THE CONTROVERSY: April 2017

Thursday, April 27, 2017

NO! NOT MADAM PRESIDENT IVANKA TRUMP.

The Controversy is a publication of GBD Productions. Founder and Editor-In-Chief of The Controversy is Gary B. Duglin.

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Saturday, April 15, 2017

BLAME UNITED AIRLINES AND THE CITY OF CHICAGO, BUT DONALD TRUMP TOO

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What has our country come to...and where are we going?

Donald Trump - in an interview with The Wall Street Journal on Wednesday, April 12th, 2017 - called it "horrible"...that a United Airlines passenger...was forcibly removed from the airplane seat that he paid to ride in...for a trip from Chicago, Illinois to his destination of Louisville, Kentucky. It was Sunday, April 9th when 69-year old Dr. David Dao was violently dragged on the aisle floor of a United Express aircraft. And although I blame United Airlines...and the police officers from the Chicago Department of Aviation, who allegedly caused Dr. Dao to be bruised and bloodied...I must also point the finger of blame at the man who currently occupies the chair behind The Oval Office desk.

Many of you - when you read this commentary - will scream and yell...call me nuts...or even label me more of a Trump hater than some of you have been doing for quite awhile. But before you do any of those things...I ask you who disagree with my views...along with all my readers...to wait to cast judgment...until after you have read my column in its entirety. Maybe then...you will fully comprehend my reasons for this editorial.

On June 16th, 2015, when Donald Trump announced that he was seeking the GOP nomination for President...Trump's speech accused Mexicans of being "rapists" who are "bringing drugs" and "crime" to the United States. It's obvious to me that Trump's venomous language - 22 months ago - was translated by a sizable amount of Americans, who ended up voting for him...that it's okay to express vulgar words of hate...towards other human beings.

For nearly two years, Trump's toxic tongue has badmouthed - in no particular order - women...the disabled...Muslims...Latinos...African-Americans...a Gold Star mother and father...a distinguished U.S. Navy veteran who spent five years as a Vietnamese prisoner of war and who today is an honorable U.S. Senator...and numerous other individuals and groups of people...by insulting them for one reason or another. Yet despite all of his despicable and reprehensible actions...Trump was still unbelievably able to win the Republican nomination and he was unfortunately elected the 45th President of the United States.

It is tragic to think - but it is apparently true - that certain citizens in our country are playing a game of "Follow The Leader." Trump has belittled people and performed in an offensive manner...yet he has been applauded not punished. The 62-million Americans who - on November 8th, 2016 - cast their ballots for Trump... have unknowingly...or perhaps knowingly...validated the vicious behavior of Donald Trump as an acceptable way to treat others.

Let me be crystal clear that I'm not - for a second - implicating Trump...or even insinuating...that he has ever used his own hands - or any weapon, for that matter - to physically hurt another person. But each fiery syllable that Trump utters...does ignite the flame that sparks the incendiary incidents that have ravaged our nation since his Inauguration. From dozens of synagogues and Jewish community centers nationwide that have been vandalized in acts of anti-Semitic hate crimes...to more and more people expressing loathsome feelings towards both strangers and neighbors...America is no longer the country I once knew.

I wrote this column to be published as my weekend commentary...before I saw a tweet by motion picture star John Cho. The actor - who is best known for portraying Lieutenant Sulu in the reboot series of Star Trek movies - tweeted on Monday, April 10th..."It's hard not to see a connection between the environment Trump has created and what happened on that @United flight."

When I read John's tweet on Thursday night, April 13th, I thought to myself...I knew I couldn't be the only one in America...who targets Trump...as being responsible for the change in attitude across our nation over the last two years. And thus...it is Trump who is culpable - in part - for the manner in which Dr. Dao was brutally assaulted on the United Airlines plane. I will explain later in this piece.

Unless you've been living in an underground bunker with no lines of communication from the rest of the planet...then you are well aware that United Airlines made a grave mistake...when instead of finding another avenue for its employees to travel - due to the overbooked flight - the company notified law enforcement officers...not Chicago Police Department cops, but employees of the City of Chicago just the same...who allegedly manhandled Dr. Dao.

United Airlines would have been better off footing the bill to purchase four seats on another airline's flight to Louisville so that the United crew could make their trip. It would have been a whole lot cheaper than the multi-million-dollar payout that it's going to cost...along with the public relations fiasco...that will haunt United for many years to come. After all...the Elizabethtown, Kentucky physician just needed to keep his seat on the airplane...so he could be back in "The Bluegrass State" that night in order to keep scheduled appointments with his patients the next morning.

Dr. Dao did nothing wrong. As a paying passenger, it was not his fault that United Airlines overbooked its flight. It was United's fault. And paying passengers should always come first. If there are no seats available, the employees shouldn't fly.

