Monday, October 29, 2018

FROM GUNS TO BOMBS...THE HATE AND VIOLENCE MUST STOP IN THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA

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This column - in part or in its entirety - may be freely shared among individuals, and it may be reprinted, republished, or quoted in any medium including broadcast, cable, satellite, print, Internet, and other forms of media, but only when crediting Gary B. Duglin and The Controversy.     

     My opening sentence to this editorial is not hyperbole and is not issued to be opposition rhetoric by an ultra-liberal, progressive Democrat, but a statement of fact by a concerned American who fears that more and more people are going to die at the hands of evil and deranged madmen with guns, if certain deadly firearms are not outlawed.  Eleven people were senselessly and tragically murdered and six others were wounded during a shooting rampage at Tree Of Life Congregation on Saturday morning, October 27th, 2018 when an anti-Semitic gunman - carrying an arsenal of weapons - burst in to this Pennsylvania house of worship and fired rounds of bullets from a deadly Colt AR-15 semiautomatic rifle and three Glock .357 handguns. Authorities report the gunman used all four weapons.  The Glocks were reportedly purchased legally.  As for the AR-15, it is unclear how that weapon was obtained.  A shotgun was later discovered in the suspect's car.  

     As death rang out from his guns, hate rang out from his mouth as the killer allegedly shouted "All Jews must die" while he blasted bullets throughout a 20-minute massacre.  

     In an interview with ABC News anchor George Stephanopoulos on the Monday, October 29th broadcast of Good Morning America, Rabbi Jeffrey Myers said that shortly after the synagogue's service had begun on Saturday morning, he "heard a loud sound in our lower lobby, which is one flight of stairs below our sanctuary" which he determined to be gunfire.  The rabbi was able save some of his congregation by evacuating them to another area of the temple.  Others he was sadly unable to reach.  Fortunately, Rabbi Myers happened to be carrying his cell phone that day in the synagogue.  He called 911.  A total of seventeen people were shot including four police officers who responded to the scene in the affluent Squirrel Hill neighborhood of Pittsburgh. Thankfully Rabbi Myers - along with local police and other first responders - acted quickly, otherwise the suspect could have escaped and more people could have been killed.

     According to a study by the Jewish Federation of Greater Pittsburgh, about 48 percent of Jewish children in the Pittsburgh metropolitan area live in Squirrel Hill.  The Anti-Defamation League says the slaughter at Tree Of Life or L'Simcha Congregation is believed to be the deadliest assault in history on the Jewish community in the United States.  The fatalities include men and women ranging in age from 54 to 97. The victims have been identified as Joyce Fienberg, age 75...Richard Gottfried, age 65...Rose Mallinger, age 97...Jerry Rabinowitz, age 66...brothers Cecil Rosenthal, age 59 and David Rosenthal, age 54...Bernice Simon, age 84 and her husband, Sylvan Simon, age 86...Daniel Stein, age 71...Melvin Wax, age 88...and Irving Younger, age 69.

     Federal officials say local police engaged the gunman as he tried to flee the temple, which forced the suspect back inside the building.  After being wounded multiple times by officers, he finally surrendered, was taken in to custody and transported to a local hospital.  

     After being released from the hospital on Monday morning, October 29th, the killer - and yes, he is a killer; there is no need to allege anything at this point - was pushed in a wheelchair while wearing handcuffs as he appeared in federal court that afternoon.  The judge ordered he be held without bail.


     Although his identity is widely known through other means of media, I refuse to give the killer any recognition, so his name will not be revealed in this column.  However, if convicted in a court of law, the 46-year old monster could be sentenced to the death penalty.  He has been booked on twenty-nine criminal counts including eleven federal hate-crime charges.  Court documents indicate that the gunman had been posting anti-Semitic slurs on social media, and that moments before he entered the synagogue, he wrote vicious verbiage on a website that is frequented by white supremacists.  "I can't sit by and watch my people get slaughtered.  Screw your optics.  I'm going in."  The criminal complaint notes that he made statements to law enforcement authorities "evincing an animus towards people of the Jewish faith."  The complaint also states that the suspect told one police official..."They're committing genocide to my people.  I just want to kill Jews."

     As a result of this mass shooting attack, synagogues across America have increased their security, including some presence of armed police officers.

     On September 11th, 2001, I anchored my radio station's all-day coverage of the terrorist attacks.  After 9/11, when I hosted my political talk show, I encouraged my listeners to not live in fear.  Sadly - now more than seventeen years later - with bombs being sent through the mail and people being shot to death in synagogues, churches, schools, and other public places, I have to admit that we are indeed living in an age that is frightening.  I shudder to think what kind of fear the members of Tree Of Life Congregation will live through each and every time they walk in to their temple.  The carnage of October 27th, 2018 will be ensconced in their memories forever.  Men and women, boys and girls, will reflect on that day each year they attend Kol Nidre services for Yom Kippur...and they will remember the people they lost even when they celebrate a Bar Mitzvah or Bat Mitzvah.  Will it ever become easier?  That's a question that nobody can really answer.  From Friday night and Saturday morning services to each and every Jewish holiday, the murders at Tree Of Life will be part of the lives of that community through eternity, just as 9/11 will be for everyone in our country.

