When Donald Trump began running for President, I had a sense of foreboding and dread. Everyone I knew assured me that he could never be elected, but it didn't help.
By the time he secured the nomination, I was a wreck. Despite what everyone was saying I knew the odds were 50/50 and that seemed unacceptable when it came to the likelihood of electing a criminal madman.
When Trump won the election, I took no joy in being able to say I told you so. In the countdown to his inauguration, it was clear that he was taking us into a maelstrom. His inauguration speech made that crystal clear.
What followed was chaos. New revelations about his corruption and his links to Russia and Putin came in daily. It was hard to keep up with. It was clear that something was gravely wrong. Suddenly Putin was both prominent and dominant.
Trump went to war with our Intelligence Community, the press and our allies. He fired Sally Yates, Preet Bharara and Jamey Comey.
He continually attacks Jeff Sessions, Rob Rosenstein and Robert Mueller.
He so desperately wants to put an end to Mueller's investigation that you can feel it. His fear is palpable. He knows he and his family are guilty of crimes and he sees Mueller racking up confessions and convictions. He knows how this ends if he can't stop it.
Trump seemed hell bent on destroying NATO and wrecking our relationships with our allies. He has been undoing the protections that were put in place after World War II. Trump stands out and alone on this among our allies.
Destroying NATO and wrecking the EU is, and has been, a top priority for Putin.
On his first trip out of the country Trump went to Saudi Arabia. What he did there is not all that clear. Some of it was simply bizarre.
What is clear is that both he and his son-in-law, Jared Kushner have benefited financially from their involvement with the Saudis. In fact, the Crown Prince openly boasted that he had Jared in "his pocket".
Over the last several days we have learned about the murder and torture of a Washington Post reporter inside the Saudi Consulate in Istanbul, Turkey. This actually took place in Consul General Mohammad al-Otaibi's office inside the Consulate.
To be specific, Jamal Khashoggi, a legal resident of the United States was tortured, murdered and dismembered and his body was disposed of by a Saudi hit team.
The entire world has condemned the Saudis over this. It seems the Crown Prince, Mohammed bin Salman (MbS), dispatched the hit team and they just happened to bring a surgical saw with them.
At first, MbS denied having anything to do with this. However the Turkish government has it all on tape. Apparently Jamal's Apple watch was on in recording mode.
The existent of the tape resulted in MbS changing his story several times. The latest version was that it was an accident and that Jamal attacked 15 assassins at the Saudi Consulate. This is only slightly better than the "he walked into a revolving door" defense which I'm sure is coming.
Trump sent Secretary of State, Mike Pompeo to visit MbS last week. When Pompeo left Saudi Arabia, he went to Turkey where he is rumored to have refused to listen to the tape of Jamal's torture and murder. A tape the Turkish authorities offered him.
What's going on? MsB has fired 18 people so far in an attempt to mollify mounting international condemnation and calls for action against Saudi Arabia. Trump and his idiot sons may be the only people on the planet who say they find MsB's story plausible. It makes you wonder.
Even Republican Senators are refusing to buy MsB's story. Lindsey Graham along with Marco Rubio, Rand Paul and Bob Corker are just a few of those asking for strict sanctions against Saudi Arabia.
In the midst of all this, Trump goes to Montana last week and speaks at a rally. He actually praises Greg Gianforte for body slamming a reporter during the last election cycle.
Trump's war on our Intelligence Community has been on-going and relentless. Not too long ago he likened them to Nazis. Now, Trump is once again refusing to accept the IC's findings on a major international scandal. He finds MsB more credible.
Until last year, I really had no idea who James Clapper was. He's a little older than I am. He's not quite as old as my brother would be if he were alive today. He's got a nice smile.
Okay, he's also got sad eyes and a perplexed look at times. In fact, that look seems to be his go to look when he testifies at Congressional hearings.
James has been a dominant figure in our intelligence community. He retired last year from his position of Director of National Intelligence, a position he held for 7 years. The DNI is a cabinet level position. James has worked in intelligence since 1961.
You could call James the grandfather of United States intelligence. Donald Trump, our Liar-In-Chief, simply calls him out. Trump has trashed James over and over again. He tells us we can't believe a word James says.
I know a lot of things about James Clapper because I just finished reading his book, "Facts And Fears; Hard Truths From A Life In Intelligence". It's an excellent book. James is infinitely more believable than Donald, Donald Pants on Fire.
Here ares a few quotes from James' book. They capture Trump well.
We have elected someone as president of the United States whose first instincts are to twist and distort truth to his advantage, to generate financial benefit to himself and his family, and, in so doing, to demean the values this country has traditionally stood for. He has set a new low bar for ethics and morality. He has caused damage to our societal and political fabric that will be difficult and will require time to repair.
He had disparaged minority Americans and mocked those with disabilities. At the close of his first week in office, the Economist Intelligence Unit updated its Democracy Index to indicate that the United States no longer qualified as a full-fledged democracy. For the first time, because of an “erosion of public trust in political institutions,” our democratic status was listed as “flawed.” Since then, President Trump’s motto, “America First,” has meant tearing up agreements that the United States had made with other nations and not meeting obligations we’d incurred before he took office.
He marginalized NATO, pulled out of the Paris Climate Accord, said he wouldn’t honor the North American Free Trade Agreement, abandoned the Trans-Pacific Partnership, and decertified the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action to prevent Iran from acquiring a nuclear weapon. I don’t see how North Korea or any other nation would trust the United States to live up to any new deal we tried to make. We have ceded leadership on global issues to China, Germany, and Russia.
November 6th is coming up fast. We need to take back our Congress. We need to take back our country. This may be our last chance to do so. Vote Blue!
Holy Moly!
