Friday, August 18, 2017

WHAT THE HELL IS CONGRESS WAITING FOR? HOW MUCH MORE CAN AMERICA TAKE WITH DONALD TRUMP AS PRESIDENT?

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     When are the Members of the Republican-controlled U.S. House of Representatives going to get off their behinds and impeach Donald Trump for being mentally unfit to serve as President of the United States?  Must our country become a cesspool of total embarrassment and a haven of disgust before Congress moves in a forward direction to remove Trump from office?

     Regular readers of The Controversy can attest...that since after the election last November...I predicted Donald Trump would not survive a full four-year term.  And that for many months, I have written that Trump would follow in Richard Nixon's footsteps...and like America's 37th president, the 45th would resign the presidency in disgrace.  As with Nixon...Trump will never put himself through House impeachment hearings, let alone a U.S. Senate trial and conviction.  Therefore, Trump's narcissism and other mental disorders will force him - as he does with everything else - to blame everyone from Democrats to the press...from Republicans in his own Administration to the GOP on Capitol Hill...for his reasons for resigning.  But Donald Trump will not ever take responsibility for any of his actions that have been criticized by part or most of the American population.  As a result, he will tell Congress - in plain English - to "go to hell and go f--k yourselves.  I don't need this s--t and I am outta here."

     Senator Bob Corker has already questioned whether Trump is stable and competent to be president.  On Thursday, August 17th, 2017, the Tennessee Republican told reporters that Trump "has not yet been able to demonstrate the stability...nor some of the competence that he needs to demonstrate...in order to be successful."  

     Meanwhile, in the aftermath of the terrorist attack in Barcelona, Spain on August 17th - where thirteen people were killed and more than one-hundred were injured, some critically - Trump once again proved to be completely off-the-wall and totally unpresidential when, in a tweet, on that same day, the "Liar-In-Chief" quoted an Internet hoax.  "Study what General Pershing of the United States did to terrorists when caught.  There was no more Radical Islamic Terror for 35 years!"  IT'S A LIE! It's a myth!  It NEVER happened!  For the man who consistently accuses the "fake media" for reporting "fake news" - which is far from fake and is reported by professional, first-rate journalists - Donald Trump repeats a fully fake story that historians all around the world have categorically stated is untrue.  And this is the second time that Trump has cited this falsehood.  In a February 2016 South Carolina campaign rally, Trump - in animated fashion - echoed a debunked legend that has been wrongly attributed to American World War I General John J. Pershing.  "They had a terrorism problem.  And there's a whole thing with swine and animals and pigs...they don't like 'em.  And General Pershing was a rough guy.  And they were having terrorism problems just like we do.  And he caught fifty terrorists who did tremendous damage and killed many people.  And he took fifty men...and he dipped fifty bullets in pig's blood.  He took fifty bullets and he dipped them in pig's blood. And he had his men load his rifles...and he lined up the fifty people...and they shot forty-nine of those people.  And the fiftieth person, he said, 'You go back to your people...and you tell them what happened.'  And for twenty-five years there wasn't a problem.  Okay?  Twenty-five years, there wasn't a problem."  There is not one scintilla of historical evidence to prove that any of Trump's rant is fact.  It is not true.  Not at all.  And yet, Trump has shared this lie twice.  Not only did he feel it necessary to regurgitate a lie that he told 18 months ago, but like most liars, he didn't remember exactly the way he first said it.  Originally - at that February 2016 rally - Trump insisted Pershing's stunt ended terrorism for 25 years.  Yet in his August 2017 tweet, Trump claimed terrorism had been stopped for 35 years. Neither, of course, is true.  But only Trump - in his demented mind - knows why he added 10 years.

     In the wake of the Saturday, August 12th riot in Charlottesville, Virginia, Donald Trump defended neo-Nazis, white supremacists and the Ku Klux Klan.  Three major publications have agreed that Trump's vile verbiage - from his Tuesday, August 15th meltdown press conference - supported anti-Semitism, racism, and bigotry overall. The Economist magazine's new cover shows an artist's image of Trump while bellowing into a white megaphone, which appears to be a Ku Klux Klan hood with eye holes.  Time magazine's latest cover depicts a drawing of a white man wearing black, stormtrooper boots.  The man is draped in an American flag that is held at a 45-degree angle by a pole...and raised to represent the man's arm and hand stretched forward to create the Nazi salute.  And The New Yorker magazine's new cover displays an artist's likeness of Trump in a sailboat that has a sail with eye holes that resembles a KKK hood.  These three publications follow Trump's despicable words that there were "very fine people on both sides" of the Charlottesville protest...which included haters of Jews, blacks and other minorities...and where a 32-year old woman was brutally murdered.

