I had the good fortune of spending some time with one of my dearest friends recently.  He dedicated his career to teaching young people.  He was meant to be a teacher and was tremendously successful at it over four decades.  His teaching style, like his lifestyle is laid back.  He uses subtle humor, honesty, and straightforward facts to make his lessons not only interesting, but the kind that stay in your memory years down the road. 

 I was just a tad surprised when he brought up the Biden administration.  We don’t normally talk about politics, but apparently the goings on at 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue were too much for him to let pass silently.

He began by telling me how bad things have gotten in this country over the last nine months. He said, “Every time I think things can’t get any worse, the next day they do.  I recently made a list of everything that could be attached to this administration in the last nine months.  After making a list, I decided to alphabetize it.  And do you know what?”

I immediately replied, “No. What?”

“I found an issue or a problem for every letter in the alphabet.  For many letters I was able to come up with more than one thing.”

“Everything from Awful to Zany?” I retorted with a smile.

“Absolutely” He replied.

“I’d like to share with my readers, if you don’t mind,” I said.

“You’re welcome to share, but it’s a long list.”

So written below is the list from A to Z of what has happened to America during the Biden administration’s first nine months.

A – Afghanistan.  A foreign policy debacle costing 13 American’s their lives.  Untold hundreds of Americans left behind.  An embarrassing first in the history of the United States. The vacuum this has created in Afghanistan and the danger it has spawned in our country remains to be seen.

 Honorable mention to Antifa and Amnesty.  Those can be covered as well under other letters.

B – Border and BLM.  The Border frankly doesn’t exist anymore.  Unless you live in Canada.  The over one million people who have entered our country bringing crime, disease, and the need for social services is unprecedented and unsustainable.  The effects of this bonehead buffoonery will be felt by our grandchildren and their children.

 Black Lives Matter. The most misunderstood and radical faction to hit the U.S. in years.  Sadly millions of citizens, corporations, educational systems and sports franchises don’t understand the root of BLM is made up of Marxists principles.  These people want to destroy our country and are using Blacks as a shield of protection to their long term mission.

C – China, Cuomo, Cartels, Crime and this list could go much further. Crime, particularly violent crime continues to rise.  Especially in cities like Chicago.  (Also a “C”) Cartels have taken over the border and appear to be thriving.  Cuomo was labeled by Biden as the “Gold Standard” for handling the Pandemic until he was exposed for the hundreds of senior citizens who died in nursing homes.  Then he was later forced to resign for creepy behavior toward countless women who were brave enough to come forward. China is the “Big C” in this category.  Between Joe and his family they have been in bed with the Chinese for decades and not holding the CCP responsible for the Pandemic is the best example of chicanery that has gone on between the administration and the Chinese government.   

D – Drugs. This ties to the Border and the Cartels and Fentanyl. (See “F”)  As anyone with any vision can see, one Debacle ties to another.  Drugs have been a problem for years, but they are now reaching epidemic proportions with what this administration has mishandled.

Honorable mention – Dr. Seuss and Drone bans.  We hear about bans on drones over the border and Dr. Seuss Books but Iran, China and the Taliban still freely express themselves on Twitter and Facebook.

E – Executive Orders and the Economy. Biden signs more executive orders in his first month in office than any other president in history.  To the detriment of Americans he doesn’t know more than half of what he has signed.  He had no idea of the damage he is doing to the country and doesn’t appear to care.  The Economy can’t be left off this list because it’s a disaster. The price of food, gas, building materials and just about everything else is rapidly increasing.  I know I am paying more than a dollar a gallon for car fill ups than I was a year ago.  Again, these price increases are not sustainable to middle-America.  Biden says he isn’t going to tax the middle class, but the gas increase alone will total more than $1000 dollar annually for me this year.  

Honorable mention – Environment.  I had to leave off Climate Change under the “C’s” so I need to at least mention the errors being made under the heading of the environment.

F – Fauci and Fentanyl.  I’ve already covered Fentanyl so let’s focus on the flip-flop, fibber Fauci.  Many people don’t realize this guy has been around a lot longer than Covid-19.  He’s been lying and covering up his screw-up since the AIDS epidemic. He’s the most overpaid bureaucrat in D.C. and that’s saying a great deal.  He may be in denial on his research on “Gain of Function” but someday his lies will catch up with him.  His specific ties to Bill Gates and Barack Obama may come out, but I suspect he’ll be dead and gone before they do.

G – Gender Policies. The media and the administration has gone off the rails with gender policies.  From “birthing person” to 58 gender options for Facebook users, can things get any worse?  I’d say yes.  I’ll have more to say about this when we get to “W.” But for now I’ll just conclude by saying we are confusing the heck out of our young people.  And in some cases doing long term mental (and sadly in some cases, physical) damage to them.

