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"In this difficult day, in this difficult time for the United States, it is perhaps well to ask what kind of a nation we are and what direction we want to move in. For those of you who are black - considering the evidence there evidently is that there were white people who were responsible - you can be filled with bitterness, with hatred, and a desire for revenge. We can move in that direction as a country, in great polarization - black people amongst black, white people amongst white, filled with hatred toward one another. Or we can make an effort, as Martin Luther King did, to understand and to comprehend, and to replace that violence, that stain of bloodshed that has spread across our land, with an effort to understand with compassion and love. What we need in the United States is not division; what we need in the United States is not hatred; what we need in the United States is not violence or lawlessness; but love and wisdom, and compassion toward one another, and a feeling of justice toward those who still suffer within our country, whether they be white or they be black."
Senator Robert F. Kennedy eloquently articulated those words on April 4th, 1968 as part of a speech that he delivered extemporaneously following the assassination of The Reverend Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. The crowd, in a black neighborhood of Indianapolis, Indiana who were unaware of Dr. King's death until Senator Kennedy spoke of it, listened to the Democratic U.S. senator from New York as he presented his comments from a flatbed truck.
Fast forward more than half a century, and as this year comes to a close, there's one word that tragically represents the 12 months, the 365 days of 2019. But it's a word that also represented the years 2017 and 2018 because of the man who is identified as the 45th President of the United States. The word is hate.
With Donald Trump in The White House, hate crimes have escalated 226 percent in counties across America where Trump held a campaign rally in 2016. That's according to an analysis published in The Washington Post. A study by political scientists at the University of North Texas found that Trump's offensive rhetoric at rallies three years ago "may encourage hate crimes." An annual FBI report, which was published in November 2018, says that the University of North Texas study measured the correlation between locations that welcomed Donald Trump and his traveling hate show, and the subsequent crime rates in later months. The report indicates that the scientists implemented a map from the Anti-Defamation League that keeps track of and examines acts of violence, and then - matching apples to apples, so to speak - the study compared places where a Trump rally was held, to other areas that had much of the same characteristics, including minority groups and active organizations that promote and encourage hate, such as white nationalism.
But Donald Trump downplays white nationalism and doesn't believe it to be a rising threat around the world. Trump thinks "it's a small group of people." But facts prove that white nationalists - also known as white supremacists - were responsible for more than half of extremist-related deaths in 2017. Trump says he is "proud" to call himself a "nationalist" when that label has historically been an emblem for Nazis and the Ku Klux Klan. To quote actress Tea Leoni's character, Elizabeth McCord - the fictional Secretary of State and later President - on the CBS hit dramatic series, Madam Secretary, "Nationalism is a perversion of patriotism." (From Episode 1 of Season 5 titled "E Plurbus Unum," originally aired on October 7th, 2018).
The political scientists who prepared the University of North Texas study "cannot be certain" to solely blame Donald Trump's incendiary language and inflammatory behavior on the rising hate crime numbers in America, but implicating Trump cannot be ignored either. The analysis in The Washington Post says, "It is hard to discount a 'Trump effect' when a considerable number of these reported hate crimes reference Trump." The ADL's data includes incidents of assault, intimidation, and vandalism. Nationwide, hate crimes in the United States catapulted by 17 percent in 2017 - Trump's first year sitting behind The Oval Office desk - compared to 2016 when President Barack Obama was living at 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue.
A horrific hate crime was committed on Saturday night, December 28th, 2019 when a 37-year old Greenwood Lake, New York man - whose handwritten journals, according to law enforcement authorities, contained anti-Semitic writings about "Nazi culture" and "Adolf Hitler" plus drawings of a Star of David and a swastika - stormed into a rabbi's home in Monsey, New York with a machete in his hands and wounded five Hasidic Jews, one seriously. The man - who will not be identified in this column - has pleaded not guilty to five counts of attempted murder and one count of burglary. He allegedly attacked the group of ultra-Orthodox Jews as they celebrated the seventh night of Hanukkah. New York City Police arrested the suspect in the Harlem section of Manhattan about two hours after he allegedly tried to kill the Jews in Rockland County around 10 o'clock. The suspect is being held without bail. Prosecutors from the Southern District of New York filed federal hate crime charges against the man on Monday, December 30th. Authorities say the suspect referenced the Black Hebrew Israelite movement in one of his journals. The Southern Poverty Law Center says some groups within that movement are known to hold anti-Semitic beliefs.
"Giving hate no safe harbor" are five words that too many Americans choose not to embrace. But on September 15th, 2019 - in an electrifying and passionate speech to commemorate the 56th anniversary of the bombing at the 16th Street Baptist Church in Birmingham, Alabama - former Vice President Joe Biden reminded us that it's a phrase that cannot be overlooked. The front-runner candidate in the 2020 presidential race for the Democratic nomination noted with absolute accuracy that "we have not relegated racism and white supremacy to the pages of history."
When a politician - especially one who I respect and admire - spells out the truth about an issue, he generally stimulates my applause. But Vice President Biden didn't express himself to exhilarate my emotions with favor. His reflections focus on the wickedness that strike the freedoms that we cherish as Americans. Heinous and evil chants that are incited by Donald Trump at his rallies provoke and intensify the racism and white supremacy/white nationalism in our country today.
As long as Donald Trump remains in The White House, the venom he spews off his toxic tongue will continue to give the devotees who worship him and follow in his footsteps a pathway to provoke demonic degradation. After the August 11th and 12th, 2017 Charlottesville, Virginia protest, which became a riot, Trump - at a press conference on August 15th, 2017 - blew my mind and the minds of millions of other Americans after the following dialogue with a reporter.
Reporter: "You said there was hatred, there was violence on both sides. Are the..."
Trump continued to prove his racism and his anti-Semitism with his response.
Trump: "Yes, I think there's blame on both sides. If you look at both sides, I think there's blame on both sides."
The reporter followed up.
Reporter: "The neo-Nazis started this. They showed up in Charlottesville to protest..."
Trump interrupted the reporter.
Trump: "And you had some very bad people in that group, but you also had people that were very fine people, on both sides."
