Sunday Morning "Hit Job" on Trump

                              
    
                                                 By Florida Bill  

                                                  As the country rolls forward in the face of perhaps the worst Flu crisis in U.S. history, the Sunday morning news shows delivered interviews with their analyses of the dilemma and an assessment on how the President is handling the problem. Media answer--Trump is to blame.  
                                 As is somewhat normal on a Sunday morning, I turned in to the long standing news-interview shows to hear the biased media's take on the crisis in the USA caused by the Corona virus, which the President has said got its start in China, but which detractors say may have started elsewhere, and that the President is a xenophobe and a racist for putting the onus on China.  
                                  You have to wonder after listening to NBC's "Meet the Press" with Chuck Todd, if Todd is a member of the Democratic National Committee as he adopts their talking points in an effort to  denigrate the President.  (Trump has let it be known that he has no respect for "Sleeping Chuck," and refers to his show as "Meet the Corrupt Press.") 
                                 Todd opened the show by lamenting that the country is in dire straights, with an inaccurate description of the crisis coming from Washington.  Trump "blinded citizens as to the scale of the outbreak," Todd charged.  "For months, the President dismissed the threat of the outbreak even as he was receiving information about its danger."   And supplies, he said,  are in great demand, and are not being provided in sufficient quantities, if at all, by the Trump  government. 
                                  Todd then gleefully turned to his guest, Bill de Blasio, New York city mayor since 2014.  What say you, asked a smiling Todd who had probably been briefed by the mayor on what he would be saying at the interview.  De Blasio did not disappoint and promptly castigated the President for not doing enough to handle the crisis and ease suffering.  
                                    "The  President,"  said the mayor, "is from New York city and he will not lift a finger to help his home town. I have asked that the military be mobilized---if the President does not act, people will die." Later, de Blasio  explained that the military has all the ventilators, and masks and everything else which the city needs.  They must be ordered  to share. New York city is being overwhelmed and the military has everything, he emphasized.  
                                    After listening to de Blasio upbraid  President Trump, and seeing the delight which it kindled for the disingenuous Todd, I skipped over to the ABC show expecting to see moderator George Stephanopoulos, who earned his spurs as a media anchor based upon his experience as a press aid for years to Bill and Hillary Clinton.  His allegiance to the Clintons and in fact, to all shapes and sizes of  Democrats, is widely known,  and I knew that he would be scratching at presidential aides with accusatory questions suggesting Trump bungling and mishandling of the Covid-19 crisis. 
                                    But to my surprise, George was missing and his "co-anchor" Martha Raddatz,  who never met a Republican that she did not loathe, was in George's big  chair doing the interrogating of self-quarantined guests appearing via an electronic hook up.  The 67-year-old Raddatz is a long time news person at ABC, and she often shows up when political matters are on the table. No worry for ABC and Democrat mentors as Raddatz likes to dig in and accuse Republicans of screwing up when she has the opportunity. 
                                   Her opening and main guest was Peter T.  Gaynor, a Trump appointee confirmed in January as head  of  the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA). 
                                    Raddatz gritted her teeth as is her style and demanded to know how come FEMA has not been making  ventilators and masks sufficiently available.  And if not now--how many and when? The President and the VP have been asked that question, she said,  and an honest answer has never been forthcoming.  So what say you on this ?  People are suffering and are "desperate for critical supplies" to breath and for protection. 
                                     Intelligence agencies "warned" of a coming  pandemic, she said, but the President would not do anything.  Did you know of warnings and if not, why not, Raddatz demanded of Gaynor.  The Washington Post has said that the light in January and February had been  "blinking red," she added. 
                                     In response to a heavy stare and a scowl, Gaynor sought to explain that the masks and respirators  are being delivered as we speak and as quickly as possible.  Every country in the world and every governor in America  wants masks and ventilators and they are being provided expeditiously and on a priority basis. My mission, he explained, is to focus on the problem today and tomorrow and in the weeks to come, not on what happened in the past at meetings I did not attend.                                                                    All in all, it was a typical session of political rapping of the President and  his representatives under the guise of a tough and  inquiring media.  That is the way it is done at ABC, NBC, CBS CNN, MSNBC and other spots on the dial. The media has dismissed all efforts at objectivity in its continuing efforts to take down the duly elected President.  
                                   Polls tell us that the President is seen as doing  a good job fighting the Covid-19 virus and for putting forth policies helpful to all Americans.  His popularity is increasing despite the disgraceful media, and trusted pundits are predicting his reelection next November. 