Honorable mention – General Milley the most partisan and incompetent Chairman of the Joint Chiefs in the last 100 years.

H – Health Care and Hunter.  Not sure which is in worse shape.  The health care system is broken.  Americans may not realize it until they use it.  It’s expensive and a real shell game.  If you don’t believe it ask yourself why members of congress are exempt from it. 

Hunter Biden represents a microcosm of the Biden legacy.  Everything he has done is swept under the rug.  Just like his dad’s escapades throughout the last five decades.  Where his dad has been synonymous with under the table deals, plagiarism, gaffes and creepy touching of young girls and women, Hunter has taken it to another level.  His work with players in China, Russia, Ukraine and Iran dwarfs the dollars old Joe made 40 years ago.  Like his dad, Hunter is never left to account for his drug use, his falsifying federal weapon’s application, his laptop, or his need to step up to support an out of wedlock baby.  It’s astounding but not surprising the media ignores it all.  Just as they ignore everything his dad screws up.

I – Illegals and Inflation.  Illegals at the border never go home. They just disappear into the country.  Many by the hundreds. This is costing American taxpayers millions and millions of dollars. 

Inflation is a very serious concern and we shared our thoughts on it under “Economy.” 

J – Jobs and Justice.  Yes there are jobs to be had, but unemployment stays high because of Biden’s policies to keep people at home collecting unemployment and being dependent on the government.

The Justice department has turned into a partisan pit.  Merrick Garland is pathetic and will continue to throw shade toward each and every over reach Biden performs. 

K –Kamala and Keystone.  We’ll focus on Kamala and hold onto Keystone till we get to “X.”  Cackling Kamala was put in charge of the border.  Since then, like the wicked witch of the west, melted away and was never heard from again.  She is at least 100 times worse than the power brokers thought she would be.  And now they doubt her competence to succeed Joe once they decide to push him out of the way. 

L – Large government and Lies.  The Biden administration is all about expanding the government and making Americans dependent upon it.  Especially for health care and social services.

I can’t let the letter “L” go by without a word about lies.  Biden has spent a lifetime lying.  Not sure when it began but it came to light publically when he discussed his record at Syracuse Law School.  The running joke about Joe is you know when he is lying when his lips start moving. I always heard “if you always tell the truth, you never have to remember what you said.”  Joe can’t remember what he says from day to day, so his current day lies go unabated and denied by everyone covering for him.

M – Masks & Mandates, Mexico and Major. “Wear your mask.”  “You got a vaccine? Okay, don’t wear your mask.”  “Even if you got the vaccine wear your mask.”  “Wear two masks.”  Fauci and Biden deserve each other. They both have a forte for lying and flip-flopping. And now the unconstitutional mandates are driving people apart.  They’ve taken a medical issue and turned it into a political one. Businesses and hospitals are losing employees in droves.  The military is threatening court marshals. The hypocrisy is routinely evident when politicians and celebrities flaunt mandates in public settings. Hopefully the public is smart enough to know the mandates were Biden’s way of changing the subject from the tragic events in Afghanistan.

Mexico, see “B, C, I & K.” Mexico is the gateway to America.  I wouldn’t be surprised if the Statue of Liberty didn’t get moved to McAllen, Texas.

I can’t leave “M” without talking about Major Biden.  That dog has taken more bites out of Secret Service agents than a mosquito at a swamp draining event. 

N – Nord Stream 2 pipeline and National Security. First Biden takes away our energy independence  then he allows (lifting sanctions) Russia to connect the Nord Stream 2 pipeline from Russia to Germany.  Now he is begging OPEC to help the United States out.  When the pipeline on the eastern seaboard was hacked earlier in the year gas was either not available at all or the price was wildly inflated.

Events in the Middle East and our own southern border has put our National Security in a precariously dangerous position.  As a matter of fact, experts say we are less safe than we were prior to 9/11.  Thank you Joe Biden.

O – Out of Town.  This is the quintessential Biden strategy.  When the trouble began in Afghanistan Biden went on vacation.  When the Haitians invaded the southern border he went bike riding on another weekend vacation.  He goes to Wilmington, Delaware on a regular basis. What the heck is he doing in Delaware?  Maybe he is loading up on his Ginkgo Biloba.  Or maybe he’s just socializing with his financial credit card buddies who have financially backed him for 47+ years.