     America, as a whole, became united after 9/11.  Hopefully, the city of Pittsburgh will come together following this horrific catastrophe.  But after 9/11, America's commander-in-chief was President George W. Bush.  As much as I disagreed with his politics, Mr. Bush helped to bring a peaceful calm to our nation amid a devastating tragedy when radicalized international terrorists attacked America on our soil. President Bush had the impossible task of attempting to comfort us, as we all mourned through an earth-shattering day.  Al-Qaeda leader Osama bin Laden ordered his terrorists to hijack four U.S. passenger airlines and to use those aircrafts as weapons to kill Americans.  After we suffered a numbing day on September 11th, 2001, President Bush addressed the nation from The Oval Office in The White House. Part of Mr. Bush's consoling speech included the following.  "Tonight I ask for your prayers for all those who grieve, for the children whose worlds have been shattered, for all whose sense of safety and security has been threatened.  And I pray they will be comforted by a Power greater than any of us."  President Bush concluded by saying..."This is a day when all Americans from every walk of life unite in our resolve for justice and peace.  America has stood down enemies before, and we will do so this time.  None of us will ever forget this day, yet we go forward to defend freedom and all that is good and just in our world."

     Although each of my readers undoubtedly know the facts about 9/11, we should never forget exactly what happened that day.  Al-Qaeda terrorists first brought down the Twin Towers of the World Trade Center in New York City.  American Airlines Flight 11 and United Airlines Flight 175 were crashed into the North and South Towers in lower Manhattan.  A third airplane - American Airlines Flight 77 - was crashed into The Pentagon in Arlington, Virginia.  The fourth plane - United Airlines Flight 93 - crashed into a field in Stonycreek Township near Shanksville, Pennsylvania.  It is thought that the terrorists intended to crash that aircraft into The White House or the United States Capitol, but courageous passengers thwarted the hijackers and, by doing so, saved the lives of perhaps hundreds, if not thousands, of people in Washington, DC.  The 9/11 attacks killed 2,996 people and injured more than 6,000 others.  In the months and years following the attacks, additional people succumbed to 9/11-related cancer and respiratory diseases.

     On April 19th, 1995, two domestic terrorists bombed the Alfred P. Murrah Federal Building in Oklahoma City causing 168 people to be killed and more than 680 others to be injured.  At a Memorial Prayer Service on April 23rd, President Bill Clinton delivered an eloquent and comforting address, which included the following compassionate passages.  "To all the members of the families here present who have suffered loss, though we share your grief, your pain is unimaginable, and we know that."  Mr. Clinton continued..."Let us let our own children know that we will stand against the forces of fear. When there is talk of hatred, let us stand up and talk against it. When there is talk of violence, let us stand up and talk against it.  In the face of death, let us honor life.  As Saint Paul admonished us, let us 'not be overcome by evil, but overcome evil with good.'"  In conclusion, President Clinton offered these profound words of wisdom.  "Wounds take a long time to heal.  But we must begin.  Those who are lost, now belong to God.  Some day we will be with them.  But until that happens, their legacy must be our lives."

     When the space shuttle Challenger exploded on January 28th, 1986, President Ronald Reagan offered Americans comfort and composure after witnessing such a gruesome and distressing disaster.  In a speech delivered from The Oval Office, Mr. Reagan embraced all Americans.  "Nancy and I are pained to the core by the tragedy of the shuttle Challenger.  We know we share this pain with all of the people of our country.  This is truly a national loss."  President Reagan concluded his address with a salute to the Challenger astronauts.  "The crew of the space shuttle Challenger honored us by the manner in which they lived their lives.  We will never forget them, nor the last time we saw them, this morning, as they prepared for their journey and waved goodbye and slipped the surly bonds of Earth to touch the face of God."  On February 1st, at a memorial service at Johnson Space Center in Houston, Texas, Mr. Reagan's command of language and communication continued.  "What we say today is only an inadequate expression of what we carry in our hearts.  Words pale in the shadow of grief.  They seem insufficient even to measure the brave sacrifice of those you loved and we so admired."

     "We gather here in memory of twenty beautiful children and six remarkable adults. They lost their lives in a school that could have been any school in a quiet town full of good and decent people that could be any town in America.  Here in Newtown, I come to offer the love and prayers of a nation.  I am very mindful that mere words cannot match the depths of your sorrow, nor can they heal your wounded hearts.  I can only hope it helps for you to know that you're not alone in your grief, that our world, too, has been torn apart, that all across this land of ours, we have wept with you.  We've pulled our children tight.  And you must know that whatever measure of comfort we can provide, we will provide.  Whatever portion of sadness that we can share with you to ease this heavy load, we will gladly bear it.  Newtown, you are not alone."

     The words in the above paragraph are the touching and powerful quote from President Barack Obama's speech after twenty first grade students and six educators were shot to death at Sandy Hook Elementary School in Newtown, Connecticut on December 14th, 2012.  Soon after police and other first responders arrived to the school, the deranged gunman committed suicide by shooting himself in the head. Any American with a heart, shed tears after those six and seven-year old children were murdered in a bloodbath of horror.