Dr. Dao did not want to accept the eight-hundred-dollar voucher that was being offered for him to give up his seat. It was important to Dr. Dao to be in his office... to treat his patients the following day.

At first, United Airlines chief executive officer Oscar Munoz defended his employees...which was wrong. And Munoz branded Dr. Dao...as "disruptive and belligerent." However, on Tuesday, April 11th, Munoz apologized for his reckless remarks, but only after he and his company received a deluge of telephone calls, e-mails and tweets...severely chastising United for acting irresponsibly and disgracefully. The airline initially lost a reported 255-million dollars in the stock market, while people all around the globe also threatened to boycott them. But the public outcry later resulted in a nightmare for United's reputation and image. The airline has reportedly lost one-point-four-billion dollars in value in less than one week...and it's also facing a federal investigation by the U.S. Department of Transportation. A Congressional investigation is also possible. But Munoz has pledged to review his airline's policies relating to all issues of overbooking and the treatment of passengers. Nevertheless, a petition - signed by more than 20-thousand people - is demanding that Munoz resign as CEO of United Airlines.

In the meantime...after nearly three days in the hospital...Dr Dao was released late Wednesday night, April 12th and is recuperating in a secure location. That's according to his lawyer who conducted a press conference in Chicago on Thursday, April 13th. Attorney Thomas Demetrio told reporters - and the world - that Dr. Dao suffered a "significant concussion"..."a serious broken nose"..."injury to the sinuses" for which he will soon undergo "reconstructive surgery"...and he "lost two front teeth" during the traumatic injustice. Witnesses have apparently advised authorities and the press that Dr. Dao fell and hit his head when the officers allegedly began to yank him from his seat.

Dr. Dao's daughter, Crystal Dao Pepper - at the same news conference - stated her father emigrated from Vietnam. Lawyer Demetrio said Dr. Dao fled the wartorn country in 1975...amid the fall of Saigon. Demetrio reported that his client told him that "being dragged down the aisle...was more horrifying...and harrowing...than what he experienced in leaving Vietnam." Demetrio also commented that Dr. Dao remains "shaken" by being so terribly abused.

Furthermore...Demetrio confirmed that a lawsuit is pending, but that it won't be filed until after his law firm has completed its investigation. It is doubtful, however, that the case will ever go before a judge. If United Airlines is smart...Munoz and his legal team will settle out of court. And personally...I hope Dr. Dao takes the airline for ten, twenty, even fifty-million dollars or more. Not just because Dr. Dao deserves the money for punitive damages, but to send a message to every airline...to other transportation companies...and, quite frankly, to all businesses that serve the public.

Dr. Dao - who had been traveling with his wife, who is also a medical doctor - was one of four people on United Express Flight 3411 who were chosen at random to give up their seats so that a United flight crew could board. The airline claimed it was the only way their employees could get to Louisville for work the next day. Dr. Dao refused to leave, so he was physically ejected from the aircraft and allegedly knocked down on to the floor as if he had committed a crime, which he certainly had not. Witnesses have reportedly told various news organizations that Dr. Dao was not at all aggressive. Meanwhile, the three Aviation Department cops have been placed on administrative leave.

As the chaos ensued on the plane, other passengers have reported fearing for their own safety...while a few travelers documented the disturbing event by recording it on their "smart" phones. Those videos quickly went viral on social media and all over the Internet.

United Airlines has offered all passengers on the aforementioned flight... compensation by reimbursing each one with a five-hundred-dollar voucher. But giving such an insulting amount - in the form of a voucher - is not reasonable in my eyes. The airline needs to give cash dollars to each and every traveler who endured the nerve-racking stress and aggravation of that night. They should demand a cash reimbursement for their round-trip tickets plus an additional amount of cash money for their inconvenience and for the three-hour delay before the flight finally took off. After all, I doubt too many of the passengers will ever fly United again, so vouchers will be worthless. I wouldn't be surprised if some passengers - besides Dr. Dao - file lawsuits against United for mental anguish and suffering. If United Airlines knows what's good for them...they should present each passenger with a minimum of one-thousand dollars in cash...and reimburse each traveler with double the amount of the round-trip ticket...in cash.

Attorney Demetrio summed up United Airlines' behavior by asking..."Are we gonna just continue to be treated like cattle? Bullied? Rude treatment? We all have enough...oh I don't know, angst...for flying as it is. A lot o' stuff out there. But don't treat the people...who helped make you the corporate...entity you are...like Dr. Dao was treated."

