own lawyers and even his daughter that he lost.  Period.  He disregarded all but a drunken Rudy Giuliani and a cunning John Eastman not because he believed he won, but because he had a plan to stay in office by hook or by crook.  And if by some remote chance, despite all the evidence, he did still believe he won, then he is seriously deranged and unfit to remain in society, let alone run for any public office.

Attorney General Merrick Garland is in a tough spot, for he’s damned if he does and damned if he doesn’t.  For the sake of this nation, for the future of our children, the future of the world as we know it, he must do the right thing!

Snarky Snippets (Or Mini-Rants?)

Posted on by under 9/11, Bits 'n Pieces, Global Issues, History, Law and justice, Political commentary

Advance warning … I am in a mood tonight, am feeling the sarcasm & snark bubbling to the surface.  I may not be nice tonight, but those at the receiving end of my mood will have surely earned their position there!

This is what they call ‘karma’

You remember Omarosa, right?  Full name Omarosa Onee Manigault Newman, she was once on the former guy’s television show, The Apprentice, but is better known for her brief stint as assistant to the President and director of communications for the Office of Public Liaison during the Trump administration.  She lasted less than a year there before then-Chief of Staff John Kelly fired her, claiming “money and integrity issues”, as well as “inappropriate use of company vehicles”.  Translation:  She disagreed with Trump on something.

The following year, 2018, Omrosa wrote a book titled Unhinged, which was highly critical of Trump and his cronies.  With over 5,000 lawsuits filed by or against him in his lifetime, it came as no surprise that he sued Omarosa, alleging that with publication of her book, she had violated a non-disclosure agreement (NDA).  Last September, Donald Trump lost his lawsuit, when the arbiter rejected Trump’s claims, saying the NDA was “overbroad, indefinite, and unreasonable” and that it went “far beyond what would be reasonably expected to protect” Trump’s interests.

The only remaining question was … money.  That question was answered yesterday when the arbitrator said of Omarosa, “Respondent was defending herself in a claim which was extensively litigated for more than three years, against an opponent who undoubtedly commanded far greater resources than did respondent.”  And with that, Donald Trump, aka the former guy, was ordered to pay Ms. Omarosa Manigault Newman the sum of $1.3 million!

Yep, folks … Karma with a capital ‘K’!

The face of the Maga … er, Republican Party

This, my friends, is the man who was once America’s most beloved mayor, the mayor of New York City at the time of the 9/11 tragedy.

Yep, Mayor Rudy Giuliani brought New Yorkers together, instilled calm to the extent possible, went to Ground Zero, shed genuine tears, and earned my respect as well as millions of others in this nation.

But then, he hitched his wagon to the wrong horse and sunk to depths we could not imagine, costing him his reputation and his right to practice law in New York and Washington, D.C.  Yep, the same Rudy Giuliani who scheduled a press conference at a landscaping company in Holmesburg, Pennsylvania a few days after the 2020 election.  He spoke to the press … the ones that bothered to show up … surrounded by bags of manure and gardening equipment, with more lies about election fraud and whatever else was the dish of the day in Trumplandia.  But this latest tops even that.

The show was The Masked Singer, a reality singing competition television series that premiered on Fox on January 2, 2019.  Giuliani sang Bad to the Bone dressed in a costume that at a glance I thought was a quite colourful chicken, but I’m told it was a Jack-in-the-Box costume!  From America’s #1 Mayor to a … Jack-in-the-box in just over 20 years.  Sad.  The host of the show, Nick Cannon, said …

“Well, Mr. Giuliani, with all of the controversy that’s surrounding you right now, I think it surprises us all that you’re here on The Masked Singer.  What made you decide to do this?”

He said he did it to show his granddaughter that it’s okay to have fun and do things that are out of character.  Well, Rudy certainly has done much in the past 20 years that was out of character … or was it?  Apparently, his singing won him no prizes and he was judged the least talented singer of the group that night.  Ahhhh, Rudy … what happened to you?  From hero to zero, as one newscaster said.

French freedom on the chopping block?

We have our share of troubles here in the U.S., troubles that as I have stated in the past few days, could potentially be the death knell for the nation.  But, our next presidential election is two-and-a-half years away, giving us time yet to make some changes, to convince people not to throw away more than two centuries of progress.  France, on the other hand, will decide this coming Sunday whether to keep their democracy under President Emmanuel Macron, or to toss it all and elect a demagogue and authoritarian, Marine LePen.

