It is perfectly clear: no person is better suited than Ron DeSantis to challenge and conquer the hidden changes facing our nation, and no person will be a better steward of America in the years to come. Evil forces across our planet demand a great leader—someone strong but thoughtful; principled but inquisitive; and resolute in their belief in America’s noble mission.
DeSantis has proved to be an intrepid conservative in Florida. Under his leadership, Florida is bigger and more prosperous now than it was when he took office. There are more jobs; more people; more businesses; more morality; and less abortion; less grooming; and less tolerance for woke and CRT.
His leadership during the pandemic allowed Florida to thrive by keeping businesses open and kids in school, his economic policies have lowered taxes and brought prosperity and new business to Florida, and his unwavering commitment to standing up to woke ideology infiltrating our corporations and schools have distinguished Governor DeSantis as the one true leader American wants and needs, a man who never backs down from the needed fights to make our country better.
Florida has become the fastest growing state in the nation. But it’s not just that. It ranks #1 in education, and it’s because there is zero tolerance for ideologies which challenge White Christian morality, the very foundation of the U.S. Constitution.
Ron DeSantis has shown over and over again that he will protect and stand up for our children and grandchildren, young folks who are being hyper-sexualized at extremely young ages and maliciously influenced by radical activists. Donald Trump might provide lip service, but at the end of the day, he runs away from these challenges—or even joins the other side, whether it’s Disney’ Pfizer or Budweiser.
DeSantis will continue to fight for our values; our country; our children; our families; and for a bright future where America regains its position of righteous supremacy over the insidious forces of evil.
Make no mistake: Trump put on a good facade. He looked like a strong man, but he was unfocused and weak. He set the table for America’s enemies across the world to become more entrenched, allowing them to take Americans prisoner with no consequence. They’ve floated spy balloons over our airspace. They’ve launched full-scale invasions of other countries and toppled the democratic governments we spent decades building. All the while, America become more and more weak and complacent.
Governor DeSantis has proven himself to be the fighter America needs—from serving our country to taking on dangerous woke agendas. Trump might back down from battles against Disney, Pfizer and Budweiser, but not Ron DeSantis, and that is the big message for Republican primary voters.
An existential threat to America
September 5, 2022
September 2022 Fallout From Philadelphia
President Joe Biden addressed our nation on September 1 to express his deep concerns that American equality and democracy are under assault. He said, “There is no place for political violence in America. Period. None ever.”
“Too much of what is happening in our country today is not normal… There’s no question the Republican Party today is dominated, driven and intimidated by Donald Trump and the MAGA Republicans, and that is a threat to democracy… Donald Trump and the MAGA Republicans represent an extremism that threatens the very foundations of our republic”.
Many of us have been concerned about this very issue for several years now.
We have witnessed firsthand some alarming dangerous attitudes and behaviors by far-right “MAGA” radical groups beginning around 2016.
One of the shibboleths of the current MAGA movement occurred on June 1, 2020
when then-President Trump orchestrated a near-riot in Washington, D.C. After walking from the White House, across Lafayette Square, to St. John’s Church, he staged a photo-op with a Bible in front of the Church, inspiring those who prefer fear, hate and anarchy to reject honest debate.
These most recent alarming attitudes and dangerous behaviors have much in common with:
- The second “Red Scare” which began in 1947, and reached its peak between 1950-54 under the leadership of U.S. Sen. Joe McCarthy;
- A period of extreme antisemitism which emerged in the 1930’s, inspired by Father Charles Coughlin (and others) who spread various conspiracy theories, creating a robust underground movement which spread fear that Jews were working for the destruction or replacement of white Americans and Christianity in the U.S., together with (false) allegations which accused “the Jews” of dominating Franklin Roosevelt’s administration, of causing the Great Depression, and of dragging the United States into World War II.
- The ‘race riots’ of the late 1960’s, which included Birmingham (1963); Harlem (1964); Watts (1965); Chicago (1966); Newark (1967); MLK, Jr. Riots, 125 cities (1968); and the list goes on and on….
- Post 9/11/01, we witnessed an irrational groundswell of anti-Muslim sentiment. The al-Qaida terrorists who attacked the Twin Towers and the Pentagon represent a very rare and extremist sect of Islam. Despite that reality, many Muslims, as well as other Arab Americans, became the targets of anger, racism and hate crimes, continuing to this day.
