Trump Proves He's No Different From A Mafia Don After His Witness Intimidation Attack On Marie Yovonavitch

You can't make this stuff up even if you dreamed up the hokiest political thriller for a novel. A two bit, con man criminal and  human sewage - who somehow got shoehorned into the presidency  - but now finds himself in the cross hairs of impeachment, suddenly transmutes into his own worst enemy.  Even as Marie Yovanovitch was testifying about “the smear campaign against me,”  Trump hurled new insults at her on Twitter, in real time.

As I watched this brave professional's shoulders slightly sag and her complexion blanch at the insults, I realized then this animated 2-legged turd called Trump had finally succeeded in hanging his miserable ass in real time.  All the Republican efforts to defend this slime now went into the dumpster, i.e. in efforts to combat the narrative that Giuliani had mounted a smear campaign against her, given she left her post in April.  So how could she have first hand knowledge of the plan?   It was all "hearsay"  all over again.

And then Donny Dotard delivered his twitter smears before nearly 15 million live viewers, e..g.

“Everywhere Marie Yovanovitch went turned bad. She started off in Somalia, how did that go? Then fast forward to Ukraine, where the new Ukrainian President spoke unfavorably about her in my second phone call with him. It is a U.S. President’s absolute right to appoint ambassadors.”

Forget about trying to twist the language into literal pretzels to now absolve him because of unclear "intentions" - those were supremely evident  for all to see - especially given Ms. Yovonavitch was in the middle of being asked about the smear campaign-  led by Giuliani, two of his associates — Lev Parnas and Igor Fruman, who have since been indicted — and the right-wing news media.  Hell, even FOX News' Chris Wallace was taken aback ruminating on whether the Repuke defenders like Devin Nunes and Jim Jordan,  would be able to protect their master with any kind of straight face.  Another pundit on CNN said "It would have been better, more strategic, for Trump to have not interjected himself. The GOP planned defense that Yovonavitch could not have first hand knowledge was just destroyed in real time in an impeachment hearing."

But as Chris Matthews pointed out, this orange derelict is a guy who always wants to "punch back"at anything remotely threatening his fragile ego or wannabe autocracy.  After all, what was this POS doing during Monday's hearing? He was entertaining one of his favorite autocrats in the White House: Recep Tayyip Erdogan.

 As Nicole Wallace chimed in:

"Donald Trump is now squarely on the side of the corrupt actors in the Ukraine."

Justifiably then, Democrats accused the degenerate  presidential pretender of real-time “witness intimidation” and tampering,  suggesting it could form the basis for an article of impeachment.  Well, indeed it is impeachable and committed in front of millions on live television. At the very moment she was testifying about how Trump had denigrated her, the repulsive POS was assailing Ms. Yovanovitch, insulting her diplomatic career and reasserting his right to remove her, prompting Democrats to suggest he was trying to intimidate a witness.

Earlier Ms. Yovanovitch said she was "devastated"  when she came under fire from Trump’s  fake personal attorney and Trump's reprobate spawn Don Jr.  last spring.  But she then admitted she was even more stunned in September this year when she learned that Trump himself had disparaged her in his now-famous July 25 phone call with Ukraine’s president.

Again, let's remind ourselves all of this was out in the open, especially  given the transcript of the actual  referenced phone  call eventually made its way into daylight.   So the deflecting issue of "second hand" information and experience  ("She wasn't there for the actual phone call") was basically irrelevant - points I also made cogently in my post yesterday re: Jim Jordan's idiotic "it's all hearsay" babble.  

“It was a terrible moment,” she told the House Intelligence Committee on the second day of public impeachment hearings. “A person who saw me actually reading the transcript said that the color drained from my face. I think I even had a physical reaction. I think, you know, even now, words kind of fail me.”

In regard to the Reeps' claim that "a president can appoint anyone he chooses and you serve at his pleasure", Yovanovitch did not disagree - only observing he could have simply dismissed her from her position as opposed to also smearing her reputation, then insinuating his added  threats, i.e. she "was going to go through some things,”.   A comment that Ms. Yovanovitch told the committee had taken her breath away when she read a reconstructed transcript of the call.