After Charlottesville, Vice President Biden noted that "we were in a battle for the soul of this nation." Mr. Biden has repeated those words time and time again since then because unfortunately, not much - if anything - has changed for the better. When he announced on April 25th, 2019 that he is running for President, Vice President Biden also reminded us of Trump's bombshell remarks following the events in Charlottesville. "With those words, the President of the United States assigned a moral equivalence between those spreading hate and those with the courage to stand against it." Mr. Biden did not mince words when he also stated, "If we give Donald Trump eight years in The White House, he will forever and fundamentally alter the character of this nation - who we are - and I cannot stand by and watch that happen." In an email I received from Vice President Biden five months later on September 19th, 2019, he elaborated on his earlier statement. "If we allow Trump four more years, it will fundamentally alter the direction of our country." Joe Biden treats everyone with dignity and respect, so as President, Mr. Biden will work to bring our country together again.
Some of you might be shocked that I - a self-proclaimed ultra-progressive liberal Democrat - would praise a Republican President who is generally recognized as the quintessential conservative of the last half century. Therefore, if I'm bursting your bubble that I'm capable and willing to applaud a non-Democrat, well...so be it. But even though I disagreed with his politics, I am still able to respect and honor a Republican President when that President deserves such accolades.
President Ronald Reagan is widely thought to epitomize the perfect model - the standard - for what a political conservative should be. Why then would I salute him with any warmth? Why would I give him a standing ovation for any words that tripped off his tongue? Because my intellectual integrity guides me to honestly credit Mr. Reagan when his sentiments were communicated with such spectacular splendor.
President Reagan touched me and moved me when, on January 19th, 1989, he delivered an emotional speech on his final full day as America's commander-in-chief. With First Lady Nancy Reagan looking on, our 40th President illustrated and justified with mellifluous tones the reasons why the welcome mat should always be at the front door of the United States of America, and why we need to remain a nation that greets people from all around the world with fellowship and hospitality.
Unlike President Reagan, Donald Trump wants to block immigrants from entering our country unless they've been successfully vetted through Trump's rigorous and excruciatingly difficult process that can take many years of waiting before being approved for citizenship, let alone the freedom to simply live in America and work to support themselves and their families.
Donald Trump has proved to the world that he's a racist and a xenophobe. Trump enraged me and made my blood boil when he was viciously outspoken on day one of his 2016 presidential campaign - June 16th, 2015 - when he introduced his notion to build a wall on the U.S./Mexico border, which Trump vowed to have Mexico pay for, but to this date, Tuesday, December 31st, 2019, Trump's "wall of hate" has not been built, and Mexico has stated unequivocally that it will not lay out one penny or peso for such a wall. Regular readers of The Controversy will recall that I was quite firm with my prediction four years ago that such a barrier would never be constructed.
Trump has egotistically likened himself on more than one occasion to another Republican President, except this one is widely considered the best of the best throughout America's 243-year history. Top billing was given to President Abraham Lincoln by nearly two-hundred political science scholars who were surveyed by the American Political Science Association. Donald Trump was ranked last. Let me repeat that. Donald Trump placed last in a poll about the greatness of America's 45 Presidents. In another survey, President Lincoln received the highest marks and the most favorable rating by 91 presidential historians in a C-SPAN poll. So it nauseates me when Trump compares himself to "Honest Abe" when Trump, to date, - according to The Washington Post - has lied more than 15,000 times since taking the oath of office on January 20th, 2017. Furthermore, President Lincoln - nor President Reagan, for that matter - would have ever uttered the despicable language that Donald Trump used on that spring day four years ago when he, Trump, began to bamboozle certain Americans to think he would be a great President. Remember the following?
"The U.S. has become a dumping ground for everybody else's problems. It's true. And these aren't the best and the finest. 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." Trump continued. "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, and it's coming probably, probably from the Middle East."
On December 21st, 2018, Trump tweeted one of his lies. "Even President Ronald Reagan tried for eight years to build a Border Wall, or Fence, and was unable to do so. Others also have tried. We will get it done, one way or the other!" But nothing in Trump's tweet is true. The Washington Post confirms there is no evidence whatsoever to indicate that President Reagan had any thoughts or plans to build a wall on the U.S./Mexico border.
On that last day of his presidency, Ronald Reagan was heartfelt about people making their journey to America's shores. "Since this is the last speech that I will give as President, I think it's fitting to leave one final thought, an observation about a country which I love. It was stated best in a letter I received not long ago. A man wrote me and said, 'You can go to live in France, but you cannot become a Frenchman. You can go to live in Germany or Turkey, or Japan, but you cannot become a German, a Turk, or Japanese. But anyone, from any corner of the Earth, can come to live in America, and become an American.' Yes the torch of Lady Liberty symbolizes our freedom and represents our heritage, the compact with our parents, our grandparents, and our ancestors. It is that Lady who gives us our great and special place in the world. For it's the great life force of each generation of new Americans that guarantees that America's triumph shall continue unsurpassed in to the next century and beyond. Other countries may seek to compete with us, but in one vital area, as a beacon of freedom and opportunity that draws the people of the world, no country on Earth comes close. This, I believe, is one of the most important sources of America's greatness. We lead the world because, unique among nations, we draw our people, our strength, from every country and every corner of the world. And by doing so we continuously renew and enrich our nation. While other countries cling to the stale past, here in America we breathe life in to dreams, we create the future, and the world follows us in to tomorrow. Thanks to each wave of new arrivals to this land of opportunity, we're a nation forever young, forever bursting with energy and new ideas, and always on the cutting edge, always leading the world to the next frontier. This quality is vital to our future as a nation. If we ever closed the door to new Americans, our leadership in the world would soon be lost." President Reagan went on to say, "Those who become American citizens love this country even more. And that's why The Statue of Liberty lifts her lamp to welcome them to the golden door. It is bold men and women yearning for freedom and opportunity who leave their homelands and come to a new country to start their lives over. They believe in the American dream. And over and over, they make it come true for themselves, for their children, and for others. They give more than they receive. They labor and succeed, and often they are entrepreneurs. But their greatest contribution is more than economic, because they understand in a special way how glorious it is to be an American. They renew our pride and gratitude in the United States of America, the greatest, freest nation in the world, the last best hope of man on Earth."