Biden’s recent remarks ring true. He loudly and clearly reminded us that not all Republicans are MAGA Republicans.
Look back to the early 1930’s when Father Charles Coughlin’s radio show was extraordinarily popular, with a weekly audience estimated to be around 30 Million. His theme centered on an isolationist, anti-Semitic and conspiratorial viewpoint that resonated with many listeners at that time.
Yet, we know that not all Catholics were Isolationist or anti-Semitic. Sound familiar?
The Big Question remains: Who or what is creating false narratives today? Who is spreading hate speech, nurturing and encouraging intolerance in the U.S., empowering the narcissistic blamers who feel marginalized to go off on a compound rage comprised and triggered by: anti-Semitism, Islamophobia, skin color, nationality, gender, sexual orientation, religion, and an unidentifiable myriad of other perceived irritations?
Think of the last time you attended an orchestra performance. The orchestra Conductor led and guided the various sections to complement each other resulting in a rich and complex sound which was pleasing to the audience.
Now, imagine if that orchestra performance was infiltrated by some musicians who refused to allow the conductor to lead.
Within the wind section, the brass instruments would play out of sync with the woodwinds.
Although the string musicians are mostly in harmony, the harpist occasionally takes his lead from the woodwinds, creating periods of discord.
The percussion instruments are off in a zone of their own, just doing what they want, totally out of touch with the conductor or any of the other musical sections, angry that they aren’t in charge.
- Although relatively small in number, the renegade percussion section has sufficient noise to create complete and destructive cacophony, driving off the audience as well as the other musicians.
A recent report from AdWeek (TVNewser) shows Fox News – in particular, Tucker Carlson at 8 PM – leading the networks in viewership in both total viewers, and in the coveted 25-54 Demographic.
Translation: Tucker is a money machine. Advertisers are begging to support his daily hour of glory.
The Wednesday, August 31, 2022 Tucker Carlson show on Fox News began with a review of negative allegations against Joe Biden, including: a sly attack on son Hunter; recall of Joe showering with his daughter Ashley when she was a child; and how his wife currently knows he has Dementia.
Then, a rather long diatribe on the eve of Biden’s 80th birthday and how this is a sign of incompetence; that Joe is fixated on trivial and meaningless issues such as climate change, diversity and trans rights; that he is devoid of any ‘vision’; purely a partisan seeking advantage in the upcoming elections, leading into further emphasis on the negative aspects of Biden’s age.
Carlson continued with more passion, focusing in on recent Biden public commentary related to those individuals in America who have crossed the line into realm of ‘semi-Fascism’. Mr. Carlson managed to inject a critique blasting Biden saying he is, “…the same politician who had the FBI raid the home of the man who is running against him in the next election”.
Carlson segued into a commentary on the White House Press Office. Says Carlson, “… would have been better (for the Press Office to say) that Biden had a stroke, apologize and then move on.” Carlson further denigrated the intelligence, experience and abilities of the White House communications team, stating, “Biden’s history-making publicist, the single dumbest person to ever hold that job, explained that her boss had spoken intentionally and with precision” then reinforcing the notion that Biden had made a blanket statement that Republicans are Fascists.
Those who may be interested in watching and listening to the entire broadcast are directed here: https://www.fox.com/watch/46d7f725b815fd5a7c10e1a1128558a3/
Meanwhile, enough Walrus commentary on the Tucker Carlson show of August 31.
Tucker is just one of many catalysts working on a base of angry white Christian men, keeping them stirred up by constantly reminding them that external forces have conspired to disenfranchise them.
Joined by his colleagues at Fox News, NewsMax, OAN, various podcasts and conspiracy driven social media groups, they continue to use Donald Trump as their demagogue by echoing and amplifying the ranting and raving of the Monarch of MAGA Americans toward an inevitable second Civil War.
Josh Hawley, an Elected Obstructionist?
March 23, 2022
Is Sen. Hawley a danger to our democracy?
Josh Hawley, the junior senator from Missouri, was mostly unknown until he joined a few other newsworthy seditionists to attempt to deny certification of Joe Biden’s election on January 6, 2021.
