The Donald Trump Criminal Theory? Donald Trump the Fool

Is Trump the fool?  There really are only two possibilities regarding President Trump.  Maybe he’s a liar and a criminal.  Did he collude with the Russian government in the 2016 election?  If he did, that could never be fully hidden, and crime after crime would inevitably ensue.  The whole thing would inevitably blow up.  Would that explain his possibly “asking” former FBI Director Comey to “just let Mike Flynn go?”  Perhaps.  Could that explain his subsequent firing of Comey because the FBI was relentlessly pursuing the collusion thesis?  Or maybe the FBI was just getting too close to the hard proof of collusion (though we doubt Trump would know it)?  Again, perhaps.

But we have an alternative theory.  It’s a simple theory.  Perhaps President Trump is just a fool.  Not even a knave – it’s just Trump the fool.   Continue reading “The Donald Trump Criminal Theory? Donald Trump the Fool”

Special Prosecutor is Not Needed – Let the FBI Conduct the Investigation

We don’t know with certainty whether the Trump campaign colluded with the Russian government during the 2016 election.  And if that collusion existed, we don’t know whether President Trump was directly or indirectly involved.  Perhaps at this point, only he knows (though we doubt it).  But a special prosecutor is not needed yet.  And Senate Democratic Leader Chuck Schumer, once again, places the interests of his political faction above those of the country.    Continue reading “Special Prosecutor is Not Needed – Let the FBI Conduct the Investigation”

Nominate Judge Merrick Garland as FBI Director – A Brilliant Political Move

Nominate Judge Merrick Garland as the new FBI Director.  This is the brilliant idea of Utah Senator Mike Lee.  His suggestion, if implemented, would solve a multitude of President Trump’s problems.  More importantly, it would provide the country with a full, independent and conclusive judgment regarding the entire “Russia” matter once and for all.  It eliminates the silly comparisons to Watergate.  And it diffuses any notion of a “constitutional crisis.”  But is President Trump up to the challenge? Continue reading “Nominate Judge Merrick Garland as FBI Director – A Brilliant Political Move”

President Obama’s Failure to Fire FBI Director Comey – It Was All Politics

President Trump’s decision to fire FBI Director Comey has rightly led to questions about his motivations and judgment.  We discuss that elsewhere.  But President Obama’s failure to fire Director Comey is troubling, albeit for different reasons.  Why didn’t President Obama fire Comey immediately after Comey’s initial conclusion of the Hillary investigation?  Obama’s judgment was also poor.  But we believe his primary motivation was something altogether different.  It was just politics, pure and simple.  And it’s yet another example of a President placing politics above the needs of the country. Continue reading “President Obama’s Failure to Fire FBI Director Comey – It Was All Politics”

Wisconsin’s Voter-ID Law Suppressed Votes? – A Misleading Account

The Nation published a story yesterday by Ari Berman with the headline “Wisconsin’s Voter-ID Law Suppressed 200,000 Votes in 2016 (Trump Won by 22,478).”  Here’s a definitive statement that 200,000 votes were in fact suppressed by Wisconsin’s Voter-ID law.  And a blunt inference that, but for this suppression, Trump would not have won in Wisconsin.  The problem with Mr. Berman’s headline is simple.  It is not supported by the facts.  It is yet another example of a media outlet misleading its readers.  And an example of a failure of a published reporter to demand of himself accuracy in his reporting.  Shame, shame, shame. Continue reading “Wisconsin’s Voter-ID Law Suppressed Votes? – A Misleading Account”

Comey Deserved to Be Fired, But Trump’s Judgment Was Terrible

The firing of FBI Director James Comey was long overdue.  Comey deserved to be fired.  But President Trump was wrong to do it now.  Rants to the contrary notwithstanding, this is not the Saturday Night Massacre.  Not by a long shot.  But President Trump’s decision is yet the latest example of poor judgment – very poor judgment.  Poor presidential judgment jeopardizes a President’s ability to effectively lead.  The nation becomes weaker in the eyes of friends and foe alike.  The subsequent need to show decisiveness and leadership grows, as is the risk of making follow-on poor judgments.  This is the underlying risk of President Trump’s decision, and it cannot be understated. Continue reading “Comey Deserved to Be Fired, But Trump’s Judgment Was Terrible”

Tyranny of the Majority on Campus – An Assault on Free Speech

A dangerous and continuing assault on free speech is growing on our campuses and across our society.  It is a threatening wave of illiberalism. Tocqueville long ago warned that a tyranny of the majority was the principle danger inherent in any democracy.  Majority despotism could overwhelm public discourse, ultimately leading to the danger of a restructured and intolerant government.  This despotism, he observed, is rooted within the majority’s values and mores, and pose the greatest threat to liberty.

Tocqueville’s concerns are in full display today at Middlebury College, Berkeley, Auburn and other universities.  Protesters at each institution suppressed the expression of political views seen as opposed to their own.  These protesters claim their actions are justified because these views offended their sense of social and personal acceptability.  And further, they completely silenced these voices before words were ever uttered, deploying uncivilized tactics.  In turn, each of these institutions were willing accomplices to the speech suppression.  Each was unwilling to create and protect an environment of full and free political speech, a base necessity for any institution of higher learning in the United States. Continue reading “Tyranny of the Majority on Campus – An Assault on Free Speech”

Americans’ Moral Obligation to Pay Taxes – But It’s Limited

Are Americans proud to pay their taxes?  Vanessa Williamson of the Brookings Institute thinks so, after studying survey data and conducting interviews.  She finds that Americans view paying taxes as a civic and moral responsibility, and the price of citizenship.  She believes that “the idea that ‘Americans hate taxes’ has become a truism without the benefit of being true.”  But this rather surface conclusion misses the point.  There is a real distinction between a moral obligation to pay taxes and a legal obligation. Continue reading “Americans’ Moral Obligation to Pay Taxes – But It’s Limited”

Deaf Ears to Maryland Black Caucus on Marijuana – And Rightly So

Michele Obama once said “when they go low we go high.”  But not the Maryland Black Caucus (MBC).  For them, “when they go low we get high  [just kidding] – it is racism!”  In a pathetic example of playing the race card, the Maryland Black Caucus screamed foul when there were no awards of Maryland’s 15 marijuana grower licenses to African-Americans. But it all falls on deaf ears in a Maryland legislature lambasted by the MBC with overtures of claimed corruption.  And outward – and ill-founded – claims of racism.   Continue reading “Deaf Ears to Maryland Black Caucus on Marijuana – And Rightly So”

Feckless American Leadership – The Lessons From the Syrian Chemical Weapon Catastrophe

So this is what happens when the United States enters into worthless agreements sponsored by a feckless American President.  This is what occurs after that American President drew a line in the sand that his enemy chose to cross – with no consequence.  We face this outcome when that American President desperately relies on the Russian Federation – yes, Russia – to bail him out.  This is the lesson for our future leaders when a President of the United States, with forethought, chose to rely on the words of Vladimir Putin, of all people, to ensure that the monstrous regime of Syrian dictator Bashar al-Assad would no longer chemically murder his fellow Syrians.  An American President who foolishly grabbed the thin reed of a September, 2013 “Framework” agreement promising the removal and destruction of chemical weapons in Syria, all in the name of saving his own political face.   Feckless American leadership.

Feckless American leadership

Continue reading “Feckless American Leadership – The Lessons From the Syrian Chemical Weapon Catastrophe”

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