JOHNNY ON THE SPOT

I'm of two minds regarding John Bolton. On the one hand, I was positively floored when der Donald tapped him to be a part Team Trump two years ago - and I wrote as much on this site. My feeling at the time was that Bolton, who had a long history as a hawk of the worst order, would not be an asset to American diplomacy. In fact, my feeling was that he would end up as a disaster, surely capable of starting World War Three.

 

That was then. This is now.

 

Bolton, despite his obvious flaws, is perfectly capable of imparting a bit of truth regarding the corruption of the Trump administration. The man is ready to expose the dishonesty of the most insanely dishonest administration in the history of this perfectly doomed country. I never dreamed that John Bolton would, somehow, be seen as democracy's hero, but he is. This is something that we'll all have to live with.

Trump has told his former National Security Advisor that he will no longer be able to walk with his people away from the disaster that is the Trump administration.

***************

AFTERTHOUGHT: 2/9/20

I didn't finish this thing. I became completely filled with despair and I had a few drinks. I'm sorry about that.

Tom Degan
Goshen, NY

Bolton's Billion Dollar Shithammer

"A fool and his money are soon elected".

 

Will Rogers

 

It's as real as it's ever going to get for the GOP. John Bolton has stated as clearly as possible that he's willing to testify before the senate at der Donald's impeachment trial. Nearly three quarters of all the registered voters of this country want him to testify. Most of them want him removed from office. If the American people have to wait until after Trump is acquitted, and they finally get to the truth by reading Bolton's book on the events of his tenure in that disgusting administration, a lot of people across this country are going to be hopping-ass-mad. Mitch McConnell understands this and this has left him in an uncomfortable, untenable position. What will happen now (I think) is that Trump will decree that anything Johnny Boy has to say about what the president knew and when he knew is classified. He will then order Bolton not to testify. That will be the moment when Mr. Bolton informs the president of the United States that he can go fuck himself. Will Trump then prevent his testimony by having him incarcerated? Can he legally do something that completely outrageous? No, but don't put it past the hideous old bugger to give it the old college try. Donald Trump is crazy and there's no guessing at what kind of insanity the man is capable of. In the next few weeks expect high constitutional drama at its weirdest. This is going to get interesting.

The fact that the Republicans are trying to conduct a trial without witnesses has no precedent in the 244 year history of this doomed republic. I'm shocked that the person presiding over this fiasco, Chief Justice John Roberts, has not pointed out the complete unconstitutionality of such a blatantly illegal move. The reason he is there, after all, is to act as an impartial judge over the proceedings. I'm even more shocked that - so far, at least - not one Democrat has had the sense to present him with an open objection. Whenever I need to remember why I left that silliest of parties twenty-two years ago this May, they always cheerfully remind me. You gotta love them Dems. You just gotta!

Not Your Father's GOP

I don't know how this is going to play out in the long run. I suspect that Trump will be let off the hook - with or without John Bolton's testimony. I do, however, believe that the Republicans are going to pay a heavy price at the polls come Election Day - that is, if the ultimate electoral fraud is not brought into play. There is always a very distinct possibility of that. It has become obvious that the only way they will be able to win elections in the future will be by suppressing the votes of as many people as possible. Whether it be by disenfranchising the ballots of African Americans - as they did twenty years ago in Florida - or by making it difficult for the rest of the Democrats' traditional constituency to take part in the process, the "party of Abraham Lincoln" has no intention of paying fair or by any rules but their own. This is an organized criminal enterprise. Forgive me for sounding like a broken record but, wake up and smell the elephant shit, kiddies.

 

The only possible silver lining to Trump's probable acquittal will be the avoidance of a Mike Pence administration - however brief that administration would ultimately have been. Poor old Mike is such a complete embarrassment that the very idea of his living in the house that was once occupied by Jefferson, Lincoln and the two Roosevelts is too revolting for mere contemplation.

 

"I pray Heaven to bestow the best of Blessings on this house and all that shall hereafter inhabit it. May none but honest and wise Men ever rule under this roof.”