Hawley became a poster boy for the cause, caught on camera fist-pumping outside the Capitol just prior to the insurrection.
His re-election campaign now uses this photo to embellish a number of trinkets available on his website – for example, a coffee mug is available for just $20.00.
Hawley graduated from a private Jesuit high school where he was valedictorian; is a graduate of Stanford; and of Yale Law School where he was an editor of the Yale Law Journal and also served as president of the Yale Federalist Society chapter. Prior to his election to the Senate in 2018, he held a number of positions, including a stint as an associate professor at the University of Missouri Law School, where he taught constitutional law.
But, please don’t be fooled by his pedigree, boyish good looks or his melodious baritone delivery.
Hawley clearly has a penchant for disloyalty and rebellious activities focused on undermining the workings of the United States government.
And, his recent performance interrogating Supreme Court nominee Judge Ketanji Brown Jackson has given new meaning to the phrase “badgering the witness.”
Some Thoughts on CPAC 2022
February 28, 2022
Has our education system failed us?
Over the past 3 decades, the U.S. has slowly lost its edge as the world leader in public education. U.S. student proficiency in science and math – generally thought to be the foundation for independent and critical thinking – is mediocre, at best.
In a recent international comparison of achievement among 15 year old students from 71 countries, U.S. students ranked 36th in math, and 24th in science.
Some of these students — who have already been denied a rigorous education – are most vulnerable to inculcation and indoctrination.
Thus, it should come as no surprise that young adults who lack independent and/or critical thinking skills are likely to become the next generation of CPAC attendees.
Donald Trump is an expert communicator, highly skilled in techniques which are frequently cited by experts in mind control.
Trump focuses on a small number of issues which are emotionally important to a narrow group of people who feel lost or disenfranchised.
His communications are intended to provide understanding, comfort and answers to his audience, thus to gain their trust, despite often vague solutions to the identified problems. Here are a few actual and verified Trump communiques (in no particular chronological order) which may have helped rally and solidify his audience:
- “I could stand in the middle of 5th Avenue and shoot somebody and I wouldn’t lose voters.”
- “I am the only one who can make America truly great again.”
- “This very expensive GLOBAL WARMING bullshit has got to stop. Our planet is freezing, record low temps, and our GW scientists are stuck in ice.”
- “I’m intelligent. Some people would say I’m very, very, very intelligent.”
- “Sorry losers and haters, but my IQ is one of the highest – and you all know it! Please don’t feel so stupid or insecure; it’s not your fault.”
- “We need a president with tremendous intelligence, smarts, cunning, strength and stamina.”
- “Obama and his attack dogs have nothing but hate and anger in their hearts and spew it whenever possible.”
- “I will build a great, great wall on our southern border, and I will have Mexico pay for that wall. Mark my words.”
- “I’m the least racist person you have ever interviewed.”
- “I have a great relationship with African Americans, as you possibly have heard. I just have great respect for them. And they like me. I like them.”
- “They’re sending people that have lots of problems, and they’re bringing those problems with us. They’re bringing drugs. They’re bringing crime. They’re rapists. And some, I assume, are good people.”
- “[John McCain is]… not a war hero. He’s a war hero – he’s a war hero ’cause he was captured. I like people that weren’t captured, OK, I hate to tell you.”
- “Donald J. Trump is calling for a total and complete shutdown of Muslims entering the United States until our country’s representatives can figure out what the hell is going on.”
- “Crooked Hillary Clinton is the worst (and biggest) loser of all time. She just can’t stop, which is so good for the Republican Party. Hillary, get on with your life and give it another try in 3 years!”
- “Russia will have much greater respect for our country when I am leading it than when other people have led it… If Putin likes Donald Trump, I consider that an asset, not a liability, because we have a horrible relationship with Russia.”
- “Nobody knew health care could be so complicated.”
- “We can’t let people down when they can’t get any medical care, when they’re sick and don’t have money to go to a doctor. You help them.”
- “We condemn in the strongest possible terms this egregious display of hatred, bigotry and violence on many sides. On many sides.” [post-Charlottesville, VA; 2017].