     You'll notice that by introducing the heartfelt remarks by Presidents Bush, Clinton, Reagan and Obama, I did so by describing that each gave Americans "comfort" in the wake of agonizing sorrow.  But now we are handicapped by Donald Trump.  This was a time when Trump should have...and could have...stepped up to the plate to hit a home run and prove that he can be a leader for ALL Americans... not just those who support his politics.  For a brief moment, Trump made an attempt at indicating that he was a real president of the United States and not an "apprentice" who lacks the experience and the know-how to serve in such an office. On October 27th - after the mass shooting at the synagogue in Pennsylvania - Trump expressed that "the hearts of all Americans are filled with grief."  He continued by declaring that "It will require all of us working together to extract the hateful poison of anti-Semitism.  The scourge of anti-Semitism can't be ignored." Also that same day, Trump voiced that "This wicked act of mass murder is pure evil.  Our minds cannot comprehend the cruel hate and the twisted malice that could cause a person to unleash such terrible violence during a baby-naming ceremony.  This was a baby-naming ceremony at a sacred house of worship on the holy day of Sabbath."

     Why couldn't Donald Trump articulate such sincere sentiments from behind the desk of The Oval Office...in a peaceful setting...void of cheers and applause from a rally filled with his voters...and disconnected from the campaign trail and the mid-term elections?  Because Trump takes advantage of every opportunity - even through tragedy - to satisfy his narcissism and his ego.  What could have been presented as a genuine presidential address with a backdrop of The White House merely became the preamble to more and more harsh tones towards his opposition in the Democratic Party.  At a rally in Illinois the same day, Trump flipped from being a president who wants us to believe he truly cares about everyone in a unified manner...to verbally bashing Democrats...including his favorite targets - his opponent from the 2016 election, former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton...as well as Senator Elizabeth Warren, Democrat of Massachusetts...and Congresswoman Maxine Waters, Democrat of California.

     In a week when a sick-minded and evil individual terrorized our nation by sending pipe bombs to high-profile Democrats and others who support the liberal and progressive agenda...Trump refused to back down on his hateful rhetoric towards Democrats.  But following a nationwide manhunt, a 56-year old male suspect - a crazed fanatic of Donald Trump - was arrested by local and federal authorities in Plantation, Florida on Friday, October 26th, 2018.  Fingerprint and DNA evidence helped the F.B.I. and other law enforcement authorities to identify the alleged bomb-maker.  The van that he allegedly drove to ship his packages was covered with pro-Trump stickers, along with anti-Democrat images including a picture of Hillary Clinton with a target over her face.  Another sticker simply stated..."CNN Sucks."  The suspect is accused of building fourteen explosive devices and mailing them to prominent politicians and others who support the Democratic Party and who have criticized Trump.  The parcels were manila envelopes lined with bubble wrap.  All of the packages were sent via the United States Postal Service, but each was intercepted before reaching the intended victims.  Fortunately, none of the homemade bombs were ever detonated so nobody was hurt.  The list of individuals who were targeted by the would-be assassin include the aforementioned Secretary Clinton and Congresswoman Waters...plus former President Barack Obama...former Vice President Joe Biden...former Attorney General Eric Holder...former C.I.A. Director John Brennan, whose intended bomb was sent to CNN Center in New York City even though Brennan is an on-air analyst for NBC News and MSNBC...former Director of National Intelligence James Clapper...Senator Cory Booker, Democrat of New Jersey... Senator Kamala Harris, Democrat of California...Oscar-winning actor, Robert DeNiro... New York billionaire philanthropist George Soros, who was first to receive a bomb-enclosed package...and California billionaire philanthropist Tom Steyer.  As with the suspect in the Pennsylvania synagogue shootings, I have no desire to give any publicity to the alleged mail-bomber, so his name is deliberately omitted from this column.

     A supermarket - not too far from where I live - was the site recently of a double homicide.  It's not safe to go anywhere anymore when men with guns will shoot people to death in grocery stores, houses of God, and classrooms with children.

     Donald Trump's reaction to the murders at Tree Of Life Congregation was not only about sympathy for the loss of life.  Politics and his obvious opposition to stronger gun laws in our country were also tossed in to the mix when Trump responded to reporters as he boarded Air Force One on route to campaign stops in Indiana and Illinois following the synagogue deadly shootings.  Trump insists that America's current gun laws had "little to do" with the killings in Pennsylvania. Instead, Trump went on the defensive by stating..."If they had protection inside, the results would have been better."

     At a Monday, October 29th news conference, White House press secretary Sarah Huckabee Sanders announced..."Tomorrow the president and first lady will travel to Pennsylvania to express their support of the American people and grieve with the Pittsburgh community."  But will it simply be for show?  Will Donald Trump on Tuesday night, October 30th resume his attacks on Democrats, the media and anybody who opposes him?  Will he this week go to more rallies...lie to his base...and speak vindictively about Democrats and the press?  After going to Pittsburgh, will Trump later erase any positive...that he attempts to accomplish for the country as a whole...by returning to his bully pulpit and a further divide of our country?  That is all up to Donald Trump and him alone.    

     In an October 27th tweet from former President Obama, he wrote..."All of us have to fight the rise of anti-Semitism and hateful rhetoric against those who look, love, or pray differently.  And we have to stop making it so easy for those who want to harm the innocent to get their hands on a gun."

     Gun laws in the United States must be made tougher.  The National Rifle Association (NRA), Republicans in Congress, and yes, Donald Trump too, contributed to the brutal murders of Jewish grandmothers and grandfathers while they prayed in their synagogue.

     On the evening of June 17th, 2015 - with a Glock 41 .45 caliber handgun - a 21-year old white supremacist murdered nine African-Americans during a prayer service at the Emanuel African Methodist Episcopal Church in downtown Charleston, South Carolina.  Three other people were shot but survived their wounds.  In December 2016, the racist killer was convicted in federal court.  Come January 2017, he was sentenced to be executed and currently remains on death row in an Indiana federal prison.