     Donald Trump is a man who cannot remain the President of the United States. Congress and the American people need to take immediate steps to legally and lawfully end the presidency of someone who should never have been elected to the office in the first place.  My comments today do not have anything to do with politics.  This is not about Democrats' revenge for Trump winning The Oval Office in an electoral vote victory over Hillary Clinton.  This is about the safety and security... the economic health...and the total well-being of the United States of America. Donald Trump is a danger to our nation.  So I appeal to every single Democratic Congressperson...and every single Democratic Senator...along with enough House and Senate Republicans - some of which I believe are of sound mind - to, in tandem, appropriately walk the path towards evicting Donald Trump from The White House. But do it soon...before Trump's insanity brings our country to the brink of disaster... or worse.

     And that's The Controversy for today.

     I'm Gary B. Duglin.

     "We'll talk again."

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

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18 comments:

  1. Maybe the US Congress knows a little bit more about the US Constitution and the law then you do. You may not like it but the United States is a Nation based on the Constitution and Laws: Article II Section 4 states: “The President, Vice President and all civil Officers of the United States, shall be removed from Office on Impeachment for, and Conviction of, Treason, Bribery, or other high Crimes and Misdemeanors.” Where is the proof that President Trump has committed Treason, Bribery, or other high Crimes and Misdemeanors? There has been NO PROOF given that he has! Without that there is no legal reason for an impeachment! As for the media and the magazine covers, we all know the mainstream media’s (and your’s) hatred for President Trump. I try to watch and read as much as I can and did not hear or read anything from the President that he “defended neo-Nazis, white supremacists and the Ku Klux Klan”. There was violence on both sides, that is a fact. In my opinion they should not have been given a permit to march. I know first amendment and all but no Right is absolute. Should ISIS be given a permit if they wanted to march? I think not! I am sure there were people there that are not racist or neo-Nazis that just felt it was wrong to rename things or take down what has been it there town for a long time, those are who the President called “fine people” should they have left once they saw who was marching, without a doubt. But that does not make them racist. It maybe makes them naïve and maybe a little stupid. Yes, slavery was wrong, that is an understatement but it happened and it is part of our history, it was a human disgrace. One question why don’t we hear calls to rename all the buildings, schools and roads named for Senator Robert Byrd who was admitted racist and a member of the KKK rising to the title of Kleagle and Exalted Cyclops of his local chapter. He was a Democrat so it’s okay. But it should not be all that defines the South. Just because you are a conservative or voted for President Trump doesn’t make you a racist!!!

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    1. My response to the above reader will be in two parts.

      PART ONE OF TWO

      It continues to amaze me how much people like you - presumably a Republican - wants to deny facts. Therefore, do NOT tell me that I don't know the law that is stated in the United States Constitution. It is obvious that it is YOU...who does not know the law.

      Section 4 of the 25th Amendment empowers Congress to establish a permanent "body" that can declare that the president is "unable to discharge the powers and duties of his office.”

      Furthermore, as I wrote in my column of August 16th, 2017, "Vice President Mike Pence...along with a majority of Trump's Cabinet members...should invoke the 25th Amendment. Section 4 of that Amendment states that if they decide that for whatever reason, Trump is 'unable to discharge the powers and duties of his office'...such a statement in writing would be sent to the Speaker of the House and the president pro tempore of the Senate. Vice President Pence would then become 'acting president.' Trump could dispute that decision and a two-thirds majority vote in both Congressional chambers would be necessary to keep the vice president in charge. Without those numbers, Trump would resume his powers and remain in office. But after Trump's news conference, I am confident that Congress would go along with Pence and the Cabinet."

      So you have no clue, as to what you're talking about, when you say that Donald Trump can ONLY "be removed from Office on Impeachment for, and Conviction of, Treason, Bribery, or other high Crimes and Misdemeanors.” If Trump is determined to be "unfit" - which seems to be the determination now by psychologists, psychiatrists and other medical professionals nationwide who are experts in the field of mental disorders - not to mention the assessment already by many members of Congress - then proceedings could begin in an effort to impeach Trump. It is NOT necessary to prove "treason, bribery or other high crimes and misdemeanors" to remove Trump from office.