- “Corporations are literally going wild over this, I think even beyond my expectations.” [Tax Cuts and Jobs Act; 2017]
- “We have it totally under control. It’s one person coming in from China. It’s going to be just fine.” [Re: Covid-19: Jan. 2020]
- “We are up BIG, but they are trying to STEAL the Election. We will never let them do it. Votes cannot be cast after the Polls are closed!”
- “So, look, all I want to do, is I want to find 11,780 votes.”
- “We fight like hell. And if you don’t fight like hell, you’re not going to have a country anymore.”
- “This election was rigged. And the Supreme Court and other courts didn’t want to do anything about it.”
- “Nobody has done more for Christianity or for evangelicals — or for religion itself — than I have.”
- “They say, ‘Trump said Putin’s smart.’ I mean, he’s taking over a country for two dollars’ worth of sanctions. I’d say that’s pretty smart. He’s taking over a country — really a vast, vast location, a great piece of land with a lot of people, and just walking right in.”
- “As grave as the dangers are abroad, it’s the destruction within that spells our doom. Our most dangerous people are people from within. These are people that must hate our country because they make us weak. They indoctrinate your children to hate their parents while calling you a hateful racist. They use big tech to censor you. They use the deep state to spy on you. They use the intelligence agencies to frame you. They use the media to slander you. They use the legal system to persecute you. It is a persecution. They use rigged elections to disenfranchise you and destroy you and ruin your lives.”
Yes, Mr. Trump. If we follow your lead, we must fear the left-wing fascists and dumb political leaders from within. Some have said that these dumb political leaders are ‘truly evil people’ who are ‘afraid to do the right thing.’
Meanwhile, others have singled out a contingent of Republican elected officials – including: Rep. Matt Gaetz of Florida; Sen. Bill Hagerty of Tennessee; Sen. John Kennedy of Louisiana; Gov. Kevin Stitt of Oklahoma; Gov. Ron DeSantis of Florida; former Secretary of State Mike Pompeo; Sen. Ted Cruz of Texas; Rep. Jim Jordan of Ohio; Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene of Georgia, and several more.
Concurrent with the CPAC conference, Rep. Greene distinguished herself as a speaker at a white supremacist event — the America First Political Action Conference (AFPAC) – also held in Florida.
Guests at the AFPAC conference openly cheered Russian President Vladimir Putin, and approved comparisons between Putin and Adolf Hitler, while calling the January 6 attack on the U.S. Capitol “awesome.”
Despite a subsequent statement from the RNC Chairwoman saying “white supremacy, neo-Nazism, hate speech and bigotry are disgusting and do not have a home in the Republican Party,” there was no rebuke of Marjorie Taylor Greene by name.
Yes, Mr. Trump. There may be some left-wing fascists and dumb political leaders who were elected as Democrats. If you could take just a moment to identify them and accurately describe their aberrant behavior(s), that would really be great.
Yet, we have irrefutable media evidence of public officials who were elected as Republicans and who have gone out of their way to favor Mr. Putin over our elected president.
Best I know: This is clear essence of sedition, perhaps emanating a whiff of treason.
Perhaps, Mr. Trump, you will take a few moments to respond to these conclusions drawn from real facts?
A new look at the Republican Party
January 13, 2022
During my college years, I was introduced to the writings of Franz Kafka; that may help explain my rather bizarre sense of humor.
The Untouchables
April 23, 2019
The Untouchables television series debuted in 1959 loosely based on a memoir written by Eliot Ness, chronicling his career as a federal Treasury enforcement agent in the 1930’s.
The TV series starred Robert Stack (as Eliot Ness) as the leader of a team of Prohibition Agents employed by the U.S. Department of the Treasury following their efforts to bring down the bootleg empire of “Scarface” Al Capone.
The team of agents was nicknamed “The Untouchables” because of their courage, moral character, and incorruptibility; legend said they could not be bribed or intimidated by the Mob.
The Untouchables was a landmark television series that spawned numerous imitators over the decades, including S.W.A.T.; The F.B.I.; Crime Story; the original Hawaii Five-O; and countless more.
Those were the days when the American public proudly looked up to…
- Our elected leaders in Washington;
- Their appointed cabinet heads; and
- The career public servants who signed on to protect our country against rascals, scoundrels and scofflaws.
Today (April 23, 2019), U.S. Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin failed to meet a final congressional deadline for turning over President Donald Trump’s tax returns to lawmakers, setting the stage for a possible court battle between Congress and the Trump Administration.