     It was the morning of November 5th, 2017 when a gunman wearing black tactical gear approached the First Baptist Church in Sutherland Springs, Texas near San Antonio.  Before entering the building, he shot and killed two people outside.  Once inside the church - with a Ruger AR-556 semi-automatic rifle - he opened fire and murdered another twenty-four worshipers and wounded twenty others who were praying at their Sunday service.  As he shot people in the pews, the killer shouted, "Everybody die, motherf---ers."  The service was being photographed by a video camera so the church could later upload a recording of the religious proceedings online.  Therefore, the shootings were also caught on camera.  After the gunman fled the church, a battle ensued with a local resident and former NRA firearms instructor who was armed with an AR-15 semi-automatic rifle.  Stephen Willeford exchanged gunfire with the suspect and shot him twice...one bullet hitting the killer's chest under his tactical gear.  Police later found him dead in his SUV with a self-inflicted gunshot to the head.

     After both the South Carolina and Texas mass shootings, a Republican-controlled Congress still refused to ban assault weapons and will not pass any tougher gun control legislation to protect the American people.  It is obvious that the GOP does not want to jeopardize their pocketbooks because of the amount of money that is contributed to Republicans by the NRA.  Even after toddlers were murdered in Connecticut, Republicans in Congress would not agree to change gun laws in our country.

     President Obama did issue executive actions after Newtown, including one that blocked people with severe mental illness from buying guns.  But that order was reversed by Donald Trump shortly after he took office when Trump signed a Republican-led bill in to law that rolled back Mr. Obama's regulation.

     When is all the hate and violence going to stop in America?  From guns to bombs, we are living in a time when our political climate is so volatile and incendiary that it is actually causing people to commit murder.  I understand the need to give an opinion on an issue as I do it everyday.  That is our First Amendment right as Americans. And sometimes our views - both from the right and the left - can be inflammatory.  But there is no reason whatsoever for anyone to ever become so hateful that it results in violence.  My heart breaks for the people who pray at Tree Of Life Congregation.  Although a bris was among the ceremonies being conducted at the temple that day, no children were physically injured.  As a Jew myself...and as an American...I'm sick over the devastation that stole the lives of innocent souls who that morning were celebrating a new baby's entrance in to the world and in to Jewish life.  I am truly sad for the people who are mourning the loss of their loved ones and friends...all because the demonic mind of an anti-Semitic savage is riddled with hate.

     Churches and synagogues are solemn, sacred sanctuaries.  No one should be afraid to attend their chosen house of worship.  But is that where we are today? God help us if it is.

     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.

Please express your personal opinions by following the instructions above.  And thank you for reading The Controversy.

Copyright 2018 Gary B. Duglin and TheControversy.net.  All Rights Reserved.

Wednesday, October 24, 2018

POINT THE FINGER OF BLAME AT DONALD TRUMP FOR THE VIOLENCE AND HATRED IN AMERICA

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     Let me take you back to the 2016 presidential campaign.  I remind you of Republican candidate Donald Trump's vicious comments while on the campaign trail.

     In November 2015, Trump approved of supporters who beat and kicked a protester at an Alabama rally.  Trump declared..."Maybe he should be roughed up." But Republicans voted for him.

     About a protester at a February 2016 rally in Las Vegas, Nevada, Trump told his audience... "I'd like to punch him in the face." Still, Republicans cast their ballots for him.

     Also in February 2016, when protesters were demonstrating at an Iowa rally, Trump made this harsh statement.  "I'd like to knock the crap out of them.  I promise you I will pay for the legal fees."  And yes...Republicans continued to raise Trump on to a pedestal.

     Then again in February 2016 - this time at a rally in Michigan - Trump was willing to help his supporters who were ganging up on a protester.  "Try not to hurt him... but if you do, I'll defend you in court.  Don't worry about it."  And Republicans cheered on Trump and rooted for him all the way to the voting booths.

     Donald Trump actually became president of the United States after encouraging violence at his campaign rallies.  When the person who sits behind The Oval Office desk flirts with violence and spews such venomous hate off his toxic tongue, that's why certain off-the-wall Republicans feel they can send explosive devices to high profile Democrats.  On Wednesday morning, October 24th, 2018, pipe bombs were sent in packages to the home of former President Barack Obama and former First Lady Michelle Obama in Washington, DC and to the home of former President Bill Clinton and former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton in Chappaqua, New York.  Other top level Democrats who were sent packages with explosive devices include former U.S. Attorney General Eric Holder and Congresswoman Maxine Waters of California, among others.  In addition, a package with a bomb was received by the mail room at CNN Center in New York City.  It was addressed to former CIA Director John Brennan - an NBC News and MSNBC analyst - who has been vocally critical of Donald Trump. On Monday, October 22nd, a package was also sent by mail to the Bedford, New York home of liberal billionaire philanthropist George Soros.  The device was found in his mail box.  Trump has been brutally critical of President Obama, of President and Secretary Clinton, of Congresswoman Waters, and of CNN.  As for John Brennan, Trump has defined him as "a total lowlife."  All of the bombs were discovered before they were detonated, so fortunately there have not been any injuries. Thankfully, the United States Secret Service and other law enforcement agencies - plus additional first responders - have saved the day. 