But let's remind ourselves again this guy we have for a president is really little different from a Mob boss.  He believes he can dispense threats - not even veiled (like to the whistle blower)- and not have any kind of payback.  Worse, the maggot thinks he has "free speech" to bark out these threats when anyone with sense  - as former Sen. Claire McCaskill pointed out - knows that means you are not entitled to abuse that power. Like tweeting out witness intimidation in the middle of a damned impeachment hearing when the witness is there delivering her testimony.

What I liked most about the hearings, apart from Marie Yovanovitch's courage in the face of all those cameras and the intimidating circumstances, was Adam Schiff's willingness to bang the numerous Reeptard efforts to disrupt (with spurious 'points of order') into oblivion. 

Bang! Bang! Bang! 

Mr. Schiff's gavel repeatedly went down just before the witness read her opening statement - as Reep after Reep tried to sow chaos. 

'Moron of the day'  award today goes to Utah's  Reepo Chris Stewart as he opened his line of  supposed questioning by grandstanding, i.e. blathering:

"For three years we've heard these outrageous and frankly unbelievable accusations about Russian collusion that we now know are absolute nonsense! "

All of which is somewhat amusing - and pathetic - given the fact that less than four years ago he had compared Trump to Italian dictator Benito Mussolini.  This according to Richard Gehrke in The Salt Lake Tribune 2 days ago.. We also now know, after the Mueller report (Part I) release, e.g.

www.justice.gov/storage/report.pdf

 The accusations made weren't "nonsense"  at all. Indeed, the failure to launch a coherent and compelling impeachment proceeding at that time (largely owing to AG William Barr's whitewashing of the report using his own 'summary') - actually emboldened the Traitor-in chief to then use the subsequent  Ukraine bribery ploy to try to take down Biden.  If he got away with it once  with the Russkies (targeting Hillary Clinton)  he could do it again, right?  Only this time using Ukraine to dig up dirt on Joe Biden.. Same M.O.,  different country. Same objective: steal an election.

All in all it was a good day for the good guys and we can only look forward to the day, the hour, when the whole corrupt Trump Imperium collapses as even more professionals from the State Dept. and other agencies have their say.

Update: Nov. 16

As might be expected Trump's slimey toad enabler (William Barr)  has now seen fit to defend his master, invoking the discredited myth of the "unitary executive".  That is, that a president has almost absolute power and the Article I powers of congress are subjugated to the executive.  Thus, wielding this bunkum, he asserted at  a Friday  night Federalist Society spiel (NY Times today):

 "Trump’s opponents 'essentially see themselves as engaged in a war to cripple by any means necessary a duly elected government,'. 

 Uh no, you arrogant, obtuse, animated offal. We see it as a constitutionally sanctioned effort to check and remove a pestilence and traitor - who was NEVER "duly elected".  He was shoehorned into power with the help of Vladimir Putin and the Russians.  (Which the Mueller report makes clear and which you sought to dilute with your whitewash summary.)

MY advice? Go suck a raw root, Trump's toad.

The fat toad added: "While the president has certainly thrown out the traditional Beltway playbook and punctilio, he was up front about what he wanted to do and the people decided they wanted him to serve as president,”

No, Toady, I didn't "decide" nor did more than 67 million other people-  who voted against Trump-   so don't conflate "the people".  Especially  given the majority non-Trump voters led to his popular vote minority. So don't try to turn a turd into a Tootsie roll.   Now, go back to your toad hole and cease interjecting yourself into a justifiable process to correct what went awry back in 2016.  The swine has abused his powers with a clear bribe in order to damage Biden and help his reelection, and now he's got to pay!

See Also:

• William Barr is racing to deliver a report that blows up the impeachment inquiry--and everything else

Excerpt:

"Attorney General William Barr is racing to complete a new “report” before Thanksgiving. And if Barr’s very poor summary of the Mueller report threw Trump a lifeline by distorting the real findings of the special counsel investigation, this new report looks to be more like an atom bomb, designed to incinerate Washington by putting the whole Justice Department behind a conspiracy theory that rewrites history and declares open warfare on political opponents. And Republicans are already meeting with Barr to plan a “roll out” for this supposedly classified report in order to maximize its impact."

And:

Donald Trump

Trump Engaged in Witness Tampering During Ambassador’s Testimony

And:

Eric Boehlert

Impeachment Hearings Confirm Republican Party Is Detached from Reality. What Does the Press Do Now?