P – Pandemic, Pelosi & Psaki. Joe promised to banish the pandemic.  As things have gotten progressively worse he has blamed everyone but himself. The vaccine he railed against a year ago is the same vaccine he is tyrannically trying to force everyone to take now.  As mentioned earlier, Fauci is only making things worse,

Pelosi reminds me of Cruella DeVil without the Dalmatians.  She is ditsy and diabolical at the same time.  She is ruthless and reckless.  She can’t control the squad, but she can lie with the best of the swamp creatures. 

Psaki is the face of the White House.  Which is like saying Bozo is the face of Mary Kay Cosmetics.  Well at least Psaki and Bozo both have red hair.  Biden lies and Psaki swears to it.  She has no moral compass and a line of BS that would make a snake oil salesman blush with pride.

Q – Questions.  Usually Joe doesn’t take questions.  But if he does they are embarrassingly scripted.  The little cards he carefully carries in his breast pocket have the reporter’s name, their question and his answer.  All he has to do is read.  But rarely do his handlers even take the risk.

R – Restaurants.  Thousands have closed because of the rules and mandates derived from the pandemic.  They represent the failure of our government to handle crisis properly.

S – Small Business Shutdowns and Socialism. Restaurants are a microcosm of the tragic failures of small business and all the other businesses that have shuttered and shut down.  Drive by or walk through your local malls and you’ll hear the echoes of a bygone era when businesses were thriving.

Socialism.  The Green New Deal and Critical Race Theory, are mirrored images of what a small minority is trying to do to bring capitalism down and spawn a socialist society. Bernie Sanders is alive and well and the squad are his cheerleaders.  Had the democrats believed he could have won the 2020 election he wouldn’t have been pushed a side.  His reward was the manifesto he agreed to with Biden and it is a blue print for the new society that leads to socialism in America.

T – Tax hikes and Traffickers.  Biden’s tax hikes are allegedly only going to affect the top one percent.  We know that is a lie.  Tax increases affect everyone because businesses and corporations raise their prices to absorb the tax increases and middle-Americans pay for it. The tax increases will be touching every bracket including people who have passed away with an increase in the death tax.  Someone needs to tell Biden and Bernie that you can’t tax people enough to even put a dent in the 27 trillion dollar deficit.

Traffickers are everywhere.  They specialize in drugs and humans.  It is a disgusting criminal behavior that is getting worse and nearly completely out of control. 

U – Unifier.  Another huge Biden lie.  He is the most divisive president in the past two centuries. I can’t think of a more alienating, vindictive leader. 

W – Wuhan and Woke.  Will Biden ever hold China accountable for the Wuhan Virus?  NO WAY.  He and Fauci (and for that matter the NBA) has been in the pockets of China for many years. 

X – XL Keystone Pipeline.  The first of many executive orders that told America where Biden’s true north really is.  By stopping the construction of the pipeline Biden showed it didn’t matter how important it was to the American people for jobs and resources.  What he wanted to do was destroy anything derived from the prior administration.

Y – Yellen.  One of the worst treasury secretaries the Economy could possibly have.  Janet represents a notoriously terrible Cabinet.  Blinken, Austin and Garland are three more examples of a cabinet that reminds me more of Morris Buttermaker’s Bad News Bears than the leaders of an administration.

Z – Zigzagging.  This is what Biden and his administration has been doing for nine months.  The march to the beat of the media.  You think they know what they’re doing, but the zig becomes a zag.  Reminds me of the clip of Biden trying to find the door at the White House and ignores the direction of his secret service and winds his way through the bushes before finding the sidewalk.  If you haven’t seen it I’m sure it’s out on YouTube.

After reading this list I couldn’t help but ask my educator amigo how he’d grade Joe Biden’s first nine months. 

“I’ve seen better results from a fourth grader.  I definitely think he has flunked his ABC’s.” He reported.

The ABC’s of Joe Biden are not elementary.  They are ridiculous and frightening. Keep in mind, all this has scarred America in less than a year.  The pundits say things will change after the mid-terms.  My question is at this rate can our country survive till January 2023?   I have grave doubts we can.

The puppets of my youth were memorable and enjoyable. Lamb Chop, Kukla and Ollie, Howdy Doody, Charlie McCarthy, Mr. Bunny Rabbit, Miss Piggy, Kermit, Ed Sullivan’s favorite, Johnny and of course the most famous wooden boy of all time, Pinocchio all come to mind. Some were sock puppets and others were controlled by strings.  All of them had someone else doing their talking.

For those mentioned above it was the likes of Shari Lewis, Burr Tillstrom. Buffalo Bob Smith, Edgar Bergen, Bob Keeshan, Jim Henson and Frank Oz, Senior Wences and Dick Jones.

Fast forward to present day.   Who are the most memorable puppets in my mind?

Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, Gavin Newsome, Dick Durbin, Chuck Schumer, Joe Biden.

And who are the puppeteers?

Saikat Chakrabarti, Nancy Pelosi, Bill and Hillary Clinton, Barack Obama and George Soros easily come to mind.

Although Chakrbarti was terminated in 2019, I’m fairly certain he still helps prop up AOC.  You can always tell when she has gone rogue and is on her own because her remarks rarely make any sense.

Nancy Pelosi is still the face of the Democrat party in the House of Representatives, but she has been running California since moving from Maryland decades ago. Gavin Newsome is her nephew.

Bill and Hillary have their hands in everything.  They have proven time and time again they are above the law.

Barack controls Biden, Schumer and Durbin and Soros controls Obama.  Soros is the ultimate Grand Wizard Puppeteer.  An incredible feat for a 90 year old.

I’m afraid the puppets from the 60’s and the puppets from today aren’t much different in IQ.  I’m even more afraid the puppeteers of today are far more controlling, devious and diabolical than Buffalo Bob and Captain Kangaroo.

They have done so much damage to our country.  Some of it is disguised, but so much is out in the open and goes largely ignored.

AOC and Joe Biden are two perfect puppet examples.

Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez is a bartender, turned actress, turned member of the House of Representatives.  She is a puppet for the socialist movement and seems more like a member of junior high student council than congress.  Her big personality has inspired young people but her depth of knowledge is about an inch deep. What she doesn’t know or understand she makes up. When she isn’t monitored and is flying solo, her chances of landing a good idea are almost nil.  The media coddles her, doesn’t push back or ask difficult questions and paves her way.  It would appear they will continue to do so for years to come. Speaking of a person the media coddles, let’s touch upon Joe Biden. (Pun intended)

 Since the 70’s Biden has been beholding to so many people he has no identity whatsoever. He is the Pinocchio of our time. He received the Democratic nomination for two reasons.

1. His history of being manipulated by everyone is common knowledge. Biden is the most malleable politician of the past 100 years. He epitomizes the saying “If you don’t stand for something you’ll fall for anything.”  
2. Bernie Sanders was unelectable and the Democrats knew it.

As Vice President, he was the perfect example of the Peter Principle. He had reached the level of his incompetence. Biden is the perfect symbol of everything wrong with politics. Unfortunately, to add insult to injury his cognitive skills have declined so rapidly. Watching him squint to recall his words is painful. He struggles with a teleprompter. Lunch Bucket Joe has always been a liar, plagiarist, gaffe machine and blowhard. He’s never carried a lunch bucket. Now his health has emphasized and magnified all of these shortcomings. It’s pathetic, but also dangerous for our country

If people think they are voting for Joe Biden for president they are dramatically mistaken.  He will certainly be an empty suit. Pinocchio Joe will have so many strings attached he won’t know which way to turn.

As I mentioned earlier, George Soros is the Grand Wizard puppeteer.  He has influenced countless elections at all levels of government and he is the money behind BLM and violent protests around the country.  In addition to politicians, he has shyster personalities like Al Sharpton carrying his Marxist manifesto for him. 

You would think at age 90 Soros would be slowing down. He is not and his relatives are taking up the mantle as well.  His nephew was on the final panel to approve Kamala Harris as Biden’s VP pick.  If you think Harris was Biden’s choice, you have a puppet sock pulled over your eyes.

The puppets and puppeteers of my youth were harmless, entertaining, enjoyable creations.  The puppets and puppeteers of my golden years are dangerous, detrimental, and divisive.  Until the American people get wise to the dastardly deeds going on behind the curtain this country will continue to suffer.  And the damage will be long lasting and very possibly irreversible.  

I suspect, like many of you, the more pandemic information I hear, causes the number of questions to rise exponentially in my mind. At times, it seems my brain is convulsing like a washing machine spin cycle.

I thought it might be therapeutic, or at least comforting, to share a few of my questions to see if my readers can relate.

BILL GATES

Why did Bill Gates resign from the Microsoft Board and the Berkshire-Hathaway Board?

Did he sell any of his 50 million Berkshire shares after February 14, 2020?

I wonder what his old friend Warren Buffet thinks of losing nearly $80 Billion in Berkshire shares since the pandemic hit?

I suspect he is also aware his old company, Microsoft, has lost $320 Billion in the same time period.

How much money has he given to causes over seen by Dr. Anthony Fauci?

Why was he advocating for an additional 10 more weeks of national lock down?

Is Bill’s famous pandemic prediction in 2015 his way of continuing his advocacy for Climate Change in 2020?