 

John Adams

 

Adams wrote those words in a letter to his wife, Abigail, on his second night in the new White House in 1801. I imagine that he would have been appalled at the men ruling under that roof two-and-a-quarter centuries later. What would he have thought? It makes the imagination tremble.

 

Tom Degan

Goshen, NY

A Party Mired in Corruption

A sweet stroll down memory lane, from April 9, 2013:

 

"Might I share with you this insatiable little fantasy of mine? It involves our boy Mitch. You see, I have this dream of beating the distinguished gentleman from Kentucky to a fucking, bleeding pulp. Confronting him in a dark alley somewhere in the District of You-Know-Where, I can visualize pounding his skull to the very edge of existence. Once he got the message, I might then be seriously tempted to set the decrepit old son-of-a-bitch on fire - just to keep things interesting, you understand. But that kind of treatment would be much too harsh and brutal - even for the likes of Mitch McConnell. Just stuff the bruised and bloodied little bastard into a dumpster behind some third-rate pizzeria on K Street, where he can think things over while he recuperates."

 

A bit harsh, I'll admit. In the following paragraph I apologized for the violence of my imagery. It was, after all, the Easter season when all good Christians (and I hope I am one) are celebrating the resurrection of the Prince of Peace.

As someone who has studiously explored the history of this once-great nation, I can honestly tell you that Mitch McConnell is the most completely contemptible "human being" that has ever slithered his way through the halls of congress. For all his flaws, McCarthy was, in his private interactions - and by all accounts - a likable and amiable guy. The fact is that people (on both sides of the aisle) thoroughly enjoyed his company. Mitch McConnell, on the other hand, is inherently despicable. If there is a more corrupt politician to serve in the last seventy years, I would sure as hell like to know about it. Mitch is determined that this so-called "trial" in the senate is kept in the dark and shielded from the eyes on the American people. It's not just Moscow Mitch, it's that entire disgusting party. "Party" is a misnomer. That is an organized criminal enterprise. What more proof do you need?

Trump and the Republicans are determined that this "trial" proceed without witnesses. The Donald has stated that, while he would like John Bolton to testify, he cannot possibly do so for reasons of "national security. The right-wingers are all in agreement. Their problem is the nasty fact that Bolton's memoirs of this unfortunate chapter in his life are due to be released to the public in June. When that happens, the truth will be out there for all to see. Those unfortunate politicians will then be exposed as traitors who attempted to hide from the American voters the treachery of the Trump administration. I don't envy any of them. I'm just saying.

Good luck, Idiot Nation.

Tom Degan
Goshen, NY




one more year....HANG IN THERE, FOLKS!

An uncluttered desk is symptomatic of someone with no ideas.

Here we have your classic Good News/Bad News scenario....

THE GOOD NEWS: One year from today, Donald Trump will no longer be president of the United States and will (if there is any justice in this world) be on his way to federal prison.

 

THE BAD NEWS: 2020 is a leap year and we will be forced to wait 366 days instead of the standard 365.

For the third year in a row, Trump has failed to take note of Martin Luther King Day. That's fine by me. In fact, I'm glad that he has never honored the life of one of the greatest Americans of the twentieth century. For him to do so would have somehow cheapened and soiled the event. But, please, consider this: Next year, Dr. King Day will fall on the day of the inauguration of the new president. Just close your eyes for a moment and imagine the KICK ASS celebrations that will be occurring all over the nation when that happens. January 20, 2021 will be the most joyous day in America in my lifetime. I don't know whether or not Trump will be impeached by that time. My guess is that the senate Republicans will keep him right where he is - which is fine. Mike Pence is such a deplorable asshole that we'll be all better off enduring another year of The Donald. Life is what happens to you while you're busy making other plans. you know?

I'm not a Democrat. I left that party almost twenty-two years ago and never looked back. But I plan on voting for whomever the Democrats nominate next summer - regardless. In the year 2000, the Left in this country nominated a good and decent man named Ralph Nader to run as their standard bearer. And what did that get us? Eight years of George W. Bush - a man who, inexplicably, I'm beginning to feel nostalgic for. We cannot afford to make that mistake in 2020. There are several candidates on the Democratic side for whom I would not be comfortable at the top of the ticket. That doesn't matter. As I did in 2016, when I went to the polls and cast my precious ballot for Hillary Clinton) I'll be voting for the Democratic nominee. The survival of the country that I love depends on nothing else.