                                                   XXX

                                                   
                                    . 
                                   

What's Ahead for the Fort Hood Killer.

   


   
                                       By Florida Bill 
           
                                    According  to the Bureau of Justice Statistics, the average time spent by a prisoner on death row is 16 years.  In 1985, that period was about six years.   
                                    Surprisingly, most death row inmates actually die of natural causes before the order of the court is carried out.  One defendant convicted of brutal murders and sentenced to death set a record by spending 40 years on death row before succumbing to natural causes. 
                                     The sentence of death continues to be debated as to its propriety in a civilized society.  There were times in past years when the Supreme Court suspended use of the death penalty for  a period finding that methods employed were barbaric.   Subsequently, it found that the death penalty when administered in a humane way was constitutional. 
                                      In 2018, there were 2,721 prisoners on death row in the United States. The number of prisoners on death row has decreased annually since 1977. So what is going on with the Fort Hood murderer, Major Nidal Hasan. 
                                     So if the law is on the books, and the punishment is constitutional, how come it should take so long?   Is it fear that a mistake might have been made and that the defendant is actually innocent of the crime?  That is a valid thought and in fact in Illinois some years ago, the death sentence was thrown out by Gov. George Ryan for just that reason. But then, what if there is no doubt about the culpability of a defendant in that his murderous acts were witnessed by scores, and that the defendant has acknowledged the crime and actually is proud of what he did and seeks to terminate appeals so that he can be put to death expeditiously as ordered by a jury following a trial at which he (defendant) offered no defense. 
                                    Army Major Nidal Hasan, a psychiatrist, with malice and foresight, exploded in Muslim violence at Fort Hood Texas 11 years ago and slaughtered 13 persons and wounded 32 others in an assembly hall in plain view of hundreds. In 2013, following a dragged out pre-trial period, a jury found Hasan guilty of the first degree murder of 13 persons, and the attempted murder of 32 others and sentenced him to die for his crimes, committed before scores, maybe hundreds, watching in fear. 
                                     During his trial, Hassan offered no defense and acknowledged that he was the shooter.  In interviews he has said that he does not regret the killings and would change nothing.  He wishes that the order of the court be carried out as it would provide him the status of "martyr," in accord with Muslim tenets. 
                                      He was 39 years old on the day of the shootings.  As participants were sitting and standing in the assembly hall on the Texas army base,  Hasan drew his gun and  began firing indiscriminately while screaming "Allahu Akbar" (Allah is Great) over and over as his fellow soldiers fell like ducks in a row  Within seconds  a soldier was able to return the gunfire and bring down the radical Hasan with bullets hitting his back and  spine. 
                                       Now 50, Hasan is incarcerated at Fort Leavenworth, Kansas, and is paralyzed from the waist down.  Army nurses and doctors continue to tend to his daily needs as he awaits his execution....and he has no regrets. 
                                       For the five years following the shootings and until the jury verdict of guilty, Hasan drew his salary which amounted to about $300,000.  With the verdict came his discharge from the army and termination of his salary.  His accrued pay--he apparently sent the money to Muslim brothers in Syria. 
                                    On death row, he has busied himself writing letters and one of them went to the notorious leader of ISIS,  Abu Bakr al-Bagdadi in which he asked to be made a member of his organization. The terrorist ISIS leader granted his request in a return communication, but al-Bagdadi will not be around to applaud at Hasan's execution, if it ever occurs.  Al-Bagdadi committed suicide last October as Americans were preparing to apprehend him for his criminal and murderous plans to kill Americans and create a global caliphate. 
                                      Aside from whether one agrees or disagrees with the death penalty for capital crimes in America, the delay of 11 years for the slaughter by a muslim fanatic of soldiers and civilians is unreasonable and defies sensible explanation. 
                                      It is true that there are mandatory appeals in all death sentence cases.  Appeals go to the Military Court of Criminal Appeals, then to the U.S. Court of Appeals and on to the U.S. Supreme Court.  Finally, the  sentence must be personally confirmed by the President.                      
                                      In a death case, the appeals courts may consider all evidence, even that which was not part of the record of the trial and lower court rulings. That will add some time to the process. But the defendant Hasan wants to be executed so as to gain "martyr" status. The murders were planned and carried out in full view of fellow soldiers and civilians. Drafting petitions for an amended verdict of "not guilty" for whatever reason or for a new trial would not be difficult for lawyers to prepare and submit to the reviewing judges, and can and should be done without the passage of years.  If congress wishes to make changes in the law and eliminate the death penalty, it should do so.  
                                      It is a good guess that President Trump will review and confirm a final decision to go ahead with the death penalty imposed by a military jury.  
                                     Hasan seeks "martyr" status for his killings of infidels.   Even applying the Muslim religious beliefs,  Hasan may be headed in the wrong direction.  In a closing argument at the trial, a prosecutor said that martyrdom is reserved for the followers of Allah who "give" in his name.  But a prosecutor set the record straight and pointed out that even in Hasan's skewed vision of living and dying and right and wrong and the life beyond, "he can never be a martyr because he has nothing to give."  He is not giving his life--the USA is taking his life.  "This is not a gift to the Almighty--It's his debt to society. and he will never be a martyr." 
                                    