As Trump's Shutdown Mutates Into Domestic Terror Dems Need To Resist The Swine's Threats

The Toddler Swine- in -Chief, unable to impose his feral will, now resorts to brinksmanship and a 'wrecking ball' to try to get his way.  Dems need to let him go down sucking shit and not reward his extortion.

"He's dynamited the institution of the presidency. He doesn't see himself as being part of a long line of presidents....Instead he sees the presidency as an extension of his own personality".  - Historian Douglas Brinkley,  'Trump Takes Wrecking Ball To How Washington Works',  The Denver Post, yesterday, p. 6A

"Trump's booby traps now ensnare the nation. He orders chaotic withdrawals of U.S. forces from Syria that have allies reeling and adversaries rejoicing...He forces a government shutdown over 1/10 th of 1 percent of the budget - a spectacle Sen. Bob Corker called 'made up' and 'juvenile'....Meanwhile markets continue plunging because of Trump's trade war and attacks on the Federal Reserve."  -  Dana Milbank, Denver Post, p. 1D, yesterday)

"The GOP and Trump absolutely own this government shutdown!  Hundreds of thousands of government employees are without pay over the holidays while this president hides in the White House with his temper tantrum, wanting to spend billions for a silly fence,"  -  Edward Talbot, letter to editor, The Denver Post.

"As an American... I do not want to be associated in any way with the last country that built a wall"  .. Robyn Weber, letter to Editor, Denver Post yesterday, p. 3D)


WARNING:  Extreme polemic ahead! Do not read if you are overly sensitive, desire false civility, believe 'both sides are wrong'  or embrace political correctness!

As most of us know, it is standard procedure among most law enforcement agencies not to reward terrorists or hostage takers with payouts.  The reason is simple: Though the refusal to give in may likely cost lives, it is much worse to reward such vile behavior and encourage further hostage taking, terror in the future.  The exact same holds true with the current domestic terrorist named Donald Drumpf occupying the Oval Office. The selfsame mutt threatening all manner of mayhem - and even trying to blame the Dems for the deaths of two migrant kids.

Over the weekend this 2-legged maggot slimeball doubled down on his wall insanity, talking at Democrats but not with them in a series of confrontational tweets. Let us again register for the record that this demented fucker does not want a wall, he wants a fight - an open political fight (or reality show) - in which he is seen as being the winner.   If this asshole truly wanted a wall for "security" - as political commentator Ezra Klein noted two weeks ago-   he'd have signed off on the $25 billion offered over the summer. He didn't do that, crapping all over the deal instead.  Just like barely a week ago he saw himself  harshly criticized in the Reich media  by Limbuagh, Coulter, Ingraham & company and then turned around and crapped on a CR that was voted on by 100-0 in the Senate. He rejected the continuing resolution because a gaggle of right wing lowbrows and blowhards blew a gasket and called little Donnie Dotard names ("gutless").

While a mentally functional and normal president would never have tuned into these degenerates in the first place, that's not Trump's way given all he does these days is watch cable TV (FOX). Oh, and tweet bullshit and lies.   In the latest outburst, typical of the dyspeptic, lying shithead he is,  he tweeted,  seemingly  impervious to mounting criticism over his lack of outreach, much less mental stability:

"I am in the White House waiting for the Democrats to come on over and make a deal on Border Security"

Well, you can wait until Hell freezes over and "Satan" turns into the Abominable Snowman!  Because you are the turd that wanted this fiasco, and now you have to live with it. NO one is going to give you a buck more for your fucked up "wall".  Oh, did I say Trump has issues with his mental stability? Yeah, but we've known that for donkey's years.

But since a turd never loses its ordure nature - even when separated from the source-  no one will be surprised that on Saturday afternoon, Trump tried a more inflammatory tactic: “Any deaths of children or others at the Border are strictly the fault of the Democrats and their pathetic immigration policies that allow people to make the long trek thinking they can enter our country illegally. They can’t. If we had a Wall, they wouldn’t even try!”

In any other universe, that is to say one where the rules are followed, and political or domestic terrorists are held to account, Trump would be in a rubber room at Bellevue by now.  He'd be strapped down to a table, bound in a strait jacket and administered electro-convulsive shock therapy.  But since we are in a parallel world where only norms - not laws - exist, he is instead able to project insults, threats and terror from the White House where he's holed up like a rabid rat. 