Before issuing an apology, United Airlines CEO Munoz had complimented his employees and said he "emphatically stand(s) behind" them, as they "followed established procedures." If Munoz signed off on his company's "established procedures" by approving that a paying passenger could be dragged through the aisle of an airplane...then Munoz has no right being the boss of a model airplane company, let alone the head honcho of a corporate giant like United Airlines.

All of which brings me back to the chief executive of the United States. Donald Trump has set a poor example of how people should treat their fellow man and woman. Let us remember a campaign rally in Las Vegas, Nevada when Trump was interrupted by a disorderly protester. Trump responded by shouting..."Get him the hell out. I'd like to punch him in the face." He went on by reminiscing about years gone by. "I love the good old days. You know what they used to do to guys like that when they were in a place like this? They'd be carried out on a stretcher, folks." And yet - as I noted earlier in this column - Americans still cast their ballots for Trump. No Presidential candidate...no future President of the United States... should ever speak in such a harsh tone...and with such vile vocabulary. But Trump did get worse. During other campaign rallies - including one in Iowa - Trump, on several occasions, made a firm promise about ISIS...that he would "bomb the sh-t out of 'em." Then, of course, was a rally in New Hampshire when Trump told American businesses that moved their operations out of the U.S. to Mexico...that they can "go f--k themselves." And these obscene remarks were made with children in the audiences.

Donald Trump is a negative and repulsive role model for the kids of our country and for all citizens of our nation, young and old. But, as he proudly announced at a campaign rally in Iowa..."I could stand in the middle of Fifth Avenue (in New York City) and shoot somebody and I wouldn't lose any voters."

How on God's green Earth did this man become President of the United States?

As for United Airlines...I have a friend from elementary and high school who is a 32-year veteran Captain for United. And I trust that he would never have allowed such turmoil on his jet aircraft. That being said...I would sooner hop on the back of a slow-moving, two-humped camel before I ever board a United Airlines flight again. That is at least until certain ivory tower executives are long gone from the company; those who didn't care to think ahead...that someone on their payroll would allow "stormtroopers" - to quote attorney Demetrio - on a United airplane...and act like barbarians. Sorry, Jim...nothing personal.

United won't be having any trouble finding seats in the future for commuting flight crews. They'll be plenty of vacant seats on nearly every one of their airplanes.

For years, United Airlines has welcomed vacationers and business people to "fly the friendly skies." But I think the RSVPs to that invitation are going to be the same from a multitude of travelers worldwide. "No thanks."

And that's The Controversy for today.

I'm Gary B. Duglin.

"We'll talk again."

Tuesday, April 11, 2017

ASSAD AND PUTIN ARE MONSTERS. TRUMP IS UNFIT. WHAT A WORLD!

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There is no question that Donald Trump was wrong...under United States Constitutional law...and under United Nations international law...by his Thursday, April 6th, 2017 attack on Syria.

The Charter of the United Nations is the foundational treaty of the U.N. It was ratified by the United States - among many other nations - in 1945. However...The Charter has since been ratified by most countries on our planet. It is a treaty that stipulates that no nation can use military action on foreign land without permission of the U.N. Security Council or unless there is a claim of self-defense. There was no cause for self-defense by Donald Trump when he gave the U.S. Navy the go-ahead to bomb an airfield in Syria.

Article I, Section 8 of the U.S. Constitution states that "Congress shall have power to declare war." In other words...the President is required by law to seek and receive Congressional approval before going to war. And although Article II of our Constitution designates the President as Commander-In-Chief of the Army and Navy - which, of course, now includes all branches of the armed forces - Article II also proclaims that the President cannot engage the military in any form of activity against a foreign adversary unless he receives authorization by Congress. And no matter how you say it...Trump ordering to launch 59 tomahawk missiles on Syria from two warships in the Mediterranean Sea...constitutes a force of war.

There is no doubt that the dictatorship of Syrian President Bashar al-Assad...and his ruthless regime...have killed about one-half-million people in their country with another five-million who have been displaced. To gas babies and other children - not to mention adults - is unthinkable...unconscionable...and inexcusable. And Assad should not be allowed to get away with performing such heinous acts of murder. All that being said, however...no U.S. President can be willy-nilly when going to war... especially when it is not Constitutionally legal.

My previous column of Friday, April 7th titled...TRUMP'S MILITARY STRIKE ON SYRIA WAS "UNLAWFUL"...was an accurate assessment by Democratic U.S. Senator Tim Kaine of Virginia...and by me. Oh I was criticized by numerous readers by my commentary, but so were many Democrats - and some Republicans - in Congress... who came to the same conclusion. I guess I'm in good company.