                                            XXX
                                      
                                        
                                           







I               

schumer's loud mouth

                               
    
                                                 By Florida Bill  
                        
                                                      Recently, Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer of New York attacked and threatened two Republican justices of the U.S. Supreme Court. Neil Gorsuch and Brian Kavanaugh were his targets and he asserted during a raucous protest on the steps of that court that "you will pay a price" if you rule in favor of abortion restrictions. 
                                        There was an uproar from many corners of society who recognized that Schumer had gone way over the line with his political attack on the Justices appointed by President Trump.   Some called for Schumer's resignation as a minority leader in the Senate.  Others castigated him and demanded his censure and a public apology.
                                        Supreme Court Chief Justice John Roberts reacted to the Schumer rant in a prepared statement:  "This morning, Sen. Schumer spoke at a rally in front of the Supreme Court while a case was being argued inside. Senator Schumer referred to two members of the court by name and said he wanted to tell them that 'You have released the whirlwind, and you will pay the price. You will not know what hit you if you go forward with these awful decisions.'   
                                        "Justices know that criticism comes with the territory, but threatening statements of this sort from the highest levels of government are not only inappropriate, they are dangerous. All Members of the Court will continue to do their job, without fear or favor, from whatever quarter."

                                          ABA President Judy Perry Martinez took up the issue of personal attacks on judges and prosecutors.  "It must cease,” Martinez said, receiving a standing ovation during a speech. “No one, no one, should interfere with the fair administration of justice..."

                                            Comments from  the Chief Justice of the United States and from the president of the American Bar Association put a needle into Schumer, causing him to squirm a bit. He issued a half-baked apology  in which he said his words were being misinterpreted.  
                                              "I'm from Brooklyn," said the smug Schumer, a Harvard Law school graduate. "We speak in strong language. I shouldn't have used the words I did. But in no way was I making a threat. I never, never would do such a thing," Schumer said on the Senate floor. 

