SOME RANDOM THOUGHTS…
Oh, Marjorie…
So, Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene, the lightweight Republican nutcase from Georgia, says she will make a motion to oust House Speaker Mike Johnson if he brings a bill for aid to Ukraine to the House floor. There are those, even in her own party, that feel Greene has crossed a line to where she now is representing Russia’s Vladimir Putin on the floor of the House. Russian state media has fallen in love with Greene, noting on one broadcast that “she believes Americans should help Putin win.”
Russian state media constantly accuses Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky, who happens to be Jewish, of having a “Nazi army.” This week when aid to Ukraine came on the table again Greene tried to amend the package to require members who vote for it to “conscript in the Ukrainian army.” Her amendment also would have directed President Joe Biden to withdraw from NATO. Straight from Putin’s lips to…..
Can we just accept that Greene and those in her corner are dupes, tools of Russian propagandists and have no place in the hallowed halls of Congress? Those among us with a lick of sense, history and decency can accept that; it’s doubtful those deep in the MAGA cult can, or ever will……
Please, stop!
The House Republican effort to impeach Homeland Security Director Alejandro Mayorkas for failing to enforce U.S. policy at the southern border and allegedly lying to Congress died a well-deserved death in the Senate this week. There never was a “there” there. Much of the chaos that exists at the border can be traced back to continued failures, by both parties, to create a sensible and enforceable immigration policy. Such a policy would not just focus on one border but would define the nation’s policy toward immigration – period. Just a few weeks ago Republicans crafted a policy which was filled with flaws but nevertheless was accepted by Democrats as better than nothing. But wait – Donald Trump weighed in and told Republicans he needed the war on brown-skinned people to stoke fears prior to the election so they should walk away from the bill. And, of course, they did, all while trying to impeach Mayorkas.
Some have wondered since the Senate, along partisan lines, rejected the farce if that means in the future Republicans will vote down any legitimate impeachment effort if they control the Senate. Maybe. Maybe not. Who knows? What the Senate did was correct. If this were a trial in a regular civil or criminal court after the prosecution’s case was presented the defense mostly likely would ask for a directed verdict of not guilty, on grounds there was no case there. Odds are most judges would grant such a motion.
Speaking of impeachment…
Democrat Jamie Raskin and Republican James Comer, chair of the House Oversight Committee which under Republican guidance has spent months and millions trying to impeach President Joe Biden for crimes not yet made clear or proven, tussled in Congress this week. An obviously fed-up Raskin challenged Comer, whose efforts to somehow tie Biden to some sort of horrific financial criminal activity, have been deemed a total failure, to explain why he persists. Rather than answer Ruskin’s challenge to put up or shut up, Comer wandered off into defenses of Donald Trump and went so far as to deliberately mispronounce Raskin’s name.
Meanwhile, Ukraine languishes, the Middle East is in turmoil, the nation faces serious issues that only Congress can solve. But, here we are. Like Jamie, most of us are left wondering when all this dysfunction will end. It certainly won’t end so long as millions of Americans continue to think that life under MAGA would be better than life in free country.
Meanwhile, in a real court…
Donald Trump continues to lie so blatantly that one has to wonder if his followers are really as dirt-dumb as they appear or if they really are in some kind of coma. If you were listening – and that is becoming a tall order – to Trump as he entered and exited the downtown New York City court building, you would have heard him say, among other things, that “every legal expert” who has weighed in on the case says it has no merit. While experts have debated the strengths and weaknesses of the case, none have said it has no merit. Trump also said he had the “love of 200 million Americans.” Really? His average number of votes two presidential elections is around 70 million. So it goes…
Do you know this man?
He married then divorced his first wife, leaving her with two children. He then married a 12-year-old after he allegedly abducted her. He then dumped her and later married a 15-year-old, who he also abandoned and left behind when he went to Hawaii, where he married a 14-year-old. They had several children. She died and he wed again – age of bride unknown – but he divorced her two years later. Need more clues? In the middle of all that he lived in Arizona, where he managed to get elected to the legislature and, in 1864, he became speaker of the house. Just after ditching the 12-year-old wife and shortly before marrying the 14-year-old, he pushed a law through the legislature created a total ban on abortion and imposed draconian penalties on anyone involved at all in an abortion or attempted abortion.
The man is William Claude Jones, a kidnapper, rapist and pedophile who is responsible for the bill the Arizona Supreme Court has upheld as the ultimate law on abortion in the state. Welcome to the new star of the Republican Party of 2024…..
Rich Heiland, has been a reporter, editor, publisher/general manager at daily papers in Texas, Pennsylvania, Illinois, Ohio and New Hampshire. He was part of a Pulitzer Prize-winning team at the Xenia Daily (OH) Daily Gazette, a National Newspaper Association Columnist of the Year, and a recipient of the Molly Ivins First Amendment Award from the Walker County (TX) Democrat Club. He taught journalism at Western Illinois University and leadership and community development at Woodbury College in Vermont. Since 1995 he has operated an international consulting, public speaking and training business specializing in customer service, general management, leadership and staff development with major corporations, organizations, and government. Semi-retired, he and his wife live in West Chester, PA. He can be reached at heilandrich1@gmail.com.
Important perspective and very well written.