The United Nations did not green light Trump's strike. Therefore, such military action was indeed unlawful. U.S. officials at The Pentagon stated it was a justified assault because it "intended to deter the (Assad) regime from using chemical weapons again." But the mission failed. Yes, Donald Trump and his Administration have bragged about the success of the attack, but the runways at the airfield were in no way obliterated...planes are still flying from the base...and no chemical weapons were destroyed. So where's the success?

Trump's National Security Adviser - U.S. Army Lieutenant General H. R. McMaster - told reporters that the plan was to reduce Assad's ability to "continue mass murder attacks against Syrian civilians." But that has not been done. As for any stockpile of chemical weapons, McMaster firmly stated..."There were measures put in place to avoid hitting what we believe is a storage of sarin gas, so that that would not be ignited and cause a hazard to civilians or anyone else." Again...how was the mission successful?

Russia claims their Syrian ally doesn't have and doesn't use chemical weapons. If you believe that, I have a bridge in Brooklyn to sell you. Let us remember that on Tuesday, April 4th, seventy Syrian civilians suffered horrific deaths while another one-hundred or so innocent people were treated at hospitals.

Is it possible - and I'm not implying that it is, but simply wondering...if Trump and Russia's President Vladimir Putin...cooked up this strike on the Syrian airfield...as a way for Trump to show the American people...that he's not buddy-buddy, so to speak, with Putin? After all...more than half the country thinks some sort of a relationship does exist between the two leaders, going back to before the 2016 election. And to evaluate further...the amount of damage at the air base was nowhere as severe as The Pentagon first reported. Meanwhile, The White House official statement is that Russia is covering up for Assad...since The Kremlin says Syria was not behind the chemical weapons attacks on the Syrian people. So again...without making any accusations, but merely asking a question...could the military action itself...combined with the Trump Administration's aforementioned statement...be the actual cover-up? If any of that is true - and I did say IF...then Trump would fall in to the same category as Putin and Assad.

Syria had agreed in 2013 to join the Chemical Weapons Convention and to comply with the decision to get rid of all such deadly forms of destruction. Obviously, Assad broke his promise when toxic gas bombs were dropped on his country's soil to kill his own citizens. So what then does Putin see in Assad? I will tell you. They are cut from the same fabric. They are made from the same mold. They are both monsters.

But Syria's violation of the Chemical Weapons Convention - which the Trump Administration used as reason enough for America's military action - does not jive with either the U.S. Constitution or the U.N. Charter. After all, the 2013 U.N. Security Council Resolution does not give permission for any nation to invade another country unless there is an imminent threat. The United States was not under attack...therefore we need not defend ourselves, as there was no danger to the American people and no immediate crisis affecting our country. So what Donald Trump did was - in plain English - against the law.

Then there's the question of humanitarian intervention. Without U.N. authorization, the U.S. cannot use that explanation as justification for military force either.

There are other Americans who say Trump had the right to fire off missiles at Syria because his actions were supported by the 1973 War Powers Act. But the WPA does not permit the President and Commander-In-Chief to use military power on foreign soil unless there is "a declaration of war by Congress"..."statutory authorization"...or when there is "a national emergency created by attack upon the United States, its territories or possessions, or its armed forces." Among other WPA requirements, the War Powers Act also insists the President shall inform Congress within forty-eight hours of ordering U.S. military in to action. As per many members of Congress...Donald Trump did not notify the House of Representatives and the Senate - which is necessary according to WPA regulations - and there was no national emergency since no American land or persons were in jeopardy.

Republicans - and even some Democrats - have argued that other U.S. Presidents - from both Parties - have disregarded the War Powers Act. I would agree. Other Presidents may have disobeyed the WPA too. But that does not make it right. And that does not mean Donald Trump or any future President should ever violate it...or any of the other aforementioned laws of our country and our world.

There is a good chance that Trump would have received approval by the majority of the Congress...to move forward with some form of retaliation on Syria, as no decent human being wants anyone slaughtered by chemical weapons. All Trump had to do...was ask.

Now to a more recent development from Trumpworld...the horrendous gaffe that was uttered by Trump's spokesman, Sean Spicer. The White House Press Secretary - on Tuesday, April 11th - at a briefing to reporters...suggested that Assad is worse than Adolf Hitler was during World War II. "We didn't use chemical weapons in World War II. You know, you had someone as despicable as Hitler...who didn't even sink to using chemical weapons." As a Jew, especially, it pains me to think that The White House spokesperson... a man speaking on behalf of the President of the United States...would make such a reprehensible remark. It's mind-boggling that Spicer would not recognize the atrocities of Adolf Hitler...that this Nazi madman...put to death six-million Jews... most of whom were murdered in gas chambers. But after Spicer made the appalling comment above...the hole he dug for himself got bigger and bigger. "I think when you come to sarin gas, he (Hitler) was not using the gas on his own people the same way that Assad is doing." Spicer then called the Nazi concentration camps... "Holocaust centers"...when they actually were death camps. Since his moronic statements...Sean Spicer has apologized on numerous television networks. But like his boss who has done it time and time again - along with others in the Trump Administration - Spicer put both feet in his mouth. And one day, the filth and stench of his toes...of Trump's toes...or of those of any on his staff...are going to cause someone to light a match...and (metaphorically) burn this White House to the ground.