     In his 1987 book, The Art Of The Deal, Donald Trump admitted to being violent when he was a kid.  Trump wrote..."In the second grade I actually gave a teacher a black eye.  I punched my music teacher because I didn't think he knew anything about music and I almost got expelled.  I'm not proud of that but it's clear evidence that even early on I had a tendency to stand up and make my opinions known in a very forceful way.  The difference now is that I like to use my brain instead of my fists."  Whether Trump, as a child, ever actually punched his teacher in the eye has some people scratching their heads in wonder if it's really true or not.  However, the above passage is published in Trump's book. 

     Trump's brain - if anyone thinks he has one - has poisoned and brainwashed millions of Americans in to believing that it's okay to be a hater and a liar. Thus, they applaud Trump's rants that, at times, include racist and bigoted statements.

     Donald Trump - during the 2016 campaign - was very close to inciting riots as he advocated violent crime by his base.  But Trump - at political rallies for 2018 congressional candidates - has not stopped calling the media..."the enemy of the people"...and he continues to lead chants of "Lock her up" when criticizing Secretary Clinton, as well as more recently, Congresswoman Waters and Senator Dianne Feinstein of California.  Earlier in October 2018, Trump targeted Democrats as "the party of crime" and accused Democrats of being "an angry left-wing mob."  And people wonder what...or who...has caused America to be so divided.  Seriously?

     Expressing verbal rhetoric - from both sides of the aisle - is a given because of our nation's political climate.  But there is no reason whatsoever to enter in to violent activity of any form.  It's up to Donald Trump to stop inflaming the situation with his incendiary insults and his offensive tirades.

     On November 6th, Americans must vote only for Democrats on their ballots.  It is crucial for the life of our country that control of both the U.S. House of Representatives and the U.S. Senate are returned to the Democratic Party.  Otherwise, more and more people are going to follow in the footsteps of a mentally ill, narcissistic liar who is "proud" to call himself a "nationalist" when that label has historically been an emblem for Nazis and the Ku Klux Klan.

     Donald Trump - on Wednesday afternoon, October 24th - condemned the mailing of pipe bombs to high profile Democrats and tagged the acts..."despicable."  At an unrelated, previously scheduled event, Trump stated..."Acts or threats of political violence of any kind have no place in the United States of America."  If you truly believe that, Donald, then put an end to your detestable tweets and stop being a big, bad bully who instigates such criminal activity.  Instead...try being the president, Donald.  Trump later went on to remark..."In these times we have to unify. We have to come together." Unfortunately, Donald...I doubt that you really mean it.

     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.

Please express your personal opinions by following the instructions above.  And thank you for reading The Controversy.

Photo credits: The Associated Press and The Guardian (Donald Trump #1), Mark Humphrey/Shutterstock (Donald Trump #2) and Occupy Democrats (Donald Trump #3)

Copyright 2018 Gary B. Duglin and TheControversy.net.  All Rights Reserved.

Friday, October 19, 2018

VOTING FOR REPUBLICANS IN THE MIDTERMS WILL ESCALATE DONALD TRUMP'S EVIL AGENDA AND ULTIMATELY DESTROY AMERICA

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This column - in part or in its entirety - may be freely shared among individuals, and it may be reprinted, republished, or quoted in any medium including broadcast, cable, satellite, print, Internet, and other forms of media, but only when crediting Gary B. Duglin and The Controversy.

     White American women need to acknowledge that they were instrumental in electing a lunatic scumbucket to the United States presidency.  In the 2016 election, 53 percent of Caucasian females voted for Donald Trump.

     After a federal judge - on Tuesday, October 16th, 2018 - dismissed porn star Stormy Daniels' defamation lawsuit against the "misogynist-in-chief," Trump viciously slurred the woman he allegedly had an extra-marital sexual encounter with in 2006.  Trump has been known over the years for abusing women with venomous insults off his toxic tongue and via ruthless and reckless tweets.  In his latest offensive remarks towards Daniels on Twitter, Trump labeled the adult film actress..."Horseface."

     Trump actually referred to a woman as "Horseface."  And yet my Republican readers will undoubtedly chastise me for calling Trump a "lunatic scumbucket."  He deserves to be designated with a much worse moniker than that.

     I know I shouldn't be shocked (and I'm not) that Trump would be so repugnant, but it's still mind-boggling to think that the president of the United States could be so vile.  But of course he's done it over and over again.  Donald Trump is an embarrassment and a disgrace to the American flag and to the Constitution that he has sworn to uphold.

     Trump's former attorney, Michael Cohen, paid Daniels - whose real name is Stephanie Clifford - $130,000 in hush money prior to the presidential election in order to keep her lips zipped about the fling Daniels allegedly had with Trump just weeks after his wife, Melania, gave birth to their son, Barron.

     Daniels insists she spent one night with Trump where intercourse was performed. Trump denies having sex with Daniels.  But then, Trump lied about knowing about the money that was paid to Daniels.  Lawyer Cohen - known in the past as Trump's "fixer" - testified on August 21st, 2018 before a judge in federal court that Trump "directed" him to pay Daniels the big bucks as a campaign expense to influence the 2016 election.  Cohen admitted under oath that he was fully aware he was committing a crime by obeying an order from "Individual-1 (who) had become the president of the United States" in January 2017.  Legal scholars say Cohen's allegations make Trump himself an "unindicted co-conspirator."  Trump has called Cohen a liar.