LePen is a female Trump, only with more base intelligence, knowing when to tone down her rhetoric in order to win votes.  It is highly likely that Russia’s dictator Vladimir Putin has skin in this game, as he did in Trump’s election in 2016, and LePen has called concerns that Putin posed a threat to Europe “a big scam.”  Oh really?  I wonder if the people of Ukraine would agree with that?

When she traveled to Russia to meet with Putin, according to Euronews, she said that if elected, she would consider plans to swiftly lift EU sanctions on Russia over its annexation of Crimea. “It’s now the world of Putin, the world of Donald Trump,” she told reporters after the meeting.  Damn, I hope NOT!

In the French election on April 10th, Macron won with 27.8% of the vote as compared to LePen’s 23.1%, forcing a runoff election that will be held this Sunday, April 24th.  Too close for comfort, especially given that supporters of the third highest ranking candidate, Jean-Luc Mélenchon, who garnered a significant 22% of the vote, may turn next to LePen for her populist views.  I’m pleased to read that the latest polls have Macron at over 55%, but as we know from our own 2016 experience, the polls can be dead wrong.  Fingers crossed that Macron can once again defeat Ms. LePen, else I fear France will soon be closely allied with Russia and may exit the European Union (EU).

The Demagogues Are Having a Field Day

Posted on by under Bits 'n Pieces, Law and justice, Political commentary, Racism & Bigotry, Re-blogs, Social commentary

Our friend Annie has touched on a number of hot topics today, from General Milley’s response to the little wuss, Matt Gaetz, to the fools over at Fox News, to the Big Lie, to voter suppression efforts by Republicans! Her post is well worth the read, and she ends on a more positive note, telling us about some of the efforts being made to counter the Republican’s efforts to promote ignorance and take this nation back 100 years … or more. Thanks, Annie!

annieasksyou...

American flag image from Renan Kamikoga, found via unsplash.com

Mark Milley, Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, drew a lot of flack last year when he accompanied then-President Trump on what was widely condemned as a “photo-op” in which Trump stood in front of a church holding a Bible during Black Lives Matter protests outside the White House.

Milley, a much-decorated general whom Trump had appointed, subsequently apologized for allowing the military to be politicized. Apparently, behind the scenes, he was doing even more.

According to a new book written by Wall Street Journal reporter Michael Bender (Frankly, We Did Win ThisElection), as demonstrations were held in a number of cities, Milley repeatedly stopped Trump from demanding that the largely peaceful demonstrators (more than 93% of the demonstrations were peaceful) be met with violence.

From CNN Politics:

“’That’s how you’re supposed to handle these people,’…

View original post 926 more words

A Basket Of Deplorables

Posted on by under Election 2024, Law and justice, Political commentary, Racism & Bigotry, Social commentary

Remember back in September 2016 when Hillary Clinton, while running for president, was speaking at a fundraiser when she made her world-famous gaffe …

“You know, to just be grossly generalistic, you could put half of Trump’s supporters into what I call the basket of deplorables. Right?  The racist, sexist, homophobic, xenophobic, Islamaphobic—you name it. And unfortunately, there are people like that. And he has lifted them up.”

Not the smartest thing to say when you want these people to vote for you!  She wasn’t at all wrong, but her comment was likely the very thing that may have cost her the electoral college vote.  (Note to readers … she won the election by more than 2.8 million votes, but lost the electoral college vote, primarily due to gerrymandering.)  The reason her comment was a defining moment in her campaign is simple:  many people saw themselves in what she said and believed she was pointing her finger at them, calling them ‘deplorable’.  And, of course, her opponent had a field day with it, never let it out of people’s minds for a single minute, and at the end of the day, it was likely the single most important thing that cost her the presidency.  Twenty seconds, forty-five words, was all it took to doom her candidacy.  Sure, there was Comey’s October surprise, and the fact that Hillary was … GASP … a woman, but I think those could have been overcome had she not uttered those 45 words.

So, you wonder where I’m going with this, don’t you?  Asking yourselves why I’m digging up nearly 5-year-old news.  Well, several things regarding Republicans in the news these past few days have immediately brought the word ‘deplorable’ to mind, and about the third time this happened, the light bulb came on and I remembered what Hillary had said, and I thought, “Y’know, she was spot on in her assessment, not only of Trump supporters, but today’s Republicans as a whole.”  Here are a couple of examples …

The glaring hypocrisy

Nikki Haley, former governor of South Carolina and former U.S. Ambassador to the United Nations, is considering a run for … wait for it … president in 2024.  Now, I respected Nikki as governor of South Carolina, but once she threw her lot in with the former guy, I lost any respect I had for her.  In my book, she sold her soul to the highest bidder.