I am insanely intoxicated at the moment. A year from today, in addition to celebrating MLK Day and the end of the most insanely incompetent and disgusting administration in American history, my plan is to celebrate a full year of sobriety. There won't be anything else to take note of on January 20, 2021as far as I'm concerned. This fiasco needs to end, NOW. Think of your children. If nothing else, think of them.

Tom Degan
Goshen, NY

SUGGESTED READING:

STABLE GENIUS 

MELANIA TRUMP IS A PROSTITUTE

 

 

FULL DISCLOSURE:

 

This piece has nothing to do with Melania Trump. I've learned in the past week that the first lady has threatened to sue the pants off of anyone and everyone who even vaguely suggests that she is now - or has ever been - a lady of ill repute. The way I figure it, is that a lawsuit directed my way would be the equivalent of a million dollars publicity for this blog. Numbers are down. You do what you gotta do, you know? 

 

We are gathered here today to discuss, of course, the impeachment of the president of the United States. The right-wingers in the seem intent to keep any witnesses from taking the stand next week. So desperate are they to rig the process in Trump's favor, they seem blissfully unaware that the people are going to see this skullduggery for the scam that it obviously is. They seem clueless that the number of people who want this silly bastard in the White House to go away is getting larger with the passing of each day. A little over two weeks from not, which is when this thing is expected to wrap up, the numbers should be even higher. And with the amount of new evidence that seems to be pouring in daily, the Republicans are anxious to get this thing over and done with and sweep it under the rug.

The fact that they would be so reckless and brazen with a national election less than ten months away makes their obstruction all-the-more hard to figure out. Have they actually deceived themselves into thinking that the electorate will have forgotten about this fiasco between now and November? Are they that delusional? The answer to that question is....well, yeah, they are.

It's never going to be the way it was, folks. It's over. It's fucking over. Did you ever - in your wildest, stupidest dreams - ever imagine that your once-great nation would sink as low as it has? It never even dawned on me. We used to mean something to the rest of the world. We mean nothing now. Donald Trump is now the leader of the free world. When I think of what we might have been.... Fuck it, I'm going back to bed.

Sweet dreams.

Tom Degan
Goshen, NY

All You Need Is Lev

Best of Strangers

 

Just Friends, Lovers No More

"I don't know him. Perhaps he's a fine man. Perhaps he's not. I know nothing about him".

 

Donald Trump, 11/16/20

 

Until two nights ago Lev Parnas was little more than a caricature; in fact he seemed almost cartoonish to me. He and his pal, Igor Fruman, both "associates" of Rudy Giuliani, reminded me of a couple of villains from the Rocky and Bullwinkle Show. All this has changed as you might well imagine. I was also surprised to discover how well-and-soft-spoken he is. When he gave an interview to Rachel Maddow, and later, to Anderson Cooper, the guy started to seem a little more human - particularly because he refuses to be a patsy for the legacy of Donald J. Trump. Parnas' very existence is the latest of hundreds of wrenches thrown into the haywired Trump machine. As I've been emphasizing since the morning after Election Day 2016, this is going to end very badly.

Anything Lev says should be taken with the tiniest grain of salt. He is, after all, under criminal indictment for campaign finance violations. But he sure does sound convincing. It would seem to me that the guy has everything to lose and not a damned thing to gain by coming out now and telling a bunch of bald-face-lies about the president of the United States - and it's not only The Donald he's implicating. Also ensnarled in this scandal is Vice-President Mike Pence and Energy Secretary Rick Perry to name but two. The sheer scope of the scandal that is now imploding this disgusting administration is beyond anything that anyone - myself included - could have predicted on the day the oaf of office recited the oath of office on January 20, 2017. This is beyond anything that Dick Nixon and his gang were involved in forty-eight years ago at the height of the Watergate mess. This is the hydrogen bomb of political scandals. These really are extraordinary times to be alive.