                                             It appears that Schumer, often called "Cry'n" Chuck, is angling to dodge censure or other penalty for his unprofessional, and unlawyerly political mouthing. He is pretty sure that the media will be kind to him, knowing that he is a "never-Trumper," and that will minimize the fall out.
                                            Watching him slither about and find cover in the Democrat loving media, I was reminded of the beating which Sen.Trent Lott  took in 2002 when he toasted Sen. Strom Thurmond at Thurmond's 100-year-old birthday party.                                                                                                                    On that occasion, Lott  raised a glass to the veteran ex-senator from  Mississippi and praised him for his 1948 segregationist Dixiecrat presidential bid.  It was a mistake for Lott to do, not politically correct, but Lott said he intended kind words for Thurmond and nothing more.  When the dust settled, Mississippi Sen. Lott was forced to resign as the Republican Majority leader in the Senate. 
                                             Popular and well liked by his colleagues, he was called "racist" by Democrats and by the media which parroted that party line. President Bush said that the comments were offensive.  Sen. Lott remained a member of the Senate until 2007 when he resigned and declined to seek reelection.  
                                        But while Schumer's comments were wrong and indefensible, he continues like a peacock in his role as minority leader and has no intention to step down. He probably figures it has made him stronger by his professing his love for no-control, any time execution of fetuses and babies. Republicans in the Senate have called for Schumer's censure, but it is doubtful if he will incur that penalty, or a penalty of any kind.  As Dems say, "the storm will pass." 
                                          Some observers have pointed to the "double standard" which always seems to benefit Democrats.  President Trump has noted that if a Republican had criticized  justices in that way and with that angry tone, they would be humiliated and destroyed by the left-leaning media taking its cue and talking points from the Democratic party.   
                                        

                                          xxx

Not Bernie, Thanks.

                               BY FLORIDA BILL 

               Voters rejected the frantic cries of Bernie Sanders on Super Tuesday, and decided to put their support on former Vice President Joe Biden as the Democratic party standard bearer. 
                Primary elections were held in 14 states.  Biden won 10 and Sanders 4. Sanders won in California as was expected where his left wing thinking appeals to a progressive base there.  Currently, Biden has accumulated 603 pledged delegates, and Sanders has 538.  There is a way to go before the winner  posts the 1,990 needed, but the message was pretty clear in that the angry Sanders is being sent to the bench and will very likely never be the Democratic party nominee with the corresponding possibility of becoming the nation's 46th President.
               Talking heads everywhere are offering bizarre and deep insight as to how Biden emerged as the ballot favorite to take out Sen. Sanders, and how this reversal came about.  They point to the African Americans and their loyal and powerful support of Joe Biden as the answer.  Others say it was suburban women and housewives and mothers; retired workers; senior citizens, farmers, physicians and on and on.   But the reason why Americans are picking the gaffe-prone, somewhat befuddled Biden over the  arm flailing, 78-year-old Sanders is very, very simple.
               And it isn't that Biden is a smart politician-- because he's anything but that; in fact he seems a bit confused by it all.   And it isn't because Sanders is a bit of "doofus," as he was labeled by Hillary Clinton during the his 2016 campaign.
               I am of the opinion that there is a more mundane reason for Biden's pulling ahead:  It is because Sanders is a Neo Marxist, a Communist, though he labels himself a "Democratic Socialist."  He has supported Communist and socialist positions since his days at the University of Chicago in the 1960s where he was an activist who opposed the war in Viet Nam, and loathed the military; and was a conscientious objector, and supported the Communist Socialist Workers Party,  and in 1980 was a presidential elector for that party.   
               In the Cold War years of the l980s, when Ronald Reagan was President and Russian gulags were humming, Sanders, then mayor of Burlington, Vermont, honeymooned in the Soviet Union with his second wife, and took time to speak out in praise of the Russian government. 
               Since post WW II, Americans have distrusted and feared the Communism of Russia.  Spies were anathema and one couple was executed for providing data to the Soviet Union. To this day, Americans are solidly against Communism and Socialism and Sanders who endorses such a society, with loony pie-in the-sky promises of free stuff for everyone, paid for by billionaires with too much money that must be spread around. 
               Joe Biden,77, is clearly losing it mentally these days and is clumsy and seemingly off the wall with some of his public statements.  He has always been given to telling absurd and untrue stories, but he has always been perceived as a patriotic American with sons who have served in the military. He has always denounced as outlandish the radical  socialistic promises of Sanders. 
                 Throughout his entire political life which began when he was first elected a senator at age 29, Biden has wallowed in misstatements and malapropisms.  The Washington Post has called Biden the "Lamborghini of Gaffes." Women have complained that he too frequently would rub their shoulders and smell their hair.  Last year he told a story of a bully known as "Corn Pop" and he somehow linked it to a yarn about his own hairy legs which got rubbed by Corn Pop associates and the hair on his legs bristled under the sun. The yarn puzzled listeners, to say the least. 
                   But to some citizens, that is just "Joe being Joe," and he is always preferable to Sanders, the Communist and Socialist who has praised the good deeds of Fidel Castro, and saw justification in the Iranians holding Americans as hostages for 444 day. 
                   Bernie Sanders has been in Congress since the early 1990s, and an "Independent"  member of the Senate since 2002. In 16 years as a congressman in the House, he was the lead sponsor of only one bill that became law--that being the renaming of a Fair Haven, Vermont post office. 
                   Reportedly, Sanders, a pacifist and conscientious objector, has been unable to win over much support from veterans who feel that Sanders would be unable to function as America's Commander-in-Chief.  Sanders has always been hostile to the military and has supported former President Obama's severe reduction of servicemen and equipment. 
                    Younger Americans have been turned-on to Sanders with his call for free stuff for everyone in accord with his vision of a Socialistic society, and his proposed canceling of all existing student debt.  Those gifts to Americans are attractive and along with free medical care and school tuition for everyone--how can they resist Sanders. But it is all an illusion, as Sanders calls for the spending of trillions and trillions of dollars and explains that all costs will be borne by the "billionaires" who have way too much and that their money must be spread around.
                   But while Biden appears a bit out of it, he is still perceived as a patriotic American who can successfully challenge President Trump. He is preferable to the questionable Sanders who, according to who it is you ask, may or may not even stand at the playing of the national anthem.  
                More primaries will be had in the next few months. and Democrats will formally pick their nominee at their convention next summer. 
                                        xxx