Nikki does, however, have a conscience somewhere under all the rot, for after the January 6th attacks on the Capitol and on Congress, she seemed to push away from the former guy, even outright criticizing him the next day …

“He was wrong with his words in Charlottesville, and I told him so at the time. He was badly wrong with his words yesterday. And it wasn’t just his words. His actions since Election Day will be judged harshly by history.”

She went on to say in an interview a few weeks later that he had “lost any sort of political viability” and that she didn’t think he was “going to be in the picture” any longer, before adding: “He’s fallen so far.”

But, once she figured out that he IS still in the picture as far as the Republican Party and who they support, she changed her tune … not just a little, but by one hell of a lot!  Here’s what she said earlier this week when addressing a crowd at the Iowa Republican Party dinner …

“Thank goodness for Donald Trump, or we never would have gotten Kamala Harris to the border.”

And that statement is so utterly ridiculous that I cannot even dignify it with a response.  She went on to heap undeserved praise on him, saying that she “saw firsthand as ambassador to the United Nations that Donald Trump put America first” and telling a humorous story about Trump’s decision to label North Korean leader Kim Jong-Un “Little Rocket Man,” saying it showed how the former president had “a way of getting people.”

Oh yeah, she’s licking some big boots there, and there’s no guarantee she’ll be able to lick the stench off anytime soon, for the former guy rejected her request to visit him at Mar-a-Lago not long ago.  Hypocrisy?  Oh yeah … oozing from her pores.  Deplorable.

Rudy, Rudy, Rudy … what have you done?

Rudy Giuliani, the former Mayor of New York, is another who I used to have tremendous respect for.  In the harrowing days following the 9/11 attacks, Rudy held not only New York City, but the rest of the nation together.  But just like Nikki Haley, he sold out, he threw We the People to the lions when he cast his lot in with the former guy.  Rudy became one of many attorneys defending Trump in numerous legal areas, and he followed Trump’s lead … lie, cheat, and steal, do whatever it takes.

All Rudy’s lies finally came home to roost yesterday when a New York court ruled that he made “demonstrably false and misleading statements” while fighting the results of the 2020 election on behalf of Donald J. Trump.  Rudy Giuliani was once the top federal prosecutor in Manhattan, was once known as a law-and-order crusader and whose creative courtroom tactics against mob bosses turned him into a fixture on national television.

The New York State appellate court temporarily suspended Mr. Giuliani’s law license on the recommendation of a disciplinary committee after finding he had sought to mislead judges, lawmakers, and the public as he helped shepherd Trump’s legal challenge to the election results.  In part, the 33-page court decision read …

“The seriousness of respondent’s uncontroverted misconduct cannot be overstated. This country is being torn apart by continued attacks on the legitimacy of the 2020 election and of our current president, Joseph R. Biden.”

How low Rudy Giuliani has sunk.  I don’t expect he’ll ever have his law license re-instated, nor should he, for he is naught but a liar, a boot-licker, and a puppet.  Deplorable.

I could go on, for there are many more, such as Matt Gaetz, Kevin McCarthy, Lauren Boebert, Margie Greene, Josh Hawley, Ted Cruz, Florida Governor Ron DeSantis … so many deplorables all in one party.  So yes, Hillary Clinton hit the nail on the head when she called them a ‘basket of deplorables’ … she paid the ultimate price for her honesty, but at least she was honest, something that is not to be found anywhere within the Republican Party today.

What The GOP Looks Like In The 21st Century

Posted on by under Environmental Issues, History, Political commentary, Racism & Bigotry, Social commentary

Is there a single member of the former guy’s inner circle who isn’t in deep legal doo-doo?  First, there’s Giuliani whose home and office were raided by the FBI last week and who is in more than one pot of boiling water.  Then there’s Jared Kusher whose apartment company has been charged with repeatedly violating state consumer protection laws by collecting debts without required licenses, charging tenants improper fees and misrepresenting the condition of rental units.  Former Attorney General William Barr is being investigated for a possible conflict of interest in the case against heavy-equipment manufacturer Caterpillar Inc., and the list goes on.  Hopefully, at the end of the day, charges and indictments come down against the former guy himself, for he is undoubtedly at the helm of most of these issues.  It is my fondest hope to see the former guy in an orange jumpsuit and behind bars for the rest of his life.