It's almost a tragic thing to bear witness to what is happening now to Donald Trump - "almost". It's a gratifying thing to watch this most corrupt of chiefs-executive as the chickens come home to roost all around him. The dude's arrogance and corruption were bound to catch up to him eventually. I'm surprised, really, that it took this long to tell you the truth. And the senate has found itself in one hell of a pickle. We're now at the point where most Americans want him removed from office - and that number is growing every day. Trump's acquittal is no longer a foregone conclusion. It's still not very likely, but not out of the realm of possibility. For every day that passes the storm gains momentum. By this time next week his position may very well be untenable. This is going to be quite interesting, boys and girls.
`

"I don't know him".

You got to hand it to Giuliani. The man will go down in history as a walking disaster. Throughout this entire fiasco, everything he touched turned into shit. The very fact that Trump did not give this unhinged and incompetent twit the sack three years ago speaks untold volumes about the man's grip (or lack thereof) on basic realities that you and I take for granted. To think that nineteen years ago he was a figure of national pride - "America's Mayor" - in the wake of the tragedy of September 11, 2001. Today he has found himself in complete disgrace, more-than-likely within months of being criminally indicted. His fall has been complete and permanent. His reputation is in ashes. When his term as mayor of New York City ended in January of 2002, he should have disappeared. He didn't. Schmuck.

We still don't know if Lev Parnas or John Bolton are going to be allowed to testify before the senate in the impeachment trial. A trial without witnesses would be the greatest injustice of all.

Tom Degan
Goshen, NY

AFTERTHOUGHT:

Jared and Ivanka have never met Lev Parnas either.



Thoughts from John Harragin

Degan and Harragin occupying Wall Street, November 2011
`

I first met John Harragin about two-and-a-half years before the invention of dirt. We've been pals for damned-near fifty years and I don't suspect that status will be changing any time soon. I was pleasantly surprised this morning to pick up the local Chronicle to find this excellent piece in there by my old pal. It is a warning to humanity that we ignore to our own determent:

 

*********************

 

Humanity is approaching an environmental apocalypse. It is looking ever more likely that our survival depends on us changing our ways. It is time to declare a war on pollution.

 

This war must be waged like no other in history, because the enemies are the very same entities that typically rally to wage war on our behalf:

 

● Fossil fuel companies

● Energy production

● Chemical companies

● Industrialized agriculture

● The banking industry

● Transportation and shipping

● Surveillance state activity

● Military activity

 

How can we respond to this crisis when its causes lie in much of what we do as a society?

 

The biggest single carbon emitter and polluter on earth is the United States Military. Any reasonable response to the climate crisis will include massive changes to the way the military functions. But first one must understand the relationship between fossil fuels, the military, and the hoard of corporations and individuals that profit from the huge military budget.

 

The military consumes a vast amount of petroleum – but one of its major functions is to protect the flow of oil. The function of securing oil is the predominant reason why the military is so huge, with hundreds of bases installed around the world. Additionally, the manufacture and deployment of ships, aircraft and other vehicles as well as weaponry of all types consume a vast amount of fossil fuels. Much of this activity is distributed among many private military contractors. These companies don’t exist for the good of mankind, our environment, or the citizens of the United States. Their purpose is to generate profit.

 

Some of the industrialists behind military contracts have become extremely wealthy – now to the extent that they wield more financial power than anyone else. But like their companies, their purpose is to generate profit. With that growing wealth, these industrialists gained control of many businesses across sectors, including technology, chemical, media, agriculture, and energy production companies. Shortly after World War II, industrialists’ control of government and military activity had evolved to such an extent that Dwight Eisenhower devoted his final speech as president to warn society of this growing threat to the principles of our nation by what he referred to as the Military Industrial Complex.

 

The collective objective of the Military Industrial Complex is the perpetuation of its self. Of course, this is just a reflection of the individual industrialists working to secure and grow their own incomes. Nothing has been off limits toward achieving these goals. Media, individuals, politicians, and government have all been co-opted and are all regularly manipulated.