                       

The Sunday Four

                      By Florida Bill 

                                If you tune into the Sunday morning news shows, there is a common thread running from moderator to  moderator. It's the continued fantasy, which has been totally debunked,  that President Trump is a Russian pawn who  operates with the blessings of Vladimir Putin, who is supporting him in his re-election bid. 
                                 The conduct of the "Sunday Four" is sad and pathetic as these moderators assert the Democratic party talking points which guide their agendas. Are they competing in who can say the most to denigrate President Trump?  Bosses in the DNC appreciate  their loyalty, as do the six unimpressive candidates seeking to become the nation's 46th President.  Truth and fairness do not  seem to matter in any way to avowed "never Trumpers."  
.                                 The ranking "Sunday Four" as I see them, are NBC's "Meet  the Press" with Chuck Todd;  CBS's "Face the Nation" with Margaret Brennan; ABC's "This Week with George Stephanopoulos and Fox News Sunday" with Chris Wallace. In past years, Democrat or Republican guests were treated with respect, and the goal was truth; and citizens appreciated it. But this is a new day, where partisan policies rule these "journalists."  
                                  Really, it is all kind of irrational since special prosecutor Robert Mueller determined at the end of his $32 million dollar investigation that President Trump did not "collude" or conspire in any way with Russians in his 2016 campaign. Mueller acknowledged that Russia, and other nations, have been attempting to insert their influence in American elections for years, and the USA is mindful of this and is doing its best to make the Kremlin go away. But then honesty and reality do not fit into the Democrat  agenda which looks only to blame President Trump for fabricated wrongdoing.   
                                  On the Sunday news shows, I kind of skip about and record and watch as I listen to their Q and A sessions of guests put on the hot seat.  In bygone days, these moderators were classy journalists who asked tough, objective questions. 
                                  On a recent Sunday, the aggressive four were onto more nonsense about Russians and their alleged hand holding with President Trump who supposedly will always do their bidding, national security be damned.   

