THIS JUST IN:
Walter M. Shaub, Jr, the director of the Office of Government Ethics, has resigned. He felt that his job was pointless in the age of Donald Trump. As Mr. Shaub explained to the world in a written statement (that we might logically assume was pieced together by cutting out letters from various magazines and newspaper advertisements):
"There isn't much more I could accomplish at the Office of Government Ethics, given the current situation."
Gee, ya think? Last night I heard someone remark that the guy deserved combat pay having gone as long as he did. Hats off to you, Walter!
Is anyone aware of a betting pool that is taking wagers on when The Donald is going to pack up voluntarily or be impeached? I'd sure like to get in on that one. My best guess is that the demented little thug will be forced to resign in disgrace before the new year arrives. If not, it will take a year-and-a-half until the Democrats regain control of both houses of congress and they have enough votes to impeach him. If that is indeed the case, the next eighteen-plus months is going to seem to all of us like eighteen-plus years. I am convinced that - whatever the case - Trump is not going to serve four years. Then again, that could be wishful thinking on my part. In fact, conceivably he could be reelected and serve a complete, eight year stretch. We do live in Idiot Nation after all.
Whichever scenario plays out, the fact that something as ludicrous as a Trump administration was allowed to occur at all spells out the knife in the heart of the American Dream. It might take us a generation or more to recover from the damage that conservatives have done (and are doing - and will continue to do) to a country that used to be a jolly nice place to live in. Every day the unprecedented political scandals seem to compound themselves. The corruption and conflicts of interest are numerous and impossible to dismiss outright. Richard Nixon resigned in disgrace one week before I turned sixteen. I sometimes get the feeling that I am witnessing Watergate trough the eyes of a grown up - only what is happening in the executive mansion at this moment in history is far worse than the misdeeds of Nixon's Gang. I almost wish that the slimy old bastard could have lived to see this. I know it would have given him a feeling of peace to know that, when the final pages of American history are written on some not-too-far-off day, his crimes against the people will seem almost quaint by comparison.
Oh yeah, this is bad, baby - and I'm loving every minute of it.
And why shouldn't people like me get some serious schadenfreude out of this perfectly beautiful political catastrophe. We were laughed at and mocked, publicly and privately, in the months leading up to Election Day 2016 when we vainly tried to warn our more conservative contemporaries the utter disaster that would befall this doomed nation if the people were naïve enough to elevate Putin's stooge to the presidency. An acquaintance of mine, in making an excuse for his support of Trump a year ago, recently said to me: "No one could have foreseen this". My response: "You obviously weren't reading my blog." I'm not going to lie to you; that sure felt good. I had no idea gloating could feel so good. It's oodles of fun being me these days. It really is.
Alcoholics Anonymous never worked for me. The spiritual core of AA is something called The Serenity Prayer. It instructs me to serenely "accept the things I cannot change". That is why I am still a drunk, I suppose. I will never accept the fact that this unhinged sociopath and common pervert has been elevated to the office of the presidency of the United States.
Never.
Tom Degan
Goshen, NY
tomdegan@fronternet.net
When I was a boy, every classroom I attended had this poster on the wall - or a facsimile of it. Back then the list only went as far as the thirty-seventh president, Dick Nixon. It's bad enough that his face will adorn those posters from here to eternity, how the heck are we going to explain to the children of tomorrow the presence of a corrupt and unhinged maniac like Mein Trumpf? We've had a lot of bad presidents in our history, but none of whom were outright traitors. My suggestion is that when those posters are made for the classrooms of these yet-to-be born kids, Trump's face should be silhouetted.
Then again, the truth will probably set the little darlings free.
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| The Kiddies |
Oh yeah, this is bad, baby - and I'm loving every minute of it.
And why shouldn't people like me get some serious schadenfreude out of this perfectly beautiful political catastrophe. We were laughed at and mocked, publicly and privately, in the months leading up to Election Day 2016 when we vainly tried to warn our more conservative contemporaries the utter disaster that would befall this doomed nation if the people were naïve enough to elevate Putin's stooge to the presidency. An acquaintance of mine, in making an excuse for his support of Trump a year ago, recently said to me: "No one could have foreseen this". My response: "You obviously weren't reading my blog." I'm not going to lie to you; that sure felt good. I had no idea gloating could feel so good. It's oodles of fun being me these days. It really is.