I take credit for being one of the earliest journalists...one of the earliest people in America...going back to 2015...to question Donald Trump's fitness, temperament and sanity to serve as President of the United States. And I was chastised by Republicans - and believe it or not by some Democrats too - for saying so...very early in the campaign. It's now been less than three months since Trump's been sitting behind The Oval Office desk...but his impulsive tweets...his off-the-cuff remarks...and his overall fly by the seat of his pants attitude...prove one thing, if nothing else. Donald Trump should not be America's President.

And that's The Controversy for today.

I'm Gary B. Duglin.

"We'll talk again."

Friday, April 7, 2017

TRUMP'S MILITARY STRIKE ON SYRIA WAS "UNLAWFUL"

No green light from Congress means Donald Trump's military strike on Syria was "unlawful." That's the word from Hillary Clinton's 2016 Vice Presidential running mate. Senator Tim Kaine says..."(Syrian President Bashar al-) Assad is a brutal dictator who must be held accountable for his actions." But a 7th grade history student knows that the Virginia Democrat is one-hundred-percent correct with the following. "The Constitution says war must be declared by Congress. (Donald Trump's) failure to seek Congressional approval is unlawful."

I absolutely agree with Senator Kaine. As a Jew, especially...I strenuously object to the sickening slaughter of innocent men, women and children. The world must never, ever witness any deaths that are reminiscent of The Holocaust...even if it's a fraction of the amount of people who were killed in Nazi Germany. The heinous poisoning of powerless children and defenseless babies - not to mention adults - by what might have been sarin nerve gas...is beyond horrific. And I in no way feel that Syria...and the regime of Assad...should be allowed to get away with such atrociously gruesome murders. But Donald Trump is a loose cannon. He is too impulsive. He does not think things through carefully and thoroughly. Americans have noticed that with every off-the-cuff remark and tweet throughout his Presidential campaign and over his first eleven weeks in The White House.

On Thursday night, April 6th, 2017, Trump ordered a military strike on Syria. The Pentagon says two U.S. warships in the Mediterranean Sea launched 59 tomahawk missiles on an airfield in the northwestern part of the country. It's where the United States believes Assad dropped chemical weapons, at dawn on Tuesday, April 4th. The carnage killed at least seventy people with another one-hundred or more being treated in hospitals...some of those victims in critical condition.

American military strikes need to be discussed and approved by Congress. Even Republican Senator Rand Paul of Kentucky - prior to the strike in Syria - stated that if Trump used military action it would be "illegal and unconstitutional" if he did it without Congressional approval. And although The Pentagon says the intent of the U.S. mission was not to target people...that doesn't mean nobody perished in the attack. However...as this column is being published, there is no report of any deaths. But who's to say that the next time, Trump won't order a military raid that unknowingly...or even knowingly, for that matter...kills moms and dads who are tucking their kids under the covers or reading them a bedtime story. Casualties of war...collateral damage...is never acceptable when the victims are children.

The "proportional" response - as the Trump Administration called the strike on Syria - echoed language used by Michael Douglas and Martin Sheen in Aaron Sorkin's 1995 motion picture screenplay, The American President. And although, so far, no innocent individuals are known to have lost their lives by the U.S. action in Syria... they could have...they may have. Directed by Rob Reiner, there was a scene in The American President movie where the President ordered an attack on a foreign nation where "a janitor" who was working on "the night shift" was going to be blown up by the U.S. military strike. That was fiction. But who knows? Perhaps a real-life janitor in Syria...somebody who had nothing to do with Assad or his brutal assault... somebody who has children of his own...somebody who has a mother and father who love him...might have been fatally wounded by this..."proportional" response.

In remarks made Thursday night after the military action, Donald Trump spoke to the nation from his Mar-a-Lago resort in Palm Beach, Florida. "Assad choked out the lives of helpless men, women and children." And "It is in this vital national security interest of the United States to prevent and deter the spread and use of deadly chemical weapons." The Defense Department says it appears that the Syrian airfield was severely damaged, thus the attack probably reduced the amount of chemical weapons in Assad's arsenal...and, therefore...it will hinder...or perhaps stop the use of such dangerous toxic gas.