Speaking of rodents, Dotard has kept out of the public eye (like all such vermin, as well as cockroaches) since he triggered this shutdown. That was except for a 29- hour surreptitious trip to Iraq to brag lies to the troops  they were going to get a "10 percent pay raise".    He lied like he lied to Pelosi and Schumer he was going to "own" the shutdown, take the blame for it, then when the heat got turned up - turned imp and blamed the Dems.  (Newsflash to Mueller: It's now time to take out the trash.)


Still, one of the sadder aspects of this whole sordid mess is how the mainstream media is as yet unable to outright say  WHO the guilty party is. So we see and hear bollocks like:

"The blame game goes on!  Each side blames the other for the consequent government shutdown, the effects of which grow more severe."

Or.  "And the constant back and forth between Trump and the Dems never seems to end."

Which makes one wonder if the press, media are retarded, temporarily blind,  gobsmacked by Trump or just plain lazy.   Obviously, it is Trump who is to blame and he even took ownership for a shutdown before it happened!  See e.g.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6-CuAbbZUoI

That televised interlude 2 weeks ago makes it clear as glass where the blame lies, so why does the media play the useless and cynical  'two sides' game?   This is all on Trump!  He wanted it, he got it, now he has to live with it, and no amount of lying or distraction or threats will get the miserable maggot swine out of it. See e.g.

Donald Trump

Trump Has Already Been Defeated and He’s Never Getting His Wall — Here’s How We Know

by Cody Fenwick | December 31, 2018 - 7:03am | permalink

— from Alternet

It is true there is increasing collateral damage from Trump's political terror and  hostage taking. About 800,000 federal employees are either at home or working without pay on "furlough", but that's merely the tip of the looming iceberg. Federal payments to some farmers hit by Trump’s trade war with China will be put on hold from next week. The work of the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) is increasingly affected, and 14,000 are soon to be furloughed - never mind a major toxic spill may occur.  Oh, and for those millions of other federal workers, including 1.2 m   grantees and  4 m full time contractors who will have to pay their rents soon, here's a chestnut to process:  The Trumpie Scum have suggested these workers "trade their services for rent".    As Tony Reardon, president of the National Treasury Employees' Union put it on CNN Saturday: "I think it's disgusting. It's wrong to treat human beings that way!  Well, Tony, look at how this walking, talking cockroach treated child migrants, confining them in cages. They were humans too, right? 

By the end of another month, many more agencies will be affected    As this hostage -taking terror by Trump goes on there will be many more casualties:  "500,000 Postal employees, 1.3 million active duty personnel, and the 4.5 million Americans whose jobs depend on the spending of the federal workforce."  (Paul Light, WSJ, 'The Hidden Cost of a Government Shutdown',  December 28, p. A15)

Another disgusting lie spouted by the slime is that it is mostly all Democrats affected. Do not believe this twaddle for a nanosecond. The victims are across the political spectrum, and it's millions not just the "800,000" the media repeatedly parrots. (See the WSJ piece cited in the previous paragraph.) Trump is nothing if not an equal opportunity  terrorist who waylays the military men and women as well as EPA scientists, post office workers and the janitors in the various agencies. 

While I can certainly sympathize with all of these Trump victims, they are basically in the same position as hostages taken by a demented terrorist.  The difference is that in this case the terrorist happens to (unjustifiably) hold the office of the president of the United States.  Still, he IS a terrorist as every act he's done in the past 8 months shows. In fact, not only a terrorist but a traitor who has served as a Manchurian candidate for Putin, as well as a tool for Turkey's autocrat Recip Erdogan.   In other words, he is a worm, a slime and active refuse- but with hostages nonetheless.

Sadly, this terrorist cannot be rewarded any more than if it was a high level ISIS vermin who'd taken prisoners.  That means, above all, the Democrats cannot give into his insane demands, not now, not ever.  However long this thing drags on, it is up to Trump and the Republicans to end it. Pelosi will send a gov't opening bill to the Senate this week and if Mitch McConnell doesn't get a veto-proof majority to sign it, it's also on him. He cannot claim innocence or try to fob the blame on the Dems.

For those federal workers at risk, I suggest bombarding the White House with calls and emails to cease and desist this perfidy. I also suggest emailing, calling or writing the terrorist Right wing clique who put Trump up to this shit.  That includes Rush Limbaugh, Ann Coulter, Laura Ingraham, and Fox and Friends.   Serious, committed citizens might also give Mick Mulvaney a piece of their mind too.