Alcoholics Anonymous never worked for me. The spiritual core of AA is something called The Serenity Prayer. It instructs me to serenely "accept the things I cannot change". That is why I am still a drunk, I suppose. I will never accept the fact that this unhinged sociopath and common pervert has been elevated to the office of the presidency of the United States.
Never.
Tom Degan
Goshen, NY
tomdegan@fronternet.net
AFTERTHOUGHT:
When I was a boy, every classroom I attended had this poster on the wall - or a facsimile of it. Back then the list only went as far as the thirty-seventh president, Dick Nixon. It's bad enough that his face will adorn those posters from here to eternity, how the heck are we going to explain to the children of tomorrow the presence of a corrupt and unhinged maniac like Mein Trumpf? We've had a lot of bad presidents in our history, but none of whom were outright traitors. My suggestion is that when those posters are made for the classrooms of these yet-to-be born kids, Trump's face should be silhouetted.
Then again, the truth will probably set the little darlings free.
Every day the unprecedented political scandals seem to compound themselves. The corruption and conflicts of interest are numerous and impossible to dismiss outright.
ReplyDeleteBut con-servatism is a virtue, Tom. That's what they believe.
In our lifetime, the most corrupt and criminal administrations have been conservative Republicans. Nixon, Reagan, Bush Jr. and now Trump have tallied up a rogues gallery of investigations, resignations, and convictions that far outnumber those in Democratic administrations.
"Is anyone aware of a betting pool that is taking wagers on when The Donald is going to pack up voluntarily or be impeached? "
ReplyDeleteBased on your many failed predictions, Tom what's your bet?
"I am convinced that - whatever the case - Trump is not going to serve four years."
ReplyDeleteDrunk again Tom?
Tom Degan: "Walter M. Shaub, Jr, the director of the Office of Government Ethics, has resigned. He felt that his job was pointless in the age of Donald Trump."
ReplyDeleteand...
"'There isn't much more I could accomplish at the Office of Government Ethics, given the current situation.'"
No Title of Nobility shall be granted by the United States: And no Person holding any Office of Profit or Trust under them, shall, without the Consent of the Congress, accept of any present, Emolument, Office, or Title, of any kind whatever, from any King, Prince, or foreign State. ~~ Article I, Section 9, Clause 8
Since he's never placed his business interests in trust, if he's profiting from his businesses strictly because he's president, he's in violation of the Emoluments clause of the Constitution. I suspect this will be one of the more minor violations presented to Congress once Robert Mueller concludes his investigation.
We continue to succumb to greater and greater graft and corruption in this government. Why is this accepted?
lol, the Clintons were so squeaky clean! Does someone have amnesia?
ReplyDeleteTom, the Democrats are in the wilderness with no compass and no message. The DNC had all their eggs in one basket in Queen Hillary. Barry knew all about the Russian meddling well before the election but did nothing since he assumed Hillary would win.
Barry promised to heal the planet, but drove the Democrat Party car off the cliff just like Thelma and Louise! amirite?
It's gotten to the point of being ridiculous. Trump is PATHETIC and embarrassing. The entire world is laughing at us and the worst part is people like Clucky actually ENJOYING it.
ReplyDeleteBut he claim's to be a "patriot".
He still can't mention one thing conservatives have done FOR the poor and middle class, and now he gleefully laughs while they are trampled by conservatives under the foot of religious fascism.
But it's all OK, because Trump asked Putting if he meddled in our election, and Putin said he didn't.
GLad THAT'S cleared up. Except...