DR. ANTHONY FAUCI

This brilliant man has served six presidents and is 79 years old. Many people are relying on his expertise to determine their every health decision.

How can you put so much stock in his decisions when he said on national news on January 28 that we had nothing to worry about with Covid-19?

Are you leery of an expert who goes from a prediction of 1.1 million to 1.5 million deaths to 100,000 to 240,000 deaths? When asked why his estimates are so widely different and then so spatial his response is “my estimates are only as good as the data I receive.” Anyone could say that. Actually I used to always say that when asked in hindsight about my decisions.

Why isn’t Dr. Fauci asking for more specific data on deaths? Data like what was the deceased underlying issue when they entered the hospital? Are the cause of deaths really accurate or just a catch all because the deceased tested positive for Covid-19?

Why aren’t we doing a better job educating citizens about the percentage of people recovering?

Dr. Fauci and Dr. Birx are dedicated, amazing physicians. Their tireless work is certainly to be applauded. But surely these doctors aren’t the only two incredible physicians in America. How about Dr. Anthony Cardillo or Dr. David Katz? If you don’t know what contributions they are making, check them out. Why is the mainstream media not covering the work of these two excellent physicians?

THE MEDIA

Why does it seem the main stream media (MSM) is at odds with every positive thing that happens?

It’s quite apparent he media understand the constitution. Shouldn’t that be a pre-requisite for a Capital Hill reporter?

Why doesn’t the media ask the question of preparedness to the state government leaders? Particularly to the states of New York, New Jersey, California, Illinois, Michigan and Louisiana.

Why does the the MSM seem to believe everything China says, but very little coming from the Task Force or White House?

Would it make sense to have daily press briefings questions sent? This would surely reduce the number of repetitive questions asked by the same few reporters? It seems to me these same reporters are just after “Gotcha” questions.

Does it make you cringe when they ask questions of the medical or military professionals as if they know more than the doctors and military personnel?

POLITICIANS

Why do politicians, who have never been held to any accountability for their decisions, want to hold other politicians to account for results they have contributed zero to resolve?

I understand that the majority party is always wrong and the party in the minority is always pointing that out, but is now the time to continue practicing that tired old policy?

The more I hear from many politicians the more I’m convinced they are extremely insecure. They don’t act insecure in front of the camera, until they get a “follow-up” question. I’m convinced politicians in general do not like follow-up questions. Many don’t realize a follow-up question is appropriately asked when the original question is not answered.

I understand they have their “elevator speech” to share in a sound bite, but I’m afraid, in many cases, their own elevator doesn’t go all the way to the top.

Cases in point…

Would it make sense to have Joe Biden examined for dementia?

Would it make sense to have Nancy Pelosi and Maxine Waters examined for their overall mental health? Sadly, I’m very serious about that.

As a “Monday Morning Quarterback” who would you want to be at the helm during this pandemic?

That’s the question I often ask when someone tells me what a lousy job the President and Task Force are doing.

Well, by my count that’s 26 questions and a few sidebar comments. Probably enough to ponder for one day. Or if you’re like me, at night to put myself to sleep.

For many months I’ve been trying to understand the appeal of Bernie Sanders.  I gave up on him being appealing when I would see him talk.  Now I’m trying to figure out the mystique of Bernie.  My research took me back to Vermont.  Particularly, the University of Vermont in Burlington.

You have to hand it to our institutions of higher education. Since the radical sixties, they have been pushing scientific social engineering to dumb down students and turn them into “universal persons.” Global citizens. Elimination of whiteness and blackness, meeting in the middle for economic equality and human homogeneity.

Bernie capitalize on this culture change dramatically.  He captivated the collegiate indoctrinated millennials and in 2016 nearly beat out the apparent heir to the presidential throne, Hillary Clinton.

His own collegiate experience started in his home town of Brooklyn (Brooklyn College) and he ended up graduating from the University of Chicago.  However, he never used his prestigious economic degree from the University of Chicago, probably because he never understood it.

He was a freeloader for much of his life, married two different woman, having a son out of wedlock with another woman and living off the dole. His resume reads like a hodgepodge of activism, campaigning and writing strange articles for $50 a pop. He loved living on poverty’s edge. Had the government given him even more freebies, he’d probably still be there.

Running on the now defunct, far left Liberty Union Party, Bernie lost four small Vermont elections, garnering an average of six percent of the vote. But he finally broke through as mayor of Burlington, winning that office by a whopping 10 votes and gaining the moniker “The Red Mayor in the Green Mountains.”

Always a campaigner, Bernie embraced not just socialism but communism and came to Washington, preaching the need to fatten the public trough. For his 30 years on Capitol Hill, he’s mustered the passage of three bills, two naming U.S. post offices in the Green State.