      But, as always, you go with the defensive act, as all of you right-wing "fraidy-cats" do, by accusing "the mainstream media" and me of having a "hatred for Trump." This is not hatred. If you read my column above, I am very clear on that point. "Donald Trump is a man who cannot remain the President of the United States. Congress and the American people need to take immediate steps to legally and lawfully end the presidency of someone who should never have been elected to the office in the first place. My comments today do not have anything to do with politics. This is not about Democrats' revenge for Trump winning The Oval Office in an electoral vote victory over Hillary Clinton. This is about the safety and security... the economic health...and the total well-being of the United States of America. Donald Trump is a danger to our nation."

      GBD

      END OF PART ONE OF TWO

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    2. PART TWO OF TWO

      You can't put your own spin on the issue with Trump and his news conference last week. Republicans nationwide, in Congress and in his own Administration have stated that Trump was very wrong in "defending" neo-Nazis, white supremacists, the Ku Klux Klan and racists overall. As I wrote in my column above and in my August 16th commentary, Trump uttered despicable words when he said there were "very fine people on both sides" of the Charlottesville protest...which included haters of Jews, blacks and other minorities...and where a 32-year old woman was brutally murdered.

      I never said that just because a person is conservative or because he or she voted for Trump that it makes a person a racist. But, as I wrote in my August 16th column - which I advise you to read - "Trump's comments at his August 15th press conference are inexcusable and unforgivable. No decent American should support Trump?"

      My advice to you is to not only read my August 16th column - titled DONALD TRUMP IS DESPICABLE AT THE MOST DISGRACEFUL PRESS CONFERENCE IN HISTORY - and to re-read my column above - WHAT THE HELL IS CONGRESS WAITING FOR? HOW MUCH MORE CAN AMERICA TAKE WITH DONALD TRUMP AS PRESIDENT? - because you really are not in sync with two-thirds to three-quarters of our country. A psychologist responded to my August 16th column, so I encourage you to read his two-part, very insightful comments about Trump. Your computer might have the comments pop up automatically, or you may need to click on the word "Comments" - as you do to submit your own comments. If you read what he wrote, you may change your thinking about Donald Trump.

      Donald Trump IS on his way out. And again, this has nothing to do with politics. This has nothing to do with hatred. It has to do with the fact...yes I said, the fact...that Donald Trump is a danger to the United States of America. Too bad you do not recognize that. Thankfully the vast majority of Americans do. Hopefully, enough of Congress will also and that they can lawfully and legally remove Donald Trump as president...and before it's too late.

      GBD

      END OF PART TWO OF TWO

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  2. Once again you are wrong, you said “When are the Members of the Republican-controlled U.S. House of Representatives going to get off their behinds and impeach Donald Trump for being mentally unfit to serve as President of the United States?” First the enactment of the 25th does not constitute impeachment. Second, Vice President Pence will not enact the 25th, get over it. Congress can’t do it without him. You are wrong as usual. As for re-reading your columns, no thank you. The problem with the 2/3rds you talk about is they are more concerned with political correctness then they are with the truth, facts or about what is good for this Country, that’s about 95% of liberals and independence and about 50% of so called Republicans (RINO). I would say President Trump should just do the job he was elected, stop tweeting and get Congress to theirs, repeal Obamacare, build a wall, deport all the “criminal” illegal aliens, fix our broken tax system and more and get America back on the right path, Constitutional Conservatism!

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  3. You must be that person who submitted comments on another column of mine when I noted you don't read carefully. It's obvious that you haven't learned to read much at all.

    This is the first paragraph of my column above. "When are the Members of the Republican-controlled U.S. House of Representatives going to get off their behinds and impeach Donald Trump for being mentally unfit to serve as President of the United States? Must our country become a cesspool of total embarrassment and a haven of disgust before Congress moves in a forward direction to remove Trump from office?"

    Nowhere in THAT paragraph did I mention the 25th Amendment. THAT paragraph has nothing to do with the 25th Amendment. In fact, I never mentioned the 25th Amendment anywhere in the above column. I only noted it in a response to you. So, as usual, Republicans like you try to put your own spin on my commentaries and also words written and spoken by other journalists when you can't face up that what I and others have written or said is true.

    As for Mike Pence not enacting the 25th Amendment, here's the deal. Pence is still a relatively young man. He more than likely wants to someday run for president. And if he fails at that, he will likely run again to be governor of Indiana or perhaps he will run for a seat in the U.S. Senate. He doesn't want his career flushed down the toilet. And if he continues to walk the path of Donald Trump, as Trump and his Administration implodes, Pence's career will be ruined. If a majority of Cabinet members decide to invoke the 25th Amendment, which does require Pence's signature on a document going to the speaker of the house and the president pro tempore of the Senate, there is no doubt in my mind that Pence will sign it too.