On Friday, Mulvaney, told Fox News: “There’s not a single Democrat talking to the president … about this deal.”    Mulvaney also sought to pin blame on the incoming House speaker, Nancy Pelosi, whom the administration has sought to portray as a prisoner of the left of her party. But neither Trump nor anyone from his administration has spoken to Pelosi since the 11 December Oval Office meeting. Justin Goodman, a spokesman for the Senate minority leader, Chuck Schumer, told reporters: “For the White House to try and blame anyone but the president for this shutdown doesn’t pass the laugh test.”

Mulvaney, of course, is hoist on his own petard as Paul C. Light (WSJ, ibid.) makes clear regarding Mulvaney's knowledge of the "blended  federal workforce".  This is given he approved last year's "analytic perspectives" on the 2019 budget. These "delineated the two federal workforces: the contractors and the regular federal workers".  So, as it turns out Mulvaney is a rat as well  and accessory after the fact in Trump's shutdown terrorism, given (ibid.):

"Not mentioning the indirect workforce reveals just how much the administration wants to minimize the effect of an indefinite shutdown in the eyes of the public.....Meanwhile, Mulvaney can only hope that Wall Street doesn't notice the threat to economic performance.""

So just as Drumpf's odious lies and malfeasance in office must be exposed, so must Mulvaney's PR moves to try to minimize the shutdown effects.  That not only are millions of jobs at risk, but the income from them and the economic benefits to the communities in which they're found.

It is now in every patriot's interest to inveigh against these unAmerican interlopers- the entire sordid axis from Trump, to Mulvaney to the Right wing media that egged them on to do a shutdown. 

Above all, it is important to keep reminding friends, acquaintances and others this is TRUMP'S shutdown. He wanted it and he now owns it.  It is up to him to man up and end the hostage taking of ALL federal workers!

Disclaimer:  No, I do not suffer from the mythical "Trump Derangement Syndrome". I am a fully rational as well as thinking American patriot - descendant of Revolutionary War ancestors - who is  prepared to call out the Trump infestation for what it is.  No euphemisms, no politically correct bullshit and no passes for what Drumpf  is doing to this nation!

See also:

Donald Trump

The Utter Grotesqueness of Donald J. Trump. Now It's Dead Children.

by P.M. Carpenter | December 30, 2018 - 7:26am |

And:

Immigration

Here Are 5 Reasons Trump’s Border Wall Isn’t Just a Bad Idea — It’s an Embarrassing Joke of a Policy

by Alex Henderson | December 29, 2018 - 7: 

Trump's Exploiting Fear To Boost Neo-Nazi Le Pen Doesn't Work

Never let a good foreign crisis go to waste without some kind of an authoritarian tweet! That's the motto of  Donald Trump, who has yearned for his little Neo-Nazi Marine LePen to also get into power in France. Of course, with that "Frexit"  added to the Brexit, it would make the collapse of the EU almost a certainty.   Fortunately, that didn't materialize as Centrist Independent Emmanuel Macron just topped Le Pen yesterday by two percentage points. ('France Chooses Hope Over Fear mongering', The Financial Times, today). This marks the 3rd time right wing nationalists have been beaten back, following elections in Austria and the Netherlands. But....Macron still has to put Le Pen away on May 7th in the runoff.

In the lead up to the French elections yesterday Trump- as is his wont- was quite active. For example, on Friday morning Trump tweeted about the possible impact of the Paris shooting the previous day resulting in one police officer dead and 2 wounded.  Trump wrote:

"Another terrorist attack in Paris. The people in France will not take much more of this. Will have a big effect on presidential election!"


No surprise Trump - the Hitler wannabe - would tweet this offal, attempting to interfere in the French election like he enlisted the help of the Russkies to do so in ours.  After all, recall another incident in Paris - the November 2015 mass shooting at the Bataclan theater -  helped solidify his lead in the polls going into the GOP primaries. But this is how authoritarians work: they prey on each and every act of terror to ramp up fear to support their shticks.  At that time Trump tweeted:

"Everyone is now saying how right I was with illegal immigration and the wall. After Paris, they're all on the bandwagon."

