Trump’s Trainwreck

 

National Review: “If you’re obsessing over how bad, how in the tank for Kamala Harris, the two ABC 

news moderators were, it’s because you don’t want to come to grips with the brute fact that Donald Trump was a disaster last night. He was unhinged, often incoherent, incapable of completing thoughts and sentences when he had points to make, and led into self-absorbed rabbit-holes — claims that he won the 2020 election, the size of his rallies, whether ‘migrants’ are eating stolen pets — that diverted him from opportunity after opportunity to expose Harris as a radical leftist now pretending to be a pragmatic centrist who suddenly loves her some guns. 

” “Trump had one job: stay on message about Harris’s dizzying renunciations of her positions — so inexplicable that Harris has dribbled them out through nameless campaign sources rather than addressed them in her own voice…”

 “Trump couldn’t do it. And yes, that’s largely because he is an undisciplined solipsist so effortlessly drawn into railing about rally attendance when the subject at hand is Harris’s indefensible border record — and if you think last night’s target audience cares whether the interlocutor steering Trump off course was Harris or the moderators, then you’re missing the point.”

 “But there’s more to it than that. Trump also couldn’t stick to deconstructing Harris’s ‘values’ bunk because his own values are always negotiable.”  - Politicalwire.com

Pallone & Conyers: Trump’s Opioid Announcement Is Meaningless without Additional Funding

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
October 26, 2017



Washington, D.C. – Energy and Commerce Committee Ranking Member Frank Pallone, Jr. (D-NJ) and Judiciary Ranking Member John Conyers (D-MI) today released the following statement in response to President Trump’s declaration that our nation’s opioid crisis is a public health emergency:

“President Trump’s announcement today falls far short of the recommendations of his own commission, and is essentially meaningless because it does not provide any new funding to fight an epidemic that is killing 91 Americans every day. The opioid crisis continues to grow, cutting lives short, tearing families apart and leaving people in communities all around our nation with few places to turn as they struggle to find treatment.

“Despite his previous claims that the opioid crisis is a ‘national emergency,’ the President’s announcement today does not unleash the financial resources necessary to end this epidemic. Instead it simply allows the federal agencies to shift already limited resources away from other public health programs. This is not the way to fight an epidemic of this magnitude.”

Really, Really, Sad

Pallone Blasts President Trump’s ACA Executive Order

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
October 12, 2017


Washington, D.C. –Congressman Frank Pallone, Jr. (NJ-06) released the following statement today in response to President Trump’s signing of an executive order designed to undermine the Affordable Care Act (ACA):

“President Trump’s administrative action is intended to hurt people in order to score cheap political points, and it is the most blatant attempt to undermine the ACA and increase costs for Americans yet. The President is trying to induce a death spiral in the Marketplace by turning it into a high risk pool for the sickest and most vulnerable Americans. Having failed to repeal the ACA through Congress, President Trump is now attempting to repeal the ACA through administrative action.

“It is time for the Trump Administration and Congressional Republicans to stop trying to sabotage the American people’s health care. Rather than allowing insurance companies to increase costs for people with pre-existing conditions and discriminate against the elderly, we should be working together to improve access and lower costs for high quality health care.”

Pallone and Doyle Request Hearing with FCC Commissioners on Trump’s Threats Against Broadcasters

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
October 12, 2017

Call on FCC Chairman to Disavow President’s First Amendment Threats

Washington, D.C. – Energy and Commerce Committee Ranking Member Frank Pallone, Jr. (D-NJ) and Communications and Technology Subcommittee Ranking Member Mike Doyle (D-PA) today called for a hearing with Federal Communications Commission Chairman Ajit Pai and the other FCC Commissioners so that they can publicly disavow President Donald Trump’s repeated threats to revoke NBC’s broadcaster license due to its reporting:

“Over the past few days the President has repeatedly attacked news outlets and their FCC licenses. This threat alone may already be chilling free-speech across the country. That is why we and others have called on the FCC Chairman to immediately condemn this intimidation and promise to the American public that he will not follow through on the directions he has received from the President. Despite our calls, the Chairman has refused to say if he agrees with the President. We therefore ask for a hearing as soon as possible with all five FCC Commissioners so that they can publicly and under oath commit that they will not threaten broadcasters or their licenses because of the content of their reporting. Every day that goes by without comment from the FCC Chairman is a continued threat to the First Amendment.”