 

But now the world is recognizing climate destabilization as a threat that will invariably lead to humanity’s destruction if bold steps are not taken – particularly the minimization of fossil fuel usage.

But nearly all military activity relates to energy. It is totally intertwined with controlling various resources, particularly oil bearing resources and pertroleum's production. Then there is the obtaining and securing of shipping and pipeline routes, supporting sheikhs, overthrowing sheikhs...

 

This is why we have the huge military – to maintain and increase power of the petrodollar and world dependency on oil. Without that, the massive military presence – and thus the Military Industrial Complex, would shrink. To the industrialists – and thereby the complex – decreasing fossil fuel usage is unthinkable.

 

The military’s ongoing relationship with petroleum is proving to be a war on life itself. Unfortunately, it appears that the United States is going to win this one...

John Harragin

Goshen, NY

 

*********************

 

Does the guy have promise or what? In fourteen years of writing this site, this is only the third time I have turned it over to another writer. Of all of the people I was friends with in high school, John was the smartest one of the whole gang. His wisdom should make us all take note. Cheers!

 

Tom Degan

Goshen, NY

 

SUGGESTED READING:

 

Our New Occupation

from The Rant, 14 November 2011

 

https://tomdegan.blogspot.com/2011/11/our-new-occupation.html 

 

This was about the day Harragin and I went down to Zuccotti Park to see for ourselves.

JUST GOTTA GIVE ME SOME ROCK 'N' ROLL!

SUGGESTED LISTENING:

Meat City
by John Lennon

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=43pG6w7kiCs

 

Well I'm going to China!

PRESIDENT PENCE?

Lovingly....Longingly....
 

Let's be as clear as we can be here, okay? Mike Pence is a politician so mind-fuckingly dumb, he makes Dan Quayle look like Albert Einstein. Remember Dan? He was George H.W. Bush's running mate in 1992. The guy turned out to be such a strain and embarrassment to the ticket that year, that the Bush campaign would print his name on the bumper stickers in such a deep and dark red hue, that they wouldn't photograph in black-and-white! Back then, most newspapers did not print in color. Team H.W. did not (for jolly good reasons) want to emphasize the fact that they had actually chosen this genius to be a "heartbreak away from the presidency". They somehow managed to win the contest that year anyway - for reasons I will never be able to understand.

 

Idiot Nation.

 

Spiro is my Hero....NOT!

We need to come to some serious terms regarding the proposed impeachment of our esteemed Common-Pervert-in-Chief. It's probably not going to happen. And while I am ambivalent about that fact, I have reconciled myself to the idea that Pence, while undoubtedly not as certifiably insane as Donald Trump, is at least twice as dumb as Trump himself. Unless we can repeat the scenario of the autumn of 1973, where the corrupt and idiotic Spiro Agnew was replaced by a decent moderate named Gerry Ford, impeaching Donald Trump would probably have far-too-many ramifications down the road. We really don't need to go there. Seriously.

Whatever happens - many thing might transpire between now and January 20, 2021 - we need to focus on the campaign ahead of us. If this unhinged jackass is reelected for another term, this doomed nation is through. We need to let go of the right wing lock that has taken control of the United States for the last forty years. It's later than you think, folks. It's later than you fucking think.

Tom Degan
Goshen, NY

 

A Suggestion for the Candidates

Unglued and Unhinged

Iran's response to the killing of General Qassem Soleimani was, to say the least, restrained. They might have retaliated in a way that killed a whole lot of American soldiers but, instead, responded by making sure (I believe)  that the loss of life was minimal or non-existent. In doing so, they avoided a bombardment that surely would have led to an all-out war. Apparently, someone was able to convince The Donald to leave well enough alone. Both sides, hopefully, are satisfied. This incident might have evolved into World War Three, just as the assassination of Archduke Franz Ferdinand (and his wife) in June of 1914 mutated into the carnage of the First World War, or, as it was known for a generation, "The Great War". You see, when that unspeakable conflict ended in November of 1918, no one envisioned a second war on that scale as being even remotely possible. On September 3, 1939 everything changed.