So how does this guy qualify to be president of the United States? Merchandising. To a dummied-down public, anything free sells. And since Bernie is offering everything from health care to education totally free, debt-strapped products of identity politics – millennials – are rushing to his cause.  

As I mentioned, I’ve watched him on television and his curmudgeon personality gets laughs and ratings.  If Joe Biden is “Uncle Joe,” Bernie fits nicely as “Grandpa Bernie.”

Unfortunately, the interviewers rarely ask him how all these free programs he endorses are going to be paid for and by who? He is the quintessential politician.  Never doing anything significant, but talking in platitudes and sound bites all the time.

His three homes, flying in private planes and net worth of over two million fly in the face of his socialist preaching.  And yet here he is… back again like a bad dream. The mystique lives on and so does the BS.

I was visiting with my friend Bob today. I told him I needed education on Congressman Jerry Nadler of New York. He asked me what I wanted to know. I said, “Who is he and what is his history with Donald Trump?” Bob replied, “Nadler has a personal vendetta against Trump.” I said, “A vendetta? Meaning a prolonged bitter quarrel with or campaign against someone?” He replied, “Exactly.” I said, “Tell me more Bob.”

So keep reading to learn more about this vendetta as written by Bob Taft.

It has taken Congressman Jerry Nadler nearly a lifetime to take center stage, but here he is at last. After three losses in elections to lower posts, Nadler stepped into the 1992 Congressional election, won and never looked back.

In Washington President Bill Clinton made Jerry famous. During the impeachment hearings, Nadler was a staunch supporter of the beleaguered leader, and his outspoken, often caustic remarks won him enormous favor with his Manhattan constituents. The long-overdue praise swelled the congressman with visions of grandeur and he carried the gauntlet against impeaching Clinton with pride, calling the spectacle a “partisan coup d’eta.”

While Nadler, as a man of modest means, would never be invited into the Clinton inner circle, the former president did acknowledge that Jerry “not only represents New York well, but he has represented the United States very well.” This adulation is the lead line for Congressman Nadler’s official biography.

While it bolstered his political worth, the Clinton impeachment stuck in the congressman’s craw. He blamed the Republicans for an outrageous performance and waited for his time to get even.

It came sooner than he thought. He tried to organize hearings for the impeachments of both George W. Bush and Dick Cheney, but backed off believing it would interfere with the upcoming 2008 presidential election. And with the election of colleague, Barack Obama, the congressman would have to wait years for another impeachment opportunity.

Meanwhile Nadler found himself embroiled in a new feud with Donald Trump. New because the two brash Manhattaners had been at odds since the late 1980s. Trump’s wealth has always been a sore point with Nadler, whose history of lost elections kept him out of the elite class. When Trump tried to develop a project on the West Side of Manhattan, Nadler opposed it apparently to show his support for the downtrodden folks in the area.

Finally the project was approved, resulting in new housing and a
park for the Upper West Side. Though defeated once again, Nadler’s effort did earn him the reputation of fighting for the poor, even though if he had been successful, the poor would have been denied the benefits of Trump’s project.

In 2016, when Trump surprised everyone by winning the White House, Jerry Nadler, according to his close associates, began licking his chops. Since history shows that the opposing party normally wins the midterms he would then head up the House Judiciary Committee. Nadler was almost giddy at the prospects. Not only could he once again pursue his favorite sport – impeachment – but he could apply it to his worst enemy – Donald J. Trump. And he would do it with a vengeance.

Impeachment of Trump for Nadler is not about seeking truth or justice. This is a personal vendetta. He has subpoenaed over 80 documents from agencies and the president’s associates, which if carried out, would require these people to lawyer up and perhaps devastate them with legal fees a la Michael Flynn.

But Nadler doesn’t care. He’s not interested in what the feckless Mueller report will show. He wants to attack the Trump business empire to cripple his foe personally as much as possible. And why? Because for years Jerry has had to sit on the sidelines as a fellow New Yorker with much more business acumen than he could ever muster built a highly successful global corporation.

Jerry sees his probe- to-impeachment as ultimate payback for his years of seething. With his idols the Clintons in the cross-hairs, Nadler has absolutely no intention of investigating Clinton and DOJ malfeasance. Despite evidence to the contrary, he has labeled such a probe as a Republican sideshow to detract from the real fruit – the Mueller investigation. But now that it appears Mueller will come up empty-handed, he’s bound to pursue his impeachment passion another way.

In the spirit of impartial justice, Chairman Nadler said that for impeachment to work against Trump the offenses must be grave, the evidence very clear and that at least some Republicans “concede that
impeachment is necessary.”