for the Flynn thing and the Manafort thing
and the Tillerson thing
and the Sessions thing
and the Kushner thing
and the Wray thing
and the lawyer thing
and the Carter Page thing
and the Roger Stone thing
and the 198 Million voter records thing
and the Felix Sater thing
and the Boris Ephsteyn thing
and the Rosneft thing
and the Gazprom thing
and the Sergey Gorkov banker thing
and the Azerbajain thing
and the “I love Putin” thing
and the Donald Trump, Jr. thing
and the Lavrov thing
and the Sergey Kislyak thing
and the Oval Office thing
and the Gingrich/Kislyak phone calls thing
and the Russian Affiliated Interests thing
and the Russian Business Interests thing
and the Emoluments Clause thing
and the Alex Schnaider thing
and the hack of the DNC thing
and the Guccifer 2.0 thing
and the Mike Pence “I don’t know anything” thing
and the Russians mysteriously dying thing
and Trump’s public request to Russia to hack Hillary’s email thing
and the Trump house sale for $100 million at the bottom of the housing bust to the Russian fertilizer king thing
and the Russian fertilizer king’s plane showing up in Concord, NC during Trump rally campaign thing
and the Nunes sudden flight to the White House in the night thing
and the Nunes personal investments in the Russian winery thing
and the Cyprus bank thing
and Trump not releasing his tax returns thing
and the Republican Party’s rejection of an amendment to require Trump to show his taxes thing
and the election hacking thing
and the GOP platform change to the Ukraine thing
and the Steele Dossier thing
and the Leninist Bannon thing
and the Sally Yates can’t testify thing
and the intelligence community’s investigative reports thing
and the Spicer’s Russian Dressing “nothing’s wrong” thing
and the Chaffetz not willing to start an investigation thing
and the Chaffetz suddenly deciding to go back to private life in the middle of an investigation
and the Poland and British intelligence giving information regarding the hacking back in 2015 to Paul Ryan and he didn't do anything thing
and the Agent M16 following the money thing
and the Trump team KNEW about Flynn's involvement but hired him anyway thing
and the let’s fire Comey thing
and the Mueller let’s fire him too thing
Even Trump's lawyers are getting lawyers, and new evidence comes out every day.
Oh...did I mention the blackmail?
Good God. It is amazing to see the lack of political awareness from some on the Left when looking, or as in this case, NOT looking at the Clinton and Obama administrations and all of the myriad scandals and lawlessness that was rampant during those administrations.
ReplyDeleteI guess IOKIYAD. After all, they care about the greater good of us little people.
T. Paine: "It is amazing to see the lack of political awareness from some on the Left when looking, or as in this case, NOT looking at the Clinton and Obama administrations and all of the myriad scandals and lawlessness that was rampant during those administrations."
ReplyDeleteGee, Mr. Paine, I'm disappointed you didn't include G. W. Bush.
It's not far-fetched to claim that all administrations have had their improprieties and wanton ignoring and transgressing of the law, but you have to concede that this administration has certainly taken it to new heights -- or more appropriately, new lows. The previous administration, including the Democratic administration before, never were seen to be so ruthlessly uncaring and ignoring of the most basic legal and traditional tenets of what it means to be the chief executive of the country.
I'm convinced that Donald "Corruption" should never have purposely made the media and press his worst enemy. His approach may prove to be his Waterloo.
"He still can't mention one thing conservatives have done FOR the poor and middle class"
ReplyDeleteYou moron, I answered your stupid question several months ago, is it any wonder then that it has been said about you that you aren't the sharpest pencil in the box?
JG,
ReplyDeleteThere's a reason Mr. Paine won't call any Republican Administrations corrupt. He reveres Saint Reagan and believes in Bush's lies. He probably can't remember Nixon. And like Archie, he cannot call Trump a corrupt liar.
Here's one bi-partisan ranking:
The 10 Most Corrupt US Presidents in History
5. Bill Clinton
4. George W. Bush
3. Warren Harding
2. Ronald Reagan
1. Richard Nixon
Anyone who can’t see Trump taking the new #1 spot would be too ignorant, too racist, and too stupid to be in the discussion.
And guess what kids. Republicans take the dishonor for the TOP FIVE MOST CORRUPT.
This country will never learn. FOX(R) and Breitbart(T) are successful beyond their most vile dreams.
"The previous administration, including the Democratic administration before, never were seen to be so ruthlessly uncaring and ignoring of the most basic legal and traditional tenets of what it means to be the chief executive of the country."
ReplyDeleteReally, sir? Obama regularly violated constitutional dictates. Hell, he even tried to grant amnesty to illegal aliens via executive order despite previously saying he didn't have the constitutional authority to do so some twenty times before that.
As for the "previous" Democrat administration, there wasn't a month that went by when there wasn't some major scandal unfolding. Bill Clinton was even disbarred by Judge Norma Holloway for perjury and suborning perjury as a sitting president, as I recall. Yep, nothing to see here folks. Move on (dot org).
Majormajor, I know what you mean. I too have answered that question for him in the past. Evidently our friend Mozart did not like our answers. He wants to know what new entitlements the conservatives have created for the poor and middle class.
ReplyDelete