But Donald Trump must not be allowed to fire missiles on...or bomb...other countries on a whim. He does not have the authority to act on his own without Congressional approval. Trump must obey the laws of our land. He must obey the United States Constitution.

We as a nation...and we as a planet...cannot afford to risk the possibility of a full-scale, major combat campaign with other countries around the globe. There will never be World War III. It will simply be called...The End Of The World.

And that's The Controversy for today.

I'm Gary B. Duglin.

"We'll talk again."

Wednesday, April 5, 2017

WHILE TRUMP CONSPIRACIES CONTINUE, KREMLIN CRONIES CACKLE

Current polls show that if the Presidential election was today...a major percentage of Republicans and most Independents would not cast their ballots in a general election for Donald Trump. Would they vote for Hillary Clinton? For the Independents, many more would indeed cast their ballots for the former Secretary of State. Others would stay home, as would a huge chunk of Republicans...who would never vote for Mrs. Clinton, but who would not now pull the lever for Trump.

And then there are those Bernie Sanders liberals and progressives who - out of principle - refused to vote for Secretary Clinton...but who are now sorry they acted in such an immature and childish manner. Knowing the consternation and the anxiety that Americans are battling today, they would bite their lips and vote for Mrs. Clinton anyway. And Democrats who selfishly stayed home would drive a car, ride a bicycle, run, walk or even skateboard to their polling place so they too could vote for Hillary Clinton. But what's done is done. And none of those people can - as golfers might say - "call a Mulligan." There is no do-over in a Presidential election. At least there's never been one so far. It will be up to all Democrats who did vote in 2016... and all Democrats who did not...to join forces and fully support one Democratic candidate in 2020.

Meanwhile, the latest Quinnipiac University Poll - released on Tuesday, April 4th, 2017 - shows that Donald Trump has an approval rating of only 35 percent...which matches a recent Gallup Poll.

The chaos of the Trump Administration has caused Donald Trump to be a losing President after just over 10 weeks in The White House. Much of his lunacy stems from his raving rants on Twitter. On Monday, April 3rd...Trump regurgitated his vindictive vomit...that former President Barack Obama committed a felony...by wiretapping Trump Tower during the Presidential campaign. Trump tweets with no regard for truth...no regard for facts. He cannot admit fault. He cannot admit that he was wrong...even when the FBI, the House Intelligence Committee and the Senate Intelligence Committee have definitively concluded that there is no evidence whatsoever that President Obama bugged Trump's home and offices in his midtown Manhattan skyscraper.

In my Friday, March 17th column - TO DONALD TRUMP: LIAR, LIAR, PANTS ON FIRE! - I made a statement that I feel is worth echoing here today.

"Donald Trump is the biggest conspiracy theorist since those individuals who thought President John F. Kennedy was assassinated by somebody other than Lee Harvey Oswald."

Now Trump has added another conspiracy to his repertoire, as he and other Republicans point the finger at President Obama's National Security Adviser Susan Rice...claiming she deliberately gathered classified intelligence information about members of the Trump campaign...and then leaked the names of those people to the press. But Rice has categorically denied the accusations. She says not she...nor anyone in the Obama White House...ever - for "political purposes" - "unmasked" the identities of Trump or anyone associated with him. Rice is being blamed for revealing the name of retired U.S. Army Lieutenant General Michael Flynn...who was fired by Trump as his National Security Adviser...after Flynn's communications with Russian officials were somehow leaked to the media.

In an exclusive interview on the Tuesday, April 3rd edition of MSNBC's Andrea Mitchell Reports...the NBC News Chief Foreign Affairs Correspondent went one on one with Susan Rice...who forcefully and firmly stated..."I leaked nothing to nobody...and never have and never would."

But Donald Trump - with no evidence at all that Rice is responsible for any leaks - re-tweeted a message that Matt Drudge sent...promoting his conservative on-line column titled..."RICE ORDERED SPY DOCS ON TRUMP?" A link to the Drudge Report website was included in Trump's re-tweet.

Once again - as he did with his wiretapping allegations - Trump took the word of a right-wing publication...with no proof whatsoever. It was Breitbart News and Fox News who Trump accepted as fact when he went on a tweeting firestorm on Saturday morning, March 4th without first consulting with the FBI, the NSA or any of the government's intelligence agencies. And nobody...including Congress...has found any truth to Trump's tirade of tweets.

Nearly five months have already sailed by since the November 8th, 2016 election...and yet Trump's viciousness and vulgarity remain, as if he feels obligated to be that way.