Mr. Chairman, are you causing all this ruckus for the good of the country or for the good of Jerrold Nadler?

Until next time…

Last month I shared my thoughts about the difference between someone with charisma and someone with actual business sense. This month I want to share another example of business sense and the proper way to share it.

I know a learned individual who spent the majority of his career in government foreign services work. He worked in many different countries and in my opinion is an expert in global economics. He has written several books and is currently working on one now which I hope to share on this site in the near future. He has regularly been an Op-Ed author for the Washington Times. Just last week, he shared his perspective on President Trump’s Emergency Declaration with the junior Senator from North Carolina.

I’ll share the exchange below then provide some closing thoughts….

Dear Senator Tillis,
I appreciate your response and understand your reluctance to allow future presidents to use appropriated funds to tear down walls. 
But consider this: when would it be appropriate to declare a national emergency to tear down a border wall? By doing so, the flood of illegal aliens, human trafficking, drug smuggling, and criminal gangs would not only be allowed, but encouraged. Under what circumstances would allowing these things to occur be in our national interest, especially to the extent of needing to declare a national emergency to make it happen?
This is the sort of perverse logic which is taking over the Democrat Party and sadly Republicans, apparently like yourself, seem to be acquiescing to. Frankly I get this criticism from Republicans all the time from all corners of North Carolina and beyond.
The statistics don’t lie and you know from accounts by our ICE officers at the border that the ONLY real way to prevent the problems that are occurring there is to build a wall. Democrats and Republicans just a few years ago agreed on this point and passed legislation to fund such a wall at much more than a measly $5 billion, a mere pittance of our annual federal budget. Given that it costs us over $300 billion a year to provide illegals with social services, Congressional allowance of this type of funding is inexcusable. If you want the breakdown of the $300 billion, I would be more than glad to send it to you.
I strongly recommend that you rethink your position on the wall issue. Perhaps you and your Republican colleagues should look at it this way: on the one hand, Democrats want these illegals to get benefits and stay together as families because we are a compassionate people. On the other hand, it seems perfectly fine with the Democrats to kill U.S. citizens at birth. If this isn’t perverse logic, what is?
It’s time Republicans if they want to get reelected to go on offense. Every day, between crazy socialist promises, infanticide, scandals, endless investigations with proven liars, the Democrats provide ample red meat for Republicans to pounce on. Why don’t you do it instead of fearing the nonsense of what might lie ahead if radical Dems take over? If Republicans like you take a stand, the Dems won’t prevail. Please see to it that they don’t.

Sincerely yours,
Robert A. Taft
This and your response will be distributed to a large North Carolina audience.

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Dear Mr. Taft:

Thank you for taking the time to contact me about President Trump’s National Emergency Declaration. I appreciate hearing from you.

As you may know, on February 15, 2019, President Trump issued a national emergency declaration in order to provide the rest of the funds he had previously requested through Congress to secure the southern border.

Let me be clear: I strongly agree with President Trump that there is a humanitarian and drug crisis at our border. It’s unfortunate that some elected officials are denying this reality, because the numbers do not lie. Every year, hundreds of undocumented immigrants die trying to cross our border, and tens of thousands of Americans die from heroin-related overdoses, the vast majority of which is smuggled from the southern border.

That is why I have repeatedly supported and voted in favor of President Trump’s plans to secure our borders and reform our nation’s broken immigration system. In fact, last Congress I worked directly with President Trump and my Senate colleagues to introduce legislation based on President Trump’s border security plan. This bill, known as the Secure and Succeed Act, included $25 billion for border security including walls, barriers, and other infrastructure. However, this legislation did not ultimately gain the support needed from my colleagues on the other side of the aisle to become law. I wholeheartedly share President Trump’s frustration that my colleagues on the other side of the aisle have continually blocked the reasonable and good faith efforts to secure our borders and I stand with him in his efforts to protect the American people.

Due to Congressional obstruction, I understand why President Trump took the step of making a national emergency declaration, which would provide about $8 billion for border security infrastructure.

Please know that my concern with the emergency declaration has nothing to do with the President’s goal of securing the border, but it is about maintaining Congress’ power of the purse and preventing a future president from exploiting this precedent for their own agenda.

For example, in recent weeks, we have heard from two prominent elected officials who entertained the notion of removing walls and physical barriers, effectively opening up our borders. If we had a president who shared their views, they could also declare a national emergency, and use those same funds, originally appropriated by Congress for other purposes, to literally tear down border security infrastructure that already exists.