Of course, as the results from yesterday revealed,  this is ineffable codswallop. First, not "everyone" was saying any such thing.   At least half the French electorate Is not on his "bandwagon" just as ours wasn't when he invoked each and every terror and quasi-terror incident (like the mass shooting in Orlando) to try to ramp up fear and consternation.  Second there is NO evidence "illegal immigration",  as per the Dept. of Homeland Security's own stats, shows any link to an uptick in terrorism.   The DHA report showed no terror attacks transpired from any of the six nations Trump put on his de facto Muslim ban.

 Third, the "wall" will not do anything to halt terror even if some element could use illegal (Mexican) immigration as a vehicle. What the wall will do is cost American taxpayers upward of $40 b if ever passed into law, and also - because of its putative design along river borders (like the Rio Grande) leave hundreds of Americans on the Mexican side.   (Look for Trump's wall funding to trigger a shutdown later this week)

Again, this is what authoritarian narcissists do to  consolidate power, as Hitler did after the Reichstag fire. (In that case, turning the power of the authoritative Nazi state against the Jews.)

In the case of the recent Paris attack, recall Trump labeled it such in advance of what French authorities acknowledged. During a joint press conference with Italian Prime Minster Paolo Gentiloni,  Trump quickly called it a "terrorist attack" before French authorities had done so. Such premature negative framing is common to most authoritarians who need a general terror meme to support their campaigns or future plans.   Trump went on to blab:

"It's a very very terrible thing that is going on in the world today. And what can you say? It just never ends. We have to be strong and vigilant and I've been saying that for a long time."

Once more, look at the buzzwords here: "strong and vigilant" - same words Hitler used after the Reichstag fire.  Also  Trump's words "it just never ends", expressing more the fondest hope of any proper  strong man because if it ever did "end" there'd be no use for his authoritarian prescriptions.

And more to the point, because authoritarians know sane people are skeptical of their governance or what passes for such, they seek to gather other confirmed authoritarians into their fold. Hence, Trump praising the Turkish strongman Recep Tayyip Erdogan as he's now egging on Le Pen.  He'd like nothing better than to be sitting in the middle of such a triumvirate by the end of the summer. And yes, I call a spade a spade, so Marine is a neo-Nazi, given the apple never falls far from the tree, and her notorious dad (Jean-Marie) once said the holocaust was just a "detail of history". (It is true that he was expelled from the National Front party by his daughter, but this wasn't done out of some noble motive or respect for the Jews. She did it to pave the way for a credible campaign run using the PR that she'd 'disavowed' Poppy's hate". Don't buy it for a second!)

That Le Pen is as shamelessly exploitative of attacks as Trump, to firm up her authoritarian bona fides, was evident in the wake of the Paris shootings. That is, referencing "incredible lapses in the justice system" such that the current French government and its predecessor "had done everything to make France lose the war on terrorism".  Immediately following her angst-provoking blurtations, Prime Minister Bernard Cazeneuve blasted her for exploiting the attack.

Although Trump has never formally met Le Pen, a little known but sordid fact is that she is close to some of the same advisors who helped craft Trump's pseudo-populist message during the U.S. campaign.  (And recall Le Pen was spotted in Trump Tower during the transition in January. The skinny is that they discussed mutual authoritarian governance in a post Brexit, post-Obama world)

Obviously, for Trump and Le Pen, the "populist" blather ....errr...message, is just that, all hollow bloviation with no substance. They tossed out words to console the feelings and infirmities of the poor, native working class blokes but don't really give two craps about them. If Trump really did, why would he have supported a health plan that tossed 24 million off their health care? 

Interviewed in a NY Times piece last week, many pro=Trump voters asserted ongoing commitment even if Trump fulfills none of his campaign promises. Why is this? Because he was the "first" to speak to their cultural "persecution" and being "left at the back of the bus for societal priorities".   Really, you can't make this shit up. So even after their health care is gone, and their homes foreclosed because the jobs promised never materialize, they will stick with their hero looneytune.

The French just have to ensure that in the runoff election THEY don't get stuck with Trump's psychotic female counterpart!

"Why Trump Won" - Absolute Claptrap From Trumpkin Jon Caldara

Jon Caldara's accompaniment to his byline insists he is president of the Independence Institute , which has generally professed to be a non-partisan source of opinion, information. But from his latest piece ('And That's Why Trump Won',  Dec. 24) in The Denver Post, it's clear he's merely another pro-Trump PR moron trying to sell people baloney at cheapo rates.