And yet, the GOP goes on, producing more, nastier criminal types like Kevin McCarthy, Josh Hawley, Ted Cruz, Margie Greene, Matt Gaetz and more.  In my mind, I can almost hear Richard Nixon loudly asserting that, “I am not a crook!”  In truth, Nixon was no more a crook than some 90% of today’s GOP … but he paid the price, while today’s lot are applauded.  The difference?  Probably the likes of Fox ‘News’, the New York Post, and other Murdoch-owned outlets that wouldn’t recognize truth if it hit them in the patootie, and the influence of social media.  Compared to Nixon in 1973, today’s liars and crooks have nearly unlimited coverage ‘round the clock … Twitter, Fox, Newsmax, Facebook … they are all complicit in giving voice to the lies, to giving the crooks a megaphone with which to make their meritless case.  To be a star on Twitter or Facebook, you needn’t be honest or intelligent … you only need to have a huge number of followers, which you can get by being off-the-wall outrageous.  Integrity?  Not necessary.  Honesty?  Not a requisite.

You’ll hear, from many on all sides of the fence, that “both sides do it”.  No, my friends.  While the Democrats are not beyond party loyalty, and while no doubt they tell a lie or two here and there, they are in no way the accomplished Pinocchios that today’s GOP is home to.  One single example:  The GOP and its right-wing media arm have put out the completely baseless lie that Joe Biden is “coming to take your beef burger”!  Biden has never, to the best of my knowledge, even mentioned cutting beef consumption, and he’s a smart enough man to know he’d find his head on the chopping block if he did.  Now personally … my family and I eat beef maybe once a month, so I really don’t care if the powers that be stop slaughtering cows, but that’s just me.

But you’ll hear it on Fox, you’ll hear it out of the mouths of the Republican fools … and there is not a single element of basis in fact for that outright lie.  It bears as much merit as if the Democrats put out the lie that Republicans are going to force every person over the age of 18 to own a gun.  But see, we don’t need to make up lies about the Republicans, for they make themselves look bad every day without our help!  They think we sit around trying to find ways to make them look like idiots, but they’ve done that job for us!

But let us talk about substance … if the Republicans don’t like President Biden’s ideas, why don’t they come up with alternate policy proposals, meet at the table, and give a little, take a little, ending with a compromise that benefits the nation?  Why don’t they propose ways to ensure that everyone, regardless of employment, gender, ethnicity, or religion has affordable health care?  Why don’t they give us their ideas for how to repair the damage done to the Earth’s environment by humans?  Why don’t they propose ways to meet the challenges that face us in the 21st century?  Why?  Because they have none, because they are too busy being the party of racism, of negativity, of conspiracy theories, to actually propose meaningful, useful, legislation.  Does anybody doubt that they have spent more time promoting the Big Lie than thinking about how to help the people of this nation?

Republican Representative Anthony Gonzalez, when asked about the beating of Representative Liz Cheney by other Republicans because she stood by her beliefs in voting to impeach the former guy, replied …

“If a prerequisite for leading our conference is continuing to lie to our voters, then Liz is not the best fit. Liz isn’t going to lie to people. Liz is going to say what she believes. She’s going to stand on principle. And if that’s going to be distracting for folks, she’s not the best fit. I wish that weren’t the case.”

And that, folks, sums it up in a nutshell … if you have a conscience, if you are honest and a person of integrity, then you are “not the best fit” for today’s Republican Party.  Need I say more?

The Week’s Best Cartoons 5/1

Posted on by under Bits 'n Pieces, cartoons, Environmental Issues, Humour, Law and justice, Political commentary, Racism & Bigotry, Re-blogs, Social commentary

For our viewing pleasure this afternoon, our friend TokyoSand has waded through the internet in search of the best, most relevant editorial cartoons from last week.  Topics include President Biden’s speech last Wednesday night, Rudy Giuliani’s legal woes, Republican lies, the vaccine, and more.  Thank you, TS!

See All The ‘Toons!

Father And Son … Corruption x 2

Posted on by under 9/11, Election 2022, Political commentary

Let’s talk about the Giuliani family for a minute.  There was a time when I had the utmost respect for Rudy Giuliani.  In the aftermath of the 9/11 terrorist attacks in 2001, New York Mayor Rudy Giuliani was the perfect leader.  He offered heartfelt empathy, he was the voice of reason, he so obviously cared what the country, and more specifically New Yorkers were going through.