I applaud President Trump’s efforts and determination to deliver on the promises he made to the American people and I will continue to work with him on ways to provide for billions of dollars in additional funding to finally secure our border and protect the American people. I know we can get it done.

Again, thank you for taking the time to contact me. Please do not hesitate to contact me again about other important issues.

Sincerely,

Thom Tillis
U.S. Senator

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Website: https://www.tillis.senate.gov

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This is what I call a solid exchange of thoughts, ideas and philosophy on an extremely important topic. I give Senator Tillis credit for his prompt and thoughtful response. But here is my concern. His reason for opposing the declaration is flawed in several ways.

(1) His response ignored Mr. Taft’s commentary regarding
socialism, infanticide and the economics brought on by illegal immigrants in this country.

(2) His reason, (which felt largely political) isn’t an apples to apples comparison to what is being done by this administration.

(3) A Commander-in- Chief who would decide to declare an emergency and tear down our border walls is breaking his Presidential vow to “preserve and protect and defend the constitution of the United States. This includes the second amendment as well protecting the safety and security of the American people.

Despite their differences in philosophy and thinking, I applaud the dialogue and exchange that took place. I wish this same kind of frank, open and educated dialogue could take place on capitol hill.

Topics mentioned by Mr. Taft as well as other media driven topics like the banishment of the Electoral College and the Green New Deal need to be addressed. Too often and to the detriment of the masses the media drives the message and it is a message filled with errors, inaccuracies, falsehoods, feel good sound bites and impossible end results.

Until next time…

A few years ago, I had the opportunity to work with local, state and federal representatives on a Private Industry Council. The main purpose of the PIC was to secure employment for immigrants who had migrated legally into the United States. I found it to be enlightening in many ways. As I interacted with governmental officials at various levels, I quickly learned of their lack of knowledge regarding business strategy or economics. At first, I was surprised. Then, I was disappointed. These were people who were making policy and legislative decisions at city, county, state and national levels.

Since that experience, I’ve studied politicians to focus on their actual business and economic knowledge. I wanted a better understanding of my personal experience. Was it the norm or just a one-off set of circumstances? Sadly, my conclusion is; this is the norm. This is not to say there aren’t intelligent, well-educated politicians. There are. But my point is, many are not only lacking in basic business knowledge, but exacerbate issues by pretending they know what they’re talking about.

This isn’t a new phenomenon. Politicians have been hiding behind big money, charisma, nepotism and a variety of other facades for decades. Before the onslaught of social media, before television, even before radio, it was easier to hide lack of knowledge.

When former Missouri Senator Claire McCaskill referred to Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez as “the next shiny thing” her characterization may have offended Ocasio-Cortez, but the moniker made an excellent point.

Alexandria has used social media to become that next shiny thing. Unfortunately, it’s a double edge sword for her. On one hand, it appeals to her base. On the other hand, it exposes her lack of business and economic knowledge. Her supporters admire her charisma, but those outside of her constituency see through her charm, lack of knowledge and factual data. Her proposed “Green New Deal” is a perfect example of my point. There are so many flaws and errors in her thinking. Trying to account for all the mistakes would be a graduate level economics class by itself. The lack of common sense within the document is only surpassed by the bravado and ignorance she displays when discussing the topic.

There are two things keeping her from being totally exposed. First is everyone’s fear of political correctness. If she is criticized, the person delivering the criticism is considered a bigot, racist, chauvinist or some other undeserved name. This feeds into the second thing. The media. Ocasio-Cortez has created the same hysteria generated by a community organizer in Illinois, back in 2004. The media was so enamored with Obama’s charisma, they overlooked, ignored, and refused to reveal his lack of true business knowledge. At the same time, they refused to expose his real agenda.

One-on-one interviews of Ocasio-Cortez, Robert (Beto) O’Rourke, Kristin Gillibrand, and others often reveal lack of depth of knowledge. They use sound bites, catch phrases and recycled verbiage to hook, enlighten and enamor their base. The media bolsters the “next shiny thing” with reckless abandon. It’s tried and true and has worked for years.

Politicians, the media, outspoken Hollywood types, and sadly, educators in our colleges and universities continue to try sell their ideas. unfortunately, few if any, have the business or economic knowledge or experience to support their points.

Either on purpose or through a series of circumstances, they found a job, (politician, actor, media person, educator) and never had to worry about understanding how to operate a successful business.

How do we combat this widespread mularkey and incompetence?

The solution I’d recommend is to hold all politicians accountable for their opinions, views and policy statements. Put aside political correctness for straight talk. Demand facts, not theory or ideology. Instead of defending your position, ask questions. Intelligence, knowledge and common sense are not substitutes for charisma. And they never will be.

Until next time…