     In my column two years ago on September 29th, 2016, titled NO WOMAN SHOULD VOTE FOR DONALD TRUMP, I wrote..."Donald Trump's misogynistic and sexist slurs have been endless.  His nauseating and obscene remarks have not been spewed just throughout Campaign 2016, but for many, many years."

     In a 2005 appearance with radio personality Howard Stern, Trump ranked actress Nicollette Sheridan in a disparaging way.  "A person who's flat-chested is hard to be a 10."

     In a 2006 television interview that aired on sister celebrity programs Entertainment Tonight and The Insider, Trump callously called actress Rosie O'Donnell "disgusting.  I mean both inside and out."  And when she was a co-host on Barbara Walter's ABC talk show, The View, Trump walloped O'Donnell with more wicked words when he told ET and The Insider that if The View was his show, "I'd look her right in that fat, ugly face of hers, I'd say Rosie, you're fired."  The following year, Trump crudely tagged O'Donnell "a slob" and "a pig" during a 2007 TV interview with Larry King.

     In 2011, Trump nastily defined columnist Gail Collins of The New York Times... "the face of a dog."

     In 2012, Trump took on superstar entertainer Bette Midler and targeted her as "grotesque" and "an extremely unattractive woman."

     Also in 2012, Trump tweeted that Arianna Huffington - the co-founder and then editor-in-chief of The Huffington Post - was "unattractive both inside and out.  I fully understand why her former husband left her for a man.  He made a good decision." Former Republican Congressman Michael Huffington of California came out as bisexual and, in 1997, his marriage to Arianna Huffington ended in divorce.

     It was after an August 2015 Republican presidential debate when Trump's indecent language attacked debate moderator Megyn Kelly (then of Fox News, now of NBC News).  "You could see there was blood coming out of her eyes.  Blood coming out of her wherever."

     A month later, in September 2015, the vulgar Trump was downright despicable to then Republican presidential candidate Carly Fiorina during an interview Trump gave to Rolling Stone magazine.  "Look at that face!  Would anyone vote for that?  Can you imagine THAT...the face of our next president?"  On Thursday, October 18th, 2018, Fiorina publicly slammed Trump for using the derogatory term "Horseface" about Stormy Daniels.  Fiorina told Anderson Cooper on his CNN program, Anderson Cooper 360, that Trump's repulsive remark has brought political insults "to a new low."

     Alicia Machado - now an American citizen, but originally from Venezuela - wore the crown of Miss Universe 1996.  The former beauty pageant winner says that in 1997, Trump - who, at the time, owned the Miss Universe and Miss U.S.A. pageants - harassed her over her weight after she put on a few pounds.  In a Hillary Clinton campaign video - which was posted on Twitter in September 2016 - Machado claimed Trump described her as "ugly" and "fat," and that "Sometimes he'd 'play' with me and say...'Hello Miss Piggy'...'Hello Miss Housekeeping'."  Machado and former Secretary of State Clinton assert that Trump branded the beauty queen with the bigoted nickname "Miss Housekeeping" because she is Latina, which unfairly contends that women who are of Latin ethnicity are nothing but maids.  Trump is detestable and he sickens me.

     And then, of course, there's the Access Hollywood video when Trump
grandstanded to the show's then co-host Billy Bush about Trump's sexcapades... allegedly with television personality Nancy O'Dell, among others.

     "I moved on her, actually.  You know she was down on Palm Beach.  I moved on her...and I failed.  I'll admit it.  I did try and f--k her.  She was married.  No, no, Nancy.  No this was...and I moved on her very heavily.  In fact, I took her furniture shopping.  She wanted to get some furniture.  I said, 'I'll show you where they have some nice furniture.'  I took her out furniture...  I moved on her like a bitch.  But I couldn't get there.  And she was married.  Then all of a sudden, I see her.  She's now got the big phony tits and everything.  She's totally changed her look."

     The conversation continued as the Access Hollywood bus arrived at NBC studios in Burbank, California and Trump noticed actress Arianne Zucker who he was meeting that day to videotape a scene with her on Days Of Our Lives.

     "Yeah, that's her...with the gold.  I better use some Tic Tacs just in case I start kissing her.  You know, I'm automatically attracted to beautiful...  I just start kissing them.  It's like a magnet.  Just kiss.  I don't even wait.  And when you're a star, they let you do it.  You can do anything."  Billy Bush replied..."Whatever you want."  And Trump uttered the line that nobody should forget.  "Grab 'em by the p---y.  You can do anything."

     There are more women who have been plagued by the evil of Donald Trump, but the aforementioned examples give you the gist of why no woman should ever vote for Trump and why no woman should ever vote for any candidate who supports Trump.  For women to have cast their ballots for him in 2016 will baffle me for the rest of my life and will leave historians scratching their heads in bewilderment for centuries to come.

     As with everything else, Donald Trump - the narcissist that he is - has made the upcoming midterm elections all about himself.  He has repeatedly declared that a vote for any Republican congressional candidate is a vote for Trump. Trump's obnoxious behavior should not be rewarded by handing him a Republican-controlled Congress.

     The late Thomas P. "Tip" O'Neill famously said..."All politics is local."  But the former speaker of the House would be wrong today with Donald Trump being part of the mix.  At a time when Trump has single-handedly polarized our country, a politician is unable to focus on matters concerning his or her state, district, or community because voters today are concentrating on whether a candidate running for office is a Trump supporter or if that candidate opposes the diabolical lies and the hateful rhetoric that are synonymous with Trump in America's divisive political climate.