And where has any of this gotten the United States of America? The bedlam in Washington, DC is thrilling Moscow. With obscene jubilance, Vladimir Putin accomplished what he set out to do. There's turbulence and turmoil in our nation's capital and havoc across our country. The Russian President and his crooked, Kremlin cronies...are undoubtedly cackling villainous squawks like birds in a parrot hatchery. There is no dignity...no credibility...in America's White House. And the people's palace is crumbling in front of our very eyes. The United States is in shambles, as Democrats and Republicans are at each other's throats...while Putin maliciously smirks with a grin that emulates that of the Cheshire Cat.

In the topsy-turvy insanity of 2017 American politics, Donald Trump may end up bottoming out the United States to its most dismal low in history. And our nation just may sink deeper than a prairie dog's basement. I just hope we don't get bombarded with depth charges...as we drown.

And that's The Controversy for today.

I'm Gary B. Duglin.

"We'll talk again."

Saturday, April 1, 2017

TRUMP MAY TOPPLE LIKE A HOUSE OF CARDS

Since his Inauguration on January 20th, nearly all Democrats throughout the country have not accepted Trump as President. And now, the vast majority of Independents...and more and more Republicans...are quickly running away from Trump...and the fact they ever supported him.

Just over two months behind The Oval Office desk, the Gallup Poll - on Wednesday, March 29th - informed the world that Donald Trump's approval rating has sunk to a painfully suffering 35 percent. And I predict that his failing results... and the troubling issues that face his Administration and his Presidency...will cause Trump's approval rating to enter the disaster zone of 30 percent or lower...perhaps before Memorial Day at the end of May, but definitely by Independence Day on July 4th. I wouldn't even be shocked by a 25 percent number. Americans who had embraced Trump for the election...and whose minds were - in some ways - brainwashed in to thinking that he was actually going to help them...are starting to realize that Donald Trump is only out to help Donald Trump.

But now...there's someone else who may be out to help only himself...and that person was once not just a strong ally of Trump's, but a member of his own team... his inner circle. Former National Security Adviser Michael Flynn is pulling a "Monty Hall" and wants to "make a deal" with Uncle Sam.

In my February 15th column - IS TRUMP TODAY'S NIXON? LET'S HOPE NOT. - I wrote..."There is a dark cloud hovering over Donald Trump...that is causing The White House to be blackened in controversy and scandal. With Democrats in both the U.S. Senate and the House of Representatives calling for a probe in to ties between General Flynn and Russia...and possible ties between Trump and Putin...are Trump and some Republicans on Capitol Hill worried that if Flynn is subpoenaed to testify under oath before Congress...what beans will be spilled? Has Flynn's friendship with Trump been disintegrated...and, if so...will Flynn throw Trump under the bus? And should he do so...will we learn through irrefutable evidence...through positive proof...that Trump is an illegitimate President who must be evicted from The White House?"

I published those words more than six weeks ago. Now, both the House and Senate Intelligence Committees are tangled in a web of separate investigations in to Russian interference with our nation's 2016 Presidential election. But on Thursday, March 30th, Flynn told the FBI and members of the House and Senate that he will agree to testify under oath about anything and everything he knows about Russia and their meddling in to the U.S. election, but...BUT...he wants full immunity from arrest and prosecution for doing so.

The Wall Street Journal scooped everyone on Thursday evening when they first reported - through Flynn's lawyer - that he wants a free pass to tell a truthful tale about the Russians. His attorney stated..."General Flynn certainly has a story to tell, and he very much wants to tell it, should the circumstances permit."

Flynn is apparently willing to give up information in exchange for his freedom, should he admit to committing a crime. But on Friday, March 31st, the Senate refused Flynn's request for immunity. Meanwhile...Flynn's call for immunity is raising eyebrows. California Democrat Adam Schiff - the ranking member of the House Intelligence Committee - tweeted on Friday..."The public should learn a lot more about WHY General Flynn wants immunity when (former Acting Attorney General) Sally Yates testifies before the House Intelligence Committee." At The White House, though - early Friday morning - Donald Trump tweeted..."Mike Flynn should ask for immunity in that this is a witch hunt." But Trump was careful with his words. He did not say that Flynn should GET immunity...only that he should ASK for it.

Despite the official take that Trump asked Flynn to resign as National Security Adviser...let's face it, he was fired on February 13th after it had been confirmed that Flynn conducted a telephone conversation with the Russian Ambassador about U.S. sanctions imposed on Russia by President Barack Obama. Flynn also lied to Mike Pence when the General denied discussing sanctions. The Washington Post reports that Flynn continued his lies when he told the FBI that sanctions with Russia were never discussed. Furthermore, The White House says Flynn met with the Russian Ambassador for about twenty minutes in December 2016 at Trump Tower. All that being said...Donald Trump maintains that Flynn did "nothing wrong" by talking with the Russian Ambassador.