 

FUN FACT: The last surviving veteran of the "Great War" passed away only six years ago. It is no longer a living memory.

 

I have a suggestion for the Democratic candidates for the 2020 election. They should put their differences aside - just for the moment - and put out a jointly signed letter to the rest of the planet that essentially reads:

 

Hi there, world! We're awfully sorry about the situation that the United States now finds itself in. No person with a lock on reality could have seen Donald Trump coming. Please, when this fucking nightmare is behind us, and this contemptible jackass is once again a private citizen and on his way to federal prison, we'll be back to normal (or as normal as the United States gets these days. Whatever happens between now and January 20. 2021, please try not to overreact. Remember that this era of American history is merely another, massive brain-fart on the part of the American voters, and that we will soon correct ourselves - just as we did on January 20, 2009 when we inaugurated Barack Obama. Please be patient - and hang in there!

 

Or words to that effect....

 

Such a statement would settle nerves that are in dire need of settling, don'cha think? There will never again be a moment like this, where the rest of this troubled planet will need to be reassured as much as it needs to be at this moment. I don't know whether or not Trump will be removed from office later this month, although his support among some Republicans seems to be eroding. I understand that the prospect of a Pence administration is enough to rattle the nerves of any thinking human being with an IQ above room temperature; but it should be remembered that Mike Pence - as jaw-droppingly stupid as he undeniably is - is not certifiably insane; something that we should all remember.

This is a deplorable situation that we need to extricate ourselves from as soon as possible. The fact that this idiot's support in the polls hovers, stubbornly, at forty percent is a reflection on the idiocy of too may Americans. There was a time, not too long ago, when the citizens of this doomed nation would advertise their national origins to anyone who would listen. That's not the case any longer.

I am ashamed to be a citizen of a nation so out-of-touch that they would send this fucking asshole to the house that was once occupied by Abraham Lincoln and Franklin Roosevelt. So sue me.

Tom Degan
Goshen, NY

SING, JOHNNY, SING!

 

Around the time I met the child rapist

It's certainly not a good thing to be Donald Trump these days. Truth be told: I've never thought it's ever been a good thing to be Donald Trump. I say this from personal experience. Two years before his name became a household expletive with the release of that idiotic "Art of the Deal" back in the early eighties, I had my own encounter with Donald Trump. It was, as I remember it, shortly before Trump Tower was opened to the public. I was working on a metal restoration crew, polishing and lacquering the brass railings in the lobby of the soon-to-be-opened Tower. All of the sudden, this impudent jackass walked up to the foreman I was working under, an Italian immigrant names Frank Amato. Trump, with a degenerate little sycophant in tow, walked up to where Frank was working.

 

"What's that chemical he's pouring over my brass railings?" asked the future Common-Pervert-In-Chief.

 

"Well, Mr. Trump", replied Frank, "This is a chemical called 'Noxon', which we use to...."

 

"NO", came the firm reply from the degenerate little sycophant. "When Mr. Trump asks you a question, you will direct the answer to me."

 

TRANSLATION:

 

"You goddamned little WOP piece-of-shit, you're not worthy to look Mr. Trump in the eye!"

 

I witnessed this revolting behavior with my own eyes. I knew, from first-hand-experience - THIRTY SEVEN YEARS AGO - what Donald Trump was all about. And some of you still wonder why I was so alarmed when this jackass was nominated by (GET THIS!) "The party of Abraham Lincoln" four-long-years-ago this summer? I was paying attention, kiddies. And, of course, I wasn't the only one. My mantra four years ago was: "This is going to end badly". I was only one of thousands of bloggers out there trying to warn you. Most of you already understood this. A significant minority of you did not. We really need to do away with the Electoral College. Seriously.

And now we learn that The Donald's Former National Security Advisor John Bolton has decided to cooperate fully and testify during the impeachment proceedings. I have a funny feeling that Bolton won't be invited to the Trump family's Thanksgiving dinner in November. Can you even imagine how mind-numbingly awkward that would be? Last night on MSNBC, Lawrence O'Donnell speculated that Bolton's reason for cooperating at this late stage, is simply because he will be able to manipulate the more-pliable Mike Pence into carrying out the blueprint for the onset of World War Three. I wouldn't be surprised in the least if that were, indeed, the case.