    You really annoy me. So if you're going to be a hater and if you are going to continue saying such crap as "you are wrong as usual" then just don't read my column or write comments. I can tell you positively that in my responses above and herewith, I am NOT wrong.

    If you re-read the two columns that I noted above, you will learn something...you will learn the truth.

    You can try to go on the defensive all day long and try to support Donald Trump by criticizing liberals and independents, but Trump's numbers are dropping like a lead ball. He has a 33 percent approval rating, which is the lowest for any president in history, at this period of time in an Administration. Trump's numbers will be below 30 percent in no time...and once he hits 29 percent or lower, you'll start to see marches at Capitol Hill as there were in 1974, which got the House to start impeachment hearings for Richard Nixon. And as you know, Nixon resigned the presidency not too long after that. The same will then happen to Trump.

    The Affordable Care Act will NEVER be "repealed and replaced." It will hopefully be repaired and improved upon, but not "repealed and replaced." You've seen what has happened with those efforts by Republicans when 30 million Americans would wind up with no healthcare...and will die. So give it up. There will be NO wall ever built on the U.S./Mexico border. THAT will NEVER happen either. We are America. We open doors for people. We don't lock them out. So give it up. And what you call "our broken tax system" can't be a way for the top 2 percent to save money and everyone else in the country to pay more in taxes. If that's the case then such a bill will never become law.

    I will never understand someone like you. To have such hate towards others is disgraceful.

    GBD

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  4. You still don’t get what you said: "When are the Members of the Republican-controlled U.S. House of Representatives going to get off their behinds and impeach Donald Trump for being mentally unfit to serve as President of the United States?” The Constitutions doesn’t allow for impeachment for what you call mentally unfit. You never answered my question about Robert Byrd, I didn’t think you would, liberals only like to condemn conservatives never their own. As for President Trump’s low approval rating, what would you expect when dealing with the left wing, hateful, lying mainstream media that is owned by the left wing Dems. They hate conservatives, they hate President Trump (for beating Hillary) as you do, many hate the US Constitution as it was written, and I think many of them just hate America. You call me a hater, I am not a hater, I am an American and a Constitutionalist. The haters in America are people like you, you hate everything that is not your left wing socialist way. Steal from the rich and working people and give it to everyone else. The one thing you said that I agree with “ We are America. We open doors for people.” Doors are built in walls and that is all we are asking for a wall with a door. That way we control who comes in and can say no to the drug dealers, murderers, gangs members and terrorist that we don’t want here but maybe you do. As for taxes they need to be fair, the top 2% pay 52% of all personal tax while earning only 25% of the total income that’s not fair. Yes, they need to fix loop holes like Warren Buffett uses taking his income from Berkshire Hathaway as stock and then only pay long term capital gains tax when he sells it after 13 months. He then only pays between 15-20% tax and then talks about how he pays less than his secretary, he uses a loop hole. Capital gains tax should be lower but if you take stock in lieu of salary you should have to pay the income tax as if it was salary. But he is a liberal democrat so it’s okay! Once again I must tell you I don’t hate most people the others such as terrorist, drug lords, racist, those that hate America and want to do us harm, those I might hate.

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  5. Forgive me for asking this question, but are you a moron? I responded to you in an earlier reply. Here it is again in response to what I wrote in my column - "When are the Members of the Republican-controlled U.S. House of Representatives going to get off their behinds and impeach Donald Trump for being mentally unfit to serve as President of the United States?" I responded with this - "Section 4 of the 25th Amendment empowers Congress to establish a permanent "body" that can declare that the president is "unable to discharge the powers and duties of his office.” If Donald Trump is "unfit to serve as President of the United States" then he is "unable to discharge the powers and duties of his office." And that IS in the U.S. Constitution. So...at the risk of sounding like Jack Nicholson's character, testifying in court to Tom Cruise's character in A Few Good Men..."Are we clear? Are we CLEAR?" So I have now answered you again.

    Trump's low approval rating has nothing to do with the media. These are scientific polls taken and responded by people throughout the country. Once again...are you a moron? You simply want to bash the media, liberals, progressives, Democrats and people who are not like you - a hater. YOU ARE A HATER. Plain and simple.

    STOP writing The Controversy. Your hatred will not be published anymore. You are repetitive and redundant, and you sound like you might be as dangerous as Donald Trump. I don't hate Trump. I oppose his sick views, his despicable thoughts, and the way he wants to turn our country in to a dictatorship. Stop with your nonsense that Democrats are against Trump because he won the electoral vote against Hillary Clinton. That is not the reason Democrats are against Trump.