Without reciting too much of his codswallop, he basically has the chutzpah to compare the crazy Right's indignation at Obama's election with the Left's reaction to Trump, with the dazzling distinction that

"I swear to God, no one I know of broke down in tears when Obama won"

Well, maybe because deep in their fake news heart of hearts they knew- when all was said and done- Obama was a rational, sane man, not a psychotic serial pussy grabber, two -bit chiseling, faux business weasel, racist xenophobe and authoritarian Hitler-esque narcissist.  For all the false claims (e.g. "socialist") the Right tried to lay on Obama, he was in the end a steady, no drama Neoliberal, and former constitutional lawyer. Oh, and a bible-believing Christian to boot.

This normality contrasts to the deranged egoism and pure ineptitude of a nincompoop who tweets policy positions and economic opinions at will. Often to the extent that CEOs of major corporations (after his GM tweet yesterday- sending shares briefly plummeting ) are treating his Twitter offal in much the same way as a hazardous waste spill or a health scare, in other words as "crisis management". This according to CBS finance commentator Melanie Hobson this morning, who pointed out how corporate heads are sick at the thought of this loon, "alone in a room with his phone", just popping off at anything that comes to mind. This is the effing asshole Caldara and his Trumpy dregs voted into power.  Hobson then detailed how companies are strategy planning to respond to the next random attacks from this Twitter troll.

Then there have been Trump's lies which continue to undermine the very intelligence agencies that will be protecting his sorry ass - not to mention the nation he is supposed to defend.  The latest was the lie that spat out again from his twitter:

"The 'intelligence' briefing on so-called 'Russian hacking' was delayed until Friday, perhaps more time needed to build a case"

Which was totally shot down by the intel community noting the Friday briefing had always been planned for that day. There was no "delay". Is this something Caldara and his cronies can really live with the next 4 years (IF we're lucky)? A lying ass punk who can't tell the truth to save his sorry ass..

If ANY person isn't disturbed by these sort of responses and cavalier attitudes they need to get themselves checked out by a therapist because they aren't in contact with reality. I would nominate Jon Caldara to be first up for serious psychological evaluation before he writes his next column full of BS.

And don't get me started on all his business entanglements which as a recent Newsweek article ('Tangled Up In Orange'. Dec. 23rd, p. 26) put it:

"Already there is a situation where the President of the United States could be blackmailed by a foreign power"

Referencing Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan's earlier divulged plan (to associates) that he "intended to impede America's use of a critical Air Force base in Turkey"  should Trump win the presidency. Then there are Trump's other foreign entanglements, including with the Duterte government in the Philippines. As author Kurt Eichenwald noted:

"The Trump family's dealings in the Philippines will set off a constitutional crisis on the first day of Trump's presidency if anyone in the federal government decides to abide by the law."

Referencing the emoluments clause of the Constitution.

So, let's get this straight: between Trump's rejection of critical intelligence briefings and conclusions, and his foreign entanglements not to mention the total lack of impulse control, we're all supposed to fucking sleep easy at night? Gimme a break! Also, give me the bland, "no drama" Obama any day of the week and twice on Sunday.

The emphasis on Obama's sheer boring normality as a former Illinois state Senator and Democratic Senator is crucial to emphasize here to contrast with the unhinged insanity of Trump. And this needs to be done repeatedly, because I fear too many in the coming weeks - especially in the media- may fall down on the job and not hold a severe enough spotlight on Trump. Opting to choose the easy path of "normalization" that his follower yahoos (like Caldara) already have.

 This is also essential in order to appreciate Caldara's next bit for the balderdash it is, referencing the Right's response to Obama's election - compared to the Left's justifiable angst at Trump's ascension thanks to hacks - including of voting machines in key states.:

"Celebrities didn't post videos of their panicked hissy fits. Teachers didn't scare little grade school kids with doomsday prophecies."

Well, they didn't have to because they instinctively recognized Obama's inherently sober temperament, control of impulses and sensible disposition ("Mr. Spock" persona) . Hence, such reactions weren't needed by any person grounded in reality, i.e. sane.. So Caldara's verbal excrement is merely the screeching of a deranged banshee knowingly agitated by the fact he has supported a psychologically unstable, autocratic buffoon who promises to wreck this nation.