Unfortunately, that man disappeared shortly thereafter, never to be heard from again.  He was replaced by a Rudy Giuliani who attached himself like a leech to the most corrupt president this nation has ever had, he lied and cheated on behalf of that ‘man’, and he lost every ounce of respect he had ever earned.

Giuliani helped incite the attacks by domestic terrorists, white supremacists, on the Capitol and Congress on January 6th, but that was only the culmination of all his dirty deeds. The New York State Bar Association is investigating his role and it could ultimately lead to his disbarment.

Giuliani is under investigation with the Department of Justice for his dealings with a shadowy cast of characters in Ukraine, attempting to find and distribute material about the relationship between a scandal-plagued Ukrainian energy company and President Biden’s son, Hunter.  Trump famously told Ukraine’s new president Volodymyr Zelenskyy in July 2019 to get in touch with Giuliani …

“Rudy very much knows what’s happening and he is a very capable guy. If you could speak to him that would be great.”

And then it came out that the former guy had actually threatened to withhold military aid that had already been approved, unless Ukrainian President Zelenskyy promised to publicly announce an investigation of the company in question.  This, of course, led to the former guy’s first impeachment.

I don’t know what will come of the investigation into Rudy Giuliani and his efforts on behalf of the former guy to help incite an insurrection, but time will tell, and personally I won’t shed a tear if Rudy is disbarred and relegated to the annals of history.  But let’s talk about Rudy’s son, Andrew, for a minute.

When Rudy Giuliani took his oath of office to become Mayor of New York City in 1994, it is said that his son Andrew ruined the moment by repeating parts of the oath along with his father. Andrew was exuberant on the podium beside his father, as he blew kisses to the cameras, mimicked every hand gesture of his father, and shouted out: “It should be so and it will be so!”  Of course, since he was only 8 years old at the time, I guess we can overlook that.

Fast forward to 2017 when the former guy gave Andrew a job at the White House … his official title was Special Assistant to the President and Associate Director of the Office of Public Liaison.  Don’t ask what, exactly, he did, but his starting salary in 2017 was $77,000 and within two years had been increased to $95,000.  Remember, folks, that we paid this salary and as far as I can discern, the only thing he did to earn it was contact sports teams to get them to come to the White House for a photo op with the former guy.

Initially, he was given ‘unescorted access’ to the West Wing, but when John Kelly became Chief of Staff, that was rescinded, then re-instated when Kelly left and was replaced by Mick Mulvaney.  That tells me that his position was largely … nothing more than a favour to his father.  He floated around for his own ego.  Oh … one more thing he did was he golfed with the former guy much of the time!  He was a regular golf partner of Trump, and traveled with him for the sole purpose of playing a round or two of golf with him.  In January 2020, the Irish Times called him “Trump’s most regular playing partner”.  Never forget that We the People paid for this!

Fast forward again to present day when Andrew Giuliani is considering a run for … wait for it … Governor of New York!  He has higher aspirations than his father, and only about one-fourth as much intelligence!  It is reported that he’ll be flying to Mar-a-Lago next week to meet with the former guy to finalize his plans for his campaign.  Says Andrew …

“I will be down there next week for a two to three-day swing where we’ll be meeting with donors, interviewing potential staff and speaking to the former President. From a self-interest standpoint, I want the President to be as involved as he wants to be …”

Oh, my aching head!  He seems to be one of the delusional mass who has forgotten that the former guy is just that … former.  But the good news is that New Yorkers are too smart to be snowed by this young punk-in-a-suit!  At least, I hope they are.  I hope they send Andrew G packing, send him back to the playground, the golf course, or the Ukraine … I really don’t care as long as he never enters the Governor’s mansion!  I strongly suspect he has his eye on the Oval Office somewhere down the road, in which case I would jump off a tall building!

Just A Little Bit Of Snarky

Posted on by under Bits 'n Pieces, Election 2020, Law and justice, Political commentary

countdownI can barely remember a time when we could go to bed at night without losing sleep wondering what the latest atrocity from the person in the Oval Office would be when we wake in the morning.  I look forward to seeing such a time again soon.  Why … I might even have to retire Snarky Snippets!  Just 49 days to go …

Take Away The Pardon Pen!

Last week, Trump gave the ignoble Michael Flynn an early Christmas gift … a pardon.  Flynn, you may remember, pleaded guilty to a felony count of “willfully and knowingly” making false statements to the FBI.  Flynn was involved in Russia’s interference in our 2016 presidential election and should, like others, be sitting in a prison cell today.  Instead, he is a free man.