    You are sick son of a bitch in plain English. Anybody that can say that people like me...liberal progressive Democrats...want to "steal from the rich and working people and give it to everyone else" has got to be a sick son of a bitch. America was built on the rich helping the poor and others who are less fortunate. Therefore, I won't even comment further on your crap about taxes.

    As for the wall that will never be built...anyone who wants a wall is a hater.

    Please...go away. Don't read my column. Don't submit comments. I'm tired of responding to someone who clearly does not have an open mind...and who obviously hates. You can claim all day long that you "don't hate"...but you do. Your comments show that you do hate. So stop. Stop hating. Stop reading my column. Just stop.

    I feel sorry for you. You need mental help. Since you respond anonymously, I don't know you. But if I did, I would recommend that you seek serious professional psychiatric help for your hatred. But then...your hero, Donald Trump needs the same treatment. And unless ordered to by a judge...I guess he won't get it either.

    GBD

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  6. Gary, before I start let me tell you I am not the person who wrote you earlier on this column. I am a regular reader of The Controversy, I don’t agree with you on almost everything you write but I like to see what the other side thinks. This is one of my few times I have commented on your column and I have a few questions for you? Why didn’t you answer the writers question about Senator Robert Byrd? I think it is a very fair point when people have been calling for the removal of statues and names of people from 150 to 250 years ago being removed from buildings. Why should Robert Byrd, a man who swore an oath to the KKK be honored? I will not try and defend President Trump to you, you have your opinions and that is your right. I believe President Trump’s policies on immigration, health care, taxes, national security and many other policies are the right way to go for America. I take offense to your comment that anyone who is in favor of a wall for boarder security is a “hater” I am not a hater. We as a nation have both the right and the obligation to secure our boarder and control who comes into our nation. I have a fence around my property and down the road from me is gated community with armed security at the entrances, there is close to 100 homes in that community is everyone who lives there a hater? I will quote Robert Frost "Good fences make good neighbors," I think he was right. America wants Mexico to be a good neighbor. When you start looking at taxes the only fair tax is a flat tax, everyone playing and paying by the same rules. The income tax system we have now is just plain unfair to the working poor the middle class and the “upper middle class”, the very wealthy such as Warren Buffett have tax loopholes so they don’t have to pay their fair share and the poor don’t pay federal income tax. Taxes should be fair, ½% on the first $20,000 and then 18% on all income above that, no deductions just pay your share. Then everyone has skin in the game. I must tell your overreaction to the other writer was astonishing; nothing he or she wrote was that hateful except maybe about the media which I won’t get into because in my opinion he is not that far off base. Calm down and stop the name calling.

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    1. My response to the above reader will be in four parts.

      PART ONE OF FOUR

      First of all, the person who had written the many comments above is someone who I believe is a regular reader of The Controversy and who frequently submits hateful remarks by bashing liberals, progressives and Democrats in general. The person hides under the blanket of the anonymous banner, which is fine, except that my name and photograph are on this forum and this person spews hateful venom without having the courage to reveal himself or herself. He or she is constantly bashing the media and telling me that I...that I...along with anyone in the "left-wing" as the reader puts it...have no regard for our country and that we do not have any regard for the U.S. Constitution. We have been tagged "un-American." I can only assume (a word I don't like to use) but based on the person's writing style, I think I'm right, that he or she is the same person who continues to believe that I and other Democrats "hate" (the reader's word) Donald Trump because he won the electoral vote against Hillary Clinton. THAT couldn't be farther from the truth. This has nothing to do with the election. If that was the case, then I and millions of other Democrats would have felt the way we do about Trump when other Republicans were in The White House. And that certainly is not true. I personally do not "hate" Donald Trump. I do not hate anybody. I have written paragraphs in numerous columns over the last year where I specifically state that I have no hatred for Trump. I chastised Kathy Griffin - before she apologized - because of her disgraceful video about Trump. And NOBODY...NOBODY...should ever wish any harm to the President of the United States - not for any reason whatsoever - no matter how much somebody dislikes him or disagrees with him. I believe Donald Trump is a very sick, mentally ill person who should never have been elected president. I was one of the first people...one of the first journalists...to label Trump as someone who has mentally ill issues...way back in 2015 and through 2016 and that he would be "mentally unfit" and "unfit" overall to serve as president. I was chastised by readers - Republicans, and believe it or not, Democrats alike, for making such accusations. Now, however, it's more the norm by the vast majority of people in the United States who seem to agree with me. However, all that being said, I DO NOT HATE DONALD TRUMP. I strongly oppose his disturbing views, his sick-minded thoughts and his disgusting, offensive and vulgar remarks. I believe that someone who has been diagnosed by professional psychiatric and other medical experts and doctors - albeit from a distance - with Narcissistic Personality Disorder is a danger to our country and that he will destroy it if Congress, the Cabinet, special prosecutor Bob Mueller or the American people, in general, do not lawfully and legally find a way to remove Donald Trump from office.