     Unfortunately, Americans can no longer vote for the person because we have to vote solely for the party.  Donald Trump has made it so that no decent, honorable Republican candidate (and yes, there are some) would ever be backed by a Democratic voter...and no worthy and esteemed Democrat who is seeking a political post would ever receive a vote by a Republican.  But then...there are Independents. Hopefully, each true "on the fence" Independent will have a conscience on November 6th, 2018 and they will realize that anyone who can root for Trump's ugly agenda should not be elected to either the U.S. Senate or the U.S. House of Representatives.

     Donald Trump's plan for America will continue to bring misfortune, crisis, and death to people throughout our nation.  Americans are no longer part of the human race, but instead we are identified as members of the blue race, the red race, and the purple race.  Since the beginning of time, bigotry and prejudice have run amok around the globe.  Racism in the United States - especially towards African-Americans and Latinos - has tragically moved in a wrong-headed direction.  But liberalism and conservatism have, in many ways, caused more bitterness and hatred across our country.  Every issue, every matter, every item of discussion today quickly becomes a political argument.  In the past, the most benign topic to talk about was the weather.  But we can't even share a conversation about the weather anymore without entering in to a debate about global warming, climate change, the environment in general, and who's responsible for the death and destruction from a hurricane.
       
     Donald Trump is a hostile and vindictive varmint who thrives on being a heinous thug.  After the many Trump quotes you have read in this column - which are documented, substantiated facts - all women should vote only for Democrats on November 6th so that the Democratic Party regains control of both houses in Congress.  Women...Donald Trump is morally and mentally unfit to be president of the United States. Do not give him the opportunity to move forward with his presidency in ways that will destroy America. Do not vote for Republicans.  And if you're a man...and you care at all about women...then that goes for you too.

     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.

Please express your personal opinions by following the instructions above.  And thank you for reading The Controversy.

Photo credits: David Becker/Reuters (Donald Trump #1), Dominick Reuter/Reuters (Donald Trump #2) and Occupy Democrats (Donald Trump is unfit for the presidency)

Copyright 2018 Gary B. Duglin and TheControversy.net.  All Rights Reserved.

Saturday, October 13, 2018

VOTE OUT REPUBLICANS ON NOVEMBER 6TH

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     All Democrats must vote for all Democrats on November 6th, 2018.  Anyone else who opposes Donald Trump and the Republicans must vote for all Democrats on your ballots.  Fill the governors' mansions and seats in the state legislatures with only Democrats.  But most importantly...vote for all Democrats to serve in the United States Senate and the U.S. House of Representatives.  Democrats must regain control of both houses of Congress or else America will sink to depths that could take many decades to recover from, and your children...your grandchildren...and your great-grandchildren will suffer even more than we do today.
  
     Don't allow Trump and the Republicans to destroy our country.  It is crucial for all Americans who are against Trump and the GOP to be fired up and totally motivated over the next three or so weeks in order to put the brakes on a reckless agenda by "the puppet-master-in-chief" and his right-wing marionettes. Don't give Republicans the opportunity to ruthlessly move forward with policies that will crush the United States.

     Plan on a major stock market crash if the Republicans stay in office.  If Republicans are elected to the top of Capitol Hill again, plan on your sons and daughters going to war.  Plan on more and more death because Republicans in Congress - combined with a conservative majority in the U.S. Supreme Court - will totally dismantle the Affordable Care Act and thus prohibit millions of Americans from being able to purchase health insurance, not to mention that people with pre-existing conditions will not be able to obtain insurance anywhere.  Plan on more and more death because Republicans will get deeper in to bed with the NRA so there will be more guns on the streets.  Plan on civil rights, human rights, women's rights, gay rights, and other minority rights being stripped if Republicans remain in charge.  
  
     As long as Donald Trump is seated behind The Oval Office desk, there will continue to be vicious hate and venomous bald-faced lies spewed off his toxic tongue.  After listening to all six Trump rallies in October 2018...staff writer Susan B. Glasser of The New Yorker wrote in her October 12th column..."We already know that Trump is the most truth-challenged president ever, that he distorts, misrepresents, and makes things up; that he has something to hide on his taxes; that he loves to mock, bully, criticize, insult, and belittle rivals."

     Donald Trump is dangerous and destructive.  He accuses Democrats of being "the party of crime."  Are you satisfied that the president of the United States slams Democrats as being "totally unhinged" and "crazy?"  Are you content that Trump rants that Democrats are an "angry left-wing mob" who have "gone wacko?"  Never before has a U.S. president expressed such vulgar language about the political opposition.  The First Amendment in our nation's Constitution grants a free press...but Trump maliciously maligns the American media as "the enemy of the people."  Yet despite such vile verbiage towards Democrats and journalists by a sitting U.S. president, Republicans in Congress - for the most part - do not speak out against him.  Do you really want a Congress that supports a president who calls Nazis "very fine people"...a president who locks up babies and other migrant children in cages?  If your answer to even one of these questions is no...then it's time to make a change.  Vote only for Democrats.