Letter: "We don't want no nuclear war, with nuclear war we won't get far"

The expressed opinions or views of this letter does not necessarily represent the opinion of the MiddletownMike blog.


Dear Editor,

Reggae legend Peter Tosh once sung, "We don't want no nuclear war, with nuclear war we won't get far". Truer and wiser words have never been spoken. Perhaps Donald Trump could leave Twitter for a minute, smoke some ganja, and realize what a reckless and idiotic foreign policy on Korea he has embraced.

Our very survival is threatened by a Psychotic CEO turned U.S. President, with his finger on the trigger. While life in New Jersey might be a little different than Pyongyang, our people want peace and friendship.

New Jersey stands nothing to gain and everything to lose, in a potential nuclear conflict with North Korea.

Donald, forget about your hands, we don't want no nuclear war!

Rev. Dr. Eric Hafner
Former Congressional Candidate
Toms River

Pallone Slams Trump’s Attack on Contraceptive Coverage

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
October 6, 2017


Washington, D.C. – Congressman Frank Pallone, Jr. (NJ-06), released the following statement today after the Trump Administration announced plans to roll back the Affordable Care Act’s (ACA) contraceptive coverage guarantee:

“The Trump Administration’s new policy does not further religious liberty, it rolls back the clock on women’s health.

“The decision to permit broad exemptions to the ACA’s contraceptive coverage guarantee harms women and their families and reverses the important progress we’ve made in advancing women’s access to care. It will allow employers to deny birth control coverage to their employees, threatening access to contraception for millions of women.

“The ACA’s birth control benefit ensured women could have coverage for the full range of contraceptives without copayments, deductibles, or other out-of-pocket costs, and has served as a critical preventive health tool to enable more women to plan if and when to have children.”

This sums it up; What a Liberal Does on the Fourth of July

I've posted this same article for a few years now, it's a blast from the past that unfortunately needs stated time and again. Conservatives and the right- wing don't have a monopoly on patriotism or pride in their country. And in this age of Trumpism it will be the liberals that just might save us from totalitarianism.


By Dan Bimrose,Founder, LiberalFix.com
Post @ Huffingtonpost.com
6/30/11

For certain elements of society the word liberal has become interchangeable with such words as communist, socialist and fascist.

While liberals such as myself choose to associate themselves with such historic figures as Franklin Delano Roosevelt, Robert Kennedy, and Martin Luther King, those same elements of society would suggest that each of us tree hugging "ne-er do wells" have a secret room with a secret wall painted red and devoted to displaying pictures of Hitler, Mussolini and Lenin.

On a day when we should all celebrate our nation and some of us recount historically accurate stories of our nation's birth, there are members of society who find it difficult to imagine that it would be possible for self-styled liberals, progressives and Democrats to find cause for celebration on the Fourth of July.

This all too common charge that those like us are unpatriotic and un-American is an allegation that I take great umbrage with.

By definition conservatives and liberals do not think alike and that is just fine. The idea, however, that liberals are unpatriotic is absurd. Those who say such things are guilty of one of two things, they are either ignorant or they are lying with the intent of influencing your opinion so that it more closely represents their opinion.

Liberals do find it difficult to stomach the assertion that our founding fathers believed that there is an inherit bias toward discrimination in the documents and actions produced by those very same founding fathers.

I will allow that the 3/5 compromise which allowed for slaves to be counted as 3/5 of a white man for the purpose of determining a states representation in Congress, and the lack of a provision guaranteeing women the right to vote were monumental fails in regards to discrimination. The need to compromise to achieve a bigger goal allowed for these fails to exist.

Time, acquired wisdom, and progress would eventually fix these wrongs. Liberals respect, honor and cherish the Constitution as an evolving document capable of being changed when we as a nation are ready for change.