Our Founding Fathers put out a welcome mat to immigrants from all around the globe. The United States should go back to being a country with open arms along our 2,000-mile southern border (and elsewhere), not a nation that clamps handcuffs on the wrists of people who simply want to pursue the American dream. Just because they are migrants, immigrants, asylum seekers, or refugees doesn't make them criminals. When Americans travel abroad for a vacation, or desire to reside on foreign soil, that wouldn't necessarily make any of us a criminal. Crossing the U.S. border should not be considered breaking the law. Crossing the U.S. border should not be a crime. Immigrants need not be incarcerated. They each need to be given a life of freedom, and we must allow these law abiding individuals and families to stay together and to have a pathway to quick and productive citizenship so their dreams can come true with the hope of an education for their children or themselves and the possibility - with good, hard work - to be prosperous and successful.
Unless you are an ancestor of full-blood native Americans, your family stems from a country other than the United States. Therefore, without immigration, you'd not be who you are and you would not be living in this country. So if you fall in to the category of "My Great-grandparents Were Immigrants," yet you support Donald Trump's racist immigration agenda, I want you to ask yourself one question. What would your great-grandparents think about you and what would they say to you? Think about that. Because your hate is hate towards your own blood relatives. So shame on you.
But the ruthless monster that is Donald Trump refuses to make it easier for migrants to apply for asylum. These are people - good people, decent people - who have escaped the violence, bloodshed, and poverty in their homelands, with a burning desire to start anew in the United States, without the threat of persecution or prosecution. All they hope to attain is an opportunity to live under the umbrella of America's freedoms and liberties, which our Founders envisioned would forever be a bedrock principle for our nation. The Statue of Liberty is an icon of that freedom, and the torch she lifts high above her crown is a symbol of bright light that welcomes everyone to our shores. Everybody deserves a better future for themselves and for their families; one of safety and security, not doom and death.
Donald Trump is still treating Central American Latinos from El Salvador, Guatemala, Honduras and elsewhere as if they were hardened criminals by keeping them locked up. Throughout his presidency, Americans have witnessed appalling and abominable sights of babies and other children locked in cages, after they've been separated from
their parents who were locked in cages too. Yet none of this has convinced about 40 percent of American voters nationwide - or the Republicans on Capitol Hill - that Donald Trump is evil, malicious, delusional, and corrupt. He has exposed people - human beings - not wild animals to perilous predicaments for which he shows no concern. Trump's inhumane practices at migrant detention centers on America's southern border are part of an immigration agenda that is horrid and abhorrent. He is still determined to build his wall even if it means stealing billions of dollars from our military heroes to use as capital to construct it. On September 4th, 2019, Trump redirected 3.6 billion dollars in Pentagon money to erect the structure. But, as of now, while about 76 miles of a previously built barrier has been replaced or reinforced during Trump's presidency, no new wall has been completed. On December 10th, 2019, a federal judge in Texas blocked Trump from using Department of Defense funds to build the wall. However, on December 20th, Trump signed a spending bill with about 1.4 billion dollars earmarked for it. All that being said, I continue to insist that come election day on November 3rd, 2020, there will still be no wall.
At this point, Trump has got to be concerned that his base - or at least a large portion of it who voted for him in 2016 because of his promise to build a wall - will join forces with the rest of the country and recognize that he is nothing more than a manipulative liar, and his ego can't allow anyone to think that Trump is a failure.
Donald Trump needs to take a lesson from Kevin Kline's character, Dave, in the motion picture of the same name. Dave is a perfect double for the President, and so he was asked to impersonate the President who had suffered a massive stroke. But the President was a crook and a real son-of-a-bitch. While playing the part, Dave - a sweetheart of a guy - tells Americans, "I ought to care more about YOU, than I care about me." But Donald Trump can't really emulate Dave because Donald Trump is more like the fictional President in the movie, Dave, than he is like Dave himself. Trump cares about himself more than he does anybody else. In fact, Trump doesn't care at all about anybody else. Trump encapsulates the savagery of uncivilized cruelty in a callous creature who is mentally, morally, and ethically unfit to occupy The Oval Office of The White House.
Donald Trump is worse than a "godfather" goon. Trump's bigotry can in many ways be as noxious to a victim's emotional soul as if the body had been physically assaulted by the thuggery of a mobster.
Let me take you back to the 2016 presidential campaign when candidate Trump encouraged barbaric behavior at his rallies. In November 2015, Trump approved of supporters who beat and kicked a protester at an Alabama rally. "Maybe he should be roughed up." But it was February 2016 when Trump went ballistic at three separate campaign events. About a protester at a rally in Las Vegas, Nevada, Trump told the crowd, "I'd like to punch him in the face." When protesters were demonstrating at an Iowa rally, Trump declared harshly, "I'd like to knock the crap out of them. I promise you I will pay for the legal fees." Finally, at a rally in Michigan, Trump was actually 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 after all of Trump's hateful remarks Republicans rooted for him all the way to the voting booths. I'm still baffled all these years later. Yet Trump has brainwashed millions of Americans in to believing that it's okay to be a hater. Thus, they applaud Trump's rants that, at times in 2019, have included profanities. To hear the President of the United States shout "bullshit" at a venue full of people that include children is absolutely mind-boggling. But parents at Trump's rallies appear to not only accept the vulgarity, but they cheer him on. But Trump's rage is not only
demonstrated at his rallies. His public display of profanity was part of a verbal altercation with a reporter during a press conference on October 2nd, 2019 when Trump lashed out at Congressman Adam Schiff of California - the House Intelligence Committee Chairman - and called the Democrats' impeachment efforts, "Bullshit." Trump appeared extremely angry with animated gestures and shouts of vindictive verbiage. Donald Trump was impeached by the U.S. House of Representatives on December 18th, 2019 and his trial in the U.S. Senate is pending. As a result of all the above, we now suffer an epidemic of hate, for which it might take a generation or more to cure. On December 24th, 2019, when Christmas Eve and Hanukkah were
being celebrated, Donald Trump had no regard for holiday spirit. He slammed California's Nancy Pelosi and claimed the Democratic Speaker of the House "hates the Republican Party." Trump insisted that Mrs. Pelosi "hates all of the people that voted for" him. It is Donald Trump who is the hater, and nobody deserves to be President of the United States who instigates hate, abuses power, obstructs Congress and American justice, and violates his Oath of Office and our nation's Constitution.