Whatever the case may be, we are screwed either way. We will either be forced to continue on for the remaining year with an unhinged maniac like Donald Trump navigating the ship-of-state, or we'll have to content with an imbecile like Mike Pence calling the shots. Either way, America is fucked. Get used to living in a nation in ruins.

Have a jolly good evening, campers!

Tom Degan
Goshen, New York

SUGGESTED READING:

Al Franken: Master of the Senate

I just read this today. As brilliant and as funny as we might expect Al to be. I really wish that he would come back. He is one of the best senators of my lifetime. Honestly.

The Donald Dogs the Wag

 

"If Americans anywhere are threatened we have all those targets fully identified, and I am ready and prepared to take whatever action is necessary."

 

So said Corporal Bone-Spurs

 

EXTRA! EXTRA! ARCHDUKE FRANZ FERDINAND IS ASSASSINATED IN SARAJEVO!

 

Idiot Nation

 

Soleimani

Late yesterday morning when I received the news of the assassination Trump ordered of Iranian general Qassem Soleimani, my thoughts immediately flashed to the only-son of a friend of mine of almost fifty years. He entered military service on his eighteenth birthday a number of years ago, and I needed to know if he was still serving. Trying to sound as nonchalant as is humanly possible, I inquired of him,  "Hi, Danny. Where are you these days?" When he informed me that his term-of-duty expired in October, and that he was living in Wisconsin, and was about to relocate to Florida to live with Dear-old-Dad, I replied: "I'm quite relieved to hear this. The president has gone mad. It's not a good time to be in the service. This is going to end badly. Send your dad my best."

 

"I will", said he. Nice kid.

I have a strong suspicion that Donald Trump is not particularly good at the game of chess. Chess requires the ability to predict what might happen several moves in the future - a talent that Trump obviously lacks. In the year 2011, the current First Fool predicted that then-president Barack Obama would invade the nation of Iran in order to ensure his reelection the following year. He called the imagined future invasion "pathetic" - and it certainly would have been quite pathetic indeed had it happened. It didn't. Instead, in 2015, the Obama administration worked out a series of deals with the Iranians that effectively put their nuclear ambitions on the back burner. Almost as soon as he took office, our esteemed Common-Pervert-In-Chief destroyed the entire deal.

Wasn't sending this hideous psychopath to the White House a jolly good idea? Idiot Nation.

What this unhinged jackass unleashed upon the world yesterday could very well be the spark that ignites a firestorm that might lead to the war that humanity has been fearing for several generations - THE BIG THIRD ONE. We should never have gone in this direction. A-thousand-or-more commentators (this one included) accurately predicted in 2016 that sending this fucking moron to the Executive Mansion would incur a series of self-inflicted disasters that would be felt for generations. My generation was bequeathed the most functional, prosperous nation in the history of humanity. And what are our heirs inheriting from us? An ideological shit-hole. These are the weirdest of times. They really are!
`
Here's my handy suggestion:
`
All of the Democratic candidates in the 2020 primaries should sign a joint-letter, letting the people of the planet know that what is happening to this once-great nation is (in the words of Charlie Chaplin) "the passing of greed; the bitterness of men who fear the way of human progress", and that, no matter which Democrat wins the election on November 3, 2020, this era of human stupidity and absurdity shall come to an abrupt and permanent end. I never believed - for a minute - that the day would come when I would look back upon the era of a half-witted frat boy like George W. Bush with a feeling of teary-eyed nostalgia. We sure do live in a strange era.

Strange days indeed. Most peculiar, Mama - Whoa!

Tom Degan
Goshen, NY

SUGGESTED VIEWING:

Who Is Eric Trump?

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rWk3_qWEEH0&feature=youtu.be&fbclid=IwAR1zOTREQghn8tK03sxBJYwHNg_0KCdJl0s-gmg88pJNvNzNbBenO7pz_eo

BREAKING NEWS:

Eric Trump is a moron.