Downward Spiral

Treason's Greetings!

In the thirteen-and-a-half years I've been writing this blog - as I've never been shy about pointing out - I am not an admirer of Ronald Reagan. The destruction of the comfortable middle class, which once thrived in America, may be laid at the foot of his grave. True, I did vote for the old bugger in 1980, but that was only because I was so disgusted with Jimmy Carter that I believed he was doing irreparable harm to the progressive cause....Also, I was completely intoxicated on election night that year. To reiterate a point that was made yesterday by New York senator, Chuck Schumer, der Gipper wouldn't recognize his party today.

 

"Mothers Against Drunk Voters". If that organization does not exit it really should. Seriously.

Watching the Gang Of Putin during the impeachment inquiry during the last few weeks has been alternately amusing and horrifying. Unintentional comedy is always entertaining in various degrees; but the time eventually comes when one has to splash cold water in his or her face and face the nasty fact that these people are deadly serious - and that a huge portion of the country are taking them seriously. This is not a prologue for a happy outcome.

Carter Page

Another of many kickers came yesterday when the Inspector General (IG) released a report that stated that the FBI did not illegally spy on the Trump Campaign during the 2016 race for the White House, and that any and all court-authorized warrants they obtained to investigate a private citizen (the hapless Carter Page) who was suspected of spying for the Russians was perfectly legit. The fact that he was - for reasons no one can quite figure out - chosen as a foreign policy advisor to Donald Trump does did not make him off-limits to be investigated. Of course, Attorney General Barr and Trump have denied the conclusions of the IG report. They have hired their own hand-picked stooge to do an alternate investigation. I cannot wait to read that one!

And to make matters worse (or "better" for my mischievous purposes) yesterday, as the Dems in the House announced to the world that The Donald would be facing an impeachment vote in that chamber, there was a smiling Trump, posing at his desk with an impudent grin on his clueless face. Behind him was none other than Sergey Lavrov, the Russian foreign affairs minister who was a also a guest in the oval office (along with other Putin underlings) in the spring of 2017. You may recall that on this particular day, Trump bragged to these guys that he had sacked FBI director James Comey because of his insistence on investigating "the Rusher thing". He also (by accident or design) revealed to them classifies Israeli intelligence. You'll be forgiven if you have forgotten about this. So much has happened since then that it's nearly impossible to keep track of it all.

FUN FACT: Ukrainian president Zelenski, for whom a oval office photo-op would have meant everything for his beleaguered nation, has yet to be invited.

"All roads lead to Putin."

 

Nancy Pelosi

This is as bad as it's ever been or is ever going to get....I hope. I'll say it again: Watergate was merely a paper-cut. This is a bloodbath. It amazes me that this disgusting administration has turned out to be twice as bad as even I dared to predict on the morning following Election Day 2016. Trump will be tried in the senate next month. And though a lot more may be revealed between now and then, I don't expect him to be removed from office - which is probably just as well. Mike Pence is such a complete and dangerous dingbat, having him steering the ship-of-state won't be much of an improvement. I never dreamed our luck would get this bad. When one finds one's self nostalgic for the likes of George W. Bush, one realizes what an ideological and toxic waste-dump their once-revered country has become. The best that could be said of the Trump era a year ago was that, at the very least, it was amusing. That's no longer the case. The accidental comedy is running a bit thin.

Four times in American history a United States president has faced impeachment. Three of those times have been within my conscious memory. Ain't that something?

Tom Degan
Goshen, NY

AFTERTHOUGHT:

It's been two weeks since I've written anything. Truth be told: I'm speechless.