                                 NBC's Chuck Todd, with his new full beard, similar to one worn by his wise and Trump hating idol, Wolf Blitzer, questioned the respected National Security Adviser Robert O'Brien  and demanded to know what he knew about how the Russians are supporting the President in his bid for reelection. And the President has been told that Russia is helping him in his campaign. 
                                   O'Brien told Todd that you have "bad information."  "I have seen no evidence whatsoever that the Russians are helping President Trump." Relentless, Todd kept demanding and demanding that O'Brien admit it all, but O'Brien remained poised explaining common sense should tell you that the Russians don't like Trump since he has been so hard on them. He pointed out that Trump has been a friend to Ukraine, Russia's enemy, providing them with financial aid and military weapons; and in America he has restored its military to its position as the most powerful fighting force on the planet; and has maintained sanctions against Russia. 
                                   After Todd, I  skipped over to 39-year-old Margaret Brennan, the distaff dope from CBS, and she too had O'brien as her guest and she too peppered him with questions demanding that he acknowledge that the President has been told that Russians  favor him and are helping him. She would not back off despite the NSA chief's denial of her assertions, and she then announced that she and CBS "stand by" the report that the Russians are helping President Trump and that the President has been told that Russia favors him--even though he has denied that he has ever been told that.  
                                    Brennan's focus on the Russians reminded me of her dedication to Democrats in a past session. A few weeks ago, John Kerry, Obama's Secretary of State guested on "Face the Nation," and claimed that President Trump had told a lie in negative comments he made about the Iranian nuclear deal from which he has withdrawn the USA. "Margaret," said Kerry, "you know that the president was telling a lie" and you are an "expert" on the Iran deal and its relationship with the USA.  Brennan was pleased at being called an "expert," by such a distinguished liberal as Kerry.  She exhibited a wry and confident smile when called an "expert, and she clearly  appreciated the flattery--like a bashful child given an unexpected cookie.    Kerry can certainly look forward to future guest appearances on Brennan's show.    
                                   And then came George Stephanopoulos, ABC's liaison with Democrats, and with the NYT,  and he too opined on how the President was being helped by the Russians. NSA's O'Brien made that show too and he told George that he had seen "no evidence" of the Russians  favoring Trump--and that Trump did not "fire" the Director of Intelligence because of revelations by someone that Trump was told that Russians were helping him. "Don't you have a responsibility as NSA chief to find out" what is going on?" Stephanopoulos demanded--but O'Brien refused to acknowledge any truth in George's declarations.  
                                Stephanopoulos has been carrying water for both Bill and Hillary Clinton and the Democrats for about  30 years. He has benefited from their influence and now earns some $20-30 million each year. He has shown his gratitude with donations to the Clinton Foundation (he tried  to keep his largess secret) and through his soft ball interviews with the former president and Mrs. Clinton through the years.  
                                     The final voice of the "Sunday Four," is the deep baritone and mushy voiced 72-year-old Chris Wallace of Fox News television.  Wallace is a registered Democrat, but he shuffles about the halls of Fox pretending to be a conservative-- and he takes a shot at Trump whenever the opportunity arises.  He is much like his former liberal colleague at Fox, Shepard Smith, whose enmity for Trump became so apparent that he had to resign last year from Fox after nearly 20 years there.  
                                                Wallace had as his guest, Marc Short, Chief of Staff for Vice President Mike Pence.  He hit Short with the same old Democrat line about how the Russians are assisting President Trump now, as they did in 2016.   Short attempted to convince Wallace that there is no evidence to support that accusation. It just isn't true and he emphasized that such a belief  defies common sense.  Why would President Putin support Trump who is assisting the Ukraine, Russia's enemy?  But Wallace would have none of it, and he continued with accusatory inquiries, containing negative reflections on the President.       
                                      Chris Wallace is the son of Mike Wallace,who, for many years, was a regular liberal inquisitor  on CBS' "60 Minutes" and was employed in the media in varying capacities for seven decades.  The senior Wallace died when he was in his 90s, and his son seems to be a liberal chip off the old block.  
                                       That Sunday was pretty typical of what is happening on the Sunday morning news shows.   They are a major element of the biased and flawed media which has clearly forgotten its role in a society which asks for truth, and which abhors a media which is tethered to one political party and has disregarded the tenets of unbiased journalism. 
                                     Trump describes the product from the biased media as "fake news,"and has said that lying journalists are the enemy of honest Americans. Undeniably, the President is on target with the "Sunday Four." 

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