Last week, we witnessed William Barr — the current Attorney General of the United States – in a nationally televised press conference deliver a fully fabricated introduction to a 400+plus page summary of a Special Counsel independent investigation (“The Mueller Investigation”) into allegations of Russian government efforts to interfere in the 2016 presidential election.
We have a sitting President who has frequently and publicly besmirched, criticized and/or called into question the abilities, intentions and loyalty of the entire U.S. intelligence community, including the FBI, CIA, Treasury Department and National Intelligence Agency,
Trump’s decision to revoke the security clearance of former CIA director John Brennan in August 2018 – apparently in retaliation to Brennan’s comments that Trump was incapable of managing the office of POTUS – is cast in complete juxtaposition to the forced security clearances for Jared and Ivanka.
Make America Great Again?
Yeah.
Let’s go back to the time when Eliot Ness and his team of Untouchables were revered by virtually all Americans, and when we were willing and able to unite against Mobsters and Criminals who threatened the very essence of our Constitutional Republic.
Where’s Mitch McConnell?
January 17, 2019
Where’s Mitch is a question many people are asking.
There are 800,000 federal workers and their families who are going without pay right now – including thousands of Kentuckians.
Here in Florida, we have about 5,000 Coast Guard members doing their jobs to protect our 1,350 miles of Gulf and Atlantic coastline, and they are not currently being paid.
The new Democratic House, on its first day in office, passed two bills funding and reopening the government.
McConnell has refused to allow a vote on any of those bills in the Senate. He’s even twice blocked a bill reopening the government from coming to the floor that he himself voted for back in December.
Despite the fact that Majority Leader McConnell has the ability to end this shutdown right now, Mitch is seemingly nowhere to be found.
I’m angry that this one man who has the power to stop this absurd drama has refused to do his job.
If you are nearly as angry as I am, perhaps you will consider donating $15 – or what you can afford – to the Ditch Mitch movement. Let’s shine a bright light on McConnell’s irresponsible behavior.
Remember Benghazi?
January 16, 2019
I refer to a deplorable attack by members of the Islamic militant group Ansar al-Sharia on the U.S. embassy in Benghazi, Libya during which four U.S. citizens were killed. That atrocity occurred in September 2012, just over 6 years ago.
Today (January 16, 2019) — just a month after President Donald Trump declared that the Islamic State had been defeated and that he was pulling U.S. troops out of Syria — a suicide bombing in northern Syria attributed to the Islamic State killed at least 16 people, including two U.S. service members and two American civilians.
About four hours after this vicious attack by Islamic Militants – and after having been briefed on the bombing — Vice President Mike Pence told the world, “Thanks to the leadership of this commander in chief and the courage and sacrifice of our armed forces, we are now actually able to begin to hand off the fight against ISIS in Syria to our coalition partners. And we are bringing our troops home. The caliphate has crumbled, and ISIS has been defeated.”
Cold? Callous? Confused? Disconnected?
Even some senior Republican elected officials have pushed back on this mess, warning President Trump that his statements have served to encourage and inspire ‘the enemy we’re fighting.’
Back to Benghazi: At two years and four months, Trey Gowdy’s Benghazi investigation was longer than previous Congressional probes into 9/11; Watergate; the JFK assassination; and Pearl Harbor. Add to that time wasted: the $22 Million of public money spent in a clearly partisan attempt to “get” former Secretary Clinton, it must have been deeply disappointing to those who backed Gowdy when they read the final report which found no evidence of wrongdoing by Hillary Clinton.
Lessons Learned: Despite the temptation, let us be sure to tell our elected officials in Washington: Please don’t waste any scarce government resources investigating the direct impact of President Trump’s actions on the January 16, 2019 Islamic State fatal attack on innocent people in northern Syria.
Trump does what he is told, and there is no reason to investigate what we already know.
Constitutional Conflicts
August 11, 2018
We frequently hear from advocates of the 1st amendment, the 2nd amendment, the 4th amendment, et al.
We don’t often hear about one of the key concerns of our ‘Founding Fathers’, perhaps best voiced by James Madison who said, “The truth is that all men having power ought to be mistrusted.”