But the biggest bunch of bollocks may be this:

"Watching this meltdown it's clear the anti-Trumpies aren't just poor losers. They just don't get that Trump won because in great part, they had been such poor winners. The hard-edged progressive left just couldn't help doing a dance in the public policy end zone. The Trump victory was the ref's flag for 'excessive celebration'."

Huh?  WHAT excessive celebration? You mean putting together a stimulus package without which this nation would likely have fallen not only into recession but depression? (And for which the Repukes only gave minimal lip service). OR - are you referring to getting the ACA through without any GOP votes - despite the fact that 20 million now depend on it - more than two thirds of them TRUMP voters!   Seems you missed the memo that a good part of your white- worker industrial base actually WANTED THIS PUBLIC POLICY DANCE, as you call it.

Meanwhile, Denver Post letter writer Mike Pisaano had this to retort in last Sunday's paper to Caldara's codswallop:

"Trump did not win because of a Democratic meltdown caused by  “excessive celebration” of Obama’s public policy successes on gay marriage, health care, and environmental and energy changes. It’s because not enough Republican voters are disgusted by a candidate who brags about assaulting women or has regrets about not dating his own daughter. It’s because not enough Republican voters are outraged when Trump disparages John McCain for getting shot down over enemy territory and enduring five years of torture in captivity. It’s because not enough Republican voters are appalled when Trump calls Mexicans rapists and promises to exclude people who embrace Islam from entering the U.S."

Letter writer Ellen Haverl was no less severe and unforgiving in assessing Caldara's claptrap:

"Jon Caldara doesn’t remember anyone breaking down in tears when Barack Obama won because, despite one’s issues with him, his win did not mean the end of civilization as we know it. The reason there is such backlash against the Trump win is because the upcoming leader of the free world is a narcissistic, racist, sexist bully who will rule with a heavy fist. I’m proud to cry and march and sign any document I can to let everyone know that a Trump presidency is unacceptable to me and millions of Americans who genuinely fear for the future of our country. It’s called free speech, something Mr. Trump is not a fan of."

Ah yes, free speech. Something the Trump backers endlessly invoked after Obama was elected, depicting him in every disrespectful way imaginable including as a witch doctor with bone through his nose in their blogs. But now,  in their faux righteousness , they somehow expect all of us on the Left to shelve any animosity and just sing "Kumbaya" as we line up behind Trump.. Sorry, doesn't work like that!

This turkey Caldara then bellyaches about how we have accurately described his anti-global warming lot as "deniers" when they've rejected the consensus science of climate change. He writes:

"It's not that they imposed massive environmental and energy restrictions...it's that they insultingly label those who've come to a different conclusion on global warming as 'deniers':

WTF are you talking about? What "different conclusion"? You cannot have a solid, or sound conclusion unless you base it on real science and the D-E-N-I-E-R-S have NONE! Let me repeat that, none - NO science which stands up to even the most basic scrutiny of thermal physics or actual climate science. These birdbrains don't even accept that the glaciers are melting when they're doing it in from of their stupid faces, e.g.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iRTInYTxLr4

So this is basic stuff. IF some semi-educated yahoo denies the sphericity of the Earth, then he IS a denier of the science of geodesy. If a similar yahoo denies  - despite all the evidence from ice cores - that more and more CO2 is warming the Earth then sorry, he IS a fucking denier! Case closed!

Or would Caldara rather we get into the realm of politically correct language and refer to his bunch as

"long term CO2 concentration serial disputators"

Or:

"climate science consensus equivocators"

Well, not going to happen. And just as his gaggle of climate DENIERS despise PC euphemisms, so do we. 

Caldara's op-ed babbling merely reaffirms again how badly divided this country is, and how much more divided it is going to become in the ensuing 4 years. The reason for an ever increasing gulf is simple: Those who treasure and abide by REALITY will never embrace bollocks, bullshit and fake news fantasy even from the likes of FAUX News' pundits, Trumpian pseudo-conspiracy creators and racist enablers. cheerleaders. And so long as enough people stand with the truth against recycled, misbegotten garbage and lies, this divide will remain. Oh, and as the garbage quotient grows so will the divide until two different nations will be effectively at war with each other.


See also: The Case For Beginning Trump's Impeachment NOW:

http://www.salon.com/2017/01/04/does-impeachment-begin-now-the-case-for-building-the-end-of-trumps-presidency-before-it-even-starts/