Red State/Blue State

Everyone has their ‘pet peeve’ for the egregious behavior of Trump and his supporters.  The big ones for me include these top ten: 1. Giving the Russian agent the Polling data from the 2016 campaign DIRECTLY from the  Campaign Manager Manafort and Gates…that got me…it stood out- as the definition of what “COLLUSION” is! 2. Trump’s cavalier abandonment of our Kurdish allies- meaning we cannot be counted on to stand with our allies; our word is NOT our bond! It means that US standing…is shot around the world... 3. The fact that the hypocrisy of all that Trump has done is met with silence from the GOP after all they have complained of Benghazi and Bill Clinton/ Obama’s Executive Actions Going after heath care with NO Idea of replacement by any ideas on the right! 4. The silent undermining of governmen. Steve Bannon- now Indicted- bragged of ‘deconstruction’ of governement, and all agencies including the EPA/ Education/Post Office/ State Dept/ all agencies….even Weather (...

  For those who have never read this book, ,”The Fifth Risk” is a chillingly prophetic narrative that perfectly embodies the reasoning and set of circumstances that have led us to this point in the pandemic. Not only is there no plan for getting us out of the Pandemic-at least from the Trump Administration- there is instead a decisive narrative which Lewis lays out that allows you to understand why there is a pattern to the idea of simply ‘dropping off the cliff.’   The plan from the beginning, long before the Trump Administration even began to take power, was to break down the walls of governance that had surrounded the Washington agencies for decades prior. Of course, many of Trump’s supporters argue: That is the point! Steve Bannon proudly declared that government would be ‘de-constructed.’ And even those who ended up disagreeing with Trump heavily, such as John Kelly and Rex Tillerson, did help implement the policies that were laid out in the beginning of Trump’s tenur...

  Here are the U nder the Radar items for October. In this election cycle, it has become painfully obvious that many of the issues that were once either in the forefront of news,  the so-called ‘hot-button’ issues, have all been pushed to the curb by the gigantic looming spectre of Trump and Trump-ism. The notion of completely dominating the news cycle is only possible when a willing press continues to follow the bright shiny objects put before us!   We are also hearing disturbing news that the right-wing media,(and this is nothing new), is distorting news and failing to fact-check their own side.  This includes not only Trump, but other erroneous and fabulous statements of untruth that go completely without any kind of “fair and balanced’ reporting . There there seems to be a kind of “Alternate Reality” or magical thinking that distorts what the right and the left really hear and what they believe!   The Under the Radar Magazine highlights some of these...

  One of the things that I like about politics is the push and pull of sparring and competition, and the parts that are almost reminiscent of what they used to highlight on the Olympics and in sports shows. Remember the show opened with:  “ Thrill of Victory ...(pause)...and the Agony of Defeat” . And we find that the most interesting moments in sports are those that show the human side of the competition. At times, I hear historians talk and lament that we don’t see our founding fathers as people anymore, but rather just idealized symbols. This brings to mind some of the funniest things I’ve heard about politicians. I can’t remember where I came across this list, but it has always been passed down in my notes as the “ Cornball & Hokum List. ”   These include the nicknames for some of our esteemed past presidents. And many are nicknames given to them by OTHER Presidents...The Kennedys and Johnsons, it has been well-documented, really couldn’t stand each other. The...

Friends, here's a rundown of some of the top headlines that we have highlighted in our Flipboard Magazine: Red State/Blue State during the month of May. These have appeared also on Twitter, for those who follow us at @mljtpa. The headlines illustrate the many careening news items that were most newsworthy, while some of these top stories didn't get as much press attention as we are dealing with Coronavirus, an economic collapse of the economy, and ongoing challenges to the Rule of Law and the Constitution.  Some of the things that go " Under the Radar" (Please see our magazine on Flipboard of the same title!)  are :  America's standing in the world and our ongoing competition with China The huge challenges we face economically after the staggering unemployment figures The end of the month leads us into the ongoing Civil Rights struggle that has snowballed out of control under this Administration It's all here for us to see unfolding...