      GBD

      END OF PART ONE OF FOUR

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    2. PART TWO OF FOUR

      Now...to your specific remarks. I understand that you do not agree with "almost everything" that I write. That is your right to do so. And I welcome differing views. But only when people can base their opinions on facts. Therefore, with regards to the other reader's issue about the late Senator Robert Byrd, the reader apparently doesn't have enough brains to do research and read. So it wasn't worth my time to try to educate someone who is only going to dispute facts. Below are the FACTS about Senator Byrd.

      The following comes directly from Snopes - well-respected as the definitive fact-checking source.

      "It’s true that Robert Byrd was a member of the Ku Klux Klan in the 1940s and helped establish the hate group’s chapter in Sophia, West Virginia. However, in 1952 Byrd avowed that 'After about a year, I became disinterested [in the KKK], quit paying my dues, and dropped my membership in the organization,' and throughout his long political career (he served for 57 years in the United States Congress) he repeatedly apologized for his involvement with the KKK. 'I know now I was wrong. Intolerance had no place in America. I apologized a thousand times …and I don’t mind apologizing over and over again. I can’t erase what happened.' In 2010, even the NAACP released a statement honoring Senator Byrd and mourning his passing. 'The NAACP is saddened by the passing of United States Senator Robert Byrd. Byrd, the longest serving Member of Congress was first elected to the U.S. House from [West Virginia] in 1952 and was elected Senator in 1958. Byrd passed away this morning at the age of 92.' 'Senator Byrd reflects the transformative power of this nation,' stated NAACP President and CEO Benjamin Todd Jealous. 'Senator Byrd went from being an active member of the KKK to a being a stalwart supporter of the Civil Rights Act, the Voting Rights Act and many other pieces of seminal legislation that advanced the civil rights and liberties of our country.' 'Senator Byrd came to consistently support the NAACP civil rights agenda, doing well on the NAACP Annual Civil Rights Report Card. He stood with us on many issues of crucial importance to our members from the reauthorization of the Voting Rights Act, the historic health care legislation of 2010 and his support for the Hate Crimes Prevention legislation,' stated Hilary O. Shelton, Director of the NAACP Washington Bureau and Senior Vice President for Advocacy and Policy. Senator Byrd was a master of the Senate Rules, and helped strategize passage of legislation that helped millions of Americans. He will be sorely missed.'"

      The above are FACTS.

      GBD

      END OF PART TWO OF FOUR

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    3. PART THREE OF FOUR

      My comment to the previous reader that "anyone who wants a wall is a hater" was, frankly, to make a point with that reader that goes back to the disgraceful comments that Trump made on day one of his presidential campaign when he insulted Mexicans and Latinos overall for being "criminals," "rapists" and "drug (dealers)." Thus, Trump, for that reason and for many, many other reasons, is a hater. The wall represents hatred. The United States of America opens doors for people to come here for a better life. We do not slam them in their faces or merely put up a wall to lock them out. I do not agree with the immigration policy of Donald Trump and most Republicans. So I define them as "haters" because I believe Trump is a racist bigot and that many - not all - of his supporters fall in to that same category. There are other ways to attempt keeping out terrorists and other "bad" people - to use Trump's word - from entering our nation. But a wall is not the answer - especially when to do so will cost taxpayers billions of dollars. You sound like you are an intelligent person, even though I don't agree with your thinking...but that said...do you really think you can compare putting up a fence around your house to putting a wall along the U.S./Mexico border? Come on...let's be real. I don't believe that Robert Frost was referring to a roughly two-thousand-mile wall in stating that "good fences make good neighbors."