As part of his August 29th, 2009 eulogy for Senator Ted Kennedy, President Barack Obama shared the following sentiments. "What we can do is to live out our lives as best we can with purpose, and love, and joy. We can use each day to show those who are closest to us, how much we care about them, and treat others with the kindness and respect that we wish for ourselves. We can learn from our mistakes and grow from our failures. And we can strive at all costs to make a better world." Maybe if Donald Trump took a lesson from President Obama, our world - and specifically our country - would be better.
Some people will argue that America has never been a nation of compassion and love; that because of bigotry and prejudice - since the beginning of time - that there has always been bitterness and hate throughout our country, as there is around our world. But the United States was never as divisive, as polarized, as it is today. The people of America knew how to come together as one at numerous times throughout our history, and we did, despite some of the personal hatred that individuals had toward others.
I personally remember several occasions when Americans joined hands, whether those hands were white, black, brown, yellow or red. First in my mind was when I was a young child. It was over the four days that began on November 22nd, 1963 following the assassination of President John F. Kennedy. Democrats, Republicans and Independents all became one as we mourned the death of our 35th President. Tears of sadness streamed from the eyes of virtually every American whether they had voted for President Kennedy or not.
"That's one small step for (a) man, one giant leap for mankind." When Neil Armstrong spoke those words on the surface of the moon, July 20th, 1969, he brought our nation together from 238,855 miles away.
On July 4th, 1976 America celebrated our 200th anniversary since becoming a nation; the result of our Declaration of Independence. Our country's bicentennial couldn't have come at a better time.
Less than two years earlier, on August 9th, 1974, "our long national nightmare" - to quote our 38th
President Gerald Ford - was "over" with the
resignation of our 37th President Richard Nixon, which was the outcome following more than two years of the Watergate scandal. So America's bicentennial birthday party was the perfect way for us to become unified. We could show not only the love for our republic, and the love for the democracy, liberties and freedoms that we as Americans treasure so dearly, but the love we shared for each other.
Ten years later on May 25th, 1986, we, as a nation, literally held "Hands Across America." On that Sunday spring day - thanks to a genius idea by American music manager and television producer Ken Kragen, who created and organized the project - approximately 6.5 million people (my family and I included) joined hands for fifteen minutes as we attempted to form a continuous human chain across mainland America. As is explained by Wikipedia, "In order to allow the maximum number of people to participate, the path linked major cities and meandered back and forth within the cities. Just as there were sections where the 'line' was six to ten people deep, there were also undoubtedly many breaks in the chain. However, enough people participated that if an average of all the participants had been taken and spread evenly along the route, standing four feet apart, an unbroken chain across the 48 contiguous states would have been able to be formed."
Fifteen years after Americans held hands together, we cried together. No one will ever forget where they were on September 11th, 2001 when al-Qaeda terrorists killed 2,977 innocent people in a series of four coordinated assaults against the United States. More than 25,000 others were injured. An unknown number of additional people have died of 9/11-related cancer and respiratory diseases in the eighteen years following the attacks. Not that I need to remind anybody, but since we need to "Never Forget," 19 hijackers took control of four passenger airliners (two operated by American Airlines and two by United Airlines) early that morning. Two of the planes crashed into and eventually caused the crumbling and collapse of the Twin Towers of the World Trade Center in New York City. A third aircraft was flown into The Pentagon in Arlington, Virginia, and a fourth plane is thought to have been targeting either The White House or the U.S. Capitol in Washington, DC, but crashed into a field in Stonycreek Township near Shanksville, Pennsylvania after courageous passengers on the aircraft thwarted the hijackers. The aftermath of the 9/11 attacks brought our nation together; not only by the brave, heroic first responders, but by other police officers and paramedics from all throughout the United States who took leaves of absence from their jobs so they could travel to Ground Zero in Lower Manhattan to help rescue trapped individuals or recover bodies that could not escape the catastrophe of the deadliest terrorist attack in human history. Also, blood donations skyrocketed from all across the country and more than 657 million dollars were raised by charities and relief agencies in the three weeks following 9/11. The vast majority of that money was given to survivors and the families of victims.
So America does know how to be a nation of compassion and love. And I'm only reviewing certain events over the last six decades. There are obviously other times in modern history when we as a nation have been tied together in solidarity. From hurricane disasters to mass shootings and much more, some good times and some bad, Americans have come together as one; not to mention World War II, which was long before my birth. Bitterness, revenge and hate are wastes of energy. Trump supporters, for more than three years since the 2016 election, have accused me of being a hater. Some Republicans think because I am against everything that Donald Trump does and everything he stands for that I hate him. I do not. I despise how he treats people who don't agree with him. I loathe his lies and his lawlessness, and detest his dishonesty. I abhor his rude, repulsive and reprehensible rhetoric, and his insults infuriate me. I object to his offensive obscenities and opprobrious temperament, and his deceitful demeanor disgusts me. But hate is a poison that corrodes the soul. I don't hate anyone. Donald Trump, however, reeks from the hatred that permeates through his veins. Trump's hatred is a stench that breathes a vile vapor in to our country and is stinking up the integrity of the United States to other nations around the world.
Former President of South Africa, Nobel Peace Prize winner and recipient of the U.S. Presidential Medal of Freedom Nelson Mandela is quoted as saying, "No one is born hating another person because of the color of his skin, or his background, or his religion. People must learn to hate, and if they can learn to hate, they can be taught to love, for love comes more naturally to the human heart than its opposite."
But Donald Trump has wounded America with his hate. Now that wound is so deep that it's hemorrhaging, and it will need a tourniquet of love to stop the bleeding.
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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Photo credits:
1 - Harry Benson/Express/Getty Images and Rex/Shutterstock (Former Senator Robert F. Kennedy and The Reverend Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.)
