Comments on the Events of the Last 3 Weeks

(Note: It's been 3 weeks since my last posts. But it has been an exciting time as our son got married. So much has transpired over the last 3 weeks that I will not be able to comment in detail on everything. So, in no particular order, let's take a brief look at a lot.)

President Trump awarded the Presidential Medal of Freedom to Rush Limbaugh. The mainstream media (MSM) and the Left were in a tizzy over the award to a conservative political commentator. One op-ed writer (Virginia Heffernan in the 2/7/20 LA Times) suggested that the highest civilian award should go only to humanitarians, scientists and heroes and the like. After all, President Obama gave the award to "world-historical figures such as civil rights supernova Rosa Parks and Nobel laureate and Holocaust survivor Elie Wiesel." No mention was made in that op-ed of Obama also giving the award to strident left-wing commentators such as Barbra Streisand and Robert De Niro. But I long ago gave up on expecting consistency from the Left and the MSM. Hypocrisy, however, is another matter.

Speaking of hypocrisy, Harrison Ford was recently on Jimmy Kimmel's show. After referring to Trump as a "son of a bitch," he then complained that politics has gotten too divisive. Can you say two-faced?

Continuing on the hypocrisy theme, Trump has been viciously attacked for his recent pardons and commutations, with some asserting it is yet another example of what they claim is an assault on our democracy. Yet, Bill Clinton also pardoned white collar/political felons, including former U.S. Rep Dan Rostenkowski, former Arizona Governor Fife Symington III, and Whitewater figure Susan McDougal. While Clinton did catch some flak on a few of his pardons, it was not deemed to be the end of our democracy.

Just how divided are we as a country? When House Speaker Nancy Pelosi tore up her copy of Trump's recent State of the Union address, it was a perfect metaphor for the severing of our society - Left from Right. Just to be clear, I saw Trump hand a copy of his speech to Pence and Pelosi. I saw Pelosi extend her hand to Trump as he was turning back around. If he saw her hand extended, he should have shook it. I am well aware of all the names Pelosi and other Dems have used to disparage the President. But if we are to last as a unified country, these behaviors need to stop - at least in public.

Speaking of divided, after the House voted along party lines to impeach Trump (although two Democrats voted against impeachment), the Senate then voted along party lines to acquit Trump (with only Mitt Romney voting to convict). Why Romney really voted that way only he knows. He claimed his conscience required it. But was it spite, for not getting appointed to Trump's cabinet? Pelosi had said she would not pursue impeachment without bipartisan support for it. However, it has become clear that she defers to the left-wing of her party.

Speaking of divisive still, it was sad, but not surprising, to hear this story. One of our out of town guests at the wedding (herself no Trump fan - she despises him) was asked by her cousin why she would travel to California to spend time with Republicans and Trump voters. After all, those Trump voters, the deplorables, are racists, sexists, homophobic, Islamophobic and generally evil and despicable people. The only question I have is how many people actually believe all that? Millions, no doubt. On the other hand, I have asked Bill Clinton voters if they supported sexual harassment, sexual abuse and even rape. After all, Bill Clinton was accused of all those things. The reply is often a blank stare, or a "that's not the same." Agreed, as rape is a serious, violent felony - being sexist or racist, etc. is not.

I have to be honest, I am getting increasingly annoyed - no, angry - at these intolerant Leftists. Some, like the aforementioned individual, verbally express their contempt for those who dare disagree with them. But there are increasing numbers who believe they have an absolute right to be violent to those evil Republicans/Trump supporters. It's not just Antifa members. Recently, a 27 year old man in Florida felt he was entitled to drive his car into a Republican voter registration booth. Said the perpetrator: "someone had to take a stand." Not as bad as the shooting of the House Republican's baseball game in 2017, nearly killing Rep. Steve Scalise. It was during the last election cycle, on July 29, 2016, that I wrote "A Personal Tale of Left-Wing Intolerance," after being verbally accosted in Court. I wish I could say that things have gotten better, but clearly that is not the case.