We believe that the founders had it right when they said in the Declaration of Independence, "We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness." We believe this to be the very worthy intent of our founding fathers.

We acknowledge conservatives love the Constitution as well. Well, they love certain parts of the Constitution. Different conservative groups would love to repeal a variety of amendments including the 8th, the 14th, the 16th, the 17th, the 19th and possibly the 26th amendment.

Liberals do believe that children born in the inner city or poverty stricken rural areas deserve the same access to health care as blue bloods spending the holiday on Martha's Vineyard. We are not unpatriotic because we believe this. Perhaps you could call us compassionate, but not unpatriotic.

We understand that we pass on more to our children than just budgets and balance sheets. We also pass on the environment and the planet to our children and grandchildren. Regardless of whether or not we feel that global warming is real or a myth we still value clean water and clean air.

We may not appreciate the wars we are currently fighting in the Middle East, but we love and respect our soldiers. After all they are our brothers, sisters, mothers, fathers, wives and husbands.

We believe that teachers, policeman and firefighters should be paid and paid well due to their value and service to our community.

We believe that all of our children deserve libraries, gym class, and the opportunity to star in their school play.

We believe our country is great because we are a melting pot, not in spite of it. We value diversity. This is the American Way. This was the American dream.

We pay our taxes, but think that the wealthiest amongst us and the most profitable industries can share in bearing a little extra burden to fix our government's mistakes.

We believe that our senior citizens are people who have served our countries and their families well. They deserve not just our respect, but the ability to retire with the reasonable assurance that their health needs and financial needs will be met.

No, we do not agree with everything and most of the time we do not agree with anything, but it is not necessary to call each other unpatriotic or un-American. Liberals do not think conservatives are evil, we just think they are wrong. Perhaps some of the name calling conservatives out there will learn that liberals are Americans too.

What will I be doing this 4th of July?

More than likely my children will wake me up early so that we can go to the local parade, but before we leave for the parade I will hang our flag outside.

I am assuming and hoping the day will be filled with at least two Italian sausages smothered in onions, one elephant ear, and multiple lemon shake-ups. At the parade I will shake hands with a few elected officials, but reserve my support and encouragement for those politicians that are Democrats. In my part of Indiana, they need all the help they can get.

I will conclude the day by watching the local fireworks display right before rushing home to put the kids in the tub so I can clean off the cotton candy that has become caked on their faces. With any luck I will not have to get out the tweezers to remove a roasted peanut from my youngest daughter's ear.

We will go straight from the tub to the bedroom where we will sing songs and the kids will say their prayers before being tucked in and given strict orders to "sleep tight and don't let the bed bugs bite".

So what do liberals do on the 4th of July?

Pretty much the same thing everyone else does.

Happy 4th of July and God Bless America.

Pallone Blasts Trump Proposal to Sell off Gasoline reserve Created in Aftermath of Hurricane Sandy

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
May 24, 2017


Washington, DC – Today, Congressman Frank Pallone, Jr. (NJ-06), the Ranking Member on the House Energy and Commerce Committee, blasted the Trump administration for proposing to sell off the entire gasoline reserve created in the aftermath of Hurricane Sandy. In 2012, Sandy caused widespread issues related to the availability of gasoline. In response to help build a more secure and resilient energy infrastructure, the Energy Department, with the encouragement of Congressman Pallone, established the first federal regional refined petroleum product reserve containing gasoline. The Northeast Gasoline Supply Reserve would assist New Jersey, New York and other states in the Northeast during an emergency.

“President Trump may have forgotten the devastation that Sandy brought to New Jersey, but my constituents and I have not. Access to gasoline was severely limited in the aftermath of the storm, causing major problems in the region impacting homeowners, businesses and emergency personnel. We learned hard lessons from this experience and put in place a plan to make the region more resilient when another storm strikes. With many New Jerseyans still rebuilding, it is stunningly shortsighted for President Trump to abandon a measure that can save our economy and even save lives in an emergency.”