2 - David Becker/Reuters (Donald Trump)
3 - Barbara Hall Productions/Revelations Entertainment/CBS Television Studios (Tea Leoni in Madam Secretary)
4 - Reuters (Former Vice President Joe Biden)
5 - Reagan Library and MSNBC Screenshot (Former President Ronald Reagan and Former First Lady Nancy Reagan)
6 - United States National Archives (Former President Abraham Lincoln)
7 - Max Touhey (The Statue of Liberty)
8 - United States Customs and Border Protection and NBC News Screenshot (Migrants in Cages)
9 - Todd Heisler/The New York Times (Migrant Children in Cage)
10 - Northern Lights Entertainment/Lauren Shuler Donner Productions/Warner Bros. (Kevin Kline in Dave)
11 - Tom Williams/CQ Roll Call via Getty Images (Congressman Adam Schiff)
12 - Chip Somodevilla/Getty Images (Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi)
13 - Brian Snyder/Reuters (Former President Barack Obama)
14 - The McMahan Photo Archive (Former Senator Ted Kennedy and Former President Barack Obama)
15 - CBS News Screenshot (The Funeral of Former President John F. Kennedy)
16 - NASA (Neil Armstrong's First Step on the Moon)
17 - Smithsonian Institution Archives (The Bicentennial of the United States of America)
18 - YouTube (Former President Gerald Ford)
19 - The Associated Press (Former President Richard Nixon)
20 - Cape Gazette and The Associated Press (Hands Across America)
21 - Getty Images (Music Manager and Television Producer Ken Kragen)
22 - Masatomo Kuriya/Corbis (The World Trade Center Twin Towers on 9/11)
23 - Dr. Peter Magubane (Former President Nelson Mandela of South Africa)
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Whether the United States Senate convicts him and removes him from office or not, Donald Trump throughout the rest of his life, throughout his dying days, and throughout eternity, will be blemished by a big, black zit painted with indelible ink on his forehead that he is an impeached President of the United States. Nothing - not no one - can ever
remove the I-shaped imperfection that sullies and scars his reputation. Trump's legacy is forever tarnished, and for a narcissist - an egomaniacal bully - he is undoubtedly wanting to choke the life out of Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi of California (pictured right), Congressman Adam Schiff of California (the Chairman of the House Intelligence Committee, pictured below on the right),
Congressman Jerry Nadler of New York (the Chairman of the House Judiciary Committee, pictured on the far left), and every other Democrat that has pushed for Trump's impeachment.
On Wednesday, December 18th, 2019, Donald John Trump Sr. became only the third President in U.S. history to be impeached by the House of Representatives. But unlike our 17th President Andrew Johnson in 1868 and our 42nd President Bill Clinton in 1998, Trump was impeached in his first term.
President Johnson was impeached, in part, when he replaced a Member of his Cabinet without the advice and consent of the Senate. President Clinton was impeached because partisan Republicans called lying about consensual oral sex encounters with a White House intern perjury and obstruction of justice. It was
Monica Lewinksy (pictured right) - but you probably remember that - who claimed that on nine occasions between 1995 and 1997, when she was between 22 and 24 years old, that she did, in fact, partake willingly in the aforementioned sexual acts with Mr. Clinton. What the then-49-year old to 51-year old President Clinton did might be considered morally wrong by having an extra-marital affair, but it really was of no business of any other Americans besides his wife, then-First Lady Hillary Clinton, and their daughter, Chelsea Clinton (pictured below left). It certainly was no business of Congress, as it was a private
matter and should never have been made public. That being said, unlike Trump who apologizes for nothing - and he's got plenty to apologize for - President Clinton did apologize for his conduct with Lewinsky before his impeachment. However, in a 1998 interview with MSNBC's Chris Matthews (pictured below left), Trump criticized Mr. Clinton.
He chided the Arkansas Democrat for cooperating with Capitol Hill and the investigation led by Independent Counsel Ken Starr (pictured right). Trump sounded off that President Clinton should not ever have expressed that he was sorry. Even 21 years ago, THAT was Donald Trump; a bastard who doesn't believe in saying I'm sorry. Of course, he never has, never would, and never will.
Regular readers of The Controversy are well aware of my loyalty to former President Clinton. However, I am equally loyal to former Secretary of State Clinton and, therefore, I would never support Mr. Clinton's infidelity. Being unfaithful to Mrs. Clinton was wrong. But it was not an impeachable offense and President Clinton should have never been put in to a position to lie about it. Apparently, the U.S. Senate agreed with me. After all, Mr. Clinton - although impeached by the Republican-controlled House of Representatives - was not convicted by the Senate. And neither was President Johnson following his impeachment.
Should Donald Trump escape conviction by the Republican-controlled Senate - which he should not - the name Trump has been defaced, disfigured, and disgraced with a stain that bashes and trashes the Trump brand in perpetuity. From generation to generation, Donald Trump's impeachment and the crimes for which he is charged - "Abuse of Power" and "Obstruction of Congress" - will stigmatize his heirs forever.
Although not impeached by the full House of Representatives, the Democratic-controlled House Judiciary Committee passed three Articles of Impeachment against President Richard Nixon in connection with his cover-up of the Watergate scandal. After Republican leadership in both the House and Senate informed Mr. Nixon of their lack of confidence in him - and that the votes to give him the boot were there - with about two-and-a-half years remaining in his second term, America's 37th President was, in essence, forced to resign the presidency in 1974 rather than be impeached, convicted and removed from office.
There is a distinct difference why Trump was impeached versus why charges were brought against President Johnson, President Clinton, or President Nixon. Trump was impeached because he solicited and pressured a foreign government to probe his likely opponent in the 2020 race for The White House. In other words, he tried to con and swindle his way in to four more years of the presidency. Trump consciously and deliberately attempted to use cheating as his avenue to a second term before Americans have the opportunity to vote. Trump bribed the president of Ukraine by trying to leverage 391 million dollars in military
aid - taxpayers' money - which was approved by Congress. Trump withheld that funding as a method of demanding President Volodymyr Zelensky (pictured above left) to launch an investigation in to former U.S. Vice President Joe Biden and his son, Hunter Biden (pictured left), as part of a quid pro quo for Trump's political and personal gain. Trump has threatened our national security, he has abused his power, he has tampered with witnesses, he has obstructed Congress and American justice, and he has violated the United States Constitution and his oath of office. Donald Trump is a clear and present danger to our republic's democracy.
All along the impeachment process, Trump made jokes about the Democrats' action calling it a "hoax." But once the impeachment became inevitable, Trump - on Tuesday, December 17th, 2019 - issued a rambling 6-page letter blaming Speaker Pelosi on "declaring open war on American Democracy." He labeled the impeachment a "crusade," an "unprecedented and unconstitutional abuse of power," and a "spiteful" "election-nullification scheme." Trump accused Mrs. Pelosi and House Democrats of orchestrating "an illegal, partisan attempted coup." Trump wrote, "You are the ones subverting America's Democracy. You are the ones Obstructing Justice. You are the ones bringing pain and suffering to our Republic for your own selfish, personal, political, and partisan gain."