      As for your thoughts on taxes. I have written about this in many other columns, but I have no problem repeating myself here. America was built on the very wealthy and rich helping the poor and less fortunate. Donald Trump and some of his billionaire friends apparently do not feel this way, and their beliefs have trickled down (to use a Ronald Reagan phrase) to others who make up the top two percent in our country. Now I don't make that statement about everybody who has money. DO NOT MISQUOTE ME. There are many, many, MANY rich and wealthy people who are philanthropic and who give from the heart, not just for a tax deduction. I, personally, am very close to certain people - family members and friends - who are some of the most charitable people I know, and who are generous almost to a fault. But when there are people who are willing to take 30-million Americans and basically see them die because they cannot afford health insurance...when there are people who are willing to not help poor, elderly and disabled people when they are hungry and they need affordable housing and other means to live...then with a "flat tax," many of those individuals who do need help will be worse off than they already are today. As for your thought on "no deductions"...without deductions...and I mean legitimate deductions...people who have serious health problems would literally wind up dead. I do not make the above statements to be melodramatic...just truthful.

      GBD

      END OF PART THREE OF FOUR

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    4. PART FOUR OF FOUR

      I have NEVER in five years of writing this column have I ever before used the kind of language that I used to the previous reader. And perhaps it was a bit over the top...but his or her offensive remarks to this particular commentary...and I believe to many others that I have written...are insensitive to millions of people throughout our nation. I, therefore, don't believe I "over-reacted" to his or her comments. If you don't believe that he or she was not "hateful" then simply put, I cannot agree with you. You can think that his or her remarks were "not that far off base" but then to you I say what I have said to other readers of his ilk...shame on you. Donald Trump is the biggest "name-caller" on the planet. And so are many of my readers including the previous one who responded to this particular column. I disagreed with President George W. Bush...with President George H. W. Bush...with President Ronald Reagan and with President Gerald Ford on most, if not all, of their policies and views. But they were decent, honorable men. Simply put, they were gentlemen. They were nice people. The language spoken by Donald Trump was never uttered by those four Republican presidents...and you would never hear anything like we hear from Donald Trump from Democrats such as President Barack Obama, President Bill Clinton and President Jimmy Carter. I could go back further to other presidents - even as far back as George Washington - but I think you get my point. I wrote a column recently where I noted that Trump compares himself to President Abraham Lincoln and Trump says he can be the second greatest president in American history next to Lincoln. "Honest Abe" would be appalled to hear that Trump thinks he is nearly as great as the man who issued the Emancipation Proclamation.

      So when I get a reader - like the previous one - I, most often, have "bitten my tongue" (so to speak) when responding to people like that. But I finally had to make a verbal attempt at shutting his or her mouth. But I doubt I did.

      GBD

      END OF PART FOUR OF FOUR

      END OF FOUR-PART RESPONSE

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    5. Gary, I know you are not a fan of the President or his policies but why must you misstate the facts of what he has said or done? When he said things about criminals, rapists and drug dealers he was talking about illegal aliens, never about all Mexicans or Latinos. You claim to be a journalist so please stick to the facts. Doing what you did here is the exact reason why Conservative feels (rightfully so in my opinion) that the “mainstream” media is biased against them and the President. As for taxes a flat tax is a fair tax and if the government would repeal and replace the ACA with something that worked and was fair and affordable, tax deductions for health care would not be needed. The ACA does not fit the needs to most Americans, what it must be replaced with needs to have the flexibility for people to purchase what they need not what the governments says that have to have, such as a woman who has had her children (or not) but had her tubes tied should not have to purchase a plan that covers pregnancy/labor and delivery, people that don’t go a lot to the doctors should be able to purchase a plan that covers major care, surgery, cancer etc, but if they sneeze three times and want to go to a doctor they are willing to pay the $100 for an office visit. We should be able to purchase insurance across state lines for the best deal possible. People with pre-existing condition need to have access to a good plan at a fair rate with good coverage. Everyone has to have the availability of a plan with lower rates, lower deductibles and low co-pays. People have the right to purchase what they need and or want, not a government mandate. I know that was off topic but I felt it needed to be said.

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    6. Yes, I am a journalist and I do "stick to the facts." The following is what Donald Trump said during his June 16th, 2015 speech when he announced his candidacy for the Republican nomination for president. "When Mexico sends its' people, they're not sending their best. They're not sending you, they're not sending you. They're sending people that have lots of problems. And they're bringing those problems with us. They're bringing drugs...they're bringing crime...they're rapists. They're sending us not the right people. It's coming from more than Mexico. It's coming from all over South and Latin America." Nowhere in those words by Donald Trump did he say anything about "illegal aliens." So you are incorrect. And you are not correct when you say that Trump "never" said "all Mexicans or Latinos." He did, in fact, state "When Mexico sends its people." And he said "It's coming from all over South and Latin America." So my words the facts.