With Flynn’s pardon, people began to speculate about who else Trump might pardon before he leaves office at noon on January 20th.  Let’s start with this headline …

Trump Has Discussed With Advisers Pardons for His 3 Eldest Children and Giuliani

Hmmmm … now why would his three eldest children need pardons?  Obviously, they have committed crimes and Trump knows about it, else he would have no reason to even consider pardoning them.  So … as they say, “inquiring minds want to know,” and this inquiring mind is now determined to find out just what Ivanka, Junior and Eric might have done that would send them to prison if not for daddy’s pardon pen.  Oh, he’s also considering a pardon for his son-in-law, the atrocious Jared Kushner.

Typically, a presidential pardon is issued when a person has been charged with a crime.  Thus far, none of Trump’s children have been charged with a crime, so any pardon would be a pre-emptive one covering crimes for which they might be charged in the future.  How the Sam Hell does that work?

Junior had been under investigation by Robert Mueller’s team for his role in dealing with the Russians for damaging information against Hillary Clinton, but he was never charged.  Probably should have been but wasn’t.

What all of this says to me is that there has been a great deal of criminal activity taking place behind the closed doors of the White House that is highly likely to be uncovered by the Justice Department once it is no longer led by toady William Barr.  I can guarantee you that none of it was in the best interest of this nation and its people, but rather served to profit Trump and his businesses.

According to the New York Times …

Such a broad pardon pre-empting any charge or conviction is highly unusual but does have precedent. In the most famous example, President Gerald R. Ford pardoned Richard M. Nixon for all of his actions as president. President George Washington pardoned plotters of the Whiskey Rebellion, shielding them from treason prosecutions. And President Jimmy Carter pardoned thousands of American men who illegally avoided the draft for the Vietnam War.

I think that it’s time to put some restrictions on the presidential pardon pen.  Right now, there are none except that the president can only pardon federal, not state crimes.  I think no president should be able to pardon a murderer who has not been proven innocent, or a family member for any reason.  And I certainly don’t approve of this pre-emptive pardoning, where the person is pardoned for crimes that we don’t even know about yet!  This is just ridiculous.

Speaking of Attorney General William Barr …

It seems he might be having second thoughts about having been Trump’s toady, now that Trump has obviously lost the election and will soon be on his way out the door, taking all his minions with him.  For the first time since he took office in February 2019, Barr disagreed with Trump in a move that likely infuriated the child in the Oval Office.

Barr’s comments, in an interview with the The Associated Press, contradict the concerted effort by Trump, his boss, to subvert the results of last month’s voting and block President-elect Joe Biden from taking his place in the White House.

Barr told the AP that U.S. attorneys and FBI agents have been working to follow up specific complaints and information they’ve received, but “to date, we have not seen fraud on a scale that could have effected a different outcome in the election.”

Apparently, Trump’s attorneys were none too happy with Barr’s statement, as Rudy Giuliani and his political campaign issued a scathing statement claiming that, “with all due respect to the Attorney General, there hasn’t been any semblance” of an investigation into the president’s complaints.

Other administration officials who have come out forcefully against Trump’s allegations of voter-fraud evidence have been fired.  Would he fire Barr, with only 49 more days in office?  Sure he would!  He’d fire just about anybody, but at this point, I doubt he would find anyone willing to take the job for a period of less than two months.

Speaking of Trump’s attorneys …

Respected and respectable lawyers shy away from working for Donald Trump, for they would be risking their reputation, and potentially their license to practice law by working for him.  So, his legal team is not the best and the brightest, but one of his lawyers, Joe DiGenova is beneath even pond scum.

On Monday, DiGenova made an appearance on NewsMax, the latest in right-wing propaganda media, and said this …

“Anybody who thinks the election went well, like that idiot Krebs who used to be the head of cybersecurity, that guy is a class A moron. He should be drawn and quartered. Taken out at dawn and shot.”

Seriously???

Chris Krebs, you may remember, is the former head of election security in the Department of Homeland Security, who stated in no uncertain terms that there was no widespread voter fraud, and that the 2020 election was the most secure in the nation’s history.  He was fired a few days later on November 17th, by an irrational person who has no conscience, no ability to discern fact from fantasy.

Condemnation of Joe DiGenova’s remark about Chris Krebs was swift, including calls for his disbarment and the charge that he was behaving like a “mob attorney”.  No word on Trump’s response, but no doubt he will praise and approve of DiGenova’s comments.

countdown