But as I wrote in my December 18th, 2019 column, Trump is nervous, if not altogether scared, that Vice President Biden can defeat him in the November 3rd, 2020 general election. That is assuming that Mr. Biden first wins the Democratic nomination, which as an unconditional supporter, I hope he does. But Trump's unhinged undertaking - his delirious diatribe - reads like it's been written by a person who fears his loss of freedom and that he faces the reality that his presidential reality TV show may soon be canceled.
Trump has confessed to his crimes, but he maintains a belief - wrong as he is - that he is innocent, and that he has not committed any illegal wrongdoing. Trump feels his telephone conversation on July 25th, 2019 with Ukraine's Zelensky was "perfect," and he has repeated that word over and over and over again. However, on September 23rd, 2019, Trump confirmed that his call with Zelensky did indeed involve the Bidens and the withholding of aid to Ukraine. By then, that money had already been released twelve days earlier on September 11th, 2019 after The White House learned of the whistle-blower complaint which specified Trump's extortion attempt with Ukraine and which was the beginning of the Trump impeachment. But there's no leniency just because the bucks weren't withheld forever. Trump broke the law, despite the fact he still stands firm that he did nothing wrong.
As I've written in earlier editorials, Trump mimicked a mob boss when he twisted Zelensky's arm to interfere in our upcoming
2020 election. What Trump did was a classic Mafia-like shakedown. When Trump
said to Zelensky in that now infamous telephone call, "We do a
lot for Ukraine" and "spend a lot of effort and a lot of time" to help Ukraine,
but that it's not always "reciprocal," so I want you "to do us a favor though,"
those words equate to Trump committing crimes. The bottom line is that Trump
was pressuring a foreign government to investigate a political rival of the U.S.
President.
I have been writing for quite some time - going back to the investigation led by former Special Counsel Robert Mueller (pictured left) - that former
White House Counsel Don McGahn (pictured right) would be the key that opens the door to Trump's removal from office. McGahn is the man who I would bet knows exactly where all the proverbial bodies are buried, and apparently the House Judiciary Committee is on the same page as me. On Monday, December 23rd, 2019, lawyers for Congressman Nadler's panel filed a legal brief stating an "urgent need" for McGahn to be forced to testify under oath in the Trump impeachment case. Meanwhile, the Department of Justice has filed legal action in a counter-suit because DOJ attorneys argue that the House cannot justify a reason to compel McGahn's testimony since the Articles of Impeachment have already passed. The DOJ lawyers feel that for a court to put in its two-cents and make a decision on McGahn "would appear to be weighing in on a contested issue in any impeachment trial." Attorneys for Trump's Justice Department also feel that a court ruling would - metaphorically speaking with my words not theirs - make the Judicial Branch the cream filling of an Oreo cookie and, therefore, by putting judges in the middle of a battle between the Executive and Legislative Branches of the U.S. federal government should not be the answer to a dispute "when political tensions are at their highest levels." But I'm in agreement with House legal eagles because - as I have noted for a long time in other editorials - it is McGahn who is directly linked one-on-one to Trump, and it is McGahn who doesn't need to dig up the dirty facts about Trump because he's got them neatly packed away in a safe deposit box in his head, or perhaps in notebooks that are kept in a secure place somewhere else. Should McGahn spill the beans, the information and evidence he would provide could be paramount in arriving to a truthful conclusion of a Senate trial. House lawyers say McGahn's voice will articulate a "vital" part of evidence to the Senate as the Articles of Impeachment from the House are presented in the Trump trial.
Even after being impeached, Trump continues to do what he does best; act like a repulsive jerk (I should use stronger words but let's keep it at repulsive jerk) by making offensive comments. Trump suggested to a crowd at a Michigan rally that
the late Democratic Congressman John Dingell (pictured right) of "The Great Lakes State" never made it to heaven when he died in February 2019, but instead he has taken up residence in hell. Congressman Dingell holds the record for being the longest-serving Member of the House of Representatives. He retained his seat for 59 years, which surpasses any other person in U.S. history. Dingell's wife - Democratic Congresswoman Debbie Dingell who was elected to her husband's 12th District seat in 2014 - supported Trump's impeachment. So Trump - at this Battle Creek, Michigan campaign event on Wednesday, December 18th, 2019 - made an effort to dishonor Congressman Dingell after Congresswoman Dingell cast her vote against Trump. Insulting the Dingells, Trump mocked a conversation he claims to have had with Mrs. Dingell following the death of Mr. Dingell. Trump alleges that Congresswoman Dingell was profusely grateful when he ordered all American flags to be flown at half-staff "as a mark of respect for the memory and long standing service" of Congressman Dingell, who when he died was age 92. Trump told his rally rug rats that Congresswoman Dingell told him, "John would be so thrilled. He's looking down, he'd be so thrilled... Maybe he's looking up, I don't know." It's unconscionable and despicable that anyone could embrace Trump. Each time he opens his mephitic mouth he spews venom off his toxic tongue and elevates himself higher and higher on to his pedestal of profanity.
Upon hearing Trump's abhorrent remark, even some of the people in the Battle Creek crowd sounded out groans of shock. Time and time again, Trump has crossed the line of decency, and he did it again that night by attacking a legendary public servant, a true American statesman - known as "The Dean of the House" - whose "leadership" was applauded by Speaker Pelosi when she tweeted that Congressman Dingell was "a beloved pillar of the Congress and one of the greatest legislators in our history." Secretary Clinton (pictured above left) painted him as someone with "a good heart." And Vice President Biden (pictured above right) portrayed Mr. Dingell as a "friend" who "led with great moral courage and vision." In his eulogy at Congressman Dingell's funeral, Mr. Biden described Mr. Dingell with one word, "Dignity." Yet Donald Trump blasted Congressman Dingell and his grieving widow with evil viciousness.
Congresswoman Dingell was appalled by Trump's vulgar implication that her husband is not flying with the angels, but serving with Satan. Moments later, Mrs. Dingell tweeted, "I'm preparing for the first holiday season without the man I love. You brought me down in a way you can never imagine and your hurtful words just made my healing much harder." But on the December 22nd broadcast of Fox News Sunday, Congresswoman Dingell (pictured above left) told Chris Wallace (pictured above right) that Trump's tasteless joke about her late husband being in hell "just sort of kicked me in the stomach."