Indeed.
Madison and his colleagues made sure that one of the basic precepts of the U.S. Constitution was to ensure a separation of powers enforced through a series of checks and balances to prevent a single person (or branch of the federal government) from becoming too powerful, thus thwarting the potential for fraud, self-aggrandizement and to encourage timely correction of errors or omissions.
The system of checks and balances is intended to act as a circuit breaker over the separation of powers, balancing the authorities of the separate branches of government.
It assumes honest and impartial actions by each department charged with the responsibility to verify the appropriateness and legality of actions initiated by the others.
Never before Donald Trump have we had a senior elected federal official who refused to disclose the details of his finances. And, in U.S. history there has never been a president for whom it was more important that we know the details of his finances.
Trump has a well-documented history as an incompetent and perhaps corrupt businessman. After election, he refused to divest himself of his holdings, providing an open window of opportunities for bad people to entice him – and his family – with unimaginable advantages. Why? Trump’s income comes from an incredibly complex web of companies that are impossible for outside observers to comprehend.
We know from public information that the Trump Organization is not just one company, but a very complex assemblage of pass-through entities. In a March 2016 letter from his tax lawyers, Donald Trump’s financial situation is described as “inordinately large and complex for an individual” because he holds “interests as the sole or principal owner in approximately 500 separate entities (which) are collectively referred to and do business as The Trump Organization.”
Now, more than 18 months after Trump was inaugurated, The Trump Organization continues to bring in money from deals involving potentially questionable characters and foreign governments possibly looking to influence POTUS. We have no idea who his partners in those hundreds of pass-through companies are, and whether they might have compromising information on him.
How can it be that we have allowed Mr. Trump to get away with keeping his tax returns secret?
Why?
Members of Congress have abdicated their role as arbiters of Executive Branch ethics by refusing to demand release of current (2014 – 2017) business and personal federal income tax returns from Donald Trump, The Trump Organization, and any relevant and/or related entities.
We can only conclude that this is clear evidence of dereliction of duty by these officials whom we elected to represent the interests of the American people.
Economically and financially competent American voters must demand full and immediate disclosure of current tax returns by senior elected officials, particularly at the executive and legislative level.
If they who wish to serve don’t wish to disclose, they shouldn’t run for public office.
If they who are elected refuse to disclose, they should automatically be removed from public office.
No exceptions. No excuses.
The Trump Fiasco in Brussels
July 11, 2018
Today, Donald Trump was in Brussels representing the U.S. at a NATO summit.
His documented behavior was at best, rude. Some have called his actions to be “obnoxious and uncivilized.” Others have said, “…consistently appalling and despicable behavior.”
Trump continues to test the lower boundaries of bad behavior, creating an internationally negative aura against the people of the United States.
How to explain this immature and puerile public conduct by a man who is currently serving as the President of the U.S.?
Here is one clue: In his 1987 book, The Art of the Deal, Trump states, “Even in elementary school, I was a very assertive, aggressive kid. In the second grade I actually gave a teacher a black eye. I punched my music teacher because I didn’t think he knew anything about music and I almost got expelled. I’m not proud of that, but it’s clear evidence that even early on I had a tendency to stand up and make my opinions known in a forceful way.”
The Donald attended an exclusive private elementary school (Kew-Forest) from 1950 to 1959.
Ann Trees, one of Trump’s elementary school teachers (now retired), was quoted in a 2016 Washington Post article as saying, “Who could forget him? He was headstrong and determined. He would sit with his arms folded with this look on his face — I use the word surly — almost daring you to say one thing or another that wouldn’t settle with him.”
Sound familiar?
An unsubstantiated story from Trump’s youth adds some additional credence to the potentially negative effects of a weak upbringing. The story dates to the early 1950’s (likely 1954) when The Donald would have been in 3rd grade.
Donald’s father, Fred, entered young Donny into a contest, ‘King of the Playground Bullies’. Despite being one of the youngest contestants, The Donald took second prize.
Donald’s father was quite disappointed, and from that point forward, Donald himself vowed to become the best and meanest bully the world would ever know.
———————————————————————-
Fast forward 65 years, and The Donald proved his mettle today on the world stage in Brussels. Let’s hope his father Fred is proud of his progeny.
walrus51 