      It is your opinion that a flat tax is a fair tax, but as I have discussed above and at other times over the last five years, such a tax will only cripple the poor and middle-class.

      The Affordable Care Act is the law of the land and it will never be "repealed and replaced." As I have noted many times before, the ACA needs repairs and improvements. President Barack Obama would be the first person to agree. And when Republicans finally decide to get together with Democrats, perhaps the ACA can be repaired and improved. And I think Congress now understands that. But Trump - even this week - has more than hinted that he wants a "repeal and replace" movement to continue. Since you did acknowledge that you went "off topic," that's all I will state on the subject.

      But if you read my future columns - which I hope you will...and should you decide to comment - which I hope you will...please do some research. I always do my best to do that. Am I ever wrong? Of course. I am human just like any journalist working for a major television or radio network, newspaper or magazine (a background I also have)...and there are times that they...and I...can make mistakes. But personally, I do my very best in an effort to quote facts. However, that being said, when it's purely my own views...my own thoughts...my own opinion...then I have that right...just as you do.

      GBD

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    7. I think anyone who was being fair knows the statements were about illegal immigrants, not all Mexican or all Latinos. This is why we say the “mainstream” media is biased against Conservatives and the President. As for a flat tax you need to do the numbers, a middle class person with a net taxable income of $40,000 today would pay $4,072.50 in Fed Income tax, under the plan I have seen that same person would pay $3,200.00. A person with a $75,000.00 income would pay today $10,367.00 under a flat tax he would pay $10,000.00, smaller but still a savings. Today a person like Buffett who in had an adjusted gross income of almost $12,000,000.00 in 2015 and paid only $1,800,000 in tax (still a lot ) under a flat tax he would have paid $2,156,500. $356,000 more with a flat tax. Do the numbers.

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    8. I can only go by the words spoken by Donald Trump. I certainly do not agree that "anyone who was being fair knows the statements were about illegal immigrants." We don't know that. The fact of the matter is - as I noted in my column above and my column after Trump's meltdown press conference...Donald Trump is a bigot. I stated it in columns throughout the campaign and he has proven it more and more since the election and since his inauguration. This is the problem we have with Trump. He says things that he and Republicans like you claim weren't exactly what Trump really meant. Or his press secretary or senior advisers will get on television and say that Trump was just "joking." His comments are no joking matter. They are very serious and he is a danger to our country and to the American people. The "mainstream" media - as you and others seem to want to call it, in a derogatory tone - is not "biased against conservatives and the president." We can only go on what Trump actually said...not what he in his mind thinks he said.

      As for your analysis of a flat tax, I clearly do not agree and neither do numerous economists and economic experts throughout the country, not to mention Democrats in Congress. So based on what information that has been provided to me - by professionals in the field, since I am not an economist - a flat tax would not benefit the poor and the middle class. It would make their lives much more difficult and practically impossible to survive...if not impossible at all.

      GBD

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  7. Just a quick correction on June 10, 1964 Senator Byrd completed a 14 hour 13 minute filibuster against the Civil Rights Act of 1964 which he later voted against. In 1965 after campaigning against the Voting Rights Act he did not vote at all on it. He abstained.

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    1. I will respond to your above comment on Senator Robert Byrd with part of an op-ed piece from Pulitzer Prize winning columnist, the great Eugene Robinson, who is also the associate editor of the Washington Post, which is where the op-ed was published on June 29th, 2010.

      "Byrd's trajectory -- from bitter segregationist to beloved dean of the Senate -- is actually a hopeful, quintessentially American story. He was a man of his age, and his views on race closely tracked the views of the constituents he so loyally represented. There was a time when separate-but-unequal was a mainstream position among whites in the South, and the fact that Byrd's early words and deeds are so shocking today is a testament to how far the nation has come."

      Gene went on to write...

      "Byrd's career is also a reminder that no political party has a monopoly on wisdom or virtue. It was Southern Democrats who tried desperately to deny equal rights to African Americans, and it was the votes of Northern Republicans that helped pass the landmark legislation. Southern whites switched parties and made the South a GOP bastion. This has been the situation for decades now -- but it won't last forever."

      In case you don't know, Eugene Robinson is African-American. He ended his column with the following.

      "Robert Byrd's amazing career reminds us that times really do change. And so do people."

      Unfortunately - and I hope I'm not out of bounds by saying that I think Gene would agree with me - but I doubt that Donald Trump will ever change...except for the worse.

      GBD

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