Donald Trump thinks he has an acquittal all locked up when it should be Trump himself who should be locked up. But I maintain a belief that there are Republican senators who have an open mind and - if more and more factual evidence ends up being released (there should be enough already, but oh well so be it) - there still may be 20 senators from the GOP who will join the 47 Democrats to convict Trump and remove him from office. Nobody is above the law and Republican senators need to do their jobs and honor their oaths by upholding the U.S. Constitution. At least 67 senators are necessary to hold Trump accountable for his crimes. But Senate Democrats must first score a win by getting witnesses to be heard in the Trump trial and documents released that just might be more and more proof of Trump's guilt. For that, Democrats only need 4 Republicans to jump ship and to approve for witnesses to testify and for the reading of documents to be heard. Only 51 senators - a simple majority - is necessary to achieve that goal.
Democrats are more adamant than ever about calling witnesses after emails were obtained by the government watchdog group, Center for Public Integrity that prove somebody at The White House (and I would presume Donald Trump) ordered a freeze on the military aid to Ukraine less than two hours after Trump's conversation with
Zelensky. Remember what I always say - nothing in "Trumpworld" ever gets done without Donald Trump first giving it the green light. The emails were released to CPI through a Freedom of Information Act request. In those documents, Mike Duffey (pictured right) of the Office of Management and Budget directed the Pentagon to "hold off" on the funding to Ukraine at 11:04 A.M. on July 25th, 2019. The Trump/Zelensky phone call went from 9:03 A.M. until 9:33 A.M. "Based on guidance I have received and in light of the Administration's plan to review assistance to Ukraine, including the Ukraine Security Assistance Initiative, please hold off on any additional Department of Defense obligations of these funds, pending direction from that process." Who's guidance did Duffey receive? And again, I've got to believe that Trump himself put everything in to motion. Duffey - who is the Associate Director of National Security Programs at the OMB - also indicated in his email that mum's the word. "Given the sensitive nature of the request, I appreciate your keeping that information closely
held to those who need to know to execute the direction." Democratic Senator Chuck Schumer (pictured right) of New York - the Senate Minority Leader - plus other Senate Democrats believe the email demonstrates that witnesses are critical to the Trump trial and cannot be ignored. Schumer tweeted that the Duffey email "is all the more reason why we need Duffey and others to testify in a Senate trial." At a news conference on Sunday, December 22nd, 2019, Senator Schumer proved Democrats' point even more. "If there was ever an argument that we need Mr. Duffey to come testify, this is that information. This email is explosive. A top administration official, one that we've requested, is saying 'stop the aid' 91 minutes after Trump called Zelensky and said, 'Keep it hush-hush!' What more do you need to request a witness?" Senator Schumer also wants to know, "First, if there's nothing wrong with withholding the aid, why didn't Mr. Duffey want anyone to know about what he was doing? If this is a perfect conversation (as Trump has repeatedly stated), if this is an OK action, why are they trying to hush it up? And second, from whom did Duffey get the order and why did he do it?"
Overall, Trump doesn't really want a trial; even though he wants the country to believe that he does. Nobody in his right mind would want the stress of a trial. But then, since Trump isn't in his right mind, maybe that explains his demeanor. Trump is, however, hoping that Senator Mitch McConnell (pictured right) of Kentucky - the Senate Majority Leader - and enough other Republicans in the Senate will simply give him a pass without any real trial that includes witnesses and evidence.
But Nancy Pelosi (pictured left) and the Democrats are going to get the last laugh, not Donald Trump. Trump is slowly, but surely, going insane; if he's not already there. Speaker Pelosi is holding the recently passed Articles of Impeachment against Trump until she is made aware of "the process that is set forth in the Senate." In other words, Mrs. Pelosi is doing to Trump and McConnell what they deserve. She's letting them sweat. "We would hope there would be a fair process just as I hope they would honor the Constitution." But Trump reacted with a tweet which once again shows that he thinks he can do whatever he wants because he is the President. "Pelosi feels her phony impeachment HOAX is so pathetic she is afraid to present it to the Senate, which can set a date and put this whole SCAM into default if they refuse to show up! The Do Nothings are so bad for our Country." Speaker Pelosi, however, isn't buying in to Trump's falderal. She hit the nail on the head when noting that our Founding Fathers had a sneaky suspicion that "we might have a rogue President. I don't think they suspected that we'd have a rogue President and a rogue Leader in the Senate at the same time." If Donald Trump and Mitch McConnell had a pair of balls between them, they would honor history and respect the Constitution by being fully cooperative with this trial. Instead, they want to throw a monkey wrench in to the works by refusing to let witnesses take the stand.
As I have written in previous columns, if Trump and his henchmen have nothing to hide, and if Trump truly believes he is innocent, then he should not fear anything at all that might be uttered under oath by Acting White House Chief of Staff Mick Mulvaney (pictured left), by former National
Security Adviser John Bolton (pictured right), and by two other senior White House officials who Senate Democrats want to testify, all of whom were previously subpoenaed by House Democrats but did not testify. Each is considered close to Trump and they probably all have the inside dope on the delay of military aid to Ukraine.
Numerous Trump-appointed federal officials did, however, testify under oath before the House Intelligence Committee or the House Judiciary Committee. These individuals were irrefutable witnesses who fully demonstrated with ample justification that Donald Trump is the most corrupt person to ever sit behind The Oval Office desk and, therefore, he needs to be punished for his lawless behavior.
During this holiday week of Christmas, Hanukkah, and Kwanzaa, one might think that the President of the United States - even when it's Donald Trump - would cool his jets and not go on a rampage against Democrats. But Trump was on the warpath on Tuesday, December 24th as he bitterly slammed Nancy Pelosi. Trump claims the Democratic Speaker of the House "hates the Republican Party." He insists that Mrs. Pelosi "hates all of the people that voted for" him. Trump - who spent Christmas at his Mar-a-Lago resort in Palm Beach, Florida - is the one who is the undeniable hater. He has incited and encouraged hatred against Democrats since day one of his campaign and - in many respects - long before that. But Democrats - as I have expressed for years - are not haters. We do not hate. Personally, I do not hate anybody. But Trump is griping and growling that Speaker Pelosi treats him "very unfairly" because House Democrats "had no evidence at all, they had no crime." The evidence and the crimes are as clear as a mirror that's been polished with Windex. So Trump can bellyache 24 hours a day, but it's all because he's terrified of being convicted by a house of Congress and then evicted from The White House. But Trump has no clue of how his Senate trial could proceed. He thinks that "it's ultimately up to Mitch McConnell" and that "he's going to do what he wants to do" because "he's the head of the Senate." However - as I noted earlier in this column - if Senator Schumer is able to sway four Republican senators to hop the fence and join with Democrats, McConnell won't be able to do a damn thing and the trial of Donald Trump would proceed.