     In her October 12th column, The New Yorker's Susan B. Glasser also observed from Trump's October rallies..."It's the hate, and the sense of actual menace that the president is trying to convey to his supporters.  Democrats aren't just wrong in the manner of traditional partisan differences; they are scary, bad, evil, radical, dangerous.  Trump and Trump alone stands between his audiences and disaster." And yet...my Republican readers and so many other Trump supporters label Democrats as the "haters."  The hate all stems from Trump and the fanatics who worship him.  No matter what he said or did during the 2016 campaign...no matter how repugnant it was...no matter how cruel and heartless it was...no matter how raunchy and offensive it was...Trump advocates put him on a pedestal.  Even after admitting to television host Billy Bush in that infamous 2005 Access Hollywood video - which was released in October 2016...just days before the presidential election - that it's okay to sexually assault women, Trump was able to be elected.  Remember the following exchange between Trump and Bush?  "You know, I'm automatically attracted to beautiful...  I just start kissing them.  It's like a magnet.  Just kiss.  I don't even wait.  And when you're a star, they let you do it.  You can do anything."  Billy Bush replied..."Whatever you want."  And Trump uttered the line that nobody should forget.  "Grab 'em by the p---y.  You can do anything."  But people - even women - still voted for Trump.  It will boggle my mind forever as to why they did.  Don't give me a lame excuse that it's because they didn't like Hillary Clinton.  That's not a good enough reason.

     A new poll by ABC News and The Washington Post - released on Friday, October 12th - shows that most Americans oppose the confirmation of Brett Kavanaugh to the U.S. Supreme Court.  The poll indicates that 51 percent of Americans believe that Kavanaugh should not be perched on the highest court in our land, while only 41 percent agree with his confirmation by the U.S. Senate.  Republicans in Congress should have unanimously come together with Democrats to insist that the F.B.I. undertake a full and complete investigation in to sexual assault allegations against Kavanaugh and that no vote be taken by senators until every witness was thoroughly questioned.  Reportedly, there are forty people with possible credible information who were never interviewed by the F.B.I.  Do you truly want a Congress that refused for such action to be taken? If your response is no...then cast your ballot for Democrats only.   

     For a U.S. president to infer that because a journalist was not a citizen of our country...that his disappearance and apparent murder was not important to America...is a disgrace.  Jamal Khashoggi was a legal permanent resident of the United States.  But even if he wasn't...he was a human being who happened to be working with The Washington Post...and the newspaper reports that officials in Turkey say they have video and audio recordings that prove Khashoggi was tortured and killed in the Saudi Arabian consulate in Istanbul.  Khashoggi was a staunch critic of the Saudi Arabian crown prince.  As for Trump taking action with Saudi Arabia...he told reporters at The White House on Thursday, October 11th that he feels it would not be acceptable to give up big bucks from an arms deal with Saudi Arabia.  About any harm to Khashoggi, Trump later in the press conference told reporters..."We don't like it.  We don't like it even a little bit"...but "they're spending $110-billion purchasing military equipment and other things.  I would not be in favor of stopping a country from spending $110-billion, which is an all-time record."  I suppose if you're friends with Trump...or you pay him a boatload of cash...you can get away with murder.  As always with Trump...he cares more about money than anything else. The problem is...his claim about the $110-billion is just another one of Trump's lies.  The truth - according to an October 11th Fact Checker analysis by journalist Glenn Kessler of The Washington Post - is that "Most of the publicly announced items had been previously announced by the Obama administration and there appeared to be few, if any, signed contracts.  Rather, many of the announcements were MOIs - memorandums of intent.  The $110-billion-figure is not real and unlikely to come to fruition - and even if it did, it represents sales far in the future."  If Donald Trump was honest, he'd admit that what concerns him is not a loss of money for the United States, but in his own wallet.  Saudia Arabians have spent tens of millions of dollars at Trump's hotels, country clubs and resorts.  Vanity Fair reports that in March 2017, a Saudi Arabian entourage "almost single-handedly boosted revenue at Trump's New York hotel by 13 percent."

     On Friday, October 12th, Trump told reporters that regarding Jamal Khashoggi... "We're going to find out what happened."  But Trump's initial reaction was still... "Khashoggi is not a United States citizen."  And 35 to 40 percent of our country continue to approve of this narcissistic, money-hungry, powermonger as our nation's president?  How are more than one-third of Americans so enamored by such a fraud? It's obvious that Trump's base wouldn't accept the truth if it bit them in the butts. Trump has hoodwinked people in to believing him.

     Tuesday, November 6th is right around the corner.  Make sure you are registered to vote.  If you're not...then please register today.  Contact your local boards of elections to learn what you need to do to register.  Then on election day...go to the polls and vote for all Democrats.  If you're not available to do so on November 6th then take advantage of early voting - in states that allow it - or vote by absentee ballot.  Vote out the Republicans.  Legally and constitutionally remove Republicans from office with your votes.  And let's bring back America from the bowels of disgust that have been plaguing our nation.

     To my fellow Democrats...to my fellow liberals and progressives...to all left-leaning Independents...and to anyone who opposes Donald Trump and the Republicans...let us be better than the GOP.  I have already voted.  I implore you to perform a duty that all Americans should proudly and enthusiastically exercise.  Our country's Founding Fathers gave you this right.  Vote on November 6th as if it meant your life. Because for some of us...it just may mean exactly that.

     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.

Please express your personal opinions by following the instructions above.  And thank you for reading The Controversy.

Photo credits: Michael de Adder and Toronto Star (Cartoon of Donald Trump)

Copyright 2018 Gary B. Duglin and TheControversy.net.  All Rights Reserved.