But Flynn's connection with Vladimir Putin's henchmen apparently goes deeper and deeper in to the belly of the beast that is Russia. Democrats on Capitol Hill submit that Flynn violated a clause in the U.S. Constitution, which doesn't permit officials of our federal government to receive payments from foreign nations. And reportedly, Flynn was on the payroll of both Russia...and Turkey. But Press Secretary Spicer says Trump was unaware of Flynn's work as a foreign lobbyist. However...Trump won't answer yes or no on whether his old friend would have been offered the National Security position if Flynn had been up front, honest and transparent about his work with foreign governments.

The amount of "sketchy stuff" that is going on with Donald Trump is bordering beyond suspicious. And Michael Flynn has nothing to lose by painting a target on the forehead of his old boss. Flynn is willing to trade Trump's life to save his own skin. Therefore...Flynn is going to try to cover his own butt...in case whatever it is he acknowledges...to the FBI and/or Congress...doesn't add to his troubles. By requesting immunity, the assumption has to be that Flynn wants to speak openly and freely about exactly what Donald Trump knows...and when he knew it. It is not too far out of the realm of possibility that Flynn wants to tell the FBI, the Senate and the House of Representatives that it was Trump who instructed him to discuss U.S. sanctions against Russia with the Russian Ambassador. And that such contact happened before Trump had taken the oath of office as President. Therefore...it raises the question...was Michael Flynn...was Donald Trump...was anyone in the Trump campaign...involved in Russia's meddling in to the 2016 election? And was that tampering to do...whatever they could...to sabotage former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton...so that she would lose...and Trump would win?

It's ironic that it was Michael Flynn - at the Republican National Convention in July 2016 - who led delegates in a chant of "lock her up"...when he stooped to a disgraceful low of slamming Mrs. Clinton.

To put a cherry on top of the irony sundae...is a remark Flynn made on September 25th, 2016 to NBC News Political Director and Moderator of Meet The Press Chuck Todd. Flynn expressed that Secretary Clinton belongs in "jail." And that "five people around her have been given immunity." Flynn went on to tell Chuck Todd..."When you are given immunity...that means you have probably committed a crime." Of Michael Flynn, I quote Scottish novelist and poet Sir Walter Scott. "O, what a tangled web we weave, when first we practice to deceive."

A 5-year old child can add two plus two and come up with an answer of four. Flynn's immunity comment to Chuck Todd - 6 months ago - is now biting Flynn in the behind. He has requested immunity so I guess - based on his own declaration on Meet The Press - Flynn has "probably committed a crime." And Donald Trump - on September 27th, 2016 - while at a campaign rally in Melbourne, Florida...echoed what Michael Flynn said two days before on Meet The Press. "And if you're not guilty of a crime, what do you need immunity for, right?"

There has been suspicious smoke around Donald Trump for quite some time. If and when Michael Flynn speaks...he could be lighting the match for the biggest political fire since Watergate. So therefore...Democratic Representative Jackie Speier of California - who spoke on Friday to CNN's Wolf Blitzer - admitted she might consider granting immunity to Flynn...if it means catching "a bigger fish." And that being...Donald Trump.

It behooves me to wonder what Donald Trump's kids - Donald Jr., Ivanka, Eric, Tiffany and even 11-year old Barron - are thinking today? The Trump brand is being tainted with the passing of every day. And if it is proved - and I did say IF - that their father participated in any way with the Russian interference of the 2016 election...Trump may end up being America's first President to be impeached, convicted and removed from office...on what could wind up being charges of treason. And then...nobody would ever want to stay at a Trump hotel...live in a Trump apartment...or play golf at a Trump country club. Nobody could stand seeing the name Trump on any building. Donald Trump...and his family...would be ruined.

I will state, however...with much emphasis - as I have in columns before - that I am one who always believes that a person is innocent until proven guilty beyond the shadow of a doubt. So it is genuinely possible that Donald Trump's hands are as clean as a surgeon who is ready for the operating room. That is, at least regarding Russia and the notion that Trump could have been involved in a plot to affect the outcome of our national election. Trump may not have one speck of Russian dirt on his two palms and ten fingers. But I do have my doubts. And then of course...as we learned with President Richard Nixon...the cover-up was worse than the crime. But there is always the chance that Trump was deliberately insulated from any criminal activity by those Americans who might have been engaged in the initial felony or obstruction of justice.

No matter what, though...Donald Trump's "fine-tuned machine" is quickly becoming an Edsel. And should evidence be discovered...proving Trump helped to orchestrate the biggest conspiracy in United States history...or that he is responsible for covering it up...Trump and his Administration will topple like a house of cards. And the Russian scandal...will make Watergate...look like shoplifting.

And that's The Controversy for today.

I'm Gary B. Duglin.

"We'll talk again."