I could have published this column on Wednesday, December 25th, Christmas Day, or even on Christmas Eve, but I decided out of respect to Christians throughout the United States, I would wait until today, Thursday, December 26th, so to, therefore, not publish it at a holy time.
But holiday spirit - if Donald Trump has any at all - didn't stop him from bombing Democrats via social media. There was no cease fire because also on Christmas Eve 2019, Trump went on a Twitter tirade and ranted that the "Do Nothing Democrats have gone CRAZY." But I suppose people will bitch at me for calling Trump insane. For more than four years in my columns - since his candidacy and throughout his presidency - I have referred to Donald Trump as being mentally and morally unfit to serve as the 45th President of the United States. The Democrats in Congress (and I believe many if not most Republicans down deep in the core of their souls) know Trump is guilty of the crimes he is charged with, plus other crimes that are not included in the Articles of Impeachment. Republicans on Capitol Hill - especially in the Senate have to start putting country over Party and country over Trump. A solid majority of Americans nationwide are convinced that Trump is guilty, according to a new poll by Politico and Morning Consul. The survey was taken after Trump was impeached and it indicates that 52 percent of Americans believe Trump should be removed from office. Meanwhile, it's not the Democrats who have "gone CRAZY," but
it's obvious that the Democrats on Capitol Hill - not to mention other Democrats across America - are driving Trump crazy. In fact, Trump is becoming more and more crazy everyday; beyond what he's been already for some time. I am convinced that Trump will someday suffer a mental meltdown live on television as he becomes more and more out of control. Therefore, I expect before all is said and done that Trump will end up being escorted from The White House in a straightjacket by men in white coats. I'm not trying to be facetious. There isn't anything funny about any of this. But I wouldn't be surprised if right now a building with a rubber room inside is being constructed and that there'll be a large sign on the front door that reads...TRUMP TOWER AND BOOBY HATCH.
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 printed at the top of this column. And thank you for reading The Controversy.
Photo credits:
1 - Jonathan Ernst/Reuters (Donald Trump #1)
2 - Chip Somodevilla/Getty Images (Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi #1)
3 - AFP/Getty Images (Congressman Jerry Nadler and Congressman Adam Schiff)
4 - U.S. National Archives/Newsmakers/Getty Images (Former President Andrew Johnson)
5 - Ian Wagr/United Press International (Former President Bill Clinton)
6 - Reuters (Monica Lewinsky)
7 - J. David Ake/AFP/Getty Images (Former First Lady Hillary Clinton and Former First Daughter Chelsea Clinton)
8 - MSNBC (Anchor Chris Matthews)
9 - ABC News Screenshot (Former Independent Counsel Ken Starr)
10 - Richard Nixon Foundation and Getty Images (Former President Richard Nixon)
11 - Sergei Chuzavkov/SOPA Images/Light Rocket via Getty Images (President Volodymyr Zelensky of Ukraine)
12 - AFP/Getty Images (Former Vice President Joe Biden and Hunter Biden)
13 - Tom Williams/CQ Roll Call (Former Special Counsel Robert Mueller)
14 - Alex Wong/Getty Images (Former White House Counsel Don McGahn)
15 - Getty Images (Former Congressman John Dingell)
16 - ABC News Screenshot (Former Vice President Joe Biden)
17 - Greg Nash (Former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton)
18 - Fox News Screenshot/Screengrab (Congresswoman Debbie Dingell)
19 - Fox News Screenshot (Anchor Chris Wallace)
20 - Milwaukee Journal Sentinel (Associate Director of National Security Programs at the Office of Management and Budget Mike Duffey)
21 - J. Scott Applewhite/The Associated Press (Senator Chuck Schumer)
22 - Leah Millis/Reuters (Senator Mitch McConnell)
23 - The Associated Press/Getty Images (Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi #2)
24 - Alex Brandon/The Associated Press (Acting White House Chief of Staff Mick Mulvaney)
25 - Peter Nicholls/Reuters (Former National Security Adviser John Bolton)
26 - Chip Somodevilla/Getty Images (Donald Trump #2)
27 - David Becker/Reuters (Donald Trump #3)
28 - Marian Kamensky/Cartoon Stock.com/Daily Sound and Fury (Trump Men In White Coats Cartoon)
Copyright 2019 Gary B. Duglin and TheControversy.net. All Rights Reserved.
As part of his August 29th, 2009 eulogy for Senator Ted Kennedy, President Barack Obama shared the following sentiments. "What we can do is to live out our lives as best we can with purpose, and love, and joy. We can use each day to show those who are closest to us, how much we care about them, and treat others with the kindness and respect that we wish for ourselves. We can learn from our mistakes and grow from our failures. And we can strive at all costs to make a better world." Maybe if Donald Trump took a lesson from President Obama, our world - and specifically our country - would be better.
resignation of our 37th President Richard Nixon, which was the outcome following more than two years of the Watergate scandal. So America's bicentennial birthday party was the perfect way for us to become unified. We could show not only the love for our republic, and the love for the democracy, liberties and freedoms that we as Americans treasure so dearly, but the love we shared for each other.
Ten years later on May 25th, 1986, we, as a nation, literally held "Hands Across America." On that Sunday spring day - thanks to a genius idea by American music manager and television producer Ken Kragen, who created and organized the project - approximately 6.5 million people (my family and I included) joined hands for fifteen minutes as we attempted to form a continuous human chain across mainland America. As is explained by Wikipedia, "In order to allow the maximum number of people to participate, the path linked major cities and meandered back and forth within the cities. Just as there were sections where the 'line' was six to ten people deep, there were also undoubtedly many breaks in the chain. However, enough people participated that if an average of all the participants had been taken and spread evenly along the route, standing four feet apart, an unbroken chain across the 48 contiguous states would have been able to be formed."
